Subtlety and nuance versus mindless violence

July 27, 2026

The discussion with the Iranian Ambassador to New Zealand is a classic study in sophistication versus obtuse infantilism. Since the Second World War the US accustomed itself to a capacity to treat with ostentatious contempt the unique civilisational natures of other nations. The expressions of that contempt have been bullying, undermining, subverting, bombing, invading, sanctioning and stealing the wealth of whoever they chose.

I was exposed to this condescension as early as the 1960’s when I attended an international GATT forum of country representatives dealing with intellectual property rights in signals transmitted through satellites. Even then the attitudes of the US delegation were to say the least odious and dictatorial.

That propensity has grown into a national attitude that resembles that of a nasty master dealing with unwilling subjects. this approach the US had inherited from the pompous assumed superiority of the previous British Empire.

We were all expected to simply endorse the US position.

That has led to the current catastrophe imposed upon us by that US attitude which now threatens the world with another great depression. By its loathsome aggression against Iran the world supply of energy is threatened like never before. The US is out of control!