A very interesting development reported today by Barak Ravid of Axios (in a Twitter thread) shows some further evolution of the relationship between Israel’s security cabinet (an inner team of ministers with grounding in law) and the “war cabinet” that was set up as part of the process of bringing some (former) opposition parties into […]
The war cabinet vs. the security cabinet
The war cabinet vs. the security cabinet
08 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, laws of war, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics, war against terror
Ceasefire: IDF vs. Hamas
06 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics, war against terror
An interesting post by one “Diogenes” on the recent ceasefire in Gaza that occurred for about a week until Hamas made a terrorist attack inside Israel, Was the Ceasefire Worth It? The question is worth asking because there was much criticism of both Israel and the USA over allowing this ceasefire to occur; the primary […]
Ceasefire: IDF vs. Hamas
Chris Trotter in strife?
03 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, International law, laws of war, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, war and peace Tags: Age of Enlightenment, Israel, Middle-East politics, regressive left, war against terror
Given his (qualified) support for Israel in their cage fight against Hamas I had wondered over the last few weeks if Chris was feeling the pressure from the New Left who hate Israel and have grown to outnumber he and his kind here in New Zealand over the last couple of decades. I noticed that […]
Chris Trotter in strife?
Sen. Sanders said he doesn’t know that a ceasefire is possible with Hamas. Hamas must go.
13 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, International law, laws of war, liberalism, Marxist economics, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics, war against terror
International Law in War
08 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, International law, law and economics, laws of war, liberalism, Marxist economics, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics
A follow-up to my post on Bombing Your Way To Proportionality as one Natasha Hausdorff discusses more than just that aspect of waging war. She’s a barrister who got a law degree at Oxford University and an LL.M. specialising in public international law. She then clerked for the President of the Supreme Court of Israel […]
International Law in War
The Battle for Syria: International Rivalry in the New Middle East by Christopher Phillips (revised edition, 2020)
08 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economic history, economics of crime, energy economics, International law, law and economics, Public Choice, war and peace Tags: Iran, Israel, Middle-East politics, Syria, war against terror
There are quite a few book-length studies of the Syrian Civil War. The distinctive thing about this one is that academic and author Christopher Phillips insists that other regional countries weren’t ‘drawn into’ the conflict once it had got going but, on the contrary, were involved right from the start, helped to exacerbate the initial […]
The Battle for Syria: International Rivalry in the New Middle East by Christopher Phillips (revised edition, 2020)
The Democrats’ Anti-Semitism Problem | Wonder Land: WSJ Opinion
03 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, economics of education, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: Middle-East politics, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left, war against terror
Māori doctors reckon they have the right medicine for the Middle East – but will they be joining Médecins Sans Frontières?
03 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, laws of war, liberalism, Marxist economics, war and peace Tags: Israel, Middle-East politics, regressive left, war against terror
The Māori Party and Māori medics have something in common: they have diagnosed what’s gone wrong in the Middle East and prescribed a remedy for the Israel-Hamas conflict. They are pressing for a Free Palestine. The mainstream media seem not to have noticed that the Māori medical professionals have taken sides in a matter with […]
Māori doctors reckon they have the right medicine for the Middle East – but will they be joining Médecins Sans Frontières?
Is the NYT buying and publishing information that helps Hamas?
02 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, law and economics, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, Middle-East politics, war against terror
This accusation comes from the “Elder of Ziyon” site, which is pro-Israel. But remember that much of the the information you get about the war comes from sites that take one side or the other (or, in the case of papers like the NYT, directly from the mouth of Hamas), so be judicious. In this […]
Is the NYT buying and publishing information that helps Hamas?
ISIS: The State of Terror by Jessica Stern and J.M. Berger (2015)
02 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, energy economics, law and economics, laws of war, war and peace Tags: Iraq, Middle-East politics, war against terror
Asymmetrical warfare is defined by asymmetry. Any terrorist ideology that can attract five recruits and the contents of their bank accounts can make headlines for months. A terrorist group with twenty recruits and half a million dollars can make headlines for years. (ISIS: State of Terror, page 191) ISIS is the crack cocaine of violent […]
ISIS: The State of Terror by Jessica Stern and J.M. Berger (2015)
CHRIS TROTTER: Failing the “Leftist” litmus test
31 Oct 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, laws of war, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics, war against terror
LIKE THE WAR in Ukraine, the war in Gaza is serving as a remarkable litmus test for the Left. It is testing its moral compass, its understanding of international law, its grasp of geopolitical realities and, not least, its awareness of what the PR mavens call “the optics”. A substantial portion, even, perhaps, a majority,…
CHRIS TROTTER: Failing the “Leftist” litmus test
My conversation with Richard Dawkins
31 Oct 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, economics of education, economics of religion, law and economics, laws of war, liberalism, Marxist economics, war and peace Tags: free speech, Israel, Middle-East politics, political correctness, regressive left, war against terror
About ten days ago I had an hourlong conversation with Richard Dawkins for his Substack site, “The Poetry of Reality“. The video, from YouTube, is embedded below. As Richard says in his written introduction: We covered a myriad of controversial topics plaguing our world today: from the religious conflict in Gaza to modern-day struggles with […]
My conversation with Richard Dawkins
UN repeatedly condemns Israel, but Palestine (and Hamas) get off scot-free
31 Oct 2023 1 Comment
in defence economics, laws of war, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics, regressive left, war against terror
Everyone who pays attention to the UN knows that it has repeatedly condemned Israel but barely goes after countries like North Korea, Russia, or Iran (all UN members), even though it’s pretty clear that these countries violate human rights far more often than does Israel. The UN seems to have an obsession with condemning Israel, […]
UN repeatedly condemns Israel, but Palestine (and Hamas) get off scot-free
Sinn Fein’s links to PLO,Hamas,ETA and of course IRA and other terrorist organisations.
31 Oct 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, law and economics, laws of war, war and peace Tags: Ireland, Middle-East politics, war against terror
I have to set this out at the start of this post. None of this has been investigated by me, it has all been done by other journalists. However all of this has been verified by me. All the relevant links are included in the post. It is also noteworthy to mention that I don’t […]
Sinn Fein’s links to PLO,Hamas,ETA and of course IRA and other terrorist organisations.
Israel wants peace
30 Oct 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, war and peace Tags: Israel, Middle-East politics, war against terror
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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