Francis Menton: What's Up With The Endangerment Finding Litigation?

Have you heard of the “Endangerment Finding” (EF)? You have if you have been reading this blog for any period of time. The 2009 EF is likely the most consequential, expensive and destructive regulatory action ever put in place by the federal bureaucracy. In that action, EPA claimed to find that carbon dioxide and several other so-called “greenhouse gases” constitute a “danger” to human health and welfare. Using the EF as the predicate, the administrative state under the Obama and Biden presidencies implemented dozens of major regulations intended to transform the entire energy sector of the U.S. economy. Obama/Biden regulations based on the EF sought, for example, to force the closure of all fossil-fuel based power plants; to end the production of internal-combustion-based cars in favor of electric cars; to restrict drilling for oil and for natural gas; to halt construction of pipelines; and many, many other such things.

Professor Robert MacCulloch: China, Throw Down your Wall.....

China, Throw Down your Wall. Give Freedom to your people. Doing So Will Eliminate America's Trade Deficit with Your Nation and End the Tariffs.

Its easy to believe there's a world-wide Big Media frenzied conspiracy against the US, which our increasingly hysterical PM has jumped on, because its looking that way. We know why New Zealand PM Luxon is talking with the Queen of World Protectionism, The European Union's Ursula von der Leyen, and with the Big Army Boss who ended democracy in Fiji, its current PM Sitiveni Rabuka, about their freedom and free trade convictions. Its because Luxon's marketing brain is telling him, "Shift the narrative away from Treaty of Waitangi", which he has washed his hands of.

Dave Patterson: Trump Arranging the Chess Pieces for Upcoming Talks With Iran

During an Oval Office visit with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on April 7, President Donald Trump announced that talks were set between the United States and Iran. It was the first anyone had heard of a Tehran-Washington meeting. Tensions have been high between the two countries, particularly since the US chief executive has made it clear that America has no more patience with Iran trying to build a nuclear weapon and fomenting conflict in the Gulf region.

Dr Oliver Hartwich: America's Pacific paradox leaves the door open to China

Perhaps geography is still destiny after all. The closer a Pacific nation sits to American shores, the more Washington seems to care about Chinese influence.

At its eastern edge, Washington still enforces Trump’s version of the Monroe Doctrine with vigour. This doctrine holds that any intervention in the Americas by foreign powers is a hostile act against the United States. Meanwhile, in the South Pacific, it appears content to create opportunities for Beijing’s expansion.

Ulyana Kubini: Why Private Healthcare Is Booming in Scandinavian Countries

In the eyes of young voters and socialists of all creeds, Bernie Sanders is a superhero, passionately advocating for his vision of a socialist utopia in America. With Denmark as a shining example, he champions the idea that the U.S. should draw inspiration from the accomplishments of countries like Sweden and Norway, particularly when it comes to “benefiting the working class.”

During the 2016 presidential debates, he emphatically declared, "We should look to countries like Denmark, like Sweden and Norway, and learn from what they have accomplished for their working people,” continuing the sentiment to this day.

Don Brash: In defence of an independent foreign policy

The Prime Minister’s recent visit to Washington, during which she seemed to have signed New Zealand up as a strongly pro-US outpost in the South Pacific – and her forthcoming (at time of writing) attendance at a major NATO meeting in Europe in the next few weeks – should prompt some serious thought about our long-term interests.

After all, it was the US which unceremoniously withdrew from the Trans Pacific Partnership shortly after Trump became President at the beginning of 2017, thus turning its back on the open Pacific trading group which seemed to promise so much for the other 11 counties which had signed up to it.

Historically, New Zealand was closely aligned with the United Kingdom – “where Britain goes, we go too” was the largely unquestioned assumption on which we built our foreign policy for decades. This was an automatic, indeed reflexive, stance which very few New Zealanders questioned. We sent troops to support Britain in the Boer War, and without question in the First World War.

Bryce Edwards: The problem of “blindly following” the US against China

New Zealand may have finally jumped off its foreign policy tightrope act between China and the US. Last week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern effectively chose sides, leaping into the arms of the US, at the expense of the country’s crucial relationship with China.

That’s the growing consensus amongst observers of New Zealand’s foreign policy, following Ardern’s visit to the White House and her government’s strong stance against China’s increased diplomatic presence in the Pacific region.

Blindly following traditional allies

Observers are now questioning whether Ardern’s obsequence to American power will badly damage New Zealand’s national interests, and there is criticism that the Government is “blindly following” the US against the interests of both New Zealand and the Pacific.

Daniel J. Mitchell: The United Nations Report on American Poverty Is Just Plain Wrong

When writing about the statist agenda of international bureaucracies, I generally focus my attention on the International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Today, let’s give some attention to the United Nations.

Based on this story from the Washington Post, the bureaucrats at the UN have concluded that America is a miserable and awful nation.

…a new United Nations report that examines entrenched poverty in the United States…calls the number of children living in poverty “shockingly high.” …the report, written by U.N. special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights Philip Alston, says the United States tops the developed world with the highest rates of youth poverty… The results of the report are not out of line with a number of others…in recent years by different organizations in which the United States has turned up at or near the top on issues such as poverty rates.

Ron Smith: Cover-ups and scandals - another Watergate?

If I were to tell you about a state that was monitoring the telephones and emails of journalists and their families, and administratively harassing opposition activists, whilst denying any knowledge or responsibility for what was going on, where would you think that country was?  Africa maybe?  South America?  North central Asia?  (There is a very big country up there, with next-to-no tradition of democracy and plenty of reports of just this kind of activity). 

Ron Smith: DPRK: Would they actually do it

For a number of years around the turn of this century, I was a member of an international group that brought together academic and official persons to discuss nuclear security problems in the Asia-Pacific region.  It was part of a wider project to reduce tension and build confidence, which worked in parallel with formal diplomatic meetings.  Apart from technical persons, it also included diplomats, but because of its relative informality, it tended to be referred to as ‘Track Two’.