The announcement by ASIO Boss Mike Burgess that the National Terrorism Threat Level would be raised from ‘possible to probable’ has received massive mainstream publicity, a spike in talkback radio angst and widespread freelance interpretation about who presents the incipient threat. Never shy of an opportunity to name the culprit, News Ltd, led by The Continue reading »
politics
Marine heatwaves are becoming more frequent under global warming and this is having a significant impact on species’ ability to recover. Since April, the world has seen record high ocean temperatures and that’s bad news for the plants and animals that call the ocean home. Longer and more frequent bouts of extreme temperatures can cause the exodus Continue reading »
Anthony Albanese’s recent visit to the Gama Festival will certainly be memorable but not in ways that he will necessarily appreciate. It displayed, in a manner for all to see, his government’s final renunciation of the Uluru Statement From The Heart of 2017 and the attendant process of reconciliation. The Referendum of October 2023 rejected Continue reading »
In responding to comments made by me overnight in respect of AUKUS and defence arrangements with the United States, the Prime Minister says ‘the world has changed between 1996 and 2024’. He says, ‘the world is different’. These remarks are to imply that conditions which obtained during the period of my prime ministership are different Continue reading »
Secretary-General António Guterres has limited his role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to that of a town crier, expressing “grave concern” from time to time regarding the terrible Hamas attacks against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 and Israel’s collective punishment of the Palestinian people in Gaza every day since then and long before. To change his Continue reading »
There is no doubt that multimedia technology can tell stories dramatically. These stories particularly resonate with a generation raised on video games and social media, which are now an intrinsic part of their lives. The problems with this technology in relation to armed conflict, though, are whether it conveys reality or distorts it and what Continue reading »
Collecting, sifting and presenting information on national security is not the toughest job in the world although it can be tricky. There are now oceanic quantities of the stuff available. Modern technology can serve it up more or less in “real time” in ways that would startle, and probably charm, Sir Francis Walsingham, one of Continue reading »
In addition to physical or psychological abuse, bullies use power in relationships to pressure others to adopt their world views. The bullying may appear in letters, lobbying, radio and television interviews, secret meetings with politicians and business leaders and even in legal action against those who criticise the bullies’ points of view. As we write, Continue reading »
Opposition leader and part-time member for Dixon, Peter Dutton, has made an emergency dash to Paris after mining magnate, Gina Rinehart, complained that her shoes need cleaning. ”Gina is such an important person and I pledge that any Government I... Read More ›