Finally some good news about the tense situation in Fiji, where military chief Bainimarama has been threatening to overthrow Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase. Bainimarama has apparently delayed his return to Fiji from NZ, and Qarase will be flying down to Wellington today for last-minute talks, facilitated by the NZ government. It seems no-one wants to [...]

New Zealand, Pacific, Wellington | 3 Comments »

I am in the unusual position of both agreeing with Helen Clark, and disagreeing with PC, over the Anzac deployment to riot-devastated Nuku’alofa. As Clark has pointed out, New Zealand has little choice but to intervene. Instability in our part of the Pacific could have serious consequences for us, for many reasons: the tendency of [...]

Empire, New Zealand, Pacific | 7 Comments »

The Naxalite movement, inspired by Mao, has been fighting a low-level insurgency in remote areas of India for decades. As their attacks have become more high-tech, so has their propaganda. In June some Naxal sympathisers started the Naxal Revolution blog, in response to the older, anti-communist Naxal Watch. Unfortunately, the pro-Naxal blog is better designed, [...]

4GW, Infrastructure, Non-state actors, South Asia, Technology | 1 Comment »

Via Coming Anarchy and Zenpundit. 4GW theorist, Col. Thomas X. Hammes, reviews counterinsurgency literature in this Washington Post article, focusing on how insurgency has evolved over time. I will be noting his recommendations. A sample of Hammes’ ideas: But complicating our problem today is the fact that insurgencies are no longer the unified, hierarchical organizations [...]

4GW | No Comments »

“If a widespread pattern of [knock-and-announce] violations were shown . . . there would be reason for grave concern.” —Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, in Hudson v. Michigan, June 15, 2006. I earlier commented on the unjustified use of tasers by US police officers on a university campus (although some disagree). Alarmingly, there are many [...]

Police | 4 Comments »

The Australian, “Islamic fears kill off children’s thriller”: A LEADING children’s publisher has dumped a novel because of political sensitivity over Islamic issues. Scholastic Australia pulled the plug on the Army of the Pure after booksellers and librarians said they would not stock the adventure thriller for younger readers because the “baddie” was a Muslim [...]

Art, Islam | 1 Comment »

The Age, “Fijian soldiers on run with conman”: Five former Fijian soldiers on the run in Bougainville with a wounded conman have sought assurances they will be safe if they hand themselves in following an armed raid on their jungle base. Notorious conman, self-proclaimed king and leader of a private army Noah Musingku was shot [...]

Failed states, Mercenaries, Non-state actors, Pacific | 3 Comments »

Perhaps you have seen the incident at UCLA where a student refused to present ID or leave the university library. The Iranian-American student, who was belligerent but not violent, was tased repeatedly while on the ground. Crucially, this was all caught on camera and is on YouTube. TeenagePundit portrays the event in no uncertain terms: [...]

New Zealand, Police, Science | No Comments »

I was walking through the Wellington CBD with Jordan and Leanne this afternoon, and noticed that a couple of blocks between Lambton Quay and the waterfront, around the NZ Post building, were cordoned off. Later I discovered that the army bomb squad was in the process of blowing up a “suspicious package.” Later on, Jordan [...]

New Zealand, Terrorism, Wellington | 11 Comments »

As the list of unstable Pacific states continues to grow, I wonder if Samoa will be next.  This RNZ news item describes an all too common situation in Western Samoa as religious, state and village authorities collide: Fiauiva’a Ausage and his family were ordered to leave the village by last Monday or their house would [...]

Pacific | 12 Comments »