Now a mature design, the technical problems and related cost overruns that figured so prominently during the first vessels' construction would be minor factors if fresh contracts are let to expand the undersea fleet. And make no mistake, Australia's need for more submarines is nothing less than urgent

Could the Chinese economy be about hit a soft spot, one that might persuade Beijing to escalate from bellicose sabre-rattling to actual war? One hopes not, of course, but the portents are both grim and ominous

As local refineries close, Australia is spending about $60 million per day on imported oil and other refined products, including petrol, diesel and jet fuel. National security is the most obvious reason for our political leaders to encourage self-sufficiency, but there are many other, equally compelling arguments

What happens if global temperatures actually decline -- a possibility that must be considered, given the lack of solar activity and the mercury's refusal to rise as the warmists' atrociously inaccurate predictions insisted? The short answer: big trouble for Beijing and everyone else

The warmists have their models, grants and tidings of doom, but the researchers whose tree ring data has best predicted recent temperature trends see the mercury dropping, perhaps by as much as 4 degrees. If they are right, then there is reason to be worried, very worried indeed

Our tertiary institutions have made academic disciplines of professions and crafts better and formerly learned on the job. This is bad news for those who discover too late that real-life work differs markedly from the lecture room, but a glorious development for those cashing their professors' pay cheques

As the pumped-up spectre of climatic catastrophe continues to deflate, Ruper Darwall's new book makes a handy guide to the conceits, careerism, delusions and blatant misrepresentations that debased the good name of science and set the stage for economic ruin

China yearns to be recognised as the most powerful nation on the planet. Driving the United States from the western Pacific would put that beyond doubt, and ongoing territorial disputes represent the perfect excuse

While the West hobbles itself with carbon taxes and eco hysteria, the signs are growing that the Middle Kingdom is pursuing a major undertaking to convert coal to liquid fuels. If push ever comes to shove, guess whose forces will be tanked up and ready to roll?