I have reached a new stage in my life. It is the book-launching stage, first identified in Egyptian writings where it was called the “scroll rolling” stage of life, though we only know this second hand from Phoenician sources. At least judging from my experience, it comes upon one quite suddenly. I hadn’t launched any books until this May and now I’ve launched two. Naturally, at my stage of life, I would be a fool not to make myself available for your next book launch. (more…)
John Menadue
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SCOTT BURCHILL. Syria – a few definitive outcomes.
As the war in Syria grinds towards some kind of resolution, it is possible to say a few definitive things about what is going on in the region and the role of external players. (more…)
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VINCENT CHEOK. If spirituality or religion has a bearing on geopolitics then Australia needs to understand what moves the spirit and soul of India and China for our Asian neighbours will be the new global superpowers in a new multipolar multilateral world.
This post is prompted by the release of the final draft of the National Register of Indian Citizens in Assam Province on 30/7/18. This verification exercise was made in accordance with the terms of the Assam Accord of 1985. Not surprisingly more than 4 million did not qualify as they could not prove that they or their ancestors entered the country before midnight on March 24, 1971 – the eve of the Bangladesh War. Obviously, most of these are Muslim Bengalis, who or whose ancestors presumably fled overpopulated Bangladesh. (more…)
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NY TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD. A New Batsman for Pakistan.
Imran Khan, cricket-star-turned-politician, promises a new path for Pakistan. But his ties to the military, and his own at-times erratic behaviour, may stand in the way. (more…)
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AMITENDU PALIT. Does Australia need a lesson in Indian economic strategy?
The recently released Indian Economic Strategy to 2035 report outlines three core objectives for improving the Australia–India economic relationship. These include making India one of Australia’s top three export markets by 2035, making India the third-largest Asian recipient of Australian foreign direct investment by the same year and bringing India ‘into the inner circle of Australia’s strategic partnerships and with people-to-people ties as close as any in Asia’.Recommendations for achieving these objectives are driven largely by the choice of states and sectors, 10 each respectively, that the report considers top priority for Australia. (more…)
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MICHAEL JENSEN. Nigerian farmers are under attack, so why don’t we hear about it? (ABC NEWS, 02.08.18)
We’ve heard a lot lately about white South African farmers being killed in farm murders. But another group of African farmers are being killed in far greater numbers and we’ve barely heard a whimper. (more…)
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BERNARD SHIU. Canberra announces opt out of My Financial Record.
Today, the department of treasury announced a My Financial Record will be created for everyone – unless you tell them you don’t want one by 15/10/2018. (more…)
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‘Matter of death and life’: Espionage in East Timor and Australia’s diplomatic bungle (Lateline, 26.11.15)
East Timor’s most senior leaders have accused Australia of committing a crime and acting immorally after a spying scandal that rocked the relationship between the two countries. (more…)
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PETER DAY. No womb in the Inn.
Too often the issue of abortion is couched in terms of women’s rights only – “It’s my body. It’s my choice – back off!” (more…)
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James Wimberley Coal crash in India
Tony Abbott told us that coal was good for humanity. More recently the federal resources and energy minister Josh Frydenberg told us that there was a strong ‘moral case’ to export coal to countries such as India.
That has more to do with coalition politics than any logic. Now India is moving rapidly away from coal as John Quiggin points out in his blog which was derived from James Wimberley….see below (John Menadue)
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OMRI BOEHM. Did Israel Just Stop Trying to Be a Democracy?
Last week, Israel’s government pushed through Parliament a new law calling Israel the “nation-state of the Jewish people.” That statement may sound like a truism — and in some respects it is one — but the implications of it officially being made are monumental. (more…)
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JIM COOMBS. Man Up.
The facts cannot be more obvious, so when will us smarties tell the world: “The neo-liberal (what the hell does that mean) idea of unrestrained “business” and minimal government, i.e., no regulation of shonks, see banks, insurance companies, labour hire firms, gambling enterprises, franchise swindlers, Uber et al sucking off at the margin, does not work for the majority of our people, in particular the poor, the weak and the old, while making those shonks “rich beyond the wildest dreams of avarice”. (more…)
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MURRAY HEASLEY. On witch-hunts and the Kiwi way: the proposed New Zealand Historical Abuse in State Care Royal Commission.
