New Zealand Conservative

Poland stuck in the middle ~ The Global Think Tank What worries the Poles is that if stability in Ukraine returns under terms suitable to the Kremlin, it may only be a matter of time before it is business as usual with Russia. That would give Russia the space to make another move. A Collective Psychosis Is Taking Hold of Ukraine ~ The New Republic A collective psychosis, born of machismo and paranoia and fuelled by rumour, is taking hold. The latest story gaining traction in the capital is that thousands of Russians—solitary males of military age—have begun to appear in Kyiv, renting rooms and just waiting. “Let them come,” says Maksym, my wiry and intense landlord. “I’ve got body armour and I’m cleaning all my guns.”

“Someone who tries to blow out another’s oil lamp will set his beard on fire,” Kazak Proverb - related by Chinese Vice Premier, Zhang Gaoli, at St. Petersburg International Economic Forum This has sure been an interesting week, a golden week for Mr Putin - its a crying shame that this is the sound bite and that it comes via translator. In Russian he was devastating, on fire with and with far much more than this. His audience got it though and it is clear that the world has changed.

From the Los Angeles times Russia and China signed a landmark $400-billion natural gas deal Wednesday, sealing their friendship at a time when both are unpopular in their neighborhoods and at odds with the United States . In reality this is far bigger than an energy deal, it is a whole raft of projects and the settlements will be in Renminbi and Rubles, not dollars. Cleverly New Zealand has already moved to settle our trade with China in Renminbi bypassing the almighty dollar. This is the USA's bad dream, this is why Ukraine is in turmoil - an attempt to drag Russia into a war, portraying her leader as a re-incarnation of Hitler to head this off at the pass and to separate her from Europe. But Vladimir Putin has decided not to play along for now. But the human catastrophe in Ukraine and Obama's "Pivot to Asia" , talking up China as an enemy, may just have hastened this which of course has been in preparation for years. We live in interesting times, dangerous...

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (C) with his wife Malgorzata Tusk (2-R), Prince Harry (2-L), New Zealand Governor General Sir Jerry Mateparae (R) and Polish General Wieslaw Grudzinski (L) arrive for the official ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Monte Cassino Prince Harry stood shoulder to shoulder with Polish veterans as he commemorated their bravery and sacrifice capturing Monte Cassino in one of the Second World War's bloodiest battles. From the (UK) Telegraph : It was 70 years ago on today that troops from the Polish II Corps finally took the ruined Benedictine monastery near Rome - a symbol of Nazi resistance to the Allies' campaign to push Hitler's forces out of Italy. The victory had followed months of hard fighting that left an estimated 250,000 dead. The Prince joined more than 50 Polish veterans of the battle, their prime minister Donald Tusk and many dignitaries for an open-air mass at the Polish Military Ceremony...

The title of this post is based on the title of a story that appeared on the Stuff website over the weekend (' Catholics Tell Gays To Ditch Sex '), that I have changed to more accurately reflect the teaching of the Church. The story is concerning the new video The Third Way that I posted about a few weeks ago, and reports how the Catholic Bishop of Auckland, Patrick Dunn, now wants to use the video in teaching the position of the Church on homosexuality. The story begins - Gay people should give up sex if they want to be Catholics, according to a documentary supported by the New Zealand Catholic church. A video endorsed by Auckland Bishop Patrick Dunn says homosexual sex is a sin and those who are experiencing same-sex attraction are encouraged to "love God" instead. But the gay community says the doco is "horrifying" and an insidious attempt to make it seem the church is more tolerant towards homosexuals. The Third Way, billed as the church...