To frigate or not to frigate
The NZ Initiative, who gave us neoliberalism, says we need to buy four to keep one at sea. Just Defence says there are a lot better uses for the money. I’m with them.
International
Disarmament
The World Cup final, and Defence double standards in the Pacific
The World Cup is over and the good guys won, geo-politically speaking. When China fired a test missile a few weeks ago, it was as if the sky had fallen in.
Official talk of Independent Foreign Policy is farcical
If we are a “force multiplier” we are not independent. We are meant to multiply force for the US. Against China. Madness.
No nukes
The timing of the recent suggestion by Chris Penk that New Zealand should review its nuclear free policy makes you wonder if the Trump Administration has applied pressure to do so.
Hegseth accuses New Zealand of freeloading because we don’t want to arm for war
Pete Hegseth has claimed that New Zealand is freeloading because it is not spending enough of weapons of war at a time of international chaos created by the United States.
Smash Left populism, get Right populism
That’s Starmer’s achievement, as the local elections show. He always was a muppet puppet; his string-pullers are much more sinister.
The Iranian Imbecile crisis
The Cuban Missile crisis was solved by intelligent leadership acting in the best interests of their nations. The current Iranian crisis shows no sign of quality leadership.
Winston Peters signals willingness to send military assets to assist USA
Is NZ going to join the Iran war?
On The Iran War
Funny…when Russia invaded Ukraine, New Zealand didn’t wait for Putin to tell us whether his aggression was legal under international law. Different story when it comes to the Americans.
The United States and Israel attack Iran, again
Trump’s attack on Iran has a high risk of turning into another Afghanistan in which the United States was utterly humiliated.
Iran in the vortex – what’s really going on?
To understand what’s going on in Iran, abandon what the Persians invented centuries ago: Manichaeism, black-and-white, political framing.
Pirates of the Caribbean and the Indo-Pacific. The White House National Security Strategy.
the US administration stresses that countries like Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan will need to militarise as never before in peacetime to keep China in its place.
On Our Looming Spending Spree On Japanese Frigates
Like the Americans, maybe we should re-name our Ministry of Defence as the Ministry of War. The frigates New Zealand wants to buy can carry long-range Tomahawk Cruise missiles, with lethality so beloved by Judith Collins.
Judith gets her marching orders
Lauded at the CIA and lectured at the Department of War, Judith Collins last week got her marching orders – prepare New Zealanders to join the next US war against China.
The Department of War
The United States Department of Defense has been renamed as the Department of War. Nobody can be under any illusions anymore. More war is coming.
God bless these troublesome priests
All over the world more people are taking direct action because governments fail their obligations under the Genocide Convention.
The Rainbow Warrior 1985-2025. Part 2: Nuclear refugees in the Pacific: the evacuation of Rongelap
On its last voyage the Rainbow Warrior evacuated the entire population of Rongelap. Cancers, birth defects, and genetic damage had ripped through the population after US above-ground nuclear explosions.
The Rainbow Warrior 1985-2025. Part 1: French State Terrorism and the end of innocence.
Immediately after blowing up the Rainbow Warrior the French agents went on a ski holiday in the South Island to celebrate. Such was the contempt they had for Kiwis and our police. How wrong they were.
Why Asia-Pacific should back Iran
Ceasefire will only be a pause in the long-running US-Israeli campaign for regime change in Iran. The good news for our region is that Iran’s resilience pushes back the looming risk of a US-led war on China.
Weasel Winston’s FiveEyes fudge
Winston Peters’ Ministerial statement in Parliament yesterday was a disgrace. Echoing other FiveEyes leaders such as Keir Starmer, unable to distinguish evil from good, he accused those who can of “moral posturing.”
SNAP ACTION – Stop U.S. Aggression
Snap action outside Ministry of Defence tomorrow 24th 1230. All welcome
The Fall of Saigon 1975. Fifty years of repeating what was forgotten.
“The only lesson we learn from history is that we do not learn the lessons of history.” It’s about time we changed that.
Posturing is not policy. How the West doomed Ukraine.
Henry Kissinger nailed it back in 2014: “For the West, the demonization of Vladimir Putin is not a policy; it is an alibi for the absence of one.”
Helen Clark’s nuanced take on world events
In a recent interview Helen Clark managed to neatly summarise current world problems and express a desire for New Zealand to maintain its independent foreign policy.
Good as gold
A fascinating expose from Michael Hudson on the causes and implications of the recent rise in the price of gold. When Nixon took the US dollar off the standard in 1971 you could get an ounce for $35. Not now; Hudson explains why.
“As long as it takes”
Well it didn’t take that long: from one SecDef to another in a matter of a month. It’s time for a rethink on Ukraine and much else.
Update: Hegseth’s speech video
Maire Leadbeater “The Enemy Within”
With extensive use of internal documents, Maire Leadbeater’s excellent exposition of the various iterations of the security intelligence services tells a story of constant make-work in search of an adversary defined only by ideology.
Resisting US pressure for NZ to sacrifice itself to defend US hegemony against China
Don Brash is now publicly standing together with Helen Clark to protest against the subservience of recent New Zealand governments to America’s anti-China policy.
NATO escalation danger
The destruction on 23 May of a key part of Russia’s nuclear defence means the Doomsday clock is ticking closer to midnight. A Ukrainian/NATO drone attack on the Armavir radar station north of Georgia attcked a Voronezh-DM radar which is designed to detect incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Bonnie Jenkins: US ignores China proposal for no-first-use of nukes
Questioned by Senator Van Hollen re US response to China’s February 2024 offer of no-first-use, Assistant Secretary Bonnie Jenkins told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee they would have to think about it, but at this point had no intention of changing to a no-first use policy.
Joining US military alliance not in our national interest
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark – the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory – gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held in Parliament’s old Legislative Chambers on April 18.
The Subs and the Next War
In March 2023, former Australian prime minister Paul Keating attracted significant media attention when he described AUKUS as a manifestation of the United States’s campaign to encircle China with hostile military allies and partners.
John Pilger, RIP
A bright star in the firmament of justice has gone out. One of the greatest journalists of our era has passed away. John Pilger was always on the side of the oppressed.
Unease Over New Zealand Overtures to US in Pacific
New security-state documents show Wellington aligning its military with the “rules-based international order” while preparing Kiwis for war with key trading partner China, writes Mick Hall.
NZ’s Mission in Vilnius – “to defeat Russia.” Really?
The prime minister stated in his speech last week our objective in the war in Ukraine was to aid Ukraine “to defeat Russia.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing – that’s a declaration of nuclear World War III! Even the US neocons think its time to back off.
The Zelensky Dump
Vladimir Zelensky’s message to the New Zealand Parliament will be delivered in the last week before Christmas, in the bury-it time-slot. That seems appropriate, for much has changed since the heady days when our Parliament went straight for sanctions on Russia without discussion.