Earlier this week I pointed to a Ukrainian (South Korean, U.S.) propaganda campaign which claims that thousands of North Korean soldiers will soon fight with on the Russian side against Ukraine: To have North Koreans fighting in Russia against the Ukrainian incursion in Kursk would make little sense. That incursion is for one already mostly defeated.Besides Continue reading »
politics
In a speech at the Australian Education International (AEI) conference, Education Minister Jason Clare is reported to have told the audience that student caps will help with “the government’s ambitions to get immigration levels back to pre-pandemic levels, including international student numbers”. The latest Treasury forecast of net migration in 2024-25 at 260,000, to the Continue reading »
The Canberra community decided on 19 October to remove from its parliament the two most recent ministers for corrections, Mick Gentleman (Labor) and Emma Davidson (Green). In mid-2023, Minister Gentleman chose not to act on the findings of the second and final report of Neil McAllister, the then independent inspector of correctional services. Instead, Gentleman Continue reading »
By focusing on punitive programs instead of community-driven support over a ‘youth crime crisis’ that did not exist, the incoming Queensland LNP government appears to be blind to the systemic issues that drive children toward vulnerability. Their policies will reinforce a cycle of criminalisation that will haunt our communities for generations. It’s several days after Continue reading »
This week I read an article in Al Jazeera describing the killing in one day of hundreds of Palestinian civilians. The same day I read a piece in CNN, “Israeli soldiers returning from war struggle with trauma and suicide”. The article tried to elicit sympathy for soldiers who were traumatised from bulldozing Palestinians. According to Continue reading »
Belgium MP Nabil Boukili confronts the Israel Ambassador to Belgium, while Israeli media report Netanyahu has pulled out of hostage deals and the Israeli parliament again bans UNRWA designating it as a terrorist organisation. Bisan Owda keeps us updated on what is happening in North Gaza and we witness toddlers and children being pulled from Continue reading »
Journalists around the world were once inspired by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein to commit to significant investigative journalism. The pair, with significant help from a Deep Throat source, brought down a US President, Richard Nixon, over the Watergate break in and cover up. But now the once great newspaper they worked for, The Washington Continue reading »
With the United States and China locked in an ongoing battle and no solution in sight, Kevin Rudd from Queensland is here to help. His new book explains President Xi Jinping’s thinking and suggests a way forward. Are people paying attention? If they are, will they learn anything useful? In March 2023 Kevin Rudd became Continue reading »
The death and destruction in Gaza continue, and now in Lebanon as well. There have been peace negotiations for a year, but so far unsuccessful. Today, Part 1 of this article examines why. Tomorrow Part 2 will discuss a possible way forward out of this disaster. Many, many articles have been posted in Pearls and Continue reading »
Let us be abundantly clear. What Israel is intending is against its obligations under international law. What Israel is intending is against its moral obligations as fellow citizens of the human race. The United Nations Relief Agency UNWRA has been in operation since the early 1950’s and has hundreds perhaps thousands of employees. Palestinian refugees Continue reading »