NATO Summit 2024.

(source)

A high-ranking official in the Albanese Government, speaking under the condition of anonymity, confirmed to Magpie News that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was invited to the NATO Summit to take place in Gallipoli, Turkey.

Ukrainian President Vasily Petrovych Goloborodko has repeatedly asked for additional military assistance. It is understood that Albanese plans to donate one of the new AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines.

Military experts believe the Ukrainian military needs more materiel for their upcoming summer counteroffensive. “It promises to be as successful as their 2023 predecessor”, they believe.

Last week it was revealed that a number of Australian Army generals, with experience gained in Afghanistan and Iraq, are planning to travel to the Ukraine, to volunteer their expert professional services there.

“With that and the sub”, they say, “the war in the Ukraine could be over very soon, maybe even within ten years.”

Robodebt: the Week that Was.

Sometimes the do-gooder/bleeding heart image can be an asset.

Surprising? Not really. It’s been one of Labor’s traditional selling points: voters perceive Labor as “caring” about fairness.

Using his mum as example, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has gone to great lengths to highlight that.

(source])

There is a historical reason for that perception. Although the term “welfare state” is no longer fashionable, the Australian Labor Party was key in its adoption here, and its governments established its general institutions, including public health (under Medicare). They also created the main welfare payments. The age pension, for example, dates to 1908, during the Fisher Government; the unemployment benefits (currently called JobSeeker) was product of the Chifley Government in 1945. More recently, in 2013, it was under the Gillard Government that the National Disability Insurance Scheme was created.

So, unsurprisingly the Albanese Government launched the Robodebt Royal Commission last year.

Russian Embassy Farce (II). Updated

The New Russian Embassy is still making headlines. The Australian – the broadsheet among the many other Murdoch tabloids – broke the news in exclusivity on Friday 23rd:

Presumably the day before – according to The Oz, remember that – its reporting team found a Russian diplomat on the Yarralumla block of land in dispute. (Was that man quietly enjoying the land – in the terms of the Federal Court’s decision – or squatting, as The Oz prefers? That’s for you to decide.)

The Australian Federal Police, the report added, is present at the site, but cannot arrest the man because everybody says he has diplomatic immunity.

The Russian Embassy Farce: Jalisco Nunca Pierde … (Updated)

… y Cuando Pierde, Arrebata.

Jalisco nunca pierde y cuando pierde, arrebata. (source)

That’s a popular saying in Mexico. Literally it means Jalisco (one of the states of the Mexican federation) never loses, but if it ever were to lose, it would cheat. The “Jalisco” stands for “Mexicans” or “we”. Perhaps a less literal translation works best: we always win, by hook or by crook, if needed.

I suppose that saying’s appeal owes much to its unapologetic chauvinism. Personally, however, I doubt many Mexicans really use it as their guide when dealing with others, especially foreigners. Think about it. Would you be anxious to deal with Mexicans if you thought they take that saying seriously? Well, Mexicans are likely aware of that.

It’s ironic, isn’t it? Mexicans could be too scrupulous to apply their own saying.

Others are certainly a lot less squeamish. Don’t believe me? Read on.