Category: World
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Never mind Greece, what about France?
Eurozone finance ministers did a deal earlier this week to make a partial reduction in Greece’s debt and permit an 11th-hour, 34bn euro bailout. But the deal, presented as a win-win for Greece and its creditors, depends on Athens borrowing a further 14bn euros to finance a bond buyback scheme that the Greek finance sector…
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Historic win for Palestine
Palestinians always knew that their culture, history and land constituted an independent, sovereign state. Nevertheless, they will celebrate the UN General Assembly vote that officially recognises their statehood and are entitled to do so. Recognition has taken decades and the struggle has taken thousands of lives. The Israeli regime declared through its propaganda foghorn that…
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Behind the Israel-Hamas conflict
It’s a fortnight since President Barack Obama was re-elected to the White House and Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu has started to feel the heat. On the eve of the election, “Bibi” went to the UN General Assembly in New York and produced his ludicrous poster at the rostrum depicting the supposed time line for…
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Investigating child abuse: the Irish precedent
The Australian Government’s planned royal commission into church abuse of children already has a blueprint for action provided by the Republic of Ireland on the other side on the world. The Irish Government’s report handed down in November 2009 conveniently offers an insight into the church’s concealment and denial of decades of sexual abuse and…
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A many-splendoured writer
Han Suyin, who died in Lausanne last week at the age of 96, was a writer who bridged cultures. Born in imperial China of a Flemish Belgian mother and a Chinese father, she was best known in her lifetime as the author of the 1952 satirical novel of Hong Kong expat life, A Many-Splendoured Thing,…
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Decoding the US ‘debate’
Like other political desperados, I watched all three US presidential debates “live” on television and, just for good measure, the vice-presidential debate as well. The debates left me deeply puzzled by American political life. During the Q&A on domestic issues – health, education and tax – I was totally confused while the debate on the…
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Nervous days in the Euro zone
Europe waits nervously for the latest deadline in the Greek crisis. The coalition government of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has only days to meet the EU Troika’s draconian $13.5 billion package of cuts, after three months of talks have failed to bring agreement. The stumbling block within the coalition appears to be a newly-imposed demand…
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Behind the savaging of Sir Jimmy Savile
The English are passing through one of their periodic fits of morality and the cause célèbre de jour is the late disc jockey Jimmy Savile. Why do Australians have to be dragged into this morass of English public hypocrisy? Here’s some background to consider … Jimmy Savile, a hugely popular radio and TV presenter, was…
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The unfeeling toffs
SO NOW it’s London, Glasgow and Belfast. There were massive demonstrations on Saturday against the Cameron government’s austerity measures – 100,000 people took to the streets in the capital alone. Called by the Trade Union Congress (TUC), the day was a significant show of strength. At the rally, though there were signs that the TUC…
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Australia joins US camp at UN
What is the meaning of Australia winning a seat on UN Security Council for the next two years? It means that the United States and Israel now have an extra vote on the Security Council. The declaration by the Gillard Government and Foreign Minister Bob Carr that their first objective will be world peace is…