Andrew Glikson. “The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything save human way of thinking and thus we drift toward unparalleled catastrophes.” Albert Einstein, 1946. Daniel Ellsberg, former presidential advisor, who had released the famous top-secret Pentagon Papers related to the VietNam war, also possessed a cache of top secret documents related to America’s […]
Paul Rule. A little-noticed revolution has occurred recently in Catholic thinking about war and peace. Effectively, Just War calculus has been abandoned for a new emphasis on non-violence, and a primary pursuit of peace. The theory of the conditions for undertaking and pursuing a just war was developed from St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas, […]
Caesar D’Mello. Revitalising the tools of Non-Violence Report on a Pax Christi consultation in the Philippines “I call on people of goodwill to recognise what Christians profess as a consequence of faith: that it is only by considering our peers as brothers and sisters that humanity can overcome wars and conflicts… Your thoughts on revitalising […]
Dr Allan Patience. Prominent writer on international affairs Wednesday 14 March 7:30-9pm Yarra Theological Union Study Centre 34 Bedford Street Box Hill Light refreshments will be available after the meeting. Donations welcome. Download the flyer. Associate Professor Allan Patience is a Principal Fellow in the School of Social & Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne. He […]
Bruce Duncan. Australians have been startled that our government, apparently without any public consultation or debate in parliament, intends greatly to expand Australian arms production to become within ten years one of the top ten defence exporters, on a par with Britain, France, and Germany. Currently, Australia exports about $2 billion of high-tech defence […]
Bruce Duncan. Myanmar’s neighbours were watching closely the Pope’s visit, worried that the shocking treatment of the Rohingya Muslims could inflame inter-religious conflicts throughout the region. Francis has intervened personally to promote deeper mutual understanding among the major religions, urging them to draw from their traditions to protect those in distress and promote social inclusion […]
Bill Frilay. I use that heading, because I do not know the answer, and wish world leaders did. All I know is that the likelihood of using nuclear weapons is greater than at any time since the 1962 Cuban crisis. We have Kim Jong Un, belligerent, young, but not to be underestimated. Seemingly prepared to […]
Henry Reynolds Delivered this International Day of Peace Lecture at St John’s Cathedral Brisbane on 21 September 2017. It is republished from John Menadue’s blog 26 October 2017. In a letter written in August 1855 to his colleague John Bright, the great free trade liberal, Richard Cobden, expressed his hostility to Britain’s involvement in the Crimean War. “And […]
Bill Frilay. What is ICAN? It is a coalition of non-governmental organisations in one hundred countries seeking the elimination of nuclear weapons. While it is an international organisation, ICAN’s first office was established here in Melbourne in 2007. So there’s justified local pride in its achievement. Its main office (albeit very small) is in Geneva. […]
Brian Johnstone CSsR US President Trump’s threat to “totally destroy” North Korea can be taken to mean totally destroy the North Korean government, writes Greg Sheridan in the Australian on 21 September. Is this what Trump really meant? How could a nuclear attack be so precisely targeted that it would destroy only the North Korean […]
Joseph A Camilleri In the vain hope of minimising the catastrophic consequences of America’s 16-year-long military intervention, Donald Trump has just announced yet another surge in its military presence in Afghanistan. Australia, like other allies, will also be asked to do more, and will almost certainly agree to the request. This is part of the […]
