politics
A major purpose of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to China was, in his words, to reestablish communications to reduce “ misunderstandings and miscommunications” to prevent or manage incidents between the two militaries. The 3 June near collision of China and US warships in the Taiwan Strait is a prime example. But Blinken Continue reading »
The New York Times has in recent years tried to redeem its reputation with a mea-culpa admission over its coverage of the blatantly transparent Iraq Weapons of Mass Destruction myth that enabled the 2003 invasion of Iraq. But over its key role earlier in cementing the Tiananmen Square horror story we have as yet had Continue reading »
Alan Finkel guides us on our national path to green energy; Linda Burney asks us to take the next step in reconciliation; and an introduction to our newly-minted National Anti-Corruption Commission. Read on for the weekly roundup of links to articles, reports, podcasts and other media on current political and economic issues in public policy. Continue reading »
The International Atomic Energy Agency has just concluded that the proposed release over the next 30 years of over 1.3 million metric tonnes of cooling water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear reactors into the Pacific is ‘safe’. Many international experts and officials, and the fishing communities from surrounding countries disagree. The sequence of events at Continue reading »
When states says that they support the rules-based international order, they are pledging their support for American empire. No more, no less. Since the lamentable Russian Federation invasion into eastern Ukraine, there has been much talk about defending democracy, international law and the rules based international order from the collective West led by Washington. For Continue reading »
“My country, the U.S., is unrecognisable. I’m not sure who runs the country. I do not believe it is the president.”, says Jeffrey Sachs in a speech at a Saving Humanity and Planet Earth (SHAPE) seminar, Melbourne, Australia. “U.S. actions are putting us on a path to war with China in the same way that Continue reading »
Although Penny Wong is eager to condemn Hong Kong, she has done nothing of any substance to help her fellow countryman, Julian Assange; an Australian citizen currently in a UK jail fighting extradition to the US, which is using the extraterritorial reach of the Espionage Act (1917) for the alleged “crime” of exposing malfeasance at Continue reading »
Education should not be seen as a “buy and sell” commodity. Words matter, and the choice of the term “market” when referring to Australian vocational education and training (VET) is more than symbolic; it shows a preference to continue Australia’s deeply problematic policy of marketising (substantially privatising) the VET system. The term underlies and reinforces Continue reading »