Paris 3 – common sense from Democrats

Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, November 16th, 2015 - 161 comments
Categories: International, iraq, Syria, us politics, war - Tags: , ,

The fallout from the Paris attacks continues.

In the USA, the country that is arguably to blame for much to the world’s current instability, the political reaction from Republican candidates has been completely predictable: Republican Candidates Urge Aggressive Response After Paris Attacks. In particular Donald Trump has covered himself in muck [Update: Trump turns out to have been an odd controversy about an old tweet].

Fortunately the Democratic candidates are sounding a lot more rational. From their recent debate:

Sanders objected to Clinton’s line about who bore responsibility for Isis. “I don’t think any sensible person would disagree that the invasion of Iraq led to the massive instability that we are seeing right now,” he said.

In a possible preview of a major general election debate to come, Clinton rejected a “clash of civilizations” framework Republicans have used after the Paris attacks. “We are not at war with Islam or Muslims,” Clinton says. “We are at war with violent extremism.”

It will be a disaster for the world if we end up with one of these Republican loons as the next president of the USA. It will be a disaster for the world if France reacts to these attacks the way the USA reacted to 911.

161 comments on “Paris 3 – common sense from Democrats ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Chooky 1
    16 November 2015 at 8:37 am

    +100 …good post !

    • Grindlebottom 1.1
      16 November 2015 at 10:18 am

      Anthony, The “Republican Candidates Urge Aggressive Response After Paris Attacks” link in your post above is currently producing at the New York Times:

      “<b<Page Not Found
      We’re sorry, we seem to have lost this page,
      but we don’t want to lose you.”

      And the Trump link is producing an article saying his offensive tweet is an old one in response to the Charlie Hebdo attack. Still a stupid comment, but not a response to the latest Paris attack.

      • Manuka AOR 1.1.1
        16 November 2015 at 10:51 am

        Try this one: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/15/us/politics/republican-candidates-urge-aggressive-response-after-paris-attacks.html
        “A dark portrait of a vulnerable homeland — impotent against Islamic State militants, susceptible against undocumented refugees and isolated in a world of fraying alliances — came into sharp relief as several Republicans seized on the crisis to try to elevate terrorism into a defining issue in the 2016 election.

        “Leading Republicans like Donald J. Trump, Ben Carson and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas called on the Obama administration to halt plans to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees next year. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, warning that the Islamic State would leverage the Paris attacks to add recruits and raise money, said the United States needed to move immediately to assemble a stronger coalition to fight the militants. And former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida urged Americans to recognize that “an organized effort to destroy Western civilization” is underway.”

      • r0b 1.1.2
        16 November 2015 at 2:36 pm

        Thanks, updates made.

  2. vto 2
    16 November 2015 at 8:43 am

    as suggested some whiles ago this is all shaping up for a nuke in couple parts middle east …

  3. Bill 3
    16 November 2015 at 8:49 am

    Unfortunately, disaster’s coming down.

    I believe Cameron already has the RAF executing bombing runs in Syria without any parliamentary endorsement and is looking to expand operations without a vote.

    France is already bombing in Syria. The US is already bombing in Syria. Did Canada pull out?

    Meanwhile, one tenuous link to a person involved in the Paris terrorism being perhaps Syrian (a passport stamped a month ago that may or may not belong to the person it was found beside). One French national confirmed and one Belgium national having an arrest warrant issued against them.

    Other threads. Remember those chemical attacks that the US laid at Assad’s door but that had the finger prints of Turkey and Al Nusra (al qaeda) all over them? What about that helping hand that Turkey lends Al Nusra? Or the arms conduit that the US set up to move arms from Libya to Syria?

    A very good piece on the above by Seumas Milne in ‘The Guardian’. The links in the piece really are worth exploring.

    • proud poppy wearer 3.1
      16 November 2015 at 9:06 am

      You avoided mentioning Russia’s involvement. Why is that ?

    • Sabine 3.2
      16 November 2015 at 10:15 am

      read somewhere on a french paper that the syrian passport might be a fake. There is also a warrant out now for a young French guy it seems, and for what its worth that young man has absolutly no place to hide in europe. Unless he is happe to be buried alive for the next 5 -10 years.
      I would not be surprised if he would be apprehended rather quickly.

    • Grindlebottom 3.3
      16 November 2015 at 10:28 am

      France is already bombing in Syria. The US is already bombing in Syria. Did Canada pull out?

      Can’t find anything saying Canada’s actually pulled out of bombing IS yet, but Trudeau sounded pretty determined that it would, and soon. Be interesting to see what timeline he gives now. This may have an impact on that decision.
      http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/21/canada-end-airstrikes-syria-iraq-new-prime-minister-trudeau

    • Robert Atack 3.4
      16 November 2015 at 7:00 pm

      What has happened to the Russian no fly zone thing? And their ability to blow anyone out of the air from that ship just off the coast of Syria? Maybe it is just over Assad’s part ?

  4. proud poppy wearer 4
    16 November 2015 at 8:57 am

    Wasn’t the USAs first reaction to the New York attacks to try and pin it on Iraq with intelligence reports and when there were none forthcoming and information pointed to OBL demand that the Afghan rulers hand him and the others responsible.

    Also it is worth noting that in one of GW Bushes best political efforts while in power he went out of his way to make the point that this wasn’t a war with Islam despite many of those in the power in the middle east trying their best to make it all about islam vs the west to stir up the masses into jihad.

    • Bill 4.1
      16 November 2015 at 9:42 am

      The Taliban made repeated efforts to hand Osama Bin Laden over to the US prior to September 2001.

      The US repeatedly refused to cooperate in any hand-over as that would have meant recognising the legitimacy of the Taliban government. They (the Taliban) offered to hand him on through Saudi Arabia (the Saudi’s recognised their governance as legitimate) but the Saudi’s – under pressure? – refused to be conduits.

      The Taliban even went so far as arresting him and asking the US to provide incriminating evidence to use in his prosecution on terrorism charges they were happy enough to piggy back on his original charge (something to do with making public statements against previous agreements not to) . Know what the US provided them with? A pre-taped and already broadcast 60 Minutes interview he’d given! And so the Taliban had to let him go again.

  5. Chooky 5
    16 November 2015 at 8:58 am

    At least they are debating it in the USA and Clinton on the mat:

    From Clem on the Daily Blog

    “7 Takeaways From Democratic Debate: Terrorism, Wall Street Ties and ‘Carnival Barker’ Trump

    Clinton put on the defensive on Middle East policy:

    Sanders struck an early blow against Clinton by alluding to her vote to authorize the war in Iraq, which he dubbed the worst foreign policy blunder of his lifetime.

    “I would argue that the disastrous invasion of Iraq, something I strongly opposed, has unraveled the region completely and led to the rise of al-Qaeda and ISIS,” he said. “I don’t think any sensible person would disagree that the invasion of Iraq led to the massive level of instability we’re seeing right now.”

    O’Malley expanded his criticism of Clinton to U.S. intervention in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and foreign locales that took place during her tenure as Secretary of State.

    “We are not good at anticipating threats and building up stable democracies,” he said.

    Sidestepping her vote to authorize the Iraq War, Clinton sought to defend the Obama administration over its involvement in Libya as well as charges that it underestimated the ISIS threat.

    “Yes, this has developed. I think there are many other reasons why it has,” she said. But I don’t think the United States has the bulk of the responsibility.”

    http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/11/15/the-daily-blog-open-mic-sunday-15th-november-2015/#sthash.ZIwmgBac.dpuf

  6. Puckish Rogue 6
    16 November 2015 at 9:29 am

    For starters:

    Shut all european borders to refugees forthwith so that extremely rigourous vetting processes for refugees can be created

    Deport all islamic clerics and other political/religious etc type leaders that espouse hate speech and attacking the west

    Deport all known terrorists

    Deport all refugees that are known to be radicalised or commit crimes

    Then:

    Rather then continue this phony war commit full troops on the ground especially in support of the Kurds and completely smash ISIS (of course by completely smash obviously you can’t completely smash them but rather weaken so that they’re a much smaller and more manageble group) into the ground

    Once ISIS is severly weakened support the regional groups (unplatable as it may be) in the area to contain ISIS

    While doing this:

    Oil rich islamic countries in the area need to be convinced (economic, diplomatic or invasion) to take in and spend money on refugees of the same faith, they’ve been dragging their heels on this

    • Bill 6.1
      16 November 2015 at 9:46 am

      Deport all known terrorists

      So, where should a French terrorist be deported to? Or a Belgium terrorist? Or a….you get the picture.

