Vladimir Putin’s all-out invasion of Ukraine – as distinct from his campaign of aggression against it - began a year ago. It’s widely understood both that the war has not gone at all as he expected and that he is nevertheless determined to try to tough it out. The geopolitical stakes are very high. This war must be won. But it’s important to define very clearly what we mean by ‘winning’ in such a context.

Predictably, the Chinese Communist Party, at its 20th Party Congress, allowed Xi Jinping a third term as President. He was applauded, in a sinister Stalinist and Maoist tradition, for his long, boilerplate ideological monologues. We have to find a way to cope with him for the foreseeable future. Neither economically, nor diplomatically, nor strategically is that going to be easy.

Next Tuesday, 14 February, is Valentine’s Day. There will be a gala event at the Japanese Embassy to celebrate the sixty-third birthday of Emperor Naruhito, though his actual birthday is 23 February. Some five hundred guests are expected. 

The crisis confronting Europe, over the fate of Ukraine and Vladimir Putin has deep roots, going back centuries. But it is based, also, on the reactionary nationalist politics and thuggery by which Putin has kept himself master of Russia for the past twenty-two years. The historical roots need to be understood. They leave open, in principle, constructive solutions to the current tensions. Putin’s thinking and actions are another matter.

The presidential inauguration of Joe Biden is imminent. Intense controversy about the election and the mob assault on the Capitol, is set to climax in the second impeachment of Donald Trump. But that drama aside, what should be your priorities, if you were Biden. What should be your first order of business and what should be your political strategy?

The Federal government has announced that it will, if re-elected, channel half a billion dollars into the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre to make the latest breakthrough – chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy available to those afflicted with various cancers. The Opposition then upped the ante by declaring it would subsidise cancer treatment with an extra $2.3 billion. Suddenly, cancer treatment has become a live issue in the forthcoming Federal election.

The release of Philip Ruddock’s report to the prime minister into the principles that should govern religious freedom in this country has been long delayed. It was commissioned at a time when record numbers of Australians declare on census returns that they are not religious and in a climate of considerable social tension over the relationship between religious institutions and sexual morality.