Posted on 11/01/2020 by Nick Kelly Before Christmas I posted about the UK Election result and did an analysis of why the Conservatives won. I will now turn to the the UK Labour Party. Given my own history with NZ Labour I’ve followed the UK Labour Party with interest, especially since moving to…
David Slack's column on Stuff today looks at the resistance to taking climate action seriously, and the reasons why we should, We have just two choices, they both take us into the unknown, and we have to pick one: give up fossil fuels and move…
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This post is a place for positive discussion of the future. An Open Mike for ideas, solutions and the discussion of the possible. The Big Picture, rather than a snapshot of the day’s goings on. Topics rather than topical. We’d like to think it’s…
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There’s something, as a dyed-in-the-wool Leftie, that I’ve never fully understood about my ideological opponents. Between them the Centre and the Right have governed New Zealand for almost its entire history, they have ample amplification via the media, they’re well funded by people who like…
It’s great to hear Prince Harry and Meghan quitting as senior royals and going off on their own. They are planning to become financially independent, and hope to “carve out a progressive new role within the institution.” Willingly removing themselves from public taxpayer subsidy is…
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David Farrar recently posted this post on climate change and the use of nuclear power. The title of the post was "A message for children about climate change" and the post itself is as condescending to young people as the header. Although he did take…
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So the orange one's temper tantrum has goaded Iran into replying in kind. There are reports of two US bases being hit by missiles launched from within Iran and as I type this it is being reported that Iran's air force is in the air.…
Simon Bridges' trip to China last year has attracted more attention with recent news that MFAT was not consulted on the trip and of even greater concern that the trip was organised by National MP Jian Yang. When I look through past posts I see…
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Less than a week into the New Year and #WorldWarThree is trending on Twitter. Thank you very much Donald Trump. Trump having lost an impeachment vote in the US Congress, has resorted to the Bill Clinton playbook of 1998. Back then Clinton launched an air strike of Kosovo to distract…
The start of 2020 has been a truely horrible one for Australia. The fires that are sweeping the country have been wreaking havoc. Currently more than 20 people have lost their lives and hundreds more have lost their homes and possessions. In the state of…
March 31 1968 was a big deal for the United States' global military prestige. President Johnson announced bringing U.S. troops back from Vietnam. Weeks later he announced that he wouldn't stand for re-election. With the United States assassination of the highest Iranian military official and…
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General Soleimani was visiting Iraq at the request of the Iraqi Prime Minister to discuss mediation between the US and Iran. Following his assassination by the US the Iraqi Parliament has voted to ask all foreign troops to leave the country. New Zealand's remaining troops…
This is a scene from Bladerunner 2049, a futuristic Science Fiction film. The visual effect that the Director Denis Villeneuve wanted to create was to show that "[t]he climate has gone berserk — the ocean, the rain, the snow is all toxic". The scene looks…
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