UK Intelligence

Written By: - Date published: 10:50 am, January 7th, 2018 - 43 comments
Categories: International, interview, labour, Politics, Propaganda, the praiseworthy and the pitiful - Tags: , , , ,

For quite some time now, there has been what I’d term an enforced consensus across “the west” on foreign events and situations. That enforced consensus is bolstered by consigning anyone proposing a critical analysis; one that runs counter to officially endorsed narratives, as being somehow complicit with who-ever today’s ‘agreed’  enemy is. And that consensus gorges itself on endlessly repeated innuendo, rumour and purportedly solid conclusions based on nought but previously reported bullshit and nonsense. Anyone with the temerity to engage their brain is dismissed as a “Putinbot” or similar, and anyone of note who raises their head is either roundly ignored by “our” media, or subjected to some degree of personal ridicule or character assassination by “our” media.

It’s against that backdrop that Emily Thornberry, UK Labour’s shadow foreign secretary, has stepped up with the following in response to a thinly veiled attempt at a  “gotcha” aimed at Jeremy Corbyn. Nick Robertson was conducting the interview on BBC Radio 4:- (from 33.00 min)

Our approach now is one of extreme caution when it comes to Iran and a recognition that the society in Iran is an immensely complex one, and seemingly contradictory. For example, with these current riots, sometimes they are calling to reinstate the monarchy, sometimes they’re calling out against [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei, sometimes they’re calling for Khamenei, sometimes they’re calling for the price of eggs. It’s very difficult, in those circumstances, to actually come to a conclusion as to what political forces are behind the current disputes on the streets of Iran. So we take a cautious approach to Iran and we don’t want to leap to judgment and say: “Well, we don’t like the regime in Iran, these people are against it, they must be the guys with white hats.”

Because it doesn’t work like that.

We’ve seen that in Syria, we’ve seen it in Libya, we see it time and time again, in Egypt – actually as westerners we cannot simply impose our views on people who are fighting against Mubarak, who we don’t like.

May her voice be the first of many prominent voices talking sense. It won’t be easy. The Guardian piece that provided most of the above quote, reported her words in a piece that was (yet again) simply “running the lines”, and links in the piece went to similar pieces of uncritical anti-Iranian reporting.

It’s going to be a long, hard and probably thankless row to hoe.

43 comments on “UK Intelligence ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. andrew murray 1
    7 January 2018 at 11:33 am

    Stand by for a ‘Psycho 90’ attack from ‘Mars’

  2. Brewer 2
    7 January 2018 at 11:49 am

    “Why there won’t be a revolution in Iran
    Regime change is unlikely but what is in play is setting the scene for a further renewal of economic sanctions ”
    http://www.atimes.com/article/wont-revolution-iran/

    • Bill 2.1
      7 January 2018 at 12:53 pm

      The video link in your Asia Times piece includes an interview with Mohammad Marandi. The interview was (how to say?) “interesting”. So I had a wee search for further commentary by him.

      I found this doozy from the BBCs Hardtalk (Feb 2017). Introducing an academic as “a supporter of the Iranian government” by way of shoving him off into “that” box was kind of ludicrous (ie – would an American academic be introduced as “a supporter of the US government?)

      Anyway. He serves up the antagonistic Hardtalk interviewer rather well with hard, well sourced facts. Well worth the 20 odd minutes.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcbtklvoIlw

      • Brewer 2.1.1
        7 January 2018 at 3:04 pm

        Marandi is, like most Iranians of my acquaintance, rational and realistic. The interviewer comes across as a schill, a proponent of Western propaganda.

      • Stuart Munro 2.1.2
        8 January 2018 at 12:30 pm

        With the possible exception of Bill English, I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone so far out of their depth.

    • SPC 2.2
      8 January 2018 at 12:59 pm

      The USA would need partners, they are not in the UNSC or EU/NATO, they do not have any.

  3. francesca 3
    7 January 2018 at 11:56 am

    I think the Europeans are keen to maintain the Iran nuclear deal, avoid any more refugee crises,and maybe finally have developed the backbone to defy the US
    I think Syria has broken the mold

  4. roy cartland 4
    7 January 2018 at 11:56 am

    “May her voice be the first of many prominent voices talking sense. It won’t be easy. ”

    Too right, because ‘sense’ implies that one is sensible – i.e. is at least making an effort to understand – what is going on. Which, as well as taking longer, is never going to be easier than lazily parroting.

    Viva la thinking!

  5. adam 5
    7 January 2018 at 1:41 pm

    I wonder if some on the left are getting that we have to talk about capitalism, and its role in all of these problems.

