Trump threatens to halt Iranian oil exports cos he’s decided he doesn’t like them. Iran responds with a veiled threat of their own and scoffs at his suggestion he could halt their oil exports. Trump responds today with the following:
Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!
Pot calls the kettle black. Trump is effectively threatening any nation who stands up to his bullying antics by threatening to “press the button”.
“Moreover, there is an even more poignant example of the Trump administration’s willingness to sow chaos without much thought to the consequences. The unexpectedly stiff tariffs on China have sparked retaliation, with major Chinese tariffs set to go into effect on U.S. soy, corn and pork. The American agricultural industry is up in arms, a constituency that largely supported Trump in the 2016 election.
Turmoil in the aluminum market is one thing, but enraging American farmers is another.”
And gas prices. At $100 / barrel the good ol’ boys will be grizzling a bit when they fill up the pickup
Hope you’re right. Nothing would amuse me more than watching his own supporters roaring with rage. They foisted a demented president on the world so let them reap the consequences.
Thanks Anne
After quickly skimming BM’s link, I don’t think that either Nick Cunningham or Graeme have any idea of what poignant means.
Rather poignant, really.
And gas prices. At $100 / barrel the good ol’ boys will be grizzling a bit when they fill up the pickup
All depends, normally the US falls as oil rises if Trump can skew that so the dollar increases as oil prices increase then the US is making a shit ton of money off their oil reserves and the voter public ain’t taking it up the chook at the pump.
Big win for Trump and the Saudi’s and Putin and any other country who makes money off oil.
I was having a look at the oil futures market last month as there is bloke who has taken a huge punt that the oil price will go a $100 plus within 12mths or the end of the yr. The scary thing is that this guy has about a 97% Strike rate at getting it right, but low oil prices is one of the reasons why we have low interest rates and low inflation atm and if and when the price of oil starts heading Nth again expect to interest rates along with inflation to start moving Nth.
This time it won’t matter so much; renewables and associated technologies are already cheaper, oil price rises will only hasten their adoption.
Here’s one I’ve been following, a new solar technology using a class of conductors called pervoskite that has the potential to be at least half the cost of silicon PV’s. Still in the early stages, but shows promise:
It’s also why the article you linked to demonstrates a huge drop in fossil carbon production investment … the smart money in town already knows that it’s days are numbered.
Melania just needs to pry the phone out of his stubby fingers, burp him, swaddle him in his cot, and turn the lights out. Maybe he won’t be so cranky in the morning.
First of all there is no unidimensional ‘fence line’ in life. You could argue on a global scale that the absolute poverty line (defined roughly as an income lower than $1 per day) might count, but that’s neither especially germane to the point, nor does anyone in NZ fall below this. Everyone can see the game if they care to.
And while clearly some people are much better off than others, it’s not obvious there is any simple ‘box’ you can give everyone to make everyone all the same. We all differ in so many different dimensions there is simply no rational mechanism to determine exactly what each individual needs to create ‘equity’ with everyone else as the second panel implies.
The third panel actually expresses the real problem quite inadvertently. The very few people who do extremely well, are so far ahead of everyone else, there really is no sane way to make us all equal, short of actively preventing anyone from excelling or succeeding at anything. This applies to any human activity, not just wealth.
Inequality is real, but it’s a far more subtle and pervasive problem than this irritatingly simplistic little cartoon presents.
Everyone can see the game if they care to.
When were you last in NZ Red? And did you actually take time to see what we have now in this god-forsaken country?
It’s nothing like it was even 5 years ago.
I’m involved with the local food bank and with the homeless here in Thames (which in a population of around 7500, has at least 30 people sleeping rough every night). If you were to take the time to talk to these people you would find that lifes circumstances have dealt them a very heavy blow, and no! they do not have the where-with-all to see the game, and very little chance to ever.
It’s a false to say that for people in NZ all you need is $1 a day! This is not some undeveloped country – suffice to say though – we are rapidly heading in that direction.
Given we may yet land up in Thames in the medium-term future I can only hope we meetup sometime Macro. And yes helping those around you is absolutely part of the solution, even if sometimes all you can do is listen respectfully. Thanks.
Yes the absolute poverty line in NZ is higher than it is globally, that’s a fair point. But while I may not have lived in NZ the past five years or so, I’m certain it’s still substantially better than many other countries I’ve worked in. You have to ask what you are comparing to.
