The Failed Estate: Kabuki Economics
Jim Parker dissects the Australian customs around the presentation of the Budget with comments that are just as applicable to New Zealand’s system.
International
Kites.
Flying kites is…
No Iran Israeli War.
In spite of all the sharp intakes of breathe going on across media outlets, there will be no war between Iran and Israel. Here’s why.
Rogue Nation(s)
Just some thoughts that kind of meandered down to the ocean.
Algorithms are threatening our democracy
Algorithms are a form of fascism – yet a fascism from data manipulation rather than from the state. Are they a threat to our democracy?
Trump trashes Iranian Nuclear deal because he can
Donald Trump has torn up a deal between the US and Iran that provided for limitation of its nuclear programme and prevented it from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Is Karl Marx dead?
2018 marks several anniversaries of Karl Marx whose significance for the critique of capitalist society is hard to diminish. But what now for his beliefs?
English Council Elections
By Nick Kelly – Upper Hutt boy in London.
Australia and New Zealand budget days
Isn’t it time we at least synchronized the New Zealand budget with the Australian budget?
Media Sprays and Leaves.
Fed up of being fed bullshit just so your opinions can be nurtured for harvesting? I am.
The Centre, the Left and UK local elections
Thoughts on a resurgent left and a collapsing centre.
The real conspiracy facing New Zealand
Rhys Darby has discovered the real conspiracy facing New Zealand by judicious use of the Internet. And Clarke Gayford does not feature.
Trumping Obama?
A post on big boy’s scouting medals.
The Australian banking system review
The review into Australia’s banking system really matters to New Zealand and is doing New Zealand an almighty good service.
Then and Now.
Claims that “Russian bots” helped Labour during the 2017 UK General Election…
New Zealand Is all right, at the end
Democracy’s permanence is not inevitable. Its imagining is not beyond imagining. And New Zealand is one of the shrinking number of democracies who really have it.
Grotesque.
People from Douma have been to The Hague and spoken of their experiences on the night of a supposed chemical attack by Syrian forces.
Anzac Day 2018
A post to commemorate Anzac day.
Is capitalism obsolete?
Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has given a speech where he has stated that capitalism is coming to an end because it is making itself obsolete.
North Korea
When enemies are all around…
The Daily Show on Sean Hannity
Trevor Noah on the Daily Show gives the most concise and funny description of Sean Hannity’s problems concerning Donald Trump’s lawyer’s issues.
Does New Zealand need more immigration?
The Australian Federal Treasury has put out a think piece that has come out strongly in support of the government policy of adding 190,000 non-humanitarian migrants a year with a focus on taking skilled workers. Should New Zealand do the same?
Bullshit upon Bullshit.
Doctors being intimidated.
Photoshop Wars?
The Independent’s Robert Fisk reports from Douma, where he interviewed one of the clinic doctors who said that the images that outraged Trump, May and Macron were real, but the cause was oxygen starvation from dust, not poisonous gas. Could it be that misleading images started a bombing war? What might this say about Western values?
Compassion?
May claimed she couldn’t wait until Monday before unleashing compassion on Syria on Friday night. Which brought a line from this to mind….
The Government’s response to the Syrian crisis
Jacinda Ardern has accepted the US, UK and French response to the Syrian crisis. Should she have instead condemned it?
The Humanity.
Apparently “this lot” really do care about people.
What’s the Game?
What the hell are Macron, May and Trump playing at?
Is New Zealand really as ‘racist as fuck’?
I am inclined to believe that there are at least some New Zealanders who are as “racist as fuck”.
Crazees and clowns
Can we have some sanity please?
Is this a new cold war?
It’s really easy to get cranky right now and believe the world is retreating into to a sad Cold War binary in which Russia and its allies are always in high tension with the United States and its allies. A new Cold War.
immigration profiling
A data modelling programme that includes race and ethnicity as factors for consideration is a bad idea.
Labour speaks up.
Partial transcript of a speech as reported in “The Independent”
Ardern was right to hold back on Russia
Remember two weeks ago when Jacinda Ardern’s handling of the Russian poisoning scandal was considered to be a major misstep? Well with the benefit of hindsight it appears to have been a very balanced nuanced response to an incident that is not as clear cut as it was presented.
North Korea redux
Does being incoherent work sometimes? With the President of North Korea visiting China for the first time, meeting with the South Korean President for the first time, and preparing to meet with the Japanese President and with the President of the United States, was Trump’s approach actually right for the circumstances?
Gaza
Is it the new by-word for silence?