Tag: history

The Unthinkable: The World on the Brink of Four Simultaneous Conflicts

by MikeBain, posted in Uncategorized

As published in The Daily Examiner News Website and based on the Christian Voice New Zealand podcast: The Unthinkable

It’s hard for the typical New Zealand citizen to imagine that the country’s Defence Forces might be required to participate in a military conflict before the year is over.

The United States might need to lean on its military allies as China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran eagerly anticipate challenging the world’s most powerful military.

For many Christians as these events unfold may recall the words of Jesus Christ from the Bible, warning that in the last days, there would be wars and rumours of wars.

This year and more so now as 2024 draws to a close, we have reached a moment in history that none of us will forget.

As the world stands on the brink of four major conflicts, we are standing on the precipice of the unthinkable.

Horrific wars have a way of erupting when most people are not expecting them.

Hardly anyone expected a global war to erupt in 1914, but then tens of millions died over the next four years.

Hardly anyone expected a global war to erupt in 1939, but once again tens of millions died over the next six years.

This time around, what is happening should be glaringly obvious to everyone. 

If the nations currently beating the drums of war do not change course, not tens of millions but billions could die during the nightmarish global wars that are rapidly approaching.

Since the end of World War II in 1945, the prospect of another global conflict has loomed, yet the nations have been reluctant to tread the path again.

Since the end of World War II in 1945, the prospect of another global conflict has loomed, yet nations were reluctant to tread that path again. Now, that reluctance has vanished as the drums of war grow louder each day, causing major concerns across the United States.

There’s no longer an eagerness, only an obligation for the US to engage in conflict, and indications are they soon will be.

China continues to flex its muscles in the South China Sea, right in front of the US fleet stationed off the coast of Taiwan. Speculation is rampant that an invasion by Chinese forces is imminent.

President Xi Jinping, recently seen in military fatigues, has emboldened his troops to prepare for war.

Chinese analysts believe that the directive from Xi to “strengthen their preparedness for war” signals that a strike in Taiwan is likely. This could lead to a direct confrontation between the United States and China.

The conflict in Europe remains ongoing, with Russian forces, bolstered by reinforcements from North Korea, continuing their attempts to reclaim control over Ukraine.

 In response, Western leaders, spearheaded by French President Emmanuel Macron, are considering the deployment of NATO troops to assist Ukrainian forces.

If this decision is implemented, the United States, as a treaty partner, would be obliged to deploy its own troops, entangling the nation in yet another conflict.

The recent tensions between North Korea and South Korea are raising alarms in the United States, particularly as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un seeks to demonstrate military strength and has labelled South Korea a “hostile nation.”

Observers in Asia suggest that South Korea’s patience is limited, and if conflict were to erupt, the U.S. would feel compelled to intervene due to its obligations to South Korea.

The situation underscores the ongoing instability in the region and the complexities of international relations involving North Korea.

There is a genuine concern that four major conflicts could overburden the U.S. military, which remains focused on the Middle East, where the situation could rapidly become unmanageable. The prospect of war is inevitable, painting a grim picture for the United States Military, once regarded as the best in the world, now a mere shadow of its former self.

At the AUSA conference in Washington DC last week, General Charles Flynn of the United States Pacific Forces admitted, “the U.S. military is not the overwhelming global force that it once was.”

He emphasized that “Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea have been placing increasing pressure on American military resources.” While other major powers have been fervently preparing for World War III, Flynn concluded, “our military has been rapidly becoming a politically correct joke.”

He warned, “the day of reckoning is upon us, and we’re not ready.”

Concerns regarding New Zealand’s security and potential involvement in a global conflict remain unanswered by the New Zealand Government.

New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister, the Right Honourable Winston Peters, has described the NZ Defence Force as “utterly unprepared,” consistently reminding that “we are no longer safe in our place in the world.”

As a member of the ANZUS alliance, New Zealand is obligated to support its military partners. Consequently, if the United States calls, New Zealand troops could find themselves deployed in any of these conflicts.

