China’s capacity to surprise western politicians was demonstrated recently, when Chinese leader Xi Jinping was unexpectedly absent from the G20 summit. There were a few reasons why this G20 might have been less important for Xi, including the rising influence of the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) partnership. But often western reactions to a Chinese decision Continue reading »
politics
Tel Aviv is estimated to have up to 400 nuclear warheads in its arsenal, making it the sole possessor of non-conventional arms in West Asia. First published in THE CRADLE September 30, 2023 Qatar has called for intensifying international efforts to subject all Israeli nuclear facilities to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards and for Continue reading »
Things did not go so well this time around. When the worn Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy turned up banging on the doors of Washington’s powerful on September 21, he found fewer open hearts and an increasingly large number of closed wallets. The old ogre of national self-interest seemed to be presiding and was in no Continue reading »
In Northumbria, a majestic Sycamore Gap Tree has flourished at the site of Hadrian’s Wall for some 300 odd years. Last week it was cut down by some vicious, uncaring vandal. From the moment the trunk of that beautiful old tree hit the ground the thud of destruction turned into a thunder of condemnation across the Continue reading »
Culturally most events seem random. But sometimes there are a constellation of events that seem meaningful. Which makes this month’s triptych of Ted Gurner, Russell Brand and Rupert Murdoch so intriguing. Now who do these three remind us of? If one name doesn’t spring to mind, then really we are not paying attention. For anyone Continue reading »
‘It is no longer possible to doubt the human origin of climate change’ (Pope Francis). Popes in the past usually quoted ancient theologians, or themselves, as footnote authorities in official documents. So, you know something’s changed when a pope’s footnotes quote the IPCC, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or the UN Climate Change 2023 Continue reading »
“She was the longest-serving female senator in US history, a trailblazer for women in politics and a champion for social justice and gun control.” So began a piece from the Sydney Morning Herald’s North America correspondent on the passing of Californian Democratic Senator, Dianne Feinstein. This statement recapitulates the misplaced adulation for one of the Continue reading »
To truly serve all students, we’ll have to rethink how schools ‘do school’. The disability royal commission has reported. The commissioners want greater inclusion of disabled children in mainstream schools, with some wanting to eventually phase out special schools altogether. That could happen, but not without a serious rethink about how schools ‘do school’. The Continue reading »
Pumped hydro storage is the ideal complement to wind and solar electricity generation: versatile, modest in scale, cost and build-time, little environmental disruption, mature component technologies, few toxic chemicals, durable. Yet it is consistently overlooked in mainstream discussion in favour of gas-fired power stations, batteries and the nuclear zombie. It is also shackled by out-of-date Continue reading »
In 1888 Lowe Kong Meng, Cheong Cheok Hong and Louis Ah Moy took the moral high ground in The Chinese Question booklet. They were ignored, of course. It was the time. A century later, in 1998, the Queensland Chinese Forum denounced the Queensland Liberal Party for its decision to preference Pauline Hanson One Nation Party at the Continue reading »