#Kevin Rudd

[channeledhistory]

[tinylilvalery]

This is my Roman Empire

[brexiiton]

Kevin Rudd's official prime minister portrait revealed

By Lucy Slade, August 10, 2023 - 5:43PM

Kevin Rudd (prime minister from 2007-2010 and June 2013-September 2013)

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd's portrait has been unveiled in Canberra today, 10 years after he left office.

The 26th prime minister's portrait was painted by official prime ministerial artist Ralph Heimans.

Rudd is currently Australia's ambassador to the United States.

The portrait features Rudd with a white beard, which he did not have while he was in office.

The portrait comes long after he left the Lodge, with later prime ministers Malcom Turnbull and Scott Morrison yet to receive an official portrait.

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[osamu-jinguji]

My favorite books in Feb-2023 - #2

The Avoidable War: The Dangers of a Catastrophic Conflict between the US and Xi Jinping's China Hardcover – March 22, 2022 by Kevin Rudd (Author)

A war between China and the US would be catastrophic, deadly, and destructive. Unfortunately, it is no longer unthinkable. 

The relationship between the US and China, the world’s two superpowers, is peculiarly volatile. It rests on a seismic fault—of cultural misunderstanding, historical grievance, and ideological incompatibility. No other nations are so quick to offend and be offended. Their militaries play a dangerous game of chicken, corporations steal intellectual property, intelligence satellites peer, and AI technicians plot. The capacity for either country to cross a fatal line grows daily. 

Kevin Rudd, a former Australian prime minister who has studied, lived in, and worked with China for more than forty years, is one of the very few people who can offer real insight into the mindsets of the leadership whose judgment will determine if a war will be fought. The Avoidable War demystifies the actions of both sides, explaining and translating them for the benefit of the other. Geopolitical disaster is still avoidable, but only if these two giants can find a way to coexist without betraying their core interests through what Rudd calls “managed strategic competition.” Should they fail, down that path lies the possibility of a war that could rewrite the future of both countries, and the world.

*************** References ************

The Avoidable U.S.-China War – A Conversation with Condoleezza Rice and Kevin Rudd

Kevin Rudd: Understanding How China Sees the World

Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology Hardcover – October 4, 2022 by Chris Miller (Author)

An epic account of the decades-long battle to control what has emerged as the world's most critical resource—microchip technology—with the United States and China increasingly in conflict.

You may be surprised to learn that microchips are the new oil—the scarce resource on which the modern world depends. Today, military, economic, and geopolitical power are built on a foundation of computer chips. Virtually everything—from missiles to microwaves, smartphones to the stock market—runs on chips. Until recently, America designed and built the fastest chips and maintained its lead as the #1 superpower. Now, America's edge is slipping, undermined by competitors in Taiwan, Korea, Europe, and, above all, China. Today, as Chip War reveals, China, which spends more money each year importing chips than it spends importing oil, is pouring billions into a chip-building initiative to catch up to the US. At stake is America's military superiority and economic prosperity.

Economic historian Chris Miller explains how the semiconductor came to play a critical role in modern life and how the U.S. become dominant in chip design and manufacturing and applied this technology to military systems. America's victory in the Cold War and its global military dominance stems from its ability to harness computing power more effectively than any other power. But here, too, China is catching up, with its chip-building ambitions and military modernization going hand in hand. America has let key components of the chip-building process slip out of its grasp, contributing not only to a worldwide chip shortage but also a new Cold War with a superpower adversary that is desperate to bridge the gap.

Illuminating, timely, and fascinating, Chip War shows that, to make sense of the current state of politics, economics, and technology, we must first understand the vital role played by chips.

[pinkcarsupremacy]

Bro when is the wedding fr... they better have that wedding chappel at the Las Vegas paddock again just for these two 😭

[buttonspushingthemselves]

"I dare you to fuck me." is such a raw line and I cannot believe it's from the 1999 New Year's Eve retro nostalgia romcom 200 Cigarettes

[shr3dhead]

moodboards for stupid movies i like

[djungleskogs]

hey guys can you do me a favour and tell me where you’re from and what you call this game? it’s the one where you have to bounce a small ball between four players and stay within your square. the squares might have different names (king, queen, etc) depending on how you played

[fordreviews]

📽️ The Object of My Affection (1998)

I watched this whole thing, but I honestly wasn’t a huge fan. It’s just sad. The whole premise is kind of messed up and unbelievable. Don’t believe that it’s a love story. I don’t have much to say about this one and I wouldn’t really recommend it.