      • Puckish Rogue 6.1.1
        16 November 2015 at 9:50 am

        Sorry you’re right

        Revoke the citizenship first and then deport them to their country of origin and if they’re french-born then reopen up Devils Island

    • Pascals bookie 6.2
      16 November 2015 at 9:48 am

      Good on you for putting out a plan.

      to be clear tho, to commit to this plan may mean going to war with Turkey (in support of the Kurdish front), and the plan will engender serious blowback from the gulf states due the support of Shia groups implicit in your plan.

      How many troops etc would you support for this? Whatever it takes? That could be up to 150K according to some experts, with a financial ocost running into the high 100s of Billions to do it properly. And that’s assuming it doesn;t become a war with shia opponents more generally.

      These potential costs need to spelled out before going, because committing without explaining the cost means support for the war will collapse after we start. POliticians will then not do what it takes, but stay in there doing ‘just enough to lose’.

      So, would you support tax increases to p[ay for this, and potentially a draft in NZ to maintain deployments? Or would you rather have it done without appreciable cost?

      • Puckish Rogue 6.2.1
        16 November 2015 at 9:55 am

        I’m sure something could be worked out to give the Kurds an autonomous state for themselves (the Kurds deserve it) plus Turkey has its own issues with ISIS so probably a case of the whats the greater evil working out

        Russia should be called in (especially in light of the attack on their people on the plane flight) to help defray costs

        Increase in taxes to pay for this: Yes
        Draft NZ in: Yes

        Without appreciable costs would be the way to go but unlikely

        • Pascals bookie 6.2.1.1
          16 November 2015 at 10:16 am

          “I’m sure something could be worked out to give the Kurds an autonomous state for themselves (the Kurds deserve it) plus Turkey has its own issues with ISIS so probably a case of the whats the greater evil working out”

          This is a big hope. Why are you sure that Turkey would accept the idea of an independent Kurdish state along its border with the Kurdish homelands in Turkey? They have been fighting to prevent exactly that, off and on, for decades. It’s clear that this is something Turkey takes very seriously.

          Yes, ISIS is a problem for Turkey, but when you look at the operations against ISIS and against the Kurds, it becomes clear which one Turkey sees as they bigger threat to her interests. (last I checked it was about 20 to 1 in terms of airstrikes).

          The point is that we cannot dictate what our allies interests are, and when we take a side, we have to accept that side’s interests. So if we take ‘the Kurds side’ that implies taking their side, potentially, against Turkey. We can’t ignore these realities or wish them away. That makes us unreliable as allies, it is a betrayal that leads to blowback.

          If we take the Kurds side, we need to commit to defending them. Because if we do not, they will be crushed when we get bored of it, or when we deem ISIS sufficently degraded.

          • Puckish Rogue 6.2.1.1.1
            16 November 2015 at 10:18 am

            You are right and, unfortuntely, we would need to be prepared to defend the Kurds but, in this instance, I’m confident a diplomatic solution could be found

            The UN might actually be of use for a change

            • crashcart 6.2.1.1.1.1
              16 November 2015 at 2:02 pm

              Just like the Iraq war I am sure it will all be over in a few weeks.

              Forgetting the sarcasm can you point to when military involvement has had a positive outcome in the middle east?

              ISIS want American soldiers to shoot at and bomb. Nothing would make them happier than having a large number of invading troops on the ground. Now in the end woudl ISIS win. No more than Saddam or the Taliban. However the problem as you rightly point out is that you can’t destroy them completely without straying into the relms of ethnic cleansing.

              I don’t know what the answer is in the middle east but I can’t see it being the same damn thing the west have been doing cause that sure as hell aint working.

        • Paul 6.2.1.2
          16 November 2015 at 5:59 pm

          Armchair warriors like yourself should join up.
          Or shut up.

    • maui 6.3
      16 November 2015 at 10:01 am

      The US tried smashing everyone in Afghanistan and Iraq after 2001. 14 years later look at the scenario we’re in, the ME is in dire straits, their refugees are ripping Europe apart, and terrorism in the west is worse. Your solution is a massive problem.

      I’m not sure how you would manage with thousands of refugees dying on fencelines either. Just look the other way and hope they turn back..

      • Puckish Rogue 6.3.1
        16 November 2015 at 10:08 am

        The USA are really good at smashing but they have no end game, what they really need is a hearts and minds game plan but for whatever reason they just don’t/can’t

        • RedLogix 6.3.1.1
          16 November 2015 at 10:19 am

          Because troops who are occupying a country, and who know in their heart of hearts they have no moral or military business being there will always get beaten.

          (There is an exception to this rule, but you have to live with the consequences.)

          • Puckish Rogue 6.3.1.1.1
            16 November 2015 at 10:27 am

            That is also true, as Vietnam demostrated but ISIS is a different kettle of fish to the americans I wouls suggest

            • Pascals bookie 6.3.1.1.1.1
              16 November 2015 at 11:00 am

              Reckon to win hearts and minds, you have to scale down force protection to the point that local civilians are a higher priority than troops. ie, same as it would be if patrolling your own nation.

              • Puckish Rogue …
                16 November 2015 at 11:05 am

                The yanks learnt a lot from the brits but unfortunately they seemed to miss that bit out

                • Pascals bookie …
                  16 November 2015 at 11:11 am

                  Indeed.
                  And I’m not blaming the troops at unit level, it’s the political level.

                  There’s too much talk about ‘doing what it takes’ meaning being prepared to kill heaps of people, and no where near enough talk about being prepared to pay the price to make it worthwhile.

                  The fact is, we aren;t prepared to pay that price. Thes eattacks are awful, but they are not a threat to our society big enough that we are prepared to pay a large price, they are only a threat big enough that we are prepared to go out and kill some people.

                  The terrorists know this.

                  • Puckish Rogue …
                    16 November 2015 at 11:31 am

                    Sadly i think you’re correct, the terrorists know the west is weak and won’t do what needs to be done so the terrorists can continue doing attacks like this with impunity

                    • Pascals bookie …
                      16 November 2015 at 12:13 pm

                      hmm. I don’t think that’s quite right. I’d say more that they know we don’t actually give a shit about the things our govts do in the ME.

                      Our populations don’t give a shit about the Saudi, or Jordan, or Egypt and Gulf states we support. Don’t really care if they get different regimes. Its not that we are weak, when faced with something they give a shit about, democracies tend to mobilise harder and further than any other system.

                      So we aren’t pre[ared to pay the price needed t defend a bunch of shit head regimes we don’t really care about. These attacks goad us into having to pay that price or gtfo.

                    • Grindlebottom …
                      16 November 2015 at 12:30 pm

                      ISIS is claiming its authority for the Caliphate from holding territory. It isn’t going to be satisfied with just throwing “the crusaders” out of muslim lands. It seems logical to try and destroy them completely in their “state” in case they get completely out of control and grow much bigger, which is on the cards. But I think that’s ultimately going to take lots of boots on the ground to ring fence them and root them out of the houses wherever they are. Air attacks only stop them from from moving around. Only problem is it’ll be a bloodbath so understandably no-one’s really keen on providing lots of boots on the ground themselves.

                      I suppose the other option is to redouble efforts to try and specifically kill Abu Bakr Al Bagdahdi and see if ISIS collapses with him gone. I expect not though. I imagine they’ll just select another Caliph.

