International

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Spare a thought for poor Nick Mowbray

Written By: - Date published: 11:26 pm, April 16th, 2025 - 10 comments

Nick Mowbray, who has supported and promoted a number of right wing causes, finds himself losing out big time because of Donald Trump’s tariffs. And is complaining.

The Empire strikes back

Written By: - Date published: 5:40 pm, April 13th, 2025 - 7 comments

A recent run on US Government bonds showing possible coordination between different countries may have been the reason that Donald Trump walked back the worst of his tariff changes. And he has also realised the US can’t make cheap IPhones.

The Trump Shock: Why the US President Crashed the Global Economy

Written By: - Date published: 3:28 pm, April 11th, 2025 - 19 comments

There is a method to Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff madness. The chaos and confusion is deliberate; the aim is nothing less than the controlled disintegration of the world economy, writes Elliot Crossan. The eyes of the world are on Donald Trump once again. The world’s most successful attention-seeker has us all transfixed. It’s a story […]

The maniac president blinks, but for a moment…

Written By: - Date published: 8:50 am, April 11th, 2025 - 29 comments

Faced with an inability to fund the the US government debt, Donald Trump halted his insane rush to toward a global depression. However the political system in the US that produced this global economic insanity is still there and is still nonfunctional. Time to disengage and let the US time to heal itself.

NZD Freefalls & NZ First Linked To Green Party Attack Ads

Written By: - Date published: 10:57 am, April 8th, 2025 - 3 comments

Headlines: NZD free falls, misleading Green Party attack ads linked to NZ First, making NZDF lethal, and American billionaires regret support for Trump

All they are saying is give War a chance

Written By: - Date published: 7:25 am, April 8th, 2025 - 78 comments

At a time when the need for increased spending in health, education and the environment is so pressing the Government wants to spend a further $12 billion over the next four years on rearming.

Trump Schadenfreude

Written By: - Date published: 8:05 am, April 6th, 2025 - 68 comments

All the fools supporting hard right political leadership will now be reminded of what they signed up for.

Fabians: On Rwanda invading DRC

Written By: - Date published: 3:51 pm, April 4th, 2025 - 1 comment

I turn up to Fabian meetings, when I remember . They are often useful for understanding how other people view topics that I am either familar with or sometimes have little information on. Like the Zoom tonight on the ongoing conflict in the Congo from invading Rwandan troops and their local proxy insurgents.

US imposes 10% tariff on NZ imports

Written By: - Date published: 1:43 pm, April 3rd, 2025 - 52 comments

While 10% is at the lower end of this unjustified tax, it is very serious for our whole NZ economy.

Vilification of Russia not good for peace in Europe.

Written By: - Date published: 1:18 pm, April 1st, 2025 - 30 comments

Putinversteher – one who “understands” Putin. It is meant as a slur but Professor Geoffrey Roberts, a British historian of Russia, embraces the term.

But her emails

Written By: - Date published: 8:04 am, March 28th, 2025 - 17 comments

Recent events in the US involving the use of Signal to discuss top secret military news and accidentally including a reporter in the chat suggests that the US of A is currently resembling a dark satirical cross between Monty Python and The Thick of It.

Posturing is not policy. How the West doomed Ukraine.

Written By: - Date published: 1:04 pm, March 24th, 2025 - 209 comments

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 Unbearable Weight of Being a Useful Idiot

Written By: - Date published: 9:57 am, March 23rd, 2025 - 96 comments

Res Publica takes aim at modern day ‘tankies’. Pro-authoritarian leftist, who can apologise for any authoritarian regime provided that it is intellectually cloaked in the ‘correct’ rhetoric and a veneer of geo-politics. In their view, modern day tankies are only good at reducing the left’s credibility to rubble in real-time.

The World Turned Upside Down (again)

Written By: - Date published: 4:52 pm, March 19th, 2025 - 73 comments

The world is in turmoil as political and economic uncertainty grow, and as conflict spreads. How the Left prepares for the next decade is a pressing challenge.

