Stuart McCarthy

Former army officer shining a spotlight in dark places. Spins a good yarn @MichaelWestBiz. Bylines @canberratimes @australian @dailytelegraph etc. Views my own.

[Stuart McCarthy @StuartMcCarthy_]

🚨 Exclusive: International Criminal Court prosecutor dumped war crime investigation into Australian generals while under investigation for sexual abuse

My latest for @MichaelWestBiz
https://t.co/QxpnvNtdJP

[HealthRanger @HealthRanger]

The situation with oil is worse than you think.

The oil wells of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and the UAE are not like a garden hose. They are mature, low-pressure reservoirs that require precise gas injection to maintain flow. Once that flow stops, water encroachment -- what engineers call water coning -- traps oil behind barriers of saltwater that are nearly impossible to reverse. Worse, paraffin waxes and asphaltenes precipitate inside the wellbore tubing, clogging the rock pores with solid deposits.

This is not theory; it is basic petroleum physics. The recent Israeli strike on Iran's South Pars gas field -- the largest in the world -- caused a lasting shock to the entire regional energy system. When the field was hit, the pressure dropped across hundreds of wells. Even if peace breaks out tomorrow, those wells will never produce at their former rates without expensive re-drilling that takes years. The same applies to Qatar's Ras Laffan LNG complex, which was struck by Iranian missiles in retaliation. These are not temporary shutdowns; they are permanent fractures in the energy backbone of civilization.

Industry studies show that even short shutdowns of five days to a few weeks cause flow rate losses of 20-30%. The wells in Kuwait never fully recovered after the Desert Storm fires, and that was with only a few months of disruption. Now we are looking at months of no production, with many fields flaring gas instead of exporting it.

The Strait of Hormuz closure has already removed a significant share of global energy, and rising energy costs are triggering cascading impacts across industries, including food and transportation. Every day the strait remains closed, the invisible tax on global oil supply grows larger -- not just from lost barrels, but from the permanent impairment of the reservoirs themselves. The world could lose 4 to 6 million barrels per day of capacity even after the strait reopens, and that means higher prices for years.

Read the full article here:

No Way Out: Why Permanent Damage to Persian Gulf Oil Wells Begins Now
https://t.co/2ZkeNCib95

[Stuart McCarthy @StuartMcCarthy_]

Another example of Pavlou taking a grab from an interview to spread disinformation. Nobody is suggesting warning shots constitute war crimes. What Heston is saying is that under Australian law (DFDA etc), ADF personnel are/were required to comply with Australian rules of engagement (ROE). ROE are a national responsibility and it's not unusual to have differences in ROE between forces from different countries, as was the case in the use of warning shots by US military personnel. Further, the Brereton inquiry was not disciplinary proceedings for charging ADF personnel with war crimes. It was an administrative inquiry given powers only to make recommendations. Questions regarding compliance with national ROE will have been a key part of the inquiry, but it's disingenuous to claim "Australian authorities came close to charging Australian SF soldiers with war crimes" for firing warning shots, based on this grab.

[Drew Pavlou 🇦🇺🇺🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼 @DrewPavlou]

BREAKING: Australian authorities came close to charging Australian Special Forces soldiers with war crimes simply for firing WARNING SHOTS at Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.

Retired Australian Special Forces Major @HestonRussell revealed to @karlstefanovic that Australian Special Forces soldiers were investigated over their practice of firing warning shots at insurgents - a practice legal under US engagement rules but illegal under Australian law.

While working alongside US forces who were authorised to fire warning shots, Australian Special Forces developed an informal understanding that firing near a fleeing insurgent would cause them to stop and allow capture - Australian forces adopted this tactic to reduce lethality because they were otherwise lawfully authorised to kill fleeing insurgents.

Russell says that Major General Brereton - the lawyer who led the war crimes investigations into Australian soldiers - told him that his command decision to allow warning shots "had opened every single one'' of the Australian soldiers under his command to being prosecuted for war crimes.

Countless Australian soldiers committed suicide under pressure from the Brereton Inquiry.

[Ben Fordham Live @BenFordhamLive]

The father of an Aussie soldier killed in Afghanistan has called out the Federal Government.

Private Robert Poate’s killer is walking free - while Australia goes after its own soldiers.

Hugh Poate says it's "grossly unfair”.

