Oil Shock, Charity Money and Warrantless ASIO Powers | Scam of the Week by Michael West

Click on Michael West 'Australia is staring down another cost of living hit as war drives up oil and gas prices, while Canberra ducks bigger questions at home. This West Report examines the political fallout, Pauline Hanson’s rise amid collapsing social cohesion, Labor’s refusal to act on charities linked to illegal settlements and the IDF, and the sweeping ASIO reforms that could expand detention powers without traditional safeguards.

It is a picture of a government willing to look away from one set of risks while handing itself more power over another.  Support us ❤️ patreon.com/thewestreport Our Journalism 📰 michaelwest.com.au Merch 👕 https://lonelykidsclub.com/collection...

Linktree 🌐 https://linktr.ee/michaelwestmedia.co...

00:00: South Australia, Santos and Pauline Hanson 01:02: Pauline’s War Call and Hormuz 02:28: Pauline’s Polls and Australia’s Polarisation 03:53: Cost of Living, Rates and Petrol Prices 05:22: Israel and the Inflation Threat 06:49: Russian Oil, Gas Profits and Nationalisation 08:49: Katy Gallagher and Charities Funding Settlements 11:57: New ASIO Powers and the SOTW Winner'

Trump Calls Joe Kent ‘Weak’ For Resigning by Francesca Fiorentini

Click on Francesca Hey, we haven’t had one of these in a while! National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent just resigned from the Trump regime over the war in Iran.

Could there be some cracks forming in Trump 2.0? In his first term, it seemed like every week a cabinet member was being fired or resigning out of shame. This has left only the shameless and most ideologically deranged for Trump 2.0. But this week, one of those freaks finally broke rank and resigned.

Joe Kent is out, and according to his resignation post on X, “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel.” Wow, kind of a shocking move from someone in this administration. Of course Trump responded by saying he always thought Kent was ‘weak’ on security. Really dude? You gave him the job.

CAPITALISM DEBATE: Influencers [Including Jordan van den Lamb] debate Billionaire Wealth, Property Investment and Bosses by SBS Feed

 Click on SBS Feed 'Is capitalism a good system or has it outlived its purpose? Six influential people debate capitalism.

On the panel: content director Jack Toohey, Simran Kaur from Friends That Invest, buyers agent Eddie Dilleen, Queenie Tan from Invest with Queenie, policy analyst Cian Hussey, and member of the Victorian Socialists, Jordan van den Lamb, best known as Purple Pingers. They discuss everything from extreme wealth to privatisation. 0:00 Teaser 0:49 Workers are worse off under capitalism 10:39 Australia is the land of the fair go. If you work hard enough you can overcome anything 15:26 No one should be worth billions of dollars 26:10 Housing shouldn’t be treated as an investment 35:22 Privatising Australia’s services would make them more effective '

The Antony Loewenstein Podcast: The Myth of the “Strong Jew” and Israel’s War Narrative by Antony Loewenstein

Click on Antony Loewenstein examines how Israel’s modern identity has been shaped by a powerful founding idea: the creation of the “strong Jew.”

In this conversation, he unpacks how early Zionist leaders, including David Ben-Gurion, framed a new national identity in direct contrast to the perceived “weakness” of European Jews during the Holocaust — a framing that ignores the reality of widespread Jewish resistance under Nazi rule. We also explore how this narrative continues to influence Israeli politics and public messaging today, particularly in moments of conflict. From government rhetoric praising national resilience, to disparities in civilian protection between Jewish and Palestinian communities, Loewenstein argues that power, perception, and storytelling remain central to how the war is understood — both inside Israel and globally. This episode looks at: The origins of the “strong Jew” identity in Zionist thought. The historical inaccuracies behind the “passive Holocaust victim” narrative. Media control and censorship within Israel during wartime. Unequal access to safety and infrastructure across communities. How national myths shape modern military and political behaviour. A critical conversation about identity, history, and the narratives that define nations under pressure.

