As the United Sates leads its closest allies, including Australia, into a new era of denial of freedom of speech, we should be very worried, support its victims, and make our own stand for justice. One of the covers is the misuse of the accusation of antisemitism to target critics of Israeli policy and the state’s committing genocide against the Palestinians. One case denial of the freedom of speech is that involving Palestinian student Mahmoud Khalil because he spoke out for his people. Mahmoud, a legal US resident, was arrested last weekend, and now faces deportation. Khallil has not faced any charges or court proceedings. Is this sort of action against those who speak out the intended shape of the future? Natasha Lennard tells this story (The Intercept 10 March 2025).
Despite the absence of an official election date, campaign activities are currently underway. The West Australia Ballot is over Labor lost 18 percent of the primary vote, but the Liberals failed to convert this to change their position as a non-event. The federal election will now be in May. The Albanese government has run out of time to do otherwise. Continue reading Dissatisfaction with the state of Australia will characterise the coming federal election→
Anthony Albanese is right to stand up against the imposition of a 25 percent tariff on Australian exports to the United States. This is not the act of a friend. It will hit the Australian economy, although luckily, Australia is not highly reliant on exports to that country. But it will still hurt the steel and aluminium exports, will the increase in the price of these metals will add to the domestic costs of what is left of Australian manufacturing, This, in turn, will flow through the whole economy. Continue reading Washington’s imposition of tariffs on Australia must be fought against→
As electioneering for the looming federal election gathers pace, the political hacks continue to pretend that this is normal times and business as usual. A good indicator of this is the focus on two-party preferences as the litmus test for their predictions. Either they can’t seem to see the changing political landscape or wish to bury the truth. Continue reading The coming federal election will not end growing dissatisfaction with the major parties→
The interview was first published in the L’Independente on 8 February 2025. Since his release from imprisonment, Julian Assange, the Australian founder of WikiLeaks, journalist, and editor, has maintained a low profile but continues to be a significant figure. There is great interest in his progress and future plans. In this interview, brother Gabriel talks about Julian’s immediate priorities and gives a glimpse on what might be coming next. Julian’s ordeal has not defeated him. His immediate focus is on healing, re-aquatinting himself with life outside prison, and strengthening bonds with his family. Julian will be back when he is ready.
Critics of the Ukraine peace talks between Russia and the United States in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) deny a critical reality. Russia has won the war. The refusal to acknowledge this reality is behind the insistence that the talking should be about working out the terms for Russia’s surrender, and that troops be stationed in Ukraine to ensure that Russia behaves the way in which the West wants Russia to behave. Continue reading Ukraine peace talks are a recognition of Russia’s victory on the battlefield→
An Australian federal election could be called any day now, and if the polls are right, the Anthony Albanese led Labor government is heading for a fall. The Murdoch controlled media is putting its resources to push for a Peter Dutton led victory. Continue reading Labor could be heading for an election fall→
Photo from Forbes: United States President Donald Trump is unleashing trade war
By Joe Montero
Donald Trump’s trade war is ultimately directed at China. This is understood by almost everyone. Many realise that this is happening because corporate America fears China will challenge its economic supremacy. Losing this supremacy would stop its geopolitical ambitions. The strategy for maintaining United States global dominance is economic war, based on the mistaken belief that it can succeed.
China will be affected by it. But not enough to be decisive. Having become the biggest economy with the biggest share of global GDP on the planet, China has other trade options. Trade with the United States is only a small part of China’s total international trade, and dependence on capital from the United States is fading.
In fact, the overzealous use of this weapon has already alienated much of the world and given impetus to the rise of BRICS, an emerging alternative to the American dominated trading and financial system. Trade war will push more countries to join BRICS.
China is the main target of trade war and capable of avoiding serious harm
The impact of Donald Trump’s escalation of trade war will mostly impact on the Western nations. The cost of imports will rise, and the exports of mostly allies of the United States, will mean a hit on their global trade and their economies.
It will rebound on the United States, in the forms of its own increased prices, companies closing, and a steep rise in unemployment. The imposition of a tariff on imports is nothing more than a consumption tax because it will be passed on to the consumer.
Besides the China issue, the other important rationale for this trade war is that it will serve to reduce the United States’ trade deficit with the rest of the worlds and restore the strength of the American Dollar. But this fails to consider that the United States is not primarily a trader in goods, but an exporter of capital through the creation of credit.
Here is where the deficit problem emerges from. The United States was once able to draw a surplus because it could lend money and get a big return, and its economy was built around this. this was possible because the United States went through a period where it was the unchallenged power. This is no longer possible.
