World
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Democracy and the winning formula
The rallying call of the Western democracies to form a united front against those who dare to challenge their supremacy has always been “common values”. Our hearts burst with pride and gratitude to think that we have the freedom of speech, of assembly, of dissent and other such privileges that those in other systems do Continue reading »
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National security after Russia’s “special military operation”: Kazakhstan and China
In the wake of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a “special military operation” in Ukraine, Central Asian countries, including Kazakhstan, have been reevaluating their foreign policy. These nations are seeking to strike a balance between their relationship with Russia and their engagement with other countries and international organisations. Continue reading »
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2023 will be make-or-break year for Russia
As the West throws the whole shebang at Moscow, the world’s largest country faces a moment of truth. Continue reading »
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Now is the time for nonalignment and peace
War is an ugly part of the human experience. Everything about it is hideous. War is most obviously the act of invasion and the brutality that goes along with its operations. No war is precise; every war hurts civilians. Each act of bombardment sends a neurological shudder through society. Continue reading »
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Ukraine: can we make sense of the war situation?
There is hectic media attention to the pressure on Germany to allow a few of its Leopard 2 tanks to be given to Ukraine by countries that have bought them from Germany. The words “self-deception and fantasy” come to mind. But it does make clear Ukraine’s underlying logistical problem. Continue reading »
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America’s strategy of failure comes to Ukraine
US mission creep in Ukraine follows in the fatal footsteps of ultimately failed war campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. Continue reading »
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We are at war, with no strategy adequate to the challenge
Unlike the Ukraine war, the war I am referring to is not a military war; it’s our battle for planetary health, and we have no strategy adequate to the challenge. Continue reading »
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Japan is not the most warlike nation in history
Jimmy Carter called the US ‘the most warlike nation in the history of the world,’ and said that ‘peaceful’ China is ‘ahead of us in almost every way’. Continue reading »
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The eerie parallels between Vietnam and Ukraine
Ukrainians have become cannon fodder for the US geopolitical goals, just as the South Vietnamese were. Continue reading »
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The Ultra High Net Worth Individual’s strongest weapon: News Corp
We are at a crossroads. The Ultra High Net Worth Individual (UHNWI) class is creating a new international feudal order, assisted by the professional enabler class including politicians in pursuit of their money. One of those enabling mechanisms is the media. In Australia, News Corp serves as the strongest weapon in the creation of their Continue reading »
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US may help Ukraine launch an offensive on Crimea
In a new article titled “U.S. Warms to Helping Ukraine Target Crimea,” the New York Times reports that the Biden administration now believes Kyiv may need to launch an offensive on the territory that Moscow has considered a part of the Russian Federation since 2014, “even if such a move increases the risk of escalation.” Continue reading »
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New Zealand’s Prime Minister Ardern resigns
Jacinda Ardern who has led New Zealand with intelligence, kindness and humanity is leaving the stage. Her last day as Prime Minister will be February 7. Continue reading »
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Extremism and the sensible centre
The labelling of people as ‘extremists’ or ‘radicals’ – as abolitionists and women’s suffrage advocates were once called – is determined not by the soundness of the views expressed, but by the relative scarcity of the people expressing them in proportion to the amount of people holding different views in the ‘sensible centre’. Given the Continue reading »
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At war, the US dollar is on the brink of collapse
The US is at war, and the dollar is at risk of imminent collapse. Australia’s lobbying of the United States as a good ally should focus on these issues above all else. Continue reading »
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By the numbers: The de-dollarisation of global trade
Data suggests that US dollar reserves in central banks are dwindling, as is the influence of the US on the world economy. This presents a unique opportunity for regional currencies and alternative payment systems to enter the vacuum. Continue reading »
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Militarised Japan and the Biden-Kishida summit signal moment in the New Cold War
Across the Indo-Pacific, as well as in the escalating Ukraine War, humanity stands an accident or miscalculation away from the calamity of nuclear war. Continue reading »
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America’s cruel game with Australia
Australia’s security policy is a mess. We have been betrayed by our national leaders. Without exception, from Prime Minister Gillard on – with Anthony Albanese shaping up to join – the sell-out to America’s war neurosis is complete. Our leaders have been party to the fabrication of China as a military threat to Australia, by Continue reading »
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Europe and the legitimisation of deception
The U.S., having no need of or gift for statecraft, has long practiced what I’ve taken to calling the diplomacy of no diplomacy. You can’t expect much from bimbos such as Antony Blinken or Wendy Sherman, Blinken’s No. 2 at the State Department. All they can do is roar, even if they are mice next Continue reading »
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The new world economy
Belém, Brazil – I inaugurate this new series of columns in a New Year and a new beginning for Brazil with the inauguration of President Lula da Silva, His well-wishers poured out across the country in a revival of hope for Brazil after four years of disastrous rule under his right-wing predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, who Continue reading »
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Will engaging China in WTO multilateral trade discussions help reset relations?
