Russia

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FiveEyes on our elections

Written By: - Date published: 3:56 am, June 12th, 2019 - 94 comments

Andrew Little’s letter to the Select Committee on election interference puzzled me – it seemed to be out of the blue and not particularly relevant to our system. Then I read about a meeting on the Gold Coast last year and it became clear as to why – FiveEyes pressure.

 

Government under FiveEyes

Written By: - Date published: 9:48 pm, June 7th, 2019 - 11 comments

Australian Federal Police chief Neil Gaughan told media after raiding the ABC that “if police did not investigate the leaking of classified information, Australia would no longer be entrusted by FiveEyes partners with intelligence that saves lives.” FiveEyes didn’t save Muslim lives in Christchurch.

 

The Brady Papers

Written By: - Date published: 3:03 pm, May 10th, 2019 - 54 comments

Anne-Marie Brady submitted to yesterday’s Select Committee Inquiry into foreign interference in our elections, making copious reference to her “Magic Weapons” paper of 2017. She didn’t mention another paper which casts a much different light on her independence and purpose

Trump: Nyet Collusion!

Written By: - Date published: 10:15 am, March 25th, 2019 - 138 comments

The Mueller report apparently clears Donald Trump of collusion. However, charges of obstruction of justice against his team remain possible.

Trump restarts Nuclear Arms race

Written By: - Date published: 7:55 am, February 8th, 2019 - 58 comments

Donald Trump has announced that the US will be withdrawing from the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and Russia has also given notice. Stand by as the nuclear arms race restarts.

Trump’s brilliant strategy to dismantle US dollar hegemony

Written By: - Date published: 5:05 pm, February 3rd, 2019 - 56 comments

Polymath economist Professor Michael Hudson’s latest article is a geopolitical panoramic masterpiece, sparked by outrage at a series of concurrent events on January 31 which he predicts means that 2019 will be the “year of global fracture.” Definitely worth a read.      

The SPOTY’s 2018

Written By: - Date published: 1:10 pm, December 15th, 2018 - 39 comments

Here’s your chance to vote in the Standard’s Politician of The Year awards. The SPOTY’s are recognised worldwide as the leading indicator of political success in NZ and have been awarded annually for over two hundred years.

Now it’s your turn to prick the Thorndon Bubble, dear reader. Who’s your Politician of the Year?

Media Thriving on its Own Shit.

Written By: - Date published: 1:25 pm, October 29th, 2018 - 24 comments

When purveyors of propaganda come to believe their own spin and start entertaining really quite idiotic conspiracy theories and abandoning any pretense of being in possession of rational thought, then we’ve got a problem.

Second Kremlin Killer Unmasked, Putin Untroubled

Written By: - Date published: 12:57 pm, October 9th, 2018 - 185 comments

We know the real names of the Russian spies who bungled the Salisbury novichok poisoning. Will it make a difference to the Kremlin’s plans?

Quite a day or two then!

Written By: - Date published: 6:17 pm, September 18th, 2018 - 83 comments

A quick smorgasbord of reported news from Syria, to China and Sweden, to antisemitism and (hidden behind the links) an interview with (hopefully) the first woman who will serve as President of the USA.

Updated

Paranoia, Bullshit and Ordinary Lives.

Written By: - Date published: 11:40 am, September 14th, 2018 - 125 comments

It seems that for some, trashing out the lives of ordinary people is fine, because “Russia bad”. It’s not fine…

Is Politik a propaganda mouthpiece for the UK Embassy?

Written By: - Date published: 8:46 pm, September 8th, 2018 - 29 comments

In Politik’s 7 September issue we are told that Western diplomats in Wellington are surprised that Winston Peters has not accused Russia of the Skripal poisoning or joined some other countries in taking reprisals. Editor Richard Harman quotes a source to tell us that the British in particular were “pissed” at Peters’ response. Well dearie me. I’m with Winston, a wise old owl.

Kremlin Killers?

Written By: - Date published: 7:25 am, September 6th, 2018 - 272 comments

UK Police have named the two Russian spies accused of the Novichok poisonings. But what can Britain do about it?

