Australia Archives - The Minnesota Sun

New Defense Spending Bill Puts Slew of Left-Wing Initiatives on Chopping Block

December 10, 2024 Daily Caller News Foundation

Congress’ latest defense spending bill unveiled Saturday would deal a major blow to a slew of left-wing policy initiatives that have been pushed by the Biden Pentagon.

The National Defense Reauthorization Act of 2025 (NDAA) includes provisions that prohibit the use of Department of Defense (DoD) funds to promote Critical Race Theory, climate change, the procurement of sex change surgeries for children and further extends a freeze on hiring for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, according to the text of the bill. The bill is likely to pass a Republican-controlled House and Senate amid promises from President-elect Donald Trump to rein in the so-called “woke” military.

Biden Admin Shells Out Taxpayer Cash on Foreign LGBT Events as Pride Month Approaches

May 28, 2024 Minnesota Sun Staff

The State Department is funding an array of LGBT pride events across the globe ahead of June, some of which include events focused on children, federal grant records show.

Biden’s State Department is bankrolling a gay film festival, an LGBT community conference and other pride events in Australia, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria in the lead-up to June, according to grant records. Some observe June as “Pride Month” to commemorate the Stonewall riots, a series of clashes between LGBT people and the police after law enforcement raided a gay bar.

Music Spotlight: Amy Sheppard

March 20, 2024 Bethany Bowman

When Amy Sheppard who is part of the wildly popular Australian band, Sheppard, decided to put out country music, I was intrigued. I wanted to find out more about this family and their musical roots.

Amy Sheppard is an Australian singer-songwriter. Along with her siblings George Sheppard and Emma Sheppard, she is a founding and current member of the indie pop band Sheppard. The group is 34X platinum, and their massive hit “Geronimo” has had more than 750 million streams.

Commentary: Obama’s CIA Asked Foreign Intel Agencies to Spy on Trump Campaign

March 1, 2024 RealClearWire

The revelation that the U.S. intelligence community, under the Obama administration, sought the assistance of the “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance to surveil Donald Trump’s associates before the 2016 election is a chilling reminder of the lengths to which the Deep State will go to protect its interests and challenge its adversaries. (The Five Eyes countries are the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.) This bombshell, reported by a team of independent journalists, exposes a dark chapter in American political history, where foreign intelligence services were reportedly mobilized against a presidential candidate.

The alleged operation against Trump and his associates, which predates the official start of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation, is a stark example of political weaponization of intelligence. The involvement of foreign allies in surveilling American citizens under the pretext of national security raises serious questions about the integrity of our democratic processes and the autonomy of our nation’s intelligence operations.

Bipartisan House Lawmakers Demand Biden Drop Julian Assange Case

October 24, 2023 Minnesota Sun Staff

Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and James McGovern, D-Mass., are leading a House of Representatives letter demanding President Joe Biden to stop prosecuting Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who is fighting extradition to the U.S.

The two congressmen asked fellow House lawmakers to join their bipartisan attempt to “strongly encourage the Biden administration to withdraw the U.S. extradition request currently pending against Australian publisher Julian Assange and halt all prosecutorial proceedings against him as soon as possible,” according to a “Dear Colleague” letter, Fox News Digital reported Monday.

Climate Activists Livestream Attempt to Bodily Shut Down Ports, Bridge

June 20, 2023 Admin

Several climate activists attempted to blockade three key Australian coal ports Sunday in protest of fossil fuels while broadcasting their actions over the internet, according to The Guardian.

Climate activists belonging to the climate protest group Blockade Australia placed themselves in harm’s way to disrupt thoroughfares essential to operations of the ports of Newcastle, Brisbane, and Melbourne, doing so while live-streaming the protests until police removed them, according to The Guardian.

Music Spotlight: Lily Grace

April 28, 2023 Bethany Bowman

Lily Grace is a seventeen-year-old powerhouse vocalist from Australia who recently moved to Nashville to chase her music career dreams.

Naturally gifted, Grace began singing at 10 years of age. She dived deeper into music a mere six years ago when she was gifted her first guitar at 11 years old.

