The just concluded NATO summit in Vilnius ended by producing little, except to reveal uncertainty and lack of member unity. This was supposed to be a stage-managed affair, showing the world solid support for the Kyiv side of the war in Ukraine, and a determined launch of NATO presence in Asia. Neither was delivered. Continue reading NATO summit in Vilnius proved to be a major failure
The Holmes Royal Commission has produced a damning report on Robodebt and presented 57 recommendations Robodebt has been confirmed as one of the biggest scandals in Australia history. Maybe it doesn’t offer a clear alternative. But at least it does help shine a torch on a great injustice and found that it was illegal. Continue reading Royal Commission shines torch on Robodebt injustice
The latest survey by the Conversation should be of interest to everyone. It involved contributions from of leading forecasters in 25 Australian universities, thinktanks and financial institutions – among them economic modellers, former Treasury, International Monetary Fund and Reserve Bank officials, and a former member of the Reserve Bank board. Continue reading Recognised experts agree on that the Australian economy is in trouble
Protests are rocking France again. This time it’s over the police shooting and killing of a 17-year-old at a traffic stop. Being of Algerian descent, he was not white, and like in the United States, racial killing of black and Brown skinned people by police is commonplace. Continue reading France erupts after police killing of a teenager
Foreign multinationals operating in Australia are being driven mad by debate in the Senate over stronger tax transparency laws that apply to them. It’s not that the discussion in the Senate is about putting an end to the corporate tax avoidance industry. it is about introducing a little more disclosure to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), and that the information should be available to the public. Continue reading Multinationals push back against greater tax disclosure
The latest Guardian Essential poll pinpointed some telling truths about how Australians feel about where Australia is heading and how our political leaders are responding to the challenges of the day. This is just one poll, of course, and one poll can never tell the whole truth. Continue reading Most of Australia is not happy with the nation’s direction
I have put some effort into trying to make sense of the present battlefield offensive pf the Kiev forces in Ukraine. After trolling through claims and counter claims and getting a sense of the military strategies of both sides, some things have become quite obvious. These do not sit well with the barrage of media propaganda. Continue reading A peace movement is needed to put an end to Ukraine war
A United Nations investigator, with a background in the Irish legal system has released a report that calls for proper treatment of prisoners still being held in the Guantanamo detention centre. Headed by Irish law expert Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, a team visited the prison where 30 men continue to be incarcerated without any date for release. Continue reading United Nations investigation highlights cruel treatment of prisoners still in Guantanamo
Back on 18 January, cannery workers at Visy in Shepparton took strike action for 24 hours over stalled negotiations between their union and management for a new agreement. They walked of the job again on 25 and 17 January, and again on 17 March. Strikes have continued for 2 shifts each week.
Visy is Australia’s largest privately-owned company with an annual turnover of $7 billion. Continue reading Visy workers are fighting for a liveable deal
Donald Trump has finally been arrested and charged with criminal offenses and faces 37 counts of having committed federal crimes. This is over the theft of sensitive classified documents. Not surprisingly, Trump protests his innocence.
“We most certainly enter a plea of not guilty,” his lawyer said in the Miami court. Continue reading Donald Trump case is about which faction of Wall Street will dominate
