The impressive US Congressional Research Service (CRS) has just released another batch of independent analyses of the daunting challenges the Pentagon – especially the US Navy – face in meeting the demands to upgrade significantly its force capabilities in the Indo Pacific. All of which is now confronted by the extraordinarily chaotic legislative environment occasioned Continue reading »
politics
The Australian Jewish Democratic Society (AJDS) unreservedly condemns Hamas for its attack on Israel. 250 young people killed at a music festival is a massacre. That action and hostage-taking of civilians are war crimes. Justification of this violence by Palestinians and their supporters condemns the conflict to never ending acts of revenge. The attack by Continue reading »
Every drop of Palestinian and Jewish blood shed is on the hands of the United States, Australian and Western countries politicians who closed their eyes to the aggression, occupation, ethnic cleansing, and violation of international laws and resolutions carried out by Israel against the Palestinian people for more than seventy-five years. Following the Nakba in Continue reading »
The Hamas attack on Israel was part jailbreak (from Gaza, the world’s largest prison since the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto) but more than that it was a revolt of the hopeless by the hopeless for the hopeless. This war puts paid to Israeli-Saudi normalisation but that was never a real prospect. The Israeli ministry Continue reading »
We’re seeing the western political/media class bleating the word “unprovoked” in unison again, this time in reference to the massive multi-pronged operation launched by Hamas against Israel on Saturday morning which reportedly killed hundreds of Israelis. “The United States unequivocally condemns the unprovoked attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israeli civilians,” reads a statement from the White House. “The loss of life in Continue reading »
Australian authorities conducted three separate internal studies in the past eight years to determine whether the commodity-exporting nation could completely diversify its supply chains from China – but all said the task was impossible, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. Separate administrations conducted investigations into the feasibility of ‘diversifying’ import-export relationship, all Continue reading »
“Every lie owes a debt to the truth, sooner or later that debt is paid.” – Soviet nuclear engineer Valery Alekseevich Legasov on the consequences of deceit and denial. The rise and fall of empires have often been dramatic, marked by key events that shape their destinies. The disastrous expedition of the Spanish Armada in Continue reading »
There was a time not so long ago, especially after the Vietnam War, when leaders in the advanced countries such as the United States, Britain, France and Germany gave us hope that the mistakes of the past had been learnt and that we were heading for a fairer and more ethical system: when Nelson Mandela Continue reading »
Will Australia today say Yes and agree to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice? Or will we reject the request made to us by representatives of First Nations communities in the Uluru Statement from the Heart? Over recent weeks and months, our Continue reading »
The second highest grossing film in the world in 2021 barely got a mention in the Australian press. It was co-directed by three acclaimed filmmakers, cost close to US$200 million to produce, made $1 billion, and was nearly three hours long with a sequel of equal length. It ran briefly at the Event Cinema in Continue reading »