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…)
John Menadue
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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…)
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VINCENT CHEOK. Understanding China and the Chinese – An Australian Perspective – Part 1.
My parents were Hakka Chinese from Malaysia. I came to Australia as a minor in 1968 and have been here ever since. The first time that I knew I was ‘special’ as a Chinese was when I was working in a rural town in South Australia over Christmas 1968 while waiting for my matriculation results. An old lady ‘encountered’ me on Main Street and tapped me solidly on the shoulder. I immediately thought I was being reprimanded. ‘Touch a Chinaman for good luck!’ – she said with great rapturous glee and hilarity, and then rushed off. (more…)
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EU, Japan put Trump on defensive with ‘historic’ trade deal (Asia Times, 17.07.18)
The two countries were expected to sign deal on Tuesday, sending a message that free trade lives on despite US protectionism. (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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ROSS BURNS. From Deraa to Deraa.
Syria’s seven-year conflict is favouring those who play the long game. (more…)
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BARACK OBAMA … to young people, keep believing, keep marching, keep building, keep raising your voice (Nelson Mandela Lecture)
And while globalization and technology have opened up new opportunities and driven remarkable economic growth in previously struggling parts of the world, globalization has also upended the agricultural and manufacturing sectors in many countries. It’s also greatly reduced the demand for certain workers, has helped weaken unions and labor’s bargaining power. It’s made it easier for capital to avoid tax laws and the regulations of nation-states—can just move billions, trillions of dollars with a tap of a computer key. (more…)
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MALISE RUTHVEN. God on Our Side.(New York Review of Books)
A comment by a young Muslim man who had studied at an American university sets the tone for the impressively far-ranging Crusade and Jihad. “The bottom line,” he tells William Polk, “is that no Muslim ever tried to enslave or slaughter your people. You might think of the attack on the World Trade Center, 9/11, as a counterattack. It was terrible and most of us are ashamed of it, but just remember—it killed about 25 hundred people whereas imperialists killed at least 25 million of our relatives and tried to destroy our way of life and our religion. Do you care about that?” (more…)
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RICHARD ECCLESTON. The housing divide
House prices may have finally peaked, at least in Melbourne and Sydney. But a slight cooling in some overheated cities makes little difference to overall housing affordability in Australia, which has declined significantly over the past two decades.We need a new, nationally coordinated approach to housing policy in order to ensure that the vast majority of Australians have access to the suitable, affordable and secure housing they deserve.
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PATTY FAWKNER. How power has hijacked the parable of the Good Samaritan.
We can easily highjack the parable of the Good Samaritan, says Sister Patty Fawkner, if we don’t see it within the context of the overarching message of the Bible. (more…)
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MARTIN WOLF. How we lost America to greed and envy (The Financial Times 18 July 2018))
The US president is hostile to the core values the country used to stand for. (more…)
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Kim Jong-un says “Me too”
I meant “wouldn’t” denuclearize. (more…)
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STEPHEN BELL. How rising inequality is stalling economies by crippling demand (The Conversation 17.07.18)
Aggregate demand is being hit by the concentration of income growth among the top earners and is now a drag on economic growth. (more…)
