Sam Lawrence
@saminaustralia.bsky.social
🌱 Environmentalist: climate and policy. Social justice. Traveller. Geo-politics. Optimist. Pun aficionado. I like to build new things and try to leave the 🌏 better than we found it. 🇬🇧,🇫🇷,🇩🇪 + aprendiendo 🇪🇸 🏡 Melbourne / Bangkok / nomad All views my own.
Beyond the gross debasement of the office, is it possible to quantify in any real sense the substantive damage this numpty’s done to not only his country but the post-war global order? What does it mean? General assertions of a ‘rupture’ don’t seem sufficiently concrete. @andrewmueller.bsky.social
Trump posts swear-laden rant as he tells Tehran to ‘open the Strait or live in hell’
independent.co.uk
This is a #warcrime - the latest of many. High time that the #ICC indicted the criminal and put him on trial, along with his cabinet and collaborators. The rogue state threatening global stability needs to be held to account, and stopped. Arrest warrants should help. @coalitionfortheicc.org
By far the most incompetent Foreign Secretary in recent history. The hypocrisy of slashing “foreign aid is national security.” @yvettecooper-mp.bsky.social
UK reveals aid priorities after major cuts to budget
Aid groups and MPs have raised concerns over the move to prioritise defence spending over aid.
bbc.com
Are the are-they / aren’t-they debatable US-Iran negotiations simply another ploy the US will use to strike Iran again / seize Kharg when the marines arrive? It’s a repeated tactic Trump has used: pretend to negotiate to throw the other party off. @jonsopel1.bsky.social @thenewsagents.co.uk
Let me get this straight. The rogue hegemon trash-talks NATO; threatens its (former) allies; lies about their sacrifices on its behalf (Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria); launches an illegal, unwinnable war with appalling forethought, and now threatens NATO to clean it up? Send your own sons and daughters.
Trump warns Nato faces 'very bad' future if allies do not help secure Strait of Hormuz
The US president says he is speaking to several countries about
bbc.com
Heartening to see France’s public prosecutor doing their job without fear or favour. I can’t wait to see M. Musk in the dock ⚖️ Chances of US sanctions on France ahead of that eventuality? 80%? #StopElon
French police raid X offices in Paris as Musk summoned to hearing
A widening probe into the platform is investigating alleged abuse of algorithms and fraudulent data extraction.
abc.net.au
“Never let a good crisis go to waste”. An opportunity to overhaul the UN Security Council for the 21st century: no more vetoes and a removal of states non-compliant with the UN Charter and financial commitments. #un #uncrisis
UN risks 'imminent financial collapse', secretary general warns
António Guterres says the international body could run out of money by July due to members' unpaid fees.
bbc.com
The US is a clear security threat. When will Europe collectively meet the US’ crazed bullying with reciprocal sanctions and asset freezes? DJTs Scottish golf courses could be a start. @kajakallas.bsky.social Switch from dollar denominated payments to Euros and Sterling @yvettecooper-mp.bsky.social
Trump tariff threat over Greenland 'unacceptable', European leaders say
The US president says several European allies opposed to his plans to buy Greenland will face 10% tariffs from February.
bbc.com
Very interested in your views on this debacle @georginagodwin.bsky.social (a Monocle radio feature perhaps?) and the excellent interview given by the superb Louise Adler to the ABC. @louiseadler1.bsky.social
Louise Adler unloads over reputationally 'trashed' Adelaide Writers' Week
The former Adelaide Writers' Week director takes aim at lobby groups and the SA premier during an intense appearance on 7.30 in which she says the event's reputation has been "trashed".
abc.net.au
Australia’s Adelaide Writers Week “destroyed by the Zionist lobby” (Yanis Varoufakis) with esteemed Jewish board director Louise Adler resigning on principle: “I could not be party to silencing writers… writing matters, even when they are presenting ideas that discomfort and challenge us”. #auspol
Randa Abdel-Fattah: How Adelaide Writers' Week imploded after axing Palestinian author
Some 180 writers, including former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, have withdrawn from the event.
bbc.com
I recommend rereading this article by Yale Professor Jason Stanley (since fled to Canada) writing in @theguardian.com in 2021. An update to this article would be both fascinating and devastatingly damning on the descent of Canada’s southern neighbour into neo-fascism.
America is now in fascism’s legal phase | Jason Stanley
The US’s history of racism is fertile ground for fascism. Attacks on the courts, education, voting rights and women’s rights are steps to toppling democracy
theguardian.com
President of Peace. Someone should check on how Greenland and Panama are sleeping.
Venezuela latest: Trump says US has 'captured' President Maduro in strikes on country - latest
The US president says Maduro and his wife have been
bbc.com
Was in die Stasi ist das?! “Applicants could be asked to supply all phone numbers they have used in the past five years, all email addresses from the past 10 years, and detailed information about immediate family members, including their names, dates and places of birth, and current addresses.”
