Daily Review 13/10/2016

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, October 13th, 2016 - 68 comments
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norman-eric-kirkDaily review is also your post.

This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Don’t forget to be kind to each other …

68 comments on “Daily Review 13/10/2016 ”

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  1. Paul 1
    13 October 2016 at 6:24 pm

    The editor at the Herald is sourcing the most appalling warmongering propaganda from UK trash tabloids like the Daily Star and the Daily Mail. Encouraging war fever and fomenting hatred and tensions are further signs of the rag’s continued plummet to the gutter.
    Does the editor have plans to avoid the carnage caused by a thermonuclear war?
    The Herald is vile. Just vile.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/russia/news/article.cfm?l_id=87&objectid=11727940

    • Bill 1.1
      13 October 2016 at 6:37 pm

      About the angle they’re taking (and they’re not the only ones)…calling on the rich and privileged to educate their kids in Russia sounds like plain old patriotism to me. Y’know, a bit like ‘Buy Kiwi’ or whatever.

      I’m guessing it might be driven by average Russians getting pissed off at elites indulging their kids with the best private education money can buy while simultaneously telling them that they think the Russian education system is great and fine…for them. 😉

      Just a piece of public posturing from the political elite to assuage some simmering discontent of the masses. I could be wrong.

  2. Paul 2
    13 October 2016 at 6:44 pm

    Stephanie Rogers nails it.

    There is no surplus.

    “In Year Eight of this National government, the idea of a budget surplus is a joke (and not just because it’s been completely engineered by the catastrophic Auckland housing bubble). They’ve promised it for nearly a decade. They’ve fiddled the books to make the numbers come out OK. They even declared a surplus in the middle of the financial year – that’s how desperate Bill English has been to pretend that everything’s going along just fine in New Zealand.

    The truth is, there is no surplus.”

    https://bootstheory.wordpress.com/2016/10/13/there-is-no-surplus/

    • BM 2.1
      13 October 2016 at 6:52 pm

      And Labour will do what ? to produce a “real’ surplus.

      Tax the fuck out of everyone? ,cut government spending? or both because those are the only two options available.

      • Paul 2.1.1
        13 October 2016 at 6:56 pm

        Labour will simply operate a slightly milder form of Neo-liberalism.
        There are many radical alternatives available to a government with the guts to confront the straightjacket of neoliberal thinking.

        • BM 2.1.1.1
          13 October 2016 at 7:02 pm

          The only difference I can see between Labour and National is that they’ll borrow more and tax more to keep their voter demographic happy.

          Surplus under Labour will never happen.

          • Paul 2.1.1.1.1
            13 October 2016 at 7:06 pm

            If Labour continue to cling to the pillars and tenets of neoliberal capitalist economic thinking, they will not solve the various crises impacting on most citizens of this country.
            They, like National, are hostage to the money of international corporations.

            • BM 2.1.1.1.1.1
              13 October 2016 at 7:09 pm

              Paul, the only way NZ could solve these various “crises” is to have a bottomless pit of money.

              Where does this bottomless pit of money come from?.

              • Paul …
                13 October 2016 at 7:11 pm

                Watching this brief video will be a start to your education on this matter.
                I suggest you read the work of various independent economists as well.
                Steve Keen
                Ha-Joon Chang
                Joseph Stiglitz

              • BM …
                13 October 2016 at 7:20 pm

                What the fuck has that video got to do with anything?

                Seriously Man you have to work in the here and now not some away with the fairies fantasy land bollocks.

                The question is still the same.

                Where does this bottomless pit of money come from?.

                • Paul …
                  13 October 2016 at 7:55 pm

                  Watch the film. See how money is created.
                  Don’t expect to understand immediately.
                  You need to educate yourself. That takes time.

                • Draco T Bastard …
                  13 October 2016 at 9:41 pm

                  Seriously Man you have to work in the here and now not some away with the fairies fantasy land bollocks.

                  Capitalism and the financial system is delusional. What we have to do is to start working in reality.

                • mikesh …
                  14 October 2016 at 8:17 am

                  “Bottomless pit” seems to be an exaggeration. How much money do you think would be needed in reality? Give us something to argue against.

              • Draco T Bastard …
                13 October 2016 at 9:40 pm

                Real monetary Reform

                The government not only doesn’t have to borrow – it shouldn’t.

              • Colonial Viper …
                13 October 2016 at 9:55 pm

                Where does this bottomless pit of money come from?.

                A keyboard in the Reserve Bank.

          • Sacha 2.1.1.1.2
            13 October 2016 at 9:00 pm

            “Borrow more”, BM? How do you think the current govt is operating? Biggest borrowers this nation has ever had, and not so keen on paying it off.

            The previous govt paid net public debt down to zero yet you want to paint them as somehow less responsible. pffft

      • tc 2.1.2
        13 October 2016 at 7:01 pm

        Yes because not being able to deliver a surplus is all about labour rather than being accountable as the actual govt.

        • BM 2.1.2.1
          13 October 2016 at 7:04 pm

          In the current environment Labour could never a produce a surplus, that’s not even taking into account the billions of dollars of extra spending they’ve been signalling.

