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.
International
Ukraine
Talking to the “enemy”: an interview with Russian Ambassador Stanislav Krans
The reason I chose to interview the ambassador is because I accept as self-evident the truism that all wars end with diplomacy and the sooner we return to diplomacy the better.
Advantage’s 2026 predictions
Advantage gets out the crystal ball and postilated what may happen next year.
Atlas Shrugged. Part One: Trump’s Security Strategy blows up the American world order.
“The days of the United States propping up the entire world order like Atlas are over.” White House National Security Strategy, 2025
The Old Left is Wrong about Russia
This weeks’ sabotage of a Polish rail line that enables freight to get to Ukraine is a big step in the undeclared war by Russia against European countries that support Ukraine.
Ireland’s new President causes Western backlash
There are clear signs Ireland’s new President Catherine Connolly’s landslide victory has intensified efforts to undermine the country’s neutrality and neuter its aim to punish genocidal Israel.
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.
The infantilisation of Western Grand Strategy – and the rise of Eurasia.
The greatest threat Russia poses to Europe is not that it marches west but that it turns its back and builds a brighter future to the east. We may be witnessing the emergence of a Eurasian World Order.
The Ukraine-United States Deal
In a bargain of the damned the United States and Ukraine have signed a peace agreement to share revenues from the future sale of Ukrainian minerals and rare earths.
Vilification of Russia not good for peace in Europe.
Putinversteher – one who “understands” Putin. It is meant as a slur but Professor Geoffrey Roberts, a British historian of Russia, embraces the term.
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.”
The new world order
Yesterday’s press conference involving Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky suggests that the United States is now solidly aligned with Russia against the Western World and Western values.
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.
A Commercial Peace Agreement?
Trump’s opening bid for peace towards Ukraine was that the United States would gain access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.
“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
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.
USUKAs
US Undersecretary of State Bonnie Jenkins is in Wellington this week with a hard sell for us on AUKUS Pillar 2 wunderwaffen maybes. We should say tai hoa.
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.
NZ policy is consistent about Russian invasion
Unlike Mike Smith and other noisy members of the imperialist cohort, I applaud that NZ foreign policy has remained consistent in upholding UN and ICC policies against invasions and forced annexations. Ardern, Hipkins and now Luxon have all said the same thing.Supporting the UN charter has massively reduced war casualties over the last 70 years. Clearly the Russian Federation finds this constraining.
Luxon’s values on show re Zelensky
It is not clear exactly who persuaded Luxon to put Zelensky on his Xmas calling list. It might have been Albo or MFAT, no doubt on orders from the US, who are desperate to keep the illusion of victory alive until after the US Presidential election.
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.
Wither Foreign Policy?
Alexander Gillespie complains that kiwis are not being given answers on foreign policy in the election. Given the state of flux in the world, and the questions he poses, it is probably just as well. The answers might all be dangerous.
Year of the Long Grind 2
There will be no respite for any of us this year and National has no cure for it.
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.
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.
China’s Peace Initiative for Ukraine
China has proposed a 12 point peace plan to start discussions towards ending the war by Russia against Ukraine. And Ukraine’s leader wants to meet Xi Jinping to hear more.
A Lone Voice of Sanity on Ukraine
Historian Malcolm McKinnon in Thursday’s DominionPost states that “caution is needed when crafting victory over Russia as the primary war aim in Ukraine.” Truer words were never spoken, as western hysteria rejects calls for peace and escalates to wider war.
The Occupy Movement and the response to the 2008 financial crisis
As the world currently goes through a post-pandemic and Russian invasion of Ukraine fuelled economic crisis, it is interesting to reflect on the economic crisis of over a decade ago and how the public responded at that time.
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.
In praise of Michael Hudson
82-year old polymath Michael Hudson is my favourite economist. He currently lectures in China to million-strong audiences. His latest book is The Destiny of Civilisation: Finance Capitalism, Industrial Capitalism or Socialism. His latest article is well worth a read.
Freedom is Not Guaranteed: Sometimes You Must Fight
If we fail to support Ukraine’s struggle we all lose far more than self rule for 44 million people.
‘Training’ for an early grave
We’re sending 120 troops to Britain to ‘train’ raw recruits for the Ukraine killing grounds. For the Defence Generals, it’s an overseas trip to aid retention. For the Ukrainian conscripts, it’s a prelude to early death. It is cynical and criminal: we should be arguing for the war to stop, not keep it going ”to the death of the last Ukrainian.”
Jacinda’s comments to NATO
Yesterday Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gave a speech/comments to NATO outlining our position on NATO, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, multilateral diplomacy, our region, and nuclear proliferation. Plus of course she helped to finally get the EU trade treaty over the line. Her ‘comments’ are worth reading and commenting on because I suspect that they align pretty well to our societies general position.
Should our future lie with NATO?
Not content to stay in the North Atlantic, NATO is shortly about to reveal in Madrid its next ten-year plan to contain China. Jacinda Ardern will be there, who knows why. Are we nailing our colours to a flag at half-mast?
Foot-shooting the sanctions’ lockstep
RNZ’s “The Detail” asked are New Zealand’s sanctions against Russia working? They aren’t, but one detail we learnt that MFAT has 100 staff members assigned to sorting out their complications!! What a waste.
An appeal to Putin’s Apologists
Guest with a life of anti-fascist and anti-war activism in their rear-view mirror, alarmingly finds at fifty that they are staring at the green shoots of fascism in their headlights.This is not where any progressive expected to be. But for the left, there is also no discounting fascist action by offering up the reasoning of the aggressor.