The president is bringing out the differences between political cultures and traditions in Australia and the US, especially in attitudes towards what government can and should do.

Donald Trump is coming to mean many things for this nation’s political leaders and for the Australian people. Mad king, tariff tyrant, spoiler of world orders, trasher of international rules. And still a hero to some.

James Curran

"If I were president, I would stop terrorist attacks against the United States in a few days. Definitively.

First, I would apologize to all the widows, orphans, tortured people, those who fell into poverty, and the millions of other victims of American imperialism.

Then, I would announce to the four corners of the world that American interventions in the world are definitively over, and I would inform Israel that it is no longer the 51st state of the United States but henceforth—oddly enough—a foreign country.

And then, I would cut the military budget by at least 90%, using the surplus to pay reparations to the victims. That would be more than enough. A year's military budget of $330 billion is equivalent to more than $18,000 an hour since the birth of Jesus Christ.

That's what I would do in the first three days.

Senior opposition figure Andrew Hastie has warned Australia's long-standing military alliance with the United States faces uncertainty under President Donald Trump's "unpredictable" America First agenda.

Speaking alongside Opposition Leader Peter Dutton at the unveiling of the Coalition's long-awaited defence policy, the former soldier said a massive increase in military spending was needed to deal with rapidly changing geo-strategic circumstances. 

Young adults in the United States are experiencing anxiety and depression at twice the rate of teens, with more than half reporting that their lives lack meaning or purpose, according to a new report from Harvard University.

The report, called "On Edge: Understanding and Preventing Young Adults' Mental Health Challenges," was released Tuesday by the Harvard Graduate School of Education's Making Caring Common project.

Gen Z young adults face double the depression and anxiety of teens, Harvard report finds

October 24, 2023
Lynn Jolicoeur

The world's coral reefs are going through the most intense bleaching event ever recorded, with 84% of them now affected, scientific authorities announced on Wednesday.

The current crisis, the fourth global bleaching event since 1998, is more intense than the 2014-17 episode that caused some two-thirds of global reefs to experience the harmful whitening.

Coral bleaching occurs when the colorful algae that live within corals and feed them begin to produce toxins as a result of warming waters, causing their hosts to expel them. This exposes the corals to a greatly increased risk of disease and starvation.

The Trump administration said on Tuesday that the 145 percent tariffs imposed on Chinese imports will eventually "come down substantially" while expressing optimism about future talks to reach a US-China trade deal, US media reported.

US says tariffs on China will drop ‘substantially’; expert warns Washington faces difficulties in achieving initial goals as bullying unsustainable
By Ma Jingjing

It's very hard to focus on Australian politics when the world keeps getting tipped off its axis like this.

But with voting now having commenced at pre-polling stations around Australia, let us not overlook the historic, all-Australian union that was consecrated on Tuesday morning.

While there is a range of Australian war poetry, much of the poetry associated with Anzac Day is not Australian.

The greenback has hit a three-year low while gold soars past $3,500 per ounce. Things aren’t looking good, experts say.

Trump, Tariffs and Trust: The dollar's slide "reflects Trump’s meddling in Fed policy via tariffs and eroding trust in the US financial system,” Paul Goncharoff, financial analyst and general director of Goncharoff LLC, tells Sputnik.

Further De-Dollarization? If the Fed gives in to Trump’s pressure, it would signal faltering financial health - shaking confidence in the dollar, accelerating de‑dollarization and triggering the sell‑off of US monetary assets, the analyst argues.

This week, newspapers around the world received reports and signed documents from South Africa. The reports said that, in 1975, Israel agreed to sell South Africa nuclear weapons. South Africa then released an arms agreement signed by current Israeli President Shimon Peres. This is the document “heard round the world.”

The Arms Circus, Israel Keeping The World In Turmoil

By Gordon Duff

26 May, 2010
Mycatbirdseat.com

Teals and Greens are under political attack from a new pro-fossil fuel, pro-Israel astroturfing group, adding to the onslaught by far-right lobbyists Advance Australia. Wendy Bacon and Yaakov Aharon with the story.

On February 12 this year, former prime minister Scott Morrison’s principal private secretary Yaron Finkelstein, and former Labor NSW Treasurer Eric Roozendaal, met in the plush 50 Bridge St offices in the heart of Sydney’s CBD. The powerbrokers were there to discuss election strategies of for astroturfing campaign group Better Australia 2025 Inc.

Washington has set tariffs of up to 3,521% on solar imports from Southeast Asia, according to information published by the US Department of Commerce on Monday. 

The hikes follow allegations that Chinese-owned manufacturers operating in the region had violated trade rules.

The tariffs target imports from Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam, countries that collectively supplied over $12.9 billion in solar equipment to the US last year, according to Bloomberg.

Known as antidumping and countervailing duties, the measures aim to counteract the impact of what the US Commerce Department deems to be unfair subsidies and pricing practices.

When a great man and leader of the Roman-Catholic Church – and beyond it – like Pope Francis dies, it may seem almost impious to speak or write about politics. But in his case, we know for certain that it simply means doing what he told us to do.

Pope Francis was a great man who committed one terrible failure in the end
The late Catholic leader was humble and always supported the abused and the downtrodden – except in one very sad case...

China has concentration camps now. Why do Westerners claim our sins are unique?

It is now in vogue to celebrate non-Western cultures and disparage Western ones. Some of this is a much-needed reckoning, but much of it fatally undermines the very things that created the greatest, most humane civilization in the world.

The War on the West Hardcover – April 26, 2022

by Douglas Murray (Author)

For the West, democracy is a form of government in which supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodic free elections, which are contested by more than one party. This, the West believes, helps voters to fulfill their personal and national aspirations, and the political parties, which represent voters based on their ideological and political beliefs, to enact policies to suit their vote banks.

US democracy: Two parties, one core ideology
By Otton Solis

2025-01-08

In a democratic system, voters of all persuasions find a party that identifies with their core convictions and ideology on the most relevant issues.