Monthly Archives: June 2023

Julian Assange “dangerously close” to being extradited to the US

June 11, 2023Julian AssangeAndrew Wilkie, Bring Julian Assange Home Parliamentary Group, Extradition of Julian AssangeMPG

Source: International Federation of Journalists.

In a three-page judgment handed down on Tuesday June 6, 2023, UK High Court judge Justice Jonathan Swift rejected Julian Assange’s latest appeal against the US’s extradition order, signed by then UK Home Secretary Priti Patel in June 2022.

As a result, Assange is “dangerously close” to being extradited to the US, according to family members and observers.

Justice Swift’s rejection of all eight grounds of Assange’s appeal leaves one final step in the UK legal system open to his legal team. They have just five working days to submit an appeal to a panel of two judges who will determine the matter in a public hearing.

Continue reading Julian Assange “dangerously close” to being extradited to the US →

Protests against AUKUS and Labor’s Defence Strategy

June 4, 2023AUKUS Security Pact, Defence IssuesJohn Menadue, Labor government's defence strategy, Nuclear powered submarines, Paul Keating, Shangri-La Dialogue, US strategic hegemonyJon Atkins

Source: Pearls and Irritations. Click to enlarge.

The area outside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s office in Marrickville, Sydney is rapidly becoming a regular meeting place for people wanting to express their concerns about key aspects of the Labor government’s policies.

Supporters of Julian Assange gather there every Thursday between 11.00am and 12.00pm.

On Saturday May 27, 2023 the Marrickville Peace Group (MPG) held its first ‘Peace Vigil’ outside the PM’s office which is scheduled to become a monthly event. Continue reading Protests against AUKUS and Labor’s Defence Strategy →

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The Marrickville Peace Group is entirely staffed by volunteers. Donations are most welcome since they help pay for website, printing and public event costs and in promoting a culture of peace at home and abroad.

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For more details about MPG’s monthly meetings, contact Nick Deane on 0420 526 929.

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Defence and Security

Henry Reynolds, 'America’s “unique” relationship with Australia? Few countries are as gullible', Pearls and Irritations, Sep 11, 2023.
Alison Broinowski (Presenter), 'The Australian Case Against AUKUS', Consortium News, World Beyond War.org, Video: 1 hour 15 secs, Aug 13, 2023.
Allan Patience, 'Albanese and the ALP, running scared', Pearls and Irritations, Aug 21, 2023.
Paul Keating, 'NATO’s provocative lurch eastward and the ‘supreme fool’ Jens Stoltenberg', Pearls and Irritations, Jul 10, 2023.
Clinton Fernandes, 'Illusory imperatives', Pearls and Irritations, Jun 30, 2023.
Kathy Kelly, Review of 'War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine' by Norman Solomon, The Palestine Chronicle, Jun 19, 2023.
Paul Keating, 'AUKUS, Australia and China', Pearls and Irritations, Jun 9, 2023.
Sue Wareham, 'Mainstream media need to focus on peace', Pearls and Irritations, May 31, 2023.

Submissions

April 2023 - Submission prepared by Peter Griffin on behalf of MPG to Environment and Other Legislation Amendment (Removing Nuclear Energy Prohibitions) Bill 2022. Access all submissions here.
October 2022 - Submission by MPG to Defence Strategic Review.
Access all submissions here.

War in Ukraine

Noam Chomsky, 'Options for Diplomacy Decline as Russia’s War on Ukraine Escalates', interview with C. J. Polychroniou, Truthout, Nov 16, 2022.
Sue Wareham, 'Ending the Ukraine and other wars: putting victims at the centre', Pearls and Irritations, Jul 31, 2022.
Joseph Camilleri, 'The Ukraine conflict calls for sharper vision and bolder action', Pearls and Irritations, Jul 28, 2022.
Jeffrey Sachs, 'Ukraine is the latest neocon disaster', Pearls and Irritations, Jun 29, 2022.
Alison Broinowski, 'Collateral Warfare: The US Proxy War in Ukraine', Arena Magazine, Jun 2022.
Noam Chomsky, 'In Ukraine, Diplomacy Has Been Ruled Out', interview with David Barsamian, Sheerpost, Jun 17, 2022.
John Mearsheimer, 'On Who Gains The Most From The Ukraine-Russia War & What Could End Putin's Assault', interview with Zakka Jacob, CRUX, Apr 14, 2022.
Noam Chomsky, 'A Left Response to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine', interview with Bill Fletcher, The Real News, Apr 8, 2022
Chas Freeman, 'US fighting Russia 'to the last Ukrainian', Veteran US diplomat's interview with Aaron Maté, The Grayzone, Mar 24, 2022.

