Australia in “Asian Century” or Is It Lost in Asia? China & US: Australian Dilemma

The Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard released a long awaited white paper Australia in the Asian Century yesterday, which has been “wowed” by the Australian media. The white paper basically affirms that Australia’s future lies with Asia and consequently immense economic opportunities exist for Australia to grab. The paper hinges the nation’s strategy of becoming a competitive force within the region through skills development, innovation, infrastructure, the tax system, regulatory reform, and environmental sustainability. However before a nation can become a competitive force, it must have an accepted place in the region. On this key strategy the White paper does little more than make a “rally call” to Australians to come out and make it happen.

How U.S. Helping to Kill PEACE in Syria

As President Obama confirmed in an interview with the Atlantic [3] on March 2, 2012, one of the strategic goals of U.S. policy in Syria has been to weaken and isolate Iran by removing or helping to remove its strongest Arab ally. Asked what the U.S. could do to accelerate the removal of President Assad, Obama replied, laughing, “Well, nothing that I can tell you, because your classified clearance isn’t good enough.” In practice, as President Obama implied, the U.S. government has played a “disguised, quiet, media-free” [4] but nonetheless significant role in the escalation of violence in Syria. As early as last December, even as a Qatari-funded YouGov opinion poll found that 55% of Syrians still supported President Assad [5], former CIA officer Philip Giraldi reported [6] that unmarked NATO planes were delivering weapons and militiamen from Libya to Turkish air-bases near the Free Syrian Army (FSA) headquarters in Iskanderum.

Culture of Violence and Torture in the U.S.

    During the last few days, events have unfolded in connection with the establishment of new evidence of unlawful activities against the so-called «opposition» in Russia (1), which have caused a furious reaction from…

Iran vs the Empire: Fighting Dollarization

The West’s attempts to destroy the Iranian economy through heightened sanctions—including most imports, oil exports and use of banks for trade operations—is having its affect. According to Johns Hopkins University Professor Steve Hanke, Iran is…