John Menadue, Author at Pearls and Irritations

MIKE YEO. France is deploying forces to the Indo-Pacific for more than just a drill.

MELBOURNE, Australia ― France will be deploying a detachment of combat aircraft to the Indo-Pacific region for a major air exercise in Australia and for additional interactions with Asian air forces, as France seeks to increase its presence in the region.

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Jun 11, 2018

MIKE WALLER. Welcome to the Panopticon: time for an Australian bill of rights?

Panopticon: a circular prison with cells arranged around a central well, from which prisoners could at all times be observed (Jeremy Bentham).

Mr Turnbull has told Neil Mitchell security and police will be given extra power to conduct random checks at airports. Neil: “That’s a big step”. PM: “It is”. Neil: “Why do we need it?” PM: “Dangerous times, Neil” (Malcolm Turnbull, 3AW)

The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in the insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding (US Supreme Court judge Louis Brandeis). (more…)

Jun 11, 2018

JOHCHKA FISCHER. ‘The U.S. President Is Destroying the American World Order’

In an interview with DER SPIEGEL, former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer talks about the danger of war against Iran, the deterioration of trans-Atlantic relations under U.S. President Donald Trump and the serious need for Germany to invest massively in the European Union’s future. (more…)

Jun 9, 2018

SAUL ESLAKE. The quest for ‘security’. Is it rational? Has it made us safer? And at what cost? (reposted from 23/2/2018)

In November last year, I gave an address to the Royal Society of Tasmania – the oldest such society ‘dedicated to the advancement of knowledge’ outside of the United Kingdom – at an event hosted by the Governor of Tasmania, Her Excellency Professor Kate Warner AC, at her official residence in Hobart. In this address I posed, and sought to answer, three questions:

How significant a risk is the threat of terrorism in Australia, both in absolute terms and relative to some of the other risks and threats on our horizon?
How effective in reducing that risk have the various measures enacted in the name of ‘security’ actually been? and
How does whatever reduction in the risks posed by terrorism which has been obtained compare with the costs, broadly defined, of those measures?

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Jun 9, 2018

ABBAS NASIR. In Pakistan, the art of undermining democracy. What is Imran Khan about?

The country’s military is disempowering politicians who stray from its positions on security policy and choking the press for reporting about its critics.

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Jun 9, 2018

DAVID EDWARDS. The Syrian Observatory – funded by the Foreign Office.

Writing in the Mail on Sunday, journalist Peter Hitchens commented last month on the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR): ‘Talking of war, and Syria, many of you may have noticed frequent references in the media to a body called the “Syrian Observatory for Human Rights”, often quoted as if it is an impartial source of information about that complicated conflict, in which the British government clearly takes sides. The “Observatory” says on its website that it is “not associated or linked to any political body”. To which I reply: Is Boris Johnson’s Foreign Office not a political body? Because the FO just confirmed to me that “the UK funded a project worth £194,769.60 to provide the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights with communications equipment and cameras”. That’s quite a lot, isn’t it? I love the precision of that 60p. Your taxes, impartially, at work.’ (more…)

Jun 9, 2018

STEPHEN LETTS. The GDP myth: The planet’s measure for economic growth is deeply flawed and outdated.

Just as it has every three months for the past six decades, next week the Australian Bureau of Statistics will unleash a torrent of numbers that make up the national accounts. (more…)

Jun 8, 2018

ADAM NI. Despite strong words, the US has few options left to reverse China’s gains in the South China Sea.

At a top regional security forum on Saturday, US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said China’s recent militarisation efforts in the disputed South China Sea were intended to intimidate and coerce regional countries. (more…)

Jun 8, 2018

VIRAJ SOLANKI. India boosts relations with Myanmar, where Chinese influence is growing.

India has a deepening bilateral security relationship with Myanmar, and is taking steps to help address the crisis in Rakhine State. But Chinese influence in Myanmar is growing – and meaningful cooperation between Beiijing and New Delhi remains unlikely. (more…)

Jun 8, 2018

BIJAY KUMAR MINJ. Modi’s four years ‘have weakened India’s tolerance’.

India Inclusive event hears that attacks against minorities have increased since the BJP came to power (more…)

Jun 8, 2018

MARTIN WOLF. Why the Swiss should vote for ‘Vollgeld’.

