Johan Lidberg

Albanese’s policy on Iran makes us complicit in the collapse of international rules The Albanese government has stood by as the foundations of the international order were destroyed

Excellent piece. Lots to ponder here for the Albanese government: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/07/labor-fails-to-repudiate-trumpism-australia-is-being-dragged-into-the-us-and-israels-war-against-iran-ntwnfb?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

As a middle power, Australia should be careful what it wishes for when it comes to an illegal war with Iran | Andrew Wilkie I resigned from the intelligence services over the fraudulent case for the invasion of Iraq in 2003. And I see some alarming parallels with this case

Hear! Hear!: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/05/iran-war-australia-role-middle-power?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

News Corp is essentially an AI ‘input company’, chief executive says, after US$150m deal with Meta Chief executive Robert Thomson says he often speaks to both OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg

And deeper and deeper AI penetrates into the media blood stream: www.theguardian.com/media/2026/m...

‘No to war’: Sánchez doubles down after Trump threat to cut off trade with Spain PM says his country will not be complicit in growing conflict in Middle East ‘simply out of fear of reprisals from someone’

Good on you, Spain: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/04/pedro-sanchez-donald-trump-threat-cut-off-trade-spain?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

We're publishing the Liberal Party election review in full The Liberals wanted it buried, with the election post-mortem calling the 2025 campaign 'the worst campaign the party has ever fought.' Now you can read it all in full.

What a shit show: www.crikey.com.au/2026/03/04/l...

Albanese can run but not hide from Carney's message about the threat from the US Mark Carney arrives in Australia today. He has to live in a world where the threat posed by the US is obvious. It's a threat Anthony Albanese refuses to see.

The AUKUS agreement complicates standing up to the US, but Australia must do just that: www.crikey.com.au/2026/03/03/m...

View from The Hill: Leaked election review slates Dutton while highlighting Liberals’ longer term intractable problems The Liberal Party’s federal executive decided on Friday to bury its election review. But it was unable to cremate it.

The road back for the Coalition is long, if they can even find it: theconversation.com/view-from-th...

Does regime change ever work? History tells us long-term consequences are often disastrous Regime change has long proved tempting to large states. But it rarely goes to plan.

theconversation.com/does-regime-...

Supporting ‘illegal aggression’ against Iran ‘the worst thing’ Australia could do, international law experts say Ben Saul says ‘rolling over’ after Israel and US attack is counterproductive for middle powers because it undermines rules-based order

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/01/supporting-aggression-against-iran-the-worst-thing-australia-could-do-international-law-experts-say?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

A world on edge as Trump bombs Iran and triggers war in the Middle East. There was no need for this | Simon Tisdall We cannot know where this foolish, reckless attack will end – but new hatreds will be seeded, terrorist vendettas sown and, ultimately, little will be achieved, says Guardian foreign affairs commentator Simon Tisdall

Indeed, there is no need for this fight: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/28/donald-trump-bombs-iran-war-middle-east?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

How should Australia handle ‘sovereign citizens’ clogging the courts? A former magistrate explains So-called “sovereign citizens” are using nonsense legal arguments to tie up court systems. Here are some ideas about how to deal with it.

Nuts!: The Sovcits are nuts: theconversation.com/how-should-a...

Epstein, the Pelicot case and the ISIS brides are the same story in different fonts This isn't a 'not all men' piece. That’s a separate genre, usually published in the comments section beneath a news story about murdered women, by a man named 'Dave' whose profile picture is a flag.

"Here’s the bleak connective tissue between Epstein, Pelicot, and the Syria camps: the world is saturated with systems where men believe they are entitled to women’s bodies, and where institutions quietly agree." Yep, spot on: www.crikey.com.au/2026/02/27/i...

Politicians say immigration threatens ‘Australian values’, but our research shows no one knows exactly what that means The assumption that Australian values are coherent is flawed, and the same flawed assumption is often projected onto other countries.

Strong agreement on migrants being offered a 'fair go': theconversation.com/politicians-...

One Nation has been on the fringes of Australian politics for 30 years. Why is its popularity soaring now? Economic strain, grievance, fear and the aftermath of the Bondi terrorist attack have created the perfect conditions for the populist party.

theconversation.com/one-nation-h...

Opinion | The Iranian Regime Has Committed a Massacre We surveyed medical workers across 14 cities and 11 provinces in Iran about their experiences treating wounded protesters.

Utterly horrific: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/02/25/opinion/iran-protests-doctors.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Justice Department withheld and removed some Epstein files related to Trump An NPR investigation finds the public database of Epstein files is missing dozens of pages related to sexual abuse accusations against President Trump.

