Politics

Deep stuff

Lies damn lies and tax analysis

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 67 comments

National’s claim that a capital gains tax would reduce the value of an average worker’s Kiwisaver account by $64,000 over a 45 year working life seems to be as valid as Steven Joyce’s claim there was an $11.5 billion dollar hole in Labour’s draft budget.

All hail our computer overlords

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 34 comments

IBM has staged a debate between an IBM computer and the world debating champion. The human won but the debate suggests that it may be just a matter of time … and the computer had remarkable things to say about poverty.

GCSB head Hampton gazumped by Pompeo

Written By: Mike Smith
Date published: - 18 comments

On Wednesday GCSB chief Andrew Hampton told a Select Committee there was absolutely “no pressure” publicly or privately on his decision to block Huawei. On Thursday US Secretary of State Pompeo publicly warned that “United States would not be able to partner with or share information with countries that adopt Huawei Technologies Co Ltd systems.” What a difference a day makes.

Dear St Valentine

Written By: advantage
Date published: - 25 comments

Deep in the perpetually joyous realm you inhabit, could you pop over and have a chat to St Francis?   I am pretty […]

Upset by Offset

Written By: Incognito
Date published: - 52 comments

Life is not simply a zero-sum game in which bad behaviour can be offset with good deeds.

Trump’s brilliant strategy to dismantle US dollar hegemony

Written By: Mike Smith
Date published: - 56 comments

Polymath economist Professor Michael Hudson’s latest article is a geopolitical panoramic masterpiece, sparked by outrage at a series of concurrent events on January 31 which he predicts means that 2019 will be the “year of global fracture.” Definitely worth a read.      

The Blue Green oxymoron

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 252 comments

National appears to be well advanced in the formation of a new puppet party, one with an environmental theme that will present a challenge to the Green Party.

About that $100,000 National Party donation

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 88 comments

Fran O’Sullivan has correctly stated that the investigation of the $100,000 donation made to the National Party that was partitioned to hide it should be of much greater concern to the New Zealand Police than Sarah Dowie’s texts.

Karma Cameleon

Written By: te reo putake
Date published: - 120 comments

Cameron Slater is seriously ill. The Whale Oil blog will carry on without him, but in the meantime, Cam is asking for help.

Cops ♥ Chases

Written By: te reo putake
Date published: - 215 comments

The common factor in Police chases is adrenaline fueled driving. And not just by the kid in the stolen car. The Police strategy of chasing stolen cars is a bigger problem than the thefts themselves and it needs to stop. Now.

Julian Assange and the Streisand Effect.

Written By: te reo putake
Date published: - 161 comments

Wikileaks has tried to silence media organisations on behalf of Julian Assange. Why is a ‘transparency’ organisation opposed to free speech and have they made things worse for the Aussie hacker?

UPDATE: The list has been leaked. Link in post.

Political punditry in 2019

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 79 comments

The media has recently reviewed its predictions from last year and made a few new ones.  How did it go?  And what is going to happen in the next 12 months?

The Race To Replace Trump has Started

Written By: te reo putake
Date published: - 112 comments

Elizabeth Warren has announced that she will be seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination to be the 46th President of the USA. With the Republicans unsure about whether Trump will run again due to the difficulties of campaigning from Federal prison, the Presidential election should be a shoo in for the Dems. Warren is just the first; there will be many more candidates who will see this as the opportunity of a lifetime.