Dear Julian, We’re holding you in our hearts. I had a strong dream about you recently. It was clear and simple. You were free; walking in the streets of Melbourne. It was lunchtime on a sunny day. You were happy and relaxed and all passers by were friendly and glad to see you. May this dream come true. I sense that it will.

US President Joe Biden’s recent insulting remarks are proof that it would be better for Russia if he stayed in office, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.

Speaking at a fundraiser in California on Wednesday, Biden had called Putin a “crazy son of a b*tch.” Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin asked the Russian president to comment on this. 

“When you asked me our preference for the next US president, I said we would work with any, but for us, for Russia, Biden was better,” Putin replied. “Judging by what he said, I was absolutely right.”

“That’s the appropriate reaction to what I said,” Putin continued. “It’s not like he could say ‘Good job, Volodya, thank you for the helping hand’. We understand what is going on there, in terms of internal politics.”

Community opposition to the AUKUS project finds expression in a Sydney suburb.

Back in March 2023, a public meeting was held in the Town Hall of the Sydney suburb of Marrickville, under the title “Can War be Avoided or Will Our Peace be Shattered?”. That meeting took place just a few days after the AUKUS agreement was finalised in San Diego, California. It was very well-attended, demonstrating strong opposition to the AUKUS project among members of the general public. The location of the meeting (just a stone’s throw from Prime Minister Albanese’s local office) gave it particular resonance.

Boris Johnson wanted $1 million for interview – Tucker Carlson
The former Fox host accused Britain’s ex-prime minister of attempting a “shakedown”

American journalist Tucker Carlson has said former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson would only agree to an interview if he received a $1 million fee. He made the claim following his high-profile interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Speaking to Blaze TV founder Glenn Beck for an interview that aired on Tuesday, Carlson contrasted his experience interviewing Putin with attempts to sit down with Johnson, who has slammed the former Fox host as a “tool of the Kremlin” after Carlson’s lengthy discussion with the Russian president earlier this month.

Monkey with a grenade: Why nukes in EU hands would be a nightmare
Scared of being abandoned by the US under Trump, European officials are floating the idea of the bloc’s own nuclear force

In 2023, US President Biden convened the second so-called “Summit for Democracy” with selected countries. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz took part via video link. He addressed the US President directly: “Thank you very much! Joe, a very special thank you for this important and encouraging initiative. Democracy delivers what it promises to the people and therefore the future belongs to democracy.” At the first summit in 2022, Taiwan had also been present. The Chinese government had reacted sharply. It said that organising the summit was a dangerous attempt to revive the Cold War mentality.

Jamila Eleywa, 66, gathered what little belongings remained to herself and her two surviving granddaughters and packed them into several bags. The elderly woman had decided to return to Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip after she heard that the impending Israeli invasion of Rafah was all but guaranteed, resolving to leave her current refuge to avoid the slaughter she knew would follow.

By Tareq S. Hajjaj / Mondoweiss

The question must be posed: does defending democracy still mean supporting Joe Biden?

And the simplest answer must immediately be proffered: yes, if Joe Biden is the Democratic presidential candidate in November, then defending democracy means vigorously supporting him.

But November is many months away, and a lot can change between now and then. And at the same time, at least one thing has not changed: Biden’s poll numbers are weak, Biden’s candidacy seems extremely vulnerable, and Biden’s advanced age is becoming an increasingly important liability, because of the way opponents have successfully framed it, but also because of his own performance, as an elderly man who lacks the physical and mental vigor that many Americans reasonably associate with the job of President of the United States.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is “too ill” to attend his appeal against the UK's decision to extradite him to the US, his lawyers have said. The US wants him on 17 charges of espionage tied to WikiLeaks’ publication of State Department and Pentagon files in 2010.

Assange, 52, has been held largely in solitary confinement in the Belmarsh maximum security prison in England since 2019, when Ecuador revoked his asylum at American insistence. The Australian-born publisher had requested to appear in court personally, but was unable to do so due to poor health, according to his lawyers. 

Antony Lerman says Israel’s response to the ICJ ruling continues a decades’ old ploy for neutralizing criticism of, and generating sympathy for, the Jewish state

Thousands of Israelis gathered in Jerusalem on Jan. 28 for a far-right conference.

It called for the Jewish resettlement of the Gaza Strip and the transfer of the population living there, described dubiously using the euphemism “a legal way to voluntarily emigrate them.”

In January, an Australian child innocently brought home a couple of handfuls of garden mulch from near a playground in Sydney's inner west. 

Looking at the mulch, the child's parent was horrified to spot what looked like chunks of bonded asbestos.

Russia must allow an international investigation into the death of opposition activist and anti-corruption campaigner Alexey Navalny, EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell has said. The 47-year-old Navalny unexpectedly died on Friday in a Russian prison, where he was serving a lengthy sentence stemming from several criminal convictions.

“Russia must allow an independent and transparent international investigation into [the] circumstances of his sudden death,” Borrell said in a statement on Monday.

He added that the European bloc “will spare no efforts to hold Russia’s political leadership and authorities to account,” and threatened to impose more sanctions on Moscow. He reiterated that the EU has been “outraged” by Navalny’s death.

Canada will donate more than 800 SkyRanger R70 drones to Ukraine, Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair announced on Monday. Kiev has relied heavily on commercial and military UAVs during its conflict with Russia, which will enter its third year on February 24.

“These drones are going to help Ukraine’s front line troops assess targets and threats quickly with accuracy and effectiveness,” Blair stated at a press conference in Toronto.

The R70s can be used for reconnaissance missions and are capable of carrying payloads of up to 3.5 kilograms.

The UAVs are a part of the $370 million aid package pledged to Kiev by the Canadian government in June 2023. Overall, Ottawa has provided $1.78 billion worth of assistance since February 2022, including tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery.

HALLE, Belgium (AP) — The writing of angry farmers was on the Paris-to-Brussels highway in giant yellow letters visible from up high: “Ursula, We are here!” 

It was chalked onto the road with an equal measure of defiance and desperation, warning European Commission Ursula von der Leyen not to ignore farmers’ concerns for better prices and less bureaucracy.

The Western Ruling Elite: Its Development and Its Betrayal

THE PROBLEM WITH THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE BY FINN ANDREEN IS SIMPLE: IT IGNORES THE FACT THAT RULING ELITES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN OLIGARCHIC. YET IN SOMEWAY, IT IS INTERESTING TO SEE SOME ATTEMPTS AT STUDYING (AND SOLVING?) THE “PROBLEM” OF ELITISM IN DEMOCRACY — FROM AN ELITIST PERSPECTIVE….

BY Finn Andreen

The Western ruling elite has become oligarchic in nature; its political and economic influence is disproportionate and even harmful to society. It is necessary, therefore, to review its historical evolution and expose its current goals.