Enclosure in the US and Israel The nature of Enclosure is not often associated with the settler-colonial societies of the US and Israel. Yet it is an important aspect to the exceptionalism of both these states and their righteous sectioning off of land for their own religious aims. Both states got their foothold on the Continue reading »
International Relations
It is about being subjects rather than citizens. It is about ancient oaths of loyalty and fealty. It is about pomp and ceremony paid for by the state. The coronation of King Charles III is a further step towards an Australian Republic. That may seem counter-intuitive because a coronation is an unrivalled opportunity for any Continue reading »
Water broke in the wee hours on the day of Headry’s flight back to her homeland Malaysia. She remembered clearly it was 3.40 am. The amniotic fluid flowed down, and her heart sank. “I cried and prayed that my baby could hold and not come out yet.” It was early February 2017. Her gynecologist, who Continue reading »
Here’s a rough guide to Westerners visiting Indonesia. Bali gets chosen for its cheap packaged holidays, knock-out rural landscapes and friendly folk; relax for a fortnight, eat lots, drink more and head home. This year the island expects to welcome almost double last year’s 2.3 million. Some get disturbed by cruelty to animals, trashing of beaches, the Continue reading »
It is difficult to imagine a scenario for next year’s Presidential elections which does not increase the already bitter polarisation of American society. The level of irrationality and violence in the United States means that in the coming decades it may well veer between bellicosity and isolationism. In the face of an uncertain American polity, Continue reading »
Continued missile testing by North Korea invites the question, why do they do it? It’s tempting to regard it as “just what they do”, but is that all there is to it? Is it “urgent but not important”? What about the response? Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine there were many instances and warnings of Continue reading »
Silences filled with a consensus of propaganda contaminate almost everything we read, see and hear. War by media is now a key task of so-called mainstream journalism. In 1935, the Congress of American Writers was held in New York City, followed by another two years later. They called on “the hundreds of poets, novelists, dramatists, critics, Continue reading »
The US has been increasingly treating Taiwan like a sovereign nation with whom diplomatic relationships and alliances can be formed, in violation of its longstanding One-China policy that has kept the peace for decades. And I just think it’s worth noting that the western media who’ve lately been condoning these moves became outraged at Donald Continue reading »
The 2023 Defence Strategic Review has recommended Australia adopt a new strategic conceptual framework dubbed ‘National Defence’ that incorporates a ‘strategy of denial’. This approach is tied to a broader concept of ‘collective security’ in the Indo-Pacific and is aligned with America’s framework for ‘integrated deterrence’ of China. ‘National Defence’ is consistent with American force Continue reading »
There are a number of salient points arising from the Defence Strategic Review which have not been exposed to clear light – which might explain why the government has taken the approach it has. There are two scenarios behind the DSR: war over Taiwan with the US, or war with Indonesia by ourselves. The easiest Continue reading »