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 […]
28 Dec
This blog post first appeared on LEFT FLANK @ Overland Journal. For the last post of 2012 we were asked to reflect on politics over the last year. In thinking on this for the last week I’ve drafted about ten first paragraphs. The writer’s block arises not from nothing to say, but from a place that […]
08 Dec
This blog post first appeared at Overland Journal. Govt confirms they have sent women and children refugees overnight to the detention camps in Manus Island indefinitely. Shameful. – Senator Sarah-Hanson Young on Twitter, 21 November 2012 In 2001 Four Corners aired a watershed episode on the mandatory detention of children in Australian refugee detention centers. The pain and […]
02 Dec
At this time of World Aids Day, I wanted to take the opportunity to celebrate the success and wonder that was ACT UP (in particular the NYC chapter). ACT UP turned 25 in March this year, and has long been a core inspiration in my own activism. It is worth taking a look at this […]
30 Nov
Comments Off on How things change: Gillard, Palestine & political authority
In just a few weeks we have gone from the near-unanimity of Australia’s political class in refusing to clearly support the people of Gaza from a brutal Israeli military attack, to the “humiliation” of the prime minister over Australia’s vote for Palestinian observer status at the United Nations. What is it that has driven this […]
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 […]
19 Nov
The Australian Greens are deeply worried about the civilian death toll in Israel and Palestine, and urge both sides of the conflict to put down their weapons and respect a ceasefire. “The human suffering is too great and the continued recourse to violence has done nothing for peace,” Australian Greens Leader, Senator Christine Milne, said. […]
12 Nov
We’re reposting below a piece I wrote for Overland’s site in September, drawing connections between the themes in the most recent Bourne movie and the WikiLeaks project. There is much more to be said about Assange and the politics of WikiLeaks than is covered here. Recently my attention was drawn to an interview with American […]
09 Nov
Comments Off on The capitalist crisis, Obama’s re-election and the US Left
Perhaps more than for a long time, the US presidential vote earlier this week was dominated by a clear message to the Left, the working class and minority voters: the absolute necessity to vote for the “lesser evil” in Obama. Compared with the sense of hope that pervaded Obama’s election in 2008 (for one of […]
30 Dec
1 Comment