Australians who have been critical of AUKUS have tended to focus on Australian problems with it – it’s too dear, we have neither a nuclear industry nor a nuclear workforce, etc.

But very recent events and reported remarks by US Defence official Elbridge Colby show how much of a problem it — or at least the nuclear submarine aspect of it — is for the US.

Geoff Miller

The plan for that part of AUKUS envisages the US selling or leasing three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines to Australia in the 2030s. But

Pope Leo XIV said the Israeli military’s deadly attack on Gaza’s sole Catholic Church was “just one of the continuous military attacks against the civilian population and places of worship” in the Palestinian enclave.

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called for “immediate halt to the barbarity of the war” on the  Gaza Strip as Israel’s military carried out fresh massacres of Palestinians seeking food aid.

Pope Demands 'Immediate Halt to the Barbarity' of Israel's War on Gaza

They lie… We lie and all is well…

…. We justify our existence with unbelievable beliefs… The main question is “are we the only species trying to make sense (nonsense) about what we are?” 

“Are we the only species that can imagine the future beyond our next meal because of hunger or beyond the next session of nit-picking because we itch?”

From time to time, we explore our delusions and aspirations, hopefully in order to avoid stupidity and pain, while creating comfort and maintain a certain mental stability… It’s getting more difficult in the political mess we are bombarded with, though there is a bit more sanity in Australia than America, we could say… 

ONE OF THE BIGGEST ADVANCES in public health from the last few years is one that you’ve probably never heard about—and one that now may be in jeopardy thanks to the Trump administration.

I’m talking about a dramatic turnaround in America’s opioid crisis, the epidemic that began in the late 1990s with an explosion in the use of addictive prescription painkillers, and then got even worse with a surge in the use of heroin and its synthetic alternative, fentanyl. The effects have left families, communities, and in some cases whole regions of the country reeling, and more than 700,000 Americans dead from overdoses.

Alan MacLeod looks at how the Swedish climate activist widened her focus to the capitalist system and Israeli genocide in Gaza and lost the attention of the corporate press.

Once the favoured child of the establishment, Greta Thunberg has been dropped by the global elite.

From Media Darling to Persona Non Grata: Greta Thunberg’s Journey

For the past 500 years, the West has reigned as the world’s dominant civilization. Though its grip has loosened in recent years, the West – especially the United States – remains the most powerful force in global politics and the international economy. This power, while capable of building plenty, also carries the potential to destroy a lot.

The ideology behind the ‘New America’ is more dangerous than it looks
The superhumans are coming – and so is the danger
By Artyom Lukin

Today, a new ideology is taking shape in the West, particularly in the US. Under the right conditions, it could prove as dangerous to humanity as fascism and Nazism were in the last century. The reelection of Donald Trump may mark a decisive turning point, transferring power to people and ideas that are, at best, deeply ambiguous.

Barack Obama entered national politics with a smile that looked like Hope and Change. Amid rumors of family discord and disarray within the political party he once led, his face has hardened. He lately looks bitter, resentful, exhausted by the act. 

Barack Obama Now Squarely in Russiagate Crosshairs
New disclosures from a Tulsi Gabbard-led working group point directly to the top, as the legacy of "Hope and Change" begins a plunge to the ocean floor
MATT TAIBBI

Memory lapses, disorientation, confusion about numbers and colors: These are just some of the issues that Vasyl, a 28-year-old from central Ukraine, deals with on a daily basis. In fact, he's been receiving psychiatric care for a personality disorder since 2015. But none of that prevented the man — whose real name is being withheld for privacy reasons — being drafted into the Ukrainian military.

On February 4, 2026, the last remaining strategic arms control treaty between the United States and Russia, New START, will expire. Void of an extension of this treaty, or the activization of an alternative arms control mechanism that replicates/improves on the existing treaty, there will be an extremely high risk of both the US and Russia feeling compelled to enter an expensive and potentially catastrophic nuclear arms race.

Trump’s Rage and the Collapse of Yet Another Western Scheme

Mikhail Gamandiy-Egorov
Illusions are fading even among those who had hoped for a shift in U.S. policy. There will be no change—the multipolar world has always been, and remains, a stumbling block for the United States and all Western regimes.

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has called for an investigation into the abrupt cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert by CBS and its parent company, Paramount Global, alleging the move was politically motivated.

CBS confirmed earlier this week that it will end the long-running late-night program in May 2026, retiring the entire Late Show franchise after over three decades. Executives cited declining ad revenue and changing viewer habits as reasons for the decision.

“Cancellations are part of the business,” the WGA’s East and West Coast branches said in a joint statement Friday, “but terminating a show in bad faith due to political pressure is dangerous and unacceptable in a democratic society.” The union urged New York state officials to launch a formal investigation.

Peatlands are vital for human survival, but we are destroying the few that are left. Australia’s gas industry facing a volatile future. Chinese banks funding the destruction of tropical forests – not good for humans or tigers.

Peatlands: vital but unprotected

There are 4 million km2 of peatlands around the world – 3% of the land surface area. Boreal peatlands are by far the most extensive – Russia and Canada alone contain almost two-thirds of total peatland. Just over a quarter of global peatlands are within Indigenous people’s lands.

Gen. Christopher Donahue assumed command of Allied Land Command and U.S. Army Europe and Africa in December 2024.

Gen. Donahue is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY, and was commissioned in 1992.

In his previous assignment, he served as the 39th Commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps, and Ft. Bragg, NC and as the Commander of the 82nd Airborne Division. 

Gen. Donahue’s other assignments include Commander, NATO Special Operations Component and U.S. Joint Special Operations in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, Deputy Director for Special Operations and Counter-Terrorism, J-3, for the Joint Staff in Washington, D.C., Commandant, U.S. Army Infantry School and Director of the Soldier Lethality Cross Functional Team, and Deputy Commanding General (Maneuver) of the 4th Infantry Division. 

The EU has finally agreed upon the 18th sanctions package on Russia, as Slovakia has lifted it’s veto. Kaja Kallas and Kestutys Budrys have made statements about how the 18th sanctions package would affect Russia and have called upon the US Senato to place even more sanctions on Russia.

Allianz boss Oliver Bäte has warned that Germany risks becoming “the sick man of Europe” unless Germany grows it’s GDP. Dmitry Medvedev and Maria Zakharova have responded to Donald Trump’s ultimatum and deadline. Russia has stated that it won’t give into the US demands and that Russia is prepared to continue the war in Ukraine. Friedrich Merz has stated that Ukraine will receive long range weapons. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SzELYNES-Y

Russia Responds To Sanctions As Germany Heads Towards DISASTER!

Chris Townsend has been organizing workers, conducting political work for labor unions, and teaching young workers to organize for almost all his adult life. He is, as we say, “the real deal.” While most of us opine and pontificate about labor, Chris does the dirty work.

    By Chris Townsend, Michael D. Yates