Written By: - Date published: 7:50 pm, March 22nd, 2021 - 9 comments
Did anyone notice Russia and China signing up to a treaty to form a common base on the moon?
Written By: - Date published: 10:36 am, March 5th, 2021 - 43 comments
New Zealand should resist China’s authoritarian ways, and U.S. President Biden should too. But it’s all in how he does it.
Written By: - Date published: 9:18 am, February 22nd, 2021 - 30 comments
The Covid pandemic is entering into an interesting stage with vaccinations being administered at an increasing rate and infection rates declining. The opportunities for politicising the issue continue however.
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 pm, February 20th, 2021 - 41 comments
In February 2002 I was at a union-NDP conference in Ottawa watching US television in my hotel room. Back home I reported on the conference to the Labour Party caucus and stated as an aside that the US was going to war with Iraq. Helen Clark stood up straightaway and said “we won’t be going with them.” Jacinda Ardern needs to do the same now.
Written By: - Date published: 9:56 am, February 20th, 2021 - 24 comments
What should a Texan representative do when the state is frozen over following an extreme weather event? How about take a trip across the Mexican border for a holiday in a beach resort?
Written By: - Date published: 8:26 am, February 18th, 2021 - 89 comments
Over in the US of A in the great state of Texas and in surrounding states locals are experiencing unusually cold weather and are suffering from the effects. But instead of blaming their not fit for purpose electrical systems they are blaming the Green New Deal, even though it has not been implemented.
Written By: - Date published: 6:25 pm, February 6th, 2021 - 67 comments
Radio New Zealand carried a long story this week from the BBC of rape allegations in Xinjiang based on accounts from two Uyghur women Tursunay Ziawudun and Gulzira Auelkhan. Independent analyst Bernhard at Moonofalabama asks the question “Why do these Uyghur witnesses stories constantly change?
Written By: - Date published: 2:35 pm, February 4th, 2021 - 29 comments
Wayne Brown’s recent suggestion “Is it time to sell our seat on FiveEyes?” is from someone well placed by experience to form an educated opinion. “Trade sanctions of the type Australia is facing are a weapon used by both USA and China. So let’s have a debate on whether we need Five Eyes, or whether it’s time for us to trade on independently.”
Written By: - Date published: 8:58 am, February 1st, 2021 - 21 comments
One year on from the declaration by the WTO that Covid was a public health emergency and with the benefit of hindsight it is interesting to see who heeded the scientific advice and how it worked out.
Written By: - Date published: 10:08 am, January 24th, 2021 - 85 comments
You would think that after the Trump years the media would be turning away from the reporting of “both sides” of an issue and in many cases they are. But there is a recent example of a hold out urging that extremist views should be given media attention.
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, January 23rd, 2021 - 34 comments
On his first day in office Joe Biden executed 17 executive orders making wide scale change to the Trump Administration’s policies.
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, January 23rd, 2021 - 24 comments
Revolt? Revolution? Pain in the ass? Depends, like comedy, on timing. And which side of history you end up on.
Written By: - Date published: 7:59 am, January 22nd, 2021 - 33 comments
Now that Donald Trump has more time to play golf and attend court there will be jockeying for leadership of the Republican Party, or what will be left of it once Trump’s new Patriot Party emerges. One early contender is Ted Cruz. There is a problem with him however, he is an imbecile.
Written By: - Date published: 6:01 am, January 21st, 2021 - 57 comments
According to the constitution of the United States, a president’s four-year term “shall end at noon on the 20th day of January”. On Wednesday, the end of Donald Trump’s presidency will see Joe Biden assume the office in the enduring inauguration ceremony at the US Capitol.
-The Guardian
Written By: - Date published: 11:50 am, January 20th, 2021 - 32 comments
Donald Trump’s final decision as President may be to pardon a number of people. There is speculation that the exercise of the Presidential prerogative of mercy may have a price attached …
Written By: - Date published: 6:03 am, January 15th, 2021 - 111 comments
Alexandria Oacasio-Cortez burns in the aftermath of the Capitol attacks, and the left in New Zealand seems content to ridicule our own people radicalising to the alt-right.
Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, January 14th, 2021 - 109 comments
Over the past few days Twitter has suspended not only Donald Trump’s twitter account but 70,000 accounts world wide many associated with the propagation of Qanon conspiracies.
Written By: - Date published: 9:04 am, January 12th, 2021 - 87 comments
Parler, which attracted right wing extremists because of its refusal to apply any rules to what people said, has had its application banned by Google and Apple and Amazon has now refused to host its data. But it has also had all of user’s data downloaded and archived and made available to everyone, including law enforcement authorities. Think Dirty Politics but on industrial scale.
Written By: - Date published: 8:54 am, January 11th, 2021 - 21 comments
Reading the effect of the Wednesday riot at the US Congress has been interesting. The Trump position has as usual been as infantile and self-adsorbed as all of his disaster of a presidency has been. The Republican politicians have been been more nuanced. But it looks to me like they would like to not rely on cheeseburgers to stop Donald Trump running again in 2024.
Written By: - Date published: 1:02 am, January 9th, 2021 - 150 comments
Wednesday’s insurrection further tarnishes America’s reputation as a credible democratic nation. Significant changes will be needed before this reputation can be restored and it is hard to be optimistic that the US political system is capable of reforming itself in the way it needs to.
Written By: - Date published: 8:58 am, January 8th, 2021 - 175 comments
America’s descent into chaos was almost completed yesterday. An amazingly inept display by local police saw a takeover of Congress and a temporary disruption of the confirmation of the clearly expressed view of the majority of Americans.
Written By: - Date published: 11:44 am, January 7th, 2021 - 43 comments
Short post to update on developments in Washington.
Written By: - Date published: 11:18 am, January 6th, 2021 - 66 comments
With crucial Senate run off races in Georgia and Congress meeting to receive the declared results of the US election and with Republicans determined to oppose the results at every turn the next couple of days will be very significant for America’s future. Update (lprent): The democratic senators from Georgia are called as victors. A riot pushed by an irresponsible President Trump happened at the Capitol building with people dead. Congress subsequently made a determined proclamation that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are confirmed a the newly elected president and vice-president. As for Donald Trump – goodbye to unstable rubbish..
Written By: - Date published: 9:09 am, January 6th, 2021 - 25 comments
Well after the emergence of a mutated Covid virus that is much easier to spread and faced with surging infection rates Boris Johnson has put England into a lockdown similar but not as strong as New Zealand’s original lockdown. But the question is, has he done too little too late?
Written By: - Date published: 12:27 am, January 5th, 2021 - 104 comments
Great news. While unexpected, Nicky Hager who was an expert witness for Assange at the trial, thought this might be a possibility when he spoke to the Fabian Society in November. More details tomorrow.
Update: Bail application to be heard on Wednesday London time.
Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, December 20th, 2020 - 30 comments
Donald Trump has spent the past week stuffing up the vaccine roll out in some states, fighting attempts to cancel the Trump wall and blaming China for Russian hacks on American institutions and corporations.
Written By: - Date published: 7:31 am, December 18th, 2020 - 54 comments
In yet another study academics at the London School of Economics have concluded that trickle down leads to higher income inequality but do not have any significant effect on economic growth or unemployment.
Written By: - Date published: 6:07 pm, December 16th, 2020 - 22 comments
“Do I believe that there might be an opportunity for New Zealand to create a different environment and have a conversation? Yes, I do.” Nanaia Mahuta told Reuters on Tuesday the country would be willing to help negotiate a truce between neighbouring Australia and regional heavyweight China, who are caught in an escalating trade and diplomatic spat. Great idea.
Written By: - Date published: 12:30 am, November 19th, 2020 - 8 comments
The reality is that the United States is a poor example of a functioning democracy in 2020.
Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, November 18th, 2020 - 19 comments
To win the Presidential Election Donald Trump has to win multiple legal challenges in multiple states. So far his cases have not gone very well.
Written By: - Date published: 9:33 am, November 16th, 2020 - 37 comments
America is in some trouble. Covid19 is surging. The third wave is hitting hard. Suddenly 100,000 daily new infections is not a scary possibility, 200,000 is. And a group of Americans have been persuaded that Trump has had the election stolen off him.
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