Australia’s “Inauthentic Opposition”

06/06/2019

For a number of decades now, the Democrats in the US have been referred to, along with the Republicans, as ‘neoliberal’, ever plodding along to the ‘right’ to slowly normalise the inequalities that plague Americans each day, and which was one factor that led to Trump’s successful election. The term “inauthentic opposition” has been used to describe this slow but obedient drift, which most certainly leaves many people disillusioned about how their system works, when the flawed two-party system functions as one corporate body. Here in Australia, the Labor Party is definitely earning themselves this abysmal title.

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The Precedent Is Set, Again

05/06/2019

The AFP have been used as political tools before, notably when raiding Union offices with a media entourage and shady Minister that tried to hide from her blatant abuse of power. Now, this week, the AFP have raided the home of a News Corps journalist and the ABC for chilling reasons. Both of them are related to ‘national security’. Shout out to Assange, who our government has abandoned completely.

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Quick Quips: Blame America – I Do

03/06/2019

Having been busy with university work the last two weeks, I have regrettably let my daily post spree falter yet again – although dare I say the 2000 words in the previous post counts for three or four standard posts? I think not, but I should have more time in the coming weeks. There’s no real limit to the number of things to talk about these days – mostly due to the US, as always.

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Accusations of Fake News: The Hostile Media Phenomenon in the Modern Media Landscape

I apologise for not having posted here for a few days – I’d make an excuse but it has been a mix of university work and just being slack. This piece is, however, one of my university assignments, which I am posting here as one of the requirements is to post it online with multimedia elements. This piece is different to the others as it is a half-half analytical/reflective assessment, and seeing as the topic fits the website’s theme it is both convenient and fitting to post it here. Feel free to read it, and seeing as I now know how to add images and videos (it’s simple enough but never saw the need to do so) I may begin to incorporate them more often in future posts.

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WikiLeaks and Whistleblowers: Attacks on Press Freedom

27/05/2019

Julian Assange has now been charged under the US’ Espionage Act, potentially facing over 170 years in prison and being the first person to be charged under this Act for merely publishing material leaked to WikiLeaks. A number of whistleblowers have faced this charge, from Daniel Ellsberg (who leaked the Pentagon Papers) to Daniel Hale (who revealed the assassination and drone programs implemented by Obama). But where is the media outrage? The public interest?

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Quick Quips: Now That’s Over…

21/05/2019

While I’ve been consciously taking the time to pick up on important global events, it has been easy that last couple of weeks to have been caught up in the spiralling election coverage here in Australia. So now that our quiet corner of the world has been rightfully criticised by the world, what better time to throw our sights elsewhere? Just a short one this evening.

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Coups and Jail: Assaults on Freedom

01/05/2019

The long-expected coup attempt in Venezuela began this week, declared by Maduro as failed while Guaido received backing from some prominent figures. Meanwhile, Julian Assange has been sentenced for 50 weeks in the UK for skipping bail in 2012 when he sought asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy. Both events are quite disheartening.

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The Price of Freedom

13/04/2019

No, not price in any metaphorical sense – literally. One day after the arrest of Julian Assange, where he was dragged out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, the International Monetary Fund (seen by many as a financial arm of the US) approved a $4.2 billion loan for Ecuador. $4.2 billion is the price to pay for cooperation in silencing dissidence and tearing down the peoples’ right to expose their governments.

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Assange Arrested – Australia Must Step Forward

12/04/2019

Videos and headlines surfaced last night (AEST) of Julian Assange being forced out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and straight into a police van. In a faint voice – he certainly looked and sounded like he’d spent 7 years locked in a small room – he was calling “the UK must resist”. Seeing as Ecuador’s corrupt and bought President betrayed him, and the UK has now arrested him for probable extradition to the US, it is up to his home country to take a stand. Australia.

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Assange in (More) Danger

05/04/2019

Julian Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since he took refuge there in 2012. He was running from multiple charges, but the murkiest are the ones threatening to have him spirited away into the US for the crime of shining a light on power. WikiLeaks is arguably one of the most important organisations in history, and now its Australian founder might be counting down his final days in London – and not willingly.

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