A radical rethink of the financial system was essential after a devastating crisis

There are many other ideas in this broad area that seem worth pursuing. One would be to allow every citizen to hold an account directly at the central bank. The technological reasons for branch banking are, after all, perishing quickly. Nicholas Gruen, an Australian economist, has argued that no private institution should have better access to the public’s central bank than the public itself does. Furthermore, he adds, the central bank could operate monetary policy by lending freely against safe mortgages. The central bank would not need to lend to banks per se at all. It would focus on assets.

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Jun 7, 2018

GLEN S. FUKUSHIMA. Is Trump stringing Abe along?

Japan has been reeling ever since 8 March when US President Donald Trump met with South Korea’s national security adviser Chung Eui-yong and announced, to the world’s surprise, that he would accept the offer to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Until then, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was confident that he was ‘managing’ Trump well, starting with the meeting in Trump Tower on 17 November 2016 that made him the first foreign leader to meet with the then president-elect. This was followed by the meeting in Washington, DC on 10 February 2017 and golf and dinner in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, when North Korea’s missile launching forced an impromptu news conference pledging US–Japan solidarity against North Korea.

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Jun 7, 2018

JIM COOMBS. Counting.

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” The mantra of the managerialist “economic rationalists” has led to oversimplification and oversight (in the sense of ‘failing to see’) of what actually matters: the real values involved in the work. (more…)

Jun 7, 2018

SHANNON TEOH. After two weeks, Malaysia’s King consents to PM Mahathir’s choice of Attorney-General (The Straits Times, 5 June 2018)

Sultan Muhammad V has agreed to the Mahathir Mohamad administration’s choice of Attorney-General (A-G), despite widespread concerns in Malaysia that the candidate is not from the Malay Muslim majority.

In an unexpected concession in the early hours of Tuesday (June 5), the National Palace said Malaysia’s supreme ruler, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, had withdrawn its consent for incumbent Apandi Ali to continue as the nation’s top lawyer.

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Jun 7, 2018

HAROLD JAMES. Madmen in Authority in Italy.

With concerns about Italy’s public debt growing, Italian populists have taken a page from US President Donald Trump’s playbook and threatened to blow up the eurozone if they don’t get their way. The European Union must resist the temptation to engage in a dangerous game of chicken.
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Jun 7, 2018

M.K. BHADRAKUMAR. Russia pushes back at US on North Korea (Asian Times 4 June, 2018)

Foreign Minister Lavrov asserted Russia’s role in the current process as a stakeholder in the stability of northeast Asia; he flagged the need to revive six-party talks; it also seems Putin will meet Kim Jong-un soon.

[If President Trump thinks that the DPRK issue is one for the US alone to determine, he will be deluded. As the article below indicates, there is a very strong historical link between Russia and the founder of the DPRK, Kim Il Sung. John Menadue] (more…)

Jun 6, 2018

TONY WALKER. Australia needs to reset the relationship with China and stay cool.

Let’s call it the “China syndrome”. This describes a condition that is a bit compulsive and not always rational.

Australia’s response to China’s continuing rise mixes anxiety, even a touch of paranoia, with anticipation of the riches that derive from the sale of vast quantities of commodities.

Economic dependence on China is two-edged and potentially policy-distorting. (more…)

Jun 6, 2018

M.K. BHADRAKUMAR. Russia censures Iran, expects Israel to help restore ties with US.

The annual meeting of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum – dubbed as “Russia’s Davos” – on May 25, which traditionally promotes foreign investment in the Russian economy, ended this time around as a major political event signaling a renewed bid by President Vladimir Putin for détente with the West. (more…)

Jun 6, 2018

NAHAL TOOSI. Surreal Trump-Kim summit defies diplomatic playbook

How do you plan a high-stakes meeting between a freewheeling American president and a paranoid Asian dictator? The world is about to find out. As President Donald Trump prepares to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, officials from both countries are working overtime to prepare for aJune 12 nuclear summit in Singapore. The event is unprecedented: A sitting U.S. president has never met with his North Korean counterpart. Kim had never even met with a fellow head of state before a March visit to Beijing. In theory, traditional diplomatic protocols will apply. In reality, anything could happen. Here’s a look at some of the issues organizers are grappling with as they scramble to arrange this extraordinary meeting:

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Jun 6, 2018

TONY STEPHENS. Freda Whitlam: educationalist passionate about her girls.

