One critic said Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s “crude effort” to sanction Francesca Albanese “only serves to establish that the US is an international outlaw.” (more…)
Category: Politics
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BRICS is sliding towards irrelevance – the Rio summit made that clear
The BRICS group of nations has just concluded its 17th annual summit in Rio de Janeiro. But, despite member states adopting a long list of commitments covering global governance, finance, health, AI and climate change, the summit was a lacklustre affair. (more…)
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What are the chances for peace in Ukraine right now?
What makes it so difficult to find a solution? Is Russia a threat to Europe? Five questions for Eurasia expert Anatol Lieven. (more…)
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Suggesting a Nobel for Trump is a Netanyahu obscenity
Intent on stroking one another’s outsize egos, two thugs in the White House smirk at the latest ingratiation-beyond-belief feature of their alliance. (more…)
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The ANU School of Music: Requiem for a Dream?
On 20 September this year, the School of Music at ANU (formally the Canberra School of Music) should be celebrating its 60th anniversary. (more…)
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The story most Israelis are not allowed to hear
I write this in quite a distressed state. On Sunday, I watched the award-winning documentary film – “No Other Land”. (more…)
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Australia obstructed probe into deadly ‘Rainbow Warrior’ bombing
France’s ‘Operation Satanique’ bombing of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior, 40 years ago this month, was state-sponsored terrorism – and Australia had a part in helping French secret agents to escape. (more…)
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Israeli defence minister orders plan to build concentration camp for Gaza’s civilian population
Israel Katz says the so-called “humanitarian city” will be built on the ruins of Rafah. (more…)
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Who wants to serve on a jury? Is the jury system still the best we can do?
You may have been following the current criminal trial in Victoria where a woman is accused of murdering three people by serving them a meal laced with death cap mushrooms. (more…)
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‘Indefensible’: Trump budget law subsidises private jet owners while taking healthcare from millions
A provision of the budget law that President Donald Trump signed last week will leave taxpayers to “pick up the tab for the private jet industry and billionaire high flyers”. (more…)
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Tariff deadline extended as Trump’s trade talks falter
It was supposed to be 90 trade deals in 90 days, turbocharged by the threat of ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs. (more…)
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The housing crisis is everyone’s problem
The housing crisis has been decades in the making but we cannot afford decades to solve it. (more…)
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Anti-tourism protests are not new. They happened in ancient Rome, 19th-century England and after World War II
This hot European summer, anti-tourism protests have made headlines, from Barcelona to Venice, Mallorca and the Canary Islands. The unrest is not confined to Europe, though. (more…)
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Empathy, morality, civilisation and resisting tyrants
Are we just selfish brutes who need to be civilised into social, moral behaviour? If not, where do our decency and altruism come from? Can we resist the tides of fear and control rolling over us and cultivate more compassionate and peaceable societies? (more…)
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The end of multilateralism
The recent unilateral strikes by the United States on Iran’s nuclear development sites underline the fact that multilateralism is dead, and has been so for some time. (more…)
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Missed opportunities in Japan
John Menadue points to the lack of Australian interest and involvement in Asia. (more…)
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Freedom of speech and chants
“Death, death to the IDF [Israel Defence Forces]” and “Death, death to the IOF [Israeli Occupying Force]”. Chants that some in the Palestinian support movement in Melbourne used last weekend. (more…)
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The disastrous consequences of an epidemic of misinformation about the safety of vaccines
None of the “Ship of Fools” Donald Trump appointed to head his major government departments was qualified for their new roles. (more…)
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Australian childcare – do you reap what you sow?
The present crisis in the childcare industry in Australia has been in the making for the past 50 years. (more…)
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US economic statecraft must catch up to its Taiwan strategy
Taiwan’s global economic role has made it indispensable to regional stability in East Asia and for the US’ strategic goals. (more…)
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BRICS+ meets in Rio amid global shifts and internal fractures
As leaders of the group gather for a summit, the absence of China’s Xi and Russia’s Putin shifts the spotlight to India’s Modi and Brazil’s Lula. (more…)
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Two percent wealth tax on just 3000 billionaires could raise US$250b a year: Nobel economists
“Not only is it necessary to impose a stronger burden of justice on billionaires, but more importantly, it is possible.” (more…)
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For the sake of food security, we must address population numbers
As a child, the thought of other children going to bed hungry upset me. Later, I began university studies in agricultural science with the naïve intent of ridding the world of hunger. It was all about increasing crop yields to ensure that the then 3.1 billion people might be fed. (more…)
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Punishment, proportionality and principle
The reaction to the fire bombing on a Jewish establishment in Melbourne has been sadly predictable. (more…)
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Trump’s budget and the 21st century great divergence
Donald Trump’s recently passed budget has the capacity to lay the foundation for a widening gap between the world’s two largest economies, the United States and China, and make China as great, comparatively, as it was before the industrial revolution. (more…)
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The one-word problem for Israel
The massive, almost universal, support nations have provided Israel since the Hamas attacks is eroding around the world and new research indicates that most people surveyed over 24 countries now have negative views of Israel and Netanyahu. (more…)
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When the helping hand holds a machine gun
There’s no precise number of how many Palestinians have been starved to death by Israel’s embargo on food entering Gaza. (more…)
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Engulfed in a moral panic about childcare assaults
The moral panic enveloping Australia and the ABC over the existence of child molesters in the childcare system will do this nation no good. (more…)
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China and renewable energy: The global impact
China’s renewable energy program is not a local curiosity. It marks a turning point in history with profound consequences for the rest of the globe. (more…)
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Should Australia legalise commercial surrogacy?
“Labour of Love”; “Magic Happens”; “The Greatest Gift”. These are just some recent Australian news headlines promising good news stories about surrogacy and happy families. (more…)