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?
International
us politics
Osama Bin Laden dead
3 News is reporting that “Osama Bin Laden is dead and the US is in possession of his body, according to reports from a senior US counter-terrorism official”.
The Guantanamo files
The Guardian has obtained a mass of files relating to detainees at America’s infamous Guantánamo Bay. It’s an indictment of America. But because of our SAS involvement in Afghanistan, New Zealand doesn’t exactly come out smelling of roses either.
Land of the free?
With so much going on in terms of large scale disasters at the moment, it is easy to lose track of the stories of a mere individuals. But there are two individuals who’s stories should not be forgotten. They are facing the full might and anger of the American establishment. Their “crime” was to tell the truth.
Shine my shoes, f*ckface
Bill Maher takes a swipe at the ‘Undercover Boss’ and ‘Secret Millionaire’. “TV used to give Americans the reverse fantasy: what if you, normal person, were a millionaire. Now it says, oh who are you kidding? You’re lucky to hold your job frying chicken parts. But what if you were briefly introduced to a millionaire? You could touch his garments.”
Key, Beck & the end of empire
John Key’s support for Mubarak arose from the American far-right’s fear of Egyptian democracy. We laugh at Glenn Beck’s crazy conspiracy theories and the hypocrites who invaded Iraq to ‘spread democracy’ yet oppose free elections in Egypt because of who might get elected but there’s a deeper story here: the end of the American Empire.
Reagan’s legacy
It’s 100 years since the Gipper was born. That’s right, 100 years since the ball started rolling on a project of smiley-faced neoliberalism that we’re still suffering under.
I was going to write a tribute but John Dolan does it so much better than I ever could…
Bunch of bankers
In America a federal enquiry has now confirmed what we already knew. The 2008 financial crisis was an “avoidable” disaster caused by multiple failures of regulation and good old fashioned greed. If we don’t make some fundamental changes it is all going to happen again…
Stupid but dangerous
The Republican Party may be entering its death throes. In an unprecedented move, there were two competing Republican response speeches to President Obama’s State of the Union address. One from Paul Ryan, the powerful Chair of the House Budget Committee. The other from a Teabagger who looked into the wrong camera the whole time.
Giffords shooting fall-out
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords survived the assassination attempt but the political fall-out has just begun. In the US’s strange post-modern politics, Obama’s speech is the most popular thing he’s done, while Sarah Palin screwed up badly. Meanwhile, guns like the one used are flying off the shelves and Arizona is relaxing gun laws further.
Militant reactionarism coming to NZ
The Great Depression saw the rise of rightwing reactionarism. Out of reactionary movements came fascist governments from Brazil to Romania. We had the 100,000-strong New Zealand Legion. The Great Recession is spawning a new wave of militant reactionarism, now reaching our shores.
Newtering the rhetoric on crime
As has been amply demonstrated by comments on The Standard in recent days, there are many who believe that the answer to an ineffective deterrent is more deterrent; that leaving in place the likelihood that fleeing from a police car will result in your death is somehow discouraging an unknown number of drivers from fleeing. Increasingly, though, people who respond with their critical faculties as opposed to their knees are realising that the present model of law enforcement and incarceration is a failure.
Back from the brink?
For years, the American Right has been ramping up its violent rhetoric. Sarah Palin and the Tea Party movement have encouraged their followers to think that their guns are all that stands in the way of a socialist coup. Now, the violence has become real and the Right has, largely, baulked. Will the Tea Party’s rhetoric be scuttled?
Tea Party turns violent
Only one US Congressperson has ever been assassinated – Leo Ryan during the Jonestown Massacre. Gabrielle Giffords may become the second after a gunman shot her and others, killing at least one, in Arizona. This appears to be part of a rising tide of violence from America’s far-right Tea Party movement, driven on by Glenn Beck and others.
Write your own headline
“PM plays power games with President Obama” reads the headline! Sounds exciting doesn’t it? Alas. The actual events described are somewhat pathetic. Key went personally begging for a photo op but the President of the US was too busy doing stuff that mattered. I think I could have written a much more accurate headline. I’m sure you can too…
Stupid news makes you stupid shocker
Several studies have now shown that those who watch Fox News are significantly more misinformed than those who don’t. Well there’s a surprise! Not. Serious question though, can we have both a free media and a requirement for minimum levels of accuracy and balance, or are those options mutually exclusive?
Marianne Ny: Making an arse of Swedish law.
The Wikileaks release of US government diplomatic wires is less interesting to me than the behavior of the Sweden’s director of public prosecutions, Marianne Ny. Her charges and actions against Julian Assange indicate that she is driven more by the politics than respect for the law. I fail to see why Interpol is involved for such a minor charge. Apparently the charge is question is something pretty weird called “sex by surprise”
Who has “blood on their hands”?
Amongst other angry and aggressive rhetoric, American politicians have accused the leakers of the diplomatic cables of having “blood on their hands”. Will the leaked cables put lives at risk? Perhaps, but I believe that many more lives would be made safe if the actions and attitudes of our governments, and the “intelligence” that they work with, were more open to the people.
