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notices and features - Date published:
6:00 pm, December 10th, 2015 - 34 comments
Categories: Daily review -
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The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...
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This is what a police state looks like:
I suppose that includes TS.
I was vaguely wondering what has happened to those two crack-pots in today’s picture ( btw congrats to whoever chooses them – they’re always on the mark), but I’ve stopped wondering now because we have our own bunch of sinister, crack-pot govt. ministers to worry about.
US asks for more help fighting Islamic State
Can’t say that I’m surprised and is it really a coincidence that John Key brought up Kiwi Jihadi Brides just a couple of days ago?
If you put aside all the twisted games that have and are being played in the middle east for a moment.
Do we fiddle around on the high ground while Isis grows stronger to the point where they truly are an Islamic state and we consign all the inhabitants of that state to living under their law.
Or do we get in and stop them now,which in my opinion would take a large fully backed ground force preferably under the UN.
The longer this goes on the hatred will spread across the planet to the point that the likes of trumps rubbish will look moderate.
those aren’t the only two choices.
And when we consider who ‘we’ is in your scenarios, we have to understand that we have vested interests that prevent us from working towards peace.
What other choices.
Yes I agree mr waghorn, Saudi Arabia definitely needs bringing into line
/facepalm
The twisted games are why Daesh now exist.
I’m pretty sure that if we simply left them to it the people living there would have something to say about it. Daesh would go the way of the dodo in quick order.
Such actions are what caused Daesh to begin with and continue to give it recruits.
The fact millions have left the area says that “the people living there” won’t have something to say about it.
You have explicitly stated you are ‘are here’ to learn, yet on the issue of ISIS there is seems to be a disconnect
1. Isis is a direct creation of the US/UK/French et al ME foreign policy. In fact they are paid and supplied these nations and others such as Qatar Saudi and Turkey. This has been well established and documented
2. The Project for the New American Century https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_for_the_New_American_Century set the agenda
3. General Wesley Clark confirmed the agenda ‘7 countries in 5 years’ – Its a little behind schedule but on track
4. Russia are the only nation operating inside Syria not breaking international law or waging an act of war on Syria
5. The US/UK/Fr et al have been waging covert activity inside Syria for around 5 years now destabilizing the country through training ‘moderate rebels’ read, Al Quaeda >> ISIS fighter
6. Sykes Picot Agreement – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sykes%E2%80%93Picot_Agreement
ISIS is the ‘Allies’ and the ‘business model’ is being witnessed and acknowledged around the world by ever growing number of people, because its become patently obvious who is behind the continuing reign of terror
Anglophiles
Thanks for the feed back .
In you’re opinion was the Arab spring a manufactured thing and not driven by the people ?
Hi b waghorn, somehow I reckon if bombs, guns, tan
planes,drones, grenades, embargoes, threats and what ever the richest, most war mongery nations have to use, was going to work- it would have by now.
Why not a different tack?
Feed the kids. Drop nutrition, technology, tools, wool gerseys, sleeping bags.
No one could hate on someone who wants to feed yr kids.
here is the take of michael franti:
“bomb the world.
Please, tell me the reason
Behind the colors that you fly
Love just one nation
And the whole world, we divide
You won’t say, youre sorry
There is no other choice
God bless the people now
Who cannot raise their voice
We can chase down all our enemies
Bring them to their knees
We can bomb the world to pieces
But we cant bomb it into peace
Whoa, we may even find a solution
To hunger and disease
We can bomb the world to pieces
But we cant bomb it into peace
Violence brings one thing
More more of the same
Military madness
The smell of flesh and burning pain
So I sing out to the masses
Stand up if youre still sane
To all of us gone crazy
I sing this one refrain
We can chase down all our enemies
Bring them to their knees
We can bomb the world to pieces
But we cant bomb it into peace
Have you seen what Isis does to aid workers?
Dropping bombs from a distance is doomed to fail ,a force needs to go in and control the area and if they really want piece they probably need to draw some new lines on the map for the Kurds and the different Muslim factions that are there to have their own states.
“a force needs to go in and control the area and if they really want piece they probably need to draw some new lines on the map for the Kurds and the different Muslim factions that are there to have their own states.”
mmm… good luck with that one. check with the palestinians how redrawing lines on a map is going for them.
what i am suggesting is to win the hearts and minds of the locals and spend a fraction of the money doing it.
then the corporations making the bombs and weapons wont make profit and.. oh, i see.
as you were, carry on.
Apologies for flippancy Draco. My cynicism for what ever comes out of Key’s mouth has reached a plateau, a very high one, at the top of the world, so when ever I hear “Jihadi Brides” I think maybe they are a band, maybe they can open for Shihad.
How did they get their name?
“Tom Larkin: Well, see that’s the biggest cock-up out. When we were 15 we were all into this sci-fi movie Dune. See, Dune uses all these Arabic words throughout the movie and the end battle is a Jihad. We were stupid and thought it’d be a great name for a band so we called ourselves Shihad cause we couldn’t even spell it.”
And we all know they had to change their name post 9/11 while touring in the States. They became Pacifier.
