(This article also appeared on the website of the Police Accountability Project.) Law Institute Journal considers the new Victoria Police Act — a step forward? A feature article in the most recent Law Institute Journal, In Search of Certainty, examines
The G20 and the Sanity Deficit
There is an important summit being held in Brisbane this week. At this summit, some of the most important issues facing humanity will be discussed: economic issues of growth and sustainability; the environment and climate; the rights of indigenous peoples
Climate Tragedy and the Three World Budget
Last week, two teams of scientists reported their findings on the West Antarctic ice sheet. Climate change has now melted this sector of Antarctica — comprising a tenth of the Antarctic ice mass — so far that it appears the
The new anti-abortion hero and the abortion death penalty
On October 12, clashing demonstrations in the Melbourne CBD brought reproductive rights back into the Australian spotlight. Anti-abortion politicians and activists have gone on the attack, on the streets and in Parliament. The recent attention comes on the fifth anniversary
Statement of Resignation from Wikileaks Party National Council
Today I am resigning my position on the National Council of the Wikileaks Party. There are several reasons for this resignation, detailed below, but they have been simmering for some time. The Wikileaks Party has arguably suffered serious problems from
Manning in Gethsemane
The night before crucifixion, it may seem that one can only pray, even those who brook no quarter with the supernatural. In such dark hours, however, there is, if nothing else, the literature left by other worthy souls who have
The corporate protection racket
On 4 April 2013, I was invited to speak very briefly at the protest outside the Institute of Public Affairs’ 70th anniversary dinner, on behalf of WACA, the Wikileaks Australian Citizens Alliance. Events rapidly overtook the planned activities, but I
Bradley Manning, John Kiriakou, and the shaman's wrath
Writing in 1982, the anthropologist Laura Betzig noted a parallel between two very-long-term trends in human societies. The first trend is increasing inequality and hierarchy. Roughly speaking, early human societies evolved from relatively simple, egalitarian bands of hunters and gatherers,
The Future Latent In the People
“This population works and suffers, and suffering and toil are the two faces of men. There are vast numbers of unknown beings teeming with the strangest types of humanity, from the stevedore of the Rapee to the horse-slaughterer of Montfaucon.
On the barrels of guns
A few weeks ago, a 29 year old Irish woman named Jill Meagher was at a bar in Brunswick in inner Melbourne, drinking with friends on a Friday night. After leaving the bar late that night, in the early morning