                    • Pascals bookie …
                      16 November 2015 at 2:22 pm

                      Yeah nah.

                      ISIS claims all sorts of shit, and it does matter, and yes, that famous Atlantic piece is important, and fascinating. But it’s not even close to the whole story.

                      What matters is why that apocalyptic vision resonates, because in and of itself it’s a fucking horror show. So why are people fighting for a horror show, or rather, not fighting against it.

                      Put in the position of being a 10 year old Sunni kid in Mosul/Fallujah/Baghdad in 2003.

                      Country gets invaded, all hell breaks loose. You lose your childhood, very likely some family members, your family’s property. You likely become an internal refugee. You are now 22, the regime in Baghdad oppresses you, you cannot return to your home; it is now owned by a Shia family. You have no work. All you have known is war.

                      Who are you going to side with? The people saying ‘hey let’s keep trying with the cooperate with the proven bad faith Shia in Baghdad’, or the guys saying ‘Fuck these Shia pricks, lets get the caliphate on like we did back when. Do not be afraid of them, make them fear you. Be fear inspiring.’

                      Sending in massive ground troops will do what to that dynamic? How do you know who is ‘hardcore ISIS’, and who is ‘ISIS coz there’s nothing better right now’?

                      Fundamentally, I think we will eventually negotiate. probably not with ISIS in name, but with the Sunni of the areas ISIS now control. We will need to agree on new borders, and then enforce them.

                      Until the local kleptocrats running the shit shows that are excuses for our allies in the region see this as necessary, things will go on as they are going now.

                      Destroying ISIS without fixing the political situation that makes ISIS the least bad option for many in the area, will only create ISIS 2.0

                      EDIT: check out this report of interviews with captured ISIS fighters, http://www.thenation.com/article/what-i-discovered-from-interviewing-isis-prisoners/ esp the comments at the bottom from the US military brass guy.

                    • tracey …
                      16 November 2015 at 2:38 pm

                      What needs to be done and how. Be specific and explain why it will succeed. Please include an analysis of the demise of the Taleban and Qaeda in your answer.

                    • Grindlebottom …
                      16 November 2015 at 2:38 pm

                      Yeah, I just finished reading that PB, then I also read this one which was linked at the bottom:
                      http://www.thenation.com/article/we-cannot-defeat-isis-without-defeating-the-wahhabi-theology-that-birthed-it/

                      Tracey the Taliban’s been happy to stay within its home territory and hasn’t tried to export its brand of fundamentalism. The invasion of Afghanistan was a major blunder that should never have happened. They weren’t an international threat. They were even offering to hand Bin Laden over to Saudi for trial. Their resurgence isn’t an international threat either. Though ISIS has now established itself there as well and is a threat to them.

                    • Pascals bookie …
                      16 November 2015 at 2:54 pm

                      I def agree that we should quit turning a blind eye to the horror shows of statecraft that are the gulf states. It’s not just Saudi, but yep.

                      We can’t (meaning ‘the west’) do much about Wahhabi Islam though. It’s like if some Islamic leaders got up and said ”All y’all need to quit with the Evangelical southern baptist perversions of Christianity and get down with that St Francis of Assissi’ It just won’t work.

                    • tracey …
                      16 November 2015 at 3:13 pm

                      Gringlebottom

                      The taleban is still killing innocent people so “we” didnt defeat them. But you dont feel threatened by them anymore so arent focussed on their killings?

                      So your treatise is “we” keep killing those we think might come for us and even though the 2005 london bombings didnt spread… you think paris a decade later will? Iam genuinely trying to understand your position and that of others.

                      I cant see any evidence that if we keep doing what we have already been doing we wont get a different outcome.

                    • Grindlebottom …
                      16 November 2015 at 5:04 pm

                      @Tracey

                      I know “we” didn’t defeat the Taliban. I never thought we would. Looking at the topography of the country and its history, I always thought they’d just melt away & come back when the US coalition departed. I know they keep killing innocent people, but I bet nowhere near as many as the invasion and occupation did (and possibly the Kabul regime still do). I think they should’ve been left alone to sort themselves out, and still should be. I’m not focussed on the Taliban’s killings? No I’m not. We did no good for Afghanis or ourselves going there.

                      I also think “we” should never have gone into Iraq. Most of the world could see the arguments for the invasion were fake and the principal beneficiaries looked like being the odious US security, construction and other corporations who were slavering to get in there for all the lucrative opportunities Cheney and Rumsfeld were holding out to them.

                      That invasion was yet another ill-considered criminal aggression. Apart from the thousands killed by coalition forces during the invasion and occupation, it seemed obvious conflicts would arise between Sunni & Shia & Kurds, even a breakup into separate mini-states, once Saddam was removed. I expected Al Qaeda mujahideen to pour into the place to kill Americans, but they did actually get knocked back somewhat by the US surge.

                      Now ISIS has arisen out of this disaster and the end of the surge. ISIS is a whole different problem altogether from the Taliban and even Al Qaeda. Yes, I think a full on, proper attempt should be made to wipe them out because even if the West just got right out of the ME & North Africa they’d still pose a potential ongoing terrorist threat to every Western country with a sizeable muslim population. How that’s done, and who should do it, I guess I don’t really know. That’ll have to be sorted out with all the other players including local opposition parties, Russia, Iran, Hezbollah,probably Assad’s regime, etc. Doing nothing and expecting their fellow muslim countrymen to somehow remove and/or control them on their own doesn’t look a realistic option. Millions of their countrymen are fleeing them as well as Assad.

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      16 November 2015 at 7:23 pm

                      The Taliban are Pashtuns.

                      The Pashtun society, old and tribal as it is, will likely out last this iteration of western civilisation.

                      Remind me when the last time a major colonial power successfully controlled Afghanistan.

                    • Grindlebottom …
                      16 November 2015 at 7:32 pm

                      Well exactly CV. Conquering Afghanistan from outside always has been and still looks to be impossible. I have no idea why the US thought anything would be different for them after modern Soviet munitions and armour and aircraft had made no absolutely no difference. I don’t think even the Taliban had full control at the height of their power.

    • Sabine 6.4
      16 November 2015 at 10:17 am

      Hulk to the red courtesy phone please……Hulk smash Isis……smash smash smash

  7. Heather Grimwood 7
    16 November 2015 at 9:31 am

    Sound much-needed comment Anthony, a welcome antidote to what I’ve already heard this morning from non-critical thinkers.
    It is urgent that people AND OUR MEDIA …all of us world citizens after all….understand the reason/s for this and other atrocities against the West and speak out without fear of repercussions, physical or blackmail in its varied manifestations.

  8. Murray 8
    16 November 2015 at 9:46 am

    Mindless rednecks are still with us. You can’t stop violence with violence. Violence begets violence. Is it necessary to comment further?

    • Puckish Rogue 8.1
      16 November 2015 at 10:00 am

      Yes you can stop violence with violence but that violence needs a plan to go with it

      • Chooky 8.1.1
        16 November 2015 at 10:09 am

        Have you got a little list of society offenders ?…I am afraid you may have to look to top Western politicians ( corporate backed) who have destabilised the Middle East and bombed Middle Eastern countries creating a civil society disaster and a humanitarian crisis …thereby a wasteland for ISIS terrorists to thrive

        • Puckish Rogue 8.1.1.1
          16 November 2015 at 10:14 am

          Well when a policeman stops an offender using physical force (or a wepon) then thats one way or wehn the UN went into Timor hysical violence was used then as well

          but as a say violence needs a plan to go with it

          • Chooky 8.1.1.1.1
            16 November 2015 at 10:17 am

            eg. The whole of Libya is in danger of being overrun by ISIS”

            ‘ISIS Sets Sights on the Mediterranean’

            by Peter Martino

            http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/5301/islamic-state-libya

            …”As a failed state, Libya has become easy prey for ISIS, which so far only controlled territory in Syria and Iraq. Libyan military sources say that the terrorist organization also has a huge training camp of up to 4,000 jihadists near Sabratha, just 45 kilometers from the border with Tunisia, and less than 70 kilometers west of Tripoli, the Libyan capital. The fact that ISIS has managed to secure coastal territory in Sabratha in the west, in Sirte along Libya’s central coast, and in Derna in the east, indicates that the whole of Libya is in danger of being overrun by ISIS.

