Australia’s 2020 Summit currently taking place in Canberra is being described in the following way by Reuters: Hollywood star wattage outweighed intellectual light at the opening of an Australian thinkers summit on Saturday, with cameras firmly focused on Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett and her newborn son. The event is actually far more than this –…
Showing all posts tagged Australia
Zionists admire the blue sky
The Middle East is on fire. Israel is killing Palestinian civilians in Gaza. But the Australian Jewish News decides to feature on the front page of its website the following “story“: Israeli Ambassador Yuval Rotem and his family visited Dreamworld and WhiteWater World on the Gold Coast this week for some holiday thrills. Rotem tried…
Smog, Rudd and Hu Jia
My following article appears in the Amnesty International Australia’s Uncensor campaign about human rights in China: The international outcry over China’s human rights abuses was temporarily disrupted this week with news from Beijing that the regime was determined to manage the city’s pollution problems by halting building construction after July for two months. Unfortunately, many…
Get out of Afghanistan
As a regular contributor to ABC Unleashed, I was asked to offer a suggestion for this weekend’s 2020 Summit on Australia’s future: Australian troops are causing more harm than good in Afghanistan. Engaged in an unwinnable war against a so-called enemy that enjoys widespread public support and growing anger at NATO’s indiscriminate bombing of civilians,…
The Israeli Diaspora soul-searching
My following article appears in today’s Online Opinion: During Israel’s recent bombardment of Gaza, the Australian Jewish establishment reacted with unreserved support. Israel’s leading human rights organisation B’Tselem reported that the majority of Palestinian victims of the onslaught were civilians. David Knoll, from the New South Wales Board of Deputies, wrote that, “Israel is using…
Some people are more occupied than others
The following letter in today’s Age newspaper simply explains Kevin Rudd’s selective belief in human rights: How dare Kevin Rudd tell the Chinese that there have been human rights violations in Tibet. Would he do the same and tell the Israelis that there are gross human rights violations in Palestine? On the contrary, at a…
Time to get a room
Britain’s The Independent has a crush on Kevin Rudd: We were looking forward to Kevin Rudd’s term as Australia’s Prime Minister, and so far we have not been disappointed. On the contrary, with his plain speaking, his firm principles as a politician and – a bit of a luxury, this – his fluent Mandarin, Mr…
Spot the news story
My following article appears in today’s ABC Unleashed: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s overseas trip has been extensively covered in the mainstream media. From George W. Bush to Gordon Brown, the travelling journalists have given readers and viewers a running commentary of his daily meetings. Missing from the vast majority of the coverage, however, has been…
The torch, boycotts and Tibet
My following article appears in the Amnesty International Australia’s Uncensor campaign about human rights in China: The Beijing Games is shaping up as a public relations disaster for the Chinese Communist Party. Four months from the opening ceremony and global protests against the torch relay are gathering speed. Tibetan activists are successfully highlighting their cause…
We must engage Hamas
My latest New Matilda column is about the need to talk to Hamas and speak honestly about Israel’s ever-expanding occupation: The international isolation of Hamas has failed. This is not merely the opinion of those who believe that the democratically elected Palestinian Government should be engaged, but includes a number of prominent Israelis, including Yossi…