Doctors, nurses, patients and thousands of internally displaced Palestinians are being bombed, terrorised and held hostage in Al Shifa hospital, one of Gaza biggest hospitals. There is no water, no electricity, no oxygen and 37 pre-term babies are slowly dying due to lack of oxygen. AL Shifa hospital is the Gaza Strip’s major hospital with Continue reading »
politics
Australia’s unofficial Government in exile, News Corp, has taken on the task of re-polishing the turd that is Scott Morrison. ”After Albo beat Scott, err, ScoMo, at the last election we thought Dutton was our man,” said a News Corp... Read More ›
Overhead, suddenly, there was a noisy helicopter. I didn’t look up. Then I noticed that I hadn’t looked up. If I was in a place of terror from the sky, I would have looked up. The next day a friend and I went for a walk by the beach in Point Lonsdale. He is just Continue reading »
While the US and its allies prioritise reducing supply chain risks, reshuffling away from China, repercussions from decoupling or de-risking might pose greater concerns than the risks themselves. Such actions could bifurcate the global economy, leading to fragmented supply chains and divergent technology standards. This could hinder global economic recovery, dampen investment flows, and impede Continue reading »
While Australia’s formal sovereignty resides with the British monarch as part of the Commonwealth, its real sovereignty is to be found somewhere in Washington. You need thick skin to be a politician. So Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, currently on a state visit to China, probably didn’t blush when he said Australia needed to pursue Continue reading »
Australian foreign policy makers seem not to realise that the demographic makeup of Australia means increasing numbers of us are connected to victims of wars instigated by the United States. Australians’ support for future US wars cannot be relied on from huge sections of the community. The problem of a divided country and divided loyalties Continue reading »
The good news from Katy Gallagher’s second progress report on APS Reform presented at ANU last week is that there will be a second Public Service Act Amendment Bill in the new year containing much more substantive reform than the disappointing Bill before the Parliament at the moment. There should be real comfort in her Continue reading »
Becoming an Elder in many societies is a process of active shared engagement across the generations, and holding a meaningful and honoured place in one’s community. Sadly, that time-honoured community cultural process has been pretty much eradicated in modern westernised, market-driven systems of ‘Aged Care,’ such as dominate the Australian ‘market.’ No wonder so many Continue reading »
As was to be expected, Israel is winning the battle for Gaza, albeit at an enormous cost in lives. But what are Israel’s and its backers’ plans for winning the peace, as without an enduring peace settlement the war can never be won. Is a US-led, UN mandated Trusteeship for Palestine the way forward? Many Continue reading »
Very few of the people briefing Anthony Albanese have much knowledge or experience of Asia. Many are Austral Americans as Paul Keating rightly calls them. In the briefing I prepared for PM Albanese’s visit to China I said Australian and Chinese histories, cultures and systems of government are different, so we must learn about each Continue reading »