United Sanctions of America

Written By: - Date published: 9:46 am, August 10th, 2018 - 99 comments

The US State department has announced sanctions on Russia for the use of Novichok nerve agent. The ruble has plunged, the Russians are furious and Donald Trump is saying … nothing.

Wanna know why?

The Pied Piper

Written By: - Date published: 11:55 am, August 6th, 2018 - 32 comments

If we’re living in a global village, is the name of the village Hamelin?

Glenn Greenwald on…

Written By: - Date published: 11:53 am, July 19th, 2018 - 113 comments

Excerpts from Glenn Greenwald speaking on Democracy Now! (h/t Adrian Thornton)

Oh, Yulia!

Written By: - Date published: 3:05 pm, July 18th, 2018 - 60 comments

Whodunnit?

Trumputin

Written By: - Date published: 8:10 am, July 17th, 2018 - 206 comments

Donald Trump has directly contradicted the collective decision of the United States Security agencies by denying that there was Russian involvement in the last US general election.

Trump meets Putin

Written By: - Date published: 9:03 am, July 16th, 2018 - 116 comments

Some things that President Trump won’t do as when meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.

Petrol is going up, and up

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, June 30th, 2018 - 57 comments

Not all the current government’s fault, but the arrival of the fuel tax this weekend heralds a number of very sharp rises in what we have to pay in order to run a car.

Full retreat

Written By: - Date published: 11:22 am, June 27th, 2018 - 13 comments

The United States Supreme Court decision to upheld Trump’s travel ban is but the latest example of bad news for international human rights we have had over recent times.

Yulia wants to go home.

Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, May 25th, 2018 - 59 comments

Oops. Was this desire meant to be in the script?

Trump was right … and then …

Written By: - Date published: 7:53 am, May 17th, 2018 - 17 comments

Donald Trump has had a few months of being lucky with some luck Foreign Affairs wins and good economic news. But his wreckage-trail of his consequences is becoming longer and clearer.

Sound news judgment?

Written By: - Date published: 8:37 am, May 15th, 2018 - 48 comments

The BBC thinks that depicting Jeremy Corbyn as a Russian stooge is sound news judgment.

No Iran Israeli War.

Written By: - Date published: 10:58 am, May 12th, 2018 - 11 comments

In spite of all the sharp intakes of breathe going on across media outlets, there will be no war between Iran and Israel. Here’s why.

Is Karl Marx dead?

Written By: - Date published: 11:38 am, May 8th, 2018 - 60 comments

2018 marks several anniversaries of Karl Marx whose significance for the critique of capitalist society is hard to diminish. But what now for his beliefs?

Compassion?

Written By: - Date published: 12:05 pm, April 17th, 2018 - 70 comments

May claimed she couldn’t wait until Monday before unleashing compassion on Syria on Friday night. Which brought a line from this to mind….

 

Ardern was right to hold back on Russia

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, April 7th, 2018 - 88 comments

Remember two weeks ago when Jacinda Ardern’s handling of the Russian poisoning scandal was considered to be a major misstep?  Well with the benefit of hindsight it appears to have been a very balanced nuanced response to an incident that is not as clear cut as it was presented.

Evidence-based foreign policy

Written By: - Date published: 6:07 pm, April 2nd, 2018 - 99 comments

In the second stage of a false flag attack, facts go out the window and the sole issue becomes “are you for us or against us.” Our media and National Party politicians are well into this stage in the Skripal affair. But as questions mount and skeptics proliferate from all sides, Jacinda Ardern and Winston Peters may well be wiser than media advisers by not following blindly  the western herd. 26 countries is not the whole world. Update: Porton Down unable to establish Novichok of Russian origin.

Remember President Obama?

Written By: - Date published: 10:24 am, March 20th, 2018 - 79 comments

The world has changed dramatically since Barak Obama was President of the United States.

Sanctions. Weapons of War.

Written By: - Date published: 11:50 am, March 18th, 2018 - 53 comments

When elite’s tussle, shouldn’t we look after us and ours?

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