About the only thing that surprised me was that it took so long for a pandemic to really break out into the modern world. Because our evolutionary and recorded history is mainly punctuated and constrained by disease and environmental change. We invented large cities many times in the past and lost them to plague or drought. It looks like we’re going through that phase again – just at a larger level.
Claims that “Russian bots” helped Labour during the 2017 UK General Election…
I suspect I’m in the same boat as most when I say my knowledge of Zimbabwe is neither broad nor particularly deep. But anyway. Here’s some initial thoughts on current developments.
This post is too long to read. Its purpose is to serve as reference material, a “one stop” snapshot of where we are as a country. The mess that the new government inherits. The consequences of the nine long wasted years of National. The magnitude of the challenge ahead of us.
Where this government ranks in terms of proportion of the vote compared to the historical record. Useful analysis.
There is no “strong and stable” government to “lead” us. Maximum uncertainty! No end in sight! According to received wisdom (and all those people in a self-interested rush to ordain the born-to-rule-party) the market should be panicking! In fact…
The release online of a trove of declassified CIA documents includes several pertaining to NZ. The Herald’s David Fisher has given us a fine summary.
Vincent O’Malley writes at The Guardian about how we should, or don’t, remember the New Zealand wars.
Despite being an early adopter I completely failed to spot the potential of the web.
Britain is in its final hours of voting in the historic and contentious EU referendum. Will it be Brexit or Bremain? Update: Brexit it is.
From the archives.
Everyone else is giving their reckons on the treatment of ANZAC Day this year, as we commemorate the centenary of the first year of World War I. So here are mine.
Starring John Key as Winston Churchill.
A recent report from the Waitangi Tribunal questions the “constitutional” foundation of NZ and challenges the received wisdom of our history.
A new Sunday feature – each week a random section scanned from a copy of The Standard, September 15th, 1938.
Although Key’s privatisation programme has hit plenty of problems with Maori water rights, his job is made a whole lot easier by the luxury of an ethical main opposition party.
My regular Sunday piece of interesting, longer, deeper stories I found during the week. It’s also a chance for you to share what you found this week too. Those stimulating links you wanted to share, but just didn’t fit in anywhere (no linkwhoring). This week: The Olympics, some interesting science on inequality and performance pay, and what does history look like when it’s not the propaganda of the victor?
In 2005 the UK Conservatives badly lost a third election in a row and their leader announced his intent to resign. But they organised a well-run contest to replace him, and by the time he won David Cameron had gone from unknown outsider to popular public figure, and the once ‘toxic’ Conservatives were electable again.
Well-known Wellington artist Bob Kerr has produced a series of paintings on “The Three Wise Men of Kurow”, Davidson the teacher, McMillan the […]
From the Sunday Star Times: A new poll suggests that National Leader John Key may be up against a bigger obstacle than he thought in […]
After reading Steve’s piece about suicide prevention and the subsequent comments I’ve decided a short history lesson on this issue is needed. In […]
When I wrote to the MPs asking them for their thoughts on John Key’s “we would love to see wages drop” quote (results […]
When a society goes through trauma, one of the first results is a drop in the birth-rate. People choose not to have children […]
New Zealand Labour movement activists will support Irish unionists – the political sort – who wish to remove Reform Prime Minister Massey’s statue […]
Am halfway through “Kiwi Keith”, Barry Gustafson’s portrait of our third-longest serving Prime Minister. He obviously had something, as he was picked out […]
Just had this sent through to me by a Levin reader. The reference to the Federation of Labour and getting the army in […]
On the morning of October the 12th 1917 845 New Zealand soldiers lost their lives in a failed attack on Bellvue Spur during […]
