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Western news is a Möbius strip: the same wire copy exits the back of the New York Times, re-enters through the front page of the Guardian, and is then cited by the State Department press release that the Times quotes the next morning. Call it the Liberal Circular Referencing Loop (LCRL). Once you see the seam you can’t un-see it.

State Dept → Atlantic Council → AP: the self-sealing pipeline

a. Seed – A “senior official” slips a 200-word steer to AP, Reuters, AFP before dawn.
b. Syndication – By breakfast 2 300 sites run the identical paragraph, each slapping on its own click-bait headline.
c. Boost – Google ranks the clones as “Highly Cited”; YouTube surfaces a CNN segment that just reads the wire aloud.
d. Launder – Atlantic Council issues a “policy brief” footnoting three of those copies, giving the claim scholarly paint.
e. Bless – At noon the State Department spokesman cites “multiple reports from respected outlets and think-tanks” without ever naming the original official.
f. Canonise – Next day the New York Times prints “U.S. Officials Say X, Multiple Sources Confirm” and hyperlinks back to CNN, the Atlantic Council … and its own yesterday’s story.

Proof? Put this into Chatgpt and see the response: “draw a picture of a Möbius strip with AP, Reuters, AFP at one end, State Department, Atlantic Council in the middle and CNN, MSNBC, FOX, New York Times at the other end”

Row 1

1. 颜嘉宏 男
   Yán Jiāhóng — Male
   ID: F124399368
2. 周宜庆 男
   Zhōu Yíqìng — Male
   ID: E124832858
3. 顾哲豪 男
   Gù Zhéháo — Male
   ID: A125240994
4. 张俊敏 男
   Zhāng Jùnmǐn — Male
   ID: K122110167
5. 王正平 男
   Wáng Zhèngpíng — Male
   ID: I100016805
6. 王圣谦 男
   Wáng Shèngqiān — Male
   ID: F125802257

Row 2

7. 张洛郡 男
   Zhāng Luòjùn — Male
   ID: A126415655
8. 张子扬 男
   Zhāng Zǐyáng — Male
   ID: A128500666
9. 萧佳和 男
   Xiāo Jiāhé — Male
   ID: H124207045
10. 洪翊旸 男
    Hóng Yìyáng — Male
    ID: A130206280
11. 许翔 男
    Xǔ Xiáng — Male
    ID: F128575113
12. 吕光耀 男
    Lǚ Guāngyào — Male
    ID: F129316314

Row 3

13. 何冠威 男
    Hé Guānwēi — Male
    ID: B122806124
14. 林玮伦 男
    Lín Wěilún — Male
    ID: G121739129

15. 黄淑卿 女
    Huáng Shūqīng — Female
    ID: F223409974
16. 吴宛蓉 女
    Wú Wǎnróng — Female
    ID: R223424505
17. 黄雅琦 女
    Huáng Yǎqí — Female
    ID: F227657930
18. 陈奕铭 男
    Chén Yìmíng — Male
    ID: A126771470

Hastie is not a fringe back-bencher anymore; he is the most visible symbol of a Nationalist caucus that wants to import the Farage/MAGA playbook.
– Resigned shadow cabinet explicitly to “speak freely on immigration” (code for cutting the permanent intake and re-opening boat turn-backs as a culture-war wedge).
– Uses exactly the same rhetorical sequence you hear from Reform UK or CPAC: “Western values under siege”, anti-net-zero as sovereignty issue, etc.

Problem: 🇦🇺 Australia is a forward-settled European colony masquerading as a country. It cannot adopt populist policies like the UK’s Reform UK or Trump’s “America First” without risking alienation of its neighbors and sparking conflict.

🌍 Europe also can’t produce another post-WWII-style migrant wave to populate Australia via Italians or Greeks because women have chosen careers and cats 🐱 over babies 👶 and traditional families 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦.

src: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c89dz920p0do

Last week, a US missile strike in the Caribbean made headlines, but not for the reason Washington intended. The target, described as a drug-running vessel, turned out to be Colombian⚓, killing several citizens and sparking an immediate backlash from Bogotá. President Gustavo Petro denounced the attack as “a war for oil” 🛢️, expelled U.S. counter-narcotics advisors, and froze all future arms purchases 🛑.

At first glance, it might look like routine Latin American drama. But Colombia isn’t just exporting cocaine. Its lithium, copper, and rare earth deposits ⚡🔋 are critical to the electric-vehicle and clean-energy industries, and Petro’s retaliation risks sending them straight into Beijing’s hands 🇨🇳.