            ( now why did NATO bomb Libya again?….and why was Sarkozy so keen to support this bombing?…and get rid of Gaddafi?)

            …a once economically thriving Libya with a very good standard of living for all Libyans is now a disaster area…with floods of terrorised refugees leaving the country..creating the space for a ISIS stronghold

            http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/1983/france-libya-attack

            http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/nigel-farage/11548171/Nigel-Farage-David-Cameron-directly-caused-Libyan-migrant-crisis.html

            https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/02/libya-intervention-nato-imperialism/

            • Puckish Rogue 8.1.1.1.1.1
              16 November 2015 at 10:32 am

              So what? The problem is happening and its happening now, terrorist attacks are happening in Australia and I believe its a matter when not if happens here

              • Heather Grimwood …
                16 November 2015 at 10:41 am

                Which is why I have supported peace and allied ( lower case a ) movements since a teenager.
                In particular I maintain that by not partaking in aggressive events, New Zealand can ensure it is a most improbable target.

                • Puckish Rogue …
                  16 November 2015 at 10:52 am

                  Thats nice in theory but in reality NZ has and does so I truly believe that there’ll be a religiously motivated attack in NZ sometime soon

                  Probably some home grown dropkick influenced but that won’t make any difference to the victims

                  • Heather Grimwood …
                    16 November 2015 at 11:00 am

                    Yes, I agree with you PR this time. I erased last sentence of my last comment which said that our likelihood of being a target had increased considerably due to foreign policies of this government, a fact that has concerned me considerably.

                    • Puckish Rogue …
                      16 November 2015 at 11:16 am

                      I figure that most of the comments on here seem to be from the view point that its all theoretical and that it couldn’t happen here which means it will happen here

                    • Grindlebottom …
                      16 November 2015 at 12:58 pm

                      It could happen here because of our support for Western coalitions in the ME, but the risk of home-grown terrorist attacks is probably still low. Our muslim communities are small and we don’t yet have a history of extremist preachers and lots of disadvantaged, disaffected muslim youth.

                    • One Anonymous Bloke …
                      16 November 2015 at 4:09 pm

                      we don’t yet have a history of extremist preachers and lots of disadvantaged, disaffected muslim youth.

                      If MI5 are correct in pointing the finger at wingnut racists, I suspect the real reason is that wingnut racists have focused their hate elsewhere.

          • tracey 8.1.1.1.2
            16 November 2015 at 2:41 pm

            But that doesnt stop the next one PR… therein lies the problem with your solution

      • Draco T Bastard 8.1.2
        16 November 2015 at 3:46 pm

        No, you can’t no matter the plan.

    • Morrissey 8.2
      16 November 2015 at 10:05 am

      Mindless rednecks…

      Do you mean to say “bigots”? Then say it. Please stop identifying extremism and foolishness with working people. I know lots of “rednecks”, and they are nowhere near as bigoted or extreme as politicians, businessmen and broadcasters.

    • Brutus Iscariot 8.3
      16 November 2015 at 11:21 am

      “You can’t stop violence with violence.”

      Uh well, you can actually. Your violence just has to be more overwhelming than the other party’s.

    • Grindlebottom 8.4
      16 November 2015 at 12:50 pm

      You can’t stop violence with violence.

      Murray that argument’s been made and proven incorrect continually throughout history. Unfortunately violence does stop violence, sometimes for quite long periods. Pacifism hardly ever stops violence in the face of determined aggression by any country or group bent on it.

      • tracey 8.4.1
        16 November 2015 at 3:17 pm

        Can you name the period of time in human history, say in the last 100 years when violence eradicated violence?

        • Grindlebottom 8.4.1.1
          16 November 2015 at 3:30 pm

          Well, Germany & her allies stopped fighting with a large number of countries after WW2. So did Japan. The particular violence those two countries engaged in wasn’t the sort that pacifism was a great counter to and reciprocal violence ended it. There are lots of examples of wars where reciprocal violence ended initial violence Tracey. You know that. History’s littered with them.

          • tracey 8.4.1.1.1
            16 November 2015 at 4:02 pm

            Violence just pops up in other aces. Violence doesnt eradicate violence. People were still dying awful deaths years after hiroshima and nagasaki were bombed… so violence by the japanese govt against others stoppdbut people continued dying and sufering from the bombs.

            • Daniel Cale 8.4.1.1.1.1
              16 November 2015 at 6:16 pm

              Violence popping up in other places doesn’t refute the point though. Hiroshima and Nagasaki stopped Japanese aggression towards the allies. The conclusion of WW2 changed Germany irrevocably as a nation, and it has not been an aggressor since. All ti takes for evil to prosper is for the left wing to persuade the rest of us to do nothing.

              • Tracey …
                16 November 2015 at 6:18 pm

                IT DID NOT ERADICATE VIOLENCE

                As for your quote it is rarely the left who do nothing… it is usually the right…

                And so you have a focus point…. this is the statement that was made.

                ” You can’t stop violence with violence.”

              • te reo putake …
                16 November 2015 at 6:23 pm

                Educate yourself, Daniel. It is generally the left that first identifies threats like ISIS and organises against them. A point I made in a post here earlier in the year.

                http://thestandard.org.nz/war-huh/

                • Tracey …
                  16 November 2015 at 6:28 pm

                  The irony from Dale is almost funny. In some ways I hope his ignorance is feigned

                  • Grindlebottom …
                    16 November 2015 at 7:07 pm

                    Tracey the point is you can’t stop violence with non-violence unless every other fkr is a pacifist. It’s a great ideal but we’re a long way from that being the case.

                    • Tracey …
                      16 November 2015 at 7:13 pm

                      I get your point. I simy disagree that violence is the answer to violence. Thats all.

                      I dont profess to have an answer but as I said history suggests the current strategy will fail and we need to explore alternatives which i suspect will be harder and less financially rewarding for major states than bombing and other armaments.

                    • gsays …
                      16 November 2015 at 7:59 pm

                      “you can’t stop violence with non-violence”

                      parihaka, grindle?

                    • Grindlebottom …
                      16 November 2015 at 8:17 pm

                      That didn’t work out at all well for the inhabitants of Parihaka or their leaders. They were rendered powerless, humiliated, further dispossessed of their lands, jailed repeatedly, subjugated. They showed tremendous dignity & courage, but you don’t think that’s violence, what happened to them?

                    • One Anonymous Bloke …
                      16 November 2015 at 8:44 pm

                      That’s not quite true Grindlebottom.

                      The highest art of warfare is to subdue the enemy without violence. Sun Tzu.

                      Certainly this rarely involves planting flowers in gun-barrels, and requires great military and diplomatic skill, and it’s as true now as it was 2,500 years ago

                      Whether the “West” has the military or diplomatic chops to achieve this is questionable, although I note the Pentagon hasn’t always seen eye-to-eye with the White House on the matter.

      • Pasupial 8.4.2
        16 November 2015 at 3:32 pm

        If we can stop violence with violence, then surely violence should be history. Somehow that does not seem to be the case.

        This song has been running through my mind the last few days (at first I thought it was U2’s “One” as the verse harmonic progression is quite similar):

        We can chase down all our enemies and bring them to their knees.
        We can bomb the world to pieces, but we can’t bomb it into peace.
        We may even find a solution to hunger and disease
        We can bomb the world to pieces, but we can’t bomb it into peace.

        Power to the peaceful
        Love to the peaceful

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICL-4Onk0PA

  9. One Two 9
    16 November 2015 at 10:01 am

    Politicians don’t make the decisions about going to war, they sell the directive they are given

    WAR Industrial Complex decides which locations require ‘intervention’

    Believing the Blue Team are lesser ‘Neo Cons’ than the Red Team, is foolhardy

  10. Morrissey 10
    16 November 2015 at 10:02 am

    Hillary Clinton is a liar just as notorious as her husband…..