When on the ascendancy, the dominant power could issue credit and, on the conditions, it wishes to impose. The capacity to do this is fading. Most of the world will not accept this order anymore. Nor does it have the capacity to pay. A big part of the problem is that American money lenders have increasingly relied of further creation of debt to service loans. This is the main source of profit. This does not generate the value to cover the debt and the flow back to the United States falls. This has reached a point where The United Sates can no longer pay its own debt.
An effect of this has been de-industrialisation and the importation of much of what Americans consume. Americans no longer make things as they once did. This has led to an unhealthy trade deficit.
Trump and the section of Wall Street behind him hope that shifting the burden onto other countries will fire up the American economy again. It won’t, because the world is no longer dependent on American trade. The ship of dependency has sailed. Trade wear will mean taking a wrecking ball to the American economy.
This leaves Washington’s Western allies with a serious problem. They are the ones with the greatest dependence on the American economy, and therefore, a softer touch to wear the burden of paying the cost. Australia is in there amongst them. We can expect rising costs, falling returns on exports, business failures and rising unemployment. We can expect further devaluation of the Australian Dollar as big-time investors dump it for the Greenback. Hr bulk of the big investors in Australia are from Wall Street.
Australia must consider economic and geopolitical ties to the United States
To one degree or another, this is the scenario faced by other allies such as the larger European Economies, Canada, Japan, and South Korea.
Trump’s tariff war will rebound on the collective West and ensure its further decline, as the fortunes of the East rise. But the moguls behind Trump, and those behind his domestic political rivals, are focused on the short-term of passing the bill to their friends. The purpose is to secure the means to reduce the trade deficit. It will add to the trillions to of dollars be squeezed out of working families and small businesses through cuts in government spending to secure funds to be handed over to the Wall Street money lenders and other friends.
This is their idea of progress. It might have worked when the United States was the undisputed dominating force. This is no longer the case. Most of the world will no longer wear the burden. Now is up to the closest allies of American power to decide whether they are prepared to wear the burden.
Australia faces choosing how to respond. We are already facing the threat of a 25 percent tax on steel and aluminium. Escape from this threat is possible. Foreign policy and trade can be re-aligned. Only this can improve relationships with the rest of the world. It makes sense to turn to Asia, which has the world’s fastest growing economies. But positive relationships don’t have to be confined to this part of the world.
Donald trump’s swaggering an audacious announcement a day ago, where h told the world that as President of the United States, he announced a plan to force the Palestinian population in Gaza into Egypt and Jordan. He said the United States should seize control of Gaza and turn it into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”
Trump. whose core personal business is in property speculation may personally make a lot of money from such a scheme.
The only head of state of another country praising Trump’s announcement is Benyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli leader who presides over the Gaza slaughter, and is now escalating murder in the West Bank. The removal of 2.2 million Gazans would fit into the plan for a Greater Israel. That is, taking land from Israel’s neighbours.
But the announcement provoked instantaneous condemnation around the world. China and Russia made their opposition clear. And they weren’t on their own. Allies like the leaders of Germany, France, and Spain also condemned the Trump announcement. Even the United States’ closest long-standing allies in West Asia like Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, took exception.
It even brought in British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. You could not find a more earnest sycophant to Washington. Even he had to distance himself from the Trumpian plan, which looks to most of the world like a crude attempt to revive old style colonialism.
Most important of all is that the Palestinians themselves have made it clear that they won’t go and would prefer to die on their feet in their own homeland.
Putting the plan into effect, when Israel’s horrendous military offensive has failed, would require massive United States military intervention, including a massive presence of ground troops. Such a move would meet stiff resistance and embroil the United Sates in perpetual war.
The American public will not have the appetite for this. There is already a great deal of opposition. Imagine when the body bags are sent home.
The Palestinian people have the right to decide their own future and are still determined to make this happen. The current imperfect ceasefire being daily violated by Israel has nevertheless seen the defiant return of Gaza civilians to their homes in the north. They are not a beaten people.
Photo from AAP: Palestinians defiantly returning home on 19 January 2025
Donald Trump may not be allowed by the real power in Washington to carry out his plan. The President of the United States is not powerful enough to go it alone. The hidden and unelected and Walls Street backed permanent government is the real power.
Trump’s plan is partly the product of his own ambitions. But it has only become possible because of the falling capacity of the United States to enforce its ongoing will to dominate globally, partly because of a rising multi-polar world, but mostly because of the United States’ internal difficulties. This is a waning superpower.
Trump’s move has further isolated Washington from the rest of the world. Large scale military intervention into west Asia can only lead to greater instability and suffering, and consequently, economic chaos. It will generate resistance and might even precipitate the end of Israel Washinton’s most important surrogate in the region.
There are the reasons why it may not happen. There is a good chance that Trump will be stopped. This doesn’t mean though, that the world must be ready for the worst, to ensure the global voice against it is loud and clear enough to prevail.
Official site of the May Day Committee (Malbourne)