    These simple arguments of us ‘good’, the other ‘bad’ – helps no one but those in power, and those looking for profit.

    I’m sick of it, the dominant ideology is what the left traditionally was against, and for really good reasons. The problem, over and over is when it comes to international politics, so many so called leftist submit to the dominant ideology framework in a situation, faster than you can say boo.

    Good to see an MP taking a broader view, and indeed calling into question the official narrative.

    • francesca 5.1
      7 January 2018 at 2:09 pm

      And courageous too.Witness the times that Corbyn has been excoriated in so called leftwing newspapers like the Guardian for taking a principled stand against imperialism and war

  6. SPC 6
    7 January 2018 at 5:50 pm

    The thing about Iran is that this is about an economic problem (growing population and unemployment).

    There is the urban liberal middle class who supported the nuclear deal and who claimed it would improve their economic position (they voted in the current President), and there are those less well off who are generally more nationalist and socially conservative (the former President represented them).

    While we in the west may prefer the current President to the former one, he is of the middle class and places the economy before the needs of the poor – who are not seeing much gain from the end of sanctions, certainly not in trickle down to meet their needs. Thus protest at the lack of benefit to many of the poor (the still unemployed) promised by the current President.

    The American belief, that this is a rebellion against the theocratic regime under which the Presidency and parliament operate, is self-delusion. Those suffering economically are more often social conservatives. And despite American hopes that economic protests could undermine support for the regimes foreign policy activism, polls still show support for this foreign policy (basically Iranians are not linking their economic difficulty to the cost of their foreign activism, or if they do they do not mind).

    • Bill 6.1
      7 January 2018 at 11:19 pm

      It’s not a theocratic regime. Sanctions have economic consequences. And it can be argued that Iran has stemmed the spread of ISIS and Al Qaeda (Syria and Yemen).

      I can’t see how it can be sensibly argued that “economic difficulty” is down to Iran’s “foreign activism” as though there is no sanction regime. But hey.

      • SPC 6.1.1
        8 January 2018 at 8:14 am

        Yeah it is.

        1. An unelected Ayatollah in office for life with more real power than the President
        2. The vetting of candidates for elected office for compliance with the revolutions continuance
        3. The Revolutionary Guard serve the regime, not the elected President.

        Interesting that you blame NOW ENDED sanctions for their economic problems – when that is just supporting the line of the government and its middle class market economics policy.

        The issue on the ground is a challenge to Rouhani’s economic programme. His policies advantage the middle class for the good of the economy (less support to those in need after the end of sanctions than during sanctions). He campaigned for re-election on the basis that the end of sanctions would improve things, but part of the problem has been the dismantling of support to the poor since sanctions ended – classic let the market trickle down help them in the markets own good time mantra of the middle class everywhere.

        >I can’t see how it can be sensibly argued that “economic difficulty” is down to Iran’s “foreign activism”<

        Never said it was – the underlying issue is a high youth demographic and lack of jobs – a problem whether there was economic sanctions or not, or an activist and costly foreign activism or not.

        It seems your own analysis is based on support for Iran's foreign policy and opposition to America's – no more based on reality than the American's position.

        PS The Russians should have cited the Occupy Wall Street protests when the UNSC looked at the Iran issue …

        • Brewer 6.1.1.1
          8 January 2018 at 10:17 am

          “1. An unelected Ayatollah in office for life with more real power than the President”
          Simply not true.
          The Spiritual Leader is elected by and can be removed by the eighty eight member Assembly of Experts (a sort of constitutional watchdog body), elected by public vote for eight-year terms.

          If you believe that Western systems do not vet candidates there is a bridge in Tehran I can sell you.

          The Revolutionary Guard has its equivalents in Western systems – National Guard, Dept of Homeland Security, SIS etc.

          Close study of the Iranian system reveals a democratic, albeit pyramidical structure consisting of a series of competing power centres reminiscent of the British system – local Councils, the Majlis (Parliament), Guardian Council (a bit like the House of Lords), Assembly of experts (The Law Lords). In the 2016 elections more than 12,000 people ran for office. Voter turnout is around 75%.

          Most Westerners object to the Iranian system because of our dedication to separation of Church and State. This reflects a misunderstanding of the political nature of Islam – a Mosque is a community centre, not a church, an Imam is appointed by the community, not the Church. It is also worth remembering that Iran is 90 – 95% Shiite Muslim so separation of Church and State is simplly not an issue. Minority sects (Judaics, Armenians, Zoroastrians etc) have guaranteed representation in the Government (except, for some reason I have never been able to figure out, Bahai).