The causes of people landing up right at the bottom of the heap are many and complex; and of course a decade of National Party stupidity only intensified the problem. But every society has people in this position, and there is much research looking at the complex causes of homelessness and associated struggles. And obviously many need help, or at the least a more benign environment, to get their lives back together.
But if you’ve listened to their stories you’ll also know that you can’t change someone else’s life unless and until they want it to happen as well. I’m not arguing a binary personal/social responsibility case here because demonstrably both are insufficient. The optimum path has to be something that intelligently combines both.
‘Portugal Dared to Cast Aside Austerity. It’s Having a Major Revival.
At a time of mounting uncertainty in Europe, the country has defied critics who insisted on austerity as the answer to the Continent’s economic and financial crisis.
……….But as the misery deepened, Portugal took a daring stand: In 2015, it cast aside the austerity measures its European creditors had imposed, igniting a virtuous cycle that put its economy back on a path to growth. The country reversed cuts to wages, pensions and social security, and offered incentives to businesses.
The government’s U-turn, and willingness to spend, had a powerful effect. Creditors railed against the move, but the gloom that had gripped the nation through years of belt-tightening began to lift. Business confidence rebounded. Production and exports began to take off — including at Mr. Rivera’s olive groves.’
Excellent, you found an article that validates how capitalism can lift a country. Government spending may have increased, but not government ownership of industries.
‘”They may be jihadists but they are our jihadists”. Fascinating that the “White Helmets” are being brought straight to UK with families when the Afghan and Iraqi military interpreters were not. The British government does not do this from humanity or obligation.’
The National Party government is doubling down on a grim, regressive vision for the future: more prisons, more prisoners, and a society fractured by policies that punish rather than heal. This isn’t just a misstep; it’s a deliberate lurch toward a dystopian future where incarceration is the answer to every ...
The audacity of Don Brash never ceases to amaze. The former National Party and Hobson’s Pledge mouthpiece has now sunk his claws into NZME, the media giant behind the New Zealand Herald and half of our commercial radio stations. Don Brash has snapped up shares in NZME, aligning himself with ...
A listing of 28 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 13, 2025 thru Sat, April 19, 2025. This week's roundup is again published by category and sorted by number of articles included in each. The formatting is a ...
“What I’d say to you is…” our Prime Minister might typically begin a sentence, when he’s about to obfuscate and attempt to derail the question you really, really want him to answer properly (even once would be okay, Christopher). Questions such as “Why is a literal election promise over ...
Ruth IrwinExponential Economic growth is the driver of Ecological degradation. It is driven by CO2 greenhouse gas emissions through fossil fuel extraction and burning for the plethora of polluting industries. Extreme weather disasters and Climate change will continue to get worse because governments subscribe to the current global economic system, ...
A man on telly tries to tell me what is realBut it's alright, I like the way that feelsAnd everybody singsWe are evolving from night to morningAnd I wanna believe in somethingWriter: Adam Duritz.The world is changing rapidly, over the last year or so, it has been out with the ...
MFB Co-Founder Cecilia Robinson runs Tend HealthcareSummary:Kieran McAnulty calls out National on healthcare lies and says Health Minister Simeon Brown is “dishonest and disingenuous”(video below)McAnulty says negotiation with doctors is standard practice, but this level of disrespect is not, especially when we need and want our valued doctors.National’s $20bn ...
Chris Luxon’s tenure as New Zealand’s Prime Minister has been a masterclass in incompetence, marked by coalition chaos, economic lethargy, verbal gaffes, and a moral compass that seems to point wherever political expediency lies. The former Air New Zealand CEO (how could we forget?) was sold as a steady hand, ...
Has anybody else noticed Cameron Slater still obsessing over Jacinda Ardern? The disgraced Whale Oil blogger seems to have made it his life’s mission to shadow the former Prime Minister of New Zealand like some unhinged stalker lurking in the digital bushes.The man’s obsession with Ardern isn't just unhealthy...it’s downright ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is climate change a net benefit for society? Human-caused climate change has been a net detriment to society as measured by loss of ...
When the National Party hastily announced its “Local Water Done Well” policy, they touted it as the great saviour of New Zealand’s crumbling water infrastructure. But as time goes by it's looking more and more like a planning and fiscal lame duck...and one that’s going to cost ratepayers far more ...