Is NZ as Stable as Luxon Claims?

Written By: - Date published: 8:14 pm, March 15th, 2025 - 13 comments

By pursuing cuts, selling off assets to multinationals, enabling ACT’s attacks on the Treaty and cutting back on climate commitments, Luxon is guaranteeing that NZ will not be stable for long, writes Elliot Crossan.

Does the Government not like Māori and Pasifika?

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, March 15th, 2025 - 17 comments

Health officials advised the Government “significantly” more lives could be saved if it lowered the bowel cancer screening age for Māori and Pasifika further than the rest of the population. But it refused to accept this advice. Why?

Where Is the Resistance to Privatisation and Austerity?

Written By: - Date published: 5:19 pm, March 11th, 2025 - 13 comments

As the Coalition moves to partially privatise our healthcare system, and Seymour fatally undermines the free school lunch programme, it is time for us to take to the streets and fight back, writes Elliot Crossan.

Which American said this about Trump in 2016?

Written By: - Date published: 9:33 am, March 11th, 2025 - 29 comments

“well, I don’t know about a dictator, I said a third world strong man. He’s running for President, so no matter what he won’t be a dictator unless our republic completely crumbles, which I don’t anticipate it will.”

The Villain Board

Written By: - Date published: 1:37 pm, March 9th, 2025 - 3 comments

“we could move the villains into different zones hour by hour”

Great America

Written By: - Date published: 12:23 pm, March 9th, 2025 - 17 comments

The United States of America is in full territorial expansion mode and there is little that anyone can do about it. 

Another blow against decency and truth: the flourishing of evil.

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, March 8th, 2025 - 83 comments

I am an ordinary citizen of Aotearoa. I am deeply angered at and ashamed of the actions of Winston Peters in dismissing Phil Goff as our High Commissioner in London. It is a deplorable decision.

Blink twice if you are being held hostage

Written By: - Date published: 10:48 am, March 5th, 2025 - 27 comments

Vladimir Zelensky has apologised to Donald Trump for being the receipient of Trump’s appalling behaviour recently. And Trump has sparked a full on trade war with some of America’s closest allies.

Helen Clark’s nuanced take on world events

Written By: - Date published: 10:40 am, March 3rd, 2025 - 57 comments

In a recent interview Helen Clark managed to neatly summarise current world problems and express a desire for New Zealand to maintain its independent foreign policy.

The new world order

Written By: - Date published: 10:32 am, March 2nd, 2025 - 130 comments

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.

Its the end of the Media as we know it …

Written By: - Date published: 10:42 am, February 28th, 2025 - 42 comments

Two recent media related stories made me wonder if there was now formal acknowledgement that the concept that media should fearlessly and impartially report the news is now dead.

USA – unreliable, undemocratic, and its citizens are not free compared to me

Written By: - Date published: 1:47 pm, February 26th, 2025 - 15 comments

Read an amusing quora reply that rather crystallised my thinking on the US compared to here. It started as a click-bait clearly written by the usual American fool blinded by propaganda glare from their border mirrors. A Canadian responded with with and accuracy. But on a more serious note, if US intentions have skewed towards supporting annexations, we need to improve our military capabilities.

Good as gold

Written By: - Date published: 3:44 pm, February 22nd, 2025 - 19 comments

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? 

Written By: - Date published: 10:54 am, February 20th, 2025 - 68 comments

Trump’s opening bid for peace towards Ukraine was that the United States would gain access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.

Everyone must go

Written By: - Date published: 11:47 am, February 17th, 2025 - 28 comments

Chris from Marketing’s latest gimic to lead us to economic nirvana is to use money that is meant to be used for environmental enhancement to run a campaign in Australia with a slogan that is awkward and negative.

“As long as it takes”

Written By: - Date published: 3:36 pm, February 13th, 2025 - 159 comments

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

Moving beyond wtaf?

Written By: - Date published: 9:57 am, February 5th, 2025 - 49 comments

The Musk takeover