If the Tories’ plan for young people to serve in national service is not bizarre enough, we now find that the Labour Party will use nuclear weapons should they deem it necessary. The ideas raised by possession of nuclear arms are just as contradictory now as they have been throughout the nuclear age. They demonstrate Continue reading »
politics
An election is a device for maximising conflict and minimising democracy. By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 6th June 2024 Everything hangs on them but little changes. For weeks or months, elections dominate national life. Media reports and public conversations are monopolised by furious jostling and frantic speculation. All else – policymaking, problem-solving, reason […]
The Greens are the only party with a chance of winning seats that is not beholden to oligarchic power. By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 12th June 2024 All governments betray the hopes of their supporters. But Labour is getting its betrayal in early. By ruling out a wealth tax and other measures that […]
The crucial green policies missing from Labour’s manifesto. By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 13th June 2024 It’s a story of the good, the bad and the absent. There are some strong green policies in Labour’s manifesto. It will greatly increase investment in wind and solar power, block new licences for oil and gas […]
“Israel must immediately stop its military operations and attacks in Gaza, including the assault on Rafah,” said the chair of the United Nations commission behind the investigation. A United Nations commission tasked with conducting an in-depth investigation of Israeli military actions in the occupied Palestinian territories concluded Wednesday that Israel’s government is responsible for multiple war crimes Continue reading »
The rule of law has always been fundamental to the success story that is modern Hong Kong, and its custodian is the judiciary. So long as its legal system is protected by capable, independent and professional judges, the city has a bright future. Anybody, therefore, who wants to undermine the “one country, two systems” policy Continue reading »
The pundits are already in a tizz: What’ll happen to defence, AUKUS, trade and other relationships should Trump win in November? More pressing and certain is how we’ll cope when Indonesia’s President-elect Prabowo Subianto takes office in October. Next door there’ll be a leader “with demonstrated disregard for the rule of law …seen by many Continue reading »
It is pitiful to think that a Labor Government elected in its own right two years ago might be running scared of a depleted Opposition party and its public relations arm, News Corp, but that is what appears to have been happening on a number of fronts. Disclosure As a voter who lived on the Continue reading »
As university history lecturers, we like to imagine that we are instilling in our students a deep interest in the subjects we teach. We want to foster a lifelong curiosity about the world, as well as the ability to pursue knowledge and refine understanding. Happily, these capacities also happen to be those needed in modern Continue reading »
Bronwyn Kelly interviews prominent science writer and researcher Julian Cribb on key strategies that we will need for dealing with the significant environmental disasters we are facing in the age of climate change. Kelly and Cribb focus on strategies for transitioning our current unsustainable agriculture systems to systems that create an endless, renewable food supply Continue reading »