The 60th presidential election is less than a year away and if polling is correct a second Donald Trump presidency is likely. If you don’t believe the polls, the January 6 Prison Choir’s ‘Justice for All’ single, casting Donald Trump, has hit No. 1 on iTunes, might be a hint. Politicians and voters in thrill Continue reading »
Top 5
Like so many Australians, I am very worried by our commitment to AUKUS. I agree strongly with many other critics that we have been placed in peril by our government’s submarine agreement with the US and the UK. As John Menadue wrote on 1st April “The AUKUS alliance has forever changed Australia’s sovereignty. Foreign policy Continue reading »
America is Australia’s “great and powerful friend” so it matters a great deal how reliable our firmest strategic partner is. Is the US heading for a degree of political dysfunction that could blow back into its steadfastness as a leading player and an Australian ally in a multipolar Indo-Pacific? In this series, Roger Beale explores Continue reading »
The broadcaster’s response to my editing of international news stories amounted to a show trial, reflecting a malaise within mainstream media. In this tumultuous time of war and global conflict the ability of journalists to do their jobs effectively within mainstream media has never been more limited. We live in a time of state surveillance Continue reading »
Following the release of the 2022-23 Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) report on private health insurers, I wrote in mid-November that the financial health of the sector was so robust there was no case for the Minister to approve a premium increase. I also argued that given high and increasing levels of reserves, now was Continue reading »
We are facing the end of the world as we know it, but it doesn’t have to be the end of the world. Our task is to bring people together in a spirit of mutual aid, and to cultivate the Living Democracy that is the only alternative now to authoritarianism, says a new book, “Living Continue reading »
In August of 2023, Yousef Maher Dawas, a young Palestinian author, wrote a story of hope and resilience, titled “Kidney Transplant and Rebirth: A Palestinian Love Story”. On the 14th of October, Yousef was killed by an Israeli missile strike, along with several members of his family. Remember his words. He was not a number. Continue reading »
We have a major problem with the damage that Rupert Murdoch has done to newspapers in Australia, and any self-respecting government should take steps to correct that as soon as possible. I met Rupert when I was working for Gough Whitlam in Canberra. I got to know the people in the Canberra press gallery well. Continue reading »
We tramped along streets of rubble and twisted girders of metal in Gaza – these had been a home, a school and even a hospital. From one heap of rubble, a sobbing Granny ran up to me – it was winter and bitterly cold. She was camped in a hollow in the bombed out ruin Continue reading »
In this series, I explore how US narratives on the ‘China threat’ have become entrenched in Western security communities and how a ‘China threat’ narrative has been constructed by Republicans and Democrats in the United States in an attempt to create a “rally round the flag” effect designed to internally unite a deeply divided America. Continue reading »