Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 8:45 pm, June 5th, 2023 - 33 comments
Gerald Hensley was David Lange’s chief of staff when New Zealand’s nuclear free policy was adopted. He opposed what happened then and opposes it still. He now argues we should prepare for war with China.
Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 4:12 pm, March 20th, 2023 - 38 comments
On 20 March 2003 the US invaded Iraq, on the basis that it had and could use weapons of mass destruction. That was a lie. Australia joined President Bush ‘coalition of the willing’, New Zealand did not. The drums of war beat strong then, they are doing so again now. This time China is the target.
Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 4:57 pm, March 13th, 2023 - 14 comments
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.
Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 6:28 pm, February 26th, 2023 - 76 comments
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.
Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 5:39 pm, November 21st, 2022 - 4 comments
Trudeau got a 10-minute stand-up with Xi followed by a public shirt-fronting, Albanese a 32-minute sit-down, and Jacinda Ardern a 50-minute formal bilateral. In the carefully calibrated world of the diplomatic dance-card, that says something. New Zealand would be foolish not to take advantage of what is on offer from China.
Written By: advantage - Date published: 8:00 am, September 11th, 2022 - 177 comments
If we fail to support Ukraine’s struggle we all lose far more than self rule for 44 million people.
Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 7:40 pm, September 4th, 2022 - 99 comments
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.”
Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 2:04 pm, July 17th, 2022 - 16 comments
The Solomons Islands security agreement with China led to paroxysms of ‘serious concern’ about militarisation of the Pacific. 3 days before the Pacific Island Forum convened, 4 US B-2 nuclear-capable stealth bombers deployed on rotation into Australia. I know what worries me most.
Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 3:23 pm, June 21st, 2022 - 62 comments
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?
Written By: advantage - Date published: 11:39 am, May 9th, 2022 - 57 comments
The commercial parts of Russia’s state will do very well with plenty of customers remaining for its oil and gas. It’s $3-$4 a litre 91 everyone. Everything else in Russia is ruined.
Written By: notices and features - Date published: 7:01 am, April 25th, 2022 - 13 comments
A more sombre and quieter Anzac Day today with planned ceremonies being pared back in this post Covid world.
Written By: advantage - Date published: 7:00 am, March 29th, 2022 - 60 comments
New Zealand does not have to settle for being small, quiet, and weak.
Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 7:21 pm, March 25th, 2022 - 65 comments
Morning Report today interviewed ex MI6 chemical weapons false flag specialist Hamish de Bretton-Gordon saying because Russia has lost in Ukraine it will likely resort using to chemical weapons. FiveEyes hawks want NATO to intervene, so we get World War 3, Hurrah!
Written By: advantage - Date published: 7:50 am, March 24th, 2022 - 172 comments
Pressure for a Ukraine war settlement starting with a ceasefire will continue to mount. If this does drag out, there’s more chance of the conflict widening. Belarus could attack. NATO-allied supply convoys could be attacked. I’m trying not to go further. As with all major wars since Vietnam, the media frenzy puts the highest cost […]
Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 4:32 pm, March 20th, 2022 - 194 comments
New Zealand’s sanctions on Russia have not stopped the war in Ukraine. They may have made our parliamentarians feel better, and Tony Blinken was quick to congratulate us on falling into line with the US “high-impact sanctions.” The language is combative, but the evidence shows sanctions do not work. They can have significant blow-back effects, particularly if not combined with effective diplomacy.
Written By: advantage - Date published: 10:30 am, February 25th, 2022 - 47 comments
Russia hasn’t lost an intervention in quite some time.
Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 2:54 pm, January 16th, 2022 - 17 comments
Russian peacekeepers are already leaving Kazakhstan having nipped the ‘colour revolution’ in the bud. Blinken clearly didn’t have a clue when he said Russians never leave the house. Russian intelligence was superb. Now we wait for Russia’s response to US likely refusal to pull back from its borders. One thing I’d bet on – no invasion of Ukraine.
Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 10:40 pm, January 8th, 2022 - 22 comments
When I heard US Secretary of State Blinken’s take-away line from his D.C. press conference on RNZ’s news bulletin today on events in Kazakhstan ‘I think one lesson in recent history is that once Russians are in your house, it’s sometimes very difficult to get them to leave’ I wondered what the Iraqis would think.
Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:43 am, November 10th, 2021 - 58 comments
As a principle the right to protest is important. But the freedumb protesters making outlandish claims and at the same time plagarizing the language of progressive protest movements deserves to be called out.
Written By: advantage - Date published: 12:51 pm, September 29th, 2021 - 25 comments
I never thought I would see the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of the United States military essentially being a witness against the previous President of the United States. Yet here we are.
Written By: advantage - Date published: 10:39 am, August 31st, 2021 - 76 comments
With the last flights coming out of Kabul, it’s time to review whether this US attitude to the world is a good idea.
Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 11:44 am, August 10th, 2021 - 23 comments
There’s so many of them here – Guyon Espiner, Anna Fifield, Lucy Craymer, Sam Sachdeva, Laura Walters, John Daniell, Emile Donovan, Paula Penfold, reef fish with the same few sources. Australian Paul Strutynski provides the textbook in his “Guide for budding foreign policy journalists wanting to work for the Nine Network or Newscorp.”
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