Chief Justice Roberts, Vice President Harris, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, Vice President Pence, distinguished guests, and my fellow Americans.

This is America’s day.

This is democracy’s day.

A day of history and hope.

Of renewal and resolve.

Through a crucible for the ages America has been tested anew and America has risen to the challenge.

Today, we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate, but of a cause, the cause of democracy.

The will of the people has been heard and the will of the people has been heeded.

We have learned again that democracy is precious.

Democracy is fragile.

And at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.

Sorry to tell you that I’m finishing this year most unimpressed by Anthony Albanese and his government. I’m still reeling from his last two weeks of parliament, pushing through 45 bills just to show how much he’d achieved and give himself the option of calling an election early next year should he see a break in the clouds.

Some of the measures pushed through at breakneck speed merited much more scrutiny, while some reforms that should have been put through were abandoned. One measure he’d hoped to rush through, fortunately, didn’t make it.

George Clooney, the iconic Hollywood actor and activist, is reportedly seething at former President Barack Obama, whom he blames for his high-profile role in urging President Joe Biden to step down from his 2024 reelection campaign. Sources close to Clooney claim he feels used and abandoned after Kamala Harris's historic but unsuccessful presidential bid left him as the face of the Democratic Party's political misstep.

George Clooney Reportedly Furious at Obama for Manipulating Him Into Ousting Biden and Facing Backlash for Harris’s Failure
     BY Kathy Clark

The “Trump Fragrances” website features a cologne and perfume labeled “Fight, Fight, Fight,” the phrase Trump appeared to say after an assassination attempt on him during a campaign rally in July.

The fragrances—priced at $199 each—include scents that “[embody] strength, power and victory” with “rich, robust notes” for men and “delicate floral notes and a burst of citrus” for women.

International Court of Justice to provide advice on nations’ climate change obligations. SE Australia and WA to experience more heat waves than predicted but NT and FNQ will have fewer. Mixed evidence of countries working together to progress sustainability.

International Court of Justice climate change hearings

Opposition leader Peter Dutton has sparked controversy by announcing that, if elected, he would remove the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags from official press conferences held by the Australian government. 

His remarks, made during a media interview with Sky News host Peta Credlin, have drawn a mixed response from both political figures and the public, with many seeing it as a significant statement on the nation's approach to Indigenous issues.

Minister for Indigenous Australians, Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, strongly opposed Dutton’s remarks, accusing him of undermining the significance of the Aboriginal flag, which has long been a symbol of identity and resilience.

"Peter Dutton is once again proving himself unfit to be Prime Minister... yet again, he’s seeking to divide Australians and grab a few culture war headlines.

A new study reveals that a taxpayer-funded news program frequently referred to Republican politicians and policies by using labels such as “far right,” “extremist” and “hard-liner” while characterizing Democratic politicians and progressive policies more favorably. 

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, presided over a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Monday to analyze and research on the economic work of 2025. The meeting emphasized "the principle of pursuing progress while maintaining stability" next year.

Washington, D.C. July 12, 2024 - “Cuba,” as former Foreign Service officer, Wayne S. Smith, was fond of observing, “seems to have the same effect on American administrations as the full moon has on werewolves.”

On December 4, Brian Thompson, chief executive officer of health insurance giant UnitedHealthcare (total assets US$273.7 billion), was shot and killed in Midtown Manhattan. An arrest was made on Monday in Pennsylvania of a “strong person of interest” in the case, someone, according to the local police, who “has some ill will toward corporate America.”

The popular response to the shooting of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO and American realities

    BY David Walsh

On November 26, 2024, Arla Foods, the U.K.'s largest dairy provider, launched an initiative with retailers Morrisons, Tesco, and Aldi to reduce methane emissions from cows. 

The initiative seeks to introduce Bovaer, a feed additive, to dairy cow feeding routines to reduce farming's climate impact. 

Bovaer achieves this by suppressing the enzyme in a cow's stomach that produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. This results in reduced emissions.

Until a few weeks ago, the skies over Syria seemed deceptively cloudless. That illusion shattered on 27 November when the armed group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) launched a sudden offensive on Aleppo.

By last Monday, they had seized the city. Three days later, the official Syrian army abandoned the strategic city of Hama. In the south and southeast, dormant rebel cells rose up, striking a final blow against Assad’s hollowed-out regime. On Sunday, opposition forces stormed Damascus from several directions. Bashar al-Assad, whose regime withstood over a decade of civil war, finally fell from power.

Haaretz, Israel’s oldest and most widely known newspaper, has just published a long, roughly 8,000 word feature article, about the work of Lee Mordechai, the Associate Professor of History at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He has compiled on line a massive report entitled “Bearing Witness to the Israel-Gaza War.”

"It is our moral duty to defend the heritage of our Western civilisation. The West is in danger... We must not let socialism advance. We must unite and establish channels of cooperation throughout the world. We could consider ourselves a right-wing International, a mutual aid network composed of all those who wish to spread the ideas of freedom throughout the world." This call for the founding of an International Browning (FASCISM) of the extreme right must be taken very, very seriously.

BY Yorgos MITRALIAS