Australia’s psychological torture of Julian Assange includes isolating and demonising him; flatly rejecting evidence of ill-treatment; refusing to respond to specific allegations; and divesting themselves of any responsibility. Leaders can’t, or won’t, accept the difference between psychological torture and ‘a legal matter’, writes Dr Lissa Johnson.
Latest stories
The Anzac myth and the Frontier Wars we wilfully ignore.
Conservatives and militarists want us to cling to a disastrous imperial war. They encourage us to focus on how our soldiers fought in order to avoid the central issue of why we fought. We fought in WW1 for Britain’s imperial interests not our own.The AIF was...
China’s geopolitical reach extends to Iran
After an attack on its main nuclear facility in Natanz on 11 April, quite likely by Israel, President Hasan Rouhani said that Iran will begin enriching uranium to 60 per cent. From a technical point of view, that would put Iran within a short sprint to full-fledged...
Rio Tinto needs more than Gorilla glue to repair its reputation
One of the challenges of issue management is the perception by some critics that it might be more about looking good rather than doing good. That’s certainly the test facing Rio Tinto attempting to piece together its reputation, shattered by the high-explosive...
Chinese propaganda has come to Indonesia, big time.
Before you book a flight to Aotearoa in the travel bubble, think again. There are other places with knockout scenery, higher mountains, clear lakes and splendid grasslands. The roads are straight and free of cluttering campervans. Better still, the sunny locals are...
I’ve got the Anzac Day Blues
Australia has never been the maker of its own history. So said the legendry Manning Clark, who spent a life mapping the heart of our nation. From the utterly worthless Sudan campaign of 1885 to the atrocity-ridden Afghanistan War of 2001-2013, our people have been...