In my last article, I reviewed the case of Gough Whitlam’s firing at the hands of the Queen’s Governor General Sir John Kerr during a dark day in November 1975 which mis-shaped the next 45 years of Australian history. Today I would like to tackle another chapter of the story.
An important reckoning with a great historical injustice is underway in Australia which presents the world with a rare opportunity to look into the darker corners of the corridors of power too often ignored by even the most ardent truth seekers among us.
The over 1000 point plunge of the stock market on Feb 27th and broader ruptures of the financial system last week have been yet another wake up call for those who have been contented so far to “live in the moment” of fast money.
I often ask myself how did Boris Johnson become PM of Britain, as I for one, don’t believe it’s entirely to do with Brexit, but more to do with a broader protest vote from a big part of the UK population who voted him in to redress the balance of PC madness which is threatening to destroy the country.
When a still-bewildered General Earl Charles Cornwallis surrendered his entire army to George Washington and to the Comte de Rochambeau at Yorktown in 1781, according to legend, a British military band heightened the humiliation by playing a ballad called, “The World Turned Upside Down.” The composer Lin Manuel Miranda later reimagined the song as a hit number in his acclaimed modern musical “Hamilton.”
To mark the 250th anniversary since Captain James Cook invaded New Zealand, the British Ambassador Laura Clarke issued a private statement of “regret” to the indigenous groups, for the killing of Maori people upon landing.
Book review. Insurgent Empire: Anticolonial Resistance and British Dissent by Priyamvada Gopal
by Ian Sinclair
Peace News
October-November 2019
Written by University of Cambridge Reader Priyamvada Gopal, Insurgent Empire confronts the now infamous 2014 YouGov poll which found 59 percent of Britons thought the British empire was “something to be proud of”.
Writer, comedian, and University of Bath teaching fellow, Matthew Alford joined me to discuss his latest book Union Union Jackboot: What Your Media and Professors Don’t Tell You About British Foreign Policy, which we co-authored with TJ Coles. We started off the conversation by discussing the unique structure of the book. Matt and I talked about the perception of British foreign policy we see today in the media. We touch on the brutal legacy the British Empire has had around the world, and take shots at some of the UK’s sacred cows like Winston Churchill.
