New Zealand has suffered its first combat death in Afghanistan. This is an increasingly deadly war as the foreign forces slowly lose ground. They have suffered nearly two thousand dead now – more in the past two months than in the first 3 years. No-one knows how many Afghans have died.
Deputy PM and leader of the Lib Dems, Nick Clegg, caused a bit of a sensation last week when he pronounced Britain’s involvement in the Iraq war illegal. And yesterday Wikileaks published a massive cache of American military files exposing the truth about the war in Afghanistan. Not a good week for warmongers.
You know, if we don’t give those mining companies some more free seismic data, rent-free access to our most precious natural environments, and only demand low royalties when they dig up our minerals, we’ll lose them to the lucky country. That’s right, Afghanistan. It’s sitting, quite literally, on a gold mine and it makes ours look like small change.
Tracey Watkins is less than chuffed over the way the media were used on John Key’s ‘secret’ Afghanistan trip:…Equally troubling was the control exerted by the Prime Minister’s Office over access – Key refused to make room for journalists from the country’s two biggest media companies, Fairfax and APN. Even state broadcaster Radio New Zealand was left in the cold.
How wonderful it is to have a US President that rejects the evil of nuclear weapons. Finally the world is catching up with us. While the powers were locked in the stand-off of Mutually Assured Destruction, New Zealand rejected the madness of that logic and we declared ourselves nuclear-free. Our Prime Minister should be celebrating that fact and pointing to our achievement as a model for the whole world.
The Waihopai spy base is very much in the news. Last month the Waihopai Three were acquitted of charges, provoking a storm of controversy (and congratulations). Yesterday came the news that the Government is considering further action against the three. There was also a “very unusual” statement about the role of Waihopai from the GCSB. Who to believe?
Wikileaks has revealed footage shot from a US Apache helicopter in Iraq in 2007 as they callously murder a dozen Iraqi civilians. Every time you read of some wedding convey being shot up or a houseful of ‘insurgents’ being bombed remember this video and remember that our soldiers are now part of the combat force that is committing these same barbaric acts in Afghanistan.
Most of the world’s supply of the key rare earth metals comes from China. That’s a strategic problem for the US, which needs rare earths for high-tech military equipment. They don’t want to be dependent on the world’s other superpower, and potential adversary, for their military hardware. Is it a coincidence that the Nats are so keen to let foreigners mine for rare earths in our national parks?
The Nats put the SAS in Afghanistan out of a Boy’s Own worldview that glamorises war and violence by authority. But war isn’t a game and we shouldn’t be fighting unless it’s for a good cause. Our solders shouldn’t die or kill to prop up Hamid Karzai’s corrupt regime.
So, I’m at a cafe having lunch and there’s some fat middle-aged businessmen having lunch at the table beside me. One of them […]
Foreign Minister Murray McCully is refusing to contribute any New Zealand money to a fund that will buy-off the Taliban’s foot soldiers. The […]
I don’t think the SAS should be in Afghanistan. That said, there are good reasons why the activities of the SAS on deployment […]
“We’ve got no intention of cutting and running from Afghanistan,” the Prime Minister said from his holiday home in Hawaii.* If you’re a […]
Lance Corporal Joe Glenton is facing prison after speaking out at an anti-war rally. A British soldier was arrested on Monday for speaking […]
Estimated number of US troops now in Afghanistan: 68,000. Number of troops US General Stanley McChrystal is currently asking for in addition to […]
Two stories from today’s Dominion give a hint as to what might be muttered under their breath as Key and Obama pose for […]
John Key has admitted he didn’t bother to get detailed briefings before sending our SAS to kill and possibly die for a corrupt regime in Afghanistan: […]
Last month’s Time magazine has an article that starts “to understand why the United States is losing in Afghanistan…” It’s a bombshell phrase, […]
The Economist has an article on the recent election in New Zealand’s current region of conflict – Afghanistan. The title of the article […]
Apart from when it’s customary, at maiden speeches, valedictories, and the Budget, it’s a rare speech that warrants a standing ovation in Parliament. […]
It was a bit strange listening to Key’s interview on RNZ yesterday morning about deploying the SAS to Afghanistan. He kept on awkwardly […]
A reader sent through this article from the Guardian by Malalai Joya, who was the youngest woman to enter the Afghan parliament before […]
It seems the US want us to commit our elite SAS troops to Afghanistan. I’m not a big fan of the Taliban but […]
Six years ago the Neocon Bush administration invaded Iraq, on the pretence of looking for “weapons of mass destruction” (that were never there). […]
[The shoe-thrower is a journo from a Baghdad newspaper taking his opportunity to make his feelings known during Bush’s surprise farewell visit to […]
Yesterday morning on Sunrise, John Key was moaning that there is no context to the latest secret agenda tape, where Bill English praises […]
The Nats have had two responses to English’s “pull the trigger” comments revealed last night: first the taping itself was branded a “dirty […]
More from 3News tonight on the secret recordings taken at the Naitonal Party conference in August. This time it’s Bill English expressing concern over […]
Ah, Iraq invasion satire. thank god that war is over, eh John? [GWOT – Global War On Terror, official acronym. You can’t make […]
Today is the fifth anniversary of Bush’s infamous “Mission Accomplished” speech in which he stated that “Major combat operations in Iraq have ended”. […]
This recent article in the NYTimes illustrates how the way we inform ourselves is changing, and that it’s increasing access to some serious topics. ‘Bush’s […]
It is five years since the US and allies invaded Iraq, and the war is far from over. Every day, there is fighting […]
From the BBC: “The US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are costing nearly double the amount previously thought, according to a report set […]
We love remixes (well all except those German house ones of classic 80’s pop). Imagine our delight when we found this in out […]
I know there is occasionally talk in New Zealand about “becoming the Sweden of the South Pacific” but this may just have us […]
