In Western thought, dating back to the Greeks, there has been a strong tendency toward binary thinking — yes or no, right or wrong, true or false, God and the devil, and left and right in politics. This dichotomous mindset extends into various aspects of Western ideology, including international relations.

Bridging differences in a divided world

By Alan Macfarlane

Therefore, Western nations often adopt a confrontational posture toward others, viewing interactions as competitions where one side must be right and the other wrong.

Historically, this has led to significant conflicts, such as those between Germany and France.

From October 13 to 23, 2026, Italy is hosting NATO’s annual nuclear deterrence exercise Steadfast Noon. The exercise will take place at air bases in Aviano and Ghedi in northern Italy. Flight operations and training involving mock nuclear weapons will take place in designated airspace over the Tyrrhenian Sea and other areas under NATO jurisdiction in Southern and Western Europe.

American bombs, European pilots: Who does what in NATO’s nuclear club?

Steadfast Noon brings 17 allies to the exercise – though joining the drills and carrying American bombs are very different commitments

BY Dmitry Kornev

The purpose of these exercises is to prepare NATO aircraft for the potential deployment of US nuclear weapons stationed at European airbases. 

I can see the universe

The universe cannot see me

This is somewhat perverse

But that’s the way to be

Light travels from star to star

In the time I go round the block

This is relativity on the clock

But that’s my way so far

The universe will live beyond me

But it does not know it exists

For the way it should subsists

With the strange pull of gravity

But most of it we cannot see

Hidden from view and technology

Dark matter and black energy

That make fun of gravity

          ROBERT URBANOSKI — 15 OCTOBER 2026

PLEASE VISIT:

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.

On October 6, 2026, Mali’s military, supported by Russia’s Africa Corps reentered the strategic city of Kidal in the north, which had been captured by Tuareg separatists, Azawad Liberation Front* (FLA), and Al-Qaeda*- linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin* (JNIM) in late April. This recapture of lost territories suggests a stronger state with Russian support, as compared to decades of US and French presence which maintained weak states that struggled to exercise sovereignty over security and mineral.

Reclaiming States and Value: Recapture of Kidal and Creation of Gold Refineries Across Sahel

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warns "people will die" after sudden restrictions on the military version of SpaceX's Starlink satellites — a vital tool in Ukraine's defence system — appeared to slow the country's drones on the battlefield.

Russia rained more missiles and drones down on Ukrainian cities, knocking out electricity for hundreds of thousands of people in attacks Mr Zelenskyy called "ostentatious disrespect" for US President Donald Trump's call for an energy ceasefire.

Mr Zelenskyy also said Ukraine had been denied the usual advance warning from its Western partners about oncoming strikes, deepening fears that Kyiv's relationship with Washington was unravelling.

With its subtropical climate allowing for multiple fruit harvests a year, its fine sandy beaches along the Black Sea, and its hiking trails winding through deep forests and snow-capped Caucasus peaks, Abkhazia—once a holiday retreat for the Soviet *nomenklatura*—could be a tourist paradise featured in every travel agency’s catalog, much like Thailand or Acapulco.

A citizens' call to bring Abkhazia out of isolation

BY Frédéric DELORCA

Backed by their cheerleader-in-chief, Chris Minns, when you thought Murdoch writers couldn’t stoop any lower, they did. Andrew Brown was there.

On October 7, the Daily Telegraph told Sydney that “subhuman ghouls” were gathering again to celebrate a slaughter of innocents. I was at that gathering. It was a candlelight vigil at Town Hall, organised by Jews Against the Occupation ’48. About 200 people came, mostly older Australians.

They prayed for the Jewish and Palestinian dead.

Chris Minns called the vigil “heartless”. Four days later, last Sunday, October 11, thousands marched for Gaza, and Minns called them “disgraceful”. Alex Ryvchin of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry called the marchers “obsessive, extreme and hateful”.

As President Donald Trump and his administration have ratcheted up pressure on Ukraine to stop striking Russian refineries, citing harm to American consumers, they have remained silent on recent Russian strikes on US businesses in Ukraine.

MI5 chief Ken McCallum has urged the public not to exaggerate the impact of alleged Russian attempts to influence the outcome of the UK’s 2016 Brexit referendum.

McCallum’s comments came after some pro-Brexit politicians accused Prime Minister Andy Burnham of questioning the legitimacy of the vote by claiming it is “clear” that Russia interfered.

MI5 chief warns against exaggerating ‘Russian influence’ on Brexit

Ken McCallum’s remarks came after Prime Minister Andy Burnham claimed Moscow interfered in the 2016 referendum

Russia has firmly denied that it meddles in British domestic politics, including the 2016 referendum.

Incoming White House press secretary Katie Zacharia pledged to get to work immediately when she takes over the podium Monday, defending President Donald Trump's recent diesel deal as a move she says will help lower gas and grocery prices.

Speaking on "Fox & Friends Weekend," Zacharia said Trump is using a "multifaceted" approach to tackle inflation while balancing U.S. interests overseas.

In the 1930s, during the formation of Saudi Arabia, three provinces were taken from Yemen. The Yemeni have always wanted them back. They are now in a position where they may eventually achieve that aim.

The western parts of Yemen are unlike the deserts of Saudi Arabia. The area is mountainous and gets a decent amount of precipitation. Some 80 percent of the 33 million Yemeni live in there. Agricultural production in the mountains is however difficult and Yemen has long been dependent on trade to acquire enough food to keep its people alive.

War Against Yemen Endangers Saudi Crown Prince’s Position

by Moon of Alabama

Washington has reportedly pressured several governments to withdraw their support for a conference organized by an EU-funded “anti-disinfo” NGO that designated the US a potential source of foreign disinformation.

The event host is EU DisinfoLab, one of Brussels’ info-gatekeepers deployed to scapegoat and smear dissidents opposing the bloc’s political course. The NGO notoriously launched its career by labeling online critics of French President Emmanuel Macron as “Russophiles.”

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has warned those on the progressive side of politics not to “scold” or “mock” potential One Nation voters but instead to take seriously the task of persuading them away from the insurgent party. 

By directly acknowledging the seriousness of One Nation’s support and advancing a strategy for tackling it, Chalmers is underscoring that the party is a threat to Labor, not just to the Coalition. 

Delivering the Bernie Fraser Oration, sponsored by the Australia Institute, a progressive think tank, on Tuesday night, Chalmers also had a sobering message for straitened households. Reserve Bank and Treasury forecasts did not expect economic conditions to get much better in the next three months, he said, although they did expect things to get “a bit better” over the next year.

Republicans could be looking at a major wipeout in the midterm elections. 

Their tiny House majority was always going to be difficult to maintain, but the Senate should not be in play at all. Yet it surely is, with Democrats leading in nearly all the toss-up races, including in the reddest states, and competitive in at least a dozen of the contests that will determine which party controls the upper chamber.

BY W. James Antle III