How Trump DESTROYED World Economy for Israel’s Iran War by Double Down News

 

Double Down News 'Israel is the ultimate rogue state and it's particularly lethal because it has pretty much the uncritical backing of the world's only superpower. And yet the war against Iran makes absolutely no sense whatsoever from the point of view of Western interests. Israel has just bombed Iran's South Pas field which is the largest gas field in the world. In retaliation, the Iranians bombed the world's largest hub for the production of liquid natural gas in Qatar. As a result, oil and gas prices are shooting through the roof, which has massive adverse consequences for the global economy. It's as if the West's entire foreign policy is being dictated by the Joker in Batman, walking down the street dressed as a nurse, pressing a button, and blowing up a hospital. Israel is fundamentally acting now as a rogue nation within the Middle East,trying to sew instability and chaos around it. How on earth is any of this in the interests of the West, let alone the people of Iran and of the region?

It's a profoundly irrational war that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever It's an indication of just how absurd this war is that the Americans are now contemplating removing the sanctions on some Iranian oil to try and bring the price of oil back down. Trump is very, very nervous about the destruction of oil and gas infrastructure precisely because of the impact it will have on markets. Whereas the Israelis don't seem to give a damn. They essentially are agents of chaos....'. 

‘Illegal War’ Launched by an ‘Authoritarian President’: Fmr Obama Official Slams the Iran War by Mehdi Hasan with Ben Rhodes

Click on Mehdi Hasan 'In this wide-ranging interview of ‘Mehdi Unfiltered,’ former Obama official Ben Rhodes joins Mehdi Hasan to discuss Israel’s role in shaping the United States’ war with Iran.

Ben Rhodes served as deputy national security adviser in Barack Obama’s White House for eight years. He was working with President Obama as Benjamin Netanyahu continued to pressure the US, time and time again, to attack Iran. In the discussion, Rhodes tells Mehdi that Israel’s ultimate objective is to turn Iran into a “failed state.” He criticizes Democratic Party leadership for failing to respond to the conflict, arguing that those who did not oppose the war must be primaried. The two also examine the Obama administration’s decision to pursue regime change in Libya in 2011 without congressional approval. “I acknowledge the mistakes made,” Rhodes tells Mehdi, reflecting on the intervention.This interview was published earlier on zeteo.com. If you want early, exclusive access to this kind of independent, unfiltered journalism — subscribe to our Substack here: https://zeteo.com/subscribe

00:51 Rhodes Reacts to US-Iran War 2:30 Israel’s Role in Pushing the US Toward War 6:48 How Netanyahu Pressured Obama on Iran 8:30 Biden and Harris’s Handling of Iran 10:48 Is Iran a Threat to the United States? 13:31 Obama’s Libya Intervention 17:57 Obama’s Drone War 21:08 Pro-War Democrats Should Be Primaried 25:34 Trump Was Misled by Netanyahu'

The Media is focused on the wrong War | The West Report by Michael West

Click on Michael West 'Israel has deliberately escalated the war in the Middle East by attacking Qatar/Iranian oil and gas. This was a red line. Iran responded by attacking oil and gas of US proxies, Saudi etc. Markets are tanking. Also Trump, Grace Tame propaganda, Epstein, Australia's engagement. #auspol #ASIO

Australia needs a Royal Commission into the influence of the Israel lobby.'

Iran War Spirals OUT OF CONTROL - Owen Jones with Annelle Sheline

 Click on Owen Jones “Just how far could the Iran war just spiral completely and utterly out of control? I mean, we are a few weeks in now. Obviously, Donald Trump thought it'd be over in a few days. That's not happening. Just what could this escalate to? I think it's worth interrogating this. I'm really delighted to be joined by Annelle Sheline who is a former US government official resigned over Israel's genocide against the Palestinian people and is also a research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft to do really brilliant work on I don't know opposing the world collapsing to mayhem. It's not the official description but how you doing?

Annelle Sheline: All right. How are you doing? 

Owen Jones: Not too bad given everything I suppose going on. Let's just I mean just in terms of how this could spiral and it's always a kind of conversation to be had but kind of kind of necessary I would say it's suggesting at the moment because what's happening is the Gulf countries thought they'd be safe by having US bases that was like the pact but it's actually done the opposite it's left them exposed but they're getting hit kind of badly but they're not hitting back because they're I mean just explain that dynamic because it's quite a unique dynamic and just to do thewhat's happening with the Gulf countries. How much we know? I mean, there's lot of censorship going on. So, what do you think the picture is?:

Annelle Sheline: Yes. So, it's an evolving picture. the Gulf countries to this point have said, you know, Donald Trump, you are not allowed to use the US military bases in our territory to launch attacks on Iran. And also, we are not going to launch attacks on Iran. There have been some, you know, there's been counter reporting. There's also been reporting some of these may be false flag operations of of but but the official statement thus far from the Gulf countries is we do not want to be even more of a target than we already are. um due to the presence of the US bases but also I mean Iran just recently published an an additional list of targets which are infrastructure I mean oil infrastructure targets all of which have very significant US investment which are arguably is why these are the particular facilities that are targeted….

The Party Line on why Capitalism needs War and Empire by Anneke Demanuele, Omar Sherrife & Jordan van den Lamb

Episode 32 -
The Party Line on why capitalism needs war and empire

Click on Anneke, Omar & Jordan 'We had a request for more socialist theory, so this ep delivers some classic marxist content in classic party line style (which is not very theoretical). The concept of imperialism has been widely discussed following Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the more recent US-Israeli assault on Iran and Lebanon. We argued last week that it wasn’t about Trump’s foibles, still less Epstein files, but about profit, power and empire. This week we unpack why countries go to war, what tools they use to compete, how it evolves directly from capitalist competition in the marketplace, and why only socialism can end war for good. We also take a look at why tankies and stalinists are wrong to defend bourgeois dictatorships that happen to be opposed to the US for whatever reason (looking at Russia, China, Iran, etc here). Shout out to the PSL and the FRSP in the US for being some of the most toxic propagators of this reactionary theory that is unfortunately spreading across the world at this moment.'

Readings: Understanding war: Lenin’s 'Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism': https://redflag.org.au/article/unders...

Lenin and Bukharin on imperialism: https://isreview.org/issue/100/lenin-...

Trump PANICS After Bombshell Iran Report - Owen Jones w/. Jeremy Scahill

 Click on Owen Jones, 'The Iranian perspective, what Iranian officials are actually saying has been largely erased from most Western media coverage. We're getting bombarded, of course, all the time by the perspective of the US, by Israel, but what Iranian officials are saying and thinking and their strategy is just being completely neglected. Now, there's one exception to that, which is Dropsite News, a brilliant media organization, which has actually been reaching out and speaking to Iranian officials to work out what their strategy is. And it is pissing off the Trump administration to say the least. And and the Trump administration as we know is acting all surprised and shocked uh at you know the idea that the Iranian regime would have shut down the Strait of Hormuz that it's attacking Gulf Allies when they've just been broadcasting what would happen if they were attacked. James Scahill, brilliant co-founder of Dropsite News, great to great to speak to you now. You've been doing this brilliant journalism. You've been speaking to Iranian officials. Just just tell me about that. Tell me kind of why that's important because I think that angle is you have to go to Dropsite News, a lot of the time to work out what's going on. You know, 

Jeremy Scahill: I've I've been a journalist for a quarter of a century, and never in in my life in media have I ever seen a more intense effort to criminalize talking to the other side or speaking to forces or groups or in this case officials from a nation state that the western world and specifically the US public is told these are these are the enemies.This is a this should just be a central part of journalism that you know particularly when the president of the United States has made a decision without the approval of the United States Congress to go to war. And throughout the genocide in Gaza I've interviewed leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. And in doing so you remove or strip away a kind of cartoonized version of who the other side is. And in doing that you also are able to predict or understand what actions may come next. So in the case of Iranian officials even before the first bomb started falling on February 28th we had been speaking to senior Iranian officials about what was going to happen during the negotiations. Some of the first stories that we broke uh after the US and Iran started talking again was the the concessions that Iran was making in these negotiations. And we didn't just speak to Iranian officials. We got information on what they were putting on the table in terms of uh uranium enrichment, in terms of potential future discussions on non-nuclear issues. And what we were understanding was that the terms went beyond the 2015 Nuclear Deal. But we didn't just talk to Iranian officials. I then talked to Rob Mali, who was one of the lead US negotiators on that 2015 deal. And Mali told me, "Look, Trump could just declare victory right now and say, I got something out of the Iranians that Barack Hussein Obama could never do." And and and Rob Mali said to me, "Look, the Iranians are doing something quite unprecedented. If the US doesn't take the win here, then it's an indication it was never about the nuclear issue at all and it was just about buying time to amass forces in the region and to try to, you know, sort of absorb what Iran might do." So during the negotiations, talking to Iranian officials gave us insight to the fact that this wasn't actually about nuclear, it was about a regime change war. And then during the war, Owen, in talking to Iranian officials, there have been several times uh where we've reported what Iran is saying it's going to do, the kinds of strikes it's going to do in the Persian Gulf, um against GCC countries or against Jordan, the kinds of intensification of the attacks against Israel that they were going to be engaged with, and then also Iran's posture on potential negotiations or a so-called ceasefire.

All of this shouldjust be basic journalism. But so many news organizations seem to believe that it's okay to just and including news organizations that spend all this time calling Trump a liar and saying that he's the greatest threat to media freedom that's ever existed in the White House. They're then on certain issues saying, "Oh, well, US officials say this." And and that's a real problem. It does a disservice to a democratic society or notions to democratic participation indecision-making,  including on the decision to go to war.......'

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They Want to DESTROY Iran - Owen Jones with Trita Parsi

Click on Owen Jones,: Now Donald Trump's director of his national terrorism center has resigned. this is Joe Kent. An excoriating attack on the administration claiming that Israel had the Israel lobby had bounced the US into this war and said that Iran posed no threat in terms of terrorism to the US and Israel and meanwhile is is picking off top Iranian officials at the top of the regime. What does this all mean? No better person to speak to than the always brilliant Triti Parsi who's an Iranian American analyst. He's has lots of caps but for example co-founder of the Quincy Institute for Responsible State crafted brilliant work. How you doing well? How are you? Triti Parsi: Yeah. Well, Owen Jones: I hope you're doing as well as possible. You're doing brilliant stuff in very difficult times. Let's just start with Joe Kent. So, Joe Kent not a Pinkco lefty. Let's just put it mildly. He's a former US soldier. He referred to that. His wife also died in combat which is relevant. What do you make of the significance of his resignation?

Triti Parsi: This is extremely significant because it is not an isolated incident. Not in the sense that you have a lot of other people resigning right now, but that might happen. But because it's reflective of a much larger cohort of people inside of the Trump administration that are very much against this war. They're extremely dismayed that Trump went along. They have many of them been pushed out of the conversation. Trump is making these decisions increasingly with a smaller circle of people in government and a larger circle of pro-Israeli voices and Israeli government officials rather than actually US officials. Someone of that seniority, someone with that credibility, I mean 11 combat tours, wife lost to an al-Qaeda or ISIS attack in in in uh Syria. So, I mean, the guy has tremendous credibility and Trump, you know, was trying to downplay him, say that he's weak, etc. He's the one who, you know, put him in the place that he is, at the end of the day. I think it's reflective of a tremendous amount of dismay and anger. And I think it's worth pointing out that you never had any resignation of this level this early…..

Honest Government Ad | Alcoa

Click on tne Australien Government has made an ad about Alcoa, and it's surprsingly honest and informative.

👉 March in Perth on Sunday 22 March: https://marchforforests.org/location/...

👉 Petition to Keep Trump out of our forests: https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Parl...

Iran Is WINNING - Trump’s Own Side Knows It by Owen Jones

 Click on Owen Jones 

Lebanese suffering ignored | Theroux’s ‘manosphere’ doco | Is Netanyahu dead? by Antoinette Lattouf and Jan Fran

 Click on Jan and AntoinetteJan Fran and Antoinette examine the devastating attacks on Lebanon and the Lebanese population - and why local media coverage has been strangely quiet.

We dive into Louis Theroux’s Netflix exploration of the internet’s most toxic - and successful - “manosphere” influencers: what landed, and what was missing. We also tackle the rumour mill around wanted war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu (including the six-finger theory). And a rare moment of praise for the Australian Communications and Media Authority after its long-overdue move against shock jock Kyle Sandilands. Follow Lebanese-British journalist Hala Jaber’s substack. Follow American photojournalist Courtney Bonneau living in south Lebanon on instagram. Support Ette Media by becoming a subscriber here. If you want to see our mugs as we yap you can watch the episode in full here.

Mehdi Unpacks Israel's REAL Goal for Iran and Lebanon by Mehdi Hasan and Prem Thakker

Click on Mehdi Hasan and Prem Thakker answer your questions on the latest stories on the Iran War, Donald Trump, Gaza, Lebanon, and much more.

