Mr Key has so many 'explanations!'

Sometimes one can almost feel sorry for politicians as reporters and their political foes attempt to trip them up re various issues---well almost-----but when the PM consistently comes up with a myriad of explanations and excuses over an important issue, in this case the integrity of the position he holds as Prime Minister, then how can we feel anything less than extreme doubt as to his overall honesty? John Key has flipped and flopped his way through the revelations that Nicky Hager has brought up in his book. That there is a great deal of truth in the allegations is well illustrated by the body language alone and more specifically by the attempts to cover up. Now we have a total plethora of deceptions, near lies and outright lies. Maybe the PM should take a leaf put of the Leader of the Opposition in Australia and come clean and let the law and the public decide as to the ‘honesty’ of his arguments. Hell if one believes the polls at present, then he has not taken the huge hit his opponents would like so what’s he got to fear other than fear itself? We have a month to sort this issue out so that we can vote on the other issues affecting New Zealanders; the ones that affect even more NZers than the mere ‘integrity of ‘he’ who would lead us for three more years. Both strands are important. Let’s get this done and dusted and concentrate on jobs, housing, education, health, the environment and the vision of a New Zealand that is far kinder than the one brought to us courtesy of John key and his cohorts! www.authorneilcoleman.com

Top ten countries for reading my blogs

The top ten countries re reading my blogs are as follows. Of course they can also be sourced on FB and Twitter. 1) USA 73712 2) NZ 36757 3) Russia 2353 4) Australia 2231 5) China 1166 6) UK 1151 7) Germany 8) Luxembourge 467 9) France 296 10) Ukraine 177 And about 50 other countries with smaller numbers but growing Thanks for your support.

What does a nation do, when its citizens enlist in a foreign war?

Many people have been shocked at the terrible shots online of an American photographer being beheaded by a masked IS fighter. That he was obviously British makes large sections of the British public even more uncomfortable. The perpetrator has been called a murderer and no doubt would support any move to bring him to ‘justice.’ The events in the area controlled by the IS are subject to draconian laws that completely reject any philosophy other than ‘their own’ narrow interpretation of Islamic law. If one is not in agreement with that stance or belongs to another ‘faith, be it a branch of Islam or a different ‘ethnic group,’ then there are few choices, the most being, leave, pay protection money or die if one doesn’t convert. Such actions as we are witnessing do not exist in this time alone. During the 1930’s in the Spanish Civil War, many foreigners flocked to the aid of the left-leaning Republican Government as it tried to retain power and the Forces behind Franco, aided by an emerging Nazi Germany attacked the regime. Atrocities were committed on both sides of the fray and even today, many do not forget those times. New Zealanders joined the International Brigade that supported the Republican cause and no doubt witnessed many of the crimes against humanity, including the murder of priests and the decimation of entire villages. Sound familiar! In today’s analogy, we are seeing something similar but on a more vast scale. Combined with the events in Syria, the suffering of large segments of the population in huge areas of Iraq are troubling because the IS does not allow for any negotiation and resorts to methods that have only one goal—the complete takeover of most of the Middle east, stretching from Iraq right through to parts of Northern Africa. Empire building, not unlike so many historical precedents but run by religious despots who will quell any forms of diversity and be completely intolerant of those espousing even a slightly different interpretation of how they would have us worship. There is little that is good about those who control this IS. They are not similar to the forces opposing the Crusaders of old. They do not represent the cultural richness of the Islamic Empire from that time. They do not value education, the arts, science or any other cultural experience. They are narrow minded bigots who would set the region on fire, in order to impose their quasi- political dogma. They should be feared, by all people who wish to live in peace, caring for their families and having a modicum of freedom. History will look back at this time, but I wonder from what bastion! Will the IS have succeeded in imposing its will?

John Key--'At the end of the day-----I----read on!