The unthinkable may soon become a reality.

CALL FOR GREATER EQUALITY AND ACCESS TO LAND

by MikeBain, posted in Uncategorized

Ever since I sat down to write this blog, I have struggled with its content.

It concerns race issues, relating to New Zealand, but it is a message which goes against the delicate grain of Political Correctness.

To be fair, and not getting into a discussion on who came first and who has rights to the Land, the rivers, the lakes, the coastal foreshore, or the air we breathe, I think we can all agree on the Bibles version as to how the earth was created.

WE can agree that God the creator and giver of life, gave land to Abraham for his descendants to occupy.

And yet here we are in the most confused period where information is at our fingertips still fighting over ownership.

Let me just say, regardless of how many deeds you have for land, nobody really has ownership, but you have rights and obligations regarding occupation.

To sum it up, Its Gods land, and to my knowledge, God has only ever given the Israelite nation land they can call home.

In New Zealand’s culture, today very few of us accept God exists and now can rewrite its own history.

According to the radical left the judgment of history is on us and upon our children.

Thomas Sowell

Historically we accept things to be true like, Morori were occupiers, were wiped out by Māori upon their arrival, Dutch explorer being the first European to our shores named it Nieuw Zeeland  and then sometime after Captain James Cook anglicized the name to New Zealand.

European settlers arrived and land became an issue with Europeans trading items with Māori and it was accepted with this trade, a right to occupy.

And it is accepted that some Europeans were less than scrupulous in their dealings, which was less than fair.

Trading companies such the one headed by Edward Gibbon Wakefield, “The New Zealand Company” were responsible for many questionable real estate practices.

The Land Wars and other issues saw Māori losing their occupational rights to land.

And then in 1840 the Treaty of Waitangi was signed by both Māori and representatives of Queen Victoria which ceded all land to come under the control of realm.  

So that’s a quick history on land transfer but if you were to listen to people like members of the Māori political Party and members of the Māori caucus in the Labor Party along with some Māori radicals the tribes, their version of history says their land was stolen by European’s.

In reality no one owns the land, I say that because God created the earth for all mankind to live on.

In Genesis 7 we read where God promised land to Abraham as a place where his descendants would live.

There is nowhere else in the Biblical record which refers to the ownership of land.

I said no one can really own land (it’s a touchy subject) but we do have rights through various actions and causes to have the sole right to occupation.

History shows that Māori occupied New Zealand first. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European and gave it a name, Niew Zeeland. British explorer James Cook was the next to arrive and anglicized the name as New Zealand.

So here we are 182 years after the signing of the treaty of Waitangi some sections of New Zealand being made to feel guilty for living in New Zealand, or call it by another name.

Guilt because it is an evil land and because New Zealand was founded by white Europeans and Māori activists, (please note I am not saying all Māori) but the radicals amongst them, most likely want the white skinned members of society to hate themselves, hate their ancestors, after all  the alleged white supremacist who are deemed to be the source of all ills in New Zealand now .

The prevailing narrative in some schools is what white students are supposed to see themselves as systematically racist and the only proof that they need is the color of their skin.

I feel sorry for radicals like Willie Jackson who gets vocal about things like colonization but has done ok for himself with a net worth more than $3m.

There can be no doubt about it, white guys are living on stolen land.

Colonization has never ended it’s just become normalized instructing New Zealanders to learn which tribal land you’re currently occupying.

Yes tragically, there were atrocities against the native Māori people were committed in New Zealand when the country was established.

 They experienced terrible suffering and were often physically and sexually abused.

 My point is not to justify such evils and God will rule justly about everything that transpired.

But we cannot live with perpetual guilt about matters we had nothing to do with and cannot change.

History should be a rudder to guide us but not an anchor that keeps us from moving forward to a better future.

