Iraq – 10 years on: Remembering when the world said No to war Monday March 18 at 6-8.30pm — Mitchell Theatre, Sydney Mechanics School of Arts, 240 Pitt Street, Sydney This month marks the tenth anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq. It is a timely reminder not just of the brutality of the war in Iraq, but its length. […]
30 Dec
Just before 2012 closes out, I’m reposting my last Overland blog of the year, which originally appeared here. In some ways it is a summing up of themes we have developed at Left Flank since we started in mid-2010; chiefly in our attempts to present not just a general ideological or theoretical approach to the […]
24 Nov
Today we’re posting a follow-up piece by British-based socialist and leading pro-Palestine activist Kevin Ovenden, addressing some of the debates that are beginning to emerge in the wake of the Gaza ceasefire. The Gaza War — initial thoughts on the outcome By KEVIN OVENDEN It is far too early to provide a comprehensive account […]
22 Nov
Left Flank is very pleased to be able to post this extended analysis of Israel’s war on Gaza by British-based socialist Kevin Ovenden, set in its regional and international context. Kevin has been a leading activist in Viva Palestina and narrowly escaped death at the hands of the IDF as part of the first Gaza […]
17 Feb
Comments Off on On Finkelstein, the BDS, one-state solutions & the problem with Gandhi’s strategy
Palestinians cross over the Syrian-Israeli border, May 2011 I’ve had a chance to look at Norman Finkelstein’s recent controversial statements about Left strategy over the question of the BDS. Finkelstein, a brilliant critic of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians, has for some time been highly critical of the international BDS campaign, in particular because he believes it […]
01 Feb
Comments Off on With ‘friends’ like Western governments, the Arab Spring doesn’t need enemies
Protesters in Tahrir unfurl the flag of the Syrian rebellion This article first appeared on the ABC Drum website yesterday. One of the abiding images of the Arab Spring has been an aerial view of Tahrir Square in Cairo, brimming with thousands and perhaps hundreds of thousands of protesters. This image has returned most spectacularly on the […]
25 Aug
Comments Off on Malalai Joya tour of Australia
Malalai Joya, a peace, democracy, women’s rights and development activist, will address meetings in Sydney and Melbourne (where she is a guest at the Melbourne Writers Festival) in early September.
31 May
Comments Off on Revenge, apparently a dish only properly served by the United States military
> Pakistani tribesmen offer funeral prayers after 60 people killed in two US missile strikes in 2009 Now, The Australian can be depended on to run some of the most reactionary arguments one is likely to see in the Australian press in its notorious op-ed pages. But as a keen follower of the Egyptian Revolution […]
03 May
Comments Off on Green Fear: staying out of the ‘no-go zone’ of Australia-US-Israel relations
Marrickville Council may have backed off supporting the Israel BDS campaign but by highlighting the plight of the Palestinians, the Council’s initiative in this area, and the pro-BDS stance of the NSW Greens, has ensured that this will only be the beginning of the debate, not least of all within the Greens themselves. The Australian […]
24 Mar
Comments Off on Western military intervention in Libya: There. Is. No. Alternative. Or is there?
> Egypt’s revolution — why has Libya been so different? If there is one thought experiment that liberal supporters of Western military intervention in Libya ruled out of court (even forbade) it was the possibility that there were other social actors and strategies that could seriously affect the outcome of the battle between forces loyal […]
13 Mar
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