          • SPC 6.1.1.1.1
            8 January 2018 at 10:41 am

            So its a theist regime which has its own procedural order to imply mandate to its continuance.

            But given no living Ayatollah has ever been voted out of office … and the lack of practicality of running as a challenger … .

            The Revolutionary Guard exist to protect the theist regime.

            Those challenging the continuance of the theist regime (not the only ones) are banned from contesting elections.

            Any party can form and contest elections in a real democracy. Even to promote constitutional change.

            Jews and Christians before Islam – in their eyes final evolved stage, Zoroastrian as Iranian cultural – Bahai rejected for being post Islam – Islam rejects any conversion of Moslems to another faith.

            • Brewer 6.1.1.1.1.1
              8 January 2018 at 4:34 pm

              Your reply indicates a one-dimensional view obviously gleaned from the popular press. The vast majority of Iranians are perfectly happy with their system of Government because they understand it and it delivers what most of them want. Reformists poll about 13-15%.
              No system is perfect but the Iranian seems to deliver better outcomes for voters than the U.S. for example:
              “After examining differences in public opinion across income groups on a wide variety of issues, the political scientists Martin Gilens, of Princeton, and Benjamin Page, of Northwestern, found that the preferences of rich people had a much bigger impact on subsequent policy decisions than the views of middle-income and poor Americans. Indeed, the opinions of lower-income groups, and the interest groups that represent them, appear to have little or no independent impact on policy………..In the United States, our findings indicate, the majority does not rule—at least not in the causal sense of actually determining policy outcomes. When a majority of citizens disagrees with economic elites and/or with organized interests, they generally lose. Moreover … even when fairly large majorities of Americans favor policy change, they generally do not get it.”
              https://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/is-america-an-oligarchy
              Sixty-five percent of Americans are dissatisfied with their nation’s system of government according to Gallup’s polling.

              You can cherry pick and issue unsupported statements about Iran all you want but the massive pro-government rallies in the last few days tell a different story.

              • SPC …
                8 January 2018 at 5:43 pm

                And yours is derived from various “dimensions” of the “unpopular” media … whatever. The mirror image on the right says fake news a lot to dismiss unwelcome challenge.

                It’s a theist regime, and like some others called revolutionary does not allow itself to be challenged by democratic means, actively marginalises opponents and manages the media – little wonder those involved as reformists are either participants in a form of bi-partisanship, or soon taken out of the process.

                Sure it has some engagement, to the level this is allowed. Including in voting. And the countrywide majority for the regime seems genuine. It appeals to identity, religious and national, and has successfully combined the two. But for the same reason that (in some part religious) pro Zionism in the USA results in a problematic involvement in the ME peace process, this is not something that informs a constructive
                involvement in the wider region.

                Which is the real issue here. Two nations doing harm to other nations, as two powers external to the Arab people and region imposing their will.

                And sure the American oligarchy uses religion and nationalism itself, to preserve its own primacy. And has a freer media so voices about this are heard and thus the greater level of discontent.

                Iran better, America worse is not a complex or nuanced position by the way …

                • Brewer …
                  8 January 2018 at 9:25 pm

                  For someone with a demonstrated paucity of knowledge on the subject you have altogether too much to say in my opinion.
                  Complex matters require complex explanations, too complex to undertake with someone so obviously, chauvinistically wedded to the paradigms implanted by a limited life experience and imagination.
                  Feel free to ignore my contributions to this forum. They are intended to elicit informed discussion, not bald assertions.

                  • SPC …
                    8 January 2018 at 10:00 pm

                    Flounce off then, convinced of your superior knowledge, life experience and imagination etc.

                    You were responding to my post by the way.

                    It was my response to your own post you ignored. If you missed it, it was that neither the UN or EU/NATO will join new sanctions on Iran. It is only in play in the Americans “imagination”.

                    We can agree regime change in “Iran” is unlikely.

        • Bill 6.1.1.2
          8 January 2018 at 12:05 pm

          I’ll come back to this later SPC, because there’s a lot of inaccuracy in your comment. Short on time right now.

          But just a wee question for you to ponder. Who elected the Queen of England and what was the name of the last Catholic PM of the UK?

          • SPC 6.1.1.2.1
            8 January 2018 at 12:45 pm

            Comparison between an apolitical head of state without any power and the regime in Teheran …seriously …

            Tony Blair.