Cultural Marxism as we’ve learned, teaches us that we must deconstruct New Zealand, the foundation pillars of our country must be undermined and this is accomplished by generating self hatred among white New Zealanders, stifling their ingenuity, and destroying New Zealand’s religion, its religious history. According to Karl Marx the author of Cultural Marxism, the evils of the past generation cancel any possibility that the white New Zealanders can succeed legitimately, if they do succeed it is solely because of their white privilege.

If you’re white and successful feel guilty,  author Thomas Sowell in his book , Discrimination and disparities” argues congenitally they don’t know and with hard data that the disparities which exist in different communities were not necessarily the result of discrimination.

 He says the bedrock assumption underlying many political or ideal ideological crusades is the that social socioeconomic disparities are automatically somebody’s fault so that our choices are rather to blame society or blame the victim.

He argues against the assumption that if a group is failing it’s always the fault of someone else.

According to the radical left the judgment of history is on us and upon our children.

Those who are white should figuratively speaking go into a confession booth and never exit for no matter how long the contrition.

They are never able to resolve the fact that they are racists who stole the land from Māori but it is difficult for anyone to seek absolution for sins they did not comment commit, and as to the reparations for the past, how much and for how long and to whom should these funds be distributed.

And is it fair to expect this generation to pay for the wrongs they did not commit to reward a generation that did not experience these wrongs.

But what of the question of stolen land?

The unwritten though unbreakable law of the radical left is this, don’t ever compare New Zealand with other countries, it’s hard to get people to hate New Zealand if we apply the same standard to them

 If we did that, we would discover that no nation is truly legitimate.

Here is the reality, nations are established by wars, conflicts, and hostile takeovers.

 No matter where you go in this world, the story is one of various people groups displacing other people groups.

Even in New Zealand history there are reports Māori tribes fought territorial wars against each other.

 As the great historian Toynbee is quoted as saying blessed is the nation that has no history, for history is a record of war.

Let me conclude with this thought, God created the earth, which is the planet which encompasses land, seas, air, light, and darkness as a home for every man, woman, and child, from every tribe and nation whether we are white, brown, or black. He allows us to occupy the land, and life is too short to spend time on questions regarding ownership

DID SPLIT ENZ GET IT WRONG?

by MikeBain, posted in Uncategorized

On what planet were the writers of the Split Enz hit song, “History Never Repeats”? No matter how catchy the tune or how they incorporate the word Aotearoa, it’s simply untrue.

Right off the bat, the song was great, and as history shows, it was another modest hit from an exceptionally talented group. But I’m not here to discuss Split Enz or delve into music anthologies. I want to talk about the concept of history.

Let me ask you, how do you think we got our history? For Māori, history is shared and passed down orally from generation to generation. For others, like me, we rely on historical records from newspapers, documentation, diaries, photographs, and even film archives. I worked as a journalist for many years, reporting on events, people, and providing a factual, concise record of what was happening on any given day. I told stories about the people involved and gave insights into the culture of the country at that time.

When I displeased my editor, I was often assigned to write historical features, working with old newspaper copies to write about past events and people. Those newspapers, though they might have been tomorrow’s fish-and-chip wrappers, were historical documents, records of what had transpired before my time. Many people have written books using this method, incorporating diaries and stories handed down from the past, sometimes even eyewitness testimony.

Split Enz claimed, “History Never Repeats,” while others say we should learn from history to ensure it doesn’t repeat. But what is history, really? It is an account of one person’s understanding or version of events, which can be manipulated to fit their beliefs. History is essentially a version of someone’s belief at the time, which may change as they reflect and reconsider.

For example, the interpretation of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre was recorded from many perspectives. There are numerous accounts from the West about the murder of over 3,000 innocents, and equally, there are accounts from Islamic nations about the deaths of infidels and the martyrdom of those who executed the event. Today, our news and historical reports are so diverse and influenced by agendas—political, religious, racial, environmental, gender-related, and more.

Even stories handed down from previous generations can be inaccurate, shaped by the perspectives of those who told them. My own family didn’t speak to an aunt for years over a long-past incident. We missed out on the richness of knowing her because of an inaccurate historical fact.

