Tuesday 18th of February 2025

dear reader .....

Just a note to alert you that you can read the comments - without being registered. We won't even know who you are... although you will be counted. But a heartfelt thanks, even if you are just looking at the cartoons ... To be able to comment you will have to register but no one would have to know who you are, except the administrator of the site. Please note that this site is archived in the National Library of Australia in perpetuity. Just click on "recent comments" or on "read more" in the line below the cartoons to access some of the most fascinating and pertinent information there is from Australia and around the globe.

 

 

 

eager to provide live target practice for the russians.....

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced that the UK is ready to play a “leading role” in providing security guarantees to Kiev and deploy troops to Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping mission, should a ceasefire agreement with Russia be reached.

In an article for The Telegraph on Sunday, Starmer described the Ukraine conflict as a “once-in-a-generation moment” and an “existential” issue for Europe, justifying the potential deployment of British personnel.

power in the age of enlightenment....

Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves”. 

                        CONFUCIUS.

 

The Orphan of Zhao is a Chinese play from the Yuan dynasty, attributed to the 13th-century dramatist Ji Junxiang (紀君祥). VOLTAIRE ADAPTED IT TO THE TIME OF THE MONGOLS AND GENGHIS KHAN… THIS IS A BRIEF STORYLINE :

 

Duke Ling is the ruler of the Jin state.

of empires and emperors....

“Look back over the past, with its changing empires that rose and fell, and you can foresee the future, too.” Marcus Aurelius

If you have made even a cursory study of empires of the past, there are a number of signs of the flaws of those empires that are reasonably common, generally when they are in decline, but not always.

 

Caligula’s horse and Washington    By Les MacDonald

 

das fatale versagen der deutschen außenpolitik seit 2022......

It no longer requires any intellectual effort to recognize the fatal failure of German foreign policy since 2022. With the so-called Zeitenwende of that year, the turning point, elements of German foreign policy that had made Germany a respected and recognized player in international relations in recent decades have been abandoned: the peace imperative enshrined in the Basic Law, the German commitment to dialogue, moderation, and understanding, the will to establish good neighbourly relations across all dividing lines.

 

Current German foreign policy

Balance of a failure

by Petra Erler, Potsdam*

 

waiting for godot.....

"Come to the edge, he said. They said: We are afraid. Come to the edge, he said. They came. He pushed them and they flew." 

           Guillaume Apollinaire

 

WE ARE PREPARED TO BELIEVE ANYTHING. WE ARE MOSTLY CONDITIONED TO BELIEVE ANYTHING. 

SHOULD WE ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE HUMAN CONDITION, WE ALWAYS END UP IN THE IMPASSE OF THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE. 

WE INVENT GOD. SOLVED. 

BUT THERE IS SO MUCH PAIN AND SO MANY BAD THINGS HAPPENING IN OUR WORLD THAT WE NEED TO INVENT EVIL. SOLVED. 

HOW COME GOD WHICH WE BELIEVE IS SO OMNIPOTENT CAN ALLOW EVIL TO EXIST? THE CHURCH WILL TELL US IT’S TO TEST OUR BELIEF THAT “HE” (THEM/HER/WHOOPO) WILL MAKE US LIVE TO “THE END OF ETERNITY” IF WE BELIEVE.

WE BELIEVE. WE COME TO THE EDGE. WE ARE PUSHED. WE FLY…

trump DESERVES the nobel PEACE PRIZE if he pulls this off, OR JUST FOR TRYING.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K30vixF8cBw

Scott Ritter: Trump Is PLAYING A Different Game (Interview)

 

The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded 105 times to 142 Nobel Prize laureates between 1901 and 2024, 111 individuals and 31 organisations. Since the International Committee of the Red Cross has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize three times (in 1917, 1944 and 1963), and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize two times (in 1954 and 1981), there are 28 individual organisations which have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Click on the links to get more information.

european powers may not find a seat at the table.....

