In Asian media this week: Conscription law sparking Thailand exodus. Plus: Rich West building fences against the Rest; Pakistan poll-rigging whistleblower arrested; Economist says Hong Kong glory days over; Indonesian election ‘one of the darkest days’; High price paid for saving the tiger. Myanmar’s recent imposition of military conscription for younger people threatens to cause Continue reading »
politics
Australia’s relationship with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is now 50 years strong. On 4 March Prime Minister Albanese will welcome the 10 member nations to Melbourne for a Special Summit to celebrate our role as the first dialogue partner of ASEAN. The theme of the Summit is ‘A Partnership for the Continue reading »
Last year the head of the ASIO, Mr Mike Burgess’s annual threat assessment was blighted by errors of fact. This year he’s enlarged his repertoire to errors of judgment. In a speech which: rambles to the point of incoherence is self-congratulatory and self-serving is bulked up with pointless historical nostalgia, and contains more corn than Continue reading »
The mass media got itself into a flap this week (28, 29 Feb & 1 March) over ASIO Director, Mike Burgess’ claim that a former Australian politician “sold out their country, party and former colleagues” after being recruited by spies of a foreign regime. “Name the traitor,” former Treasurer and former Ambassador to the US, Continue reading »
The Albanese government is about to free the Reserve Bank of Australia from a rarely used constraint allowing a Treasurer to override a decision of the central bank, such as a policy to push interest-rates so high they cause a severe recession. The Treasury has no such freedom. Nor should it. It can’t slash taxes Continue reading »
The Australian government remains silent, continues to call Israel “our friend”, and rewards Israel’s war machine in a new contract with the Israeli arms firm Elbit. The Federal Government sends more troops to the Middle East while starving Palestinians in northern Gaza are massacred as they desperately seek food for their families, babies in Gaza Continue reading »
Amanpour expressed “real distress” over Israel stories being changed, while other staffers described a climate that is hostile to Arab journalists.
The post In Internal Meeting, Christiane Amanpour Confronts CNN Brass About “Double Standards” on Israel Coverage appeared first on The Intercept.
The president has prioritized military spending over helping American families cover the rising costs of child care.
The post Biden Is Bankrolling Israel’s War Amid Growing Financial Hardship at Home appeared first on The Intercept.
Days before the International Court of Justice’s initial ruling late last month that found there was a plausible risk of genocide being committed by Israel in Gaza, the United Nations Human Rights Council conducted its “universal periodic review” of China’s human rights record. China’s abusive treatment of Uyghur and other Turkic minorities in Xinjiang province—which Continue reading »
Last Tuesday Defence Minister Richard Marles announced the Albanese government’s plans to overhaul the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) ageing surface fleet. The new ‘enhanced lethality surface combatant fleet’ will more than double the amount of main surface vessels the RAN will operate, but their usefulness in ensuring Australian security is dubious. This plan will fulfill Continue reading »