International Relations
Jerusalem Peace Prize Address: The most disastrous year for Palestinians since the 1948 Nakba
Receiving the Jerusalem Peace Prize is a great honour and I am overwhelmed and humbled indeed. It is particularly poignant at this time as Palestinians in both Occupied Gaza and West Bank are suffering unbelievable, horrific hardship and brutal violations of their basic human rights, for life, for shelter, water and food. Dr Helen McCue Continue reading »
Night Falls In The Evening Lands: The extradition of Julian Assange
As we await the UK High Court decision on Julian Assange’s extradition to the US, the implications of Assange’s persecution and the repercussions for human rights, journalism, peace and justice will be explored at the conference Night Falls in the Evening Lands: the Assange epic, which will be held in Melbourne on March 9. The Continue reading »
The parade of talk going nowhere
ASEAN has been around for so long media outlets rarely spell the full name – Association of Southeast Asian Nations. That sounds significant and grand. It’s not. A better title for the acronym would be Association of Supercilious Egoists and Nationalists. Even that snide put down wouldn’t do enough injustice to a ten-member group that Continue reading »
Can war on the Korean Peninsula be averted?
The US seems to have decided it cannot tolerate China as a threat to its global hegemony. But how to attack or put pressure on China? Logistically and politically Taiwan is out of the question. But the brewing tension between South Korea and North Korea provides an opportunity, not unlike the Ukraine-Russia situation. In other Continue reading »
Nicaragua institutes ICJ proceedings against Germany for complicity in Gaza genocide
The Republic of Nicaragua yesterday instituted proceedings against the Federal Republic of Germany in the International Court of Justice for “facilitating the commission of genocide and… [failing] in its obligation to do everything possible to prevent the commission of genocide” by providing political, financial and military support to Israel and by defunding the UNRWA. International Continue reading »
Palestinians in Gaza massacred, starved and raped
The Australian government remains silent, continues to call Israel “our friend”, and rewards Israel’s war machine in a new contract with the Israeli arms firm Elbit. The Federal Government sends more troops to the Middle East while starving Palestinians in northern Gaza are massacred as they desperately seek food for their families, babies in Gaza Continue reading »
Traitors in our midst: Australia’s foreign interference laws are a political ruse
Leaving aside the issue of whether ASIO’s announcement that there is a ‘traitor in our midst’ is simply a ploy to get more funds in this year’s Federal Budget (something you can never rule out) why hasn’t ASIO and other security and law enforcement agencies in this country pursued the two greatest practitioners of so Continue reading »
Genocide: The word that RNZ cannot bring itself to say
The very first principle of Radio New Zealand Charter, states unequivocally that the purpose of our national broadcaster is to be “…an independent public service broadcaster…” and “to serve the public interest.” Unfortunately, this principle appears to have been abandoned in its coverage of Israel’s campaign of ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip that has Continue reading »
Fractured consensus, fabricated facts, and the truth of Western wars
Why, when the majority of civil society opposes Australia going to war against China, and public confidence in the United States’ will and capacity to defend Australia is declining, do successive governments pursue AUKUS and a war with China over Taiwan with such enthusiasm? The daily spillage from government and media delivers so little reliable Continue reading »
After Ukraine: US readies “transnational kill chain” for Taiwan proxy war
The US senses that the clock is running rapidly down on its power. The question in Washington regarding war with China is not if, but when–and how. In many traditions, when you paint or sculpt a Buddha, the eyes are the very last part to be painted. It’s only after the eyes have been completed Continue reading »