There is something ineffably eternal about the “drum beating and bell chiming from sundown to daybreak” when it comes to the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower standing in the north end of ancient Beijing.

There can hardly be equal structures around the world when it comes to architecture as music. They are like two powerful, solemn notes being played over and over again for centuries – the sounds and echoes reverberating across the mega-metropolis.

Pepe Escobar: The Choice is Stark - Global Governance or Barbarism

Both towers are part of the so-called Beijing Central Axis – and serious scholars make no bones about their essential role in reflecting people’s existence in History. In China after all, architecture is regarded as frozen music.

John Menadue argues it is time for Australia to separate itself from US policy and preparations to confront China militarily.

I have outlined earlier the brutal consequences for Australia in persisting with Defence Minister Marles’ policy of integrating Australia into US war preparations against China.

Mike Gilligan

When you see me refusing to play along with the campaign to canonise Charlie Kirk or respect the emotional hysteria around his killing, this is the main reason why.

It’s amazing how aggressively free speech in the United States is being torn apart in the wake of the Charlie Kirk killing.

Caitlin Johnstone

The UK, Canada and Australia have formally recognized the State of Palestine. The move comes as more than 140 world leaders are preparing to attend the annual United Nations General Assembly summit in New York next week, which will be dominated by questions regarding the region.

Canada was the first of these countries to officially recognize Palestine on Sunday, with Prime Minister Mark Carney announcing that Ottawa “recognizes the State of Palestine and offers our partnership in building the promise of a peaceful future for both the state of Palestine and the State of Israel.”

The move was shortly followed by similar announcements from Australia and the UK.

Our civilisation is weird… Most places on earth have now been under the influence of the Western way to “do things”…

As such, we and the entire human species, are trouble — and in deep trouble. We do not see it yet, because we are lied to. 

There are often characteristics at which any system will collapse, get out of balance, or jump off the road and fall into the ravine — for going too fast. And we are going too fast.

Over the last couple of centuries, the Western civilisation has relied on many factors, in various guises, and here are the main ones: 

LIES

CAPITALISM

CONSUMERISM

SUPERIORITY

HYPOCRISY

ADVERTISING

SCIENCES

DISTRACTIONS

RUBBISH CREATION (INCLUDING GLOBAL WARMING EMISSIONS)

LET’S START WITH THE LIES, past and present….

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Vietnamese singer Duc Phuc wins the Intervision International Music Contest, said Russian jury member Igor Matvienko.

"Duc Phuc, Vietnam, won," Matvienko said, announcing the results.

Kyrgyzstan and Qatar took second and third place.

The jury did not rate Russia's Yaroslav Dronov (Shaman) at his request, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

Intervision finale ended with Million Voices performed by all participants. Each contestant performed lines of the song in their native language.

Keith Kellogg, President Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, had strong words for Russia at a conference held in Ukraine, saying that the US could “kick Russia’s ass,” Remix News has reported.

The US, UK and other Western nations that continue to supply weapons to West Jerusalem are equally responsible for the Israeli “genocide” in Gaza, Roger Waters, British rock legend and co-founder of the band Pink Floyd, has said.

In September of last year, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution that called on Israel to withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories and for all states to take effective action against violations of international law by West Jerusalem. However, attacks continue; the IDF launched an operation to take control of Gaza City earlier this month.

Waters joined a large crowd which gathered outside UN headquarters in New York for the anniversary of the vote on Thursday, calling for an arms embargo against Israel and action to halt the “genocide” of Palestinians.

The World Bank’s Reboot Development report has belatedly confirmed what scientists have warned for decades: humanity is breaching the safe operating limits of the Earth.

Air, water, forests and oceans, the very foundations of life are unravelling under the pressure of unrestrained growth. Six of nine planetary boundaries have already been crossed.

Stewart Sweeney

Thousands of people in central Berlin were ordered to evacuate on Thursday evening after an unexploded World War II bomb was discovered in the Spree River.

Police set up a security perimeter of 500 meters in a densely populated area in the center of the German capital.

Officers went door-to-door within the security perimeter to inform residents of the evacuation order.

Around 10,000 people were told to leave their homes, police said.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the signing of the UN Charter. During these eight decades, much has been accomplished that calls for celebration. Yet, there is no denying that the United Nations is facing perhaps the greatest crisis of its 80-year history.

Joseph Camilleri

The difficulties confronting all parts of the UN system — not just the Security Council and the General Assembly — are many and varied. They are not, as several commentators have intimated, merely a case of states asserting their interests, seemingly unconcerned about the interests of the international community.

Decoupling India from Russia will be a challenge for the European Union (EU) even as it seeks to build an economic partnership with the South Asian country, High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday.

Ties with Moscow key stumbling block for EU-India trade deal – Kallas
Brussels has no “illusions” about luring New Delhi away from Moscow, the vice president of the European Commission has said

Her comments come after the bloc unveiled “a new strategic agenda to raise bilateral relations with India to a higher level,” which includes areas such as trade and technology, defense and security, as well as connectivity and climate change.

Brussels and New Delhi are also in the midst of negotiating a free trade agreement.

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has no intention of ending the hostilities with Russia, while ordinary people pay the price, Verkhovna Rada MP Georgy Mazurashu has said.

Mazurashu said Zelensky outlined his position at a meeting with members of his Servant of the People party on Tuesday, a stance the MP claimed is widely shared by the Ukrainian leader’s inner circle.

Zelensky has no intention of ending conflict with Moscow – MP
The Ukrainian leader wants “to fight to the last but with others doing the fighting,” Georgy Mazurashu has said

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is beginning to look interesting. I do not think his surgeon is very good: The work has accentuated his mild lazy eye; his cheekbones are beginning to look dangerous to touch; his brow is wandering into the realm of the perpetually surprised.

The Many Faces of Marco Rubio
You can facelift an illegal war in Venezuela, but it won’t make it any prettier.

Jude Russo

We will draw the veil of charity over the unusual maneuvers involving his hairline. I am a nearly middle-aged Italian American man, and making fun of others’ misfortunes of coiffure invites heaven’s revenge.

Front-line situation is dire: high casualties and unsustainably high desertion rates.

Gen. Cerski (noted Sept 8) acknowledged Ukraine faces roughly a threefold disadvantage in forces/resources in key sectors.

Ukraine struggles to man the front — manpower is in “terminal decline” while Russia is reportedly achieving net monthly gains.

Leaders are pinning hopes on technological fixes (UAVs, ground robots, drones) to substitute for missing personnel.

The speaker argues quantity matters: even if Ukraine narrows some technological gaps, Russia’s greater production capacity and redundancy make it hard to match at scale.

Innovations escalate quickly on both sides; any tactical advantage is rapidly mirrored, so sustained technological superiority is unlikely.