Gangsters for capitalism: Downer, Woodside and ‘Witness K’
It says everything you need to know about the connection between big business, politics and national security. In 2004, then foreign minister Alexander Downer presided over an Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) operation to install listening devices in the offices of the governm...CONTINUE READING
US establishment rattled by socialist’s primary win
The victory of socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the Democratic Party primary in New York’s 14th Congressional District on 26 June has put the US political establishment in a spin. It is one of the biggest political upsets in recent US history. Her opponent was Joe Crowley, a 10-term c...CONTINUE READING
The $600 billion multinational tax scam
The big picture is easy to see. The world’s richest few are expanding their fortunes at the cost of the vast majority. The combined wealth of the world’s 2,754 billionaires increased by US$1.8 trillion – or 24 percent – in 2017, to US$9.2 trillion. The richest 1 percent now own as much as...CONTINUE READING
Climate change an ‘existential risk’, but Australia continues to do nothing
It seems like a win. There appear to be some parliamentary representatives without their heads buried firmly in the sand on climate change. That members of the Senate’s Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee – a mix of Coalition, Labor, Green and independent senators – wou...CONTINUE READING
Police massacre environment protesters in Tamil Nadu
On 22 May, 13 people in the city of Thoothukudi in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu were massacred by police on the 100th day of continuous protest against the expansion of the giant Sterlite copper smelter. Sterlite is a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources, a multinational with operati...CONTINUE READING
Daniel Andrews is no left winger
Going by the coverage in the Murdoch press, you’d think Victoria under Daniel “Red Dan” Andrews is socialism in one state. On the left too, Andrews is regarded as an outlier among recent Labor leaders. In a 2016 Guardian article, Gay Alcorn claimed, “Daniel Andrews’ government is unashamed...CONTINUE READING
Australia’s recycling crisis bites, but there’s an easy fix
Australia’s recycling system is on the brink of collapse. Around the country, recyclers are holding giant stockpiles of paper, cardboard and plastic collected from kerbsides. Much of this is destined for landfill. The immediate cause of the crisis was China’s decision to ban imports of 24...CONTINUE READING
BP slip-up says it all about big business and the environment
It’s like something from satirical website the Onion or Australia’s Betoota Advocate. In a draft 2016 environment plan, slated for submission to the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority as part of its bid to begin oil drilling in the Great Australian Bi...CONTINUE READING
Recycling crisis is capitalist business as usual
Recycling isn’t complicated. Households and businesses separate their recyclables from the rest of their rubbish and put them out for collection. This material then is supposed to be sorted and made into new products – a small but important contribution to sustainability in a world awash w...CONTINUE READING