Refuse to take part in abomination that is war
With the likelihood of a world war taking hold as a result of the US-Israel attack on Iran, we must remember that wars are instigated by political and business leaders who hoodwink and hypnotise us with propaganda to fight, kill and die, to further their interests and psychopathic obsessions, while they pull the strings from a safe distance.
It is our duty as New Zealand citizens to resist all and any calls for us to go to war in order to curry favour with the US, the UK, the EU, Australia, or Israel.
We will be on the honourable side of history.
Weak response
Luxon and Peters’ condemnation of the retaliation of Iran against US allies is pathetic. No matter how distasteful the government of Iran may be, they have a right to defend themselves against foreign aggression.
Peters in particular should be made aware that the statement he and Luxon released is just the right-wing version of the virtue signalling they so despise of the Left — but rather than talking about human rights, they are complaining about the reactions of people who were just bombed as "out of line", as if you should when attacked, do absolutely nothing.
More news
An interesting letter in the ODT "I have news for you Duncan and it’s all bad" (16.2.26). So Donald Trump is overturning the established order, and some people don’t like that.
I agree with that comment, but Mr Trump is also overturning the United States as a world leading country.
In fact, I would say he’s causing America to demolish itself and lose any respect held by other countries.
His policies are not to unite (as in the good old United States), rather his policies are to divide and cause fear. Not a clever way to lead a country, but a method by which certain people stay in power and become wealthy.
Luckily, other countries are now waking up to Trumpism and starting to fight back.
The big loser will be eventually America itself, as the "Established Order" turns against the US.
Not at all grateful
"The President: you should be grateful" (Opinion ODT 27.2.26) analyses Donald Trump but tells us more about author Gerrard Eckhoff.
Do many Kiwis have an inflexible view of the world based on Left or Right, or do they prefer the concept of right and wrong in deciding what is good and bad?
America claims to be a model democracy yet has elected an emperor. Germany did the same, so you might not need to cheat — Vladimir Putin — to become a tyrant.
Trump incited an insurrection, avoided prosecution and likely jail because he was a presidential candidate, won and pardoned hundreds of murderous thugs. He is certainly named in the Epstein files. He has sent his de facto private army into cities run by Democrats to punish/terrorise citizens.
More Trump? No thanks.
Te Papa
Missed in the obituary of Frank Gehry (28.2.26) was the New Zealand connection. In conjunction with Ian Athfield, he was one of the entries for the design of Te Papa. Sadly their bid wasn't accepted, and we're left with a building looking like . . . what it is today.
Extending ACC’s mental injury cover to volunteers
As both an ex-ACC employee and an ex-SAR volunteer (25+ years at each), I’ve naturally taken an interest in the discussion about extending ACC’s mental injury cover to volunteers.
There are two points that seem to have been missed. Firstly, some have spoken about the cumulative effect of years of attending traumatic events. The cover for mental injury currently available to paid workers is limited to the effects of specific events, so it’s unlikely that extending it to volunteers would encompass cumulative effects.
Secondly, the contrasting positions of a paid responder working alongside a volunteer have been highlighted. What about a responding bystander – such as those first on the scene at the recent St Clair Beach death, or the student who rescued people from the overcrowded party? Is their situation the same as a member of a paid or volunteer organisation?
Questionable claim
Damian Spring, Santana Minerals' chief executive, stated that the proposed gold mine will "provide significant ecological uplift over more than 2200ha" (ODT 24.2.26). How can a mine on such a scale improve the environment? Short-term gain comes at the price of long-term pain: developments like this will have ongoing consequences for the locality and future generations. The planning process should not be fast-tracked.
Wine time
I have never been more tempted to taste a wine than I was after reading the description this morning (Fresh, ODT 25.2.26) by your wine columnist Mark Henderson: "Watermelon dusted with icing sugar."
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