Sex/nudity: 2/10 (implied sex between a gay couple, almost sex between a man and woman, kissing, talk of both hetero and homo relationships)

Language: 4/10 (more than one f-word but I don’t remember how many, other profanities as well)

Violence: 0/10 (I don’t remember any violence at all)

Overall rating: 3/10

[ljones41]

Unpopular Opinion:  “ANT-MAN AND THE WASP:  QUANTUMANIA”

I never saw “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” in the movie theaters last February.  I’m watching it on DisneyPlus instead.   After viewing it, I wish I had seen it in the theaters.  It’s not a bad movie.  In fact . . . I think it’s pretty good.  Yes, it has some flaws.  What movie doesn’t?  But I think it’s a lot better than the second film in the franchise, 2018′s “Ant-Man and the Wasp”.  Why on earth did Kevin Feige release this movie in February, instead of mid-to-late July, which is the usual release slot for the Ant-Man movies?

[movie-magic]

[agentnico]

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) Review

MCU isn’t what it used to be. So I mainly went to see the new Ant-Man movie for Paul Rudd. My friend suggested I could simply watch Paul Rudd clips on the internet or print out a really big picture of him and get lost in his eyes. All acceptable options, however nothing beats seeing his cute lil’ face on the big screen. So off I went to watch Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania...

Plot: When Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne, along with Hope's parents, Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne, and Scott's daughter, Cassie, are accidentally sent to the Quantum Realm, they soon find themselves exploring the Realm, interacting with strange new creatures, and coming face to face with a new big threat to the entire multiverse.

Since Avengers: Endgame, Marvel has been desperately trying to reignite the excitement audiences had during the Infinity Saga and the build-up to Thanos. Until now they have been at best mediocre, and all their multiversal shenanigans have come across mostly desperate and eye-rolling. Basically the MCU magic has been lost. Now comes the third Ant-Man with the promise to set a new course direction for the cinematic universe, with the proper introduction of the new Thanos-level Big Bad that will have a ripple effect on the future of the franchise. The result?

Yep, the magic is indeed lost. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is a by-the-numbers superhero blockbuster with a predictable plot, lots of CGI and an abundance of gobbledigook-filler sprinkled throughout. As a third movie in the Ant-Man series it fails, as it loses that self-contained heist thematic that was featured in the previous two. These movies have always felt quite separate from the rest of the MCU and smaller scale. Palette cleansers if you will in between all the major universe shattering threats. With Quantumania this is very much a bigger scale Marvel film, and in fact the Ant-Man characters feel like secondary thought, and instead this plays out as The Kang Movie. But then as the set-up to Phase 5 and the introduction of the new Big Bad of the MCU it doesn’t really work either, as Kang is useless. For someone who’s supposed to be such a big deal and hard to defeat, the fact that Ant-Man even has a fighting chance against him should be ludicrous. Don’t get me wrong, Jonathan Majors provides dramatic heft to the villain, and portrays the character in a stoic Shakespearean way, as he slowly enunciates his devilish schemes, and to be fair he shows that he lacks any mercy to anyone as he blasts down to death many Quantum citizens without a second thought. However that portrayal akums to nothing when, again, a couple of people with shrinking suits manage to take his punches and keep going. Look, we’ll see how they will use Kang further down the line, but this movie very much failed in presenting him as a lasting threat to the MCU. 

The writing is also piss poor. So many dialogue scenes between characters feel unnatural and rushed, as if the screenwriters are in a race against time to finish off the script so that they can quickly on and do the next Marvel project and then the next. And the narrative itself is filled with plot holes and certain things that flat-out don’t make sense. For example, Hope’s mother Janet van Dyne acts as the expositional source in this movie. However for half of the movie Janet refuses to tell our main characters any important information, instead simply leaving them with a “we don’t have time, I’ll tell you later”. But that is only done to give us a pointless bit of suspense before she dishes out the info anyway halfway through the movie. As such she is needlessly leaving out main characters out of the loop, in turn making them unprepared for the incoming threat, whereas if she warned them beforehand, all of it could have been easily  avoided. As for the reasoning behind her being so secretive about the Quantum Realm and not wanting anyone to have anything to do with it - where was all that in the last movie, when she so confidently sent Scott Lang into the Quantum Realm to fetch those special time particles for Ghost? She had no issues then. I get that most likely the Marvel producers and writers had a creative change of course in between these two films, but they should have made the transition more smoother. Instead it’s now inconsistent and blatant lazy writing.