            You could raise the issue of the throne being reserved for those of the Church of England, as there is a state church (more a symbol of national independence than a religious divide – I wrote to Blair and questioned the continuance of it way back in 1998 before he came out). But this has no impact on political governance and I suspect many Christians of other denominations like the idea of a Christian throne and prayer in parliament continuing (especially those of the morality in law, military alliances and mammon order to economic society aspect).

            • Bill 6.1.1.2.1.1
              8 January 2018 at 1:04 pm

              I’ve no idea about the relative powers of the Queen/Royal Family and the Ayatollah. But one is hereditary while the other is elected and can be recalled.

              Tony Blair was not a Catholic PM. He converted after leaving office. There has not ever been a Catholic PM of the UK.

              • te reo putake …
                8 January 2018 at 8:38 pm

                Blair considered himself a Catholic while he was Prime Minister (and apparently for many years before that). He took communion occasionally and attended services regularly while in No 10. While his formal conversion to Catholicism took place a few months after he left office, he apparently received Papal blessing while still PM.

                Blair was certainly widely known as a closet Catholic while PM. However, there’s no end of pedantry in religion and I guess it depends on whether one cares about the exact rules and rituals of the Vatican or the simpler doctrines of the heart. For mine, if Blair believed he was a Catholic, he was a Catholic. His conversion merely confirmed the fact.

                Ultimately, what is more important for the purposes of political discussion is assessing what affect his Catholicism had on his dodgy decision making while PM and, happily, also raises the interesting question of where Blair thinks he’s heading in the afterlife.

    • spikeyboy 6.2
      8 January 2018 at 9:45 pm

      Yes Rouhani appears to be your standard neoliberal leader engaged in austerity and slashing of social programs including raising the price of petrol by 50%. The protests that have started over there may be the beginnings of genuine class action. This is the same way that the Shah was overthrown when workers took over their workplaces.

      https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/01/04/pers-j04.html

      • SPC 6.2.1
        8 January 2018 at 10:06 pm

        Rouhani is certainly going about uniting the opposition around a Presidential candidate with a different economic policy.

  7. reason 7
    8 January 2018 at 8:36 am

    Oliver Stones latest documentary is quite informative and details a new type of warfare …. ‘the color revolution’ …. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAaMRAplJks

    Called “Ukraine is burning” …. it is mainly about the Ukraine … but details the new weapons used in this new warfare …. N.G.O’s …

    It compares the remarkable similarity of ‘color protest and their techniques across Libya, Syria, Venezuela, Iran etc …. plus the similar propaganda bullshit our ‘respectable’ media reports .

    With the Ukraine we are given a bit of history about the O.U.N with their ethnic purity goals which they undertook …. often as the SS Galizien division …. murdering between 150,000- 200,000 Jews … and huge numbers of Polish and gypsy people .

    The Ukraine Nazis were protected and shielded by the u.s.a and britian after world war II …. Stone shows the direct links of their ideology and beliefs…. and how this was utilized when they partnered up with the u.s.a in the violent illegal overthrow of Ukraine s elected Govt ….

    U.s.a war promoter Victoria Nuland …..”We’ve invested over 5 Billion Dollars to assist Ukraine in these and other goals” ….

    This is the second ‘color revolution that the Ukraine has been subjected to …. The first temporarily installed Victor Yushenko whose wife was a former u.s.a state department employee and worked at the white house under president Raygun ….

    Backed by the west but Lasting only one term in power, one of his last acts was to commemorate a mass murderer …….

    Victor Yushenko ….” I signed a decree ….For an unbreakable spirit, heroism and self sacrifice in the struggle for the independence of Ukraine …. I am granting a status of a hero of Ukraine along with the Order of state …. to Stepan Bandera …. Glory to Ukraine”

    New Zealand is participating in a economic siege (sanctions) against russia because of this pro fascist anti russian shit.

    We are literally,.. thanks to National … part of the fuckwits that have helped move the nuclear clock to three minutes to midnight ….. by encouraging and joining in this madness. https://thebulletin.org/timeline

    We are participating in war acts ……Just like we are by donating $ 600,000 Nz dollars to the Isis / Al Nusra first aid team … known as the white helmets …..

    We need to stop this sneaky dishonest warmongering legacy shit that John Key signed us up too ….. Its a barbaric disgrace.

    New Zealand needs to get some guts and stop running with war criminals ….

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAaMRAplJks

    • SPC 7.1
      8 January 2018 at 8:49 am

      American backed Ukraine regime independent of Russia bad, Russian backed one remaining in power better for peace and security … .

      The language is a propaganda parody of the time there was a German occupied Ukraine before liberation by the Red Army.

      If condemning independence as nationalist fascism why not subordination to a more powerful neighbour as imperialist colonisation?

