The Dominion Post reports this morning that a coastal access road near Cape Kidnappers has been half-destroyed by coastal erosion. The astounding thing is, nature didn’t do this – the RMA did. Nearby land-owners identified the problem three years ago and tried to protect the road by building a barrier, at a cost of $10,000. [...]

Catastrophes, Free market environmentalism, Infrastructure, Libertarianz, New Zealand | No Comments »

It seems like my previous post on the graffiti and rubbish at Linden Station was read by someone important – the graffiti has been painted over on the walls and seats. Previously: Now:

Infrastructure, New Zealand, Personal, Photos, Wellington | 3 Comments »

Reason Number 31: Unpleasant train stations. Well done New Zealand, you are now the proud owners of the Linden train station. They can’t even spell swear words right?

Infrastructure, Labour, New Zealand, Personal, Photos, Wellington | 20 Comments »

The big news in New Zealand today was the attempted hijacking of a small Air NZ flight from Blenheim to Christchurch, allegedly by a 33-year old Somali refugee who claimed she had a bomb and demanded to be taken to Australia before attacking the pilots with a knife, causing minor injuries. The taxi driver who [...]

Infrastructure, New Zealand, Police, Terrorism | No Comments »

This article originally appeared in SOLO. On the 15th of October 2007, several hundred armed police officers executed search warrants around New Zealand. They cordoned off Ruatoki, a small Maori village south of Whakatane, seized a number of firearms, and arrested 17 people. The police claimed that the raids, carried out under post 9/11 anti-terror [...]

4GW, Black globalization, Infrastructure, New Zealand, Non-state actors, Police, Terrorism | 7 Comments »

Thomas X. Hammes speculates that a series of large explosions at major ports could effectively “end globalization”. My previous post, “Fourth-generation warfare expert to speak in Wellington on Monday”, generated some interest, and several people have asked me for a report. Well, I guess I did promise you, so here goes… As Shlok said, Hammes [...]

4GW, Black globalization, Catastrophes, Infrastructure, Resilience, Terrorism, Wellington | 9 Comments »

In some ways, it sounds exactly like a typical Al Qaeda attack, with multiple, near-simultaneous bombing targeting public transport: Stuff, “Bombs spark city chaos”Four explosions plunged Christchurch into commuter chaos yesterday. A bomb exploded in the Bus Exchange about 3.10pm, forcing hundreds of passengers, many of them schoolchildren, onto surrounding streets. Inner-city traffic came to [...]

4GW, Infrastructure, New Zealand, Resilience, Terrorism | 4 Comments »

Originally posted on Coming Anarchy. If you would like to comment, please do so there. Lihir gold mine, Papua New Guinea A history of conflict As has been explored in previous Oceania Day posts, conflict in Oceania – particularly in Melanesia – is often related to resources. The prime example is Bougainville, where in 1989 [...]

4GW, Black globalization, Development, Energy, Failed states, Infrastructure, Mercenaries, Non-state actors, Pacific, Resilience | No Comments »

The preface of Edward Luttwak’s classic work on how to overthrow a government reads as follows: AS THE EVENTS in France of May 1968 have shown yet again, insurrection, the classic vehicle of revolution, is obsolete. The security apparatus of the modern state, with its professional personnel, with its diversified means of transport and communications, [...]

4GW, Black globalization, Development, Failed states, Infrastructure, Non-state actors, Technology | 7 Comments »

Sri Lanka government only too happy to help them out John Robb reports that the Tamil guerrilla air force has turned to systems disruption, attacking oil infrastructure north of Colombo. This is the third air raid by the Tamil homebuilt light aircraft, but previous raids targeted air force and army personnel. It is also not [...]

4GW, Energy, Infrastructure, Non-state actors, Resilience, South Asia, Technology | No Comments »