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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International
Palestine
Should Luxon join Trump’s Board of Peace?
Donald Trump invited Christopher Luxon to join a new organisation to oversee the redevelopment of Gaza and eventually the replacement of the United Nations. How should Luxon respond?
Israel only country in history to ban Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontière)
Israel bans 37 NGOs from Gaza including the world renowned medical charity Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontière)
Do not feed the Droll
Martyn Bradbury’s attacks on Winston Peters and an attack on his home has allowed Winston to claim victimhood status and hog the media spotlight.
On The Shameful, Incompetent Decision On Palestine
The last time New Zealand put itself on the wrong side of history was when a New Zealand rugby team toured apartheid South Africa just after schoolchildren were gunned down on the streets of Soweto.
Christopher Luxon: We’ve shown meaningful leadership on Palestine
Hipkins also declared his stance on Palestine recognition on the day, but it wasn’t widely reported.
Winston Peters declares “No recognition of Palestine”
After a few months of telling Kiwis a decision on Palestine was imminent, Peters finally shared NZ’s official position today. Other countries had done so months earlier.
God bless these troublesome priests
All over the world more people are taking direct action because governments fail their obligations under the Genocide Convention.
Helen Clark on Palestine
“This is a catastrophic situation and here we are in New Zealand somehow arguing some fine point about whether we should recognise. We need to be adding our voice to the need for this catastrophe to stop.”
Corporate profit and Gaza
UN Special rapporteur on Gaza Francesca Albanese’s latest report highlights the corporate role in enabling genocide in Gaza. Utterly predictably, she has been sanctioned by the United States.
Writing in the time of Genocide
I want to share a writer’s journey – of living and writing through the Genocide. Because my country provides support to Israel and the US, I feel compelled to support Palestine by doing the one thing I know best: writing.
RNZ’s report on its Israel/Gaza coverage is not credible
Radio New Zealand’s decision to conduct a review of its Israel-Palestine coverage post-7 October 2023 is commendable. We believe the presented report does not meet a credible standard in terms of breadth, methodology and analysis.
President Trump makes a new Middle East Possible
U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump makes more things possible in the Middle East than the Biden administration.
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.
Israel’s latest atrocities
In the past week it has been disclosed that Israel’s Artificial Intelligence driven security system was responsible for the killing of seven international aid workers. And there are reports that Israel directed a missile attack on the Iraqi embassy in Syria.
Dune 2 and Gaza
What if life followed fiction and Gaza was explained by Dune 2? Sigh. It isn’t.
Christopher Luxon is no John Key
Yesterday in Parliament Christopher Luxon showed that he is struggling on the job.
Does the Western World really want to starve Palestine?
Western Nations including New Zealand have suspended urgently needed aid for Palestine after revelations that a tiny minority of UNRHA workers may have been involved in Hamas raids and despite the UNHRA taking immediate action to address issues arising.
The Coming Oil Crisis
An expanding Middle East war that puts the Red Sea and Suez tanker route at risk is a major risk to us because it could hit the global price of oil.
Genocide in Gaza
South Africa has taken a case that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza to the International Court of Justice. A group of prominent New Zealand lawyers have asked the New Zealand Government to join South Africa in support of their application. I think we should.
Darkness Towards Peace
Can Israel lose a moral battle in Gaza and yet still win?
Corbyn was right about Palestine
In the United Kingdom Keir Starmer’s refusal to call for a cease fire in Gaza and his claim that holding back food and water for Gaza was justified has put him increasingly at odds with Labour members and MPs. Meanwhile Jeremy Corbyn’s expulsion as a Labour MP is puzzling, particularly given that his stance on Palestine is increasingly justified.
Terror, human shields, and de-legitimising Israel
Hamas is deploying a set of tough ethical calculations as it planned its attack on Israeli civilians to kill, rape, and kidnap as it did.
The politics of Palestine
Earlier this week the New Zealand Labour Party made a statement on Palestine and it was a good one.
Certainly much better than the positions adopted by its sister Labour parties overseas.
“Cease-fire Now:” Revolt in UK Labour
56 UK Labour MPs including 8 front-benchers defied the Leader and the Whip and voted for a SNP amendment to the King’s speech calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.
What Is peace Anyway?
We are further away from peace in parts of the world than a decade ago. But pessimism about peace isn’t a foregone conclusion.
War crimes in Palestine
There is a growing recognition that Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip constitute war crimes.
The Holocaust should be a lesson not a template
“Jewish people exterminating men, women and children in a concentration camp is _______.”
How do you finish a sentence like that?
Still pussy-footing on Gaza
Unlike the other four Eyes, New Zealand voted for a UNGA resolution calling for a humanitarian truce in Gaza. The US had previously vetoed a ceasefire resolution. Finally on RNZ, Ben Strang asked whether Israel’s response to HAMAS is also a “war crime?’
Passing the buck on Gaza
The new government is leaving it to the old government to carry the ball on Gaza. Both governments have dropped it. The 5Eyes formula of “Israel’s right to defend itself” does not extend any right to the indiscriminate bombing, and refusal to allow any water, food or fuel to innocents in Gaza.
New Zealand’s response to the Palestine crisis
Nanaia Mahuta’s carefully crafted responses to the Palestinian crisis underlines that the Israeli response to the Hamas attacks by targeting civilians is disproportionate and completely unjustified.
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.
Israel commits war crime in Gaza
The state of Israel has committed a war crime by deliberately targeting and blowing up a Gaza tower that housed civilian residents and the Aljazeera Middle East office.
What just happened with Israel?
Just two months before election day, Donald Trump appears to have won a diplomatic coup in the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have normalised relations with the state of Israel.
Trump’s Middle East peace plan
This news shows how strange International Relations has become. Donald Trump, currently on trial in the Senate for withholding approved funds from the […]
Peters, Pence, Pompeo and the Rapture
Hamish Rutherfurd writes that Winston Peters’ trip to the US to secure a trade deal is far-fetched and a waste of time. I agree. But if Peters has his agenda, so will Mike Pompeo, Mike Pence, John Bolton and Dan Coats have theirs. He was scheduled to meet them all. No wonder the 9th floor are worried.