New Zealand Shares the Shame

New Zealand’s participation in Iraq becomes more shameful and less tenable by the day.

Just how bad will American and UK brutish behaviour have to get before our government is prepared to pull the plug on New Zealand troops supporting the US/UK illegal occupation of Iraq.

Over the past month these “liberators” have –

America’s sick obsession with “full spectrum dominance” is the most dangerous threat in the world today. By aligning ourselves with it New Zealand must share the shame and the blame.

Last year Global Peace and Justice Auckland wrote to the Prime Minister asking for action over the murder of two Afghani prisoners at Bagram airforce base in northern Afghanistan where New Zealand has military personnel stationed. Helen Clark was dismissive in her response and refused to raise this issue with the US. Had the Clark government acted then it may well have short-circuited the appalling situation which has finally made the headlines.

Instead we are still holding the playground bully’s jacket and lunchbox as he pounds, humiliates and murders his hapless victims.

It was a grave mistake to commit troops to the occupation – now is the time to bring them home.

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>