Jon Swift,

It is not about supposed superior intellect. I dont believe in such arrogrant b.s terms as most policy research work comes down to hard work weighing up pros and cons of certain policy trends.

Yes good on Julie Bishop for contributing to OLO, but i think the foreign policy issues facing Australia are quite serious and deserve much greater attention and analysis.

As for my own efforts, if i write soemthing poor, and I probably do, i also expect criticism.

As a reader of articles, and a concerned Australian, i am entitled to my opinion.

The destruction caused by World War I, and the fact that World war II finished off that destructive process is the template at the root of these references. References which give a very sobering assessment of the state of the collective human world in 2013.
The first essay (Open Letter) was written in response to the Kosovo crisisat the request of a high ranking UNHCR diplomat - it was reworked in response to Sept 11.
http://www.aboutadidam.org/readings/peace_law/index.html

Eventually the themes of the above essay, and much more too resulted in the publication of this book
http://www.ispeace723.org
Further elaborations are available here:
http://www.dabase.org/p2anthro.htm
http://www.beezone.com/news.html

@Geoff of Perth. Agree completely. Let us assume for a moment that the incoming Coalition government doubles "defence" expenditure, either in absolute terms or as a percentage of GDP.

How precisely does this make Australia "safer". Ms Bishop is as usual silent on the key details. Let us further assume that China decides to incorporate Australia into its sphere of influence. Would a doubling, tripling, quadrupling of the defence budget make the slightest difference? Of course not. If Australia is to survive the hypothetical hostile intentions of a foreign power such as China it could only do so with the assistance of a great and powerful ally such as the US.

Whether or not the US actually came to our assistance would depend on their assessment of whether or not Australia staying in the US camp outweighed Australia moving into the Chinese camp.

Either way our level of defence expenditure is largely irrelevant. We could never defeat a great power without the help of another great power. The money Ms Bishop's colleagues propose spending to ensure we are "ready" (although she won't say how or how much) is therefore largely a waste. It would be better spent on the neglected infrastructure that enable Costello to create his fabled surpluses.

In 1913 it was President Woodrow Wilson who signed away the right of Congress to create new money from nothing to equal the growth of the US economy.Within a few short years these international banksters brought on WW1 and financed both sides of this war for profit and power.Pres Wilson was later to lament his decision to give such power to a private few.

This greed by the banking military industrial complex put Germany into debt salvery via war reparations, which enabled the rise of Hitler to counter their oppression.

Right now in the USA we see these same forces bringing in Bush's Patriot Act,Obama's Preventative Dentention,Legalised Assassination of suspected Terrorists,National Defence Authorisation Act which also negates Habeas Corpus thus giving the US Military absolute power over Western Nations.These laws to counter terrorism Julie, make us their target.

It was Prescott Bush( George's Grandfather) who was on the board of the Union Bank that laundered Nazi money.This bank was closed by the US Govt.Many Nazis ended up as scientists and officials in the US Govt.Our Catholic Church assisted many of these Nazis to escape justice.

Whose side are you on Julie Bishop? Are you on the side of feedom and democracy or the financial terrorists who have stolen our super and savings by creating money from nothing? None of these financial terrorists have faced justice yet most people in this country have lost half of their savings.It was no accident.

Prof William K Black said that 90% of the Fannie May and Freddie Mac loans were fraudulant yet none have been charged.These loans were on sold to our super funds as safe investments.Why are not the Coalition and Labor mounting a class action on behalf of us to get back what is rightfully ours?

You say there are no threats on horizon, but why are tensions increasing in our region?
Chris Lewis,
I don't really see a threat on the horizon either but I see & strongly feel a severe threat from within this country & what's worse it is of it's own making.

How much do we spend on Peace?
It is always dangerous to have enemies and the USA with its strange foreign policy will never feel safe. Killing people around the world does not make them any friends and only increases their number of enemies. Australia by condoning the killing of thousands of civilians each year by the US does not make any friends.
Why not have a Department of Peace and try and seek alternatives to war?