The 26 January findings of the International Court of Justice relating to South Africa’s genocide claim against Israel, do not only have bearing on that state, but they trigger the obligation to prevent genocide required of all 153 state parties to the 1948 Genocide Convention, including Australia. In finding that it’s “plausible” that Israel’s massacre Continue reading »
politics
“… but they can be sure that they won’t be recorded for their crimes in history — because there won’t be any history” (Noam Chomsky, 2023, in a letter to the author) Extreme planetary heating, the failure of effective mitigation and the rise of denial around the world combine to lead to a seventh mass Continue reading »
Human rights in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are under increased threat. The PRC government ignores international representations. This begs the question: should Australia even attempt to intervene? What do we risk by doing so? The easy course would be to do the minimum and restrict our representations to cases where Australian citizens and Continue reading »
The title of this article is not a joke, nor is it clickbait. I have solid reasons with which to argue that it would be logical and fitting that the next Nobel Peace Prize should be given to the Israel Defence Force, better known as the IDF. My argument is based on precedents, and the Continue reading »
It’s our own Groundhog Day experience: when it comes to school funding, we end up doing the same thing over. Jason Clare’s promise to fund all public schools towards their entitlement might bear fruit, but what if nothing else changes? The background always matters in the never-ending school funding saga. The 2012 Gonski Review established Continue reading »
“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” George Orwell, 1984. On the opening day of the bombing last week, I had to work hard to find out what the Iraqi government thought of the wave of attacks on Iraq by the USA. Think about that: a country undergoes Continue reading »
Lowitja O’Donoghue was a great Indigenous woman. A very great one. She led the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission with great power and ambition. Upon my beginning to give effect to the High Court decision in Mabo, early in 1992, she, at her own initiative, assembled the leadership of her nations’ Land Councils to Continue reading »
Julian Assange will soon find out whether he will be granted a final appeal in the UK in his fight against extradition to the US. He may soon be on a plane to the US where he will face the full wrath of US vengeance and cruelty. The all-rights-reserved-to-revoke ‘assurances’ provided by the US fail Continue reading »