Donald Trump, the orange-hued oligarch, is back at it again, wielding tariffs like a mob boss swinging a lead pipe. His latest economic edict; slapping hefty tariffs on imports from China, Mexico, and Canada, has the stench of a protectionist shakedown, cooked up in the fevered minds of his sycophantic ...
In the week of Australia’s 3 May election, ASPI will release Agenda for Change 2025: preparedness and resilience in an uncertain world, a report promoting public debate and understanding on issues of strategic importance to ...
One pill makes you largerAnd one pill makes you smallAnd the ones that mother gives youDon't do anything at allGo ask AliceWhen she's ten feet tallSongwriter: Grace Wing Slick.Morena, all, and a happy Bicycle Day to you.Today is an unofficial celebration of the dawning of the psychedelic era, commemorating the ...
It’s only been a few months since the Hollywood fires tore through Los Angeles, leaving a trail of devastation, numerous deaths, over 10,000 homes reduced to rubble, and a once glorious film industry on its knees. The Palisades and Eaton fires, fueled by climate-driven dry winds, didn’t just burn houses; ...
Four eighty-year-old books which are still vitally relevant today. Between 1942 and 1945, four refugees from Vienna each published a ground-breaking – seminal – book.* They left their country after Austria was taken over by fascists in 1934 and by Nazi Germany in 1938. Previously they had lived in ‘Red ...
Good Friday, 18th April, 2025: I can at last unveil the Secret Non-Fiction Project. The first complete Latin-to-English translation of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola’s twelve-book Disputationes adversus astrologiam divinatricem (Disputations Against Divinatory Astrology). Amounting to some 174,000 words, total. Some context is probably in order. Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494) ...
National MP Hamish Campbell's pathetic attempt to downplay his deep ties to and involvement in the Two by Twos...a secretive religious sect under FBI and NZ Police investigation for child sexual abuse...isn’t just a misstep; it’s a calculated lie that insults the intelligence of every Kiwi voter.Campbell’s claim of being ...
New Zealand First’s Shane Jones has long styled himself as the “Prince of the Provinces,” a champion of regional development and economic growth. But beneath the bluster lies a troubling pattern of behaviour that reeks of cronyism and corruption, undermining the very democracy he claims to serve. Recent revelations and ...
Give me one reason to stay hereAnd I'll turn right back aroundGive me one reason to stay hereAnd I'll turn right back aroundSaid I don't want to leave you lonelyYou got to make me change my mindSongwriters: Tracy Chapman.Morena, and Happy Easter, whether that means to you. Hot cross buns, ...
New Zealand’s housing crisis is a sad indictment on the failures of right wing neoliberalism, and the National Party, under Chris Luxon’s shaky leadership, is trying to simply ignore it. The numbers don’t lie: Census data from 2023 revealed 112,496 Kiwis were severely housing deprived...couch-surfing, car-sleeping, or roughing it on ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on a global survey of over 3,000 economists and scientists showing a significant divide in views on green growth; and ...
Simeon Brown, the National Party’s poster child for hubris, consistently over-promises and under-delivers. His track record...marked by policy flip-flops and a dismissive attitude toward expert advice, reveals a politician driven by personal ambition rather than evidence. From transport to health, Brown’s focus seems fixed on protecting National's image, not addressing ...
Open access notables Recent intensified riverine CO2 emission across the Northern Hemisphere permafrost region, Mu et al., Nature Communications:Global warming causes permafrost thawing, transferring large amounts of soil carbon into rivers, which inevitably accelerates riverine CO2 release. However, temporally and spatially explicit variations of riverine CO2 emissions remain unclear, limiting the ...
Once a venomous thorn in New Zealand’s blogosphere, Cathy Odgers, aka Cactus Kate, has slunk into the shadows, her once-sharp quills dulled by the fallout of Dirty Politics.The dishonest attack-blogger, alongside her vile accomplices such as Cameron Slater, were key players in the National Party’s sordid smear campaigns, exposed by Nicky ...
Once upon a time, not so long ago, those who talked of Australian sovereign capability, especially in the technology sector, were generally considered an amusing group of eccentrics. After all, technology ecosystems are global and ...
The ACT Party leader’s latest pet project is bleeding taxpayers dry, with $10 million funneled into seven charter schools for just 215 students. That’s a jaw-dropping $46,500 per student, compared to roughly $9,000 per head in state schools.You’d think Seymour would’ve learned from the last charter school fiasco, but apparently, ...
