uk politics
But which club?
Written By: - Date published: 3:41 pm, January 21st, 2015 - 7 comments
I think when justifying sending troops to Iraq the club John Key is really talking about is the group of right-wing political parties known as the International Democratic Union. Today Key chairs its Executive in Sarajevo, his first meeting as President. This move by Key to the IDU is calculated; he sees himself as leader of the world right-wing club and this is the first step to his international political career post New Zealand politics.
Protecting our Freedom
Written By: - Date published: 1:27 pm, January 19th, 2015 - 7 comments
UK PM David Cameron thinks freedom will be enhanced by monitoring everything – something we used to call totalitarianism. We need more encryption and to make sure the internet is built for the people, not the data-miners – be they our security agencies, criminal gangs, or facebook.
Exploiting the Charlie Hebdo attack
Written By: - Date published: 7:21 am, January 15th, 2015 - 52 comments
How many governments are using the Paris / Charlie Hebdo attack as an excuse to increase surveillance or otherwise remove civil protections? The UK and Australia for starters…
Rupert Murdoch on Charlie Hebdo
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, January 11th, 2015 - 123 comments
Rupert Murdoch has tweeted questioning if most Moslems are peaceful and saying they are responsible for extremists within their ranks.
UK Labour is in an interesting position
Written By: - Date published: 11:54 am, January 4th, 2015 - 63 comments
As the United Kingdom prepares itself for a general election later this year Labour and the Conservatives are neck and neck in the polls, some within Labour are suggesting that the party should move to the right.
How the Sex Pistols saved Christmas – republished
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, December 25th, 2014 - 5 comments
Reprinted from last year. How the Sex Pistols saved Christmas for striking Huddersfield fire fighters and their families.
Europe & the anti-austerity left
Written By: - Date published: 9:42 am, December 24th, 2014 - 28 comments
The UK Green Party is gaining in popularity as many people turn away from the 3 established parties. The radical left Syriza party in Greece could possibly gain power in their election – what powerful international right wing forces would then be unleashed?
Why does the right control the English speaking world?
Written By: - Date published: 9:31 am, November 16th, 2014 - 116 comments
Jason Wilson in the Guardian has asked a very relevant question. Why is the right currently dominant in the English speaking Western World and what does the left have to do to change this?
Bilateral mobility a bad idea
Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, November 4th, 2014 - 166 comments
Who wouldn’t want the option of easy access to Britain, and hence Europe? But, hang on…
The 4th estate & its pretenders
Written By: - Date published: 10:59 am, October 19th, 2014 - 63 comments
Some journalists continue to try to fulfill the fourth estate ideal of pursuing truth & speaking truth to power. Others, with powerful links to corporate media & governments, work to suppress debate and democracy, often using threats, abusive nastiness & fear mongering.
The Scottish Referendum
Written By: - Date published: 12:22 pm, September 19th, 2014 - 101 comments
The polling booths are closed and the count has started in what may be an historic day for Scotland.
John Oliver on Scottish Independence
Written By: - Date published: 10:53 am, September 17th, 2014 - 9 comments
The Scottish vote on independence this week. Will The Yes vote win? Will it create a liberal bastion or will it cause the United Kingdom’s economy to disintegrate? Last Week Tonight’s John Oliver discusses the issue.
TolleyOil?
Written By: - Date published: 12:13 pm, September 4th, 2014 - 34 comments
NetworkOnNet posts about the Ministry of Education under Tolley bullying good principals though WhaleOil. And also in Education news: this week all 4-7 year olds will be eligible for a free hot school lunch… in the UK.
GCSB, privacy & Facebook messaging
Written By: - Date published: 2:42 pm, August 15th, 2014 - 7 comments
How private are communications on social media platforms such as Facebook? It is claimed that the GCSB law’s definition of “privacy” leaves a loophole for warrantless surveillance of messaging by Kiwis on platforms like Facebook.
Polity: Poor pay more tax than rich in UK
Written By: - Date published: 7:55 am, July 19th, 2014 - 134 comments
The British public estimates the poor pay around 24% of their income in tax, while the rich pay around 35%. The truth is very different. Once you add up all taxes, the poorest actually pay around 43% of their income in tax, compared to only 35% for the rich. We have the same perceptual issues in NZ especially if you listen to the whining of Kiwiblog. Here the poorest pay the same tax rate as the rich, and the middle classes have the lower tax rate.
NRT: GCHQ’s bag of dirty tricks
Written By: - Date published: 11:48 am, July 16th, 2014 - 11 comments
The UK intelligence agency GCHQ has developed sophisticated tools to manipulate online polls, spam targets with SMS messages, track people by impersonating spammers and monitor social media postings, according to newly-published documents leaked by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Bryan Gould: An impartial press
Written By: - Date published: 11:25 am, June 29th, 2014 - 34 comments
Ed Miliband is competent, has the support of his party, but has abysmal poll ratings. The right-wing British press has played a significant role. For instance a messy bacon sandwich. In New Zealand, we all know that the British press is notoriously biased and that our own press may have their own allegiances but are reasonably impartial. Which is why there are some disturbing features about the press treatment of the supposed “scandal” (as it is regularly referred to) of Donghua Liu and David Cunliffe.