So, why does history repeat itself? It’s a flawed assumption, but we should learn from history, even if it’s imperfect, to prevent dreadful things from happening again. However, in today’s culture, individuals and groups often want history rewritten to suit their current narratives. The New Zealand Government, like many others, has held inquiries and apologized for past abuses in government and faith-based care facilities, saying such things should never have happened.

The world has said similar things about war, apartheid, slavery, and genocide. Knowing the history of these atrocities, were Split Enz right that “History Never Repeats,” or were those who said we should learn from history correct? The fact that history repeats itself time and again proves them both wrong.

Two centuries ago, the Roman Empire, on its path to glory, seized areas including Judea. Early history was documented by Josephus, whose accounts are considered independent records of the players and politics of his time. Josephus wrote about a man who was the victim of racial and religious hatred, sentenced to death, tortured, and crucified. You know who I’m talking about—Jesus Christ, whose story is at the heart of the Bible, based on eyewitness interpretations.

While no Christian has been killed in the exact manner of Christ, many followers have suffered brutal deaths. History, in this case and others, continues to repeat itself, sometimes more brutally and unimaginably. We often forget the past, despite agreeing with our lips that we won’t repeat these actions, and the notion that one person’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter complicates things further.0

In conclusion, humanity has a rich tapestry of history, recorded in newspapers, preserved on film, and from firsthand accounts. Yes, we can learn from it. I mentioned Josephus earlier, whose accounts were backed by other sources, whether they were a doctor, fisherman, tax collector, or even someone who fell off a horse. The history of God’s word has remained intact. It’s true we can learn from history and even rewrite it, but at the end of the day, we need to learn from the truth. Building our lives on a foundation of truth is essential.

At Christian Voice New Zealand, we view today’s culture through the lens of the Bible because we believe its historical accou0nt of humankind is accurate, and therefore, we accept its prophecy for the future of mankind as accurate.

WAR IS COMING

by MikeBain, posted in Uncategorized

I have always pondered about how to fix the issues of today’s young people, how to get them away from the gaming consul, leave their phones and get them out into the fresh air.

Being a child of the sixties we never had these issues because we had compulsory military training and if you missed out on the ballot, you still had it at high school.

Great idea and I see the new coalition government is to introduce military style “boot camps,” for young offenders.

Great idea except it wouldn’t work with the rug rats of yesterday as they have grown up to be a generation of self-entitled brats or teenagers. Call them what you want but Compulsory Military style training is what they need, what they possibly crave for, want the boundaries set for them but it won’t happen because of the hand wringing, worried and woke parents who have fostered and protected them all their lives.

I know, it’s a bit harsh to generalise about teenagers in this way as there are some really good kids out there.

I was intrigued though, when I read an article about whether the USA could defend itself if attacked and surprised at the answer.

What has New Zealand Teens got to do with an attack on America, hang on as I give you some background.

The free world is reliant upon the United States for military protection, but over the last few months our politician’s rhetoric has them saying the world has become a more dangerous place, in that the US in the past had essentially only one aggressor to deal with, which was the Soviet Union.

Today, the U.S. must account for regimes in Moscow, Beijing, Tehran, and Pyongyang, and a host of smaller powers and terrorist regimes that challenge U.S. interests. They have different objectives and possess different cultures, values, and networks.

Just because the U.S. acts in the Middle East to thwart Iran doesn’t mean that China alters its activities vis-à-vis Taiwan or its push on territorial claims in the South China Sea, or that Russia lessens its assault of Europe or attempts to divide NATO. They pose different threats to the U.S. in different ways.

So, there it is the threat to the world in a nutshell, the sad thing for the United States is it is nowhere ready to take on a multiple number of wars at this time.

We know the world is getting more dangerous and interesting how our politicians are now speaking openly about it, without saying what it is we should be concerned about.

