USA
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Is peaceful cooperation a hopeless pipe dream?
According to Matt Pottinger, ‘a China expert and deputy national security adviser in the Trump White House…anyone who has entertained the idea of stable ties with Beijing is really smoking dope.’ If that’s what it takes, it might be time to light up. Continue reading »
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Peace is not on the ballot in November
I keep seeing liberal commentators like George Takei trying to frame Kamala Harris as the best candidate to bring peace to the middle east, despite her coming directly out of the administration which has been lighting the region on fire with its insane warmongering. Continue reading »
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China and the US are facing parallel economic conundrums
Mutual economic quandaries as both try to reshape their economies may force the two bitter rivals to learn to live with each other again. Continue reading »
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The potential US withdrawal from AUKUS must be an election issue
Resolution of the tension between President Biden’s policy of strengthening America’s position through allies and partners, and the US Navy’s (USN) mission requirements, will come to a head in the next president’s term. The AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines will be at the centre. Continue reading »
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A new western war against Iran?
Iran made two attempts to free its oil fields from Western domination. Since the Islamic revolution of Ayatollah Komeini in 1979, Iran has kept Western companies out. They paid a huge price, a trade embargo lasting some 40 years. Is a new attack on Iran in the offing [read more] Continue reading »
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How Rupert Murdoch helped create a monster – the era of Trumpism – and then lost control of it
You can’t help but feel sorry for Rupert Murdoch. Continue reading »
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Compounded dishonour
The majority of American politicians, journalists, pundits and most commentators have decided that the war between the Zionist forces and the Palestinian resistance started on October 7th 2023. Not over 76 years ago, or more. Continue reading »
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Is there any chance the U.S. elections will lead to better relations with China?
Tim Walz has, for a vice-presidential nominee, unusual knowledge and close relationship with China. He has spoken against regarding China as an adversary. Continue reading »
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The Americanisation of our public policy, media and national interest
John Menadue AO eminent former public servant, ambassador and businessman – now independent founder, publisher and Editor in Chief of the online public policy journal ‘Pearls and Irritations‘ – offers an in depth conversation about how Australian public policy is making us more vulnerable in dangerous geopolitical times, by compromising pursuit of our sovereign interests, Continue reading »
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Why US politicians are picking on Chinese Olympic swimmers
As with Washington’s routine attempts to challenge all things Chinese as well as global multilateral agencies, its row with the World Anti-Doping Agency is par for the course. Continue reading »
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Rape and genocide: the Israeli war machine we support
The headline above is outrageous and incendiary – it is also unquestionably true. We have a duty to bear witness to what the Palestinians must endure. Continue reading »
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My dream of America
I am not part of America, but America has always been a part of me. Like no other country, the mere name carries a special fascination for me, and despite all its contradictions and problems, I have always felt attracted to it. This presidential election, can America leave behind the narrow mindset of the old Continue reading »
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Slogans masquerading as policies – the Dutton playbook?
I don’t expect that Donald Trump, presidential candidate, or Trump, elected president, gives a toss whether Anthony Albanese or Peter Dutton is prime minister of Australia after the next Australian election. Continue reading »
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The ill-starred consequences of America’s Chinese chip war
An interesting new article in the prominent American journal, “Foreign Affairs”, by three academics from Georgetown University, argues that “Washington should place less emphasis on slowing down China and more on improving its own innovative prowess.” Continue reading »
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Trump and Vance’s theocratic republic of America
A Trump-Vance administration would likely enthusiastically embrace the Project 2025 agenda. No surer path exists for the fracturing of American society. Continue reading »
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Jeffrey Sachs: “US Subservient to Israel”
A MUST-WATCH 29-minute interview in which Jeffrey Sachs tells it like it is and as few others dare to tell it. Continue reading »
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Under the spell of denial: the Khmer Rouge in New York and Netanyahu in Washington
Few alliance nations would ponder how the cadence of Netanyahu’s speech inside Congress put them under the spell of denial. This is akin to the Khmer Rouge (government in exile) that was invited to hold a seat in the United Nations until 1993. Continue reading »
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The sudden collapse of the Biden puppetry
Joe Biden has finally agreed to quit his re-election pursuit. I, for one, am not celebrating. Biden could have become a great American president, but instead he chose a foreign policy trajectory that effectively made him the most inept American president in modern history. Continue reading »
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New England wind project shelved as local MP Barnaby Joyce takes anti-renewable vitriol to new low
Plans to build a 340MW wind farm and a big battery in the New England Renewable Energy Zone in NSW have been shelved by developer Ark Energy, following a “change of mind” from some of the landowners involved in the project. Continue reading »
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US presidential races hide the criminality of the US empire
The thing I hate about western electoral politics in general and US presidential races in particular is that they take the focus off the depravity of the US-centralised empire itself, and run cover for its criminality. Continue reading »
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Kamala is still the underdog
The withdrawal of Joe Biden and the selection of Kamala Harris has transformed the presidential election of November. It will now be argued on different issues and on different battlegrounds, not all of former president Donald Trump’s choosing. His planned strategy has been much weakened and try as he might he will have difficulty in Continue reading »
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Donald Trump and God: not a match made in Heaven
One of the more noteworthy features of the recent Republican National Convention was the reverential reception of Donald Trump. Even before Trump’s brush with death, eighty per cent of evangelical Christians supported him. What does this say about their beliefs and motives? Continue reading »
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Playing the Trump card
In the theatre of politics, Trump has always upstaged. Whether cast as hero or villain he insatiably dominates the spotlight. A diviner of public sentiment, throughout his various professional iterations, Trump has elevated his unique gift for performance into an artform. In his incarnation as a politician, he has perfected the knack of cannibalising American Continue reading »
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Will the Republicans end deep state wars of imperial aggression? Don’t bet on it…
The prospect of another Trump presidency is welcomed by some and dreaded by others. A Democrat ‘October surprise’ is possible, and a presidency for Kamala Harris. Even Trump in power may get Australia off several hooks. Continue reading »
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American obeisance
I have just witnessed the most pathetic and humiliating hour which I, as an American, have experienced in my lifetime. Continue reading »
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Republican immigration policies foretell mass deportations, tent cities and razor wire
The Republican Party are intent on making immigration their key issue in the forthcoming US Election. The 2024 Republican Party platform and Trump’s nomination acceptance speech make that abundantly clear. But what would Donald Trump’s immigration policies look like in practice? Continue reading »
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Overproduction is OK as long as it’s done by anyone except China
It makes sense for Beijing to expand the services sector, but none for the US to transfer higher productivity in services to lower one in manufacturing. Continue reading »
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The American psychodrama
President Joe Biden says only God will prevent him running for re-election. Should Biden drop out of the race, and would Vice President Kamala Harris turn potential defeat into a viable contest between Democrats and Donald Trump? Continue reading »