You really should acquaint yourself with the international laws of warfare. War is ugly and dangerous and shooting at a village harbouring insurgents is not outside those laws. Perhaps the inquiry should focus on the politicians who send our soldiers into ...
Well, aptly named Psycho, you are guilty of using a straw man fallacy there. I never said it was "fine" to kill civilians. I merely said it happens in the terrible fog of war and it is not a criminal act when it happens within legally defined rules of ...
It is inevitable that civilians will be put at risk when wanted insurgent leaders hide amongst them. War is terrible and these outcomes are an inevitable consequence of counterinsurgency.
The USA has already suggested a faulty gunsight on an attack helicopter could have contributed to the outcome. When you consider that these machines fire an abundance of explosive 30mm rounds, the terrible toll on civilian life is not too difficult to ...
It seems the " central thesis" is a movable feast. My understanding of the story is that the killings were unjustified/unlawful and that NZDF lied about it. Now it is revealed that the firefight was justified by the presence of not only combatants but ...
"Pitiful pissy sore picking pedantry" Superb alliteration. I think there is abundant evidence, just on the face of the matter, that Hager accepted a version of events from the villagers that was potentially self-serving and overtly damning of NZDF without ...
Civilian deaths in war are both inevitable and, when taking place within legally defined rules of engagement, entirely within the laws of war. War sucks, to be sure, but it does not follow that soldiers who unfortunately kill civilians in the course of ...
So, Nicky Hager's attempt to smear the reputation of NZ soldiers has collapsed. Turns out there were not only insurgents but insurgent leaders on a catch/kill list present in the village at the time of the firefight. It turns out that Hager was pushing for...
Insulting the families of murder victims is a complete asshole move. But once you make being an asshole a crime, we will all be criminals at some point. Then it is just the whim of the state that separates you from prison. I disagree, Micky. Even the ...
If you do not protect the free speech of those you abhor, you do not have free speech.
No, you may not. Responding to speech with violence is a crime. The fascist far left, i.e., the National Socialists, in Germany did this and look where it led.
"Just noise" suggests to me that you do not read your history. The Bradley effect is well documented and germane to the present day. Many people who would vote conservatively do not tell pollsters the truth due to the social cost of articulating that type ...
I think the credibility of polls, apart from the ones that count (elections) have proven to be highly variable and unreliable, including recent ones here in NZ. I predict the Brexit movement will grow and prevail.
In practical terms, Brexit is the only issue. The leader that articulates a credible path to this outcome will win.
I'd be very interested in getting that white phosphorus citation too. There is a world of difference between white phosphorus smoke munitions which are essentially canisters with felt/fabric impregnated with white phosphorus and actual white phosphorus ...
And yet exactly zero NRA members have committed a mass shooting. https://dcstatesman.com/including-tx-church-shooting-guess-many-mass-shooters-nra-members/ Maybe the problem is not the legal gun owners.
It is interesting to note that USA drone strikes have dropped since 2016. It is also interesting to note that black unemployment is now at historically low levels in the USA. And let us not forget that Khashoggi was deeply involved in the Muslim ...
Per capita, NZ has pretty much the largest resource area to police and specific responsibilities with regards to its Pacific Island relationships. Without a military our seas could be plundered with impunity, our Pacific neighbours would suffer from an ...
Murderous bully? Is this a Tiananmen Square reference? If not, please cite a specific example of murder.
If not within the sphere of the USA, then what? I cannot imagine that anyone capable of reading would suggest that aligning with China is in NZ's best interests and Russia is simply not a player in the South Pacific. The USA is far from perfect but at ...
Good God! An African American defies stereotypes and becomes a billionaire and spends $40 million on students at an African American liberal arts university and this is your attitude? Churlish does not begin to describe it.
"Climate Science Denial" Can you point to a single climate model that has proven correct?
Robert: Critical thinking is central. Logic. Recognition of common fallacies (the ad hominem fallacy is the most tedious and all too common as is the appeal to authority fallacy, central to so many discussions about "climate change" policy!). Genuine ...
Common ground is closer if we all heed my grandfather's final advice to me; You must keep your mind free of ideology. Greenland glaciers are thickening, climate models failed to predict this. We should focus on what we KNOW and we will do great things ...
"Mitigating climate change" Ha. Rising CO2 has already increased tree cover worldwide far more than human tree planting programs will. There are good reasons to protect the planet, i.e., clean water, air, reduction of poisonous pollution, protection of ...
Is solar minium science?
The extent to which the Nats are captured by China is really troubling.
I am a conservative. I believe in universal human rights, national sovereignty, a fairly regulated free market, and a government with checks and balances on power. I have no idea what Simon Bridges stands for. This is, in my view, National's fundamental ...
It is almost as if successful politicians in NZ, on the left and the right, recognise they have a greater market value overseas and move to take advantage of this value. This is understandable in the right, but is it not a capitalist move for those on the ...
And yet by the majority of measures child poverty is increasing, Kiwibuild has produced less than 100 houses and emissions are increasing with no end in sight. It is almost as if the model of taking from some and give to others is flawed and a different ...
A classic example of parliamentarians putting their career ahead of nation or party.
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