Kevin Rudd lives in New York these days, but on November 18, he returned to his former hometown of Brisbane to speak about his most recent book, The Avoidable War: the dangers of a catastrophic conflict between the US and Xi Jinping’s China at Brisbane’s City Hall.

Australia’s 26th Prime Minister quit politics after losing the 2013 election, departing to Harvard University, from where he was recruited by the Asia Society, an American institution founded by the Rockefellers in the 1950s.

SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA WERE MOSTLY DEVISED TO FORCE EUROPE TO BENDZEKNEES TO THE AMERICAN EMPIRE. AS WELL ONE COULD THINK THAT FORCING EUROPE TO STOP USING RUSSIAN GAS WAS A PLOY BY THE AMERICAN EMPIRE TO MAKE EUROPE GO "GREEN". FAR FROM THIS. THE RUSSIAN GAS HAD TO BE REPLACED BY US GAS AT FOUR TIMES THE COST, PUSHING THE EU ONTO ITS KNEES. MEANWHILE, THE REAL US EMPIRE — THE PENTAGON — BURNS MORE OIL AND GAS THAN RUSSIA...

SO HERE ARE A FEW TAKES ON THE SANCTIONS:

FIRST THE UK (NOT IN THE EU NOW BUT STILL SUFFERING FROM THE CAPER):

Some 3,300 ‘warm banks’ have been opened across the UK, as millions of people face the prospect of fuel poverty this winter. The Met Office predicts that temperatures could drop to -10 degrees Celsius in some locations over the next week.

THE TRUE AMERICAN EMPIRE ISN’T RUN FROM THE WHITE HOUSE NOR FROM THE US CONGRESS, BUT FROM THE PENTAGON.

THIS IS THE EMPIRE WITHIN THE EMPIRE.

ON PAPER, THE US MILITARY ASSETS ARE WORTH AROUND 30 TRILLION DOLLARS. ON THE GROUND, THIS WORTH IS LIKE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CLOSED UMBRELLA WHICH DOES NOT STOP THE RAIN AND A FULLY OPENED ONE, WHICH PREVENTS THE SHIT FALLING FROM THE SKY. THIS IS WORTH AT LEAST 120 TRILLION DOLLARS AND IT IS EVERYWHERE TO BE SEEN, TO CONTROL THE PLANET.

IN ENGLAND, THE TRUE ENGLISH EMPIRE IS STILL THE CITY OF LONDON THAT CONTROLS THE CASH ON BEHALF OF THE RICH PEOPLE. THEY WILL MAKE THE SECRET DEALS THAT KEEP THINGS ROLLING BEHIND THE SCENE WHILE OFFICIAL “MORAL” POSITIONS ARE EXPRESSED BY THE POLITICIANS, OFTEN CONTRARILY TO THE UNDERGROUND TRENDS.

“US policy needs to be based on a clear understanding of what the rest of the Indo Pacific wants. We need to demonstrate we have interests we want to nurture beyond security interests.”

Australia’s foreign minister Penny Wong made an important speech in Washington on December 7, spoilt by an untenable claim discussed below. In addressing the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, she gave the strongest expression of her views since the election. She said, “US policy needs to be based on a clear understanding of what the rest of the Indo Pacific wants. We need to demonstrate we have interests we want to nurture beyond security interests.”

By Brian Toohey

U.S., Japan, Australia and India Discuss Joint Infrastructure Project

Australia, US, India and Japan in talks to establish 'alternative ...

19 Feb 2018 — Allies are talking about establishing a joint regional infrastructure scheme as an alternative to China's multibillion-dollar plan.

Allied Infrastructure Strategy in the Indo-Pacific

15 Oct 2021 — Thank you for joining today's discussion about allied cooperation on ... Indeed, the Japan, Australia and United States share the ...

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Full Committee Hearing To Examine The Department Of The Interior’s Implementation Of The Infrastructure Investment And Jobs Act

The hearing will be held on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, at 10:00 am in Room 366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC.

The purpose of this hearing is to examine the Department of the Interior’s implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The hearing will be webcast live on the committee’s website, and an archived video will be available shortly after the business meeting concludes.  