Good on you NPR! If this is proven it may stick even to Teflon Trump: https://www.npr.org/2026/02/24/nx-s1-5723968/epstein-files-trump-accusation-maxwell

Israel responsible for two-thirds of record 129 press killings in 2025, says CPJ Committee to Protect Journalists report says Israel also to blame for 81% of ‘intentionally targeted’ journalist killings

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/feb/25/record-number-journalists-killed-2025-israel-gaza-war?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Australia’s most costly anti-climate policy hits taxpayers for $30m a day as calls mount to wind back fuel tax credits | Adam Morton The government will hand over $10.8bn this financial year under the scheme that makes it cheaper for miners and other industries to use diesel and petrol

This sums up everything that’s wrong with Australian climate change policy: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/commentisfree/2026/feb/25/australia-fuel-tax-credit-scheme-government-anti-climate-policy-under-pressure?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Government still refuses to admit it's handing your personal data to Trump — and it may now include voice and eye data, too The Albanese government refuses to be honest with Australians about its plans to hand their biometric data over to Trump — and the scope of that data just got bigger.

This suck so bad! No way I want my biometrics shared with Mad King Trump and his private militia ICE: www.crikey.com.au/2026/02/24/d...

Tariff chaos proves why doing a deal with Trump is *always* a bad idea Countries that rushed to do a deal with Trump have now been punished with a global tariff after the president lost a Supreme Court case. Don't forget those in Australia who urged us to make the same m...

When will Mad King Trump start pissing blue like the Mad King George: www.crikey.com.au/2026/02/23/t...

Australia’s diamond back door: Blood jewels slipping past borders to fund Russia’s war As pressure builds on Australia to close sanction loopholes, another industry could be helping prop up the Kremlin’s war machine - diamonds.

Consumers, don’t buy diamonds: https://www.theage.com.au/national/australia-s-diamond-back-door-blood-jewels-slipping-past-borders-to-fund-russia-s-war-20260218-p5o3hs.html

Judges Grow Angry Over Trump Administration Violating Their Orders At least 35 times since August, federal judges have ordered the administration to explain why it should not be punished for violating their orders in immigration cases.

Finally a few judges in the US have grown a spine: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/23/us/politics/judges-contempt-immigration-trump.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Trump's trade tantrum may drive Canada and Australia closer Canberra's decision to sign a bilateral agreement with Canada to join forces on everything to do with critical minerals could prove to be a forerunner of things to come.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-24/critical-minerals-future-australia-canada-us-china/106368382?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=link

Developer signs Trump Tower deal for Gold Coast worth $1.5b Plans are underway for a $1.5 billion Trump Tower on Surfers Paradise, which would be one of Australia's tallest towers if approved.

Disgusting!: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-23/trump-tower-deal-signed-for-gold-coast/106376738?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=link

‘Reimagining matter’: Nobel laureate invents machine that harvests water from dry air Omar Yaghi’s invention uses ambient thermal energy and can generate up to 1,000 litres of clean water every day

Amazing!: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/feb/21/nobel-laureate-omar-yaghi-invents-machine-that-harvests-water-from-dry-air?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

When a young woman is raped by two friends, her small town turns against her A local footy star and his mate are convicted of raping their friend. In the tiny town of Balmoral, where the footy club reigns, the town makes it clear whose story they believe.

What an incredibly strong and deeply disturbing story. All strength to the brave victim, Elise: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-21/balmoral-home-town-boys-rape-divides-football-farming-town/106145646?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=link

EU’s €90B plan to fund Ukraine in jeopardy as Hungary blocks deal Budapest is fuelling anti-Ukraine sentiment ahead of a key election.

Suspend Hungary’s voting rights until it starts behaving like an EU teamplayer! This is ridiculous: https://www.politico.eu/article/hungary-delays-eus-e90b-loan-to-ukraine

Taylor snares himself in Dutton's migration trap — because without migrants, we're f***ed Angus Taylor faces the same problem as Peter Dutton on migration: you can scare voters about who's coming in, but what about demands to cut migration altogether?

www.crikey.com.au/2026/02/16/a...

Andrew’s arrest: will anything like this now happen in the US? Why hasn’t it so far? Overall, the former prince’s arrest throws into stark relief the state of the rule of law in the US compared to other democracies like the UK.

Yes, Trump's capture of the Department of Justice and the FBI is complete. Very scary!: theconversation.com/andrews-arre...

Why the United States Is Seeing an Ongoing Tourism Slump Last year, the U.S. was the only major destination to see a decline in international travelers. With increased scrutiny at the border, ICE violence and unpredictable policies, the new year isn’t looking better.

Travelers voting with their feet. Good: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/20/travel/us-tourism-declines-eu-canada.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare