Arise, Sir Lynton
Lynton Crosby on his knees receiving a knighthood for services to conservative politics. To me, this really signals who is running the show, who is still running the show, and what their values are.
International
colonialism
Global elite plan their escape from “pleb masses”
So, Key has now come out and revealed to us how afraid the global oligarch class (and their well paid professional enablers) are. They appear to have no plans to reverse their activites to make things better for us.
Easter Monday Round Up
Three news items stand out from the long weekend. Actor Robert De Niro being inoculated against anti-vaxxers, ISIS being driven out of Palmyra and the free part of Ireland celebrating the centenary of the Easter Rising. All are milestones of sorts, markers of positive change.
Putin’s “surprise” partial withdrawal from Syria
Russia is pulling out a large part of its forces in Syria. Is this a sign of Putin’s success – or a retreat that gives evidence to Putin and Russia’s weakness?
The Butcher’s Apron or the Tea Towel
Next week the voting on part two of the Key Legacy Project © begins. We’re being given a choice between the outdated and the bland. The Butcher’s Apron or the Tea Towel. Do you care?
Turkey is in trouble and the US is part of it
The Middle East temperature is heating up and Turkey is finding itself in trouble on many fronts.
General Lord Dannatt: UK should work with Assad in Syria
Russia understands how to defeat ISIS and the UK should be helping not opposing them, says a former UK Army chief of staff.
Syria escalating
Turkey has started shelling the US backed Kurdish forces that are fighting against ISIS. What could go wrong?
Key’s sham “consultation” an insult to Māori
Last week 95bFM tweeted some audio from a Key media session, which shows his “consultation” with Māori over the TPP to be a condescending sham.
TPPA ‘National Interest Analysis’ – get both sides
The Government has released a TPPA ‘National Interest Analysis’. It should be read along with TPP Legal’s extensive analysis of the costs and risks.
Happy Genocide Day Cobbers!
Today is Australia Day, the federal celebration of the invasion of the big island to the west of us. Journalist Stan Grant lays bare the Australian Dream in a stunning contribution to the recent IQ2Oz debate. Clearly, as the video shows, saying sorry isn’t enough.
International law and the Turkish shootdown of the RuAF Su-24
Assuming the Russian jet did enter Turkish airspace for 17s, was there really no recourse for Turkey other than using lethal force?
The (gradual?) decline of American empire
Col. Lawrence Wilkerson was Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell. And he says that the American empire is in decline.
70 refugees dead in small truck on Austrian roadside
When European and NATO countries participate in destabilising and destroying nearby countries, the human tragedy doesn’t stay neatly confined to the other side of the border.
Most allegations against Julian Assange dropped
Most of the allegations against Assange have been dropped but Swedish authorities still refuse to question him in London. And Assange still hasn’t been charged with a single crime.
Slash Greek debt now!
Europe must agree to slashing Greece’s debt so that economic growth can begin again. Germany should understand this better than most.
The decontextualisation of ANZAC Day
Everyone else is giving their reckons on the treatment of ANZAC Day this year, as we commemorate the centenary of the first year of World War I. So here are mine.
Hager: “The GCSB is not a New Zealand operation”
Selwyn Manning’s new EveningReport site got off to a massive start last night with a long, interesting interview with Nicky Hager. Take home quote (courtesy Russell Brown): “The GCSB is not a New Zealand operation, in any practical sense”. Watch the video…
The price of the club?
Back in 2003, John Key had an interesting take on whether it was appropriate to send troops to Iraq.
The War Club Family
There’s a fascinating article in the latest New Statesman titled “An Empire that speaks English: the right’s dream of a new world order.” Suddenly UK Foreign Minister Philip Hammond’s recent visit here makes sense. So does John Key’s references to sending troops to Iraq on behalf of the “club” or the “family” – he’s at the heart of the Empire.
A John Key. With assembly instructions.
How to make your very own New Zealand Prime Minister. Even better looking than this vessel.
September 18th
The 18th of September 2014 is a big day.
On that day, people living in Scotland will decide if they want to become citizens in a nation that will have reclaimed its sovereignty.
The image is the story …
Images from today’s mainstream media news: tales of class, crime, drugs, disasters…… and jet-setting beneficiaries.
NZ independence? back to the future
NZ seems like a client state of both US imperialism, and the UK monarchy: a throwback to the first part of the 20th century. John Key was quick to support the US & EU lines on the Crimea; some low achieving, British royals are visiting NZ at taxpayers’ expense.
NZ Herald watch – history repeats
The NZ Herald has a long history of opposing Maori resistance and supporting colonisation. It has always been right wing with a strong commercial focus & MO. Yesterday it censored news of Waitangi Day protests. Today an editorial spins in slippery style, for the Govt’s failing PowerCo sales.
The Good and the Bad: NZ screen industry
The NZ government changes to NZ’s screen industry incentives is a mixed bag. Some (not fully developed) support for a sustainable NZ industry. Selling out NZ workers; bowing to Hollywood corporate, neo-colonial values.
Irony? Nah.
Nigel Farage went to Scotland to promote UKIP. What the hell was he thinking?
Upcoming talk on Canadian student uprising
This Sunday hip hop artist and political activist Darius Mirshahi will be speaking in Auckland about the political situation in Canada and how the left are organising to resist Neo-Liberalism. Later he will be performing material which has lead to attention from Glen Beck and the Canadian police.
Gimme sense!
It’s nothing but ardent colonial nonsense to be celebrating a seasonally determined cultural event in the wrong season and about six months off […]
Khan: Afghanistan War can’t build peace
Guyon Espiner interviewed Imran Khan, whose party is poised for victory in the Pakistani elections next year. He had stark words on how the Pakistani allegiance with the US during the war in Afghanistan has fueled radicalism and resistance. His message to New Zealand is: your soldiers are only making things worse. Will John Key listen?
America writing our laws?
Wikileaks cables show that America has been “helping” draft out copyright law. They also lobbying to undermine Pharmac. How many other New Zealand laws are they writing?
Cleaning up after the royals
Buckingham Palace cleaners aren’t even paid the London living wage while the British taxpayer will have to pay for the royal wedding cleanup. That’s one reason why I’m a republican. The Globe and Mail reports: “The cost of cleaning the streets of Westminster the day before the wedding is estimated by the council at $83,000.”
Poppy day in Beijing
It’s diplomacy time in the Asia-Pacific region. While Secretary Clinton came to New Zealand and Australia and President Obama to India and Indonesia, […]
Key was sending a message to Tuhoe
Make no mistake, John Key’s comment about Tuhoe cannibalism was no accident, it was no joke, and it certainly was not ‘self-deprecating’. Key didn’t just happen to accidentally make a comment that appeals to a deep-seated prejudice that is still current among redneck Pakeha and wedges our society in two. It was a message to Tuhoe
Caption Contest
Murdering thieves ‘joke’ clouds Treaty talks
Embroiled in fraught Treaty talks, Tuhoe negotiator Tamati Kruger has made things worse with an inopportune joke: “The good news tonight is that I was having dinner with my whanau as opposed to with the representatives of the Crown in which case I would be lucky to get away without having my land stolen and my family murdered”.