We must not let 2023 pass into history without emphasising once again that politicians and states not only have fundamental tasks and duties: They must also fulfil them. The breach of law committed in our countries by politicians and the state when they invoke “reason of state”, “emergency rule”, “exceptional distress”, or other such constructs opens liberal and democratic constitutional states to the gravest dangers. As a rule, such invocations not only conceal a breach of the law and a regression to absolutist conditions; they also signal increasingly aggressive policies of power and war.

 

John F. Kennedy’s speech at the American University in Washington, 10 June 1963

   by Karl Jürgen Müller

Reading the tea leaves for the 2024 economy is challenging. On January 5th, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said we have achieved a “soft landing,” with wages rising faster than prices in 2023. But critics are questioning the official figures, and prices are still high. Surveys show that consumers remain apprehensive.

 

By Ellen Brown / Original to ScheerPost

 

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Republican presidential primary candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has decided to suspend his campaign.

Ramaswamy has already notified his team of his decision.

 

"I have made the decision to withdraw from the presidential race," Ramaswamy said.

 

He added that he had called former US President Donald Trump to congratulate him on winning the Republican Party's nomination fight in the Iowa caucuses and to let him know that he would support him in the election.

Shapps spoke at Lancaster House in London about the UK’s place in a “more dangerous world.” He painted Britain as a leading global military and industrial power, without once mentioning the US. 

Just last week, Shapps said, the UK was “able to both take action to defend ourselves against the Houthis and uplift our support to Ukraine to new record levels.” This was a reference to the mainly US air and missile strikes on the Yemeni group, in which four RAF jets took part.

“For Ukraine, this will be a year when the fate of their nation may be decided,” Shapps said, arguing that “the West must not let them down.”

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong is making an official visit to the Middle East this month and will need to convey a clear position to different audiences: the Palestinian Authority, Israel and neighbouring countries. But at home, many Australians are shocked that their government has been a loyal apologist for Israel and failed to condemn the military and political assault on Palestinians.

 

A loyal apologist for Israel: Australia and the Genocide convention    By Margaret Reynolds

 

“Gen Z Is Not Ready For The Workplace” – U.S. Employers

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

Recent studies show that employers are finding Gen Z candidates unprepared for job interviews, leading to a shift in job market dynamics. Factors such as social awkwardness influenced by technology and employers' reluctance to invest in training are contributing to this trend. This article explores the reasons behind Gen Z's lack of readiness for the workplace and provides valuable insights for both employers and young job seekers.

Challenges Faced by Gen Z in Job Interviews

Recent college grads struggle in job interviews, lacking communication skills and professional cues.

Over half of employers find Gen Z candidates unprepared for job interviews.

The absence of Austin would have no doubt exacerbated the alarm within an already trigger-happy U.S. military machine. Combined with those concerns is the lack of confidence in Biden’s cognitive health as Commander-in-Chief.

 

It seems utterly bizarre that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin – the second-highest ranking civilian military commander in the United States – was absent from duty for several weeks without President Joe Biden or Congress knowing about it.

A charitable view would be to call the scandal a “comedy of errors”. More appropriately, however, are urgent concerns about the implications for global peace and security. The U.S. resembles a juggernaut out of control careening along a precipice.

Australia is moving forward with plans to scrap dozens of military helicopters which Ukraine and its supporters believe should be donated to Kiev, ABC News reported on Sunday.

The Australian Department of Defense retired the MRH-90 Taipan fleet last September, after an incident claimed the lives of four service members. The choppers were decommissioned 14 months ahead of schedule, with 38 remaining in service at the time. In December, the Ukrainian government made an official request to donate them for its war effort against Russia, according to the report, but Canberra is nevertheless moving forwards with its plans.

The Defense Department “will dispose of the remaining airframes and systems in an environmentally friendly and cost-effective manner,” the news outlet quoted a spokesperson as saying.

The former secretary of state and senator has spent the last three years liaising with other countries to up commitments on climate change, including at the most recent COP28 UN climate summit in Dubai.

The exhaustive 84-page brief submitted by South Africa to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) charging Israel with genocide is hard to refute. Israel’s campaign of indiscriminate killing, wholesale destruction of infrastructure, including housing, hospitals and water treatment plants, along with its use of starvation as a weapon, accompanied by genocidal rhetoric from its political and military leaders who speak of destroying Gaza and ethnically cleansing the 2.3 million Palestinians, makes a strong case against Israel for genocide. 

 

Chris Hedges: The Case for Genocide

 

Former US President Donald Trump has used closing arguments in his civil fraud trial to attack New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Trump had sought to deliver Thursday’s full closing arguments, but permission was denied when he failed to sign off on restrictions stopping him from using the courtroom as an electioneering platform.

The former president is the current frontrunner for the Republican nomination to go against the current president, Joe Biden, in the November election.

Judge Arthur Engoron, who is ruling on what penalties to impose on Trump after an earlier decision that he and his company had manipulated property values fraudulently, allowed Trump to make brief additional comments after his lawyer had spoken.

Ukraine to defend UK 'within 24 hours' if attacked – PM
Under a new bilateral security accord, Kiev would have to protect UK in the face of a Russian military attack, Denis Shmygal has said

The security agreement recently concluded between Kiev and London is “bilateral” and will guarantee Ukraine’s military support to the UK if Russia were to attack the country, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal has said.

Shmygal was referring to the security cooperation agreement that British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak signed with Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky on Friday. The pact stipulates support for Ukraine’s future integration into NATO and guarantees “prevention and active deterrence of, and counter-measures against, any military escalation and/or a new aggression by the Russian Federation.”

As Australia approaches that time in January again, we see the unedifying picture of Peter Dutton’s team driving his post-referendum Base into a flag-waving orgy of aggrieved patriotism. Similarly in the USA, compulsory patriotism is part of the Atlas Network’s plan to control the future of America through directing the next administration.

 

Lessons for Survival Day from America    By Lucy Hamilton

 

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron's experience of launching airstrikes against Libya, Syria and Iraq while he was prime minister helped him manage the UK's most recent attacks against the Houthis in Yemen on Thursday, iNews reported on Friday.

Cameron reportedly helped assemble the group that struck nearly 30 sites in Yemen, using over 150 bombs, along with Defense Secretary Grant Shapps and Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, a senior US official told the outlet.

The Foreign Secretary, once the UK's candidate to be head of NATO, reportedly took “full part” in meetings and coordinated with his US counterpart Secretary of State Antony Blinken “on a regular basis.” He was also said to have delivered “warnings” to Iran, considered the Houthis’ most powerful ally.

The conditions are ripe for a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict and Italy will focus more on achieving this, Defense Minister Guido Crosetto has said. The official added that this does not mean the suspension of weapons deliveries to Ukraine, describing the new approach as a “dual-track strategy.”

Addressing lawmakers in the Italian parliament on Wednesday, Crosetto stressed the importance of a balance between “deterrence and diplomacy” in the coming months. “We have two paths: that of aid without ‘ifs and buts’ – and that of attempting to build a diplomatic path that brings us to the end of the conflict,” the defense chief said.