The New Zealand government is currently evaluating the terms of references and scope of its royal commission into child abuse. It is likely to exclude faith-based institutions on the grounds that the State was not directly involved in their operations. The New Zealand bishops withheld any support of involvement until a letter in late March 2018. (more…)
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CHARLES A. KUPCHAN AND EDWARD ALDEN. Trump Is Poised to Do Irreparable Harm to World Trade (Foreign Affairs 24.07.18)
During his trip to Europe this month, U.S. President Donald Trump derided his NATO counterparts over defense spending, undermined British Prime Minister Theresa May by second-guessing her approach to Brexit, and then groveled before Russian President Vladimir Putin. A firestorm of controversy has ensued. But at least the trans-Atlantic security alliance emerged intact from Trump’s trip. That we breathe a sigh of relief at NATO’s mere survival reveals just how low the bar has sunk during the Trump era. (more…)
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RUTH ARMSTRONG and TRENT YARWOOD . Staying in or opting out: My Health Record goes viral for all the wrong reasons (Croakey, 17.07.18)
Ruth Armstrong writes:
After years of relative obscurity and sluggish engagement, Australia’s attempt at transitioning the population to the use of individual digital health records via My Health Record was all anyone could talk about yesterday. (more…)
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GEORGE MONBIOT. Invisible Hands (Guardian 19.07.18)
Dark money is undermining our democracies, and it’s never darker than when channelled through lobby groups masquerading as think tanks.
(We could readily substitute the Institute of Economic Affairs in the UK for the sham ‘think tank’ in Australia the Institute for Public Affairs…John Menadue)
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GIDEON RACHMAN. Revenge on the US is sweet for Vladimir Putin.
The Russian president draws satisfaction from embarrassing America. (more…)
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KUNWAR KHULDUNE SHAHID. Khan is saying the right things, but can he really deliver?
The ex-cricketer has already triumphed over 22 years of adversity, but there will be more pain ahead as he tackles an ailing economy and security issues (more…)
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GOOD READING AND LISTENING FOR THE WEEKEND
A regular collection of links to writings and broadcasts covered in other media. (more…)
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ANDREW LEIGH. Rising to the challenge of inequality. (Repost from 18/6/2018)
Thomas Piketty and his colleagues have used new data to track inequality and sharpen the choices we face. (more…)
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JAMES FERNYHOUGH. Revealed: Australia’s most climate-conscious super funds
This week 23-year-old Queenslander Mark McVeigh made headlines when he revealed he was suing his super fund, REST, for failing to disclose how it was preparing for the investment risks of climate change. (more…)
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PROFESSOR LYNDALL RYAN. Massacres on Australia’s colonial frontier climb to 250 (Media Release, University of Newcastle)
The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander massacres verified and recorded on an online digital map has risen to 240, following an influx of valuable information and evidence from regional communities around Australia. (more…)
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IAN BURUMA. American fascism: Reading the signs of the times (Asian Times, 13.07.18)
Comparing today’s demagogues with Adolf Hitler is almost always unwise. Such alarmism tends to trivialize the actual horrors of the Nazi regime and distracts attention from our own political problems. But if alarmism is counterproductive, the question remains: At what point are democracies truly in danger? What was unimaginable only a few years ago – a US president insulting democratic allies and praising dictators, or calling the free press “enemies of the people,” or locking up refugees and taking away their children – has become almost normal now. When will it be too late to sound the alarm? (more…)
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BRUCE GUTHRIE. Nine’s takeover of Fairfax is a bad deal for democracy (New Daily 26.07.18)
Within hours of the announcement of Nine’s takeover of Fairfax Media – I won’t insult readers by calling it a “merger” – Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was singing its praises. (more…)
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JOHN CARMODY. Current British Politics.
Political time seems absurdly compressed at present. Everywhere. It used to be that a week is a long time in politics: currently, in Britain, even a day seems long and bafflingly eventful. Writing about those events – let alone actually understanding them – seems almost impossible. Is it because modern politics induces otherwise sensible people to rampage into irrationality? Around the world, the art of the possible has become the indulgence of zealotry, the yearning for monoculture and scorn for compromise. (more…)
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ALAN BOYDE. Australia spy trial carries hidden dangers (Asian Times)
Whistleblowers who exposed Australia’s eavesdropping on Timor Leste during oil and gas negotiations go on trial this week in a free expression test case. (more…)
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Australia: Don’t Prosecute for Exposure of Misconduct (Human Rights Watch)
Whistleblowing Former Spy, Lawyer Face Hearing for Revealing Bugging Operation (more…)
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VINCENT CHEOK. Understanding China and the Chinese – An Australian Perspective – Part 2.
America First is not necessarily Australia First. That is, leaving aside the biological or human tendencies to be ‘tribal’ or sectarian etc, in my opinion, the Australian perspective, mindset and psyche as to how China and the Chinese are viewed must obviously be different from the Americans. It is and must in fact be based on our Australian historical experience and relationship and our close geographical and time zone proximity with China and the Chinese. (more…)
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JOHAN LIDBERG. When whistleblowers are prosecuted, it has a chilling effect on press freedom in Australia.
Fear is a tricky thing. It’s often hard to distinguish between what is real and perceived danger. US President Donald Trump, being more comfortable with autocrats than democratic leaders, is arguably a real danger to the world order. (more…)