By now anyone watching TV or listening to Kohn Key on the radio and other media, will have come to a conclusion that John Key has a very limited vocabulary and that he is stumbling his way to what he thinks is a forgone conclusion re the election -----that he is going to romp in because NZers have made up their minds that he represents the best choice re the outcome. He arrogantly assumes that most NZers think that any criticism of him, his policies and his Government is just a left-wing conspiracy. For a while there, that seemed to be the case---well the fact that he was on the home straight re a victory for National; that was until we started to hear (although many did not find the latest revelations about his style of politics to be something they didn’t already know!) about some pretty damming evidence about how he has maintained his hold on power. Nicky Hager’s book is the catalyst for this growing under swell of opposition to something that is just not right. Every day seems to bring more ‘dirt’ to the fore as various parts of emails and reported (an unreported) communications between politicians in the Key camp and government departmental heads, makes it into the public sphere. What we are witnessing is a government and a PM in particular who will go to almost any length to confuse, diffuse and outright lie to the public about policy, and the day to day running of Government. We are hearing about the manner in which he suppresses opposition and criticism, via links to some incredibly dubious characters, notably Slater and his cohorts and contacts within the National party. These actions have transformed NZ politics to a new low. Now that the limelight is clearly focussed on Key and Slater, along with is Achilles Heel, Collins, Key is beginning to unravel as evidenced by his peculiar overuse of the term, ‘At the end of the day.’ TV three did a count, over the period of a day and I think they stopped counted once the total had reached beyond 20. I am not sure how it affects others, but I oscillate between feelings of frustration and absolute mirth, when he opens his mouth now. Any real attempts to get ‘policy out there’ are diminished every time he utters those words. I bet households are having ‘lounge sweepstakes, with the ‘winner take all,’ as to who guesses the correct number of usages he has in a defined time. So what we now have with John Key is---‘At the end of the day, I forget what I said or heard and I will probably lie about it anyway.’ SO this is the person you want to lead us through the next three years! Not a question---a statement! www.authorneilcoleman.com

USA launches its airpower against ISIS! Anyone complaining?

I regularly give some stick to the USA re its actions in various regions of the world. I have railed against it over-reaching military and other influences throughout the world. I have accused the military/industrial complex as being the only winner in many of these ‘adventures,’ and no doubt have made some USA supporters angry. I do however support some of the actions taken by the USA in recent days re its attempt to stop the expanding military invasion of parts of Iraq and probably Syria because no one else seems to be willing to help those dispossessed and r=targeted groups who are feeling their homes, many of which have been destroyed. I also accept that there may well be other reasons, for the actions of the USA that drive this action, mainly that of its own influence in the region and access to oil! BUT---there is no doubt that this mediaeval group that goes under various names is creating human suffering on a massive scale. They seem to be attempting to wipe out religions groups who do not conform to their narrow interpretation of ‘faith,’ and what we are seeing is nothing short of ‘ethnic cleansing. The Kurds were their only impediment to their overall plan! However, even the Kurds were facing defeat as the ISIS forces gained weapons from other sources and those they captured from an Iraqi army that did not seem to be too keen to be involved in defending their nation. Now that the USA has launched airstrikes against this dessert foe, fortunes are reversing and the Kurd fighters are beginning to push back the enemy, one that is almost at the gates of Bagdad. Whilst not trusting the USA totally, I accept that if it were not for their actions, then we would soon be witnessing a total annihilation of the Kurds and many other religious and ethnic minorities. Now that the former PM of Iraq has gone, there is a tiny ray of hope that the new PM can bring together the forces who would oppose the plans of ISIS and rebuild Iraq, but those hopes are much tinged with cynicism, given past history. We do not want to see the USA and its allies being drawn in to yet another protracted war in this region. Local forces must find their own solutions but that must also start by them ‘talking to one another to find a common cause—a strong and if possible, united Iraq. The model? ----One that works for Iraq, not one imposed by ‘western desires;’ ones that ultimately serve the interests of the latter. So, keep helping the Kurds, USA but do so with extreme caution.

Prostitutes and leaks--how low has NZ politics really sunk to!?

If prostitution is 'one of the oldest professions' and you add in politics, then I say the two have actually gone together under different formats for as long as people have sought to control, to seek power and to gain the upper hand by seeking out information on one's opponents.It should come as no surprize that we have heard about allegations of the above activities by leaking information via the questionable actions of Slater, the 'whale blogger.' Every day we are waking up to yet more news that Slater has indeed been active for quite some time in this twilight world of 'dirty politics,' yet he claims innocnence and that others are doing it too. New Zealand is not exempt from what we have assumed is the domain of politicians and power brokers elsewhere; it is happenning everywhere.It has probably existed in one form or another for as long as New Zealand has had a 'western sytle of politics'(and before then?). Sex is a very convenient tool when it comes to control and the desire to rule! Yes, we have seen some 'below the belt' actions and alleged nasty and dirty politics. Nicky Hager is well known for bringing issues to the fore and even though a large number of NZers will simply shrug off the accusations, they will not go away. The election is shaping up to be the dirtiest in NZ's history. One can only hope that on the day, that policy will still be a major driving force in how people make up their minds as to where to place their 'ticks.'

Ukraine---you have joined the top ten on my reading list. Welcome!

I have noticed an increase re Ukraine readers but this morning I saw that you are now number ten on my list, replacing South Korea in that spot. Sometimes my posts have been critical of your government but more often they lament the terrible events, particularly in the East of your country. I shall continue to watch and comment and hope that peace returns and you can rebuild your economy and heal the wounds caused by the 'struggle.' www.authorneilcoleman.com