@pablopersonal.bsky.social
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.
The US National Security Strategy for the Western Hemisphere is out. It is not good. www.kiwipolitico.com/2025/12/a-re...
A return to darkness.
In 1994 I was the lead author of the US National Security Strategy for the Western Hemisphere (in reality, the region below the US-Mexico border and adjacent waters). In that section of the Annual …
www.kiwipolitico.com
December 6, 2025 at 9:17 PM
The US National Security Strategy for the Western Hemisphere is out. It is not good. www.kiwipolitico.com/2025/12/a-re...
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
December 3, 2025 at 1:24 AM
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...
No surprises versus plausible deniability.
The sordid saga of Jevon McSkimming reminds us of the inherent tension between two largely unspoken axioms of democratic politics. These are the “no surprises” and “plausible deni…
www.kiwipolitico.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:31 PM
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...
Mamdani’s monster move.
The shouting about communist/socialist/Marxist/Islamist by the US Right when it comes to Zohran Mamdani suggests they live in a 1950s McCarthyite time warp and/or an ideological ignorance bubble. B…
www.kiwipolitico.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:07 PM
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.
November 5, 2025 at 1:42 AM
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.
The NZ equivalent of Trump advisor Stephen Miller--aka the American Goebbels--increasingly appears to be David Seymore, adapted (mutatis mutandis) to local context. Same vibe, different places.
October 28, 2025 at 7:01 AM
The NZ equivalent of Trump advisor Stephen Miller--aka the American Goebbels--increasingly appears to be David Seymore, adapted (mutatis mutandis) to local context. Same vibe, different places.
Something on the impending US conflict with Venezuela and a few other things: www.kiwipolitico.com/2025/10/retu...
Return to the Big Stick, with some carrots thrown in.
A while back I wrote about Trump’s nostalgia for the William McKinley “gilded” era (defined by tariffs and wars) and his return to a “neo” version of Gunboat Diplomacy…
www.kiwipolitico.com
October 25, 2025 at 2:03 AM
Something on the impending US conflict with Venezuela and a few other things: www.kiwipolitico.com/2025/10/retu...
An interesting take on the current state of play: www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/marquezs-chr...
Márquez’s “Chronicle of a Death Foretold” Mirrored in Global Politics
Márquez reminded us that even the foretold can be undone by a single act of conscience. The question is whether the global community, having rehearsed its own tragedy for so long, can similarly improv...
www.geopoliticalmonitor.com
October 21, 2025 at 12:24 AM
An interesting take on the current state of play: www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/marquezs-chr...
It seems that much of Trump's approach to politics stems from his history of "getting away" with transgressions thanks to his power and privilege. This includes his history of sexual abuse and bullying, now translated and magnified into US policy-making. The Epstein files might help rein him in.
October 18, 2025 at 1:11 AM
It seems that much of Trump's approach to politics stems from his history of "getting away" with transgressions thanks to his power and privilege. This includes his history of sexual abuse and bullying, now translated and magnified into US policy-making. The Epstein files might help rein him in.
When it comes to internal governance, small political parties are like small towns: most politics is personal.#nzpol
October 14, 2025 at 2:46 AM
When it comes to internal governance, small political parties are like small towns: most politics is personal.#nzpol
This is for the NZ fools who think that this guy is worth emulating. Here is looking at you, ACT!
www.currentaffairs.org/news/this-is...
www.currentaffairs.org/news/this-is...
This is Why You Don’t Let Libertarians Run Your Country
In Argentina, President Javier Milei has screwed the economy up so badly he needs a $20 billion bailout. That’s because his “free market” economics don’t actually work.
www.currentaffairs.org
October 13, 2025 at 10:06 PM
This is for the NZ fools who think that this guy is worth emulating. Here is looking at you, ACT!
www.currentaffairs.org/news/this-is...
www.currentaffairs.org/news/this-is...
Cognitive dissonance is watching dancing at well-organized Tel Aviv hostage release street parties, then switching to images of Palestinian relatives standing in rubble waiting for Israeli prisoners to return to what is left of "home." There is an uncomfortable asymmetry to it.
October 13, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Cognitive dissonance is watching dancing at well-organized Tel Aviv hostage release street parties, then switching to images of Palestinian relatives standing in rubble waiting for Israeli prisoners to return to what is left of "home." There is an uncomfortable asymmetry to it.
Here is a little rant based on recent events in NZ: www.kiwipolitico.com/2025/10/the-...
The enemy within.
Rather than a measured analysis delving into complex and intricate political issues, this post winds up being a bit of a rant. That is because the subject is simple and deserves our disdain. I shal…
www.kiwipolitico.com
October 11, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Here is a little rant based on recent events in NZ: www.kiwipolitico.com/2025/10/the-...