Catholic Leaders Mourn Death of Cardinal Pell, Victim of Anti-Catholic Hate

January 12, 2023January 11, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

A fearless defender of the Catholic faith, Australian Cardinal George Pell is being mourned as a victim of “anti-Catholicism” that drove him to be convicted of sexual abuse in 2018 and sentenced to solitary confinement, until finally he was acquitted by the full bench of the Australian High Court in 2020.

Pell, who died Tuesday at the age of 81, had recently undergone successful hip surgery, but then suffered cardiac arrest.

Music Spotlight: The Buckleys

September 20, 2022September 19, 2022 Bethany Bowman

The Buckleys family band from Australia is a distinctive, original trio whose music brings hope back to the currently stale popular music scene with their newest EP, ‘Take It As It Comes.’

Olivia Newton-John Has Died

August 8, 2022August 8, 2022 Admin

Singer and actress Olivia Newton-John died on Monday at her Southern California ranch at the age of 73, her family announced.

“Olivia has been a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast cancer. Her healing inspiration and pioneering experience with plant medicine continues with the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund, dedicated to researching plant medicine and cancer. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that any donations be made in her memory to the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund,” her husband John Easterling wrote on Facebook.

Music Spotlight: Katrina Burgoyne

June 25, 2022June 24, 2022 Bethany Bowman

NASHVILLE, Tennessee- When I first heard Katrina Burgoyne’s song, “I Wanna Get Away With You,” there was something infectious about the spirited song that made me want to learn more about the artist.

Australian-born Katrina Burgoyne is from a musical family. Both of her grandfathers were performing musicians.

Americans Could See Grocery Store Prices Skyrocket Even Higher: Report

June 13, 2022June 12, 2022 Admin

Food prices in the U.S. may get worse in the coming months as European Union countries predict a dismal wheat harvest on top of the loss in Ukraine’s wheat exports, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

The EU may produce 5% less wheat than 2021 because of dry weather, agriculture consulting firm Strategie Grains told the WSJ.

Australian Transgender Surfer Crushes the Competition in Open Women’s Divisions

May 23, 2022May 22, 2022 Admin

A transgender surfer in Western Australia has become the first person in history to win both the men’s and women’s divisions of the sport.

This month, 43-year-old Sasha Jane Lowerson crushed the competition in the Open Women’s and Open Logger divisions at the West Coast Suspensions Longboard and Logger State Championships, as well as a number of state titles.

Newt Gingrich Commentary: COVID-19 Totalitarianism on the March

January 22, 2022January 21, 2022 Minnesota Sun Staff

It is hard to know which is more frightening: the Australian radicalism about COVID-19, the Austrian effort to coerce its citizens, or the attitudes of American Democrats who regard extreme sanctions as reasonable behavior toward the supposedly bad people who don’t get vaccinated or wear masks.

Let’s consider each one.

In Australia, the government felt so threatened by the best tennis player in the world that it intervened decisively to block him from entering the country and competing in the Australian Open.

Unvaccinated Tennis Star Djokovic Deported from Australia

January 17, 2022 Admin

Australia’s federal court on Sunday ordered to Novak Djokovic deported for failing to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine despite having natural immunity, a decision that deprives the world’s No. 1 tennis star of the chance to defend his Australian Open title.

After eight hours of deliberations, Chief Justice James Allsop said the decision came down to whether Immigration Minister Ethan Hawke’s decision was “irrational or legally unreasonable.”

Commentary: Scientists Discover the First Millipede with More Than 1,000 Legs

December 25, 2021December 24, 2021 RealClearWire

Ever since humans gave millipedes their name, the leggy arthropods have had a ‘false advertising’ problem. The prefix “milli-” refers to a “thousand,” while “pede” means feet, yet no millipede had ever been found with more than a thousand legs.

Until now, that is.

Commentary: The Insufferable Piety of the Progressive Elites

October 12, 2021October 11, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Freedom in Australia is now at the mercy of a state and its police apparatus bent on controlling people’s every movement.

But despite the extensive footage of protests gone violent, neither American liberal media nor domestic social justice movements are raising alarms about police brutality in that country.

Music Spotlight: Jasmin Bade – Exclusive First Listen Premiere of ‘X’s & Y’s’

August 26, 2021August 25, 2021 Bethany Bowman

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Jasmin Bade first discovered country music when she was six years old. It was Christmas time and she heard the Australian-country artist Kasey Chambers. Her aunt and uncle were playing her record and “fell in love with it” and wouldn’t stop singing her songs all the way home.

