The mainstream Western media and global, alternative media outlets have been delivering a remarkable converging stream of blistering commentary since 2 April on what is now widely called, even by The Economist, Trump’s tariff tantrum.

 

Richard Cullen

Who holds the better cards – China or the US?

 

The Irish-language hip hop trio Kneecap is being investigated by British counterterrorism police following a controversial appearance where the group performed in front of the words “FUCK ISRAEL, FREE PALESTINE” during a music festival in the United States.

 

Zionism Is The Single Greatest Threat To Free Speech In The Western World Today

CAITLIN JOHNSTONE

 

Days away from the Federal Election, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has yet to offer the voting public any reason to elect him, writes Dr Alex Vickery-Howe.

People are being asked to vote for the Coalition on the grounds that it is better at managing the economy. But the current evidence does not back up that claim.

For generations, the Liberal Party has asserted that it is better than Labor at managing the economy. This election, Peter Dutton has repeated this message more than ever.

 

Michael Keating

Who will better manage the economy: Labor or the Coalition?

 

But what is the evidence? A proper assessment of which party will be the better economic manager should be based on a consideration of their:

Of all the people I meet on my short swing through America’s midwest, the gruff man who lived at a roadside ranch called Hog’s Haven near the Minnesota-Iowa border might have said it best.

Despite the big blue banner on his property declaring “TRUMP: Keeping America Great”, he didn’t want to talk about it. “I’m not into politics, I just put the sign up,” the man said when I knocked on his door. Donald Trump, he told me, was “better than what we had before”.

 

The world is consumed by Trump’s chaos. In MAGA heartland, they’ve barely noticed

Polls show the president has lost his sheen. But from “Hog’s Haven” to a hair salon in rural Kentucky, Americans who voted for Donald Trump still think he’s their best chance.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius voiced skepticism about Russian President Vladimir Putin's unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukraine said a Russian drone strike killed a young girl. DW has the latest.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said he was skeptical about Russian President Vladimir Putin's May 8-10 cease-fire in Ukraine.

 

Ukraine updates: Germany doubtful of Putin's 3-day ceasefire
Dmytro Hubenko with AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters

 

The defense minister said that recent experience shows that such declarations often amount to little. 

All of Kellogg’s underlying assumptions lacked any basis in reality. Yet Trump seemingly took them on trust.

Political warfare in Washington is endemic. But the body count at the Pentagon has started to rise precipitously. Three of Secretary of Defence Hegseth’s top advisors were placed on leave, and then fired. The war continues, with the Secretary now in the firing line.

 

GREAT CARTOON FROM CATHY WILCOX — SMH 29/04/2025.....

 

Hairdresser Renee Johnson hears a lot in her Muswellbrook hair and beauty salon. 

But one thing she has not heard, in the two weeks since the federal election campaign kicked off, is anything from either major party that would cement her vote. 

She is still undecided.

As a small business owner in a traditional mining town, her biggest fear, and one that she shares with her customers, is job insecurity. 

In the lead-up to the Australia election, new research examines the ALP and Coalition messaging and policy on the People’s Republic of China.

 

Elena Collinson

Framing the future: Australia’s China policy in the lead-up to the 2025 election

 

The report, from the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney, examines how these positions are evolving under increased international pressure and domestic scrutiny. The key findings of the report are:

THE IRAQ WAR WAS A MASSIVE DECEPTION WHICH WAS EASY TO UNPICK EXCEPT FOR THE MMMM (MEDIOCRE MASS MEDIA DE MIERDA). THE WAR IN YUCKRAINE IS A MORE COMPLEX DECEPTION WHICH STARTED WAY BACK IN 1917, WHEN THE AMERICAN EMPIRE DECIDED TO DESTROY RUSSIA...

HOPEFULLY WE ARE SEEING THE END OF THE WAR IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD, BUT THE DECEPTION WITH A TRUMPIAN TWIST MAY CONTINUE... THE EUROPEAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THEIR AMERICAN TUTORED LEADERS, AND THE ENGLISH EMPIRE, UNDER THE THUMB OF MI6, ARE STILL ACTIVELY OVERTLY PURSUING THE CAPER... 

OBAMA, BORIS JOHNSON AND JOE BIDEN ARE THE MODERN REPRESENTATIVES OF THIS PUSH TO DESTROY RUSSIA... RUSSIA HAS BEEN EXTRAORDINARILY LUCKY TO HAVE VLADIMIR PUTIN AT THE HELM...

 

 

A fleet of retired tanks the Albanese government pledged to Ukraine last year remains stuck in Australia, with defence figures in part blaming resistance from the United States for their delayed transfer.

More than six months after the donation of the M1A1 Abrams was first announced as part of a $245 million Australian military aid package, the ABC can reveal the aging army vehicles are still awaiting final clearance to be shipped overseas.

Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz and his CDU won Germany's election, yet his personal popularity is low — and getting lower. Most Germans don't trust him, not least because of his approach to the far-right AfD.

As the Kremlin massed troops on Ukraine’s border in early 2022, and the threat of sanctions grew, wealthy Russians began flying crates of cash home — with help from Raiffeisen Bank International, Brink’s and Bank of America.

Trade data reviewed by OCCRP and Paper Trail Media shows that the three global institutions moved more than $12 billion worth of foreign currency to Russia just before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Most of the cash was in U.S. dollars, euros, and Swiss francs.

Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) was by far the biggest money mover, sending 189 shipments worth a combined $10 billion.  

 

Boris Johnson rages at Donald Trump's 'capitulation' to Russia - 'Putin will attack again'

Boris Johnson says it is time to take the boot off the neck of the Ukrainians and put the squeeze on Vladimir Putin.

In 2016, US Vice-President J.D. Vance published a best-selling memoir titled Hillbilly Elegy. Curiously, he explained on the Fox News network recently that China’s pivotal influence on American consumption was due to the US borrowing “money from Chinese peasants to buy the things those Chinese peasants manufacture” (YouTube link here). Let’s consider the sort of individuals in question.

 

Richard Cullen

A hillbilly White House and the wisdom of peasants

 

European understanding