Oceania
The Struggle for Merdeka in West Papua
It has been argued that nonviolent struggles to liberate occupied countries – such as West Papua, Tibet, Palestine, Kanaky and Western Sahara – have failed far more often than they have succeeded but that secessionist struggles (that have sought to separate territory from an existing state in order to establish… »
Extinction is Forever
What do the Pyrenean ibex, St. Helena olive, Baiji dolphin, Liverpool pigeon, Eastern cougar, West African black rhinoceros, Formosan clouded leopard, Chinese Paddlefish, the Golden Toad and the Rockland grass skipper butterfly all have in common but which is different from the Dodo? The answer is that these species all… »
Confessions of a terrorist sympathiser
I confess that I am a terrorist sympathiser. Of course, it is a profanity, a kind of blasphemy, to admit to such a thing, perhaps the greatest blasphemy in our society at the present time. Some may also consider that this is not the right time to make this confession… »
Australia’s nuclear weapons stance stuck in the past
Australia has positioned itself as the de facto leader of a loose grouping of US-allied nations working to prevent the start of negotiations on a global treaty outlawing nuclear weapons. At this year’s session of the UN General Assembly’s First Committee on disarmament, Australia coordinated several joint statements intended to… »
Indonesia stripping Papua rain forest
Dear friends of the rainforests, Time is running out for Papua’s nature. Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo intends to sacrifice 1.2 million hectares of forest and smallholder land in Papua for industrial rice plantations. This would spell the end for a unique ecosystem of rainy and dry forests, wetlands, savannas and… »
Beyond Words… as the tricolour flies from Kiwi goal posts
We must engender and perpetuate the spirit of care, love, joy and kindness and never give in even to the most harrowing incidents. That poignant, powerful message emanated from the bottom of the world in an astonishingly moving and ever so fitting epitaph event yesterday (Saturday 21st ) in sport… »
The Climate Talks in Paris will Fail: Why?
As expectations build for a global consensus to emerge from the United Nations climate conference in Paris, starting on 30 November 2015, that could agree to taking action to limit any rise in global temperature to 2 degrees celsius, I would like to explain why these expectations are misplaced. »
Exposed by Wikileaks: the US empire according to itself
For many people, it is easier, safer and more comfortable to live in a world of delusion, particularly when this delusion requires no effort to seek out and understand truths that might prove unpalatable. If the delusion is one that is reinforced by the persistent promulgation of elite propaganda, then… »
Philippines: Lumad people under threat by Australia’s Xstrata Copper company
I live in the Philippines and am of the indigenous people, the Lumad. We have a proud culture and self-reliant communities in the lush forests, clear waters, and rugged mountain ranges of the island of Mindanao. But in my community, large-scale mining interests are sowing fear and violence. Not only… »
Climate-change controversy – fuel to the fire
“Perth electrical engineer’s discovery will change climate change debate”, is the headline in a PerthNow article, reported by Miranda Devine (October 4, 2015). A footnote says that Dr David Evans “has unpacked the architecture of the basic climate model which underpins all climate science.” The reporter concludes that the mathematical… »