      • reason 7.1.1
        8 January 2018 at 8:55 am

        Simplistic white hat black hat shit SPC …. No one is calling independence fascism…… racial hygiene is though.

        And there is no denying OUN and Bandera is fascism …. the O.U.N with their ethnic purity goals which they undertook …. often as the SS Galizien division …. murdering between 150,000- 200,000 Jews … and huge numbers of Polish and gypsy people .

        The Ukraine Nazis were protected and shielded by the u.s.a and britian after world war II …. Stone shows the direct links of their ideology and beliefs…. and how this was utilized when they partnered up with the u.s.a in the violent illegal overthrow of Ukraine s elected Govt ….

    • reason 7.2
      8 January 2018 at 8:51 am

      U.s.a general Wesley Clark and what an insider told him … way back when bush was president and before the illegal invasions and mass killings in Iraq & Afghanistan & Libya etc …

      ” “I just got this down from upstairs” — meaning the Secretary of Defense’s office — “today.” And he said, “This is a memo that describes how we’re going to take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran.”

      There s a yankee doodle bitcoin waiting for you SPC ….. 😉 🙂

      https://www.globalresearch.ca/we-re-going-to-take-out-7-countries-in-5-years-iraq-syria-lebanon-libya-somalia-sudan-iran/5166

      • SPC 7.2.1
        8 January 2018 at 9:10 am

        So you resort to a cartoonish association of those who disagree with you as American stooges – in that you are more alike them than different.

        The sort of person the FBI liked to place inside dissident groups … or just naturally tribal …

        FYI I was visited by the New Zealand police in 2002 because of faxes sent to the US embassy opposing their planned (by PNAC at that stage pre adoption by the White House policy) intervention in Iraq – one of many anti-American lefties investigated by them as threats to Tiger Woods (criticise American plans, get seen as anti-American, then seen as threats to the lives of Americans – sort of funny that they later had Obama who also opposed the Iraq regime change as POTUS).

        • reason 7.2.1.1
          8 January 2018 at 9:41 am

          SPC to me …. “Is a gummy bear bit-coin now in cyberspace for you to collect?”

          me to SPC …. ” There s a yankee doodle bitcoin waiting for you SPC ….. 😉 🙂”

          SPCs head then explodes in a blaze of straw ….

          Although its Good to see you support peace SPC ……….. and I do mean that.

          War is the disease of sick adults …….. which kills and maims children.

          • SPC 7.2.1.1.1
            8 January 2018 at 10:07 am

            The comment was made after you called Ad’s position on Russia, Syria (Iran) and Israel in the ME as support from him to people giving Nazi salutes in the Ukraine – this deserved the line I used in response.

            I suspect that we on the left virtue signal against each other more than we do the right.

            • reason 7.2.1.1.1.1
              8 January 2018 at 10:20 am

              If I was kind I’d call Ad an enigma ………

              On certain subjects he sings from the song sheet ………. of power.

              regarding nazis …. I was specifically referring to the Ukraine where the ‘Govt’ soldiers can be seen dancing while doing the nazi salute.

              I’m not sure how Isis dance …

              And I prefer Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther kings statements on usa foreign policy … Which fits perfectly in regards to the dirty blood thirsty usa/Nato sponsored proxy war that Isis / Al Nusra are fighting against the Syrian people.

              Arguing about posters reputations in relation to the suffering inflicted is almost obscene ………

              Ad is not for peace or truth IMO ………….. and i was not making it up about the usa backed nazi dancers in Ukraine

              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLzde8AbOCE

    • greywarshark 7.3
      8 January 2018 at 9:00 pm

      While thinking about Ukraine and the changing borders and invasions in WW2 we should think of Belarus also. All round this area there was a lot of suffering from every force that went through the area.

      In 1939 Germany and USSR struck the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and divided lands between them, West Belarus and West Ukraine and Baltic States were occupied by the USSR.
      http://www.belarusguide.com/history1/WWII_partisan_resistance_in_Belarus.htm

  8. greywarshark 8
    8 January 2018 at 9:30 am

    Emily Thornberry makes an impact. Sounds cautious, not hot headed and jingoistic,
    sounds as if she and UK Labour are trying to understand the problem from the most practical perspective, not one that would have chosen to dash and bash into Iraq if they had their time again. She sounds good, she looks good, could we be seeing a future Deputy Prime Minister, with Jeremy Corbyn as PM (or indeed the other way round). And I like her name, has promises of sweet and sour being in balance.

