An R-101 Post
Someone once made an art-work of a brick with some ‘guy ropes’ attached to represent the ill fated R-101 airship…
Bill
Diesel Bomb
Last Friday I wrote a post on Volkwagen gaming NOx emissions. This is a follow up.
It Came From the North
How Corbyn gets taken out.
NOx-ious shit all around.
Been trying to get my head around the implications of Volkswagen’s rigged diesel performance tests. Predictably, and unlike most stories covering this, I couldn’t give a rat’s arse for the financial woes the company might be facing.
Making Like Private Frazer
Political awakenings.
In Our Back Yard – Manus Island and Nauru
As the photo claims, refugees are human beings. We can tell this from general expressions of resignation, desperation and misery.
But what about our own expressions of humanity?
Lost the Plot
Winston’s solution to war and refugees.
Syria and Internationalism
I wonder if the current public outpouring of sympathy for Syrian refugees is nought but a ‘fashion’, or whether it’s the beginnings of a renaissance for internationalism.
Regional Realities.
FYI. The most populous town in Clutha District is Balclutha, which lies 81km south of Dunedin by road. Balclutha’s population, by the 2006 census, was 4,062 (down from 4,137 in 1996). Other towns are Milton (pop. 1,887), Kaitangata (pop. 810), Tapanui (pop. 744), Lawrence (pop. 432), Owaka (pop. 327), Stirling (pop. 309), Clinton (pop. 291), Kaka Point (pop. 201), and Benhar (pop. 96). For a while in the 1980s Balclutha was New Zealand’s most wealthy town, per capita
Dead Hands
Time worn patterns and predictable decisions.
Zero by 50
In Copenhagen, our government committed itself, and by extension, us “To hold the increase in global temperature below two degrees Celsius and to take actions to meet this objective, consistent with the science and on the basis of equity”
And yet…
Win or Lose: This is Labour
Some people have suggested that the more progressive parliamentary elements of the left are done and dusted. I’m not so sure…
Labouring it.
With overall confidence dropping and Labour being all over the headlines for the past week, Labour’s support…
Toil and Trouble.
In the hope of some informed comment…
Universal Basic Income Experiment
Income in a world of climate change.
Pope Francis on Climate Change
No beating about the bush.
Labour. Horse. Water.
Sometimes…often…I just can’t get my head around people who make obvious and simple things kinda difficult and fraught.
In Praise of Key
Hardly a comprehensive take, but in the interest of stating some obvious stuff…
Fixed Term Parliaments
An argument in favour of New Zealand adopting Fixed Term Parliaments Act legislation.
Dear NZ Labour. Listen up.
For the sake of reference – Nye Bevan was a Labour mp and the architect of the British NHS. Michael Sheen’s speech was a defense of that institution, but the underpinning message is, well…
Fear, Loathing and Denial.
There’s a major and rather obvious contributory factor to UK Labour’s failure in the UK general election that doesn’t seem to have drawn any comment. Until now…
The Whisky’s In.
Before the turgid post-election hell that the British Establishment will undoubtably unleash…
Miliband:Dangerous Muppet?
Is Ed Miliband fighting democracy? Well…
Swings
A snippet on Labour’s prospects in Scotland.
A Very British Jamboree
Is Thatcherism finally to be laid to rest?
Trident
Nothing will shift the main UK parties’ attitude on nuclear weapons. Right?
Finally!
Julian Assange to be allowed to answer to accusations…
Heroes and Villains
Thinking authorities in the west have yet discover the difference between their arse and their elbow…
A Bright Spark Burning…
A further piece on the peoples’ revolution within Northern Syria.
Revolutionary Spain, Revolutionary Syria, and the Bastards We Vote For.
It seems that just as the 30’s offered the chance to turn dreams into reality, Syria is offering that chance up to ‘the left’ today. Suddenly, for me, the recent travel bans and the passport confiscation laws etc make sense since we are potentially looking at an international influx of non-nutters and non- psychopaths as happened during the Spanish Revolution of the 30s.
North of 2
The international energy agency’s (IEA) view on climate change is that we are “on track for a 3.5°C rise by 2040” (i.e. 4.2°C relative to pre-industrial).
Fatih Birol – IEA chief economist said (3 years ago)
When I look at this data, the trend is perfectly in line with a temperature increase of 6 degrees Celsius, which would have devastating consequences for the planet….we have 5 years to change the energy system – or have it changed
Over it.
In a land far away from here and behind a curtain of iron, it was said that to understand anything, it was necessary to first of all discount the fictions that were being presented as truth.
A Breakdown.
There’s a lot of smash flying around concerning the SIS, the PM’s office, OIA requests, Judith Collin’s and what not. So here’s a simple, stripped back, breakdown
All Things Being Equal…
Assuming that all four contenders for leadership of Labour are equally worthy, there is a defining factor that ought to be considered…vulnerability to attack.
On Navel Gazing and Looking Out.
As the NZ Labour Party stands on the cusp of some soul searching, it might want to note that there are alternatives to pointless navel gazing.
The Monkeywrench
Some thoughts from a different angle on ‘what went wrong’, or maybe just saying stuff along the lines of what plenty of other people are thinking