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.

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.

About 120 members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg have signed a petition to strip Hungary of its voting powers in the European Union, an influential Finnish MEP announced on Friday.

Article 7 allows the bloc to suspend a member for “persistently breaching”the bloc’s values such as human rights, democracy, equality and the rule of law. If a third of the members of the European Commission and a two-thirds majority in the 705-member Parliament agree, a “qualified majority” can suspend a member’s rights, including the vote in the European Council.

MEP Petri Sarvamaa of Finland launched the petition earlier this week and has gathered 120 signatures so far, he said on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday.

Donald Trump’s potential election as US president in 2024 is “clearly a threat” to Europe, judging by the policies he pursued during his first term in office, European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde has warned.

Lagarde’s comments, which were delivered in an interview with France 2 on Thursday, come amid growing anxiety among EU leaders over a potential Trump victory in November’s election.

“If we draw lessons from history, by which I mean to say the manner in which he [Trump] carried out the first four years of his mandate, it is clearly a threat,” Lagarde stated.

“It is enough to look at trade tariffs, the commitment to NATO, the fight against climate change,” she added, noting that “in these three areas alone, in the past, US interests were not aligned with those of Europe.” 

Climate scientists don’t like surprises [Gus: WHY NOT IF IT'S GOOD NEWS?]. It means our deep understanding of how the climate works isn’t quite as complete as we need. But unfortunately, as climate change worsens, surprises and unprecedented events keep happening.

In March 2022, Antarctica experienced an extraordinary heatwave. Large swathes of East Antarctica experienced temperatures up to 40°C (72°F) above normal, shattering temperature records. It was the most intense heatwave ever recorded anywhere in the world.

A recent article published by the Financial Times might have amused the government of Belarus. In it, a European Commission boss pleaded with giant U.S. firms who are linked to the internet in Belarus to be more supportive of opposition journalists’ articles. Presently, Google does not support the Belarusian language on its search platforms, which, the EU official claims, gives a distinct advantage to the incumbent government of Lukashenko.

Young Austrians are getting too fat to join the military, Defense Secretary Klaudia Tanner warned during a press conference on Thursday, attributing last year’s decrease in the number of military conscripts to growing obesity among the youth.

The year 2023 saw 45,565 conscripts – 217 fewer than 2022. Of these, just 31,516 were classified as fit, a decline of 528 from the previous year, while 3,421 were deemed temporarily unfit (359 more than in 2022) and 9,989 were deemed unfit (an increase of 71 over 2022).

In addition to the decline in physical fitness, Tanner pointed to psychological stress as a factor impeding military readiness.

“The young generation must become healthier and fitter again,” she insisted.

Britain did not strong-arm Ukraine into abandoning peace with Russia early on in the conflict, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said. His remarks came in reaction to the recent revelations about his April 2022 trip to Kiev by a top Ukrainian lawmaker, who has now also tried to walk back his story.

Johnson’s role in the scuttling of Istanbul peace talks between Moscow and Kiev was reported as early as May 2022 by the outlet Ukrainska Pravda. In late November, the leader of President Vladimir Zelensky’s party bloc in the Ukrainian parliament, David Arakhamia, spoke about the visit as well, prompting reactions from Russia.

Will any of Jeffrey Epstein’s associates face justice?

While the unsealed court papers released in the deceased sex trafficker’s case may seem like a bombshell, serious consequences are unlikely

BY ROBERT BRIDGE

The names of some 200 individuals connected to accused sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein were publicly released this week, but nobody should expect justice to be served in this sensational case involving members of the global elite.

We investigate the fabric of spacetime, its ability to stretch, curve, and expand. Through our continuous studies of accretion disks located at the core of galaxies, it is our conclusion that these disks are separate from the host galaxy stellar disk.

The Final Size of the Universe Based on the Elasticity of the Fabric of Spacetime
     Geo Douglas1*, Naman S. Bajaj2

Paris YINBY (yes in my backyard) movement happened under Napoleon III*... Firenze YINBY movement stopped in 1436*... Both were spectacular movements that have created a special cultural essence. Presently, the new (modern) YINBY movement (started in Sweden) is pedestrian, awful and destructive of heritage — by neglect, by decree, GREED and by sheer stupidity. the YINBY should be stopped in Sydney and we invite Sydney Councils where heritage architecture of entire suburbs like Newtown, Paddington and many others should be preserved and cherished as important moments in time of Australia.

MORE TO COME.

FREE JULIAN ASSANGE NOW, PLEASE.............

Why do wars still exist? Why has this scourge of humanity not been annihilated yet like pestilence? Is there something rooted in our human genes which drives us into raising arms against our fellow human beings? Are there family traits of belligerence? Often this question prompts a simplifying and pessimistic response: There have always been wars and that´s just the way it is and will be for ever as long as humankind exists.

Thoughts on the famous correspondence between Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud

by Peter Küpfer

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense says it has purchased 50,000 sets of women’s uniforms for the first time since the start of the conflict. The announcement by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov comes a day before an expected parliamentary vote on amendments to the law on mobilization.

The proposed changes have caused a public outcry, with some calling them “unconstitutional” and aimed mainly at cracking down on draft dodgers. While it has been said that the changes to legislation do not foresee the conscription of women, such proposals have been previously voiced.

“For the first time, the Ministry of Defense purchased 50,000 sets of women’s uniforms, 100,000 electric heaters, and 15,000 active headphones,” Defense Minister Rustem Umerov wrote in a Facebook post on Monday.

The Pentagon released more information Monday about Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's hospitalization after facing questions over why President Biden, Congress and the public were not aware of Austin's hospitalization for several days.

The White House and Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, who took over some responsibilities on Jan. 2, did not know Austin had been hospitalized until Jan. 4, when Austin's chief of staff notified them, according to Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder. 

Ryder said Monday that the delay was due in part to the fact that Austin's chief of staff, Kelly Magsamen, was sick with the flu.