The law and politics can be callous. And it certainly has been in the case of 56-year-old Dan Duggan, a former US Marines pilot, now an Australian citizen. Five days before Christmas the federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus announced Mr Duggan would be extradited to the United States to face charges relating to allegations, vehemently denied Continue reading »
USA
Last week, news headlines heralded the disaster of 24 lives lost in Californian wildfires. Yet the same media outlets petered out the news of thousands more being killed by deliberate man-made bombing, starvation and destruction of homes and hospitals by Israel in Gaza. There’s coverage of very wealthy celebrities who have lost their homes in Continue reading »
Despite the decades both major parties have spent ingratiating themselves with the leaders of the United States, Australia is unlikely to receive any favours from the Trump administration. For once the clichés about turning points and game changers seem appropriate, even understated. Just when you might have been forgiven for thinking the international situation couldn’t Continue reading »
American presidents are big on talking about what they believe to be their legacy, even if there is no substance to the claims they make. With Joe Biden, it is crystal clear what he can claim as his legacy: the genocide that has resulted in close to 70,000 Palestinian lives being snuffed out. The announcement Continue reading »
By blocking Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion purchase of US Steel, the Biden Administration has turned international economic policy inside out. On this point, the incoming Trump Administration is in rare agreement. Like many conflict-prone moves in recent years, this action has been justified on the basis of alleged national security concerns. Yet in the end, Continue reading »
Americans were shocked by two fatal events in the United States on New Year’s day 2025, and one was quickly called ‘Islamist terrorism’. Yet the US supports Muslim terrorist groups in Syria. At 3.15 on 1 January 2025, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, aged 42, an army veteran and an American-born Muslim convert, drove around security barriers and Continue reading »
Wildfires in California replicate the massive fire storms in the boreal forest in Canada and Siberia, the lungs of the earth. Our addiction to fossil fuel has ignited an age of fire. The apocalyptic wildfires that have erupted in the boreal forest in Siberia, the Russian Far East and Canada, climate scientists repeatedly warned, would inevitably move southwards as rising Continue reading »
Donald Trump is still to be sworn in for his second term, but is already confirming that he remains a menace to world peace, security and stability. He has already announced hostile trade measures – mostly in the form of tariffs, against America’s two immediate neighbours, Canada and Mexico. He has effectively announced new tariffs Continue reading »
Before asking whether we are on the precipice of a calamitous war between the United States and China, we need to query who wants such a conflict and who will benefit from it. Certainly, arms manufacturers will gain. So will the media and global strategy pundits. All three will improve their businesses and their incomes. Continue reading »