@pablopersonal
Raised in Argentina, lived in other parts of South America for various time periods, taught, wrote, and did US government service on Latin American and international issues, retired triathlete, loves futbol, family and birds.
Here is a reflection on the US/Israel-Iran conflict framed as a counter-force versus counter-value contest, along with some other observations: www.kiwipolitico.com/2026/03/coun...
Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates serving as background props while Trump rambles about war as bombs fall on Iran (1200+ civilian dead so far) was not a good look. The team's PR department should have read the global room better and postponed the meet-and-greet. It was a major cringe.
This was written a few days ago but sums up my thoughts about the US-Israeli attacks on Iran. www.kiwipolitico.com/2026/03/us-a...
I posted a longer form version of the Epstein files/liberal internationalist parallels here: www.kiwipolitico.com/2026/02/dark...
in it. From that can come an improved global edifice better prepared to confront the global challenges that lie ahead in a more equitable and inclusive fashion. Hint: the interests of the Global South need to be accommodated in a more honest way.
from the actions of external actors (although some may have pushed from the margins). IOW, the downfall is self-induced. And like the Epstein investigation, the post-liberal international order must begin with an evaluation of its institutional architecture and the flaws inherent
They traded in money, power, influence and darker things. It was their step into darkness that toppled them. Otherwise they would still be networking as usual. Likewise, liberal internationalism fell due to its own internal decay, corruption, sclerosis and contradictions, not from the actions of
A thought: The Epstein client list epitomises the decline of liberal internationalism. The list is a who's who of (mostly Western) liberal internationalist leaders: billionaires, bankers, academics, royalty, politicians, diplomats, former prime ministers, sundry oligarchs, etc.
The 6th season opening episode of the "A View from Afar" podcast is now up: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlTu...
Note time change from previous announcement.
The "A View from Afar" podcast cohosted by multimedia journalist Selwyn Manning and myself re-launches on Sunday February 22 at 6PM US East Coast time, Monday February 23 at 12 PM noon NZ daylight savings time. The operational title is "Confronting the US Black Hole Vortex in International Affairs."
I am pleased to announce that the "A View from Afar" podcast that I do with journalist Selwyn Manning resumes broadcasts next week. You can find details here: www.kiwipolitico.com/2026/02/medi...
reality, but the fact is that partisan silence/acquiescence does not equal public consent. Trump and co. appear to not understand this basic axiom and in fact seem blind to it given their slanderous and false accounts of the ICE murders in MN.
aggravates the situation. Repression must be justified ideologically and accepted by the majority for it to work as an instrument of social control. IOW, using mass repression without public consent is a brittle club. Despots try to shape narratives via lies and propaganda in order to alter that
Used as the basis for authority, repression obeys a form of Newtonian Law: it wanes over time. You cannot repress the same amount of people with the same amount of force forever. Their numbers will grow and your ability to repress will drop unless you further increase the use of force. That only
In the US, state violence is on a continuum that leads to state terrorism. Not good.
www.kiwipolitico.com/2026/01/some...
Sadly, he never got the chance to fully exercise his 2nd amendment rights, and in fact his carrying of the gun (he did not draw and point it at anyone) was enough to prompt his multiple shot murder while restrained and then lying prone. Will the NRA dare to comment on this?
There is a perverse irony to the fact that the man murdered today by ICE in Minneapolis while attempting to protect a female protester from being roughed up by ICE agents had a concealed carry license for his handgun.
The current NZ govt might remind Trump that the NZDF lost 10 KIA in Afghanistan, the most since the Vietnam conflict (37 KIA). In each case NZ sent front-line troops to support US and UN missions, so were not "standing back" in either of them (as Trump claims about NATO/ISAF in Afghanistan).
Here is another reflection about the US-Venezuela conflict: www.kiwipolitico.com/2026/01/usin...
Here is my take on aspects of Trump 2.0's foreign policy foundations: www.kiwipolitico.com/2025/12/the-...
Here is my take on the coverage of the Bondi mass murder event. www.kiwipolitico.com/2025/12/addr...
The US National Security Strategy for the Western Hemisphere is out. It is not good. www.kiwipolitico.com/2025/12/a-re...
the illegal order came from. Because killing shipwrecked survivors is a war crime, a crime under US and International law, and a violation of the US code of military justice. That the people in question were defenceless civilians not engaged in a real war with the US makes things worse.
moral compass in what conservative writer George Will calls a "sickening moral slum of an administration." We can only hope that the Admiral, whose career is now finished regardless of who ultimately gave the double-tap kill order, has receipts or document trail that will provide evidence of where
Well, it happened. Trump and Hegseth are trying to distance themselves from the order to kill shipwrecked survivors of a US military strike by throwing the Commanding Office of the operation, Adm. Frank Bradley, under the bus. This was predictable because Trump and Hegseth have no honour or moral
Here is a reflection on the recent NZ police scandal. It is about a culture of impunity. www.kiwipolitico.com/2025/11/no-s...
Some thoughts on Zohran Mandami's win in NYC, with an anecdote about ideological ignorance tacked on at the end. www.kiwipolitico.com/2025/11/mamd...
Will Dick Chaney get the historical revisionist whitewash obituary that such as Kissinger and Kirk received from media or will ideological feuds within MAGA push a more objective account? Groyper vs national populist vs Neo-con is the new rightwing historical framing device.