Ordinary New Zealanders and Australians have little idea about the momentous changes coming our way. For a couple of centuries we have been outposts of a Western empire that is losing its dominance of the region. Instead of having open national discussions about how our countries should respond to the rise of China, India and Indonesia – just part of the coming Asian Century – our leaders are shuttering our minds and framing public discourse in ways that hinder rather than help.  Our media and many leading members of the commentariat are keeping our collective minds in thrall to a US-Western world view.  If we wish to survive and thrive in this region – and in the emerging multipolar world – we may need to free ourselves from this form of mental slavery.

In an astonishing “Fuck you” to the survivors of the 1945 US nuclear bombing of Nagasaki, several Western countries including the US, Australia, Canada, France, Italy and the UK have just dropped a bombshell: announcing their ambassadors are shunning this week’s commemorations in solidarity with Israel.

Last week the mayor of Nagasaki, Shiro Suzuki, rescinded Israel’s invitation to the annual peace ceremony. It was a gentle but pointed diplomatic message: Lest we forget what it was - and still is - all about.

“A fairer multipolar world order is being born”. Eight words that sum up what is being created at pace and yet is being largely ignored by the Western media. “Tectonic shifts” indeed are happening as the countries that represent the bulk of Eurasia’s landmass, economy, population and military might come together in an alliance that not only is linking the vast region that stretches from Europe to the Sea of Japan, but will transform global power dynamics for the coming century and push the demi-gods of the Western World out of the driver’s seat and back into the ranks of humanity.

As the New Zealand and Australian media fuss and bother over tourists stranded in New Caledonia, the Kanaks are gripped in an existential struggle with a heavyweight European power determined to keep the archipelago firmly under the control of Paris. We need better, deeper reporting from our media – one that provides history and context.