Visually to be fair the movie is done pretty well. Yes, it is a lot of green screen that at times is very obvious, but overall it is a pretty looking movie, and very much came off as Marvel’s version of Star Wars. I’m not even talking narratively with Kang and his forces being like Darth Vader and the Empire, and the rebels being, well, like the rebels! But visually, the various Quantum characters we come across and the general aesthetic plays out like a feature length version of the Mos Eisley cantina from A New Hope. Which I didn’t mind, as I appreciated the creative designs that the visual artists came up with. That being said, and this is a very light spoiler that, if you use the internet in any capacity, would have come across your interface at one point or other. But that being said, a certain comic book character is introduced in this movie, that being MODOK. Yes, MODOK is in this film, and there are some very visually striking choices made with him that are most definitely going to split audiences. His look is very jarring and unnatural, but I myself actually really dug what they did with this character, and it played for some very good laughs.

Quantumania is not inherently a bad movie. There’s plenty of fun moments and visuals, with the usual blockbuster action you come to expect from the Marvel folks. The cast all are lovely to watch. Paul Rudd brings his usual charm and charisma. Michael Douglas is an acting legend and is always great to see him try and act in front of a green screen. Evangeline Lilly as the Wasp - she’s hardly in the film, even though she’s in the title. Go figure. Michelle Pfeiffer and Jonathan Majors try their best in their roles, however the poor writing really damages their characters. Kathryn Newton as Cassie I couldn’t care less about. Bill Murray is just Bill Murray. But overall this movie doesn’t change the fact that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has lost its original spark, and is now milking a dead cow to its last drop. Still looking forward to seeing Guardians Vol. 3 as its James Gunn’s final swan song before moving to DC, but otherwise maybe its time for Marvel to take a break. Which they won’t do, as these movies make so much money for the studio. Again, Disney gets it all.

Overall score: 5/10

[help-me-find-a-name-please-lol]

apparently I'm a month behind on the news but. finding out that tucker carlson and clive palmer are going to be touring Australia on the first day of Pride Month was not on my bingo card for 2024.

but here we are 🙃

err ... happy Pride? yay.

[brick-van-dyke]

Okay, I don't usually do this but I stopped reading halfway through the replies by around the third or so post. I need to really make something clear here; totalitarianism thrives off of division, presumed power struggles between marginalised groups and the fear that the lesser evil is all that prevents you from being next. Historically, we have seen this in many different dictatorships and regimes. Many analysts, writers and political advocates have warned of this in their works; 1984, The Handmaid's Tale, The Hunger Games are a few fictional examples of using real world events as inspiration for heir dystopian systems. Every regime in these stories all use this exact method; fear to suppress resistance and hope for something better than he status quo. This needs to be considered before any of the above is even touched; are you acting out of fear?

It's okay to be afraid, I know that sounds contradictory to what I just said but it's important we understand that. It's valid, because this is scary, totalitarian regimes are terrifying. But that doesn't mean we should act out o that fear, because it's exactly that which these types of governments use to suppress their people and prevent potential uprisings. So, where does that leave us?

I'm Australian, but even I would be effected if Trump were elected. Even so, the problem is that I only say that because it's "worse" than what I have right now, which is still a fascist, oppressive government that has been controlled for literal years by a fascist totalitarian rogue state that switches our prime minister's when they don't align with the US's interests. While Biden has been in power, Australia has passed anti gay, anti trans, anti disability, anti indigenous laws and the labour government still acts as if it wants me and people like me dead. I'm not helped by anyone voting Trump out by choosing Harris because the "lesser evil" is exactly what ensures the next "Trump" will get in and ensures the system itself functions as intended; through fear. I don't want Trump in, but it will be a continuation of something much deeper and sinister to allow this system to use our fear of Trump to ensure even more fascists can take power. That is just the reality of totalitarianism and how the US has evidently functioned as one for generations, no matter if you do decide to vote Harris out of fear and you feel that this was the best you could do, that fear and it's very purposeful usage cannot be denied.

