New Zealand was recently told we were staring down the barrel of a major diesel shortage with only 11 days of supply remaining... In this episode, Duncan looks at the fallout after MBIE admitted their data was completely wrong. Within just one day, the story changed from a looming economic paralysis to a comfortable 46-day buffer. · Duncan argues that this isn't just a simple rounding error. It is a massive failure of communication and basic…

New Zealand’s economic vulnerability to a global fuel shock is now being openly acknowledged by mainstream financial institutions, with Kiwibank warning that an escalating oil crisis could undermine the currency, weaken growth, and intensify inflation pressures simultaneously. · In its latest economic update, Kiwibank economists point to a rapidly deteriorating global backdrop driven by Middle East conflict and tightening fuel supply…

By the end of Part 3, the architecture was clear. New Zealand had become financialised, externally dependent, and increasingly vulnerable — but it had not yet been tested. Part 4 is where theory meets reality. When crisis arrives, structure is revealed. Not in reports — but in outcomes. · COVID, monetary expansion, rising global instability, and energy exposure did not create the hollowing out. They exposed it. · This is the moment where…

New Zealand’s fuel crisis has revealed something far more serious than a temporary supply risk. · It has exposed a strategic delusion at the heart of government policy. · Because while ministers talk about shipping lanes, stock levels, and “seven weeks of supply,” they are carefully avoiding the one issue that underpins everything: · New Zealand cannot function without carbon fuels! The Reality We Refuse to Admit · This country consumes…

The New Zealand Government is now considering pausing planned fuel tax increases, as rising global energy prices begin to bite into households and businesses already under pressure. The move signals a growing recognition inside Government that the current fuel shock is not temporary—but part of a broader structural disruption to global energy supply. · Tax Increases Put on Hold · Planned increases to fuel levies—originally intended to support…

The New Zealand Government has unveiled detailed contingency measures for managing a potential fuel crisis, confirming that a four-phase national rationing framework is now in place should global supply disruptions worsen. Caption and photo credit: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/590794/government-reveals-details-of-fuel-crisis-rationing-plan-and-who-will-be-prioritised · The plan—modelled loosely on the COVID-era alert system—signals a…

The Courts of New Zealand had 6,200 followers on X. They walked away and set up on Bluesky, where they now have 113. That is a 98% drop in audience for official court information, and no one has explained why. They are not alone. A growing number of government agencies have quietly abandoned X, one of New Zealand’s most widely used platforms with approximately 716,000 users, without publishing a rationale, conducting a cost-benefit analysis, or…

“Thought Covid was bad? If New Zealand runs out of diesel, Covid will look like the rehearsal.” That line from Matthew Hooton in the Herald this morning lands like a slap. Not because it’s designed to alarm, but because Hooton is making a precise argument, not a rhetorical one. During the pandemic, the circulatory system of the economy kept pumping. He explains today that trucks still delivered to supermarkets, harvesters still picked crops,…

Following global giant Kraft Heinz’s decision to close their iconic NZ Watties growing and processing operation, rival company McCain, also a food multinational with an annual turnover of NZ$17 billion, is following suit. McCain has announced the closure of their Hastings vegetable processing operation, effective at the end of the 2026 growing season. A McCain spokesperson said “the decision follows a strategic review of our Hastings operations…

What started as compliance to protect her dream warehouse job ended in neurological catastrophe, years of medical gaslighting, media smears and bureaucratic battles—culminating in ACC cover approval on August 11, 2025. [Caption - Casey, 23, suffering a painful seizure Before the injection, Casey embodied vitality and joy] · “My health was the best that’s ever been. I was working Monday to Friday doing the job of my dreams. I had it all. I loved…

It happens in a split second. · A crunch. · A scrape. · That sinking “Uh ohh…” feeling in your stomach. · Whether it’s a car park mishap or a serious collision, the stress can be overwhelming. But in Pukekohe, there’s one simple piece of advice: · Keep calm and call the experts. · For more than 30 years, Classic Auto Body Panel & Paint Ltd has been the trusted name in collision repair across Pukekohe and the greater Franklin region. What began…

