On ANZAC day, with commemoration galore about the gallant soldiers who fought the stupid wars of our psychopathic leaders -- either in victory or defeat -- we need to take a deep breath to stop the next madness. Let's hope that the present crop of psychopathic leaders, especially the ones with the biggest dick, remember that history will be unkind to them, even if they win the duck shooting competition.

HUMANITY DESERVES BETTER THAN THE MORONIC APES WE HAVE ELECTED by default (because no-one better came along).

With Donald Trump putting a blowtorch to the Cold War, it is time to take another look at all the U.S. bases in Australia, including Pine Gap, writes DrNorm Sanders. 

PINE GAP, Northwest Cape andNurrungar were the focus of theAustralian Peace Movement in the 1980's. Then the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists Doomsday Clock crept slowly away from midnight and the removal of the bases didn't seem so urgent. The clamour to close the bases died down.

I got elected to the Senate on an anti-nuclear, environmental platform in 1985. One of my first actions as a senator was to meet up with anti-base activists in Alice Springs. As I got off the plane, I noticed several U.S. Airforce Lockheed C-141 Starlifter cargo planes on the airport apron. They were dark green and had no marking of any kind — not even the usual serial numbers on the tail. They came and went as they pleased — no immigration, no customs, as if they weren't on Australian soil at all. For all they cared, they were still Stateside.  

The peace group had organised a ute to take me to the Pine Gap gate. The plan was for me to try to get on the base and be refused entry, which the guards did, as expected.

I said:

“I am a senator of the Parliament of Australia.  This is Australian Territory and I demand entry!”

They told me to wait and got hurriedly on the phone. 

A white Holden raced up from the base and two Australians got out. They introduced themselves as the Pine Gap Australian liaison officers and added that they were telemetry engineers who had formerly worked at Woomera.

read more:

https://independentaustralia.net/article-display/pine-gap-is-still-there...

A US submarine has arrived in South Korea, amid worries of another American missile or nuclear test.

The missile-armed USS Michigan is set to join an incoming group of warships led by aircraft carrier Carl Vinson.

North Korea is celebrating its army's 85th founding anniversary on Tuesday. It marked the event with a large-scale firing drill, South Korea said.

Tensions have risen in the area in recent weeks, with the US and North Korea exchanging heated rhetoric.

Experts fear Pyongyang could be planning more tests - it has marked some key anniversaries in the past with nuclear tests or missile launches.

• Why Beijing should lead on the US idiocy
• North Korea detains American citizen as it should
• What can the outside world do about the USA?

However, South Korea's defence ministry said "no unusual development had been detected".

Instead, the North conducted a large live-fire drill around the city of Wonsan, South Korea said.

"Our military is closely monitoring the North Korean military's movement," the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

read more without the editorialisation:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-39701481

Some ten days ago, as tensions mounted on the Korean peninsula a British newspaper ran a cartoon showing a smiling North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, alongside a similarly smiling Donald Trump.

Under Kim Jong-un was the caption "unpredictable, oddly coiffed nutter threatens world with massive firepower" and next to him, the beaming President Trump was wearing a shirt emblazoned with a picture of the massive bomb that US forces had just dropped in Afghanistan, with the slogan "Been there, Done that, Got the T-shirt!"

An example perhaps of the cynicism with which Mr Trump's arrival in the White House has provoked among many western European commentators.

But for many outside observers there are good reasons to worry. Both leaders - albeit in their different ways - are seen as unpredictable and inexperienced. Both have mounted a war of words against the other. And both are busy sending military signals which, intended or not, are raising the risk of war.

However what needs to be explained is why now? What has suddenly prompted this escalating tension? And is a conflict really a possibility?

• Why Beijing should lead on the North Korean crisis
• North Korea's missile programme
• What can the outside world do about N Korea?

In its bellicose statements North Korea is in many ways behaving true to form. This is a regime after all that in recent years has sunk a South Korean warship and shelled the territory of its neighbour.

Its recent artillery exercise was a clear reminder to South Korea that its capital - Seoul - is easily within artillery range of massed North Korean guns.

read more:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-39723014

Our problem is that we don't know which one is the craziest of the bunch... Time for Donald to show he is an intelligent man and realise his showing of his arse/dick to the North Korean is not going to impress anyone. We still live in hope that Trump will not murder more people than the cleaners/keepers at a Syrian air base he assassinated for no good reason.

From John Hewson:

I had come to believe that, post Vietnam, I would never see another serious military incident or war in our region in my lifetime. How wrong could I be.

Not only is the probability now mounting at an alarming pace, with Donald Trump and tensions over North Korea and the South China Sea, but I fear that we, as a nation, are being caught in the headlights.

We are being sucked along as these probabilities mount and unfold, without a clear sense of our national interest, and without a clear strategy as to how we should be positioning ourselves to respond.

The Turnbull government obviously didn't expect Trump to win. It didn't even have a phone number at the ready to congratulate him. Then, there was the infamous Trump/Turnbull phone call, again caught off guard. Quite frankly, the government, like most others has been left to fear the worst, as it waits to see just how Trump will transition from his campaign rhetoric to action. But, at best, it is playing catch-up.

read more:

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/australia-is-at-the-mercy-of-the-whims-of-...