India navigated relations with the United States quite skilfully during the first Trump administration, better than many other US allies did. Doing so a second time will be more difficult, but India’s strategic awareness and ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi is concerned for low-income workers given new data released by Stats NZ that shows inflation was 2.5% for the year to March 2025, rising from 2.2% in December last year. “The prices of things that people can’t avoid are rising – meaning inflation is rising ...
Last week, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment recommended that forestry be removed from the Emissions Trading Scheme. Its an unfortunate but necessary move, required to prevent the ETS's total collapse in a decade or so. So naturally, National has told him to fuck off, and that they won't be ...
China’s recent naval circumnavigation of Australia has highlighted a pressing need to defend Australia’s air and sea approaches more effectively. Potent as nuclear submarines are, the first Australian boats under AUKUS are at least seven ...
In yesterday’s post I tried to present the Reserve Bank Funding Agreement for 2025-30, as approved by the Minister of Finance and the Bank’s Board, in the context of the previous agreement, and the variation to that agreement signed up to by Grant Robertson a few weeks before the last ...
Australia’s bid to co-host the 31st international climate negotiations (COP31) with Pacific island countries in late 2026 is directly in our national interest. But success will require consultation with the Pacific. For that reason, no ...
Old and outdated buildings being demolished at Wellington Hospital in 2018. The new infrastructure being funded today will not be sufficient for future population size and some will not be built by 2035. File photo: Lynn GrievesonLong stories short from our political economy on Thursday, April 17:Simeon Brown has unveiled ...
The introduction of AI in workplaces can create significant health and safety risks for workers (such as intensification of work, and extreme surveillance) which can significantly impact workers’ mental and physical wellbeing. It is critical that unions and workers are involved in any decision to introduce AI so that ...
Donald Trump’s return to the White House and aggressive posturing is undermining global diplomacy, and New Zealand must stand firm in rejecting his reckless, fascist-driven policies that are dragging the world toward chaos.As a nation with a proud history of peacekeeping and principled foreign policy, we should limit our role ...
Sunday marks three months since Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president. What a ride: the style rude, language raucous, and the results rogue. Beyond manners, rudeness matters because tone signals intent as well as personality. ...
There are any number of reasons why anyone thinking of heading to the United States for a holiday should think twice. They would be giving their money to a totalitarian state where political dissenters are being rounded up and imprisoned here and here, where universities are having their funds for ...
Taiwan has an inadvertent, rarely acknowledged role in global affairs: it’s a kind of sponge, soaking up much of China’s political, military and diplomatic efforts. Taiwan soaks up Chinese power of persuasion and coercion that ...
The Ukraine war has been called the bloodiest conflict since World War II. As of July 2024, 10,000 women were serving in frontline combat roles. Try telling them—from the safety of an Australian lounge room—they ...
Following Canadian authorities’ discovery of a Chinese information operation targeting their country’s election, Australians, too, should beware such risks. In fact, there are already signs that Beijing is interfering in campaigning for the Australian election ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). From "founder" of Tesla and the OG rocket man with SpaceX, and rebranding twitter as X, Musk has ...
Back in February 2024, a rat infestation attracted a fair few headlines in the South Dunedin Countdown supermarket. Today, the rats struck again. They took out the Otago-Southland region’s internet connection. https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360656230/internet-outage-hits-otago-and-southland Strictly, it was just a coincidence – rats decided to gnaw through one fibre cable, while some hapless ...
I came in this morning after doing some chores and looked quickly at Twitter before unpacking the groceries. Someone was retweeting a Radio NZ story with the headline “Reserve Bank’s budget to be slashed by 25%”. Wow, I thought, the Minister of Finance has really delivered this time. And then ...
So, having teased it last week, Andrew Little has announced he will run for mayor of Wellington. On RNZ, he's saying its all about services - "fixing the pipes, making public transport cheaper, investing in parks, swimming pools and libraries, and developing more housing". Meanwhile, to the readers of the ...
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?W.B. Yeats, The Second Coming, 1921ALL OVER THE WORLD, devout Christians will be reaching for their bibles, reading and re-reading Revelation 13:16-17. For the benefit of all you non-Christians out there, these are the verses describing ...
Give me what I want, what I really, really want: And what India really wants from New Zealand isn’t butter or cheese, but a radical relaxation of the rules controlling Indian immigration.WHAT DOES INDIA WANT from New Zealand? Not our dairy products, that’s for sure, it’s got plenty of those. ...