Who said getting older means slowing down? · At Acacia Cove Village, retirement isn’t about winding down — it’s about opening up a new chapter filled with freedom, friendship, and fun. · With practically everything taken care of, residents enjoy more time to focus on what really matters: engaging in activities, socialising with neighbours, relaxing in beautifully maintained surroundings, and living life with a genuine resort-style feel. · …

APT · Watch Eva Vlaardingerbroek’s full speech at CPAC Hungary 2026, where she delivers a controversial message on Europe’s future, immigration, and national identity. · In her speech, Vlaardingerbroek praises Viktor Orbán and Hungary for resisting EU policies, warns of the demographic replacement of Europeans, criticizes the EU and Ukraine’s influence on Europe, highlights cases of migrant violence against European youth, and urges European…

Frank Bergman · Explosive declassified documents have revealed that the CIA has been experimenting with geoengineering for decades with the intention of weaponizing “weather modification.” · The newly resurfaced files are reigniting controversy over long-running claims that U.S. intelligence agencies explored manipulating the weather. · Although the resurfaced documents do not mention the specific chemicals used in the experiments,…

Miles Franklin Media · Michelle Makori, President & Editor-in-Chief, Miles Franklin Media, interviews Edward Dowd, Founder of Phinance Technologies. · Markets may be watching the wrong risk. While headlines focus on the Iran war and geopolitics, Edward Dowd warns the real breakdown is already underway beneath the surface of the U.S. economy. From a weakening housing market to a bursting AI bubble and a frozen private credit system, Dowd argues…

The US top diplomat has dismissed Vladimir Zelensky’s claims Washington had pressed Kiev into ceding Donbass · US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. ©  Getty Images / PA / Michael Kappeler · [RT] Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has lied about Washington pressing Kiev into withdrawing from Donbass, according to US Secretary of State Marko Rubio. · In an interview with Reuters aired earlier this week, Zelensky accused the…

Provided that Zelensky and Ukrainskaya Pravda right before him are telling the truth, then it looks like the most meaningful elements of a Russian-Ukrainian peace deal and subsequent Russian-US “New Détente” were already agreed to in Anchorage, but contingent on Ukraine withdrawing from Donbass. · Andrew Korybko · Zelensky confirmed to Reuters last week that reports about the US offering Ukraine security guarantees in exchange for it…

Critics say the move politicizes currency and risks blurring the line between national symbols and personal branding · RT composite. ©  Getty Images/Scott Olson;Kativ;Phil Ashley · US President Donald Trump’s signature is set to appear on US paper currency starting this summer, the Treasury Department said on Thursday. · It will mark the first time a sitting US president’s signature has appeared on legal tender. · The …

The US president has said Riyadh has to be nice to America amid the Iran war · US President Donald Trump jokes with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a meeting in the White House on November 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. ©  Win McNamee/Getty Images · US President Donald Trump has boasted that Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s de facto leader, is “kissing my ass” and must “be nice” to the US.…

Iran launches an attack on a warehouse holding Ukrainian anti-drone systems and 21 of Kiev's military personnel in the UAE. Israeli Forces target and kill three journalists covering the military action in Southern Lebanon. While the IDF links one of the slain reporters to Hezbollah, Beirut condemns the attack as a war crime. Yemen’s Houthis confirm the group’s first military operation against Israel amid the war on Iran threatening trade…

Trump's NATO warning and Saudi Forum remarks mark a verdict on the transatlantic order. Boyd argues the Iran War is dismantling London's financial system — from Lloyd's insurance to Gulf energy control. · Barbara Boyd · In this Saturday Wrap, Barbara Boyd argues that President Trump's cabinet remarks and Saudi Investment Forum comments mark a "verdict" on NATO and the broader transatlantic system that has dominated the global…