So, what do we do? "Well all we can do is vote so we can't let them take that power away by not voting!" You're right about not letting them take out right to vote! But, no, voting isn't all you can do. And especially in a situation where you're denied the right to vote (which is literally what the US does both in its own elections and it's interference in other elections) I think that should be remembered. The right to vote and choose who runs a country is something that needs to be protected; which is why we ought to have an actual democracy and not this fascist system that pretends there's a presidential race when there's just a magical chairs game with the same group of fascists. They'll be back, no matter how much we vote them out. If not now, the next and the next and the next will ensure that only those we fear take a seat while a lesser evil takes the other. What we need to do is remember we're people, and so are they.

They're not so powerful as to enforce a police state when police strike after being overworked (as seen in Australia currently with protests, it's causing us to burn out their enforcement and physical ability to stop us), or throw their military at its own citizens when the military burn their uniforms (as seen in the US) and leave. They can't enforce power when the people that make up that power refuse to comply anymore. Yes, the government is powerful, but don't forget that they are only human and this is a system that relies on the compliance of other people; including each and every one of us. You and the people around you rallying together are powerful too, refuse to comply and cripple the power at these people's disposal. Make a command meaningless by that command falling on ears that refuse to listen anymore.

Sure, you can vote Harris, or not vote, whatever. She'll be voted out next election for a fascist so as much as you say you did your part, you only did for a term, and then we'll vote in another Harris to stop that fascist and wonder why nothing every changes. The US empire is a totalitarian regime that doesn't genuinely allow democratic voting and will reinstate whoever they like by next election, Trump will run again and we'll cry about the lesser evil again and we'll wonder why the US is so dystopian despite voting in the "right" person and why the policies only get worse and worse. It didn't happen overnight, it's always been like this. Trump is the result of something deeper, not a sudden new shift from something good or normal. Trump came from a place that creates Trumps, so no he is not the last. There'll be more and worst, and you'll wonder why your vote didn't prevent it all over again.

If you're truly scared Trump? Turn that fear into anger and and turn that anger into hope; take to the streets and organise, think about what YOU can do, not what a representative could do if you vote for them enough times. Talk to your local activists and local civil rights groups, refuse to comply, refuse to serve in the military and refuse everything you can refuse until the US regime falls. Resist, because votes don't matter in the eyes of a government that can easily switch out whoever is voted in when they go against the system (and yes that has happened here in Australia and in many other countries too, so maybe think about if that happens to your governments too and how much value your votes really have in a system that can dismiss and deny that right). You as an individual can do SO SO MUCH! You don't just only have a say when you write a name on paper, you can do so much more so don't sell yourself short. Gather together, remember the strength we have in numbers and the power we all have as people.

TLDR: Remember who the real enemy is.

If Trump wins they'll let Israel destroy Gaza's entire Healthcare system including American-built hospitals & burn patients alive in their beds, that's already happening? Well if Trump wins they'll let Israel send their soldiers who've killed in Gaza to study at American universities and brag about their war crimes to the students who's families they've killed. That's already happening? Well if Trump wins he'll send American soldiers, missile interception systems, and naval task forces to stop anyone on earth from attempting to enforce the responsibility-to-protect under the genocide convention that the US was a signatory to. That's already happening? Well if Trump is elected he'll hurt ME.

[itsnothingbutluck]

Kevin Rudd

war von 2007 bis 2010 Australiens Premierminister, dann Außenminister, bevor er 2013 noch einmal als Regierungschef amtierte. Im März 2023 wurde er zum australischen Botschafter in den Vereinigten Staaten berufen.