But if you are a person who watches and keeps up with things, in our area the biggest threat to peace in the South Pacific will be the incursion of China and its financial aid to small Pacific Nations like the Solomon and Marshall Islands Kiribati, and the Kingdom of Tonga.

It all comes with a price.

but are these countries really the enemy?

As I looked at the article, I pondered about the enemy we face within our own country, which is very similar to the United States and the rest of the Western World.

It would be laughable for New Zealand teens to pick up a rifle that is decades old, to serve in an air force which only has trainers, to serve in a navy with a couple of boats which can be outrun by Jet ski towing a biscuit.

Then there is the sense of pride in service, no it’s not going to happen sorry; it just won’t wash.

But my article was about the US military which is only a fraction of the size it needs be.

 Many will say a strong military force will deter a war, but deterrence derives from the belief of the enemy that they would be defeated in battle.

So, without demeaning those who are currently serving it’s no reflection on them but I’m sure they are realistic as well when I say New Zealand would fail if we relied on our military to defend our shores.

And dare I say it, the US military is in a similar position. It no longer has a deterrent value.

The surprising thing my article pointed out is America’s potential enemies see this, the American people – not so much.

For the US to militarily compete on the world stage it would only have enough to contain an aggressor, very much like we have seen since World War 2.

Realistically, for it compete against the multitude of adversaries it currently possesses it would have to have a military power commensurate with the realities of the today’s world, not one that is imagined in years to come nor one held in fond memories.

The thing is which is really disturbing is the overall military power of the West has diminished with military forces smaller than they were even a decade ago with Britian, Japan, Germany, and France all reporting lower numbers of personnel, while at the same time admitting their equipment has not kept up to date with the firepower any aggressor has today.

So, what has to do with New Zealand teenagers, let’s go back to them.

  • Self-entitled.  
  • No real-world experience.
  • No sense of duty.
  • No sense of justice.
  • No loyalty.

In the US three out of four young Americans are ineligible for military service and I think we can add the same equation for New Zealand.  We would see issues such as

  • Physical or mental health issue,
  • Obesity,
  • Criminal records, and substance abuse.
  • And a low IQ score

I mention the last point because the US Navy has begun to accept enlistees even with a low score in aptitude tests.

Given the numbers of absenteeism in this country’s schools, I’m not holding out any hope for our young people.

I mentioned the enemy within as opposed to the enemy at the door.

Parents have a huge role to play in bringing up their children, these kids will often reflect what they see practiced in their own homes, so if you feel I am being unfair on your teens then look in the mirror, ask the question.

We can get hung up on social issues like gender, climate change, even the Treaty of Waitangi, none of it means a jot when the enemy is knocking at the door.

Here’s the thing, do you think when and if New Zealand is taken over we will see it, we haven’t so far, but New Zealand has changed, the enemy is no longer at the door, the enemy is already inside your house, your family, your schools your community and yet we don’t see it.

America’s might cannot defend us and bible prophecy about the final war of Armageddon doesn’t even mention it.

The United States will be no longer, because they have allowed the enemy to infiltrate their lives and their culture, just as we have allowed it to happen in our daily lives.

I found one of the reasons the United States stipulate they cannot recruit people was because of obesity.

And yet here we are, living in a country with no pride in ourselves, no pride in our country and no moral value, but when we throw our garbage out of the car onto the road, we expect some one else to pick it up.

Let me make this clear, when the world implodes on itself, who will you look to save you, The United States, No! what about God! Will God save you? for what reason will he save you?

When you see all the armies of the world are called and move towards one destination remember this, America will not be there as they do not figure in biblical prophecy at the end.

McDonalds and KFC only make us obese, but living on a diet of scripture and stories of faith now that is real life-giving food to feed your body and mind, because it is only through Gods word can we see any hope of salvation.

Let’s make it a goal, let’s engage in compulsory training for ourselves and our kids, rather than pick up an aging rifle, pick up an ageless Bible and do some compulsory Bible training and learn who and how to combat our real enemy who has no perception of boundaries, and his days are numbered.