By Lucy Fiske, Curtin University Last week Australia’s politicians determined to “do something” to stop people risking their lives at sea on asylum boats headed for Australia. The government wanted a bill from independent MP Rob Oakeshott to pass because its ministers
Jake Lynch recently travelled to Mexico to make a documentary about how the country's big media outlets report conflict. Watch the film and read about Mexico's unique media landscape, here. Imagine democracy being suborned by a corporate takeover, with a business-friendly political
When Mexicans go to the polls this Sunday they'll be voting to end drug-related violence, corruption and poverty. Jake Lynch spoke to local activists about the inequality at the heart of Mexico's problems. It was billed as a triumph of law
Being forced to take extraordinary measures by seeking political asylum in Ecuador shows just what a desperate situation Julian Assange has found himself in. Faced with the very real prospect of extradition to the US, once he fronts up in
The results of the 2012 Global Peace Index (GPI) were released on June 12th. The 2012 Global Peace Index is the sixth edition of the world’s leading study on global levels of peacefulness. This year Australia ranked the 22nd most
By Professor Stuart Rees, Founder of the Sydney Peace Foundation There are a few days left to appeal the British High Court's five to two ruling that Julian Assange can be extradited to Sweden to be interviewed about alleged sexual assault.
The Sydney Peace Foundation supports the recent recommendations of a senior UN official that the Australian Government refer its proposals – the Stronger Futures Bill – for an extension of the federal intervention into Northern Territory Aboriginal lands to a
In any country whose people have experienced violence at every level of their lives – social, cultural, environmental, economic, and political – courageous advocates of non-violence and reconciliation represent the only path to peace with justice. In Zimbabwe, three such
Grown Men Playing Boys’ Games : the dangers of ASIO’s arbitrary and unaccountable decisions The Sydney Peace Foundation supports lawyer David Manne’s High Court challenge to the arbitrary and unaccountable decisions of ASIO staff regarding asylum seekers’ security clearance. It makes
Zimbabwean Senator Sekai Holland wins the 2012 Sydney Peace Prize. Announcement made last night in Harare at a reception hosted by the Australian Ambassador to Zimbabwe at his residence. Guest of honour and lifetime friend of the 2012 recipient, Zimbabwean
The federal government's decision to allow US troops to be stationed in Darwin is "provocative" towards China and the arrangement should be scrapped, the Greens say. The deal was announced when US President Barack Obama visited Darwin last year, with the
By Jake Lynch, Director of the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies: There is a growing danger that the political leaders responsible for the greatest single atrocity of recent years will suffer no consequences. Journalists, not governments, have taken a lead
By James Dhizaala and Stuart Rees The frenzy of conversation about the reach and effect of the Kony 2012 video has covered a lot of ground. What hasn’t been addressed, however, is the Uganda government’s complicity in the oppression of the
The formidable force that is Rap News has released a sobering assessment of the hysteria surrounding KONY 2012, dissecting with surgical precision all the reasons why KONY 2012 is irresponsible and ill-placed. Well done Rap News! http://thejuicemedia.com/
By Professor Stuart Rees: In the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza, the Qdeh family's modest rabbit farm is one of several Australian trade union humanitarian aid (Apheda) projects which is bolstering food security for poor families. On a Spring evening in
The United States should seize the opportunity as push for peace while Palestinians increasingly embrace non-violence. Khader Adnan spent 66 days on hunger strike, a symbolic, self-denying act of non-violent resistance to Israel's practice of "administrative detention" or imprisonment without charge.
The militarisation of Australian history and public memory has a seemingly unstoppable dynamic. I would even say that the conflation of national history with military history, that is, the assumption that national history is military history, is pretty much complete. Rather
By Professor Stuart Rees, in the Sydney Morning Herald's Letters to the Editor: The prospect of US charges against Julian Assange will be a test of the Australian government's courage in standing up to big brother America, thereby showing its independence
WikiLeaks's latest release of confidential emails obtained from the US private intelligence firm Stratfor indicate the US Department of Justice has issued a secret, sealed indictment against Julian Assange. While the Department of Justice has refused to confirm the existence
The Sydney Peace Foundation invites you to attend: Israeli Apartheid Week 2012 Israeli Apartheid and the Means of Resistance Thursday, 15 March 2012 Join the main discussion event of Israeli Apartheid Week Sydney. This is a panel discussion titled 'Israeli Apartheid and the Means of
By Dr Ken MacNab. Weasel words have invaded the world, with pernicious consequences. The purpose of weasel words (from the belief that weasels suck the yolk from bird's eggs, leaving an empty shell) is to deprive a word or phrase of
More patronage for pollies? To depict the individual whose activities symbolized the most significant events of 2011, Time magazine featured a protester. That protester was for democracy and against authoritarian rule throughout the Middle East. He or she was also a member
We must act urgently to protect West Papuans from Indonesian brutality. In West Papua, it's appeasement, violence and business as usual for Indonesia. There is a vast difference between promises made to the people of West Papua and what actually happens. President
One-third of Earth's soil is degraded because of unsustainable farming methods, which could lead to a major food crisis. Salina, Kansas - Late last year, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) released a hair-raising report on the state of
By Prof Stuart Rees: On the first Monday of the new year, on the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald, former Prime Minister John Howard was pictured below a heading which said that he had been 'honoured for Queen and