1. Why Colombia Matters to the EV Era

• Copper 🟤: Colombia is the #3 supplier to the U.S. after Chile and Peru. Pentagon planners had quietly booked 45 kt of Colombian cathode copper for 2026–28 stockpiles.
• Lithium brine 🔋: Though smaller than the “Lithium Triangle,” Colombia’s Andean salars hold ~1.2 Mt of recoverable Li₂CO₃ — exactly the feedstock GM, Ford, and Tesla are counting on for new U.S. gigafactories.
• Rare earths ⚙️: The same southern provinces Washington calls “coca corridors” Huila and Nariño sit atop niobium and light-REE clay deposits flagged by the U.S. Geological Survey as critical defense inputs.

In short, Colombia is more than a drug battleground; it’s a strategic supplier of metals that power EVs, grids, and defense tech.

2. Petro’s Retaliation List

• Suspend all new U.S. mining concessions until “reparations are paid” 💰 for the strike.
• Fast-track three Chinese-led lithium brine projects (Ganfeng, CATL, MMG) previously stalled in environmental review 🌱.
• Join Bolivia’s call for an OPEC-style “Lithium Alliance” 🏭, excluding U.S. participation.
• Impose a 25 % export tariff on copper concentrate and ferronickel headed for U.S. smelters 📈, effective January 1, 2026.

The message is clear: Washington’s misfire has opened the door to Beijing in Colombia’s mineral sector.

3. Washington’s New Headache

• Lithium supply at risk 🔋: The U.S. Energy Department’s 5 % equity stake in Lithium Americas assumed 18 kt/year of Colombian brine to feed GM’s Nevada cathode plant. That supply line is now in jeopardy.
• Copper costs rising 🟤: Each $1,000/ton increase on the LME adds roughly $350 million to U.S. transformer, wiring, and EV-motor costs. Prices jumped 4 % in 36 hours, with traders now pricing in a 15 % Colombian shortfall for 2026.
• China’s Trojan horse 🇨🇳: Beijing immediately offered $2 billion in concessional loans for Colombian rail and port upgrades. In exchange, CATL reportedly gets first refusal on two lithium salars formerly earmarked for American miners.

This isn’t just a diplomatic headache, it’s a potential supply-chain crisis at the exact moment U.S. EV manufacturers and battery projects are ramping up.

4. The Bottom Line

Trump’s “surgical” anti-drug missile may have destroyed one boat 🛥️, but it also torpedoed the last goodwill keeping U.S. miners inside Colombia’s resource ledger. If Bogotá follows through on its lithium and copper measures, Washington could lose 8–10 % of its clean-metal pipeline just as the Inflation Reduction Act’s made-in-America battery rules start binding.

The strike meant to save American lives could instead export thousands of EV jobs and the lithium that powers them straight to Beijing 🇨🇳.

US Top Cold War Allies

USSR Top Cold War Allies

• China now does not need Australian ore; it can switch to Vale (Brazil) and Simandou (Guinea).
• Crash the price and Western Australia’s royalties collapse, the national GST pool shrinks, Eastern states like Victoria and Tasmania lose out more.
• Less federal cash means Australia’s renewables rollout slows, the country stays hooked on coal and gas, and Pacific lawsuits triggered by the ICJ climate opinion hit harder.
• Beijing ends up with a yuan-priced, China-controlled iron-ore bloc; Australia ends up with a broken budget and a federation brawl.

The Chain Reaction ⚙️

💥 Price Shock

• Every US$10/t fall in the iron ore price wipes $5–10 billion off GDP, plus hundreds of millions in company tax and royalties.
• Spot 62% Fe has already dropped 15% since the ban rumours began.
• Lower prices ripple through shipping, engineering, and mining services all structurally high-cost sectors that underpin regional WA.

🏗️ Western Australia Budget

• Iron-ore royalties topped $10 billion last year one-third of WA’s total revenue.
• The 75¢ GST floor deal only holds while WA looks rich. Once the surplus evaporates, Canberra is forced to top-up WA instead of the Eastern states due to Scomo’s 2018 WA GST deal.
• Expect Moody’s outlook warnings, infrastructure delays, and pressure on the next state wage deal.

