The Trump economy is truly awful for most Americans. Democrats need to show America that they can be better trusted to bring prices down and real wages up. (more…)
Category: USA
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Australians are markedly more worried about the US, but still wary about China
Australians’ concerns and mistrust of China are easing, while doubts about the US are increasing.
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From Whitlam to AUKUS: Sovereignty silenced
When governor-general Sir John Kerr dismissed Gough Whitlam on 11 November 1975, Australia lost more than a government. It lost a measure of its independence a loss that still shadows our politics half a century later. (more…)
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US Democrats cave once more
The perils of unprincipled, performative so-called “resistance.” (more…)
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Emergency powers and tariffs: The US Supreme Court’s test of the President’s authority
The Supreme Court is set to decide on the limits of executive power – and that decision will have practical implications for Australia.
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Nuclear testing threatens global stability
Gareth Evans, Robert Hill, and Larissa Waters are among the Australian signatories of a statement calling on Trump to clarify that the US will not resume nuclear explosive testing.
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Seoul’s submarine ambitions – what do they mean for the region?
South Korea is currently in final negotiations with the US on a deal that could reshape the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific: the construction of nuclear-powered submarines. (more…)
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Mamdani’s victory bought hope to Gaza
Zohran Mamdani is a Ugandan-born Muslim American politician, outspoken supporter of Palestine, and the new Mayor of New York City. His victory there is a symbolic moment that reflects a deeper shift in American awareness toward global justice, especially the Palestinian cause. (more…)
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Burn it all down movements
When a 34-year-old democratic socialist defeats a political dynasty in the nation’s largest city, we’re witnessing more than another electoral upset. (more…)
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Lame duck syndrome emerging
Reality finally starts to bite in the US and it hasn’t come in a misspelt all-capital letters post Truth Social. (more…)
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‘Spooky fiddling’: Preparing the ground – Part 3
“There is profoundly increasing evidence that foreign espionage and intelligence activities are being practised in Australia on a wide scale… I believe the evidence is so grave and so alarming in its implications that it demands the fullest explanation. The deception over the CIA and the activities of foreign installations on our soil… are an onslaught on Australia’s sovereignty.” – Gough Whitlam, House of Representatives, 1977 (more…)
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The coming class war against Zohran Mamdani
Zohran Mamdani’s win in New York City should be seen as a repudiation of everything the Democrats have been doing since the DNC shafted Bernie Sanders to get Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden nominated as the party’s presidential candidates in 2016 and 2020. (more…)
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‘Absolutely pathetic’: Senate Democrats denounced for caving to GOP in shutdown fight
“Let’s be clear – this proposal isn’t a compromise, it’s a capitulation,” said one progressive lawmaker in the US House. (more…)
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After Trump goes home
If anyone had any lingering doubts about the change in the world order, the sight of President Trump pumping his fist into the air at the doorway of Air Force One, before turning his back on Asia to fly home, they should be put to bed now. (more…)
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Whitlam and the White House – Part 2
“Australia and the territories under its control have become increasingly important to the US defence and space establishments in recent years as a site for satellite tracking stations, nuclear test detection facilities, space research and related activities. With ample space, relatively advanced technology, political stability and conservative government, Australia has become a uniquely desirable base for both military and civilian programs involving operations in the Southern Hemisphere.” – White House position paper, 1962, quoted in Brian Toohey, Secret. (more…)
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‘Hawkish’ interpretations rise as US-China discourse gets lost in translation
In an echo of the Cold War, mistranslations are testing already strained nerves in Washington and Beijing. (more…)
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How Zohran Mamdani’s ‘talent for listening’ spurred him to victory in the New York mayoral election
Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, has been elected as New York City’s mayor. He became the first New York mayoral candidate to win more than a million votes since 1969, and looks set to secure more than 50% of the total vote. (more…)
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Making them pay: Wielding influence in a world with no shame
One of the upshots of US support for Israeli criminality over the past two years has been the cowardly position adopted by US supplicant states who feel wedged by realpolitik and morality. (more…)
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‘New York, this city belongs to you’: Zohran Mamdani’s victory speech
Thank you, my friends. The sun may have set over our city this evening, but as Eugene Debs once said, “I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity.” (more…)
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Trump turns the tables on Taiwan
When the razzle dazzle of the prime minister’s first face-to-face meeting with the mercurial US president is forgotten and the huge sigh of relief that nothing went wrong subsides, questions will be asked about what all the puffery achieved. (more…)
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New York, 1975: New York, 2025
Zoran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist Muslim, has won his bid to become Mayor of New York. David Rosen looks at how the city he will run has changed in 50 years. (more…)
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Trump needs to stop weaponising hunger
“They have the authority to fully fund SNAP,” said Rep. Rashida Tlaib. “It shouldn’t take a court order to get the president to stop starving families and release the funds.” (more…)
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A United States that is disintegrating and no longer a leader in Asia
The second Trump administration has transformed US foreign policy, with immediate implications for economic and security ties with Asia and long-term implications for regional and global order. (more…)
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Bewildered in Trumpland
What happens when militaristic shouts of “USA USA”, are combined with a blatant display of Trumpian boasting in an ersatz Japanese imitation of a 19th century German neo-baroque castle plonked down in a quiet Tokyo suburb? (more…)
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Will the US do to Venezuela’s Maduro what they did to Gaddafi?
Something truly horrific is being planned for Venezuela. Generals are being bought and paid for, death squads are being organised and a major regime change operation is slowly gathering steam that, if executed, will have catastrophic consequences for the people of Venezuela and possibly the region beyond. (more…)
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Yes – he’s a dictator
The latest polling from the Public Religion Research Institute provides a stunning reflection on how Americans now regard Trump. (more…)
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Gunboat hypocrisy in the Caribbean
Even as Donald Trump crisscrosses the globe, bringing his purported peacemaking skills to parts of the world that did not even know they were at war, his administration has openly been preparing for militarised regime change in Venezuela. Neighbouring Colombia too isn’t safe. (more…)
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Trump’s risky American economy
Trump’s tariffs, migration and fiscal policies are endangering the American economy, and risk destroying American claims to global leadership. (more…)
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Why the Coalition can’t win without losing itself
The Coalition faces not a messaging challenge but a structural impossibility. Voters abandoning them won’t be satisfied by marginally tougher rhetoric. (more…)
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From illusion to real peace: Trump’s test in Gaza and Ukraine
Real peace demands Palestinian statehood, Ukrainian neutrality and the courage to defy the war lobby. (more…)