    “We are not at war with Islam or Muslims. We are at war with violent extremism.”

    The United States, far from being “at war with” ISIS, has supported it in its terrorist campaign against the government of Syria.

    • savenz 10.1
      16 November 2015 at 11:22 am

      @Morrissey

      Yep is it lies or is it a complete lack of self awareness in the US?

      Do the US understand that they created ISIS and funded them? That ISIS never existed before the US created them. The US and other countries can not fund terrorism in different geographical locations and then turn if off at the click of a switch. Under globalism the terrorists have a habit of following the aggressors back to their home countries and with increased immigration many nationalities live within each country.

      How many innocent people have been killed in these wars? Imagine instead of wasting money on drones and weapons the US and others spent that money on their own people’s wellbeing, educating more people and innovating for the new economy. Instead they are 14 years in war with no end and escalating into Europe and other countries and have a trillion dollars in debt and have massive inequality and social problems and cajoling other countries to join them in a useless war. What is the US end game? Bombing the crap out of the middle East for another 14 years and committing genocide?

  11. Sabine 11
    16 November 2015 at 10:31 am

    Frances involvment in Africa – it seems that no one mentions that

    http://www.businessinsider.com.au/frances-military-is-all-over-africa-2015-1

    France has been at war for a while now, much like the US and the UK however they don’t fight their wars on their soil, they fight them over other countries.
    No one should be surprised when that War then arrives at their foot steps.
    The saddest thing about this is tho, that those that die, be it Beirut, Baghdad, anywhere in the Hindukush, or Yemen for that matter are the ones that don’t fight. They are only ‘collateral damage’ victims of ‘accidental bombings’ going to weddings, or victims of “incorrect information” as the Hospital of the Doctor without borders despite it being clearly marked as a hospital etc. etc .etc.

    Anyone who believes that one country, or some countries can rain murder and mayhem down onto another country because of freedom n corporate interests should also believe that what goes around comes around.

  12. Clean_power 12
    16 November 2015 at 10:46 am

    ISIS will be blown to pieces not a day too early. Its military defeat is now certain.

    • savenz 12.1
      16 November 2015 at 11:25 am

      @ Clean power – dream on.

      The US and west have been bombing for 14 years and have won nothing, – they’re increasing terrorism not decreasing it.

      • infused 12.1.1
        16 November 2015 at 12:11 pm

        They are hardly ‘bombing’ shit.

        • tracey 12.1.1.1
          16 November 2015 at 2:47 pm

          Taleban are all gne now, right?????the taleban are gone now aye infused… we solved that problem with your method. Not liking the alternatives or them being hard doesnt mean they dont exist

        • McFlock 12.1.1.2
          16 November 2015 at 3:13 pm

          They are hardly ‘bombing’ shit.

          well, they’re not exactly dropping daffodils.

        • Pat 12.1.1.3
          16 November 2015 at 8:38 pm

          so you advocate France bombs itself and Belgium?…..that sounds like a plan

          • One Anonymous Bloke 12.1.1.3.1
            16 November 2015 at 9:32 pm

            Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough,
            It isn’t fit for humans now…

            John Betjeman.

            • Pat 12.1.1.3.1.1
              16 November 2015 at 9:49 pm

              im not sure industrialisation is France’s most immediate problem….but then again ,perhaps it is

    • Sabine 12.2
      16 November 2015 at 11:37 am

      I am sure the English said the same during the American Revolution, as the US Americans said the same during the Vietnam War, and the Russian said about the Chechen Rebels, and oh lookit it seems we are still trying to ‘freedomise’ Iraq and Afghanistan.

      How is that smashing and blowing to pieces of countries coming along? Oh yeah, it is the National Parties 101 Keyboard Brigade pretending to be a macho macho man.

    • left for deadshark 12.3
      16 November 2015 at 9:20 pm

      clean_power,
      I know I’ved come in to this later in the day, but I think you hit the wrong button this morning. Wasn’t it meant to be (Robertson for leader) just say’n.

      😉

  13. galeandra 13
    16 November 2015 at 11:17 am

    The genesis of ISIS seemingly is like that of al queda before it, in some part at least an outcome of the US attempt to remote control events in the Middle East and to engage proxy forces in support of its own agendas.
    An old (June ’15) article in The Guardian used declassified US intelligence reports to help spell this out. ttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/15/terrorists-isis.
    There’s also a very useful discussion on the reasons for which some young muslims have become converts to Daesh/Isil by Scott Atran in the Guardian comment section.http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/15/terrorists-isis
    If that doesn’t convince then the article by Lydia WIson based on interviews with young prisoners-of-war in Kirkuk just might: http://www.thenation.com/article/what-i-discovered-from-interviewing-isis-prisoners.
    The interwebs are awash with useful well-considered discussions of the events behind and around the recent events in Paris, Lebanon and Egypt.
    Might I suggest that some of the more gung-ho commentators who infest these pages at least do some reading to clarify their understanding and to give peace a chance? I shudder to think what the governments of NZ and Australia might commit to given the rabidly shallow opinions of some of their supporters in the blogsphere.

    • Daniel Cale 13.1
      16 November 2015 at 6:21 pm

      ISIS, AlQueda et al owe their origins to islamic radicalism, not anything the west has or has not done. Since the time of Mohammed, Islam has sought to conquer and subjugate, beginning with the very first caliphate. To continue to blame the west is naieve in the extreme.

      • maui 13.1.1
        16 November 2015 at 9:02 pm

        So much wrong with that comment that its difficult to know where to start. This religion or extremism you speak of sounds very dangerous, almost like it would be responsible for 50 or more invasions of other countries in as many years. Ohh, turns out America has done all that since World War II, following a culture that is close to your own. The boogeyman religion isn’t so bad after all is it.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 13.1.2
        16 November 2015 at 9:06 pm

        MI5 says you’re full of shit.

        …there is evidence that a well-established religious identity actually protects against violent radicalisation.

        Full. Of. Shit.

  14. Sabine 14
    16 November 2015 at 11:31 am

    war
    France raining down bombs on syria as we type, surely only terrorists will die and no civilian casualties err… collateral damage will be reported.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/france-bombs-isis-syria_5648ef7be4b06037734982c4

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zydSc-Cp5bg

    cause clearly we don’t fucking learn.

    • infused 14.2
      16 November 2015 at 12:14 pm

      What’s the alternative? Talk them to death?

      • maui 14.2.1
        16 November 2015 at 12:26 pm

        Well considering the go to option is to wipe an ideology off the face of the earth with bombs, and similar actions have got us into this mess, I would think talking would be a rational proposal.

      • savenz 14.2.2
        16 November 2015 at 3:03 pm

        Worked for Northern Ireland. And that was what Corbyn always advocated.

        Interestingly part of the lessons that former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara made about Vietnam. Here are the lessons to be learnt from the failed Vietnam invasion. (Source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fog_of_War)

        War is a blunt instrument by which to settle disputes between or within nations, and economic sanctions are rarely effective. Therefore, we should build a system of jurisprudence based on the International Court—that the U.S. has refused to support—which would hold individuals responsible for crimes against humanity.
        If we are to deal effectively with terrorists across the globe, we must develop a sense of empathy—I don’t mean “sympathy,” but rather “understanding”—to counter their attacks on us and the Western World.
        One of the greatest dangers we face today is the risk that terrorists will obtain access to weapons of mass destruction as a result of the breakdown of the Non-Proliferation Regime. We in the U.S. are contributing to that breakdown.

