missiles

The United States unilaterally pulled out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 2019 after accusing Moscow of breaching its terms. Moscow dismissed the allegations, and took the unprecedented step of declassifying the characteristics of the alleged Russian ‘INF-violating missile’. The US pulled out of the agreement anyway.

 

 

Russia should remove missiles which violate the terms of the INF Treaty from Europe, US special envoy for nuclear nonproliferation Jeffrey Eberhardt has said.

 

tshirt

The Australian government's entire vaccine supply agreement with AstraZeneca is being withheld from the public on the grounds that it would pose a "real and substantial risk" to national security if it were released.

coal...

China is the world’s biggest coal consumer. About 50% of all coal burnt on our planet is burnt in China. Although China is also the world’s leading coal producer, it needs to be its main importer as well.

Meanwhile China is worried by environmental issues. Chinese industry meets the needs not only of its own country, but also of all those countries that, first for the sake of cheap labor, and then for the sake of environmental protection, shifted their production capacities to the Chinese territory. As a result, while those countries can boast of relatively clean water and air some Chinese regions have accumulated such a concentration of hydrocarbon exhaust products that they pose a real threat to public health.

scomonoah

The federal government has been excoriated on Q+A by Labor and cross bench MPs for not having a climate policy that gets the nation to net zero emissions by the year 2050.

julian...The very contrasting treatment of whistleblowers willing to testify against Facebook with that of the imprisoned WikiLeaks founder shows us that the Establishment’s support of those ‘spilling the beans’ is highly selective. 

All whistleblowers are equal, but some are more equal than others. Or, we could more specifically say, whistleblowers whose revelations aid ruling-class agendas are put in front of Congress and handed the mic, while those whose revelations expose ruling-class agendas are persecuted and end up in maximum-security jails.

twigs

Frustrated mining magnate Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest has lashed out at Nationals politicians who he says are "capable of hearing the facts" on the coal industry, but have chosen to ignore them to chase votes.

rot...

There have been a number of suggestions online that the withdrawal of American soldiers from overseas is being undertaken to use the troops against those individuals and domestic groups that are being targeted by the Justice Department.

 

budget...

Despite party control of Congress and the presidency, Democrats are still struggling to enact their agenda. The ballyhooed bipartisan infrastructure deal is stuck in the House, and the sweeping $3.5 trillion reconciliation package has been the source of bitter disputes among party members.

The Biden administration set out with hopes for big, bold change — “transformational” was the word in the winter and into spring. But in autumn, “disarray” is ubiquitous.

 

BY James M. Curry

 

dogs

So hey they’ve started mounting sniper rifles on robodogs, which is great news for anyone who was hoping they’d start mounting sniper rifles on robodogs.

At an exhibit booth in the Association of the United States Army’s annual meeting and exhibition, Ghost Robotics (the military-friendly competitor to the better-known Boston Dynamics) proudly showed off a weapon that is designed to attach to its quadruped bots made by a company called SWORD Defense Systems.

 

BY Caitlin Johnstone

 

grail

Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) will build the world's largest green energy hydrogen manufacturing facility in Central Queensland, mining billionaire and company founder Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest says.

scomocop

London: Prince Charles has used a rare foray into domestic politics to urge Prime Minister Scott Morrison to attend the Glasgow climate summit, warning the talks are a “last chance saloon” to avoid global “catastrophe”.

The heir-to-the-throne also backed teen activist Greta Thunberg and other protesters, saying he sympathises with their frustration that politicians “just talk” about global warming instead of doing something about it.

Interviewed by the BBC at the royal family’s estate in Balmoral, the Prince of Wales said it would be a “disaster” if next month’s COP26 summit in Glasgow collapsed, and appeared taken aback when told Morrison still did not know whether he would go.

ivanka

IN JANUARY 2019, Jim Yong Kim threw the global financial development sector into a state of disarray: The former academic and health official announced he would be stepping down the following month from his role as president of the World Bank, opting instead for a cushier gig at a Wall Street private equity firm. For an institution that was already struggling with heightened competition from China and private capital, Kim’s departure — which came as a total surprise — was seen as a setback, as it handed an opportunity to choose a new leader to President Donald Trump, creating worries that the America First champion would pick somebody ill suited for the global role.

COALition

The federal government is promising that workers in the resources and heavy manufacturing sectors have a bright future ahead, as senior figures gather to consider how Australia will commit to net zero emissions by 2050.

gas

The main topic of recent publications in the European media has been the discussion of record gas prices. As a result, the population of the European Union countries is facing a real shock threat, and the European industry is approaching a critical point. Gas and electricity prices break new records every day, and some energy-intensive companies are shutting down production because it is becoming too expensive to maintain them. The situation could worsen if the energy crisis goes from a price shock to a deficit, and then more industries would have to make a decisive move by using the switch.

 

bluey

In the comic The Secret of the Swordfish, (published 1946-1950, subsequently republished till 1984) the last scene shows Blake and Mortimer back in a ruined and destroyed London, with Blake commenting that they will rebuild and that civilisation, once again, has had the last word - "hopefully, this time, for good”.