iran Archive

• 

  Blair: Politician for the rich - by Keith Locke

  
  
  
  While many New Zealanders are struggling to make ends meet, others could afford a hefty $1000 to hear (and be photographed with) the former British PM Tony Blair when he spoke in Auckland today. Yes, Mr Blair is a politician for the rich. He only became Prime Minister after flying to Australia in 1995 to [...] read more
  July 28, 2011 12:25 pm - 52 Comments
• 

  Libyans join hands with the people of Christchurch - by Keith Locke

  
  
  
  At lunchtime today I joined a group of Libyans in Wellington’s Midland Park. They were calling for an end to the cruel Gaddafi regime.   The first placard I saw was not about Libya at all. It read: “Our hearts go out to the victims of the Christchurch earthquake.” The vigil began with a minutes [...] read more
  February 23, 2011 5:25 pm - 3 Comments
• 

  Cyberwarfare a dangerous path - by Keith Locke

  
  
  
  I see that “cybersecurity” one of the agenda items in this week’s tete-a-tete between Foreign Minister Murray McCully, Defence Minister Wayne Mapp and their UK counterparts William Hague and Liam Fox. The first question McCully and Mapp should ask the British ministers is “Are you going to challenge the United States on its resort to [...] read more
  January 19, 2011 3:00 pm - 12 Comments
• 

  Déjà vu in Iran - by Keith Locke

  
  
  
  Many moons ago Barack Obama confronted a warmongering President, George W Bush, saying he would be willing to sit down and talk to the Iranian leaders. read more
  May 20, 2010 11:42 am - 7 Comments
• 

  Iranian protests - by Keith Locke

  
  
  
  Iran has shown once again how authoritarian governments are scared for the internet. The regime has just announced it is cutting off access to Google’s email services. read more
  February 15, 2010 4:58 pm - 4 Comments
• 

  NZ must take a stand on human rights abuse in Iran - by Keith Locke

  
  
  
  All eyes were on Iran during its presidential elections on June 12. The re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was seen as fraudulent by many, and set off a spate of protests in following weeks. The crackdown by the Iranian government shocked the world. Many protestors and bystanders were killed or injured; over a thousand were detained. [...] read more
  September 7, 2009 5:47 pm - 51 Comments
• 

  Oil politics backfire on the US - by frog

  
  
  
  Open Democracy’s Paul Rogers notes that as China looks to secure oil for it’s increasing consumption it is becoming a strategic power in the Middle East in exactly the way the US would not have intended or wanted. Three transnational oil companies – Shell, BP and Exxon Mobil – were all expected to complete deals [...] read more
  September 6, 2008 9:50 am - 6 Comments
• 

  Get ready for the last oil war - by frog

  
  
  
  As you would expect, such a title had to pique my interest. But this article over at Energy Bulletin proved irresistible, despite its dense language. While I am not entirely convinced that an all-out total war for oil, centred around Iran and triggered by their nuclear ‘crisis’ is inevitable, it is hard to articulate a [...] read more
  July 20, 2008 3:16 pm - 15 Comments
• 

  Oil, the Monetary Merry-Go-Round and US Dollar Dominance - by frog

  
  
  
  I think that everyone would agree that it would be disastrous for the world economy if its reserve currency, the US dollar, collapsed. Many people blame today’s high oil price on the decline of the dollar, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. The price of oil has risen 110% in a few years while [...] read more
  May 5, 2008 11:03 am - 30 Comments
• 

  Would John Key send troops to Iran? - by frog

  
  
  
  President Bush is at it again, beating the war drums. This time the boogey-man is Iran, and in his speech today he said Iran threatened the security of all nations and should be confronted “before it’s too late”. It’s an interesting dilemma. First, no-one would like to see more countries get a hold of nuclear weapons. [...] read more
  January 14, 2008 5:10 pm - 62 Comments