Rebecca Armitage is the digital producer for the ABC's International Desk. She was previously a multiplatform producer with the ABC's Specialist Reporting Team and a producer at 730. 

THE ABC SHOULD SACK THIS ONE-SIDED BITCH, OR AT LEAST NOT PLACE HER CRAP, UNDER "NEWS". 

I’VE SAID IT. REBECCA LEADS THE ANTI-PUTIN BRIGADE AT THE ABC (AUSTRALIA):

With Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, humiliated again and again on the battlefields of Ukraine, he may be preparing to cash in a favour owed to him by one of his closest allies, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko. 

I don’t think Premier Dominic Perrottet (“Premier’s joy at young woman’s jail time was ugly”, December 9) sees the irony in his response to the prison sentences given to climate protesters under his government’s recent legislation.

This week’s Scheer Intelligence podcast brings together host Robert Scheer and author and renowned physician Dr. Gabor Maté to talk about Mate’s recent New York Times best-selling book, “The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture,” written with his son, Daniel Maté. After decades of treating thousands of patients in myriad fields, including general family practice and palliative care, Maté began to foster more attention to his work involving stress, addiction and childhood development.

Millions of people will be struggling to stay warm, a charity has warned - as parts of the UK are set to be hit with snow and freezing conditions.

National Energy Action said people faced a "vicious choice" between a cold home and falling into debt.

A remarkable narrative event occurred on Sunday when the Washington Post (WaPo), which is regarded as one of the US’ premier platforms for managing public perceptions and considered to be connected to its national security apparatus, began rehabilitating President Xi’s image. In their piece about how “A more pragmatic Xi Jinping launches a global charm offensive for China”, the outlet praised the Chinese leader for the positive interactions that he shared with his Western counterparts since October.  

Andrew Korybko

December 5 2022

THE MINSK AGREEMENTS WERE A MASSIVE GRAND DECEIT... JULES AND OUR COHORT BELIEVE THAT PUTIN KNEW THIS BUT HE HOPED THAT THEY WOULD WORK NONETHELESS.... WE KNOW THAT WW1 WAS AN ENGLISH CONSPIRACY.  THIS STATEMENT IS A BIT BRUTAL BUT WE CAN EXPLAIN IT BY VISITING THE CORBETT REPORT REPOSTED HERE. 

WHAT OUR FRIEND JULES LETAMBOUR SUSPECTS IS THAT GENERAL DE GAULLE KNEW THAT WW2 WAS ALSO AN ENGLISH/US CONSPIRACY WHICH DID NOT GO ACCORDING TO PLAN, UNTIL THE “HAPPY” ENDING AFTER A HARD SLOG. IT COULD HAVE GONE EITHER WAY, WITHOUT THE RUSSIAN INTERVENTION THAT DEPLETED THE GERMAN ARMIES FAR MORE THAN THE WESTERN OFFENSIVES.

Jean-Nicolas-Arthur Rimbaud was born October 20, 1854, in the small French town of Charleville. His father, an army captain, abandoned the family when he was six.

A confession by former German chancellor Angela Merkel about the Minsk peace agreements could be used as evidence in a tribunal involving Western politicians responsible for provoking the Ukraine conflict between Moscow and Kiev, the Russian Foreign Ministry warned on Thursday.

The deal, brokered by Germany and France, was supposed to be a roadmap for peace in the war-torn country. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that his country's current military offensive was prompted by the failure to implement the terms of the accords.

The former German leader admitted in an interview with Die Zeit on Wednesday that the actual purpose of the Minsk agreements was to give Ukraine time to prepare for a military confrontation with Russia.

Wouldn’t it be amusing to see an actual fly-on-the-wall job about Netflix’s new Harry & Meghan documentary? Imagine the scenes behind-the-scenes. The Duchess rehearses her crying face in consultation with her make-up specialist. The Duke glares at himself in a mirror. ‘I had to protect my family,’ he repeats over and over as he fingers his apricot beard. The lighting team try to coax along the impossibly capricious royals only to suffer their own nervous breakdowns after Meghan accuses them of disregarding her mental health.

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/war-of-the-windsors-who-will-win-this-round/

THE SPECTATOR IS A RIGHT WING MAGAZINE. THE QUESTION IS “Can a leftie read the Spectator?”