Radio Links

Nick Deane - 'Remembrance Day: Honouring the war dead by ending war', interview with Colin Hesse on Radio Skid Row's 'Close To Home', Nov 10, 2022.
Jake Lynch - 'Interview on do we need to 'prepare for war' to keep peace?', interview with Colin Hesse on Radio Skid Row's Close To Home, Apr 28, 2022.
Joan Beaumont - 'Conscription in World War I', ABC Big Ideas podcast, Jan 12, 2021 (Original broadcast on Dec 13, 2016).
Tilman Ruff - A step closer to banning nuclear weapons, interview with Phillip Adams on UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, ABC's Late Night Live, Oct 26, 2020.

Campaign to free Julian Assange

Al Jazeera, 'Top media outlets demand US end prosecution of Julian Assange', Nov 28, 2022.
Tanya Wadhwa, 'Mexico City gives Julian Assange keys to the city', Peoples Dispatch, Sep 14, 2022.
Paul Gregoire, 'Senate Probe Reveals that Albanese is Not Taking Action on Assange', Sydney Criminal Lawyers, Aug 16, 2022
Greg Barnes, 'Time to act Anthony Albanese, the Assange persecution cannot be allowed to go on', Michael West Media, Jun 21, 2022.
Amy Fallon, 'Labor urged to act to prevent Julian Assange extradition', The Saturday Paper, May 28 – Jun 3, 2022.
Australian Labor Party - Reply to MPG's email to Anthony Albanese on Julian Assange, May 14, 2022. (Refer to 'Correspondence' below).
Nick Deane, On the campaign to free Julian Assange – interview with Colin Hesse, Radio SkidRow: ‘Close to Home’, Jan 21, 2022. [Duration: 11 mins 35 secs].
Jennifer Robinson, On Julian Assange's fight to avoid extradition to the US - interview with Leigh Sales, 7.30 Report, Oct 29, 2021.

Australia’s complicity in the Pinochet coup in Chile

Kristina Kukolja, 'Adriana Rivas mounts new appeal against Chile extradition', interviews with Maria Luisa Ortiz and others, Law Report with Damien Carrick, ABC Radio National, Nov 16, 2021 [28min 34sec].
Paul Daley, 'Declassified documents show Australia assisted CIA in coup against Chile’s Salvador Allende', The Guardian, Sep 11, 2021.
National Security Archive, 'Australian Spies Aided and Abetted CIA in Chile', Sep 10, 2021.
Clinton Fernandes, 'Did Australian spies help install a Chilean dictator?', interview with Phillip Adams, Late Night Live, ABC Radio National, Jun 7, 2021 [19min 53sec].
More information can be accessed here.

Webinars and Podcasts

World BEYOND War, IPAN and the Pacific Peace Network, 'Solidarity Webinar: Cancel Talisman Sabre - No more war games in the Pacific!', Jul 27, 2021. On July 24, 2021, World BEYOND War, IPAN and the Pacific Peace Network co-hosted a webinar that called for the cancellation of the Talisman Sabre military exercises in the Pacific. [Duration 1:58:57].
UTS: Australia-China Relations Institute, 'China Panic: Australia’s Alternative to Paranoia and Pandering - in conversation with David Brophy', Jun 1, 2021. As Australia’s debate on the People’s Republic of China (PRC) continues to intensify, calls are being made for a new approach to PRC policy. What might such an alternative look like? [Duration 1:00:00].

Videos Against the Mainstream

Michael West, 'One-sided war powers', The West Report, Jul 19, 2021.

Andrew Wilkie, 'Free Julian Assange', Andrew Wilkie MP website, Feb12, 2020.

Jennifer Robinson, 'On the Dangers of Extraditing Julian Assange', acTVism Munich, Feb 4, 2020.

Noam Chomsky, 'Arrest of Assange Is “Scandalous” and Highlights Shocking Extraterritorial Reach of U.S.', Democracy Now!, Apr 12, 2019. Transcript included.

War in Afghanistan

Kathy Kelly, 'The only way to effectively counter terror is to end war', Waging Nonviolence, Sep 11, 2021.
Greg Lockhart, 'The fall of Kabul: false friends for over sixty four years', Pearls and Irritations, Aug 23, 2021.
Aisha Majid, 'How much did the Afghanistan war cost the US?', New Statesman, Aug 16, 2021.
Sarah Lazare, 'We Can’t Let the Generals Who Lied About the Afghanistan War Define Its Legacy', In These Times, Aug 16, 2021.
Noam Chomsky with Vijay Prashad, 'The reality behind the US ‘withdrawal’ from Afghanistan', AlterNet, May 7, 2021.
More commentaries can be accessed here.

Choosing Humanity

ICAN's Choosing Humanity: Why Australia must join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, July 2019. Download the report.

Brochure on MPG

A brochure on MPG can be downloaded here. It contains our Mission Statement and information about who we are, our history and how you can participate in our activities and campaigns. (To print, select 2-sided/booklet in printer properties).

Iraq War

IPAN - Podcast on the 18th Anniversary of the Iraq War, March 2021, (13:06 mins).

Latest Correspondence

Jul 27, 2021 - Response from David Johnston, Vice Chief of Defence Force on Exercise Sea Breeze.
Jan 4, 2020 - Letter to Sydney Morning Herald on the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani.