Wasn't this [Australian] government all about stopping boats?
How exciting was it last night when the news came through that Russian warships were steaming towards Australia!

Clearly our Prime Minister's hardline approach to making hollow threats had awoken a sleeping giant, right? What hell hath this shirtfronting wrought!

Social media exploded with Red Scare terrors worthy of the Cold War, and as recently as this afternoon a certain other news outlet was still declaring that "A convoy of heavily armed Russian war ships, including at least one high powered missile cruiser, are cruising international waters to Australia's north, Defence has confirmed."

But before you start rushing for the fallout shelters ahead of Red Dawn Down Under, it's worth pointing out a couple of teensy-tiny things.

One is that the "convoy of heavily armed Russian war ships" is actually a destroyer, a cruiser, a supply ship and a tug: armed, yes, but not exactly an invasion fleet.

Secondly, the reason they're going past is twofold: the cruiser and destroyer are doing live-fire drills in the South China Sea, and the other two ships were berthed in Jakarta as part of the Indonesian Defence Expo. Indonesia, you might recall, is to our north.

Thirdly, they're transiting through international waters and Australia's defence forces were alerted of their passage and have been monitoring 'em. It's not like they've just appeared over the horizon.

The trade war between the EU and Russia is hurting business all over Europe. And while political gains from the standoff are debatable, business losses are as real as it gets. As the sanctions escalate tensions, bringing about the smell of war, entrepreneurs are piling pressure on their governments to stop the stand-off before it's too late. Antonio Fallico, an Italian banker with extensive experience of doing business in Russia, shares the white-collar view on the economic conflict.

Has Russia reached the limit of its diplomatic tolerance of the US and its NATO allies? The announcement this week that Moscow is to begin deploying long-range bombers in the Gulf of Mexico - America's own backyard - suggests so.

The move may seem like a reckless ratcheting up of tensions between the old Cold War rivals. The Tupolev Russian strategic bombers in question are nuclear-capable, and as expected the decision to patrol the Caribbean seas sparked a stern response from Washington, warning Moscow of risks.

But the first point to note is that Russia is not doing anything illegal. It has a legal right to fly its warplanes in any international airspace it chooses, as do all nations, to perform training maneuvers.

Even Washington officials have begrudgingly acknowledged Russia's legal right to do so. The Christian Science Monitor quoted Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren as saying, "Russia has a right to fly in international airspace".

However, we can be sure that the hawks in Washington will be fuming at what they see as Vladimir Putin's "audacity" to order warplanes within striking distance of the US. For the de facto American War Party of Republicans and Democrats, the latest Russian move confirms their accusations that President Putin is trying to flex "Soviet-era muscles". Or, as American NATO commander General Philip Breedlove put it, Russia "is messaging us that they are a great power".

Media reports on Saturday claimed that Russian President Putin was planning to spurn the G20 leaders breakfast on Sunday and leave the farcical psychopathic love-in early. Within a few hours however, a Kremlin spokesman denied that Putin had any such plans. If the idea of an early exit did happen to cross the mind of the Russian president, it would be entirely understandable. From the moment Putin arrived in Australia, most of the G20 leaders have acted like the discourteous, arrogant, obnoxious quislings of empire they are.

While in Washington they stubbornly pretend that the United States is merely fighting against international terrorism manifested in ISIL in Syria and Iraq, in reality the White House is actively preparing for an operation to overthrow the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Damascus. The other day President Obama ordered the shipment to Iraq of 1,500 US troops to train the Iraqi army and Kurdish Peshmerga forces for armed confrontation with the forces of the "Islamic State" (IS). The first 50 soldiers have already arrived in Iraqi Kurdistan.

But then the question arises - are American soldiers arriving for the fight in Iraq or to prepare a base for the invasion of Syria? Especially when you consider that a week ago the Peshmerga of the Iraqi Kurdish leader M. Barzani went through Turkey to the Syrian city of Kobani, clashing with the forces of the IS on Syrian soil. But Barzani is known to be an ally of Washington on which he has placed his bet in creating an independent Kurdish state in Iraq, and possibly Syrian Kurdistan. Thus, Ankara finally allowed Kurdish groups to pass through its territory, on the firm insistence of Washington. At the same time a permanent overland logistics route was worked out for Kurdish militia through Turkish territory.

And another important point is the recently shifting centre of gravity of the confrontation with the IS to the Syrian vector. The fight against IS troops in Iraq has entered a sluggish phase. With the active participation of the United States, Ankara and Riyadh have maximally equipped a segment of the armed Syrian opposition at the expense of "repainted" Islamists from the pro-Saudi "Dzhabhat en-Nusra" and the remnants of the Syrian Free Army fighters (SFA). At the same time the possibility of air support to these units by the Turkish and Saudi Air Forces is under serious consideration. They are already regularly making reconnaissance flights over Syrian territory.

Russia only has so much gas to sell -- and it won't be going to Europe

China continues to siphon cheap Russian gas that once went to Europe. Without a plentiful supply of affordable natural gas, Europe faces a looming crisis

Russia inked a second blockbuster deal with China that will starve Europe for natural gas in just a few short years. It's now increasingly clear that 2018 will mark the beginning of the end for any hopes Europe had of returning to robust economic growth.

It was by far the biggest news of the day. While it did make headlines, you might have missed it because not much was made of the affair beyond the announcement. The story came and went as if Russia has oodles of natural gas (NG) to send to China.

It doesn't. And the supplies it has now contracted to send to China will be pulled from supplies that currently go to Europe.

For the people who understand global energy markets -- that energy is the one non-negotiable substance required for economic stability and growth -- this announcement was a huge deal.

Back in August the world was seemingly united and practically foaming at the mouth in moral outrage that Russia would presume to send food and medicine to the people of Donbas (eastern Ukraine, aka Novorussia). After agreeing to the aid convoy, and after Russia providing all documentation and inspections required, Kiev hemmed and hawed, further delaying the convoy's entry, Russia finally just said, To hell with it, we're going in. They did, Kiev cried Invasion!, the people of Donbas were happy, and after establishing the precedent, Russia has since sent five more such convoys with much-needed supplies for a people whose homes are being shelled daily by Kiev's forces. (The last, on November 4, delivered 100 tons of aid in 20 trucks, arriving and returning to Russia on the same day.) Now it's time for a seventh.

Planned to leave today, November 14, Moscow has officially asked Kiev for its assistance, according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich: "We have officially turned to the Ukrainian side with a request to assist in allowing this cargo through as well as in helping with security issues. We also hope for cooperation with the International Red Cross," he said.

In a replay of the first convoy mission, Kiev will no doubt end up looking the bully to anyone actually paying attention. The convoy will be spotless (i.e., only legitimate humanitarian aid), Kiev will delay, cry Invasion! once more, and Russia will rightly look like the wronged humanitarian hounded by genocidal jerks. And speaking of genocidal jerks...

Get your hip waders on because the rubbish and sheer hypocrisy coming from the NYT is about to get deep and far-flung. Edward Wong's recent propaganda hit-piece, In New China, 'Hostile' West Is Still Derided says more about Wong's obvious contempt for China's choice and ability to break away from American influence than any genuine and generalized 'anti-American' sentiment in China.

What Wong fails to realize, or deliberately ignores, is that the rest of the world is getting fed up with the U.S. toppling governments, committing overt and covert war crimes, staging 'revolutions' and coups, spying, murdering, and being an all round global parasite.

Wong starts off:

Even as his government was making red-carpet plans to host President Obama this week, the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, praised a young blogger whose writing is best known here for its anti-American vitriol.

In one widely circulated essay published by state news outlets titled "Nine Knockout Blows in America's Cold War Against China," the blogger, Zhou Xiaoping, argued that American culture was "eroding the moral foundation and self-confidence of the Chinese people." He compared unfavorable American news coverage of China to Hitler's treatment of the Jews. In another essay, he said the West had "slaughtered and robbed" China and other civilizations since the 17th century, and was now "brainwashing" it.

I wonder, has Mr. Wong seen American culture lately? It has become such a toxic wasteland of gratuitous vulgarity, perversion and glorified pathology that it has sunken to the lowest of the low and any sensible person can see it does indeed 'erode the moral foundation and self-confidence' of any normal person who consumes it.

If this is truly what America has become, then Zhou Xiaoping's criticisms should be heeded not condemned. It's rather unfortunate that part of the American identity has adopted such a defensive and self righteous posture, rather than considering what others have to say. The inability to hear and seriously consider the viewpoint and grievances of others is the mark of a small and ultimately self-defeating mind. Calling a spade a spade only becomes 'vitriol' when America has become so self absorbed that it can no longer see the results of its own destructive actions. It's a rather amazing feat that America has had such a far-reaching influence over so many nations yet internally has remained so incredibly isolated and wrapped up in a supremacist ideology.

Bombs exploded near the Egyptian and United Arab Emirates embassies in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, on Thursday though there were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage in the attacks.

The blasts followed a series of car bombs on Wednesday mainly in towns under the control of the internationally recognized government, based in the eastern city of Tobruk, which is facing a challenge from a rival government set up in Tripoli.

Both Egypt and the United Arab Emirates followed other nations in pulling diplomatic staff out of the capital over the summer after armed clashes in Tripoli between armed factions battling for control of the North African state.

A Reuters witness said the Egyptian embassy bomb had slightly damaged buildings and some stores, but it was not clear if the embassy had been hit. There were no immediate details of whether embassies were the target of the bombs or whether any staff or security guards were in the buildings at the time.

Three years after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya is caught up in growing unrest as rival armed factions compete for power and control of the OPEC country's oil resources.

Mads Gilbert, a doctor who worked in the Gaza Strip during the latest Israeli assault, has been banned from re-entering the Strip by Israeli authorities who cited security reasons.

The 67-year-old Norwegian has travelled to and from Gaza to treat Palestinians for several years, working in Shifa hospital during the most recent war.

During his stay, he highlighted the plight of the Palestinians living under Israel's bombardment.

In October, while he was trying to re-enter the Strip, the head physician specialising in anaesthesiology at University Hospital of North Norway was stopped by Israeli officials.