NEWS WRAP

Bannon's back

• Trump aide leaves prison | Former Trump strategist Steve Bannon was released from a Connecticut jail on Tuesday, after serving a four-month sentence for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena seeking information on the January 6 Capitol riots. “They were going to silence me and break me … I’m not broken; I’m empowered,” said Bannon in an interview following his release. READ MORE HERE
   

• Chinese hackers target Trump | Chinese hackers intercepted the phones of former president Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance, reports the New York Times. The FBI confirmed it was investigating the Verizon network breach, believed to be part of a sophisticated state-backed operation that cybersecurity experts have dubbed ‘Salt Typhoon.’ READ MORE HERE
   

• No breakthrough for Blinken | US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken returned to the United States from the Middle East without brokering any ceasefire and as Israel targeted Iran on 27 October in response to Iran’s 1 October ballistic missile attack on Israel. Analysts noted one concession: the Israeli military did not hit any nuclear or energy targets in Iran, as the Biden administration had requested.  READ MORE HERE
   

• Legacy media snub for Harris | The Washington Post declined to endorse a presidential candidate, leading to a wave of subscription cancellations. The paper’s owner Jeff Bezos defended his decision, saying that presidential endorsements “create a perception of bias” and that ending them is a “principled decision.” READ MORE HERE
   

• Musk sued over ‘illegal lottery’ | Tech titan Elon Musk faces a lawsuit in Philadelphia for trying to influence voters with cash payments. Musk has been giving away US$1 million to registered voters in the swing state of Pennsylvania who have signed his online petition supporting tenets of the US Constitution. The district attorney’s office accused him of “running an illegal lottery.” READ MORE HERE

EVENT

New speakers announced

The USSC is delighted to confirm the remaining speakers for its second inaugural Sydney International Strategy Forum (SISF) on 20 November 2024.

Titled: The future of American leadership and a contested Asia, the forum will explore how the next US administration will work with Australia, Japan and others to address key challenges in the region, providing unrivalled insight into the next steps on AUKUS, defence cooperation and US trade policy.

The new speakers include US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell (virtually), former Chief of the Australian Defence Force Air Chief Marshal Sir Angus Houston AK, AFC (Ret’d), former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia Heino Klinck, DFAT First Assistant Secretary Peter Sawczak, former Australian Ambassador to the United States Arthur Sinodinos AO and renowned Australian journalists Peter Hartcher, Geraldine Doogue AO, Cameron Stewart and Paul Kelly.

WHEN
20 November 2024

WHERE
The Fullerton Hotel, 1 Martin Place, Sydney, NSW 2000

COST 
Standard ticket $750, student ticket $400

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Did you USSC?

• COMMENTARY | Australia’s missile ambitions are the key to our future defence
  USSC Foreign Policy and Defence Director Peter Dean and Senior Research Associate Alice Nason on the importance of Australia's guided weapons and explosive ordnance (GWEO) enterprise plan. READ HERE
   
• DEBATE PAPER | Should the United States, Australia and like-minded allies cooperate or compete with China when it comes to fighting climate change?
  The USSC invited two climate policy experts, Xuyang Dong and Noah Gordon to debate whether China is a climate friend or foe. READ HERE
   
• COMMENTARY | Trump’s garden party has echoes of America’s Nazi moment
  USSC Non-Resident Senior Fellow Bruce Wolpe on Trump's MAGA rally in Madison Square Garden. READ HERE
   
• COMMENTARY | Hip-hop stars on the beat and may send swing state Trump’s way
  USSC editor Sarah Smiles Persinger on the Trump campaign's overtures to Black voters in Georgia. READ HERE
   
• PODCAST | Myanmar after the coup
  USSC CEO Dr Michael Green chats to The Economist's senior Asia correspondent Aaron Connelly about his new book on Myanmar's 2021 coup. LISTEN HERE

BY THE NUMBERS

Is China’s EV dominance a barrier to climate collaboration? 

In the latest instalment of the USSC's Debate Papers series, experts Xuyang Dong and Noah Gordon assess whether the United States and its allies should pursue climate collaboration or competition with China.  

China leads global clean energy technology, driven by decades of R&D. In 2023, it accounted for over half the world's electric vehicles—21.9 million of the approximately 40 million EVs globally. This is significantly higher than Europe (11.2 million), the United States (4.8 million), and the rest of the world combined (2.6 million).  

Dong argues that China's advances in R&D, innovation, and low-cost EV production make collaboration a practical choice. Gordon counters that competition has pushed countries like the United States to consider climate measures — including unprecedented US government investments in technologies mitigating climate change — that might not be pursued otherwise.  

Read more via the USSC Debate Papers: Should the United States, Australia and like-minded allies cooperate or compete with China when it comes to fighting climate change? 

THE WEEK IN TWEETS

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