    • SPC 8.1
      8 January 2018 at 9:38 am

      In just discussing some awareness of the protests and the complexity of the situation, she dismisses (without needing to actually say so), as quite simplistic, the characterisation that the Americans rushed to make.

  9. Ad 9
    8 January 2018 at 12:56 pm

    Here’s the Foreign Policy journal’s summary of 10 big conflicts around the world for 2018, covering:

    – North Korea
    – US-Saudi Arabia – Iran
    – Myanmar-Bangladesh
    – Yemen
    – Afghanistan
    – Syria
    – Congo
    – Ukraine
    – Venezuela

    http://foreignpolicy.com/2018/01/02/10-conflicts-to-watch-in-2018/

    Plus a nice throwaway line on Israel-Palestine:
    “The Trump administration’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel for purely domestic political reasons, with no conceivable foreign-policy gain and a risk of explosion, must rank as a prime example of diplomatic malparactice.”

  10. Brewer 10
    9 January 2018 at 5:15 am

    Full coverage of the U.N. Security Council Emergency on Iran Jan. 5.

    https://youtu.be/2FHojWiUsuA

  11. greywarshark 11
    9 January 2018 at 10:13 am

    Concerning foreign relations – not good and what to be concerned about, or scared about this 2016 piece on fears held in the USA of an EMP – electro magnetic pulse – bomb had, and no doubt still has people edgy there.

    …an EMP, an electromagnetic pulse which could take down the entire electrical grid on the eastern seaboard, potentially killing millions.”…

    Back at the podium, Gilmore had massed evidence from all corners of the internet for his projections of disaster, including a 2011 video report from the Christian Broadcasting Network which claimed that Iran would have the capability of a missile-launched EMP attack by 2015.

    He was not just concerned about North Korea – “Iran, Russia and China” are capable of unleashing the same weapons, especially since Obama has been treating them with kid gloves. When it happens – and for him it’s not an “if” – he predicts the grid will be down for up to 10 years.

    “Life will go back to the 1850s” unless we prepare. But how? First with faith – “above all follow God” is Gilmore’s best advice.
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/10/preppers-survivalists-survivalcon-expo-nuclear-bomb-republicans-mormons

    And we are in there as an escape route…
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/02/preppers-survivalist-summit-constitution-americas-midlife-crisis

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    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    21 hours ago

  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    21 hours ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    22 hours ago

  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    23 hours ago

  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    24 hours ago

  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 day ago

  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago

  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago

  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 day ago

  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    2 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • DAVID FARRAR: Hysterical bullshit
    Radio NZ reports: Te Pāti Māori’s co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has accused the new government of “deliberate .. systemic genocide” over its policies to roll back the smokefree policy and the Māori Health Authority. The left love hysterical language. If you oppose racial quotas in laws, you are a racist. And now if you sack ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #48 2023
    Open access notables From this week's government/NGO section, longitudinal data is gold and Leisorowitz, Maibachi et al. continue to mine ore from the US public with Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, Fall 2023: Drawing on a representative sample of the U.S. adult population, the authors describe how registered ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • ELE LUDEMANN: It wasn’t just $55 million
    Ele Ludemann writes –  Winston Peters reckons media outlets were bribed by the $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund. He is not the first to make such an accusation. Last year, the Platform outlined conditions media signed up to in return for funds from the PJIF: . . . ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Weekly Roundup 1-December-2023
    Wow, it’s December already, and it’s a Friday. So here are few things that caught our attention recently. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt covered the new government’s coalition agreements and what they mean for transport. On Tuesday Matt looked at AT’s plans for fare increases ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago

  • Shane MacGowan Is Gone.
    Late 1996, The Dogs Bollix, Tamaki Makaurau.I’m at the front of the bar yelling my order to the bartender, jostling with other thirsty punters on a Friday night, keen to piss their wages up against a wall letting loose. The black stuff, long luscious pints of creamy goodness. Back down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 1
    Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop and other National, ACT and NZ First MPs applaud the signing of the coalition agreements, which included the reversal of anti-smoking measures while accelerating tax cuts for landlords. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • 2023 More Reading: November (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for November: A Modern Utopia, by H.G. Wells The Vampire (poem), by Heinrich August Ossenfelder The Corpus Hermeticum The Corpus Hermeticum is Mead’s translation. Now, this is indeed a very quiet month for reading. But there is a reason for that… You see, ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    4 days ago

  • Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies.The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. They also describe the processes of the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    5 days ago