        He also advocated

        Moral principles are often ambiguous guides to foreign policy and defense policy, but surely we can agree that we should establish as a major goal of U.S. foreign policy and, indeed, of foreign policy across the globe: the avoidance, in this century, of the carnage—160 million dead—caused by conflict in the 20th century.
        We, the richest nation in the world, have failed in our responsibility to our own poor and to the disadvantaged across the world to help them advance their welfare in the most fundamental terms of nutrition, literacy, health and employment.
        Corporate executives must recognize there is no contradiction between a soft heart and a hard head. Of course, they have responsibilities to stockholders, but they also have responsibilities to their employees, their customers and to society as a whole.

        • infused 14.2.2.1
          16 November 2015 at 4:11 pm

          When their end goal is to wipe out the entire west, talking ain’t going to work. Comparing this Northern Ireland shows you don’t quite understand their religion and end goals.

          • One Anonymous Bloke 14.2.2.1.1
            16 November 2015 at 4:33 pm

            There are several articles linked on this page that explore the reasons people join Daesh, and here’s Infused with some racist gobshite, ignoring them.

            • tracey 14.2.2.1.1.1
              16 November 2015 at 4:54 pm

              And perpetuating the notion that the only alternative is a fireside chat

              • proud poppy wearer …
                17 November 2015 at 8:53 am

                “Indeed, there has been much written and spoken since the bloody horrors of Friday night about how, in the fight against evil, it is peace, love and understanding that will win. How, in the battle against men with guns, grenades and suicide vests, it is the simple courage of people standing together that will ultimately triumph.

                Good doesn’t triumph over evil. And, contrary to popular belief, peace, love and understanding don’t stand much of a chance in the face of a barrage of bullets or a suicide bomber pressing the trigger at a football stadium or in a crowded concert hall.

                Indeed, the triumph of good over evil has rarely happened in human history without the helpful backing of rather a lot of guns, tanks and bombs. The good guys only win when their guns, tanks and bombs are bigger and better than those of the bad guys.”

            • McFlock 14.2.2.1.1.2
              16 November 2015 at 5:21 pm

              Cosmic warriors need their opponents to also be cosmic warriors in order to justify the extremes to which they will go.

  15. Heather Grimwood 15
    16 November 2015 at 11:32 am

    In reply to PR at 11.16a.m……Which is why I put theory into practice to utmost of my ability.

  16. travellerev 16
    16 November 2015 at 11:51 am

    Bill English Says We Have The Moral obligation To Kill All Hardcore Terrorists. I agree!

    • b waghorn 16.1
      16 November 2015 at 2:18 pm

      When did he say that??
      This morning on henry he said Isis teaches it followers that they have a moral obligation to kill non believer s (or words to that effect) are you sure you’re not just making shit up.?

      • travellerev 16.1.1
        16 November 2015 at 4:39 pm

        Interesting. Reminds me to download articles as I find them. Which I do often. As they get rewritten over the day as PR people need to clean up when Politicians say stupid thing.

        The proof will be if and when we are being told that we have to send more young people into John Key’s club’s army to fight them evil terrorists. What you reckon? They gonna say since they’re religion is to kill unbelievers we have to kill them first?
        That’s what they have been doing since 9/11!

    • savenz 16.2
      16 November 2015 at 3:13 pm

      @ Travellerev Especially when they increase Bill English’s and Key’s share values in defence companies!

      We all know double dipper Bill is a real moral guy, NOT.

      And of course Key loves those photo ops with ‘the troops’ in Iraq for 5 minutes – not quite morally interested intervening in his own body guard from Iraq illegally inprisoned on Christmas Island by our ‘allies’ Australia.

      Seems anyone can be inprisioned these days, just knowing a bike gang can get all your human rights removed.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 16.3
      16 November 2015 at 4:52 pm

      Deliberate lies, or ghoulish self-serving delusions?

      I’m picking delusions.

  17. Burton B 17
    16 November 2015 at 12:27 pm

    Israeli police executed a palestinian in a hospital recently. Violent extremism I say. Israel is a festering pustule.

  18. Ad 18
    16 November 2015 at 1:35 pm

    Hilary Clinton will become President of the US in late 2016, so I don’t believe the US is the big mover to watch.

    It’s the other Security Council permanent votes that will be critical; China, Russia, and France in particular will all be under immense pressure diplomatically and internally to reconsider how they intervene with ISIS, Syria, and northern Iraq.

    Everyone has interests to defend here.

    A thought: will a takeover of more northern Saudi and Iraqi oilfields by ISIS focus EU and US minds sufficiently to move away from imported oil reliance? Once ISIS influence really starts hitting the $$Oil Barrel price, that’s the intersection of Climate Change policy with the security apparatus of the Deep State.

    The permanent members will get that.

  20. Draco T Bastard 20
    16 November 2015 at 3:42 pm

    What I Discovered From Interviewing Imprisoned ISIS Fighters

    More pertinent than Islamic theology is that there are other, much more convincing, explanations as to why they’ve fought for the side they did. At the end of the interview with the first prisoner we ask, “Do you have any questions for us?” For the first time since he came into the room he smiles—in surprise—and finally tells us what really motivated him, without any prompting. He knows there is an American in the room, and can perhaps guess, from his demeanor and his questions, that this American is ex-military, and directs his “question,” in the form of an enraged statement, straight at him. “The Americans came,” he said. “They took away Saddam, but they also took away our security. I didn’t like Saddam, we were starving then, but at least we didn’t have war. When you came here, the civil war started.”

    This whole experience has been very familiar indeed to Doug Stone, the American general on the receiving end of this diatribe. “He fits the absolutely typical profile,” Stone said afterward. “The average age of all the prisoners in Iraq when I was here was 27; they were married; they had two children; had got to sixth to eighth grade. He has exactly the same profile as 80 percent of the prisoners then…and his number-one complaint about the security and against all American forces was the exact same complaint from every single detainee.”

    Why are these things happening? Because the West brought war.

    • Grindlebottom 20.1
      16 November 2015 at 3:53 pm

      Yes and now they have to deal with the blowback. And so far nobody has the perfect answer.

      • Draco T Bastard 20.1.1
        16 November 2015 at 8:32 pm

        Well, the perfect answer was to not make the violent fuckup in the first place. Now we’re stuck with imperfect answers but going in guns blazing isn’t included even in those imperfect answers.

    • tracey 20.2
      16 November 2015 at 4:10 pm

      I read once that some palestinians i n gaza were so desperate and feeling hopeless about any future they took up offers for their familiy to receice 10kUS in return for them being suicide bombers….

      If this were really all about getgtng into “Paradise” why do some get away instead of dying in the cause?

      It is complex and no where as simple as some make it out, hence so far there is no solution

      But doing the same thing over and over in the belief the outcome will be different next time is as insane as those “we” are trying to stop.

  21. Tanz 21
    16 November 2015 at 3:44 pm

    What’s the alternative – peace talks? It’s okay to just randomly bomb and kill is it?

    • One Anonymous Bloke 21.1
      16 November 2015 at 3:52 pm

      Far from being random it looks planned and deliberate, like a “surgical strike” on a wedding party.

    • tracey 21.2
      16 November 2015 at 4:13 pm

      Say it 2000 times and see if the strategy is any more effective than this morning. Your solution is revenge which is never a long term solution. The “problem” just manifests in a different way.

  22. Robert Glennie 22
    16 November 2015 at 4:34 pm

    Considering some of the Republicans have suggested doing things that could trigger a military confrontation between the U.S. and the Russians, or the U.S. and the Chinese, the Democrat reaction to the Paris attacks is very rational.

    I think it is part of a Republican’s brief – whether or not they choose to do so being something else altogether – to appease the commentators on Fox by trying to out do each other in the stupid statements category.

    The Democrats could go one step further by removing I.S. references completely from their speech and replacing them with Daesh. Politicians in Europe are, and President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have already adopted this policy.

  24. Tory 24
    16 November 2015 at 5:48 pm

    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/11/14/newly-elected-polish-government-crazed-leftists-will-try-blame-paris-attacks-west/

    Boots, bombs and bullets coupled with pressure on the states that fund Islamic State, yes.

    • Gangnam Style 24.1
      16 November 2015 at 6:27 pm

      Feeling excited are we?

