The US Republic, Trump and the Authoritarian Fear Mongering Club
It’s an oxymoron with a long history: American democracy. In referring to the United States, it does not exist. Nor does it take a follower […]
Articles by Dr Binoy Kampmark
Sawing the Sacred: Felling the Djab Wurrung Directions Tree
“Djab Wurrung women are in an abusive relationship with Victoria’s government.” Sissy Eileen Austin, The Guardian, Sep 14, 2019. It was a penultimate day in […]
Factionalising Antisemitism: The British Labour Party Suspends Jeremy Corbyn
Whatever stance taken by followers of the British Labour Party on the subject of antisemitism within its ranks, the suspension of Jeremy Corbyn must be […]
Begging Outrage: British Journalists for Assange
Even that title strikes an odd note. It should not. The Fourth Estate, historically reputed as the chamber of journalists and publishers keeping an eye […]
Google meets the Sherman Act
“Ambition is the subtlest Beast of the Intellectual and Moral Field,” wrote John Adams to his son, John Quincy Adams, in January 1794. “It is […]
Cultivated Lunacy, Nuclear Deterrence and Banning the Nuke
Is international relations a field for cautious minds, marked by permanent setbacks, or terrain where the bold are encouraged to seize the day? In terms […]
Impunity and Carefree Violence: Australia’s Special Forces in Afghanistan
In 2016, Australian Major General Jeff Sengelman approached the then chief of the Australian army Lieutenant General Angus Campbell with a nagging worry. The concern […]
Poor Timing: Cartier meets Australia Post
Watch brands do not tend to circulate as discussion topics in the Australian federal parliament. Time watching is a more functional affair. But Australia Post’s […]
Trusted Demonologies: US Electoral Interference, the Proud Boys and Iran
Iran, Russia and electoral interference. It is all part of the delicious mess that any observer of US politics has come to expect. Were the […]
Tarnished Crown: Finding the Thorns of a Gambling Empire
The Crown Resorts Annual General Meeting last year, held inside the company’s now flagging flagship Melbourne casino, was an ill-tempered matter. Members of the board […]
Follow the Money: Banking, Criminality and the FinCEN Files
It was all a fitting reminder of Bertolt Brecht’s remark that bank robbery lies in the province of amateurs. The real professionals of plunder establish […]
Sloppy Methodology: Social Media, Censorship and New York Post’s Hunter Biden Story
It was highly probable. Given the howls of concern that social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook nurse and nurture a bias (every choice […]
Britannic Impunity: The UK Overseas Operations Bill
It was praised by Michael Clarke, former Director-General of the Royal United Services Institute, as “clear and entire laudable” – at least up to a […]
Dropped Prosecutions: The Afghan Files, Public Interest Journalism and Dan Oakes
In July 2017, two journalists working for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Dan Oakes and Sam Clark, wrote of a stash of incriminating documents, running into […]
Boris Johnson at Sea: Coronavirus Confusion in the UK
The tide has been turning against UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Oafishly, he has managed to convert that tide into a deluge of dissatisfaction assisted […]