Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Foreign Affairs

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  • Jeremy Eade,

    "Of course, countries have to trade and the more balanced and free that trade is, the better it is for all concerned."

    Absolutely, i've been trading all my life, i like a good shop i do.

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Withers,

    Re Ford: I have theory that US automakers don't want to make cars in the US any more which is why they ignored all the warning signs that small cars would be very much in demand the longer G W Bush stayed in the White House. If they run down the US arm of thir businesses, they can break the unions and / or import cars from their factories outside the US. Ford owns Mazda, after all.

    Auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 312 posts Report Reply

  • Simon Grigg,

    Ford owns Mazda, after all.

    But not Toyota which is killing them all and manufactures in the US. Honestly, the US car companies have been bleeding so long, it's really just a matter of time. I'd imagine a major merger, likely Ford-Chrysler could be on the cards, in the same way the US aviation industry rationalised (dontcha love that word..lots of people got fired) a few years back. They just can't afford to let any one of them crash despite the fact that they're dinosaurs from a past age.

    Just another klong... • Since Nov 2006 • 3284 posts Report Reply

  • LegBreak,

    The wise cynics amongst us [e.g. LegBreak], amongst us will gladly point out that Obama is full of platitudes, etc.

    I've never pretended to be wise.

    Well, whatever: he is an order of magnitude better than anyone else on offer.

    Couldn't agree more.

    He is an intelligent, articulate and sincere person. We need him. Plain and simple

    So it's here we differ. Given my agreement with your earlier point above, I just think some of the hype around is a bit ... overly optimistic.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1162 posts Report Reply

  • Don Christie,

    Barry Obambi

    The point at which Bremner lost the argument.

    I just think some of the hype around is a bit ... overly optimistic.

    "Rome - The Musical" closed at Circa last night. I was great. Congratulations to all involved. The finale has Octavius (Augustus) taking on the mantle of power, having bumped off all rivals, with the words:

    "Yes we can! yes we can!"

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1645 posts Report Reply

  • Shep Cheyenne,

    And back to Winnie

    Bob Jones - what a w*nker. He sets his old mate up and then backs away from any meaningful conversation with Winstons brother over the Spencer Trust on 9-noon this morning RNZ.

    Winston is a liar (found to be in court) and running scred, love it soo much.

    Since Oct 2007 • 927 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    Bob Jones - what a w*nker. He sets his old mate up and then backs away from any meaningful conversation with Winstons brother over the Spencer Trust on 9-noon this morning RNZ.

    Isn't the Rex who was firstup on nine to noon this morning - former NZ First staffer, currently in Aussie - a PAS person? The name was familiar.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    Doesn't Winston's brother come across as a similarly evasive little so and so. Ick.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Isn't the Rex who was firstup on nine to noon this morning - former NZ First staffer, currently in Aussie - a PAS person? The name was familiar.

    Yes. Rex Widerstrom has been arguing the toss online since the Usenet glory days.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    __Barry Obambi__

    The point at which Bremner lost the argument.

    I do appreciate James coming here, but his most recent posts might as well have been read off a script. The current conservative talking point on Obama is "but he opposed the surge!".

    Well, okay, let's be generous and give McCain that one -- he doesn't have much else. But McCain has been wrong on nearly everything else, he has lied about his previous expressions of support for the war, and his knowledge of the conflict is minimal.

    As others have pointed out, McCain's claim that the surge procured to new alliances in Anbar could hardly be more wrong -- the Awakening Councils didn't happen because the US forces started shooting more -- but because they stopped shooting and paid the local Sunnis monthly wages to shoot at the other guys. There's quite a difference.

    Anyway, Gallup has Obama's lead widening to nine points off the back of his trip.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Simon Grigg,

    There's quite a difference.

    Juan Cole has a fairly informative post on the surge .

    and Cole has certainly had a more reliable track record (and a more in depth understanding) on Iraq than the current GOP candidate.

    As many others have noted:

    what actually seems to have happened was that the escalation troops began by disarming the Sunni Arabs in Baghdad. Once these Sunnis were left helpless, the Shiite militias came in at night and ethnically cleansed them. Shaab district near Adhamiya had been a mixed neighborhood. It ended up with almost no Sunnis. Baghdad in the course of 2007 went from 65% Shiite to at least 75% Shiite and maybe more. My thesis would be that the US inadvertently allowed the chasing of hundreds of thousands of Sunni Arabs out of Baghdad (and many of them had to go all the way to Syria for refuge). Rates of violence declined once the ethnic cleansing was far advanced, just because there were fewer mixed neighborhoods.

    Just another klong... • Since Nov 2006 • 3284 posts Report Reply

  • Ben Austin,

    I was in Berlin the day after Obama spoke and I can confirm that the newspapers/chatter (at least those who deigned to speak Anglais to me) was all about Obama.

    But when you actually stand at the Brandenburger Tor and look down towards that Prussian War Memorial you can really see that this has to be one of the best places to make a speech that captures a/the zeitgeist. Being a politician and speaking to a crowd of that size there, that hangs on your every word must be a pretty good reminder of why its nice to be powerful and charismatic

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report Reply

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