Last night I did something quite unusual. I looked at the news channels — the standard package here has two local channels. MSNBC, Al Jazerra, RT, Fox and Le Monde. There was a lot of emotion. I learned what am anti aircraft battery, Russian style looks like.
But the only fact was that a plane had been destroyed midair with everyone in it, and the US FAA had banned all US flights from the airspace over Eastern Ukraine. In today’s paper, however, is the reaction.
Stock markets fell across the globe yesterday as investor sentiment was hit by rising geopolitical tension following the downing of a Malaysian airliner over a Ukrainian war zone and the start of an Israeli land offensive into Gaza, escalating an almost two-week-long military operation in the Palestinian territory.
New Zealand’s benchmark NZX50 index closed slightly down, 0.1 per cent, last night, while Australia’s ASX closed 0.17 per cent higher with investors moving to defensive stocks.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 index closed down 1.2 per cent, with the Nasdaq falling further to close down 1.4 per cent.
Malaysia Airlines shares dropped by about 9 per cent yesterday. Air New Zealand shares closed down 2.5 per cent at $1.95 last night.
Asian stocks also fell, with Japan’s Nikkei down 1.2 per cent yesterday afternoon, while traditional safe haven investments such as Government bonds and gold rallied.
Gold futures posted their biggest gain in four weeks, with futures for August delivery rising 1.3 per cent to settle at US$1316.90 an ounce yesterday on the Comex in New York. Gold has rallied 9.5 per cent this year, outperforming commodities, equities and treasuries, as violence in Iraq and hostilities between Ukraine and Russia boosted demand for a safe haven asset.
I have but one position on the situation in the Ukraine. Galatia and Russia and Poland have been enemies and allies for as long as there are records in the area. At present the Duchy of Muscovy is all powerful, but in the middle ages the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth was the power in central-eastern Europe. Those of us is in the antipodes, or in the West, can not interfere. It has to be worked out between these countries, who, with the fall of communism, have many weapons that have been designed to survive harsh weather and drunken handling.
All we can do is pray for the families of these victims, that they be comforted, and for our rulers, that they will meet their role.
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
(Romans 13:1-7 ESV)
Consider this church building. It had to fit within certain planning rules when it was built, the gas has to use standard connectors — and as there is no gas pipes throughout Dunedin, the cylinders are a standard size and the buildings fittings allow for these things. These regulations are useful. The basic laws we have protect our rights. There is no particular regulation for beauty, and the Chinese built, as they do, practically. An equally small minority in Dunedin, the Jews, built this.
We should not delude ourselves. Kiev and Lvov have been cities as long as any in the Anglosphere. The cultural roots of the society runs deeply not only into the Slavic plain but also to medieval Christendom: the societies were catholic. And the Slavs are no more crazy than us Anglos. A cursory review of the history of the English-speaking peoples would note that we are more likely than most to descend into civil war.
It is our duty to pray for the preservation of our society: it is also our duty to warn those who would break the society. May society allow this, lest we become a war zone.
Hi Chris!
Thanks for your comment on NZ Conservative!
Hmmm, have to disagree with non-interference, especially if help is asked for. Ukraine wants help from the world in order to remove themselves from Russian interference. Interference which is now bringing down planes that have nothing to do with the war that has been slowly escalating this year. Europe especially could help just by economic means – something they are loathe to do because there’s just so much money in it for them.
A few months back I read a fictional account of the fall of Constantinople I and I could see the same economic pressures taking precedence over doing what was right.
If you see your neighbour in trouble, do you refuse to get involved because it’s none of your business, or do you help? Issues between countries is just the same thing, but on a broader scale. Doing what is right should be the main consideration.