NRT: UK police spied on politicians
Written By: - Date published: 2:51 pm, June 17th, 2014 - 4 comments
Police and security forces often seem to consider themselves to be beyond the law. Their propensity towards excessive surveillance of people who are following peaceful and legal paths towards societal change without any evidence is rather legendary amongst activists on the left. The impression that most activists have is that some police just don’t like their politics. However surveillance of a councillor in the UK after they have been elected and while they are monitoring police activities as part of their job does mark a new low.
The smoke & mirrors of the surveillance-military-economic-complex
Written By: - Date published: 2:22 pm, May 21st, 2014 - 29 comments
There are a range of issues, which are part of a GCSB-intelligence-surveillance-military-complex. Some significant elements seem to be posing as diversions from other parts of the complex, and the way all parts hang together. What will he offer Obama to advance NZ’s position in the TPPA?
NRT: A disease the world over
Written By: - Date published: 10:08 am, May 9th, 2014 - 30 comments
New Zealand isn’t the only place currently seeing a cash-for-access scandal. In Australia, the federal Treasurer has a similar arrangement to the National Party, selling access to a donors by membership of a “club”. And in the UK, the co-treasurer of the Conservative Party has said publicly that £250,000 gets you a private dinner with the Prime Minister.
September 18th
Written By: - Date published: 7:36 pm, April 8th, 2014 - 46 comments
The 18th of September 2014 is a big day.
On that day, people living in Scotland will decide if they want to become citizens in a nation that will have reclaimed its sovereignty.
NRT: Privatization is theft
Written By: - Date published: 6:56 am, April 3rd, 2014 - 33 comments
A government is carrying out a crash-program of privatization without a mandate. It is desperate to sell, so it sets the price of the shares artificially low, and loses $1.5 billion in a single day. No, this isn’t New Zealand (yet) – its the UK:
NRT: One way of fixing it
Written By: - Date published: 1:11 pm, March 22nd, 2014 - 3 comments
No Right Turn looks at one reason why Yahoo moved from the UK to Dublin. Escaping the ubiquitous and ever increasing surveillance requirements of paranoid security agencies who appear to only be interested in protecting elites rather than citizens. As it is, it is preferable to site site servers offshore away from silly unenforceable laws. They’ll just go to locations that offer the best server security.
Tony Benn 1925-2014
Written By: - Date published: 9:42 pm, March 14th, 2014 - 34 comments
Sorry to hear that Tony Benn has died today, at age 88. He came from an aristocratic background, but became part of the UK Labour Party’s “radical” left. He spoke for Unions, people power and democratic process, and against neoliberalism. [Update – Tony Benn quotes]
a wee note to the msm
Written By: - Date published: 11:23 am, March 11th, 2014 - 49 comments
Spot the difference?
Update: The referendum on the flag will be after the election.
Where ‘welfare reform’ ends
Written By: - Date published: 10:58 am, March 10th, 2014 - 25 comments
Sheila Holt, in the UK, is in a coma for 2 months. She has also just been invited to “intensive job-focused activity” by the Dept of Work & Pensions.
UK Labour goes OMOV
Written By: - Date published: 8:35 pm, March 2nd, 2014 - 9 comments
UK Labour’s special conference yesterday changed the Party’s rules for leadership selection, and the basis for affiliate involvement. One-person-one-vote is the general rule, and block voting for leadership and selection by affiliates including unions is replaced by individual and intentional involvement.
5 Eyes’ cyberwarfare: Snowden
Written By: - Date published: 7:55 am, February 9th, 2014 - 60 comments
Leaked by Edward Snowden, a GCHQ slideshow for a secret spy conference. It outlines methods of cyber warfare and propaganda circulation. Mainly aimed at non-5 Eyes’ countries, the methods include infiltrating blogs, DOS attacks, propaganda via social media & manipulating journalists.
A big gay rainbow the true cause of the UK’s unusual weather
Written By: - Date published: 7:04 am, January 21st, 2014 - 20 comments
It is quite an achievement for a sitting MP to be considered to be too nutty for the UKIP. But David Silvester has achieved this dubious distinction by claiming that adverse weather events in the United Kingdom are the result of legalising same sex marriage …
Poverty denial
Written By: - Date published: 9:58 am, December 30th, 2013 - 230 comments
Here & in the UK: food poverty, increases in queues to foodbanks, in diseases of poverty, a crisis in affordable housing, & struggles & insecurites of the working poor. But poverty denialists blame the poor, smear beneficiaries, & talk of (always-around-the-corner) “brighter futures”.
How the Sex Pistols saved Christmas …
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, December 25th, 2013 - 13 comments
In 1977 at the height of their notoriety the Sex Pistols put on a Christmas party for the families of striking Huttersfield fire fighters. Even now that act of kindness by one of the most reviled groups in the history of UK music is remembered fondly.
The server will be getting hardware changes this evening starting at 10pm NZDT.
The site will be off line for some hours.
Recent Comments