politics

The star witness of Congress’s UFO hearings, David Grusch, retained his clearance despite alleged substance abuse issues, FOIA documents reveal.

The post UFO Whistleblower Kept Security Clearance After Psychiatric Detention appeared first on The Intercept.

Over recent weeks Pearls and Irritations has published two pieces on Crimea. One by David Higginbottom reports his views of the situation in Crimea following a visit there, arguing that there is widespread acceptance of Russian rule. The second, by Jon Richardson, argues that Higginbottom is wrong, that any pro-Russian majority is a result of Continue reading »

The Ukrainian war could be headed for a dangerous stalement, and at least some of the blame lies with Moscow and its supporters. From the beginning there was too much emphasis by Moscow supporters on the NATO question. Nothing was going to change in Ukraine by harping on broken NATO promises. Moscow did talk about Continue reading »

In the words of Nelson Mandela, ‘there can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children’. The Review set up by the Albanese government to inform a better and fairer education system is an occasion for some serious soul-searching by Australians. The Consultation Paper circulated by Continue reading »

Anthony Albanese likes to think of himself as a Bob Hawke unifying type. But if he keeps dragging us along this war path, he will be remembered as our Tony Blair. We hear a lot about how AUKUS is going to be about getting the balance right, rebalancing the region as China expands. And yes, Continue reading »

They rely significantly on feeds of material that’s not otherwise readily available. As they’re in the news business, they need something new to keep in the hunt. It’s a hazardous business. Those “in the know” are only too ready to provide snippets of information often slanted to show them in a light bright enough to Continue reading »

We need to return to respectful dialogue. We are facing a critical test of Australian democracy and the resilience of the peaceful infrastructure of the public sphere and civil society. There is more at stake in the current Voice debate than simply which side will prevail. What is at issue also is our capacity as Continue reading »

The imposition of sanctions on Israel by the Australian government is a logical step now that Foreign Minister Penny Wong has finally bowed to the inevitable in calling Israel’s West Bank settlements ‘illegal’. As Wong told the federal party caucus yesterday, it was time to “strengthen the government’s objection to settlements by affirming that they Continue reading »

US-driven fast-track negotiations to develop secure strategic critical minerals supply chains from Australia risk jeopardising our mining industry links with China, and locking down our own industrial development based on our critical minerals. First, necessary context. The Global South is enthusiastically engaging with multipolarity, through BRICS, SCO, Belt and Road, new reserve currency systems etc. Continue reading »