There are distinct parallels between I F Stones’ exposé of the ongoing Korean War and both the Ukraine War and preparations for a second war with China. Izzy Stone did not travel to war zones like the intrepid Wilfred Burchett, nor had he the whistleblowing ‘sources’ that Sy Hersh uses. His approach is different and Continue reading »
International Relations
In Turkiye, deep polarisation and the long struggle between the Atlanticists and the Eurasianists over Turkiye’s soul seems to be ending in victory for the latter. The EU has little appeal for Turks now. It lives in vassalage to the US, which itself seems to be thrashing around in the last days of empire. The Continue reading »
The arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on May 9th sent shockwaves throughout Pakistan, igniting widespread and violent protests across the nation. The unprecedented backlash against the military establishment unfolded in a series of alarming images that flooded the internet. Imran’s supporters from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party stormed the General Headquarters, wreaking havoc Continue reading »
The recent Robert Gregory blog in Australian Jewish News demands a response. Gregory introduces his piece with the observation ‘Australia/Israel relations are at a tipping point’. He goes on to draw attention to some important but nevertheless modest decisions by the present Labor government in the first twelve months in office. They at least evidenced Continue reading »
YET ANOTHER G-7 meeting has passed with yet another embarrassing show of insecurity by a group that is well past its sell-by date. The G-7 is such an anachronism, a relic of the past clinging on to a crumbling façade of make-believe power in a rapidly changing world. The images and the narrative all speak Continue reading »
Let’s see how Europeans respond when they are told their peace dividend is henceforth to be spent on the machinery of war — when it’s “howitzers instead of hospitals” now, as a New York Times article puts it. Maybe you recall all the post–Cold War talk of a “peace dividend” and maybe you don’t: It depends on Continue reading »
With the passing of the 75th remembrance of the Nakba this May, Palestine and its Occupation can often be forgotten from one May to another. May will come around next year, the Palestinian flag will be waved, Palestinian supporters will rightfully demonstrate in capital cities around the world while the US and UK recommence their Continue reading »
Predatory capitalism has become visible across the world as neo-liberalism becomes fully transnational. Consultancies working to authoritarian rules have consumed big business by making executives richer. They may be set to engulf governments and even entire societies. In the 1920s and 1930s fascist Germany and Italy were the darlings of business across the democratic world. Continue reading »
We now have a Defence Strategic Review. But where is the National Risk Assessment, the National Security Strategy, and the Plan? A failure to resource the DSR changes adequately could mean that our deployable military operational capability will in reality be less at the end of this decade than it is today. On the 24th Continue reading »
As Canada grapples with allegations of foreign interference by China, John Price writes that politicians would be wise to read Australian academic David Brophy’s new book: ‘China Panic: Australia’s Alternative to Paranoia and Pandering’. When announcing public consultations with the intention to set up a foreign influence registry in March, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Continue reading »