The Trump War on Iran is fast becoming a modern-day version of the Crusades with US military and others framing the war in deeply religious terms.
Middle East Eye (MEE) has reported that a number of US military commanders have told soldiers that Trump is “anointed by Jesus” and would bring about his return to Earth as part of Armageddon.
The blog is taking a break for a few weeks.
Half of Americans think Donald Trump was involved in Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged crimes, according to the latest Economist/YouGov poll.
Net approval of Trump’s handling of the Epstein investigation is minus 48 – meaning the share of Americans who strongly, or somewhat disapprove, minus the share who approve, is 34%.
The Lancet Medical Journal has re-assessed the Palestinian death toll and found that more than 75,000 people were killed in the first 16 months of the two year war in Gaza – that’s 25,000 more than the initial toll announced by local authorities at the time.
The Guardian (19/2) reported that last month a senior Israel security officer had told Israeli journalists that the figures compiled by Gazan health authorities were broadly accurate – contradicting years of denial.
In 1945 Albert Einstein, Robert Oppenheimer and University of Chicago scientists helped develop the first atomic weapons in the Manhattan Project.
They also created the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists and two years later created the Doomsday Clock to convey the threats of nuclear explosions to humanity and the planet.
In December 2023, a group, including the author, launched a new campaign to get the Australian War Memorial to recognise and represent Australia’s first war – the Frontier or Australian Wars.
Needless to say, the AWM has been reluctant to agree, making vague promises about when, where , and how the Wars might or might not be represented.
On April 28 1996 35 people in Tasmania were shot and died in an attack by a lone gunman.
Politicians immediately rallied around in bi-partisan support of the Prime Minister John Howard.
On December 14 2025 14 Jewish people on Bondi Beach were shot and killed.
This time there was no bi-partisan reaction and instead the first prominent voice heard was that of John Howard claiming it was all the fault of Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese.
Climate change may be nonsense, a giant conspiracy, a fraud and other things to people like Donald Trump and Tony Abbott – but it’s not to the American public – nor the Australian one.
Recently the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University published a major report – Climate Change in the American Mind: Beliefs & Attitudes.
There are moments in history, science, politics and other areas when a tipping point is reached.
One of the dictionary definitions is that a critical point is where a situation, process, or system beyond which a significant and often unstoppable effect or change takes place.
The US researcher, G. Elliott Morris (Strength in Numbers 27/1/26) identifies Minnesota and the ICE atrocities as one of them.
So far there has been no sign of any Australian politician speaking out about Donald Trump’s claims about deaths in Afghanistan.
The reaction in NATO countries, however, has seen a widespread. Veterans, NATO leaders and even Prince Harry (the Duke of Sussex) reacted with anger after US President Donald Trump said veterans from other NATO member states avoided the front line in Afghanistan.