Peace Blog

March 6, 2012 In Peace Blog

Palestine matters, not Gillard-Rudd soapies

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

March 6, 2012 In Peace Blog

US must seize opportunity to support Palestinian non-violence

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.

March 2, 2012 In Peace Blog

Commemorating Australia: more than just war

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

March 1, 2012 In Articles by SPF Staff, Council & Community, Gold Medal for Human Rights, Media, News, Peace Blog

US bullies have no respect for liberties

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

March 1, 2012 In Gold Medal for Human Rights, Media, Peace Blog

Time for government to stand ground and protect Assange

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

February 27, 2012 In Events

Israeli Apartheid Week 2012 Special Event: Thursday 15 March

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

February 26, 2012 In Articles by SPF Staff, Council & Community, Peace Blog

Dulce et Decorum: the Marketing of War

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

January 20, 2012 In Peace Blog

Protest and Occupy: the promise for 2012

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

January 19, 2012 In Peace Blog

Once again, Australia is silent about violence on its doorstep

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

January 14, 2012 In Peace Blog

The world can’t afford to keep wasting soil

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