Election May 2022 – a new beginning for climate and energy policy? (more…)
Most political colonies have come to an end. But a colonial mind set continues in the media. (more…)
John Menadue
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John Menadue: The Ukrainian / Zelensky propaganda war
Amnesty International has just released a report that drew attention to Ukrainian violations of International Law in its war with Russia. It quickly became a footnote in the propaganda war. (more…)
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Is the Liberal Party abandoning war talk on China?
Is Dutton also preparing to shift ground? (more…)
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Moon of Alabama – How Pelosi’s visit hurts Taiwan
When Nancy Pelosi made her ‘woke’ flight to Taiwan the U.S. seemed to hope for a Chinese military reaction to it. It positioned an aircraft carrier and two amphibious landing ships in the region. It also shipped additional fighter planes to Japan and South Korea. (more…)
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Andrew Bacevich: American Imperium – Untangling truth and fiction in an age of perpetual US wars (Repost from 1/1/2018)
‘Republicans and Democrats disagree today on many issues, but they are united in their resolve that the United States must remain the world’s greatest military power. In its most benign form, the consensus finds expression in extravagant and unremitting displays of affection for those who wear the uniform. Considerably less benign is a pronounced enthusiasm for putting our soldiers to work “keeping America safe.” This tendency finds the United States more or less permanently engaged in hostilities abroad, even as presidents from both parties take turns reiterating the nation’s enduring commitment to peace.’
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Sameed Basha: Australia needs better terms with China, yet refuses to meet Beijing halfway
Australia’s government has rejected China’s proposals for improving ties, claiming to be looking out for its own national interests. In reality, Canberra still views Beijing through the lens of the US-China great power game, which can only hurt its economy while boosting America’s. (more…)
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US military colonisation continues —- To be updated—JM
The UK is preparing to transfer the sovereignty of Diego Garcia to the US and we are preparing Cocus Keeling for US military use.
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Gary Highland: Changing the parliament and changing the country
Kerrynne Liddle had to wait a nail biting 25 days to be confirmed as the final Aboriginal person elected to the Federal Parliament at the May 21 election. (more…)
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Kishore Mahbubani: The G-7, G-20 paradox
The G-7 countries are democratic domestically but are dictatorial globally. By contrast, the G-20 group, which has many autocratic regimes, represents a more democratic forum for governance. (more…)
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Katrina Watson: How to save General Practice
I’m a recently retired specialist doctor and I keep an eye on medical affairs. They affect all of us, especially as we get older, and people still ask what I think. (more…)
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Our dangerous ally could drag us into war with China.
The most likely way we could get into a war with China is if we continue to act as a proxy or deputy sheriff for the US in the region. Nancy Pelosi is doing her best to provoke China. (more…)
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Koide Hiroaki: The shooting of Mr. Abe
Translated and introduced by Norma Field (Professor Emerita, University of Chicago).
In the days and months following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, Koide Hiroaki, for some 40-years a nuclear engineer at the Kyoto University Reactor Research Institute, became Japan’s preeminent scientific critic of nuclear power and of Abe government policy. On July 9, the day after former Prime Minister Abe’s assassination, Koide wrote and posted on the web the following essay, translated here with his permission and the addition of a brief introduction. (more…)
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In the US you can’t witness an execution if your skirt is too revealing
Joe Nathan James Jr was executed by lethal injection on Thursday, against the wishes of his victim’s family. He was the eighth person to be put to death in the US so far this year, and the second from Alabama. (more…)
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Peter Brooks and Peter Lewis-Hughes: A possible roadmap for a national pandemic plan
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted weaknesses and disconnections within Australian Health systems which significantly impacted on our ability to reliably detect and respond to this outbreak in a timely, effective and efficient manner. (more…)
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C.K Yeung: The Pelosi penalty
What penalty will China mete out to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for a Taiwan visit? The key word here is “penalty”. Anything that could remotely benefit Pelosi is off the table. (more…)
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Keith Mitchelson: The thievery of British Petroleum started in Australia
Global oil companies like to be thought of positively. British Petroleum was initiated by a colonial Australian conman, and there is virtually no evidence of any improvement in its business culture since then. (more…)
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Manlio Graziano – United States: the end of an illusion of omnipotence
“I do not accept second place for the United States of America.” That simple statement, delivered to rousing effect by Barack Obama in his first State of the Union, in January 2010, managed to summarize the current American strategic horizon in a single sentence. (more…)
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John Quelch: When will Australia break the habit of sucking its thumb whilst clutching the imperial coat tail?
We need to develop the habit of thinking independently in our own national interests. (more…)
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Bob Ellis: The Duchessing of our PM
“Duchessing” as a term and the concept it embraces, derives from the early experiences of the British Labour Party. (more…)
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Richard Falk: When the centre does not hold in America
I find the prospect of civil wars less disheartening than the related drift toward fascism or the torments of anarchy. (more…)
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Richard Falk: Biden’s blurred vision of Human Rights – China, Saudi Arabia and Israel
When the U.S. Government at the highest level criticised Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, because she went to China on a mission to develop opportunities for cooperation with respect to the protection of human rights. (more…)
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Martin Kwan: Another anti China media furphy on Kiribati’s withdrawal from Pacific Islands Forum
Some speculate that Kiribati’s exit from the Pacific Islands Forum was a decision influenced by China. However, the more tenable view is that this has nothing to do with China. Offloading the blame on China will unhelpfully distract focus from the inner regional issues. (more…)
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NATO has an overriding institutional commitment to its permanent existence, if not expansion
This is a comprehensive, sobering review by Jonathan Cook who concludes that Washington’s greatest fear is that, as its economic muscle atrophies, Europe’s vital trading links with China and Russia will see its economic interests – and eventually its ideological loyalties – shift eastwards, rather than stay firmly in the western camp. (more…)
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Robert Hunziker: Chomsky and the United Nations warn of collapse
It’s entirely possible that doomsayers of the world, though widely ridiculed, could be on target about the prospects for global societal collapse. But, of course, when? According to a recent Noam Chomsky interview, it’s an ongoing grind that will end with a thud. (more…)
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Raymond Newland: What ever happened to the casino control authority?
The Bergin Inquiry in NSW has recommended the creation of an “Independent Casino Commission” after allegations that high rollers which Crown Casino knew had a history of money laundering, lost $1.1 billion dollars to the casino since 2016, some of which was carried in plastic bags and shoeboxes. How did we get here? (more…)
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Geraldine Doogue – Catholic Church’s council moved by the spirit of progress
Death-and-resurrection moments might be the most accurate way to describe the scale of what unfolded at a rare high-level Catholic meeting of almost 300 representatives last week in Sydney. (more…)