  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Finally
    Henry Kissinger is finally dead. Good fucking riddance. While Americans loved him, he was a war criminal, responsible for most of the atrocities of the final quarter of the twentieth century. Cambodia. Bangladesh. Chile. East Timor. All Kissinger. Because of these crimes, Americans revere him as a "statesman" (which says ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • Government in a hurry – Luxon lists 49 priorities in 100-day plan while Peters pledges to strength...
    Buzz from the Beehive Yes, ministers in the new government are delivering speeches and releasing press statements. But the message on the government’s official website was the same as it has been for the past several days, when Point of Order went looking for news from the Beehive that had ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • DAVID FARRAR: Luxon is absolutely right
    David Farrar writes  –  1 News reports: Christopher Luxon says he was told by some Kiwis on the campaign trail they “didn’t know” the difference between Waka Kotahi, Te Pūkenga and Te Whatu Ora. Speaking to Breakfast, the incoming prime minister said having English first on government agencies will “make sure” ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Top 10 at 10 am for Thursday, Nov 30
    There are fears that mooted changes to building consent liability could end up driving the building industry into an uninsured hole. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Thursday, November 30, including:The new Government’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on how climate change threatens cricket‘s future
    Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, M Christopher Luxon has started blaming everyone else, and complaining that he has inherited “economic vandalism on an unprecedented scale” – which is how most of us are ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    5 days ago

  • We need to talk about Tory.
    The first I knew of the news about Tory Whanau was when a tweet came up in my feed.The sort of tweet that makes you question humanity, or at least why you bother with Twitter. Which is increasingly a cesspit of vile inhabitants who lurk spreading negativity, hate, and every ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Dangling Transport Solutions
    Cable Cars, Gondolas, Ropeways and Aerial Trams are all names for essentially the same technology and the world’s biggest maker of them are here to sell them as an public transport solution. Stuff reports: Austrian cable car company Doppelmayr has launched its case for adding aerial cable cars to New ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    5 days ago

  • November AMA
    Hi,It’s been awhile since I’ve done an Ask-Me-Anything on here, so today’s the day. Ask anything you like in the comments section, and I’ll be checking in today and tomorrow to answer.Leave a commentNext week I’ll be giving away a bunch of these Mister Organ blu-rays for readers in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago

  • National’s early moves adding to cost of living pressure
    The cost of living grind continues, and the economic and inflation honeymoon is over before it began. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: PM Christopher Luxon unveiled his 100 day plan yesterday with an avowed focus of reducing cost-of-living pressures, but his Government’s initial moves and promises are actually elevating ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Backwards to the future
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has confirmed that it will be back to the future on planning legislation. This will be just one of a number of moves which will see the new government go backwards as it repeals and cost-cuts its way into power. They will completely repeal one ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • New initiatives in science and technology could point the way ahead for Luxon government
    As the new government settles into the Beehive, expectations are high that it can sort out some  of  the  economic issues  confronting  New Zealand. It may take time for some new  ministers to get to grips with the range of their portfolio work and responsibilities before they can launch the  changes that  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    6 days ago

  • Treaty pledge to secure funding is contentious – but is Peters being pursued by a lynch mob after ...
    TV3 political editor Jenna Lynch was among the corps of political reporters who bridled, when Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told them what he thinks of them (which is not much). She was unabashed about letting her audience know she had bridled. More usefully, she drew attention to something which ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • How long does this last?
    I have a clear memory of every election since 1969 in this plucky little nation of ours. I swear I cannot recall a single one where the question being asked repeatedly in the first week of the new government was: how long do you reckon they’ll last? And that includes all ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • National’s giveaway politics
    We already know that national plans to boost smoking rates to collect more tobacco tax so they can give huge tax-cuts to mega-landlords. But this morning that policy got even more obscene - because it turns out that the tax cut is retrospective: Residential landlords will be able to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: Who’s driving the right-wing bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In 2023, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • GRAHAM ADAMS:  Media knives flashing for Luxon’s government
    The fear and loathing among legacy journalists is astonishing Graham Adams writes – No one is going to die wondering how some of the nation’s most influential journalists personally view the new National-led government. It has become abundantly clear within a few days of the coalition agreements ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    6 days ago