“We were in America while it invaded Iraq and had to play at festivals that were supposedly ‘support the troops festivals’ when we didn’t believe in the war at all. That’s what the song “All the Young Fascists” is about – the day we played Miami in front of 30,000 kids at this festival that was originally just a rock festival. A week out, just because of the timing, it was turned into the support the troops show and it was being simulcast live to Iraq. We were on this bill with these really ugly – what we call WWF – metal bands, and we were shitting ourselves.
I just wanted to get out of there. Beside the stage was a paintball gun alley where kids were lining up to shoot effigies of Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden and (French president) Jacques Chirac. That was the weirdest one. The amount of times I actually pointed out to Americans the fact that their Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French and they were supposed to be mates.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shihad
+1, it’s all a bit fishy and seems vaguely familiar.
5 November 2014 – PM announces 40 kiwi extremists on SIS watchlist
25 February 2015 – PM announces we’re off to fight extremists in Iraq
Great to see Victoria Crone (Xero) join Mark Thomas, Stephen Berry, and Penny Bright all contesting the Auckland Mayoralty. May the right continue to splinter.
“Meanwhile, Labour is up 5% since the last election. Gosh, two examples of utterly false assertions in one Gobsheep!”
All good. The master plan is on track. No need to change tactics then.
http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/6599-roy-morgan-new-zealand-voting-intention-december-2015-201512092333
Your family will be turning in their graves to find that you have become a ladder-kicker.
Well no.
In my family we have always had a very strong tolerance for political differences, and a robust appreciation of pointed debate.
What has always pissed us off the most are people who can’t read the obvious realities in front of them and change their plan of action accordingly.
My Dad went to his grave disgusted by the ‘spinelessness’ of the contemporary Left. But then he was an old school Socialist. Would go down like a fart in Church in the modern Labour Party.
But enough about my family Titi.
Are you happy with the current situation of the Left?, and do you think the Left is working to a plan that will ensure electoral victory in 2017?
You don’t think anything needs to be changed?
i wonder what it would be like to NOT have greedy pricks running the country
that might be a nice change
What about you Ropata?
Are you happy with the current situation of the Left?, and do you think the Left is working to a plan that will ensure electoral victory in 2017?
You don’t think anything needs to be changed?
no, sorta, probably
the opposition seems to be co-operating a bit better and under Little the LP is more united and has simplified its messaging somewhat. it’s an uphill battle but there are some good signs, e.g. the news media actually questioning our glorious leader sometimes. i trust that most kiwis still have decent values and don’t like the unequal society, or 250 000 kids in poverty, or the scandal-ridden Nats, or their fucked up ideology that thinks asset sales is a good idea.
the left needs to show NZ that there is a better way, and it really is possible.
the lies from FJK are getting more desperate and ridiculous — the Left needs to stick to their principles and not sink to FJK’s level of puerile playground insults
the lies from FJK are getting more desperate and ridiculous
IMO, the Left needs to forget about that, and concentrate on this…
the left needs to show NZ that there is a better way, and it really is possible.
Because that’s where the Left is failing. Self evidently, the Left is not convincing the majority of Kiwi’s of that.
It might be easier on the ego to focus on hating JK, and it might be less painful than finding a new and persuasive story to tell….
But come on, do you honestly think the current plan is working?
What my Dad always meant by ‘spineless’ was the lack of honesty to admit to a problem, and the lack of courage to find realistic answers to overcome it.
i don’t “hate” JK but i certainly don’t respect his leadership or his values.
John Key is the biggest PR asset of the Nats, winning elections on his feel good blokey persona alone, so we absolutely have to call him out on his glib made-up bullshit.
part of the duty of opposition is to hold the current regime to account, especially as traditional mass media is declining.
i wouldn’t judge the emotional venting and heated arguments on TS as representative of the broader Left movement, the denizens of this blog are a self selected bunch of online political junkies — if you’re suggesting that TS ought to censor itself, well you’re dreaming mate.
and i don’t think the Left narrative is necessarily “failing”, as you may recall in the last 2 elections Kiwis actually preferred Labour policies, but there is still an undercurrent of hostility against things perceived as PC meddling… that’s why Little has tweaked the messaging (IMHO)
your Dad sounds like quite a character, i wonder what he would say about some of the more outspoken commenters like CV or DTB
Dad grew up in a tent wearing flour sack trousers. Seriously.
As a life long Socialist and Labour Party member, I’ve got not doubt what he would say to most commenters on this blog.
‘You’re just pissing in the wind. 3 elections lost, Polling on 28%, Leader on 8%, and absolutely no sign of traction.
Forget this endless firkin waffling about things that are never going to happen, and things you can’t change.
Find out what YOU are doing wrong, and what YOU need to do to change the situation.
If you do nothing, expect me to be there after the next election reminding you how firkin useless you are’
the main “purpose” of a community
is community
saving the world is a bit too much of a project for a few bloggers to handle
but thanks for the advice
Clear as mud.
http://www.versobooks.com/blogs/2371-da-esh-has-become-the-overwhelming-obsession-of-western-governments-clouding-all-other-issues-an-extract-from-jonathan-littell-s-syrian-notebooks-inside-the-homs-uprising
Moreu Cartoon for today …
Whoops, A Car Autonomously Calls Cops On Its Owner After A Hit and Run
You could hand the left the PM’s head on a platter and they wouldn’t know what to do with it.
that’s because unlike some right wing psychos we don’t have a policy of beheading our opponents
Maybe you should get with the programme. Wake up.