Category: Australia

Quad is turning & turning in widening gyre

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25 September 2021 — Indian Punchline

US President Joe Biden at Quad Summit, White House, Sept. 24, 2021. Seated clockwise Australian PM Scott Morrison, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga & Indian PM Narendra Modi

By coincidence, perhaps, on the same day that President Biden hosted the first Quad summit, he also cleared the way for a senior executive of Huawei Technologies to return to Beijing — “removing one major irritant between the two superpowers,” as the New York Times put it.

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Clear Away the AUKUS Hype: The US and Australia Signed a Nuclear Arms Deal

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22 September 2021 — Internationalist 360°

Vijay Prashad

US President Joe Biden, UK PM Boris Johnson, and Australia’s high commissioner to the UK George Brandis, had met during the G7 meeting in Cornwall in June. The AUKUS which was announced on September 15, was deemed “a forever partnership” by Brandis. Photo: George Brandis/ Twitter

The AUKUS despite being coined a security partnership, is a nuclear arms deal aimed at increasing pressure against China and should be cause for concern

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The Fallout From The AUKUS Deal

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20 September 2021 — Moon of Alabama

The AUKUS deal allowed Australia to cancel an order for diesel driven submarines from France by taking up a U.S. and British offer to eventually acquire nuclear driven submarines.

It is not clear at all that Australia will find the money to actually pay for nuclear submarines. These are 50-100% more expensive that conventional ones. Australia also wants to make sure that at least 60% of the price flows back to Australian manufacturing. But there are no companies in Australia who have experience with work on nuclear technology. It is also unlikely that the U.S. or UK would let Australia gain such capacity.

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Ruckus over AUKUS isn’t an edifying sight

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20 September 2021 — Indian Punchline

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and US President Joe Biden enjoy a light moment at the G7, Cornwall, UK, June 12, 2021

The diplomatic fallout from the new security agreement between the Australia, United Kingdom and the United States [AUKUS] is just about beginning. The debris will take time to clean up. Might there be some lasting damage?

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Aukus Pact: An Alliance against China that Excludes Europe

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17 September 2021 — Internationalist 360°

Yoselina Guevara

Exactly one month after the fall of Kabul and the disgraceful withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, the United States has come into the world limelight with the Aukus Pact, an alliance that takes the initials of the names of the three signatory countries (Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom), with which it intends to “contain” Chinese expansion. The confrontation with the Asian giant is a way for the United States to demonstrate that withdrawal from Afghanistan does not mean a retreat in international affairs. When Kabul fell into the hands of the Taliban, the whole world questioned Washington’s credibility and, above all, its ability to guarantee security.

The British-American coup that ended Australian independence

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 23 October 2014 — The Guardian

In 1975 prime minister Gough Whitlam, who has died this week, dared to try to assert his country’s autonomy. The CIA and MI6 made sure he paid the price

Gough Whitlam and Bob Hawke in 1972Prime minister Gough Whitlam watches ACTU president Bob Hawke drink beer from a yard glass Melbourne, Australia, 1972. Photograph: News Ltd/Newspix/REX

Thu 23 Oct 2014 13.50 BST

Last modified on Fri 14 Jul 2017 22.49 BST

Across the media and political establishment in Australia, a silence has descended on the memory of the great, reforming prime minister Gough Whitlam. His achievements are recognised, if grudgingly, his mistakes noted in false sorrow. But a critical reason for his extraordinary political demise will, they hope, be buried with him.

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I Awakened Here When the Earth Was New: The Thirty-Fourth Newsletter (2021)

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26 August 2021 — Tricontinental

ChangingAlisa Singer (USA), Changing, 2021. Source: IPCC.

Dear friends,

Greetings from the desk of the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research.

In late March 2021, 120 traditional owners from 40 different First People’s groups spent five days at the National First People’s Gathering on Climate Change in Cairns (Australia). Speaking on the impact of the climate crisis on First People, Gavin Singleton from the Yirrganydji traditional owners explainedthat ‘From changing weather patterns to shifts in natural ecosystems, climate change is a clear and present threat to our people and our culture’.

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Fatuous Defence: Australia’s Guided Missile Plans

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8 April 2021 — Counter Currents

by

Even in times of pandemic crises, some things never change.  While Australia gurgles and bumbles slowly with its COVID-19 vaccine rollout, there are other priorities at stake.  Threat inflators are receiving much interest in defence, and the media is feeding on it with a drunken enthusiasm.  We live in a dangerous environment, and think-tankers, parliamentarians and commentators are starting to get a sweet taste for imminent conflict.

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Cancelling Art: Australia’s “Dark Mofo” and the Offended Classes

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30 March, 2021 — Global Research

By Dr. Binoy Kampmark

Last week, Australians found themselves delighting in another fit of cancel culture, this time in the art world.  Tasmania’s Dark Mofo art festival prides itself on being gritty but the mood was very much about removing any grit to begin with.  Interest centred on the project of Spanish artist Santiago Sierra, who had proposed soaking a Union Jack Flag “in the blood of its colonised territories”.  The blood would come by way of donations.  First Nation peoples “from countries claimed by the British Empire at some point in history, who reside in Australia” would furnish the liquid. 

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