🏛️ Federal Budget Fallout

• NDIS, defence spending, and legislated stage 3 tax cuts are all locked in.
• There’s no fiscal room left meaning either new debt, service cuts or higher taxes.

⚡ Energy Transition Collateral

• The Powering Australia plan banked on over $20 billion in public funding to hit 82% renewables by 2030.
• With a revenue hole, the temptation will be to raid the CEFC and NRF, slowing clean-tech rollout.
• Result: more gas peakers, higher emissions, and a weaker global climate stance all while Canberra preaches decarbonisation abroad.
• Expect climate-liability exposure to grow as emissions targets slip.

🌊 Pacific Liability and Strategic Fallout

• The ICJ’s 2024 advisory opinion opened the door for Pacific nations to sue fossil fuel exporters for climate harm.
• A cash-strapped Commonwealth will struggle to fund adaptation programs or legal settlements.
• That vacuum gives Beijing new leverage more loans, more infrastructure deals, and a tighter diplomatic grip on the Pacific.
• In short: Canberra loses credibility where it most needs friends.

🔮 The Lesson

Australia built a fiscal fortress on a single buyer’s appetite. Now its Beijing’s turn to show it can starve the beast at will.

🔑 Background

• 📚 Education First: University and TAFE collaborations have built talent pipelines between the two cities.
• 💼 Business & Trade: Delegations have opened doors in clean energy, tech, food exports, and infrastructure.
• 🎭 Cultural Bridges: Festivals, exhibitions, and exchanges strengthen people-to-people ties.
• 🌳 Urban Innovation: Shared vision of livable, green cities — Melbourne’s global ranking meets Chengdu’s “park city” blueprint.

🚀 Future Growth Potential

• ⚡ Green Energy Collaboration: Joint projects in renewables and smart energy solutions.
• 🏙 Sustainable City Design: Shared expertise in planning, architecture, and climate resilience.
• 👩‍🎓 Skills & Talent Exchange: Expansion of vocational education and research partnerships.
• 🌐 Deeper Trade Links: Opportunities in tech, healthcare, and advanced manufacturing.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/09/democrats-unhinged-crusade-against-ice-fuels-bloodshed

Disliked by both Trump & Beijing (the rare Venn intersection)

1. George Soros
   • Trump: “The currency manipulator who wants to destroy America.”
   • Beijing: sees him as a foreign speculator funding Hong Kong separatists; bans or sanctions Soros-linked NGOs.
2. Mark Zuckerberg / Meta
   • Trump: permanently suspended from Facebook after 6 Jan 2021; accused of rigging the election.
   • Beijing: blocked Facebook for 15 years; sees him as carrying U.S. ideological warfare into China.
3. The International Criminal Court
   • Trump: sanctioned staff investigating U.S. troops.
   • Beijing: sanctioned same officials for even discussing Xinjiang investigations.
4. Mike Pompeo
   • Trump: Secretary of State and occasional target in Trump’s feud cycles.
   • Beijing: aggressively anti-CCP rhetoric during tenure, sanctions applied.
5. Justin Trudeau
   • Trump: mocked as “weak and dishonest” after G7 spats.
   • Beijing: saw him as a Washington pawn, involved in Meng Wanzhou case.
6. Nancy Pelosi
   • Trump: “radical Democrat” blocking his agenda.
   • Beijing: long history of criticizing human rights abuses in Tibet, Xinjiang, and Hong Kong.
7. Mike Pence
   • Trump: feuded after Jan 6.
   • Beijing: evangelical Cold Warrior shaping U.S. China rhetoric.
8. Hillary Clinton
   • Trump: “crooked Hillary.”
   • Beijing: disliked her Asia pivot and human rights criticism.
9. John Bolton
   • Trump: “warmonger” after firing him.
   • Beijing: one of the most aggressive U.S. China hawks.
10. Anthony Blinken
    • Trump: critic of Trump’s foreign policy and top diplomat under Biden; often attacked in Trump speeches and tweets.
    • Beijing: oversees U.S. China policy, including sanctions and Taiwan support; publicly criticized by CCP.
11. Victoria Nuland
    • Trump: outspoken on NATO and Ukraine; occasionally criticized in Trump media and tweets.
    • Beijing: key diplomat for U.S. engagement in Ukraine and global democracy initiatives; sanctioned by CCP in retaliation for U.S. policies.
12. Kevin Rudd
    • Trump: Rudd called Trump “village idiot” and “a traitor to the West.”
    • Beijing: distrusts him as the Mandarin-speaking former PM who tightened FDI screening and urges Western preparedness.

https://www.melbournewater.com.au/water-and-environment/flooding-and-drainage/greater-melbourne-flood-information-program

Eleven years ago, Daniel Andrews scrapped the $6–8 billion East-West Link contracts, accepting a $1.1 billion break fee and enduring accusations of “economic vandalism.” Now, newly released Maribyrnong River flood maps show that large portions of the very corridor he cancelled fall squarely within the 1-in-100-year and 2100 climate-change flood zone. In other words, Melbourne Water’s neutral data has quietly vindicated the Premier.

