US becoming dominant military force in Northern Territory, report says

"The US is building a functioning operating ecosystem in northern Australia while Australia risks becoming a secondary user of its own strategic geography." >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-17/nt-usa-becoming-dominant-military-force-northern-territory-aspi/106460770
#sovereignty #Australia #war #AUKUS #MiddlePowers #subordination #SubimperialEnforcer #DistanceAndDestiny #NT

Australia’s ‘strategic infantilisation’ by the US is undermining our security in Asia

"We are a perennially anxious nation, seemingly unable to come to terms with the reality of our geographic position. We reflexively identify with faraway members of the Anglosphere, such as the United States and the United Kingdom. But even more consequentially, we outsource responsibility for our foreign and security policy to one great and powerful friend or another. "

Others "view us as an appendage of America’s grand strategy, with little capacity for independent thought, much less action...This may spare our policymakers from the challenge of thinking independently. >>
https://theconversation.com/australias-strategic-infantilisation-by-the-us-is-undermining-our-security-in-asia-278068
#sovereignty #Australia #war #AUKUS #MiddlePowers #belonging #Anglosphere #anxiety #subordination #SubimperialEnforcer #DistanceAndDestiny

Americana meets the Aussie bush

Trying to get some bread in a cafe on Bellingen's main drag. Once the obstacle course of the packs of dogs on extendable leads are overcome it is time for waiting in a long queue on a Saturday. Many hipster families are there to have breakfast done for them.

One set was showcasing their three toddlers in a full 'American Western-inspired aesthetic', cowboy hats and boots. Mum had that Instagrammable ‘Mar-a-Lago face’.

Wide-brimmed hats are ideal to protect oneself from Australia's sun, but this was in the comfort zone of a cafe.

The "cowboy core" aesthetic facade harks back to the wide‑open‑spaces where cattle-herders (cowboys, stockmen/ringers) managed grazing livestock, for the pastoral industry, particularly in the Australian outback or American Western frontier.

Already in the 16th century, the Conquistadors and other Spanish settlers brought their cattle-raising traditions to Mexico and Florida.

The Western portrayed the cowboy as an enduring cultural figure representing freedom.

So why are these urban folks from the suburbs running around in 'costumes' looking like pastoralist workers from a mythical past? What 'sense of belonging' do they buy?

Maybe the fashionable habitus points to a vibe shift of the wannabe cowboys expressing preemptive subordination or imperial obsequiousness?

The rise of cowboy core: What's behind it.>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-10/dr-karl-how-things-work-cowboy-core-fashion/106336574

Plastic surgeons wrestle with requests for ‘Mar-a-Lago face’:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/nov/18/mar-a-lago-face-plastic-surgery

Image :
In 1859 European wild rabbits were introduced into Australia so they could be hunted for sport. Now hats are made out of some of the invasive species.
https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/rabbits-introduced

#cowboys #pastoralism #SettlerSociety #fashion #WesternWear #CattleHerders #belonging #Bellingen #culture #MiddlePowers #subordination #RupturedGlobalOrder #BellingenObservations

Carney's Davos Speech Highlights Shifting Global Power Dynamics

Mark Carney's January 20 2026 Davos speech calls for middle powers to unite and use their strength. Find out why this matters for global relations.

#MarkCarney, #Davos2026, #MiddlePowers, #GlobalPolitics, #WorldEconomicForum

https://newsletter.tf/carney-davos-speech-middle-powers-unite-2026/

Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke at Davos on January 20, 2026, urging middle powers to work together. This is a call for countries to use their combined strength.

#MarkCarney, #Davos2026, #MiddlePowers, #GlobalPolitics, #WorldEconomicForum

https://newsletter.tf/carney-davos-speech-middle-powers-unite-2026/