      • Tracey 24.1.1
        16 November 2015 at 6:30 pm

        Hes ordering tickdts online rght now to go and eradiate the violence. Thats how sure he is that it is

        1. The right thing to do
        2. The only solution

    • joe90 24.2
      16 November 2015 at 8:39 pm

      A newly elected Polish government with a defence minister who reckons there’s a Jewish plan for world domination.

      Macierewicz told listeners to Radio Maryja in 2002 that he had read Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a pamphlet that purports to be a Jewish plan to control the global economy and media, but which has been exposed as a hoax.

      He acknowledged there was debate about the pamphlet’s authenticity, but told a listener: “Experience shows that there are such groups in Jewish circles.”

      http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/10/polish-defence-minister-condemned-over-jewish-conspiracy-theory

      btw, their new Prime Minister was born in Oświęcim.

  25. Tory 25
    16 November 2015 at 8:17 pm

    And your answer is Tracey? I advocate military action coupled with pressure on the countries that support IS. Looking through comments you offer nothing other than criticism. I guess sitting on the fence means you are never wrong…..

    • One Anonymous Bloke 25.1
      16 November 2015 at 8:23 pm

      I have an “answer”: stop listening to racist murderphiles like you whose vile attitude creates terrorism, according to MI5.

    • Pascals bookie 25.2
      17 November 2015 at 7:33 am

      Good oh, but ‘military action’ isn’t a magic wand. What action would you support, what would you not support?

      And is the pressure on these countries you claim support IS doesn’t happen, would you still support the military ation? ie, do you think not pressuring IS’ politoical support would undercut the action to a point that it would become counterproductive?

  26. One Anonymous Bloke 26
    16 November 2015 at 8:33 pm

    Action Directe, The Angry Brigade, the Red Army Faction, the IRA.

    European terror groups are nothing new. The only things that have ever worked to combat them are police work* and conversations.

    *no, you Tory simpleton, not beating confessions out of innocents: police work.

  27. Mike the Savage One 27
    16 November 2015 at 9:24 pm

    Good grief, I have been reading in various European media reports and commentaries, and what some self proclaimed “experts” write is utter trash journalism. Many have no idea about the history of Islam, about what Jihad means and what expressions of Islam there are, yet they seem to think that now after the Paris attacks they know enough to tell the public what it is all about, this new escalation of terrorism from groups like IS.

    Also in New Zealand we have one idiot follow the other, when it comes to “news” and reporting, and making their comments and judgments. So I listened in on Radio Live this afternoon, and after talking with some external experts, Duncan Garner said, we should not call these guys that did the atrocities in Paris “Islamic State”, as they are not “islamic”. Garner felt calling them “IS” was giving them too much credit. He suggested we rather call them “Daesh”, which is the way they are often called in the Middle East.

    The problem is, that solves nothing, Mr Garner. You are as ignorant as the many callers that call into your “Drive Show”, as DAESH is just a wrongly spelled abbreviation, as it should be DAIISH, which means exactly that, “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (or The Levant)”, more correctly:
    “al-Dawla al-Islamiya fi Iraq wa al-Sham”

    Garner has long ago struck me as a bit ignorant, and only smart at a mediocre “throw the ball and kick a goal by out-sprinting that player” kind of guy. Anything complex, detailed or “foreign” is not his forte.

    Here is what the various names used for IS are and mean:
    http://www.vox.com/2015/11/14/9734894/daesh-isis-isil

    Using an insult may serve the interests of western leaders and diplomats, but will hardly address the challenges IS pose.

  28. Puddleglum 28
    16 November 2015 at 9:50 pm

    Scott Atran, who has studied religiosity as a biological and cultural phenomenon for decades has this to say about ISIS:

    “It’s “the first of the storm”, says Islamic State. And little wonder. For the chaotic scenes on the streets of Paris and the fearful reaction those attacks provoked are precisely what Isis planned and prayed for. The greater the reaction against Muslims in Europe and the deeper the west becomes involved in military action in the Middle East, the happier Isis leaders will be. Because this is about the organisation’s key strategy: finding, creating and managing chaos.

    …

    Simply treating Isis as a form of “terrorism” or “violent extremism” masks the menace. Merely dismissing it as “nihilistic” reflects a wilful and dangerous avoidance of trying to comprehend, and deal with, its profoundly alluring moral mission to change and save the world.

    …

    Isis is reaching out to fill the void wherever a state of “chaos” or “savagery” (at-tawahoush) exists, as in central Asia and Africa. And where there is insufficient chaos in the lands of the infidel, called “The House of War”, it seeks to create it, as in Europe.

    …

    what inspires the most uncompromisingly lethal actors in the world today is not so much the Qur’an or religious teachings. It’s a thrilling cause that promises glory and esteem. Jihad is an egalitarian, equal-opportunity employer: fraternal, fast-breaking, glorious, cool – and persuasive.”

    Part of Atran’s argument is that, like it or not, ISIS is seen as an exciting ‘hope’ for the world by a disturbingly large number of – perhaps especially young – people.

    We need to ask why so many people might resort to this kind of mutated vehicle for human hope?

    Perhaps there’s a hint in history.

    La Terreur anyone?

    • RedLogix 28.1
      16 November 2015 at 10:28 pm

      And with God on your side, you cannot be defeated.

      For this reason losses do not matter, surviving does not matter, territory barely counts and weapons materials are irrelevant. What counts is chaos. This was my thesis at the outset.

      The more chaos, the more insistent the soundtrack of an ascending chorus of atrocities, the greater the impact they believe to have.

      Of course all death cults ultimately expire. And take with them the vehicle they high-jacked. At some point in the future, Islam will be but a memory.

      As will the world as we currently understand it.

      • joe90 28.1.1
        16 November 2015 at 10:54 pm

        And with God on your side, you cannot be defeated.

        And tefillin.
        /

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tefillin

      • Mike the Savage One 28.1.2
        17 November 2015 at 1:06 pm

        Re Islam and it vanishing, I would not raise my hopes too high. Even if it would, there will most likely be a new phenomenon and movement of whatever kind that may follow then, provided there is still human existence on the planet then.

        My view is that some of these problems are the result of human society’s failures and misguidedness.

        There appears to be in at least a significant number of human beings a need to see a “greater purpose” in life, than to merely live a mortal’s life of work, work, earn money, spend money, consume, work yet more, have some fun now and then, work even more, slave more, exploit more, get more material goods if you can, improve your own status to keep up with the Jones’ and so forth. That is for people who may have work or can do business, it does not even include those that cannot participate in even that.

        The simple fact that there are and have apparently always been some forms of religion, of a belief in some higher power, and that life is not just what we see and hear day to day, tells us something.

        Whether this is just all stuff that is made up in people’s minds, or whether there may be more to it, which science has not discovered and proved yet, that still needs to be established in the future.

        Sad thing is, that such beliefs, such religious or similar beliefs, can be exploited by misguided leaders – or even “evil” intending manipulators, who motivate others to go to extremes such as what we see with suicide attacks, mass killings and what else there may yet come.

        With the way our societies in the west have gone, those that feel a need to have a life with a greater purpose, seem to see ever less of this to be achieved in their societies. Hence perhaps the attraction to ISIS and whatever other extreme movements, claiming to act in the name of God or whatever authority.

        So our “leaders” may need to ask more questions, than just preach the stereotype good and evil tales, and the need to punish, which is as medieval thinking as what IS preach.

        There is a reason or cause for everything! Ignoring that leads state leaders and governments to continue making the mistakes of the past, and to create the fertile ground for future wars to come. Lest we forget, they say, but it is the eternal remembrance of past battles, which are then used again, to justify future battles.

  29. Gael 29
    17 November 2015 at 7:20 am

    Heres an option from way out left field with rose tinted idealism….. estimate of global military spending in 2014 is $US1766billion. What if everyone on the planet agreed on a certain date at a certain time to put down their weapons shake hands with their neighbour and say sorry about that. Then every government spent their annual military budget on planting native and fruit trees?