Donald Trump is losing the war he started. But he’s doubling down… Why? Well, there’s Epstein, and there’s the midterm elections, and there’s the fact that Israel isn’t backing down. And when it comes to Israel, what exactly is Benjamin Netanyahu’s aim here? “I think his goal is ‘Greater Israel,’” says Mehdi to Prem on ‘Ask the Editor,’ Zeteo’s live show where the two answer subscriber questions on Substack and Youtube every Monday. Watch the full video above to hear Zeteo’s editor-in-chief break down…

• How Trump is “gaslighting” and “bullying” us about the Iran war – and how this is the one time “it’s not working”
• What’s happening on the ground in Lebanon
• How Trump could be planning to avoid the midterm elections (!)
• The long-term impact on US relations with the Gulf

…and much more.

How War Boosted Iran’s Rulers, Owen Jones with Negar Mortazavi

Click on Owen Jones 'The war in Iran is proving a catastrophe for the US and Israel strategically. But let's not understate the catastrophic impact it is having on the people of Iran themselves who of course are being, as we're speaking right now, they're having missiles thrown at them. Mass destruction of civilian infrastructure.We've seen the slaughter of little girls. We've seen an environmental catastrophe enveloped Thyran as oil refineries are bombed. Terrifying stuff. That will that impact of that alone will be felt for decades.....

Trump Already Wants Out Of Iran by Francesca Fiorentini

 Click on Fran 'Is Trump doing his version of the George W. Bush “Mission Accomplished”? With oil prices skyrocketing, it looks like Donald is already trying to find a way out of the mess his regime has made.

It’s obvious toanyone paying attention that this war with Iran is not going great for the U.S. Trump somehow thought he could pull another Venezuela and do the Iran regime change war in a week or two. This war is an existential threat to Iran, so they have no plans of letting the U.S. or Israel off easy. They know dragging this conflict out will be a nightmare for Trump, so now he is scrambling to somehow declare total victory.

When asked at a press conference whether this is the beginning or the end of the war with Iran, Trump said, “I think you can say it both. The beginning. It's the beginning of building a new country… We could call it a tremendous success right now as we leave here,” Hear that? A tremendous success! What is that success exactly? Who knows…'

The Party Line on who the F*#k is Matt Canavan? + Queensland Thought Crime Arrests by Anneke Demanuele, Omar Sherrife & Jordan van den Lamb withLiam Parry

 Click on Anneke, Omar and Jordan Episode 31 - The Party Line on who the F*#k is Matt Canavan? + Queensland Thought Crime Arrests ft. Liam Parry

Anneke is back, baby! And she brings with her a certain sniffly charm and a week of pent up bullshit (including a review of Louis Theroux’s new documentary about the manosphere). Headlines look at Canavan’s call for (white) women to have more babies, the interminable and predictable racism of the Queensland police force, and how One Nation candidates are being drawn and funded from the political and economic elite, including in Tookak and Woolhara. We then speak to Liam Parry, a palestine activist and member of Queensland Socialists who was arrested at a demonstration on the weekend for saying the words “from the (Jordan) River to the (Mediterranean) Sea”. He talks about the new laws, their plan for resistance, and why the attack on free speech and the Palestine movement should be a focus for people across the country. We then wrap up the episode by looking at Matt Canavan’s appalling political stances and history, and reveal that in fact he had nothing to do with the arrest of Liam Parry.

Timestamps: 00:25 - 9:35 welcome back Anneke! 9:40 - 19:31 Headlines 19:36 - 42:03 Who the f#ck is Matt Canavan? 42:07 - 1:02:16 Interview with Liam Parry RE the new QLD 'hate speech' laws

Experts Warn the Iran War Could Get Much Worse by Medhi Hasan with Jeremy Scahill, Vali Nasr, and Rula Jebreal

 Click on Mehdi Hasan“If the United States puts ground troops into Iran, it will be an utter bloodbath”: Jeremy Scahill, co-founder of Drop Site News.

There are many conflicting claims about the US-Israeli war on Iran — from whether the campaign has succeeded to how much of Iran’s military capabilities have actually been weakened. In Zeteo’s biggest Town Hall of the year, Mehdi Hasan brings together three leading voices to help unpack what’s really happening. Journalist Jeremy Scahill, professor and former US State Department advisor Vali Nasr, and journalist and foreign policy analyst Rula Jebreal join Mehdi to discuss Iran’s military strategy, the possibility of a US ground invasion, media coverage of the conflict, and the risk of nuclear escalation. The panel also answers audience questions and examines how the war could end and what the long-term consequences of the past two weeks of conflict might be.'