Chilcot, Corbyn and the UK Labour Party caucus.
Three dots.
Updated
war
iraq
Mission Creep
The military mission to Iraq is to be extended by another 18 months, much to nobody’s surprise. John Key has put the creep into the mission.
Why American Foreign Policy still matters
So what should the next President of the United States focus on? Military power or economic domination or international institutions?
What Possibility a Mid Winter Celebration?
According to the Herald on Sunday, some people aren’t just sitting back waiting for the Chilcot report to be released before deciding what to do. Some people are getting geared up.
Little just visited NZ troops in Iraq
“Opposition Leader Andrew Little has visited New Zealand troops at Camp Taji, Iraq. Mr Little also met with Iraqi Defence Minister Khaled Al-Obedih and senior military officials from the Coalition forces in Iraq. He now heads to Jordan to see the unfolding refugee crisis first hand.”
The “jihadi brides” lie
Remember the “jihadi brides” – part of last year’s beat-up about the risk of terrorism in NZ? Yesterday the central lie in the story was revealed.
The difference between decent folk and complete idiots
For a change I’m not going to have a rip at our local idiotic politicians. The most extreme case recently being the now infamous Dildo Baggins. Lets have a look offshore where they are often even worse…
The unexpected oil crisis
The world is currently facing a problem that even a few years ago was unthinkable. Oil is cheap and demand has dropped out of the market. What are the geopolitical implications of this?
The major world risks in 2016
Ad reviews Eurasia’s appraisal of global risks the world faces in 2016.
Barbaric Death Cult or friend and ally?
Spot the difference.
Treachery and silly season political snippets
There’s still a few MPs “on duty”. Their function is to maintain the semblance of active government and to roll out a bunch of announcements they hope will escape full scrutiny.
International law and the Turkish shootdown of the RuAF Su-24
Assuming the Russian jet did enter Turkish airspace for 17s, was there really no recourse for Turkey other than using lethal force?
Corbyn’s Isis Crisis
UK Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn faces his first big test. Can he command the majority in Labour over Syria? Or should he accept he is on the wrong side of history?
Graph of the day
Ground troops to Iraq – PM please explain
PM please explain, what the hell good would sending a few Kiwi ground troops to the ongoing disaster of the Middle East achieve? Is it the whole cost of being in the club thing again?
Imperator Fish: the Terrorist Test
Following from a tweet from Josie Pagani Imperator Fish has designed this handy quiz so that protesters can work out if they prefer ISIS to the TPP.
Paris 3 – common sense from Democrats
The fallout from the Paris attacks continues. The American political reaction is as important as it is predicable.
Just another coverup
The Nats changing lines on the Taji report look like just another routine coverup of just another routine lie. At least, I hope so, because not knowing / caring about the report would be worse.
The Taji report
An American report which came out shortly before Key’s visit to our troops at Taji camp in Iraq is strongly critical of conditions there, and of the efficacy of the training process. Key claims he didn’t know, yet another of his outbreaks of “convenient ignorance”.
The Ankara massacre
Terrible news from Turkey where over a hundred protesters have been killed by explosions at a peaceful protest organised to seek an end to the violence between the Kurdish separatist PKK militants and the Turkish government.
Three minutes to midnight. John Key incoherent.
Same ole, same ole. Except, this time, US neoconservative imperalism might have a problem. Russia.
In Our Back Yard – Manus Island and Nauru
As the photo claims, refugees are human beings. We can tell this from general expressions of resignation, desperation and misery.
But what about our own expressions of humanity?
Happy Father’s day
For father’s day how about a gift of a donation to charities helping the refugees pouring into Europe?
How much does New Zealand spend on refugees?
The Government is under increasing pressure to increase the number of refugees that it takes. Amnesty International’s proposal to double the number could be met by less than the cost of a flag referendum.
Key is relaxed about widespread refugee crisis
John Key has ruled out an emergency intake of refugees and claims that New Zealand is doing its bit and that bit is enough.
An open letter to Andrew Little
A respectful open letter to Andrew Little with suggestions for how to win the next election!
The third way according to Tony Blair
Supporters of Tony Blair’s third way and the need for Labour to be aspirational should reflect on recent reports of his huge wealth earned with taxpayer support while he has been engaged on official business.
The decontextualisation of ANZAC Day
Everyone else is giving their reckons on the treatment of ANZAC Day this year, as we commemorate the centenary of the first year of World War I. So here are mine.
ANZAC 4 SALE
Has the spirit of ANZAC Day become subsumed by the commercial imperative?
Our Iraq war policy explained
The government is doing a poor job at explaining our Iraq war policy, but never fear, we have the answers.
Key the “statesman” strikes again
Key admits he’s using our troops as vote-bait
Yesterday the mask slipped and John Key admitted the real reason our deployment to Iraq is only for two years: so he can win an election.
Why are we going to war?
National’s justification for going to war against ISIS suffers from two fundamental problems, it is supporting an Iraqi regime that is corrupt and working against the best interests of all of its people, and there is no plan to convert Iraq into a sustainable state.
David Lange had guts
Slane: National’s clubs
Public support for the Iraq deployment (In which the insightful and knowledgable Mike Hosking springs to the defence of the embattled PM!)
Despite the best efforts of Mike Hosking, the poll numbers tell us that Kiwis have lost their historical appetite for this kind of misadventure.