Besides Chambers, her mother would play Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley and the (Dixie) Chicks. Bade soon started guitar lessons and would take any chance she could to play. She would play on the streets (called busking in Australia) for pocket money. By ages 7 and 8, young Bade was singing in shopping centers.

Music Spotlight: Firerose

August 11, 2021August 10, 2021 Bethany Bowman

Firerose is an Australian singer and songwriter who moved from Sydney to Los Angeles at age 19. Even though her music has a dance-pop vibe, with her fiercely personal lyrics, she is as good a songwriter as any country lyricist out there.

Firerose states she grew up in a musical family. She was writing songs as soon as she could speak. She was born with a gift and she knew it was hers to cultivate.

Australia Plans to Deploy the Army to Enforce COVID Lockdown Orders

August 3, 2021August 2, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

The Australian government will deploy several hundred soldiers to Sydney to begin enforcing COVID-19 lockdowns Monday following a rise in delta variant infections.

The troops were requested by New South Wales Police Commissioner Mick Fuller on Thursday to assist in enforcing COVID-19 lockdowns, Fuller announced in a statement. Since June, an outbreak of the delta variant has resulted in almost 3,000 infections, but only nine deaths, the BBC reported.

UK Must Prepare for a No-Deal Brexit, Boris Johnson Says

October 17, 2020October 16, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that a potential no-deal break from the European Union is likely unless the bloc had a “fundamental” change in position.

The European Union and the United Kingdom have struggled to strike a trade deal amid their negotiations, leading each side to blame the other as the end-of-year deadline approaches, the Associated Press reported.

Gov. Walz’s Refugee Decision Allows Federal Government to Send Middle East Refugees to Minnesota That Australia Has Refused

January 15, 2020January 15, 2020 Anthony Gockowski

Gov. Tim Walz’s December 13 decision to say yes to more refugees in Minnesota grants the federal government permission to resettle refugees from any country it desires into the state, including up to 720 refugees from Middle East countries that the government of Australia has refused to accept.

Hours After Going Viral for Protesting ‘Drag Queen Story Hour’ Australian Student Wilson Gavin Dies in Apparent Suicide

January 14, 2020January 13, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

A gay man who went viral for protesting a drag queen story hour died Monday in an apparent suicide.

Populist Electoral Wins Hit the Globalist Establishment Worldwide

June 4, 2019June 3, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Ben Whelon A string of populist electoral wins in Australia, India and the U.K. are beginning to transform the global political landscape as nations revolt against mass migration, climate change legislation and traditional party establishments. In recent weeks, several nations have placed anti-establishment groups in power, many of…

The Global Revolt Against Climate Policies Continues As Conservatives Sweep Aussie Elections

May 21, 2019May 20, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Michael Bastasch Australia’s left-wing Labor Party decided to make tackling climate change the centerpiece of its electoral strategy. It lost in a major election upset Saturday. The election results present a warning to U.S. Democrats pushing costly global warming policies at the national level. “Every time liberal politicians…

Imam Of Peace Mohamad Tawhidi Calls Out Tlaib and Omar Amid Palestinian Rocket Fire

May 6, 2019May 5, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Molly Prince An Iranian-born Australian Shia Muslim imam, known as the “imam of peace,” called out freshman Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib on Saturday for remaining silent amid an onslaught of Palestinian rocket fire into Israel. “Remember that time [Omar] and [Tlaib] condemned Hamas’ terrorism?” Imam…

2018 Saw a Global Revolt Against Climate Change Policies

January 1, 2019December 31, 2018 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Michael Bastasch Despite increasingly apocalyptic warnings from U.N. officials, 2018 has seen a number of high-profile defeats for policies aimed at fighting global warming. Politicians and voters pushed back at attempts to raise energy prices as part of the climate crusade. It started in June with election of…

Australia Steps Up Effort to Save Vulnerable Koalas

May 14, 2018May 13, 2018 Admin

A koala hospital and new wildlife reserves are the focus of one of Australia’s boldest plans to protect the vulnerable marsupial. Almost 25,000 hectares of state forest will be set aside for koalas in New South Wales state, which will also set up a new clinic north of Sydney to…