The current WTO rules were negotiated during the Uruguay Round without China involved or even in mind. The expectation was that China would evolve into a market economy and WTO rules would apply. China has not evolved as expected; should China change its state-controlled economy, or should WTO rules be rewritten to accommodate China? Continue reading »
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Can ‘Bazball’ save Test cricket?
Test cricket is sometimes its own worst enemy, regularly shooting itself in the foot. Can ‘Bazball’ save it? And can the playing conditions be applied more effectively? Continue reading »
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Follow the money: ASPI is a front for US propaganda
What is the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), what are its sources of funding, and why does it so consistently advocate for positions favourable to the United States and the weapons industry? Follow the money trail. Continue reading »
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Blaming Morrison for Liberal’s disastrous collapse is a facile critique
We see a tendency to blame individuals for the crisis in our politics across the AUKUS nations. This is facile. Donald Trump did not create the farce of a Republican party seen in the vote for the Speaker in early January. Boris Johnson did not create the catastrophe that is the British Conservative party displayed Continue reading »
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Western journalists are cowardly, approval-seeking losers
Research conducted by New York University’s Center for Social Media and Politics into Russian trolling behaviour on Twitter in the lead-up to the 2016 US presidential election has found “no evidence of a meaningful relationship between exposure to the Russian foreign influence campaign and changes in attitudes, polarisation, or voting behaviour.” Continue reading »
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Australia’s ‘optimal pathway’ on AUKUS
Just in time, the fundamental faults of AUKUS are being exposed in Canberra and Washington. Continue reading »
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Qassem Soleimani in Venezuela: The lesser known motive behind his assassination
Why was Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani assassinated by the US? His visit to Venezuela in 2019 may provide some answers. Continue reading »
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Wars and more wars: the sorry U.S. history in the Middle East
The American republic morphed well over a century ago into an empire of many endless wars. With U.S. troops still in Syria, Iraq, Somalia and numerous African countries, with over 800 military bases in more than 70 countries and a war budget of roughly one trillion dollars a year, it’s no surprise that one of Continue reading »
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Rules-based international order: What rules? Whose rules?
When interviewed on Great Game on Russia’s state-run Channel One (8 Dec. 2022), Russia’s Foreign Minister, Secretary Lavrov, was given ample opportunity to set out Russia’s views on its role in the Ukraine and on the differences his country has with its many adversaries. Continue reading »
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Reduce consumption, or face reality of civilisational collapse
An important debate is developing in Pearls and Irritations on the need to reduce consumption. In his article “Labor’s Environmental Denialism”, Stephen Williams acknowledged several positive steps being taken by the Labor government to help protect the environment, and then argued that Labor was failing to address the fundamental drivers of environmental disaster, which he Continue reading »
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2022 will go down as the year of ‘de-Westernisation’
From China’s socialist path to Latin America’s left turn and Asean’s neutral stance, more countries are quietly but firmly spurning the Western world order. Continue reading »
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