The critics of the initiative have slammed the facilities as detention centers located in “legal black holes” · FILE PHOTO. Refugees from Afghanistan and Pakistan protest against their deportation at a detention center in Lesbos, Greece. · European lawmakers have endorsed the opening of talks with the EU Council on a new controversial legal framework to establish block-wide mechanisms to expel illegal migrants, including creating the…

Ukraine has veritably become an exporter of instability across the Global South. · Andrew Korybko · Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova sharply criticized the Ukrainian Embassy’s official response to India’s arrest of six Ukrainian mercenaries (and one American whose involvement they left out) who are accused of violating national security legislation. According to local media reports, they were tasked with training…

David Hawkins · A newly declassified intelligence summary has revealed that U.S. taxpayer funds intended for Ukraine were secretly laundered and diverted as part of a scheme to benefit Democrat political efforts. · Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is now pressing federal agencies to examine the evidence, with a potential criminal referral under consideration. · According to officials familiar with the matter, Gabbard…

Psychological conditioning is more powerful than intimidation and violence. · John Leake · In a letter dated October 21, 1949, Aldous Huxley thanked George Orwell for sending him a copy of Nineteen Eighty-Four. He praised the book, but also offered some friendly criticism in which he proposed that his dystopian vision in Brave New World was the more likely direction in which the world was heading. · Key points of Huxley’s letter include the…

26 people are reported killed in a strike on a neighbourhood in the central Iranian city of Isfahan. Meanwhile in Tehran - a search is on for potential survivors from a series of overnight attacks. Iran condemns the US and Israel at the UN accusing them of intentionally striking a school killing 175 people. Still, European powers stopped short of placing blame as they insisted on redirecting attention to alleged rights violations…

Tehran violated none of its international commitments while Kiev trampled on them for years, the foreign minister has said · Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Moscow, on January 28, 2026. ©  Sputnik/Yuri Kochetkov · [RT] The US-Israeli war against Iran stands in stark contrast with the Ukraine conflict, Russian Foreign Minister…

The US president has previously made disparaging remarks about Mojtaba Khamenei · US President Donald Trump. © Getty Images / Roberto Schmidt · [RT] US President Donald Trump has said that the CIA told him that Iran’s newly appointed supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, may be gay, quipping to Fox News that it puts the cleric “off to a bad start.” · The claim comes amid failed US-Israeli regime change efforts in Iran, a…

The participants of the US-Israeli war on Iran have offered a rationale for the conflict that goes well beyond geopolitics · Both the US-Israel tandem and Iran have offered religious reasoning for hostilities in the Gulf to go on, painting the conflict as an existential standoff. RT’s Oumaima Ichchar looks into the arguments the warring sides have been providing, which appear to go well beyond geopolitics. · On Wednesday, US…

Tehran has detailed dozens of cases of US fighter jets and drones allegedly conducting missions over the Gulf states during strikes · FILE PHOTO. A general view of Tehran with smoke visible in the distance after explosions were reported in the city, on March 02, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. © Getty Images / Contributor · [RT] Iran has formally accused the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia of allowing the US military…

The reality is that BRICS is a voluntary network of countries that share the goal of accelerating financial multipolarity processes in order to facilitate global governance reform for giving the World Majority more influence. It is not, nor has it ever been, a security or political bloc. · Andrew Korybko · Bloomberg published a piece last week about how “Iran War Shows BRICS Limits as India Pushed to Choose Sides”, which shows that it still…

With the Operation Epstein Fury misdirection trick in full swing, more astonishing revelations emerge from extended Epstein Files release. · John Leake · Yesterday a deeply eccentric Polish friend called me at 8:30 pm in Dallas, which made it 3:30 am in Central Europe. I feared that it must be bad news, but in fact he was lying awake with a burning question in his head—namely: · “Was Jeffrey Epstein the most diabolically…