Vijay Prashad reflects on the Jeffrey Epstein revelations, his personal history, and the profound sense of betrayal and moral shock they have provoked. (more…)
Category: Politics
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What is the next chapter for Australia’s embattled writers festivals?
The cancellation of Adelaide Writers’ Week has exposed how culture wars, funding pressures and climate risk are reshaping Australia’s literary festivals – and putting their future in doubt. (more…)
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Isaac Herzog is accused of inciting genocide in Gaza. He shouldn’t be welcomed to Australia
Writing in the Guardian on Thursday UN Commissioner Chris Sidoti laid out the reasons Isaac Herzog should not be welcome in Australia, and urged the Prime Minister to correct his terrible mistake in inviting him. (more…)
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Message from the Editor
The debate over the visit of the Israeli President has occupied much space in P&I this week, and for good reason.
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Australia unlikely to follow US downgrade on China threat
The US National Defense Strategy signals a softer, more pragmatic approach to China. Australia’s silence on the shift exposes how detached its defence posture has become from both reality and its own national interests. (more…)
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Billionaire Bezos guts Washington Post
The gutting of the Washington Post has reignited a deeper question about who controls the media – and whether billionaire ownership is compatible with a free press. (more…)
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Australian doctors protest Israel’s destruction of health rights in Gaza
Israel’s deregistration of international health providers in Gaza makes legally mandated care increasingly impossible, raising serious questions about compliance with international law. (more…)
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Herzog’s visit exposes Australia’s legal weakness on human rights
As Israel’s president visits Australia, debates over protest, terrorism and antisemitism expose a significant problem: Australia lacks a coherent human rights framework.
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Inside Indonesia’s Board of Peace diplomacy on Palestine
Indonesia’s decision to join the Board of Peace places it inside a US-dominated body whose approach to Gaza risks prioritising reconstruction over sovereignty, rights and political legitimacy.
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Don’t mention the war
Australia is struggling to respond proportionately to violence, fear and political pressure in the wake of the Bondi attacks, October 7 and Israel’s war in Gaza. The result has been a contraction of democratic debate, heavy-handed political responses and an unwillingness to confront the scale of civilian suffering now unfolding in Gaza.
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America’s bad emperor problem
History offers a warning about unchecked power. As Donald Trump reshapes US foreign policy, the risks of personal rule and predatory hegemony are becoming harder to ignore. (more…)
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The China AI panic misses what history keeps teaching us
Warnings that China must be cut off from advanced AI chips echo a familiar pattern. History suggests technology bans rarely slow China down – and often do the opposite.
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Why is the Australian government hosting the President of Israel?
As President Isaac Herzog prepares for an official visit, Australia faces serious questions about international law, diplomatic process, and the values it claims to uphold.
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Five years on from the coup, where does Myanmar find its future?
Myanmar’s phased elections have given the junta a thin veneer of legitimacy, but they have done nothing to halt economic decline, armed conflict or the steady erosion of hope. With little external pressure and no genuine reform, fragmentation is likely to deepen.
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Why the governor-general should not be the prime minister’s choice
Governor-General Sam Mostyn’s remarks reveal a deeper flaw in Australia’s constitutional arrangements – one that weakens the independence of the head of state and undermines democratic accountability.
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When ecosystems fail, civilisation follows
A new UK security assessment warns that ecosystem collapse is no longer an environmental issue alone – it is a direct threat to global security, prosperity and human survival. Without urgent action, the consequences will intensify well beyond climate change.
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In the outback, we’re listening for nuclear tests – and what we hear matters more than ever
As nuclear restraint frays globally, a little-known monitoring station in central Australia plays a crucial role in detecting nuclear tests and deterring escalation.
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The moral animal in a world of power
Values shape meaning and legitimacy, but history is driven by organised power. Moral language only delivers change when it is backed by institutions, leverage and accountability.
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Davos and the myth of a global conversation
The World Economic Forum claims to represent global cooperation, but its structure, silences and hierarchies tell a different story about who sets the agenda – and who is expected to listen.
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Like a gambler who lost his fortune, Israel wants another war
Despite a declared ceasefire and the return of hostages, large-scale killing has continued in Gaza. The war has become self-perpetuating, leaving Israel morally, politically and strategically diminished.
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The meteoric rise of UpScrolled (and the Australian media’s silence about it)
An Australian social media platform surged to millions of users amid global concern over censorship and Gaza. Yet its rise has been largely ignored by Australia’s media.
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Freedom, faith and fairness: are we losing what made Australia home?
Islamic ethics and liberal democracy share deep common ground in justice, dignity and equality. But selective commitment to those principles now risks eroding the freedoms that once made democratic societies a refuge. (more…)
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When gambling money floods politics, democracy loses
Millions in gambling industry donations flow legally to both major parties, even as reform stalls and public concern grows.
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Herzog’s visit “a terrible cruelty”
For Palestinian Australians who have lost entire families in Gaza, the decision to welcome Israel’s president to Australia is not diplomatic neutrality but an act of profound cruelty. As deaths continue despite a ceasefire, questions of grief, justice and political accountability can no longer be avoided. (more…)
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The pivot to Asia within the transitional rules-based order
As US leadership becomes increasingly erratic, claims grow that the rules-based international order is breaking down. But China and India may yet help guide its transition rather than preside over its collapse. (more…)
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Artificial intelligence as seen by two popes
As artificial intelligence reshapes work, culture and decision-making, two pontificates converge on a deeper concern – not technological progress itself, but the risk of reducing human life to efficiency, calculation and control. (more…)
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New Zealand’s long election year begins
As New Zealand heads toward a November election, early polls suggest a finely balanced contest. Coalition arithmetic, economic anxiety and voter outflow are shaping a year that promises prolonged political uncertainty. (more…)
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Australia’s middle power diplomacy matters
Middle powers may lack the economic and military weight to coerce others, but they can still shape outcomes through coalition-building, credibility and sustained diplomatic effort. (more…)
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Abbott, Boyce and Trump – three ways to deny a warming world
Prominent political figures continue to dismiss or distort the evidence on climate change. Their claims collapse under even basic scrutiny, revealing resistance rooted not in science but in ideology and self-interest.
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AUKUS from where we are – and why that’s the problem
Australia’s AUKUS submarine program is tied to struggling US and UK shipbuilding systems, escalating costs and political whim, raising questions about whether the right defence choices were ever properly debated.
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