Today the NY Times published a long piece on the relations between the Trump administration and the government of Ukraine.
The Separation: Inside the Unraveling U.S.-Ukraine Partnership (archived) – NY Times, Dec 30 2025
On 5 December, tens of thousands of high school students demonstrated against conscription and war in around 90 German cities. On the same day, the German Bundestag passed a law on military service that moves towards conscription and ignores the concerns of schoolchildren.
I saw a short video where a UK policeman was arresting someone for supporting Palestine Action, an organisation which is all about trying to prevent the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. The person being arrested asked if it was because she supported Palestinians, and the copper said that it was. She also asked if she would be arrested if she supported Israel and the copper replied that she wouldn’t.
“Heaven is high and the emperor is far away.” So did Chinese peasants celebrate their distance from the Forbidden City over many centuries now past. I imagine a similar sentiment may prevail in the hyper-centralized People’s Republic.
When power is to one or another degree autocratic, power is best when power is distant. So it was for me, if briefly, as 2025 drew to a close.
THANK YOU CATHY... THANK YOU THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD FOR REMINDING US THAT PUTIN IS THE BAD GUY IN UKRAINE... I NEVER KNEW.... AND I STAND CORRECTED. I NOW REALISE THAT HISTORY STARTED IN FEBRUARY 2022...
Seriously though, cartoons such as the one by Cathy Wilcox should be thrown in the trash NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN....
NUF' said....
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Prominent Australian business leaders and public figures have joined calls for a federal royal commission into antisemitism following the Bondi terror attack, adding pressure on the Albanese government as it resists a national inquiry.
Just before Christmas, the Albanese government released its wet lettuce East Coast gas reservation policy, which has arrived too late and will do little to improve gas supply and affordability. The main problem with the policy is that it will apply only to new gas projects from 2027 and will require exporters to set aside
The post Labor swindles Australians on gas appeared first on MacroBusiness.
At least 24 people were killed and more than 50 injured in a Ukrainian drone strike on a café and a hotel during New Year’s Eve celebrations in the Black Sea coastal village of Khorly, the governor of Russia’s Kherson Region has said.
SHOCKING: Russia Opens a New Front — NATO Has No Answer | George Will
Global power is no longer decided only by armies or alliances. Increasingly, it is shaped by trade routes, financial systems, energy corridors, and infrastructure that quietly redraw influence without a single shot fired.
The world-famous New Year's Eve celebrations at Sydney Harbour struck a sombre tone this year, as fear and grief lingered following the Bondi terror attack in mid-December.
An hour before the clock struck 12, the harbour bridge glowed white with its pylons bearing a menorah to commemorate the 15 people killed at a celebration to mark the beginning of Hanukkah.
"As we enter the new year, the world stands at a crossroads.Chaos and uncertainty surround us.Division. Violence. Climate breakdown. And systemic violations of international law.
The past five years have been a shocker for Australian tenants, with the median national advertised rent soaring by 44%, according to Cotality. This surge in rents has added around $10,600 to the annual cost of renting the median advertised home. As a result, the share of household income required to rent the median Australian