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
Iran
Winston Peters clings to a dying empire
It may feel to NZ First cultists that Winston Peters is being picked on this site. But if he chooses to act like an geriatric, erratic, and foolish foolish dickhead in the pursuit of the unthinking bigot vote.. Well, then opinion writers will notice and opine. Here is another opinion from Local Bodies which focuses on a foreign minister who appears to be out of touch with current international affairs.
Iranian Ambassador: why the US blundered so badly, the state of diplomacy and ways forward.
Iranian Ambassador Reza Nazar Ahari provides some fascinating analysis into why the Western strategy on Iran has been so disastrously flawed.
Walking backwards off the cliff
The coming oil shock is not just about oil. The future is baked in, and its not good. National’s backward-looking budget will make it much worse.
“Interest rates, oil and gold”
That RNZ tricolon has always been infuriating fluff. In the real world, analysts warn we are heading for a cliff.
Who’s best on Foreign Affairs?
When Ambassador Chen Mingming sent Zhang Wei in 2005 to ask me whether Winston Peters would follow government policy, I said I didn’t know but would ask. I did, and he did.
Divide and Prosper – the evil genius of the UAE
Israel is the UAE’s close ally. They collaborate on the War on Iran and in heartless state-destruction campaigns for greater geopolitical weight in the region
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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.
Keep calm and screw it up later – current government policy on fuel
Officials have been doing private, media excluded, webinars with selected businesses. That seems pretty dodgy while our diesel stocks look like they will run out in a few weeks. Rather than (maybe) tomorrow, the government should have been rationing the unproductive Remuera tractors weeks ago.
Winston Peters signals willingness to send military assets to assist USA
Is NZ going to join the Iran war?
Our Willingness To Earn US Approval, Via China-Bashing
The Chinese Embassy is right. The recent joint statement by Australia and New Zealand condemning China’s actions in the South China Sea reads like a relic from a bygone colonial era.
Why scrapping Labour’s climate change policies has made the oil crisis worse
Driven by ideology, this Government has worsened the country’s prospects to reduce oil dependance by axing policies that would have cut greenhouse-gas emissions.
The oil crisis – What would Jacinda do?
Jacinda Ardern led the country through some of the most taxing international crises imaginable. How would she deal with the potential oil shock caused by the Iranian war and how does this compare to Christopher Luxon’s response?
Will Israel/US wreck the Gulf States & Iran?
We are now in the opening days of what may be the decisive war to determine either the survival of the Iranian state or the expulsion of the US from the Arab lands.
The oil crisis: she’ll be right?
“Every emergency plan principle that I’m aware of says you communicate early, honestly and with a plan.” – Nathan Surendran
The smallest coffins are always the heaviest.
The US-Israeli killing of children must be stopped.
Iran: Compounding Chaos
Trump’s attack on Iran, in cahoots with, or in support of, his regional proxy, Israel, is illegal, but also unconscionable in moral and […]
So much for being the President of Peace
Trump’s attack on Iran is one hell of a way to divert away from the Epstein files.
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.
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.
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
NZ should drop reliance on Trumps imperial republic.
The major problem with the political model of a Republic, from Greek and Roman times to the present, is that eventually they invariably deteriorate into an imperial mess and war mongering. for purely domestic personal and political reasons. Which is exactly what Donald Trump did yesterday.
Was the Cook Islands leak a FiveEyes operation?
The leak appeared in the Cook Islands media, not New Zealand’s. On the day before Christopher Luxon was due to meet Xi Jinping. One has to ask “cui bono?”
Iran launches missiles at Israel in retaliation for consulate strike in Damascus
Israel should not have bombed the Iranian consulate buildings in Damascus. Iran should not have fired 300 missiles at Israel in response. Neither of these actions should have happened, but they now have. The world now watches to see if there is further retaliation and escalation of violence, or if calmer and wiser heads prevail.
Labour needs to open the military-political front
The new National coalition cares little about defence. Defence is surprisingly a large and under-appreciated strength for Labour.
Self-destructive stupidity, New Zealand style
Belief in capricious gods would explain the perplexing habit of governments with intelligent and informed people to embrace policies which are manifestly an example of self-destructive stupidity. Clever people doing stupid things.
Diplomacy with China hasn’t failed – it hasn’t been tried
Gerald Hensley was David Lange’s chief of staff when New Zealand’s nuclear free policy was adopted. He opposed what happened then and opposes it still. He now argues we should prepare for war with China.
Saudi/Iran peace deal brokered by China
Veteran Indian diplomat MK Bhadrakumar describes the resumption of diplomatic relations between Shi’ite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia brokered by China as a “Suez moment” in the history of the Middle East. Peace in Yemen is only one of the possible benefits.
Who Pays the Price of Sanctions
New Zealand’s sanctions on Russia have not stopped the war in Ukraine. They may have made our parliamentarians feel better, and Tony Blinken was quick to congratulate us on falling into line with the US “high-impact sanctions.” The language is combative, but the evidence shows sanctions do not work. They can have significant blow-back effects, particularly if not combined with effective diplomacy.
Big developments in Beijing
The meeting between Putin and Xi Jinping is likely to set the geopolitical direction for the 21st century. If ‘divide and rule’ was the mantra for the US’s hegemonic rule in the 20th century, ‘unite and share’ looks like setting the tone for the 21st. Co-operation rather than competition is the mantra, and “friendship between the two states has no limits.” A truly remarkable turnaround.
Blinken and Blind-Sided?
Russian peacekeepers are already leaving Kazakhstan having nipped the ‘colour revolution’ in the bud. Blinken clearly didn’t have a clue when he said Russians never leave the house. Russian intelligence was superb. Now we wait for Russia’s response to US likely refusal to pull back from its borders. One thing I’d bet on – no invasion of Ukraine.
The Top 20 Biggest U.S. Military Interventions, Best to Worst
With the last flights coming out of Kabul, it’s time to review whether this US attitude to the world is a good idea.
Putting Five Eyes in its place
Following her speech to the NZ China Council, Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta wanted to be very clear that in speaking out about issues with other countries, New Zealand would not be doing it in concert with Five Eyes partners. She expressed a view that New Zealand did not agree with Five Eyes remit encroaching beyond intelligence, and that this had been communicated to Five Eyes partners. Good.