Welcome to Eureka Street

back to site

Keywords: Diplomacy

  • AUSTRALIA

    Peace in Syria will stop the boats

    • Michael Mullins
    • 27 June 2011
    3 Comments

    The international community tends to back 'democratic' revolutions, rather than national unity, in countries of the Middle East. This is good for majority populations, but Christians and other minorities can be the losers. If they're forced to flee, they become part of the 'refugee problem'.

    READ MORE
  • AUSTRALIA

    Obama's Libya dilemma

    • Tony Kevin
    • 01 April 2011
    2 Comments

    Obama knows the mood could sour quickly in the Middle East and Arab world if the US goes into Libya with ground forces. Yet if the war drags on, Obama will face increasing domestic criticism. Americans are anxious to see stability restored to their oil supplies.

    READ MORE
  • MEDIA

    Testing new peace plan on Libya

    • Tony Kevin
    • 23 March 2011
    7 Comments

    Following the success of the UN Security Council approved action in Libya, Gaddafi ought to be allowed into some safe international haven. To push hm into a last-ditch Hitlerian bunker stand would cause much unnecessary civilian death and destruction.

    READ MORE
  • AUSTRALIA

    Kevin Rudd and 'harmless' WikiLeaks

    • Tony Kevin
    • 07 December 2010
    6 Comments

    Rudd's showing off to Hilary Clinton reveals Australian insecurity and diplomatic immaturity, and little of what he said would shock the Chinese. WikiLeaks' cable trawl can do no great harm and may in the long run do some good.

    READ MORE
  • RELIGION

    Moving forward from East Timor Solution

    • Frank Brennan
    • 21 July 2010
    11 Comments

    The idea of a regional processing centre for asylum seekers requires a lot of detailed diplomatic work. If Gillard is elected Prime Minister, it could be Kevin Rudd's first test as Foreign Minister. Whoever is elected, and wherever such a centre is located, it will not be East Timor.

    READ MORE
  • ENVIRONMENT

    Reviving climate hope

    • Tony Kevin
    • 21 June 2010
    9 Comments

    The new Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Christiana Figueres is well qualified to help heal the wounds of Copenhagen. If the West can learn the lessons of those failed talks and move forward with modesty, flexibility and sensitivity, we may hope for progress.

    READ MORE
  • AUSTRALIA

    Chaotic endgame in Copenhagen

    • Tony Kevin
    • 18 December 2009
    3 Comments

    At conferences like this, an atmosphere of crisis is necessary for final deals to be achieved. Kevin Rudd will not want to define the summit as a failure so, hopefully, his notorious 5 per cent emissions reduction target will be left behind.

    READ MORE
  • ENVIRONMENT

    Climate conversion on the Camino road

    • Tony Kevin
    • 16 November 2009
    6 Comments

    My conversion moment came while walking along a busy interstate highway in Spain, crowded with trucks that were passing me every second, blowing me off my feet and filling my lungs with their exhaust gases. I knew then that we cannot go on like this.

    READ MORE
  • AUSTRALIA

    Why Obama deserved the Nobel Peace Prize

    • Tony Kevin
    • 14 October 2009
    16 Comments

    The Republican Right's claim that Obama has yet to achieve anything is a smokescreen for their rage, for Obama got this award precisely because he is 'not Bush'. To speak a credible language of moral inspiration and hope to the world is an achievement in itself.

    READ MORE
  • AUSTRALIA

    Pakistan is not doomed

    • Kimberley Layton
    • 03 April 2009
    1 Comment

    In due course the Taliban problem will be confronted and hopefully resolved, but not before the internal political situation stabilises. Patience is a virtue in Pakistan. The situation is not improving quickly, but it does seem to be improving.

    READ MORE
  • AUSTRALIA

    How the world is failing the Palestinians

    • Shahram Akbarzadeh
    • 19 January 2009
    11 Comments

    Despite its offer of a ceasefire, it is doubtful that Israel has achieved its objectives in the Gaza Strip. The popular grievances that propelled Hamas onto the political stage in 2006 will continue to sustain it.

    READ MORE
  • AUSTRALIA

    A Gen X view of Obama as fiction

    • Bronwyn Lay
    • 06 November 2008
    6 Comments

    If you see some Generation X’s out there in the street, smiling like drunk cats, forgive them their madness - it’s been a long time coming. We are letting our inner lives blend with the polis. We know it might all be fiction but like fiction; it makes us feel less alone inside.

    READ MORE