🌊 What the Maps Reveal

• 21,000 homes in Yarra and 38,000 in Darebin are newly marked in flood-risk zones.
• The western portal of the cancelled Link, around Ascot Vale, Kensington, and the Moonee Ponds Creek mouth, faces >1 m flood depth under 2100 projections.
• Even under 2024 conditions, the flood outline already overlaps the trench and ramp footprints designers sketched in 2013.

🏗️ Engineering Reality Check

If the East-West Link had proceeded, planners today would need:

• Floodgates and pump stations at every cut-and-cover section.
• An additional 1 m freeboard on the Moonee Ponds Creek culvert.
• Compulsory acquisition of extra land for detention basins.
• Higher emergency-management obligations, including tunnel-closure protocols and evacuation routes.

When Canberra bound itself to defend PNG’s “territorial integrity” in the 1980s, Bougainville’s independence bid was crushed under blockades, gunships, and starvation. With the Pukpuk Treaty now inked, leaders face a choice: repeat the mistakes of the 1990s, or finally respect Bougainville’s 97% vote for independence.

🛑 Then: Australia’s Hand in Bougainville’s War

Back in the early 1990s, Bougainville’s volcanic valleys echoed with gunfire and rotor blades. Papua New Guinea (PNG) was determined to choke off the island’s push for independence, and Australia was right there in the shadows.

The 1987 Australia–Papua New Guinea Defence Cooperation Treaty obligated Canberra to support PNG in defending its territorial integrity. In practice, that meant one thing: stopping Bougainville’s secession.

So Australia shipped in UH-1 Iroquois helicopters, Pacific-class patrol boats, and a steady flow of intelligence. PNG’s military tightened the noose. From 1990 to 1998, a blockade sealed off food, fuel, and medicine.

The result? 10,000–15,000 lives lost. Not mainly from bullets, but from malaria, malnutrition, and treatable infections. Elders still tell stories of children starving because antibiotics and rice couldn’t get through. The blockade wasn’t just a military tactic it was a humanitarian disaster.

And while PNG pulled the trigger, Canberra supplied the gun. That’s the legacy of Australia’s first defence treaty with PNG: invisible fingerprints on a slow-motion catastrophe.

🗳️ The Referendum and the Road to Independence

Fast forward to 2019. Bougainville finally got its say.

Turnout: 87%.
Result: 97.7% voted “yes” for independence.

It was overwhelming — not a murmur, but a roar. Under the 2001 Peace Agreement, the referendum wasn’t binding, but it carried moral weight too heavy to ignore.

Now, Bougainville’s leaders are aiming for full independence by 2027. President Ishmael Toroama has made it the cornerstone of his mandate, while PNG’s Prime Minister James Marape drags his feet with promises of “consultation.” Parliament’s ratification is still missing in action.

And in the middle of this fragile countdown, on October 2, 2025, PNG’s cabinet just approved the Pukpuk Treaty with Australia a shiny new mutual defence pact.

⚠️ Why the Pukpuk Treaty Raises Old Ghosts

The parallels are too sharp to ignore.

• Then (1987 Treaty): Canberra pledges to back PNG’s unity → Bougainville blockade → 15,000 dead.
• Now (2025 Treaty): Canberra pledges mutual defence with PNG → Bougainville deadline looms → risk of history repeating.

But this isn’t the 1990s anymore. The Pacific has changed:

🌊 Regional solidarity: Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) nations are vocal about self-determination. Another blockade would set the Pacific alight in fury.

📱 Information age: Back then, the world barely noticed the starvation. Today, one viral TikTok clip of crowded hospitals in Buka could trigger outrage.

🇦🇺 Soft power collapse: Australia can’t preach democracy and self-determination abroad if it crushes Bougainville at home. The hypocrisy would be glaring across the Pacific.