Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Roger Wicker has threatened to block the sale of US nuclear-powered attack subs to Australia unless the Biden administration increases defense outlays. Australian officials have expressed concerns that such a decision could leave them in a jam after Canberra rejected a $65 billion sub deal with France.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken “fully expects” the US to move forward with the delivery of Virginia-class nuclear submarines to Australia, notwithstanding growing resistance from some US lawmakers.

 

Scholar David Hawkes refers to John Milton as a “Hero of Our Time.” Milton’s written works, including his poetry and political treatises, contain cultural and theological insight applicable not only to his 17th Century English culture, but 21st Century American culture as well. As homosexuality continues to enter the public sphere in Western society, many scholars are uncovering past insights about how sexuality has evolved.

More Germans did not have enough money for meals comprising of meat, fish, poultry or a vegetarian equivalent every day in 2022, according to the latest data tracked by EU statistical office Eurostat. 

The new figures, released by German corporate newsroom Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland on Monday, demonstrated a year-on-year increase of 0.9% to 11.4%, meaning that nearly 10 million people in the most populous EU nation often lacked proper meals. That shocking number rises to 19.3%, when it comes to single parents, marking a solid rise of 2.6% compared to the previous year. 

The statistics were requested by the opposition Die Linke party. Commenting on the figures, the faction's leader in the Bundestag (parliament), Dietmar Bartsch, called for a temporary suspension of sales tax on essential food items and for the state to control supermarket pricing. 

Confidence in US military at two-decade low – poll
Support for the armed forces has plummeted since President Joe Biden took office

Fewer Americans are confident in their military than at any point since 1997, according to a Gallup poll published on Monday. With trust in the armed forces dropping ten points in the last two years, the services are currently grappling with a historic recruitment crisis.

Conducted in June, the poll found 60% of respondents expressing “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the military, down from 64% last year. Public confidence in the military last dipped to 60% in 1997, and has not been lower since 1988, when it sat at 58%.

While Australians pride themselves, for the most part, in having stricter gun laws than most and not being warlike in disposition, their governing officials have increasingly thought otherwise. War drums are beating. The chatter about acquiring and building armaments is getting more frenzied. As a client state of the US imperium, firmly enmeshed in the security arrangements of the AUKUS agreement, Canberra is becoming increasingly interested in militarising the population and turning the country into a garrison state.

 

By Binoy Kampmark

 

Unfortunately, one of the negative consequences of active hostilities is observed in the foreign trade relations of the countries participating in the conflict. A temporary danger zone does not guarantee safety along trade communication routes. Disrupting the prior steady trading system is costly to the trade balance and frequently leads to major humanitarian crises, such as in export-dependent countries. It is true that the scarcity of certain goods, such as grains (like wheat, for example), on the global market poses a severe danger to the food security of entire nations. It’s no coincidence that a Russian proverb says: “Bread is the staff of life.”

 

by Alexandr Svaranc

 

The threat of nuclear annihilation is no more serious than the threat of climate change, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has claimed. Blinken’s critics argue that Washington is risking nuclear war by arming Ukraine.

In an appearance on 60 Minutes Australia on Sunday, Blinken was asked whether nuclear war or climate change represented “the greater threat to humanity.”

“Well, you can’t, I think, have a hierarchy,” he replied. “There are some things that are front and center…including potential conflict, but there’s no doubt that climate represents an existential challenge to all of us.”

 

FREE JULIAN ASSANGE NOW.... 

Julian Assange: US rejects Australia’s calls to end pursuit of WikiLeaks founder during Ausmin talks

Ministers’ meeting focused on military cooperation and agreed to increase ‘tempo’ of US nuclear-powered submarine visits to Australia as part of Aukus pact...

 

The Victorian Government’s bombshell decision to scrap their proposed hosting of the 2026 Commonwealth Games has been met with fierce backlash along political lines, with some of Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ harshest critics lining up to slam the decision. 

The decision to scrap the Games comes after claims the costs had blown out to as much as $7 billion, almost $5 billion more than the original cost estimates of $2.6 billion. 

Federal deputy opposition leader Sussan Ley labelled it an “international embarrassment for this country”, while Andrews’ state counterpart John Pesutto said that the “damage to (Victoria’s) reputation will be deep, and it will be lasting.” 

“The Andrews government’s decision to scrap the 2026 Commonwealth Games is a massive humiliation for Victoria,” Mr Pesutto posted on Twitter.

Presently, democracy is in turmoil. 

I do not have to paint you a picture, because you know. But I will…

The left has abandoned its traditional purpose of helping people equally, now to become somewhat fascist with confused freedoms of being whatever progressive nutcases — say: it’s okay to genderise our kids because we have acquired hormonal knowledge and skilled surgeons for removing bits — while fostering the old enemy: the Military — because despite its nefarious dangerous construct, the Military has become highly acceptable due to its embrace of rainbow colours — and we fear the Chinese. Brother. We have just ordered new old C130s… Nothing new...

piggies

Will there be a law to repress the climate skepticism in the media ?

US and UK media spin Russia-Africa summit as failure

Coverage of the St. Petersburg meeting appeared to follow cherry-picked talking points

British and American outlets have embraced a set of similar talking points in their coverage of the Russia-Africa summit taking place this week in St. Petersburg, focusing on the number of presidents in attendance, blaming Moscow for the demise of the Black Sea “grain deal,”and bringing up the presence of Wagner on the continent.

Of all of the federal charges that former president Donald Trump and his aide Waltine Nauta face in the investigation into the alleged mishandling of top secret government documents, obstruction is one of the most serious, according to legal experts.

THE FOLLOWING REPORT ON THE ABC BY JOHN LYONS IS A DISGRACE OF PROPAGANDA AND BRAINWASHING. OUR POOR ALBO, WHO CAN’T GET A DEAL ON ASSANGE’S FREEDOM, IS BEING BRAINWASHED BY THE NATO IDIOTS — THE VILLAINS IN THE PLAY BETWEEN PUTIN AND ZELENSKY BEING AMERICA/NATO/EU/UK…. RUSSIA IS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY, NONETHELESS.

THE FIRST POINT TO KNOW IS THAT PUTIN NEVER WANTED TO DESTROY UKRAINE, BUT TO PREVENT IT FROM BECOMING A NATO MEMBER — THAT IS TO SAY REMAIN A NEUTRAL COUNTRY. AND TO PREVENT RUSSIANS IN THE EASTERN PART OF UKRAINE BEING EXTERMINATED.

ZELENSKY IS A JEWISH JOKER WHO MADE A PACT WITH THE NAZIS IN UKRAINE. HE IS A DESPERATE DESPOT WHO DOES AS TOLD BY HIS WESTERN (USA) INFLUENCERS. HE PLAYS THE STRONG MAN BECAUSE HE HAS THE WESTERN WINDS IN HIS SAIL. HE IS AN UNINTELLIGENT FOOL.

Biden Acknowledges Granddaughter in Arkansas for First Time

The president has told his son, Hunter Biden, that he wants to meet his 4-year-old grandchild, Navy Joan Roberts, who until recently was at the center of a yearslong child support dispute.

President Biden publicly acknowledged his 4-year-old granddaughter, Navy Joan Roberts, for the first time on Friday, saying in a statement that he and the first lady, Jill Biden, “only want what is best for all of our grandchildren, including Navy.”

The statement came as Mr. Biden faced increasing pressure from critics who said that failing to acknowledge Navy publicly went against the image of a loving patriarch that he has nurtured since the beginning of his political career.