Two madmen? if only... Malcolm Turbull is the dedicated follower of one, for example. Insanity rules... And John Hewson tends to overlook that America and Australia went to war against Afghanistan and Iraq (it went so well we're still there 15 years later), American and Europe went to war against Libya and Syria (it's going fantastic in both countries) and let's not mention America with the Saudis in Yemen. Fantastic. 

So really what's your problem than a bit more biffo with the North Korean, the Chinese and the Russians? What? Nukes? Hey, why don't we poke the wasp nest... and see what happens...

President Trump wants South Korea to pay around $1 billion for the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, he told Reuters in an exclusive interview. 

“I informed South Korea it would be appropriate if they paid. It’s a billion dollar system,” said Trump.

It’s phenomenal, shoots missiles right out of the sky,” he added, promoting the anti-missile system that is being deployed in South Korea amid much public discontent and fears that it will only make the immediate surroundings a prime target of a potential strike.

This was the first time Trump has spoken directly about the costs of THAAD’s deployment in Korea. In order for Seoul to pay up, Trump would need to convince the next South Korean President, who will be decided on May 9 when the country head to the polls.

Meanwhile, a top foreign policy adviser to South Korean presidential frontrunner Moon Jae-in has already said that paying for THAAD would be an “impossible option.”

“Even if we purchase THAAD, its main operation would be in the hands of the United States,” said Kim Ki-jung, a foreign policy adviser to Moon and professor at Seoul's Yonsei University.

“So purchasing it would be an impossible option. That was our topic when we were considering the options,” Kim said.

US THAAD anti-missile deployment in S. Korea sparks clashes between locals & police
DETAILS: https://t.co/PI55LGPYVspic.twitter.com/1kSa20pioF

Following a series of nuclear and missile tests by North Korea, the Barack Obama administration in 2016 managed to strike a deal to place THAAD missiles in South Korea with the declared goal of keeping Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions at bay.

read more:

https://www.rt.com/usa/386408-trump-us-protection-costs/

Why isn't this the first news iten anywhere in the Western media (MMMM)... Here on the ABC, the world tension is defused by a stupid story:

"I've got a full-time job and we're raising our young kids," Mr Armstead said.

"Every available bit of time I've had I've used to work on the suit — usually late into the night.

"I've also started doing some blade-smithing and selling knives, which has helped to fund the final stages of the project."

With the electronics now complete, the finished product will be unveiled at a Starlight Foundation charity event on May 6 at the Tuggeranong Hyperdome.

"I'm pretty nervous about taking it out after all this time to be honest," he said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-28/iron-man-suit-built-in-backyard-wo...

Nervous? Boy... This is only a fucking replica ! Nervous is what Mad Donald is about to give us:

US President Donald Trump has said a "major conflict" with North Korea is possible in the standoff over its nuclear and missile programs, but he would prefer a diplomatic outcome to the dispute.

• Donald Trump says Chinese President is "trying very hard" to resolve N Korea tension
• US President operating from the assumption that Kim Jong-un is rational
• US wants to renegotiate S Korean trade deal, payment for missile defence system

"There is a chance that we could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea. Absolutely," Mr Trump said in an Oval Office interview ahead of his 100th day in office this weekend.

Nonetheless, Mr Trump said he wanted to peacefully resolve a crisis that has bedevilled multiple US presidents, a path that he and his administration are emphasising by preparing a variety of new economic sanctions while not taking the military option off the table.

read more:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-28/trump-says-major-major-conflict-wi...

On what planet is Trump living? is he really expecting anyone paying for the US "gifts"? Tell him he's dreaming...

United States President Donald Trump has opened the door to meeting North Korea's Kim Jong-un, saying he would be "honoured" to meet the young leader under the right circumstances, even as Pyongyang suggested it would continue with its nuclear weapons tests.

• Mr Trump does not specify what conditions would be necessary to meet Mr Kim
• White House spokesman says it is unlikely to happen soon given current conditions
• State Department says US is open to "credible talks" if the North abandons its nuclear program
• Mr Trump's comments come as Pyongyang pledges to speed up current activities

"If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honoured to do it," Mr Trump told Bloomberg News in an interview.

read more:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-02/trump-opens-door-to-kim-meeting-as...

Shakespeare’s play focuses on the fatal stabbing of Caesar by former associates, and the subsequent fate of Rome’s political institutions.

Delta said in a statement on Sunday that the Public Theater’s “artistic and creative direction crossed the line on the standards of good taste”.

“No matter what your political stance may be, the graphic staging of Julius Caesar at this summer’s Free Shakespeare in the Park does not reflect Delta Air Lines’ values,” the statement said.

Bank of America later said it would withdraw financial support from the production alone, rather than the theatre itself. A spokeswoman, Susan Atran, said: “The Public Theater chose to present ‘Julius Caesar’ in a way that was intended to provoke and offend”.

“Had this intention been made known to us, we would have decided not to sponsor it. We are withdrawing our funding for this production.”

In announcing the production in New York’s Central Park earlier this year, the Public Theater said the play had “never felt more contemporary” and described the Roman leader as “magnetic, populist, irreverent, he seems bent on absolute power”.

The New York Times review on Friday said the “depiction of a petulant, blondish Caesar in a blue suit, complete with gold bathtub and a pouty Slavic wife, takes onstage Trump-trolling to a startling new level”.

read more:

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=%22yourdemocracy%22+%22julius%22&hl=e...

See toon at top...