Leaked cables window into Superpower
Wikileaks latest coup is the release of a database of more than 250,000 diplomatic cables between American embassies, up to and including the highest security level “Top Secret”. The cables provide a full, detailed and explicit account of many of America’s diplomatic secrets and the attitudes behind them. It is a good long look through a window in to the mind of a Superpower.
Where’s the White House invite, John?
John Key proved one thing this week. When it comes to international affairs, he’s full of s**t. Despite all his claims about being best buds with Barack Obama, he didn’t even get an invite to meet him from top U.S. diplomat Hillary Clinton. He probably didn’t help future chances either by referring to Hillary as “President Clinton”. You sure are a class act John.
US midterms – deflation the risk so be afraid
As predicted, the US midterms have not gone well for the Democrats, as they have lost control of the House of Representatives. But […]
Key to get White House invite?
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is on her way to New Zealand this week, bringing the customary promises of good will and better relations between our two countries.
The big question is however: Will Clinton be bringing the overdue White House invite for our Prime Minister? John Key has claimed after all he and Obama are best pals… and he can pick up the phone anytime. Now’s the test.
Stewart interviews some guy called Obama
It’s a strange world we live in when comedians step out of the box and become the best political interviewers that America has to offer. But so it goes! Here is Jon Stewart interviewing President Obama. It will be interesting to see how the Stewart / Colbert Rally to Restore Sanity goes this weekend.
Phil Davison, bringing the passion back to politics
Some people are passionate about local government finances. Really, really, really embarrassingly passionate. Love when he says “If nominated tonight, I can guarantee with 100% certainty that what you are seeing tonight will be what everyone outside those doors will see over the next 8 weeks”. That’d be the clincher for any undecideds.
Rally to restore sanity
Remember Glen Beck’s “Rally to restore honour”? Depressed about America apparently spiralling out of control into political insanity? Me too! But now, at last, someone speaks up for the 70 to 80% of Americans who aren’t crazy.
Good luck I say
It seems Sarah Palin is stepping up her campaign to be the Republican’s candidate to run against President Obama in 2012. The world couldn’t ask for a better candidate to oppose Obama: She won’t have a show in hell.
No victory in Iraq
Barack Obama declared the U.S. combat mission in Iraq officially over on Tuesday but said he would not take a “victory lap”. No victory? That’s quite an understatement…
The ground zero mosque
“The ground zero mosque” is the latest focus of and flash-point for deranged American right wing anger. The Guardian’s Charlie Brooker explains.
Rough Justice
The Economist has a great article looking at the American propensity to deprive their citizens of their liberty for trivial offenses. We have the same stupid political ratcheting here that causes it. A large part of that is fueled by groups like the Sensible Sentencing Trust. There needs to be a broad agreement across the political spectrum about such hysterical groups before they cause more damage.
Pray you don’t get endorsed by Sarah Palin
A recent poll in New Hampshire showed that being endorsed by Sarah Palin was an immediate turnoff to moderate voters. Similarly the RWNJ’s of the ‘tea party’ have managed to succeed in getting ideologically ‘pure’ but politically lower quality candidates selected where the GOP has undemocratic systems in place. Is this the beginning of the end for the RWNJ’s in the US as voters reject their candidates? Now if only WhaleOil would endorse candidates here…
Truth out on wars
Deputy PM and leader of the Lib Dems, Nick Clegg, caused a bit of a sensation last week when he pronounced Britain’s involvement in the Iraq war illegal. And yesterday Wikileaks published a massive cache of American military files exposing the truth about the war in Afghanistan. Not a good week for warmongers.
Financial regulation in USA
The recent global recession represented a spectacular failure of unfettered capitalism. We never felt the full force and completeness of that failure because the worst was averted – or rather just delayed – by vast injections of Government bailout money. America has learned its lesson, yesterday passing the strictest restrictions on banks and Wall Street since the Great Depression.
Bypassing the media
Not long after The White House Correspondents’ Association met with Obama’s Press Secretary to complain about limitations on their access, The White House […]
Senator Alvin Greene?
Alvin Greene is an unemployed military veteran who received an involuntary discharge and is currently on felony pornography charges. He has a degree but seems a bit, um, challenged. He received 60% of the vote in the Democratic Primary for South Carolina senator, despite having no experience, no backing, and no campaign. No-one can explain it. See the Daily Show’s take:
Nats set the places for their own tea party
The US Republican Party faces destruction at the hands of the Teabaggers, a reactionary movement based on ignorance and fear that the Republican leadership purposely created. National faces a similar risk. It cynically fed its members anti-climate change conspiracy theorist nonsense. Now the Nats have to govern but their knuckle-draggers are fighting back.
On GEO group, conservative politicians, lobbyist groups, and prisons
In Florida, a legislative plan to close as many as five state prisons and ship inmates to a private prison run by GEO Group was scaled back last month.
The feds may be searching to see if former state House Speaker Sansom received any kickbacks from the company. The GEO group are also contenders for running private prisons here.