A politician specialised in race baiting, xenophobic and misogynistic insults who joined anti-govt protests that called for a PM's execution cries crocodile tears about opponents "inciting" violence against him when someone smashes his house window in protest. Double standard?
October 8, 2025 at 2:44 AM
A politician specialised in race baiting, xenophobic and misogynistic insults who joined anti-govt protests that called for a PM's execution cries crocodile tears about opponents "inciting" violence against him when someone smashes his house window in protest. Double standard?
We can assume that there is something at work behind the scenes for NZ to refuse the Palestinian right to Statehood. Whether that factor is domestic, foreign or a combination of both is a matter of conjecture but it removes NZ as a champion of a global norms-based order. Craven.
September 27, 2025 at 12:44 AM
We can assume that there is something at work behind the scenes for NZ to refuse the Palestinian right to Statehood. Whether that factor is domestic, foreign or a combination of both is a matter of conjecture but it removes NZ as a champion of a global norms-based order. Craven.
After much public hinting, 5 Eyes partners Australia, Canada and the UK delayed announcing recognition of Palestinian right Statehood in order for NZ join them against an intransigent US stance. NZ has not, so they have now gone ahead with the announcement before the UNGA. What
September 22, 2025 at 1:42 AM
After much public hinting, 5 Eyes partners Australia, Canada and the UK delayed announcing recognition of Palestinian right Statehood in order for NZ join them against an intransigent US stance. NZ has not, so they have now gone ahead with the announcement before the UNGA. What
For all the talk of faith, freedom, free speech and Christian values, the Kirk memorial was a cynical celebration of intolerance posing as righteous sacrifice. Some of the speeches were an incitement, not just a wink and a nod to darker impulses. Rough times ahead.
September 22, 2025 at 1:40 AM
For all the talk of faith, freedom, free speech and Christian values, the Kirk memorial was a cynical celebration of intolerance posing as righteous sacrifice. Some of the speeches were an incitement, not just a wink and a nod to darker impulses. Rough times ahead.
Timing is everything in politics. The NZ Deputy Prime Minister tried to offer a tribute to an openly racist misogynist foreign homophobe in parliament, and the govt refuses to condemn Israel or recognise Palestinian statehood even though the UN says that the former is committing
September 17, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Timing is everything in politics. The NZ Deputy Prime Minister tried to offer a tribute to an openly racist misogynist foreign homophobe in parliament, and the govt refuses to condemn Israel or recognise Palestinian statehood even though the UN says that the former is committing
PM Luxon says that the bilateral volume of trade between Israel and NZ is so small that sanctions will not work. But some of that trade is in military technologies that require special export licenses approved by MFAT.
September 15, 2025 at 8:45 PM
PM Luxon says that the bilateral volume of trade between Israel and NZ is so small that sanctions will not work. But some of that trade is in military technologies that require special export licenses approved by MFAT.
When it comes to hate-mongering, one reaps what one sows.
September 10, 2025 at 11:43 PM
When it comes to hate-mongering, one reaps what one sows.
I turned my previous comment here into a blogpost at Kiwipolitico: www.kiwipolitico.com/2025/08/comp...
Comparative value versus comparative worth.
Recent NACTFirst government assaults on female pay equity, public sector employment, labour regulations and other worker’s rights (to say nothing of trying to roll back Maori Treaty rights an…
www.kiwipolitico.com
August 22, 2025 at 12:33 AM
I turned my previous comment here into a blogpost at Kiwipolitico: www.kiwipolitico.com/2025/08/comp...
Given govt claims that teachers are paid very well and shouldn't be striking for pay increases, an academic friend passed along this chart. It begs the questions: who is more valuable for NZ society? Who is delivering more worth?
August 20, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Given govt claims that teachers are paid very well and shouldn't be striking for pay increases, an academic friend passed along this chart. It begs the questions: who is more valuable for NZ society? Who is delivering more worth?
Here is an interview that I did in my "official" capacity about the Putin-Trump summit: www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/the-w...
Paul Buchanan: What happened in that Trump/Putin meeting?
Donald Trump met with Vladimir Putin yesterday to come to an agreement over the war in Ukraine.
The two left the meeting seemingly happy with how it
www.newstalkzb.co.nz
August 17, 2025 at 4:21 AM
Here is an interview that I did in my "official" capacity about the Putin-Trump summit: www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/the-w...
Here is a roundup of some of my recent short thoughts about NZ contemporary politics: www.kiwipolitico.com/2025/08/some...
Some comments on NZ politics.
I had some time on my hands the past few days so spent more attention than usual consuming news about NZ domestic politics. My interests tend to lie further afield, but recent government assaults o…
www.kiwipolitico.com
August 14, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Here is a roundup of some of my recent short thoughts about NZ contemporary politics: www.kiwipolitico.com/2025/08/some...