Once upon a time
Once upon a time this country stood up to American and said no to nuclear weapons. Now we dare not say yes to saving the planet.
International
UK Labour campaign ad
Andrew Little – Last Labour PM of NZ?
A wee bit of speculation for a long week-end.
When Earth’s future is under attack …
US Secretary of State and Oil Baron Rex Tillerson is visiting New Zealand next Tuesday. And 350 Aotearoa is planning to provide him with a warm reception.
Madman Trump withdraws America from Paris Accord
Donald Trump has announced that the USA will be withdrawing from the Paris Climate Change Accord.
UK’s hung parliament?
The Tories’ supposed landslide trickles to a halt.
A lesson from South Korea
The history of the Korean peninsular suggests that there is more than a remote chance of nuclear war breaking out some time soon.
NZ and UK political spectrums
Politics as a compass not a line.
UK Defense Secretary on Corbyn
A quite remarkable interview of Michael Fallon by Channel 4 News in the UK.
Corbyn on terrorism and UK settings.
Full speech given by Jeremy Corbyn yesterday.
Why Islam is incidental.
How (According to The Guardian) a neo-nazi turned Islamist flipped terror narratives upside down.
What Now?
Where to from here?
Oh Manchester …
Terrible news from Manchester where two explosions have killed at least 19 people and injured many more. This post will be updated as more news comes in.
Geddis on TPP11
Geddis: “So either Bill English was lying to Susie Ferguson on the radio, or his advisors lied to him about what TPP11 will require, or the Crown’s lawyers are lying to the Waitangi Tribunal.”
President Pence
Mensch and Taylor report that: “Multiple sources close to the intelligence, justice and law enforcement communities say that the House Judiciary Committee is considering Articles of Impeachment against the President of the United States.”
The UK elections – Has Labour got the big mo?
And in the United Kingdom the election that was meant to be a foregone conclusion suddenly is suddenly tightening.
Book review: Here on Earth – An Argument for Hope
A brief review of Here on Earth: An Argument for Hope, by Tim Flannery. An argument for hope is exactly what we need, but does Flannery make the case?
Campbell on the TPP cargo cult
Gordon Campbell: “The TPP has literally become a cargo cult ritual that’s being performed in the hope that someday, one day, the Americans will return, bearing gifts.”
Assange and Manning
Swedish prosecutors are dropping their seven year old preliminary investigation into an allegation of rape against Julian Assange. Chelsea Manning has been released from prison after serving seven years of a 35-year sentence.
How to rescue Trump – and make up with Putin
What can the U.S. security collective do to work with their government and achieve something positive with Donald Trump?
Four eyes and an arsehole
NZ with its various operations around this end of the Pacific really doesn’t need its own intelligence gathering operations blown by the current incompetent blowhard of the White House. Nor does anyone else who shares information with the US. That is the problem with Trump childishly boasting about the intelligence gathered by others merely to boost his ego.
UK Labour manifesto – for the many not the few
UK Labour unveils a plan that is both radical and responsible.
National’s messy Israel position
National’s shifting position on Israel suggests all is not happy within National’s ranks.
NZDF changes story on Operation Burnham photos
Why did the NZDF wrongly claim that there were no photographs of the mission? Intelligence analyst Dr Paul Buchanan has a suggestion.
The Trump White House descends into chaos
Recent events suggest that Donald Trump has lost control of his administration.
Labour’s Manifesto
Old school Social Democracy. (Remember that?)
Trump fires Comey
So much for checks and balances.
A lesson from South Korea
South Korea has responded to corruption allegations by electing a new president who plans to dump their equivalent of the SIS and oppressive security laws, greatly tax the wealthy, clean out corruption, and hugely strengthen the public sector.
Little on immigration
A good piece by Andrew Little in The Herald, setting out Labour’s position on immigration (with policy to come).
Macron and Trudeau mean yes for Ardern
The election of Trudeau in Canada and Macron in France suggest that the path to electoral success may be with younger fresh faced and untainted candidates.
Bringing Liberalism Down.
It isn’t always wise to tackle an adversary head on and sometimes, with a bit of smarts, two birds can be had with one stone. This post is about halting the march of liberalism and killing the potential of fascism.
The patriotic millionaires
In America a group of millionaires have emerged who are advocating for increased taxation for the wealthy and increased democratic rights to everyone else.
Poor Donald
“I loved my previous life. I had so many things going. This is more work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier.”
Hickey’s chart of the week
Donald Trump and Florida
The US economy may start unravelling when because of rising sea levels boats in Florida are no longer able to clear canal bridges.
When a wannabe politician’s social media goes wrong
Over in Australia a One Nation candidate has withdrawn his candidacy after a merciless twitter attack and a photo of him in front of a swasticker mowed into a lawn and giving a nazi salute appeared.