Freda Whitlam, a formidable educator and church leader, was principal of a prominent Sydney private girls school, helped establish the University of Western Sydney and the University of the Third Age, and became Moderator of the Uniting Church of Australia. She died on Wednesday, May 30, at the age of 97.

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Jun 5, 2018

ABHISHEK MOHANTY. India-Vietnam defense ties in spotlight with joint naval exercise

On May 21, within the framework of perpetual deployment of the Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet to Southeast Asia and the Northwest Pacific region, three Indian naval ships en route to Guam and Hawaii for the multilateral Malabar and RIMPAC naval exercises made a port call at Tien Sa Port in Danang for India’s first joint naval exercise with Vietnam. To put this in perspective, this is analogous to the navies of China and Bangladesh exercising in the Bay of Bengal.

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Jun 5, 2018

KAVEH L AFRASIABI. Hidden Message To UN On Iran.

In a remarkable and somewhat unprecedented rebuke of the US administration, India’s Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj has announced that India will not respect unilateral U.S. sanctions on Iran and will recognize “only the UN sanctions.” Bound to raise tensions with Washington, India’s brave decision reflects both India’s political evolution and the primacy of her own national interests. It’s also another setback for the White House’s hawkish anti-Iran policy, which has already alienated key European allies who are struggling to preserve the Iran nuclear deal without the United States by offering Iran a package of incentives in the near future. Adding real bite to her major policy announcement, Swaraj then went on to meet Iran’s visiting Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is seeking to shore up global sanctions-busting support through a flurry of diplomatic trips. (more…)

Jun 5, 2018

CLAIRE JONES. Italy crisis poses dilemma for Draghi over ECB’s next step.

Central bank hawks want to keep plan to end QE but market jitters could force rethink. (more…)

Jun 5, 2018

ED PILKINGTON. Trump’s ‘cruel’ measures pushing US inequality to dangerous level, UN warns.

Scorching report on poverty finds ‘systematic attack on welfare program’ will leave millions deprived of food and healthcare. (more…)

Jun 4, 2018

ROBYN WHITAKER. Christians in Australia are not persecuted, and it is insulting to argue they are.

As Australians wait to hear the government’s response to the Ruddock review of religious freedom (and indeed, the content of the report itself), it is worth considering exactly how the two intersect in this largely secular society.

Australia has neither a bill nor charter of rights, leaving us with complex and diverse laws governing these issues.

Discussion of religious freedoms is an important conversation to have and not one that should be hijacked by inflammatory rhetoric. Yet, much like the marriage equality debate that sparked the review, that is the danger we face. (more…)

Jun 4, 2018

GEORGE EATON. Italy’s new hard-right government is the biggest threat the EU has faced.

The country’s most right-wing government since Mussolini is determined to test the euro’s limits. (more…)

Jun 4, 2018

LUCY BERAUD-SUDREAU. Asia’s defence budgets dispel ‘arms race’ myth.

Asian defence spending has not grown faster than the region’s economies – and the share of defence budgets allocated to procurement and R&D has held steady over time. (more…)

Jun 4, 2018

WAYNE SWAN. Foreign influence and foreign donations in Australia.

The debate over foreign influence in our domestic politics and policymaking is an important one for our country – too important for political point-scoring and manipulation by vested interests and political vendettas. (more…)

Jun 2, 2018

GEORGE PERKOVICH. What Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un Don’t Know About Their Own Standoff

If the Cuban Missile Crisis is any indication, today’s leaders may be dangerously misinformed about the nuclear crisis.

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Jun 2, 2018

YANIS VAROUFAKIS. Merkel reaps with Quitaly what she sowed with Greek austerity

By crushing us Europeanist Greeks in 2015, Germany sowed the seeds of a bitter harvest: an Italy that might leave the EU. One of the most common mistakes European leaders make in interpreting US President Donald Trump’s hostility toward America’s traditional allies, or the alacrity of his administration’s efforts to blow up the international order, is to assume that all of this is unprecedented. Nothing could be further from the truth.

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Jun 2, 2018