          Socialist people blagging on National for not coming up with a “real surplus” is just ridiculous in the extreme.

          • mickysavage 2.1.2.1.1
            13 October 2016 at 7:10 pm

            One thing Labour will not do is cook the books or manufacture a surplus on the back of decaying infrastructure and child poverty.

            • BM 2.1.2.1.1.1
              13 October 2016 at 7:16 pm

              So when Labour gets a turn the voters of NZ canlook forward to at least three years of very red balance sheets.

              That’s too be expected though, since red is Labours colour.
              .

              • Paul …
                13 October 2016 at 7:18 pm

                Debate the issue, don’t revert to ad hominems.

                • Muttonbird …
                  13 October 2016 at 7:38 pm

                  BM is losing it. He’s even blaming today’s hastily announced, made-up surplus on Labour.

              • mickysavage …
                13 October 2016 at 7:37 pm

                Um Labour ran surpluses every year last time apart from when the GFC hit.

                • Colonial Viper …
                  13 October 2016 at 9:59 pm

                  Only if you look at the narrower context of the Crown’s books in isolation.

                  However, when you look at the overall indebtedness of NZ, it skyrocketed up under Labour. In other words, under Labour, households and businesses accumulated debt at a massive rate, while the Labour Govt showed off its own good looking books.

                  In fact, you can view what Cullen did as rotating debt off the public balance sheet and on to the private balance sheet.

                  (Choose max timeframe to view NZ’s total gross external debt)

                  http://www.tradingeconomics.com/new-zealand/external-debt

                  • b waghorn …
                    14 October 2016 at 7:46 am

                    how did cullin force people to go on a borrowing binge?

                  • Draco T Bastard …
                    14 October 2016 at 8:36 am

                    However, when you look at the overall indebtedness of NZ, it skyrocketed up under Labour. In other words, under Labour, households and businesses accumulated debt at a massive rate, while the Labour Govt showed off its own good looking books.

                    Yep. Comes down to the simple fact that in our present financial system money is debt and a growing economy needs more money thus it needs more debt. If the government isn’t going to go into debt then the private citizens have to else the entire Ponzi Scheme collapses in on it’s own weight of stupidity.

                    Of course, the government could take to simply creating all of the countries money without having to borrow it. Running a slight deficit would allow for the continued growing of the economy/population.

                    Doing so would, eventually, eliminate all debt and interest payments that the country presently has leading to unconstrained prosperity.

                    It would upset the banks and other greedy arseholes as it takes away their ability to take ownership and control of everything else.

              • mauī …
                13 October 2016 at 8:04 pm

                While on the other hand you’re… “Blue da ba dee da ba daa Da ba dee da ba daa, da ba dee da ba daa..”

              • Draco T Bastard …
                13 October 2016 at 9:42 pm

                Have you noticed the red balance sheets of this government?

                They truly are blood red.

          • tc 2.1.2.1.2
            13 October 2016 at 7:20 pm

            I didn’t ask them to, it’s their own stated objective they can’t reach no matter how much BS accounting/slash n burn they deploy.

            Your response is the old ‘but labour…’ So C’mon BM you’re one of the better tr@lls, explain why and how they will reach this economic nirvana or admit it’s as believable as a unicorn casserole.

          • mikesh 2.1.2.1.3
            14 October 2016 at 8:25 am

            “In the current environment Labour could never a produce a surplus, that’s not even taking into account the billions of dollars of extra spending they’ve been signalling.”

            In the current environment a surplus may not be appropriate. It should be noted however that during a period when the economy was fairly buoyant, and the generation of surpluses appropriate, the fifth Labour government produced them pretty regularly.

      • BM's friend 2.1.3
        13 October 2016 at 10:18 pm

        Nah – option 3 is to just collect tax from the rich arseholes who avoid paying their fair share my fuckwit mate! Could start with Judith’s dodgy dealing partner eh?

        [as funny as your username is, the site Policy is for people to have a consistent handle. Please pick one and stick to it. I’m putting you in moderation until I see you have done this. An acknowledgement of this comment will suffice – weka]

    • Paul 2.2
      13 October 2016 at 6:55 pm

      And idiot savant mocks ‘fiscal prudence.’

      ‘In their time in office, National has tripled New Zealand’s debt from $31.4 to $93.9 billion. So naturally, when they get a whiff of a surplus, they’re planning tax cuts for the rich:
      Tax cuts could soon be on the way with the Government opening up its books today revealing Crown accounts are tracking along nicely.
      “We’ve always said, if economic and fiscal conditions allow, we will begin to reduce income taxes,” Finance Minister Bill English said.
      Surplus is currently sitting at around $1.8 billion which is up from $414 million on the previous year.
      If National gives away the surplus in tax cuts, the debt Bill English built up will never be repaid. But I guess that’s just what National calls “fiscal prudence”. Meanwhile, with Housing New Zealand virtually bankrupt due to National’s privatisation efforts, it looks like next year’s election will be a choice between a functioning state housing system or tax cuts for the rich. Hopefully voters will choose the former.’

      http://norightturn.blogspot.co.nz/2016/10/fiscal-prudence.html

  3. Anne 3
    13 October 2016 at 6:47 pm

    Norman Kirk was our Bernie Sanders in NZ.

