Last week the US FDA refused to approve the Moderna mRNA flu vaccine because of the inadequacy of trial design. Right away the virulence and reach of the pro vaccine, pro pharma lobby became apparent. Articles are appearing in newspapers all over the world calling for an end to so-called anti-vax policy decisions. For example the NY Post carried an editorial entitled *“To save seniors’ lives, Trump must stomp on this deadly anti-vax call”.* It…
1) Core message ### Seymour’s central pitch is: **New Zealand is drifting from “first-world” performance**, people (especially young Kiwis) are leaving in growing numbers, and the fix requires unpopular but “necessary” reforms—led by ACT—focused on smaller government, higher productivity, fiscal discipline, and equal rights before the law. 2) The frame: “warning lights on the dashboard” ### He repeatedly uses the metaphor of **five warning…
**What do they have in common?** They’re a figment of someone’s imagination and once they are discussed they are unlikely to ever materialize again as they are just a lot of hot air. A classic example would have to be the recent admission that the PSA and the previous Labour government agreed a condition in the employment of a number of government departments, for staff of Maori ethnicity to be able to take paid leave for cultural purposes…
Yoni Ben-Menachem: *‘Trump has been anti-Iran for years; he doesn’t need Netanyahu to push him.’* Christopher Helali: *‘But millions from Miriam Adelson certainly help pave the way!’* In the latest episode of *‘Sanchez Effect’*, we dive into a heated debate over who is right and wrong – as Iran and Israel are on different sides of history. Middle East correspondent Yoni Ben-Menachem insists that Israel can't trust Iran, citing its…
Washington maintained a warm tone at the Munich conference, but it has shown that it doesn’t intend to “defend the old order,” the outlet’s sources say *US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrive for a meeting at the Munich Security Conference on February 13, 2026. © Getty Images* [RT] The Munich Security Conference has revealed a widening rift between the US and Europe, as Washington signaled that it…
Europeans are “assembling” to expand in order to spite Russia, the top diplomat has said *EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas “assembling” with the prime ministers of Finland and Belgium, Brussels, January 22, 2026. © Thierry Monasse / Getty Images* The EU sees itself as a team of superheroes with an anti-Russian expansionist agenda, according to its top diplomat, Kaja Kallas. The EU is urging member states to invest hundreds…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted Tehran must be barred from enriching uranium *Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu © Amir Levy / Getty Images* [RT] Any deal with Iran on its nuclear program must strip the country of the ability to enrich uranium, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded. The remarks came ahead of a second round of indirect US-Iran talks scheduled for Tuesday in…
New Zealand’s politicians like to point to the existence of published ministerial diaries as evidence that our system is open and transparent. Ministers now routinely say that anyone can see who they’re meeting with, so there’s nothing much to worry about in terms of backroom influence. On paper, the diaries are supposed to be a window into the Beehive – a way for the public to track who gets face time with ministers and who doesn’t. In…
Americans care about flight safety, not what the crew “looks like or their gender,” the US transportation secretary has said *FILE PHOTO © Tom Brenner / Getty Images* [RT] The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has issued a sweeping mandate requiring all commercial airlines to formally commit to merit-based hiring for pilots, explicitly barring the use of race or sex as factors in recruitment. The directive, delivered…
The Ukrainian leader has sunk to new lows with his attacks on the Hungarian PM, Adriel Kasonta has told RT *Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky at the Munich Security Conference, February 14, 2026. © Johannes Simon / Getty Images* Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky’s personal remarks about Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Munich Security Conference were *“childish”* and unbecoming of a head of state, political risk consultant…
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