The term terrorism has become a fighting word in the arsenal of a declining world empire known as the United States of America. Its leaders’ endless talk of terrorism is in reality a desperate swansong, an indicator of the downfall of the United States as a global empire, its slow but irreversible disappearance from the Continue reading »
politics
The US and UK have reportedly struck over a dozen sites in Yemen using Tomahawk missiles and fighter jets, backed by logistical support from Australia, Canada, Bahrain and the Netherlands. A statement from President Biden asserts that the strikes against “targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels” are a “direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks Continue reading »
If the countries in the East Asian region allied to the United States think that the US has their back and therefore they are safe, think again. While the naive take the promise by the US to have their back as an inviolate commitment, the reality of such a relationship is reflected in President Biden’s Continue reading »
We need to return to being Citizens with Power to ensure fair forms of governance and reduce levels of political distrust. Our futures will require that we decide to elect those who commit to include public support for social needs-of citizens. We are NOT just customers who purchase, but citizen members of democratic societies, with Continue reading »
The current Aged Care Act, dating from the Howard Government era and infused with its neo-liberal ideology, is set to be repealed and replaced by a new one, purportedly incorporating a ‘rights basis’ as recommended by the Royal Commission on Aged Care Quality and Safety which reported in 2021. The government released a draft of Continue reading »
Proponents for a nuclear energy industry in Australia increased their media activity following the announcement of the AUKUS agreement. Their campaign has been taken up by the Coalition. The international campaign reached a crescendo during the COP28 climate meeting. The pro-nuclear campaign is based on incorrect claims that opposition to nuclear energy is based on irrational fears, Continue reading »
It is possible now that peace could come to Ukraine rather faster than most Western analysts are predicting, but this will only be only on terms acceptable to Russia. Last month in Pearls and Irritations, I reviewed the stage reached in the Ukraine military conflict. I suggested that the conflict would continue until Russia was Continue reading »
Kinetic responses are a symptom of policy failures, not an answer to them. Australia ultimately refused America’s request for a support vessel for its naval moves into the Red Sea. The decision took a week. The Australian government denies it’s due to a reality of force limitations but is, instead, a reflection of strategic / Continue reading »
“How many more alarm bells have to ring and how many more civilians must unlawfully suffer or be killed before governments take action?” asked one human rights expert. Human rights advocates are ramping up pressure on nations to formally back South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice after a panel of Continue reading »