    It was Kirk who inspired us ‘young uns’ to join the Labour Party – including Helen Clark, Phil Goff and many others. His early death halfway through his first term as PM was devastating for the Kirk Govt. There is no way Muldoon would have become PM in 1975 if Kirk had not fallen ill. Our ultimate destiny would have been so different if he had lived.

    • Paul 3.1
      13 October 2016 at 6:59 pm

      A tragic event, which we can now in retrospect was a turning point in our history.

      • tc 3.1.1
        13 October 2016 at 7:09 pm

        There are many turning points, 2008 stands out for me when the snake oil sham known as the brighter future commenced.

        objective numerical analysis when all the spin has faded and shills gone from their soapboxes will show keys reign in all its asset/rights/institutional gutting reality.

      • Tory 3.1.2
        13 October 2016 at 9:00 pm

        Tragic Event? Surely his death was a CIA plot orchestrsted by the Israelies, or do they only stick to their knitting of building demolitions in the US?

    • Sacha 3.2
      13 October 2016 at 9:14 pm

      “Our ultimate destiny would have been so different if he had lived.”

      Reckon. Imagine if Roger Douglas’ super scheme had not been rolled back? Totally different personal reputation, and we would still be the wealthiest nation like in the 60s.

      • aom 3.2.1
        13 October 2016 at 10:26 pm

        Roger Douglas’s? Don’t you mean Bill Rowling’s? The scheme would have been self-funding about the year 2000 had it not been for National under Rob Muldoon.

        • millsy 3.2.1.1
          13 October 2016 at 11:59 pm

          Douglas was associate finance minister back then, and he helped created it. He was actually half-pie progressive socialist back then, with some pretty interesting ideas.

    • millsy 3.3
      14 October 2016 at 12:01 am

      Kirk was ill for some time. According to Gordon Dryden (a Blairite who was a Blairite before being a Blairite was a thing), Kirk and himself was travelling to a meeting about 8 years before his death and he had a turn in the car. Turned all sort of different colours apparently and Dryden throught he was going to die there and then,

      • Anne 3.3.1
        14 October 2016 at 12:49 pm

        Kirk had a heart problem which he kept from everybody including I believe his wife. He did not look after himself and was a workaholic. He had his failings and I was told by a couple of his senior ministerial colleagues (both gone now to the big debating chamber in the sky) that he could be very difficult to work with. We know now why. He was not a well man. It doesn’t take away from the presumption that had he lived he would have proved our greatest prime minister ever – past and future.

  4. halfcrown 4
    13 October 2016 at 7:53 pm

    As I have an interest in the aircraft industry, my lovely wife has bought for my birthday a years subscription to the Smithsonian Insitute Air & Space magazine. A highly recommended magazine if you are interested in Aviation from an American perspective.
    This is the first time I have seen this magazine for over 25 years. The first article was about the Norwegian airforce taking delivery of the American F35 fighter and the title of the article was “Joint Strike Guard Force.” Nato guarding the northern borders. From who? I have not got a clue.

    Funny I thought, it was as if I was reading the magazine during the cold war era. I thought the cold war ended way back in Gorbachev’s time. Reading this article you would think the cold war was alive and well and any minute now those pesky Russian Commies were going to take over the west or nuke us all.
    The fucking yanks cannot stand the idea of another country equal to them and this makes them paranoid about Russia, or have they produced too many fucking bombs and bullets and in a free market world, you have to use or sell the stock you have made.
    I fear America more than Russia, especially now we are likely to end up with some retard as a President, be it Clinton or Trump with their finger on the nuclear button, backed by the neo fuckwits

    • Colonial Viper 4.1
      13 October 2016 at 10:05 pm

      I thought the cold war ended way back in Gorbachev’s time.

      Not quite. The US took the opportunity to try and politically and economically implode the remnants of the Soviet Union. They almost suceeded, except a former KGB foreign officer by the name of Vladimir Putin took over at the helm of the wrecked country and turned it on a different course.

      • Draco T Bastard 4.1.1
        14 October 2016 at 8:42 am

        Yep. Instead of continuing to kowtow to the US as the West do he got Russia to stand on it’s own two feet. This panicked the US as they realised that their oligarchs wouldn’t be able to buy it out.

        Time for NZ to do the same.

    • Garibaldi 4.2
      13 October 2016 at 10:12 pm

      Good one halfcrown.
      It amazes me the way the all- encompassing pro USA propaganda we get on a daily basis is unquestionably accepted by the vast majority.
      We are trained to hate the Russians intensely and to believe USA= good.
      Funny how it is America that is being so aggressive to anyone who doesn’t accept their failed model of corrupt corporate capitalism. The American Empire is dying…. beware the dying Empire !

  5. Paul 5
    13 October 2016 at 9:17 pm

    Saudi Arabia Has Funded 20% Of Hillary’s Presidential Campaign, Saudi Crown Prince Claims

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-13/saudi-arabia-has-funded-20-hillarys-presidential-campaign-saudi-crown-prince-claims