Ein Krieg zwischen China und den Vereinigten Staaten hätte katastrophale Folgen. Leider ist er nicht länger undenkbar, schreibt Kevin Rudd, ehemaliger Premierminister Australiens und China-Experte. Die Beziehungen zwischen den beiden Supermächten werden immer instabiler, der Graben zwischen ihnen immer tiefer. Kulturelle Missverständnisse, historische Animositäten und ideologische Inkompatibilität tragen dazu bei. Doch ein geopolitisches Desaster lässt sich vermeiden — allerdings nur, wenn die beiden Giganten einen Weg der Koexistenz finden, der ihre Kerninteressen wahrt.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Excerpt

Ich wünschte, ich hätte dieses Buch nicht schreiben müssen. Ich bin gerade alt genug, um mich an die alljährlichen Paraden am ANZAC-Tag zu erinnern – ANZAC steht für «Australian and New Zealand Army Corps» –, die in der Kleinstadt abgehalten wurden, in der ich aufwuchs. Ich ging mit meinem Vater hin, der am Zweiten Weltkrieg teilgenommen hatte, und mir ist noch im Gedächtnis, wie ich Seite an Seite mit Männern in ihren 70ern marschierte, deren Schritt schon nicht mehr ganz so sicher war und die im Ersten Weltkrieg mitgekämpft hatten. Einer von ihnen, erzählte mir mein Vater, litt immer noch an einem Kriegstrauma.

Es gab keine zwangsläufige Entwicklung, die in den Ersten Weltkrieg von 1914 bis 1918 führte. Der Krieg brach aus als Folge der schlechten Entscheidungen, die die politischen und militärischen Führungen im Juli und August 1914 trafen. Sie führten zu dem großen Blutvergießen. Jene Entscheidungen kosteten 40 Millionen Menschenleben, darunter die von 117000 Amerikanern, 60000 Australiern und von über zwei Millionen Deutschen. Die Entscheidungen, wie man mit den Verlierernationen umging, legten dann die Lunte für die nächste globale Auseinandersetzung, die so grauenvoll ausfiel, dass an deren Ende 85 Millionen Tote – drei Prozent der damaligen Weltbevölkerung – standen.

Wenn ich an die großen totbringenden Kriege des vergangenen Jahrhunderts denke, fühle ich mich verantwortlich, alles in meiner Macht Stehende zu tun, um ein weiteres globales Blutbad riesigen Ausmaßes zu verhindern. Um dies zu erreichen, müssen wir allerdings nicht nur den Frieden erhalten, sondern auch die nationalen und individuellen Freiheiten bewahren, für die unsere Vorfahren seit der Aufklärung über Jahrhunderte gekämpft haben. Wir müssen stets das Debakel von Großbritanniens Premierminister Neville Chamberlains Erklärung in Erinnerung behalten, als er, nachdem der das Sudetenland auf der Münchner Konferenz von 1938 Hitler ausgeliefert hatte, davon sprach, er sei mit einem „ehrenhaften Frieden“ nach London zurückgekehrt; die Britinnen und Briten rief er auf, «nach Hause zu gehen und ruhig in Ihren Betten zu schlafen». Die unangenehme Wahrheit lautet, dass es niemals Frieden um jeden Preis geben kann.

Dies führt uns zu der sich stetig verschärfenden Krise der Beziehungen zwischen China und den Vereinigten Staaten. Die 2020er Jahre sind das entscheidende Jahrzehnt für die Dynamiken der sich wandelnden Kräfteverhältnisse zwischen ihnen. Sowohl die chinesischen als auch die amerikanischen Strategen wissen das. Für Politikerinnen und Politiker in Peking wie in Washington, und auch für diejenigen in anderen Hauptstädten, werden die 2020er Jahre eine Dekade sein, in der man «gefährlich lebt». Hinter den Kulissen sind die Einsätze niemals höher, der Wettbewerb niemals schärfer gewesen, was auch immer das politische und diplomatische Personal öffentlich erklären. Sollten diese beiden Giganten einen Weg finden, zu koexistieren, ohne ihre jeweiligen Kerninteressen verletzt zu sehen – was ich «gemanagter strategischer Wettbewerb» genannt habe –, könnte die Welt aufatmen. Sollten sie scheitern, dann droht am Ende des anderen Pfades die Gefahr eines Krieges, der die Zukunft beider Länder und die der Welt in einer Art und Weise neu schreiben würde, die wir uns kaum vorstellen können.

[lily-sweet-dreams]

am i the only one that thinks creepy pikaman looks like former australian prime minister kevin rudd