James ONeill

The Australian mainstream media continues its misreporting of the ongoing war in Ukraine. The latest example, also repeated on the ABC and SBS television outlets, was the bombing of a hospital in Mariupol. This was presented to the viewing public as an unprovoked and reckless Russian attack on a hospital, filled with pregnant women waiting to give birth…

Last Thursday evening a senior Republican (US) official issued what must count as one of the most outrageous tweets issued by a senior politician. Lindsey Graham tweeted “is there a Brutus in Russia? Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military? The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out. You would be doing…

A few days ago, Russian troops invaded Ukraine. The movement of Russian troops went far beyond removing Ukrainian forces from the Donbass region that they have occupied and challenged for the past eight years. The uproar from Western nations was as predictable as it was hypocritical. In 2014 an American backed coup took place against the lawfully elected…

The Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and his United States counterpart Antony Blinken are scheduled to hold a meeting next week at an as yet undisclosed European location. It is difficult to see what the two men have to talk about. Lavrov has recently held meetings in Moscow with his British counterpart Elizabeth…

On fourth of February 2022 an important meeting took place in Beijing., China between the leader of China Xi Jin Ping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Putin was in China at Xi’s invitation to attend the opening of the Winter Olympics. The reason for his visit however, went far beyond celebrating the opening of a major…

The past week saw what was arguably the most important encounter for a considerable period of time. The Russian president Vladimir Putin travelled to Beijing as the honoured guest of Chinese president Xi Jinping . It was their first face to face meeting for more than two years. The two leaders did not waste the opportunity…

Australia will hold a general election no later than May of this year. According to the opinion polls, it should be a victory for the Labor Party. They have consistently held a lead over the governing coalition of Liberal and National party members for a considerable period of time, the last opinion poll published less than one week ago showing them with a commanding 10-point…

The German government has recently refused overflight rights to the Royal Air Force who were sending planes to Ukraine loaded with weapons. The French government also refused overflight rights, which meant that the British planes had to make a long detour to eventually reach their…

The recent talks held in Geneva and Brussels between the Russian delegates and their American and European equivalents have been completed without any agreement being reached. The Russians have given a one-week deadline for the United States and NATO’s response to their demands. The chances of the Americans…

These days Russia sits down with the United States, and NATO, to discuss Moscow’s demands (they go beyond proposals) for in effect a new world order in Eastern Europe. The Russian plan envisages a greatly reduced role for NATO on and around its borders. The United States has not yet made any specific proposals in advance of the meeting, although…

Australia recently cancelled its order for eight French built submarines. The cancellation was incredibly badly handled with the French being kept in the dark about the decision until long after it had been taken. The problem was compounded by the Defence and Foreign Ministers being in communication with the French after the cancellation…

Russia has recently set out its list of demands for a resetting of the position of the United States in Europe. The Americans have reacted cautiously, promising to give the Russians an answer “shortly”. It would be unwise to hold one’s breath awaiting a positive response from the Americans. Even in the highly unlikely event they respond positively…