Listen to his full conversation with Ben HERE.

https://t.co/0k2ch42Hla

[Becky Anderson @BeckyCNN]

What’s the UAE’s calculus behind its exit from OPEC? @AlOraibi tells me it “sees itself as much more than a petroleum exporter.”

[Rex Patrick @MrRexPatrick]

It’s a good thing Meghan Quinn has been made Defence Secretary. Clear thinking and new perspectives are essential for the massive reset required to fix the bloated and self-interested bureaucracy that’s left Australia vulnerable. #auspol https://t.co/DsuKbkka8A

[Stuart McCarthy @StuartMcCarthy_]

The 'celebratory' or nationalistic aspect of what Anzac Day has become is not a reflection of the involvement of ex-service personnel, most of whom have always seen it rightfully as a day of commemoration, but gradual politicisation by politicians, media and other public figures, many of whom have no connection with military service and tend to project what they want onto this day in order to fill a void in their own sense of perceived patriotism.

[💧Baron-Gotcha❇️❇️❇️❇️❇️ @BaronGotcha]

This is so true!
I have no problem with soldiers getting together on Anzac day to talk/laugh/cry & remember about the past. Perhaps in hotels, park-lands maybe over a BBQ or other suitable venues.
I just don't like these marches that seem more like a celebration of war.

[Financial Times @FT]

Breaking news: The United Arab Emirates has said it is leaving Opec, dealing a significant blow to the oil cartel and its de facto leader Saudi Arabia https://t.co/nQXvmiqhEo

[Nick Feik @NickFeik]

250 staff. $65 million per year. Almost three years operating. Over 6000 referrals. Not a single public hearing.
Not a single major corruption finding.

https://t.co/iZRMxrt5K1

[Stuart McCarthy @StuartMcCarthy_]

@jmwhistleblower @SammyNat39 @TroyStolz @Peter_Fox59 @DavidPocock @hughriminton After he was thrown under the bus by the ABC.
https://t.co/p5sicRHryj

[Stuart McCarthy @StuartMcCarthy_]

@TroyStolz @jmwhistleblower @Peter_Fox59 @DavidPocock @hughriminton Who is this with Troy?

[Stuart McCarthy @StuartMcCarthy_]

@SkyNewsAust RAN sharks with lasers gotta be on the cards soon, surely ...

[Stuart McCarthy @StuartMcCarthy_]

@GrayConnolly Ubique = hegemony.

[Stuart McCarthy @StuartMcCarthy_]

Thank you to everyone involved in this year's Anzac Day commemorations at Bomana, from the family of 416369 Sergeant L.E. Sheard MG.

[Australian High Commission, Papua New Guinea @AusHCPNG]

As the first light broke over Bomana War Cemetery, hundreds gathered for the #AnzacDay Dawn Service to honor the souls resting here.

We remember the courage & sacrifice of those who served in the PNG campaigns of WWII. A bond forged in hardship, now unbreakable.

Lest we forget.

[Stuart McCarthy @StuartMcCarthy_]

@MmarianneJoseph @GrayConnolly Thank you very much Margaret. Respect to you and the rest of Owen's family.

[Stuart McCarthy @StuartMcCarthy_]

Thank you to everyone involved in this year's Anzac Day commemorations at Sandakan, from the family of SX9726 Corporal J.F. McCarthy. Lest We Forget.

[Danielle Heinecke @AusHCMalaysia]

Sandakan holds deep significance in 🇦🇺 & 🇲🇾’s shared history as a site that reflects the endurance & sacrifice of the Anzac spirit.

On Anzac Day, the Deputy High Commissioner & Major General Ash Collingburn paid tribute to those who suffered & perished in Sandakan during WWII.

[Stuart McCarthy @StuartMcCarthy_]

Thoughtful piece here from Jakob Neeland on Anzac Day and WTC.
https://t.co/H3xCkkzXAx

[Keith Wolahan @keithwolahan]

How do we remember so many who gave so much? Today at Warrandyte I tried my best to remember one. Lest we forget.

[Stuart McCarthy @StuartMcCarthy_]

@GrayConnolly Yup

[💧Michael West @MichaelWestBiz]

With Antisemitism RC poised to hand down her interim report this week, former Anti Defamation Commissioner Jeffrey Loewenstein looks at the vexing questions
#antisemitism v #antizionism
#auspol
https://t.co/IOgF8hTm0J