What we are currently witnessing regarding Iran, Ukraine and Venezuela is essentially the very same war. Its aim is to prevent, by military means, the decline of American-Western hegemony in the world, which is threatened above all by the growing strength of China. In Ukraine, the aim is to weaken Russia, an important partner of China.

The very same war

by Rafael Poch-de-Feliu*

The predecessor organisations of the European Union (EU) were originally intended to be merely a trade union for Europe. This has changed radically. Today, the EU intervenes in almost all areas of life – with disastrous consequences and without any legitimacy.

The debt-ridden EU now wants to plunder its citizens

by Professor Dr Eberhard Hamer, Institute for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises of Lower Saxony

Becoming ever more intrusive beyond its purely economic mandate, the EU bureaucracy has increasingly taken on new tasks, tasks which the member states have tolerated and for which they have sacrificed sovereign rights:

The National Party’s new leader has built his politics on climate scepticism. But rising costs, extreme weather and the accelerating energy transition make that stance increasingly difficult to sustain.

The crowning of Matt Canavan means the National Party’s champion climate change sceptic is now at the helm – something which the Labor government might well be rejoicing.

Jeremy Webb

But belittling existential climate threat is a misguided strategy, especially given the havoc it wreaks in the rural electorates the National Party purports to represent.

Defence Major Projects repeatedly go off the rails wasting billions and harming national security. Rather than fix the problem, Labor has instructed the Auditor-General not to report on them. Former senator Rex Patrick reports.

Defence currently has a budget of almost $60 billion a year but that number is set to rise to about $100 billion by 2034. It’s the country’s biggest procurement opertaion by a long shot.

Defence is also the country’s biggest waster of money. 

The Israeli military is planning at least three more weeks of strikes against Iran with “thousands of targets”remaining, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) military spokesperson Effie Defrin has told CNN.

“We are ready, in coordination with our US allies, with plans through at least the Jewish holiday of Passover [from April 1 to 9]... And we have deeper plans for even three weeks beyond that.”

Strikes have continued for a sixteenth day in Iran, Israel, and across several Middle Eastern countries after the United States and Israel began an air campaign against Iran on February 28th. At least 1,444 people have been killed and 18,551 injured in Iran; 15 killed and more than 3,138 others wounded in Israel; 826 killed in Lebanon and dozens others killed in some Gulf nations. The US military has confirmed it suffered 13 fatalities from Iranian attacks across the region.

Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce says he regrets not doing more while in government to secure fuel reserves, as Australia grapples with supply shortages triggered by wars in the Middle East.

Fuel prices have risen sharply amid uncertainty over Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and Treasurer Jim Chalmers today flagged the flow-on impact could see inflation peak "somewhere between the mid-to-high fours" depending on the duration of the conflict.

The government released about six days' worth of petrol and five days of diesel from its emergency stockpile as part of an internationally coordinated response to the shortage, the first time it had used the reserves since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

8 Mar 2016 — New York, US - A group of Palestinians has launched an ambitious $34.5bn lawsuit against US-based tycoons, charities and firms for supporting Israeli land grabs, settlement-building and other violations of Palestinians' rights these past four decades.

They seek damages from Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson; Irving Moskowitz, a philanthropist with property interests in East Jerusalem; and megachurch pastor John Hagee for financing the construction of settlements on Palestinian soil.

Lawyers also name such charities as Christian Friends of Israeli Communities and private firms, including Dead Sea-based cosmetics maker Ahava, UK-based security firm G4S and the industrial powerhouse Israel Chemicals Limited.

In 1990, Bernard Lewis famously wrote about "the roots of Muslim rage". The essay, along with other influential works produced in the 1980s and 90s, helped usher in an era of commentary about extremism and political violence in the Muslim-majority world.

Lewis' work, like that of other orientalist scholars and analysts, downplayed western imperialism and aggression and was plagued by essentialism, exaggeration and distortion.

Amid holy war on Iran, will the West examine the roots of Christian and Jewish rage?

BY Mohamad Elmasry

The International Order [AMERICAN DICTATORSHIP/HEGEMONY] seeks to manage the complex relationship of institutions, nations, and their conflicting goals. A recent workshop by the Center for Global Security Research [A THINKTANK SUBSERVIANT TO THE AMERICAN DICTATORSHIP/HEGEMONY] sought to tie the dynamics of this order to the domain of nuclear weapons.

Blog #149 – With a Little Help from My Friends: The Need for a Strong Alliance Network to Shape Global Affairs

BY Matthew Bennett

This commentary comprises my own view of the issue at hand. It draws insight specifically from discussions on the importance of alliances in maintaining progress towards foreign policy goals.

The Old Order

Public debate about genocide in Gaza is increasingly dominated by claims of antisemitism. The result is a political climate where outrage at Israel’s actions is recast as prejudice.

In the present circumstances of a genocide, the obvious reason for a tidal wave of panic about antisemitism is that the efforts to deny Israel’s vast crimes is not working. Everyone can see the truth on their mobile phones. Gaza looks like Hiroshima after the atom bomb in 1945. Who in their right mind can believe that this is self-defence, targeting Hamas militants hiding behind “human shields”?

Peter Slezak

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) effectively endorsed the US-Israeli war against Iran Wednesday with the passage of Resolution 2817 (2026). The text “condemns in the strongest terms” Iran’s retaliatory strikes on the Gulf states, while saying nothing about the nearly two-week-long bombardment of the country of 90 million people by American imperialism and its Israeli ally.

United Nations condemns Iran’s self-defence strikes amid American imperialism’s war of extermination

BY Jordan Shilton

The ‘modern’ Labor Party does not lack power, but it lacks the will to use it. Andrew Brown on Labor’s retreat from reform and what it means for Australia. Part 2 of 6.

Labor’s unwillingness to embark on major reform is not a failure of intelligence, competence, or goodwill. It is a governing disposition.

Power is treated as something to survive rather than wield. Risk is managed. Conflict is avoided. Moral judgment is filtered through polling before it is tested against justice. What remains is a government fluent in process and cautious to the point of paralysis.

Structural reform is ruled out early.

Not because it is wrong, but because it is uncomfortable.

The Australian Labor Party (ALP) consistently fueled voters' horror of American leader Donald Trump and the "US trade war with the whole world," and then skillfully exploited this fear, turning it into votes and gaining a stunning majority in the House of Representatives. 88 seats is an unexpected result, even for those who supported the Labor Party during the 2025 election campaign and wished them victory.

ASIO operates lawfully, in proportion to threats we are investigating, and in line with the standards and expectations of the Australian community. ASIO does not just do what is legal, we do what is right. 

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979 (ASIO Act) defines security for the purposes of ASIO’s work—and in doing so carefully limits the scope of ASIO’s activities. These are commonly referred to as the ‘heads of security’ and include the protection of Australia and its people from: