by Heather Hastie | Jan 8, 2015 | Democracy, Freedom of Speech, Human Rights, International Politics, New Zealand, Religion
Well, we knew it would happen. In my last article on this I said: I hope this revolting act will help those who decry any criticism of Islam as Islamophobia recognize just what a problem it has the potential to be. Any belief system that includes an invocation to kill...
by Heather Hastie | Oct 21, 2014 | International Politics, Middle East, NZ Politics, Religion, Terrorism
Islamophobia-phobia is the fear of appearing to be Islamophobic. I have to give credit to author and television personality Greg Gutfeld (Fox News’s The Five, Red Eye) for the term. The Five is a guilty pleasure of mine, and it was while watching this show that I...
by Heather Hastie | Oct 6, 2014 | International Politics, Middle East
In an interview with Fareed Zakaria recently, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced his commitment to a two-state solution with Palestine, but insisted that the only way it would work is if Israel had a permanent, or at least long-term, military presence...
by Heather Hastie | Oct 5, 2014 | International Politics, Russia, US Politics, USA
Whenever President Vladimir Putin of Russia is in the media due to his regular land-grabbing actions, the right-wing media in America take the opportunity to contrast certain aspects of his personality with President Barack Obama in an attempt to undermine Obama. They...
by Heather Hastie | Sep 18, 2014 | Democracy, Great Britain & Europe, International Politics
It’s only a few hours now until voting starts in Scotland’s referendum to choose whether or not they stay part of the United Kingdom. The latest poll of decided voters is 49% pro-independence (Yes) and 51% pro-Union (No). Five percent of voters are still undecided and...
by Heather Hastie | Sep 17, 2014 | International Politics, Middle East, Religion, Terrorism, US Politics, USA
President Barack Obama has received much criticism, especially domestically, for his foreign policy, and it has to be said that much of that criticism is justified. However, his strategy in relation to the self-styled Islamic State is a good one, and has a far better...