Privacy concerns over US proposing travellers reveal social media history
Australians travelling to the United States could soon face an unprecedented invasion of privacy, an international law expert has warned.
abc.net.au
🇮🇪+🇪🇸 demonstrated principled leadership, yet again, on the issue of Israeli genocide. The EuSoCo is and always has been political. Countries including 🇬🇧🇫🇷🇩🇪🇮🇹 hiding behind a charade of neutrality to avoid a tough decision (which should be easy) is an abdication of moral responsibility. #eurovision
Ireland among countries boycotting Eurovision after Israel allowed to compete
There had been calls for Israel's exclusion over the war in Gaza, as well as unfair voting accusations.
bbc.com
It’s so telling that the G20 is far more effective on climate without certain destructive elements present. A permanent G18 (sans the two pariahs across the Bering strait) could be a great option.
COP30 was a failure. When a coalition of petro states led by Saudi Arabia and Russia red-line mention of fossil fuels, and the outcome is treating the symptom not the cause, it’s a failure. This jamboree needs massive overhaul. Much like the UN itself.
COP30 sidesteps fossil fuels, boosts climate aid for poor nations
Denial and division have been highlighted in the COP30 deal that makes no mention of cutting fossil fuels but boosts climate aid for developing nations.
abc.net.au
As predicted, and incredibly smart diplomacy: Australia controls the negotiations, gets moral praise from the Pacific for ‘trying’ to host COP, and incurs none of the costs. Well played. #auspol
Australia hands COP31 to Türkiye but Bowen to lead negotiations
Adelaide will not host next year's COP summit, but Australia's Energy Minister Chris Bowen will lead the negotiations, and a pre-event will be hosted by a Pacific Island nation.
abc.net.au
Reports of the death of democracy are, happily, greatly exaggerated. Australia’s principled and proactive approach to securing democratic norms in the Pacific is a tremendous tribute to quiet, effective middle power diplomacy. #auspol
Wong says Australia the 'architect' in the region after 'landmark' achievements
The foreign minister has used a major speech to celebrate the government's string of security agreements, saying Labor has helped build a region more stable and less deferential to authoritarian power...
abc.net.au
This is grotesque in a world with malnutrition and environmental degradation. 12.5% could fund the entirety of global tropical forests protection. A single figure %’age could rebuild Gaza. No one deserves $1 TRILLION. Shareholders should be ashamed. @teslatakedown.com @lilyjamali.bsky.social
Elon Musk's $1tn pay deal approved by Tesla shareholders
The richest man in the world will get hundreds of millions of new shares if he hits his targets.
bbc.com
A perfect example of why the Australian government cannot be trusted on climate - it fails at every step. And that’s both sides of the aisle - for decades. Pacific nations are right to call out Australia’s hypocrisy in seeking to host a climate COP while actively undermining climate progress.
'Climate trigger' formally ruled out of environment laws
A "climate trigger" that could be used to block coal and gas projects has been formally excluded from the government's overhaul of Australia's environment laws, minister Murray Watt confirms.
abc.net.au
“To survive, the United Nations must leave America” - a short essay by Carl Bildt @cbildt.bsky.social
To Survive, the United Nations Must Leave America
Carl Bildt sees a change in headquarters as an unfortunate but necessary step for the embattled institution.
project-syndicate.org
The UN concludes that Israel is committing genocide. “Israel is responsible for genocide in Gaza…there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide Convention” - Navi Pillay, Chair of UN Commission. #ohchr #israel #genocide
Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip, UN Commission finds
GENEVA – Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, a...
ohchr.org
Don’t suppose you could do a piece on the Daily on why an ex-Victorian State Premier was invited to (and actually) stood in this motley line-up? @andrewmueller.bsky.social
Why would Daniel Andrews taint his legacy by posing alongside dictators?
Former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews posed for a class photo alongside Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping in China. The question on everyone's mind is why?
abc.net.au
Collective punishment of civilians is a war crime under international law: one war crime amongst many in Israel’s ongoing slaughter of the Palestinian population. The ICC should indict Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz for war crimes, in addition to its existing indictment of Israel’s PM.
Gaza City will be razed if Hamas does not agree our terms, Israel minister says
Hamas should disarm and release all Israeli hostages, Israel Katz says, as country prepares a massive attack on Gaza City.
bbc.com
Sophocles’ ancient play Antigone ~440 B.C., says "no one loves the messenger who brings bad news". Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra used the same motif. Plutarch described kings decapitating messengers who brought news of invading armies, leading to a lack of information and eventual downfall.
Pentagon fires intelligence chief after Iran attack assessment
The firing comes just weeks after a White House rebuke of a leaked intelligence report assessing the impact of US strikes on Iran.
bbc.com
🇦🇺 In a principled response to Netanyahu’s personal attacks on Australia’s PM, our Minister for Home Affairs @tonyburkemp.bsky.social noted that "Strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up or how many children you can leave hungry.” Israel should indict its PM for war crimes per ICC.
