International Law

Accountability / ACT Government / Australian Federal Police / Australian Labor Party / Corporate profit / Corruption / Discrimination/Racism / Ernst & Young / Former Commissioner / Government / Human Rights / Hypocrisy / International Law / Justice / Law Enforcement / Racism / Respect / Rule of Law

Mob rule and the ‘gentle’ nations of the West

You can talk a mob into anything; its feelings may be – usually are – on the whole generous and right; but it has no foundation for them; you may…

9 Comments
March 28, 2012
Accountability / Asia-Pacific / Corporate profit / Corporate responsibility / Corruption / Discrimination/Racism / Ernst & Young / Genocide / Globalisation / Human Rights / Indonesia / International Law / Justice / Law / Mining / Political theory / Rule of Law / Shared humanity / West Papua

Genocide in West Papua, collective responsibility and the role of Ernst & Young

The TNI under Suharto was seen as different from other armies because: Indonesian army sees itself as quite different from other armies in the world, because it was never created…

2 Comments
February 4, 2012
Accountability / Asia-Pacific / Australian Federal Police / Commonwealth Government / Corruption / Democracy / Discrimination/Racism / Equality / Government / International Law / Julian Moti / Justice / Law / Law Enforcement / PNG / RAMSI / Rule of Law / Solomon Islands

Lost Sovereignty; a disgraced judge and a kidnapped Attorney-General

Carl Schmitt’s Political Theology: Four Chapters on the Concept of Sovereignty is both famous and obscure. A twentieth-century political theory, containing two canonical sentences: "Sovereign is he who decides on…

1 Comment
January 31, 2012
Arc of instability / Asia-Pacific / Assimilation / Culture / Democracy / Discrimination/Racism / Equality / Equality of opportunity / Genocide / Human Rights / Indonesia / International Law / Neo-Colonialism / Pacific Neighbours / Rule of Law / United Nations / West Papua

Indonesia and Australia the illegitimate states of the Asia Pacific Region

What is self-determination? The notion of self-determination as a universal principle, whether viewed through a political, moral, or legal lens, has been and continues to be imprecise and in dire…

3 Comments
January 2, 2012
Accountability / Arc of instability / Asia-Pacific / Corporate profit / Corruption / Democracy / Discrimination/Racism / Equality / Human Rights / Indonesia / International Law / Justice / Neo-Colonialism / Pacific Neighbours / Racism / Rule of Law / Shared humanity / West Papua

The Lombok Treaty: a win for self interest over justice

The current humanitarian crises in West Papua, formally West New Guinea (“WNG”), has at its roots Western colonial greed and paranoia over Soviet influence in the region. WNG was and…

11 Comments
December 19, 2011
Accountability / Arc of instability / Australian Federal Police / Corruption / Discrimination/Racism / Equality / Human Rights / Hypocrisy / International Law / Neo-Colonialism / Pacific Neighbours / PNG / RAMSI / Rule of Law / Solomon Islands

Moti a champion of indigenous human rights

Congratulations Julian Moti QC on your well-deserved win over Australian racism and hypocrisy! "If the criminal justice system is corrupted, or otherwise interfered with, a community is left with few…

5 Comments
December 8, 2011
Accountability / Australian Federal Police / Corporate profit / Corporate responsibility / Corruption / Democracy / Discrimination/Racism / Environment / Equality / Genocide / Globalisation / Human Rights / International Law / Justice / Law Enforcement / Mining / Racism / Rule of Law

Corporate greed and an update on a call for a Royal Commission into the AFP

I have spent the last few weeks travelling around remote Indigenous communities collecting signatures in support of a Royal Commission into the AFP and statements in support of my application…

15 Comments
November 17, 2011
Accountability / ACT Government / Australian Federal Police / Australian Labor Party / Corruption / Discrimination/Racism / Equality / Government / Human Rights / International Law / Justice / Law / Law Enforcement / Racism / Respect / Rule of Law

Why Australia should not be rewarded with a seat on the UN Security Council

My apologies for my tardiness in updating Blak and Black over the last week or so, I’ve been reviewing evidence with a former colleague and equally concerned citizen relating to…

14 Comments
October 27, 2011
Accountability / Arc of instability / Asia-Pacific / Australian Federal Police / Corruption / Discrimination/Racism / Equality / First Nations/Indigenous / Hypocrisy / International Law / Justice / Law / Law Enforcement / Neo-Colonialism / Pacific Neighbours / Racism / RAMSI / Rule of Law

AusAIDing and Abetting Corruption

Since writing my article Australia in the Solomons: A case study in 21st Century Gunboat Diplomacy I have had the opportunity to do some more research into AusAID and its…

9 Comments
October 26, 2011
Accountability / Arc of instability / Asia-Pacific / Australian Federal Police / Corruption / Discrimination/Racism / Equality / First Nations/Indigenous / Human Rights / Hypocrisy / International Law / Justice / Law / Law Enforcement / Neo-Colonialism / Pacific Neighbours / Racism / RAMSI / Rule of Law / Solomon Islands

Australia in the Solomons: A case study in 21st Century Gunboat Diplomacy

Update: Subsequent to writing this post the Solomon Start has published an article which confirms much of what Blak and Black has been arguing concerning RAMSI's role in the Solomon…

11 Comments
October 19, 2011
Asia-Pacific / Assimilation / Culture / Democracy / Discrimination/Racism / Environment / Equality / Equality of opportunity / First Nations/Indigenous / Genocide / Globalisation / Human Rights / Indonesia / International Law / Neo-Colonialism / Pacific Neighbours / PNG / Rule of Law / United Nations

You can’t preach the moral high ground and walk in the gutter: Australia and West Papua

Recurrent themes in Australian politics since the events of 9/11 and the beginning of the euphemistically though erroneously named ‘war on terror’ have been national security, border protection and exporting…

4 Comments
October 8, 2011
Accountability / Asia-Pacific / Australian Defence Force / Australian Federal Police / Corruption / Culture / Discrimination/Racism / Environment / Equality / First Nations/Indigenous / Genocide by stealth / Globalisation / Human Rights / Hypocrisy / International Law / Law Enforcement / Neo-Colonialism / Pacific Neighbours / PNG / Racism / RAMSI / Respect / Rule of Law

Complicity, obligation and mutual respect

When we look at a map of the world’s major trouble spots we see or at least I see, a white footprint superimposed over each and every one of these…

15 Comments
September 27, 2011
Accountability / Arc of instability / Asia-Pacific / Australian Defence Force / Australian Federal Police / Commonwealth Government / Corporate profit / Corruption / Democracy / Discrimination/Racism / Equality / First Nations/Indigenous / Government / Human Rights / Hypocrisy / Indonesia / International Law / Law Enforcement / Neo-Colonialism / Pacific Neighbours / PNG / Racism / Rule of Law / Shared humanity / Solomon Islands

Fear and Trembling – Australia’s gutless approach to the genocide in Papua

The following article appeared in Friday’s Jakarta Post: Maj. Gen. Wisnu Bawatenaya has been appointed to become commander of the Indonesian Army Special Forces (Kopassus) replacing Maj. Gen. Lodewijk F…

21 Comments
September 13, 2011
Accountability / ACT Government / Arc of instability / Asia-Pacific / Commonwealth Government / Corruption / Culture / Democracy / Discrimination/Racism / Equality / First Nations/Indigenous / Government / Human Rights / International Law / Law Enforcement / Neo-Colonialism / Pacific Neighbours / PNG / Racism / RAMSI / Respect / Rule of Law / Solomon Islands / Stanhope Government / United Nations

The wisdom of Miles Jordana: Hidden in plain sight

The following is a modified version of an article which first appeared in the Fiji Sun on 12 September, 2011 and which Blak and Black has linked to since publishing…

21 Comments
September 12, 2011
Arc of instability / Asia-Pacific / Commonwealth Government / Corruption / Culture / Democracy / Discrimination / Discrimination/Racism / Equality / Equality of opportunity / First Nations/Indigenous / Government / Human Rights / Hypocrisy / International Law / Julian Moti / Law Enforcement / Neo-Colonialism / Pacific Neighbours / RAMSI / Rule of Law / Shared humanity / Solomon Islands / United Nations

Beware the tolling bell

“Nunc Lento Sonitu Dicunt, Morieris” (Now this bell, tolling softly for another, says to me, Thou must die.) I have long loved John Donne’s Meditation XVII; it remains pause for…

12 Comments
September 10, 2011