The Trump administration has declared war on China, and there is much speculation in the punditry as to whether or not this is a new Cold War similar to that waged post World War 2 against Russia. In my opinion, the 19th century Opium Wars may offer a more appropriate analogy, albeit with a likely different outcome.
This week Donald Trump has defended the US’s abysmal handling of Covid 19 by claiming that the disease is out of control in New Zealand. And National’s rhetoric continues to match what he is saying.
Inasmuch as tiny, distant New Zealand need worry about the foreign policy of the United States, it’s worth a drill into what a Democratic Party dominated United States foreign policy might look like.
He’s old, boring, uninspiring, and offends no-one: surely he’ll fail miserably as President? But he has a stronger chance than any Democrat President since LBJ of getting very strong domestic reforms done.
Joe Biden announces his VP pick.
Trump has announced he will ban Tik-Tok from the United States. It’s Chinese-owned so there. Or maybe he will force it to be sold to Americans.Don’t think security is the issue; kids used it to stuff up his Tulsa rally. And it is good for mockery, as clips about Trump and Pompeo show. Don’t think that will stop if Americans own it.
With the growing assertions by the Chinese government across the eastern Pacific including in Hong Kong and our own repudiation of an extradition treaty, there are now calls to expand the Five Eyes intelligence network to include Japan.
Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds traveled to the US this week to meet face-to-face with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Minister Mark Esper. In what was clearly meant as a follow-up to recent speeches on China by the Americans, Payne firmly declined to join Pompeo in in his call for regime change in China.
According to our Prime Minister, today’s announcement that New Zealand is suspending extradition arrangements with Hong Kong is because of our principles. But it is not immediately clear what these principles are, other than falling into line with our Five Eyes spying partners. Some history is important.
With the government clearly watching the unravelling of Australia’s Covid-19 response and putting in place $14 billion in preparation for a second infection wave, we are clearly now in a history-in-making territory of the highest instability outside a world war.
An occasional series
Nazis Punked; Fucked Off!
A really successful and very modern revolution has already started in just the last few weeks. It’s not the revolution we expected.
National and elements of the media have gone full on attack on the Government’s and Ashley Bloomfield’s Covid 19 performance. Which is unusual given that there is still no examples of community transmission and all recent infections have been picked up through the quarantine system.
Donald Trump has planned to hold a political rally on the day used to celebrate the abolition of slavery at a place where one of the worst examples of white brutality on black people using advertising material containing nazi symbols. All in the middle of a global pandemic.
A quick look at rising second wave in the US as covid-19 digs deeper into the less populated states and counties. Because of its deliberate lack of governmental cohesion, the US is a rack of petri dishes testing different strategies. When that comes to disease control and covid-19, that strategy is a bit of a disaster.
…is the US sharemarket roaring away – up 44% – while economic recovery prospects are grim?” ANZ’s Sharon Zollner’s answer on Tuesday was the Fed printing money, but worried markets were turning a blind eye to the bad news. The bad news hit today as the sharemarket nose-dived. Wolf Richter’s answer was more to Kim’s point: “Fed bails out the wealthy while America convulses in pain.”
The Black Lives Matter movement is causing many countries to reflect on their history and practices. And the decision of the police to discontinue the Armed Response Teams Trial and the Childrens Commissioner’s scathing report on Oranga Tamariki’s practices in the uplifting of young children, mostly Maori, from their mothers are examples of the change that is happening.
Skripal’s relatives don’t believe it, Jacinda Ardern doesn’t believe it, Paul Buchanan doesn’t believe it, and I never believed it. But a story planted in the UK Sunday Times that the Skripals are here lets our media rerun the assassination attempt that failed, even though the most deadliest poison in the world was involved. Stuff website has a British Minister from Theresa May’s time rerunning the old lies,as does the NZ Herald. Fits in nicely with the SIS anti-Russian history.
The civil war may have ended slavery, the civil rights movement may have changed the legal framework ending segregation in the Southern States, but the idea that white people’s lives matter more has survived into the 21st century.
Nothing changes
Donald Trump is engaged in an escallating war with Twitter after the Social Platform hid one of his tweets calling for Minneapolis rioters to be shot.
Todd Muller has spent the weekend not introducing himself to the country and talking about his ideas for our future but by defending the displaying of a MAGA hat in his office.
More than 110 nations have backed a call for the World Health Organisation to investigate the origins of the Covid-19 virus outbreak.
Taking a break from the apocalypse to talk about the problem with the Democrats and rural voters.
In this time of uncertainty when mass unemployment beckons you would expect that stock exchanges would be plummeting. But think again. Because they seem to be doing fine.
We are heading towards decision time. Does Aotearoa New Zealand loosen up and head back to a semi normal life?
With Benjamin Netanyahu now reinstated as Prime Minister of Israel, the big annexation of the Jordan Valley is gathering momentum.
The clock is ticking on Joe Biden.
An occasional series
With President Trump doing what we all expected, and killing 67,000 people and counting through chronic poor leadership, and utterly ruining the U.S. economy as well, it’s time to look at what policies the alternative candidate has on offer.
an occasional series.
More 1% Americans are heading our way, according to Bloomberg. The Texas company building underground bunkers is getting more enquiries. They’re not running from the virus but fear the aftermath when the breadlines turn.
The Trump regime has this week plunged new depths in the handling of the Covid-19 Pandemic in the United States
More was achieved by and for Americas throughout the Franklin D. Roosevelt era than ever before or since in American history. This may provide us with a model for how we get things back on track.
Developments on Covid-19 are happening at pace as we enter the make or break stage concerning the virus’s spread.
