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Lee Duffield provided an appraisal of the Ukraine war on day one; updated it seven months into the fighting; and here looks at dangerous portends for the coming months.
The article, amended here, was first published in Independent Australia on 15 January. … Read More »
Lee Duffield
The Australian Defence Minister, Melissa Price, on 9 November told the Submarine Association conference in Adelaide that the country’s nuclear-powered submarines would be built in South Australia.
It was one more ingredient thrown into a brewing of questions and contention since the sudden announcement of the nuclear plan, and immediate cancellation of the French contract for conventional submarines on 16 September. … Read More »
The change in America came inconveniently for Australians, but handily for journalists preparing peak-hour morning newscasts.
By 5 am Sydney and Melbourne time on Sunday the traditional chief outlet for verified results, Associated Press (AP), after giving the Democratic Party candidates, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the state of Pennsylvania, posted their electoral college vote to 290 – clear of the 270 needed to win. … Read More »
The French President, Emmanuel Macron, came out of the European Union summit last week all smiles, saying the deal just reached on eventually getting over CORVID-19 was an “historic” game-changer.
It had set up spending forthwith of €750-billion (A$1230-bilion) to repair and re-start the European economy, an act proclaimed by Macron as signalling strong unity, the emergence of not only an economic union, but political and strategic – “sovereign, unified, democratic”. … Read More »
The European Union’s move to get CORVID-19 investigated through the World Health Organisation (WHO) has been made difficult by Chinese-American squabbling –and Australia trying to get into the fight.
The EU focus has been to try and discover more about the virus and its origins, and draw lessons about managing both the particular disease and others that may follow.
But first they have had to manage, coax and bring into the process, unreasoning parties on two sides: on one hand American and Australian governments picking a fight with the Chinese, on the other, Chinese communists indulging their accustomed habits of coercion and abuse. It’s a picture of maturity from Brussels and something much less from these other partners. … Read More »
British Conservatives in the coming weeks, voting on whether to make Boris Johnson their party leader, may be opening a can of worms.
Lee Duffield writes that the antics of the strong advocate of “Brexit” – secession from Europe – are wrapped around many problems with his track record and identity.
He says also, Johnson is one of a kind. … Read More »
The European Parliament elections on the weekend saw a lot of disappointment for all those looking for drama, though voter turnout got a healthy lift.
Lee Duffield interprets what happened including a treatment of how it connects with the mess being made of government in Britain. … Read More »