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has urged European members of the bloc to stop complaining about getting sidelined in peace talks and discussions on Ukraine’s future, and to take action instead.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) on Saturday, Rutte emphasized the need for actionable ideas, including on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the bloc’s effort to ramp up its defense spending.

Get into the debate, not by complaining… but by coming up with concrete ideas,” he stated.

Rutte also urged the bloc’s members to ramp up their military spending, pointing out that despite previous commitments, many countries have yet to meet agreed-upon defense expenditure targets. The NATO chief also confirmed the US-led bloc was expected to reach a new agreement on spending targets during the upcoming summit of the organization scheduled for June.

don't worry, elon, we're flogging the F-35 to india.....

Musk took to his social media platform, X, on Sunday, reposting a video of synchronized drone swarms in elaborate formations and adding, “Meanwhile, some idiots are still building manned fighter jets like the F-35.”

This is not the first time Musk has expressed skepticism about the continued use of manned fighter jets. Back in 2020, Musk declared that the era of traditional fighter jets was coming to an end, stating that the F-35 should have a competitor in the form of an unmanned aerial vehicle.

https://defence-blog.com/elon-musk-slams-f-35-calls-for-drone-replacements/

 

do this thing quietly, not bombastically....

Employee unions are challenging the Trump administration’s moves to fire vast swaths of the federal workforce, saying they violate regulations for carrying out mass “RIFs” across government.

In a new lawsuit filed in federal court Wednesday, five employee unions allege the administration’s moves to initiate reductions-in-force and lay off probationary employees are illegal.

faith...........

Blessed are you who are poor, for yours in the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled
Blessed are you who weep now for you will laugh …….
But woe to you who are rich for you have received your consolation
Woe to you who are full now for you will be hungry
Wow to you who are laughing now for you will mourn and weep
From the sermon on the Plain – Luke 6: 20 – 25
Gospel for Epiphany 6 16 February

EU reacts in horror...

Silence falls, and the tension in the room is almost palpable as US Vice President JD Vance walks to the podium at the Munich Security Conference. Just 48 hours earlier, the world had felt like a different place.

Europeans knew, of course, how difficult things might get with Donald Trump, and that his second US presidency would seriously test the transatlantic relationship. Nonetheless, the phone call between Trump and the Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Wednesday evening sent shockwaves through the EU and NATO.

beyond the burgers.....

After Kennedy's confirmation, Trump establishes 'Make America Healthy Again' commission
Public health experts remain alarmed about Kennedy’s rise from a fringe figure in the alternative health world to one of the most senior and influential positions in U.S. health care.

By Aria Bendix

 

happy to get other people killed for his lust for resources.....

Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham showered praise on Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky at this year’s annual Munich Security Conference, declaring him to be the ally he had always dreamed of and lauding that the fight with Russia had not cost American lives.

The war-hawk senator made the remarks on Friday during a panel discussion at the Munich Security Conference. Speaking alongside Zelensky, Graham admitted the conflict between Moscow and Kiev was a proxy war fought by Kiev on Washington’s behalf, and praised Zelensky’s role in the continuing bloodshed.

“I want to tell you and your people you’re the ally I've been hoping for all my life. Not one American has died defending Ukraine,” Graham proclaimed, adding that Kiev had taken “our weapons” and purportedly “kicked [Russia’s] ass.”

begging for american concrete boots....

Sir Keir Starmer has reaffirmed the UK will continue to back Ukraine's "irreversible path" to joining Nato despite leading figures in President Donald Trump's administration appearing to rule out membership.

The prime minister told Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky he stood by a pledge - made alongside ex-US president Joe Biden at last year's Nato summit in Washington - to support Ukraine's bid for membership.

Sir Keir and Zelensky spoke on the phone ahead of a global leaders' meeting at the Munich Security Conference. 

Sir Keir's comments are in stark contrast to those of the Trump administration, which has said this week that Nato membership for Ukraine is not a "realistic prospect".

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