    End of climate change, world hunger and unemployment. But I can hear the guffaws already. Sadly it seems the only time we are kind to each other is during a natural disaster… pity.

    oh and apparently nz is hosting the international weapons forum in welly this month….nice.

  30. Gael 30
    17 November 2015 at 7:31 am

    http://Www.nzdia.co.nz “defence” forum my apologies…

  31. paddy gilroy 31
    17 November 2015 at 7:49 am

    Rainbow Warrior, and the west’s reaction should not be forgotten

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • EGU2024 – An intense week of joining sessions virtually
    Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
    Skeptical Science
    46 mins ago

  • Submission on “Fast Track Approvals Bill”
    The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    2 hours ago

  • The Case for a Universal Family Benefit
    One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    3 hours ago

  • A who’s who of New Zealand’s dodgiest companies
    Submissions on National's corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law are due today (have you submitted?), and just hours before they close, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop has been forced to release the list of companies he invited to apply. I've spent the last hour going through it in an epic thread of bleats, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 hours ago

  • On Lee’s watch, Economic Development seems to be stuck on scoring points from promoting sporting e...
    Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 hours ago

  • New Zealand has never been closed for business
    1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 hours ago

  • Stop the panic – we’ve been here before
    Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    9 hours ago

  • Melissa Lee and the media: ending the quest
    Chris Trotter writes –  MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    10 hours ago

  • The Hoon around the week to April 19
    TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    11 hours ago

  • The ‘Humpty Dumpty’ end result of dismantling our environmental protections
    Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    11 hours ago

  • Nicola's Salad Days.
    I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    12 hours ago

  • Study sees climate change baking in 19% lower global income by 2050
    TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    12 hours ago

  • Weekly Roundup 19-April-2024
    It’s Friday again. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week on Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered at the government looking into a long tunnel for Wellington. On Wednesday we ran a post from Oscar Simms on some lessons from Texas. AT’s ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    13 hours ago

  • Jack Vowles: Stop the panic – we’ve been here before
    New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’.  The data is from February this ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    15 hours ago

  • Clearing up confusion (or trying to)
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    16 hours ago

  • How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log iPhone Without Computer
    How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log on iPhone Without a Computer: A Step–by–Step Guide Losing your iPhone call history can be frustrating, especially when you need to find a specific number or recall an important conversation. But before you panic, know that there are ways to retrieve deleted call logs on your iPhone, even without a computer. This guide will explore various methods, ranging from simple checks to utilizing iCloud backups and third–party applications. So, let‘s dive in and recover those lost calls! 1. Check Recently Deleted Folder: Apple understands that accidental deletions happen. That‘s why they introduced the “Recently Deleted“ folder for various apps, including the Phone app. This folder acts as a safety net, storing deleted call logs for up to 30 days before permanently erasing them. Here‘s how to check it: Open the Phone app on your iPhone. Tap on the “Recents“ tab at the bottom. Scroll to the top and tap on “Edit“. Select “Show Recently Deleted“. Browse the list to find the call logs you want to recover. Tap on the desired call log and choose “Recover“ to restore it to your call history. 2. Restore from iCloud Backup: If you regularly back up your iPhone to iCloud, you might be able to retrieve your deleted call log from a previous backup. However, keep in mind that this process will restore your entire phone to the state it was in at the time of the backup, potentially erasing any data added since then. Here‘s how to restore from an iCloud backup: Go to Settings > General > Reset. Choose “Erase All Content and Settings“. Follow the on–screen instructions. Your iPhone will restart and show the initial setup screen. Choose “Restore from iCloud Backup“ during the setup process. Select the relevant backup that contains your deleted call log. Wait for the restoration process to complete. 3. Explore Third–Party Apps (with Caution): ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    18 hours ago

  • How to Factory Reset iPhone without Computer: A Comprehensive Guide to Restoring your Device
    Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How to Call Someone on a Computer: A Guide to Voice and Video Communication in the Digital Age
    Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #16 2024
    Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications: Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 day ago

  • Where on a Computer is the Operating System Generally Stored? Delving into the Digital Home of your ...
    The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How Many Watts Does a Laptop Use? Understanding Power Consumption and Efficiency
    Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How to Screen Record on a Dell Laptop A Guide to Capturing Your Screen with Ease
    Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How Much Does it Cost to Fix a Laptop Screen? Navigating Repair Options and Costs
    A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How Long Do Gaming Laptops Last? Demystifying Lifespan and Maximizing Longevity
    Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Climate Change: Turning the tide
    The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago

  • How to Unlock Your Computer A Comprehensive Guide to Regaining Access
    Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Faxing from Your Computer A Modern Guide to Sending Documents Digitally
    While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Protecting Your Home Computer A Guide to Cyber Awareness
    In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Server-Based Computing Powering the Modern Digital Landscape
    In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Vroom vroom go the big red trucks
    The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago

  • Jones finds $410,000 to help the government muscle in on a spat project
    Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago

  • Again, hate crimes are not necessarily terrorism.
    Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 day ago

  • Despair – construction consenting edition
    Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • Coalition promises – will the Govt keep the commitment to keep Kiwis equal before the law?
    Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • An impermanent public service is a guarantee of very little else but failure
    Chris Trotter writes –  The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • What happens after the war – Mariupol
    Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    1 day ago

  • Babies and benefits – no good news
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • Should the RBNZ be looking through climate inflation?
    Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
    It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    2 days ago

  • Meeting the Master Baiters
    Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago

  • How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
    This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Backbone, revisited
    The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Ministers are not above the law
    Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point  of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Bryce Edwards writes  – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
    Citizen Science writes –  Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • A TikTok Prime Minister.
    One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Texas Lessons
    This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    3 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
    Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago

  • Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
    Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • At a glance – Is the science settled?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Apposite Quotations.
    How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • What’s a life worth now?
    You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Howling at the Moon
    Karl du Fresne writes –  There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Newshub is Dead.
    I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
    Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
    David Farrar  writes –  The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
    PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
    We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
    Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Long Tunnel or Long Con?
    Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • Smoke And Mirrors.
    You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • What is Mexico doing about climate change?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • State of humanity, 2024
    2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Govt’s Wellington tunnel vision aims to ease the way to the airport (but zealous promoters of cycl...
    Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • The case for cultural connectedness
    A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Useful context on public sector job cuts
    David Farrar writes –    The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated.   While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism
    Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal
    Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • True Blue.
    True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Who is running New Zealand’s foreign policy?
    While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #15
    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 7, 2024 thru Sat, April 13, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week is about adults in the room setting terms and conditions of ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • $41m to support clean energy in South East Asia
    New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago

  • Minister releases Fast-track stakeholder list
    The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago

  • Judicial appointments announced
    Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago

  • Education Minister heads to major teaching summit in Singapore
    Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa.  The summit is co-hosted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago

  • Value of stopbank project proven during cyclone
    A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago

  • Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visit
    Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul.    “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago

  • Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac Day
    Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago

  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago

  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
    The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners.  “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Government backing mussel spat project
    The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Government focused on getting people into work
    Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
    The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
    RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
    Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
    Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
    Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector.    "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
    The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
    Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationship
    Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister Lee
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.   Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • PMs Luxon and Lee deepen Singapore-NZ ties
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.  During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Antarctica New Zealand Board appointments
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner.  The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Finance Minister travels to Washington DC
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.  “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Pet bonds a win/win for renters and landlords
    The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being considered
    State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • New Zealand condemns Iranian strikes
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel.    “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says.    "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plans
    Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand Chair
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board.   “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti.  “I have asked her to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Roads of National Significance planning underway
    The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Navigating an unstable global environment
    New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.   “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States.    “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • NZ welcomes Australian Governor-General
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Pseudoephedrine back on shelves for Winter
    Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • NZ and the US: an ever closer partnership
    New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Joint US and NZ declaration
    April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • NZ and US to undertake further practical Pacific cooperation
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research.   “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-04-19T09:13:32+00:00