  • Top 10 news links for Wednesday, Nov 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere for Wednesday November 29, including:The early return of interest deductibility for landlords could see rebates paid on previous taxes and the cost increase to $3 billion from National’s initial estimate of $2.1 billion, CTU Economist Craig Renney estimated here last ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Smokefree Fallout and a High Profile Resignation.
    The day after being sworn in the new cabinet met yesterday, to enjoy their honeymoon phase. You remember, that period after a new government takes power where the country, and the media, are optimistic about them, because they haven’t had a chance to stuff anything about yet.Sadly the nuptials complete ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • As Cabinet revs up, building plans go on hold
    Wellington Council hoardings proclaim its preparations for population growth, but around the country councils are putting things on hold in the absence of clear funding pathways for infrastructure, and despite exploding migrant numbers. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Cabinet meets in earnest today to consider the new Government’s 100-day ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • National takes over infrastructure
    Though New Zealand First may have had ambitions to run the infrastructure portfolios, National would seem to have ended up firmly in control of them.  POLITIK has obtained a private memo to members of Infrastructure NZ yesterday, which shows that the peak organisation for infrastructure sees  National MPs Chris ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • At a glance – Evidence for global warming
    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
    7 days ago

  • Who’s Driving The Right-Wing Bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago

  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • National’s murderous smoking policy
    One of the big underlying problems in our political system is the prevalence of short-term thinking, most usually seen in the periodic massive infrastructure failures at a local government level caused by them skimping on maintenance to Keep Rates Low. But the new government has given us a new example, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago

  • NZ has a chance to rise again as our new government gets spending under control
    New Zealand has  a chance  to  rise  again. Under the  previous  government, the  number of New Zealanders below the poverty line was increasing  year by year. The Luxon-led government  must reverse that trend – and set about stabilising  the  pillars  of the economy. After the  mismanagement  of the outgoing government created   huge ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    7 days ago

  • KARL DU FRESNE: Media and the new government
    Two articles by Karl du Fresne bring media coverage of the new government into considerations.  He writes –    Tuesday, November 28, 2023 The left-wing media needed a line of attack, and they found one The left-wing media pack wasted no time identifying the new government’s weakest point. Seething over ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago

  • PHILIP CRUMP:  Team of rivals – a CEO approach to government leadership
    The work begins Philip Crump wrote this article ahead of the new government being sworn in yesterday – Later today the new National-led coalition government will be sworn in, and the hard work begins. At the core of government will be three men – each a leader ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago

  • Black Friday
    As everyone who watches television or is on the mailing list for any of our major stores will confirm, “Black Friday” has become the longest running commercial extravaganza and celebration in our history. Although its origins are obscure (presumably dreamt up by American salesmen a few years ago), it has ...
    Bryan GouldBy Bryan Gould
    7 days ago

  • In Defense of the Media.
    Yesterday the Ministers in the next government were sworn in by our Governor General. A day of tradition and ceremony, of decorum and respect. Usually.But yesterday Winston Peters, the incoming Deputy Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister, of our nation used it, as he did with the signing of the coalition ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago

  • Top 10 news links at 10 am for Tuesday, Nov 28
    Nicola Willis’ first move was ‘spilling the tea’ on what she called the ‘sobering’ state of the nation’s books, but she had better be able to back that up in the HYEFU. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago

  • PT use up but fare increases coming
    Yesterday Auckland Transport were celebrating, as the most recent Sunday was the busiest Sunday they’ve ever had. That’s a great outcome and I’m sure the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    1 week ago

  • The very opposite of social investment
    Nicola Willis (in blue) at the signing of the coalition agreement, before being sworn in as both Finance Minister and Social Investment Minister. National’s plan to unwind anti-smoking measures will benefit her in the first role, but how does it stack up from a social investment viewpoint? Photo: Lynn Grieveson ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Giving Tuesday
    For the first time "in history" we decided to jump on the "Giving Tuesday" bandwagon in order to make you aware of the options you have to contribute to our work! Projects supported by Skeptical Science Inc. Skeptical Science Skeptical Science is an all-volunteer organization but ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Let's open the books with Nicotine Willis
    Let’s say it’s 1984,and there's a dreary little nation at the bottom of the Pacific whose name rhymes with New Zealand,and they've just had an election.Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, will you look at the state of these books we’ve opened,cries the incoming government, will you look at all this mountain ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • Climate Change: Stopping oil
    National is promising to bring back offshore oil and gas drilling. Naturally, the Greens have organised a petition campaign to try and stop them. You should sign it - every little bit helps, and as the struggle over mining conservation land showed, even National can be deterred if enough people ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • Don’t accept Human Rights Commission reading of data on Treaty partnership – read the survey fin...
    Wellington is braced for a “massive impact’ from the new government’s cutting public service jobs, The Post somewhat grimly reported today. Expectations of an economic and social jolt are based on the National-Act coalition agreement to cut public service numbers in each government agency in a cost-trimming exercise  “informed by” head ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Further humanitarian support for Gaza, the West Bank and Israel
    The Government is contributing a further $5 million to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, bringing New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response so far to $10 million. “New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

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