It does not get any messier or more chaotic than this. Since 2009, when Australia’s Future Submarine Program (FSP) known as Project SEA 1000, began to take shape, strategists and policy makers have been keen to pursue the next big White Elephant of defence spending. And few areas of an […]
United Kingdom
Reflections On Events In Afghanistan (XIII)
13. Panjshir revolt becomes footnote At the daily foreign ministry briefing in Beijing on Friday, Russian correspondent of Sputnik asked spokesperson Ambassador Wang Wenbin how China viewed the Taliban decision to attack Panjshir and how this will affect the Afghan situation. Ambassador Wang replied that “it is China’s sincere hope […]
Reluctant Acceptance: Responding To Afghanistan’s Refugees
Do not for a minute think that this is a kind, heart-felt thing in the aftermath of Kabul’s fall. True, a number of Afghans will find their way to Germany, to Canada, to the UK, US and a much smaller number to Australia. But this will be part of the […]
Sanitising Censorship: The Twitter-AP-Reuters News Partnership
This week, Twitter was keen to share the news about its new arrangement with The Associated Press and Reuters “to expand our efforts to identify and elevate credible information” on its platform. The company reiterates its commitment that people using its service are able to “easily find reliable information” hoping […]
Global Britain Slashes International Aid
“Decisions on aid are eroding trust and eroding relationships between the UK and developing countries.” Abby Baldoumas, Financial Times, July 15, 2021 Politics is not merely the art of the possible but the pursuit of concerted hypocrisy. When it comes to that matter of funding good causes – foreign aid, […]
Two Types Of Foreign Policy
Foreign policy aims at preventing conflicts with neighbors and developing their peaceful relations. However, Westerners have abandoned this objective to adopt the promotion of their collective interests to the detriment of other actors.
How CDN Providers Break The Internet
“After years of IT experts telling us that we ‘can’t break the internet’ by pressing the wrong button, it turns out we can do it by updating our settings.” Phil Coughlin, The Guardian, Jun 11, 2021 On June 8, an internet blackout was precipitated by one customer updating their settings […]
Branson Goes To Space
Profligate, vain and utterly pleased with himself, British billionaire Sir Richard Branson could boast about his latest adventure of megalomania. Unlike others of the stinking rich set, he is incapable of keeping quiet. He pretends to be the people’s tycoon. His wealthy adventurism is as much for himself as it […]
When Football Did Not Come Home
They were in with a shot. The English team, deliriously floating on chants of Football’s Coming Home, had made it to their first major tournament final since 1966. The UEFA European Football Championship would be decided at Wembley against an Italian side unblemished by defeat since September 2018. But the […]
The UK Is Dangerously Trying To Sabotage Russia’s Rapprochement With The West
The British Navy’s violation of Russia’s Black Sea maritime border on Wednesday was a dangerous attempt to sabotage Russia’s rapprochement with the West by provoking an international security incident between these nuclear-armed Great Powers. The world was shocked on Wednesday after reports came streaming in that Russian fighter jets and […]
Vaccine Failings: The European Commission And AstraZeneca
In the messy, underhanded world of global health responses to COVID-19 it was only appropriate that lawyers should find themselves enriched on respective sides of a dispute about vaccine supply. The pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has been getting a good deal of bad press, with its COVID vaccines seen to be […]
Wither Encryption: What Operation Trojan Shield Reveals
My, were they delighted. Politicians across several international jurisdictions beamed with pride that police and security forces had gotten one up on criminals spanning the globe. It all involved a sting by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, led in conjunction with a number of law enforcement agencies in 16 countries, […]





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