In the week of Australia’s 3 May election, ASPI will release Agenda for Change 2025: preparedness and resilience in an uncertain world, a report promoting public debate and understanding on issues of strategic importance to ...
Yesterday, 5,500 senior doctors across Aotearoa New Zealand voted overwhelmingly to strike for a day.This is the first time in New Zealand ASMS members have taken strike action for 24 hours.They are asking the government tofund them and account for resource shortfalls.Vacancies are critical - 45-50% in some regions.The ...
For years and years and years, David Seymour and his posse of deluded neoliberals have been preaching their “tough on crime” gospel to voters. Harsher sentences! More police! Lock ‘em up! Throw away the key. But when it comes to their own, namely former Act Party president Tim Jago, a ...
Judith Collins is a seasoned master at political hypocrisy. As New Zealand’s Defence Minister, she's recently been banging the war drum, announcing a jaw-dropping $12 billion boost to the defence budget over the next four years, all while the coalition of chaos cries poor over housing, health, and education.Apparently, there’s ...
I’m on the London Overground watching what the phones people are holding are doing to their faces: The man-bun guy who could not be less impressed by what he's seeing but cannot stop reading; the woman who's impatient for a response; the one who’s frowning; the one who’s puzzled; the ...
You don't have no prescriptionYou don't have to take no pillsYou don't have no prescriptionAnd baby don't have to take no pillsIf you come to see meDoctor Brown will cure your ills.Songwriters: Waymon Glasco.Dr Luxon. Image: David and Grok.First, they came for the Bottom FeedersAnd I did not speak outBecause ...
The Health Minister says the striking doctors already “well remunerated,” and are “walking away from” and “hurting” their patients. File photo: Lynn GrievesonLong stories short from our political economy on Wednesday, April 16:Simeon Brown has attacked1 doctors striking for more than a 1.5% pay rise as already “well remunerated,” even ...
The time is ripe for Australia and South Korea to strengthen cooperation in space, through embarking on joint projects and initiatives that offer practical outcomes for both countries. This is the finding of a new ...
Hi,When Trump raised tariffs against China to 145%, he destined many small businesses to annihilation. The Daily podcast captured the mass chaos by zooming in and talking to one person, Beth Benike, a small-business owner who will likely lose her home very soon.She pointed out that no, she wasn’t surprised ...
National’s handling of inflation and the cost-of-living crisis is an utter shambles and a gutless betrayal of every Kiwi scraping by. The Coalition of Chaos Ministers strut around preaching about how effective their policies are, but really all they're doing is perpetuating a cruel and sick joke of undelivered promises, ...
Most people wouldn't have heard of a little worm like Rhys Williams, a so-called businessman and former NZ First member, who has recently been unmasked as the venomous troll behind a relentless online campaign targeting Green Party MP Benjamin Doyle.According to reports, Williams has been slinging mud at Doyle under ...
Illustration credit: Jonathan McHugh (New Statesman)The other day, a subscriber said they were unsubscribing because they needed “some good news”.I empathised. Don’t we all.I skimmed a NZME article about the impacts of tariffs this morning with analysis from Kiwibank’s Jarrod Kerr. Kerr, their Chief Economist, suggested another recession is the ...
Let’s assume, as prudence demands we assume, that the United States will not at any predictable time go back to being its old, reliable self. This means its allies must be prepared indefinitely to lean ...
Over the last three rather tumultuous US trade policy weeks, I’ve read these four books. I started with Irwin (whose book had sat on my pile for years, consulted from time to time but not read) in a week of lots of flights and hanging around airports/hotels, and then one ...
Indonesia could do without an increase in military spending that the Ministry of Defence is proposing. The country has more pressing issues, including public welfare and human rights. Moreover, the transparency and accountability to justify ...
Former Hutt City councillor Chris Milne has slithered back into the spotlight, not as a principled dissenter, but as a vindictive puppeteer of digital venom. The revelations from a recent court case paint a damning portrait of a man whose departure from Hutt City Council in 2022 was merely the ...
That's the conclusion of a report into security risks against Green MP Benjamin Doyle, in the wake of Winston Peters' waging a homophobic hate-campaign against them: GRC’s report said a “hostility network” of politicians, commentators, conspiracy theorists, alternative media outlets and those opposed to the rainbow community had produced ...
That's the conclusion of a report into security risks against Green MP Benjamin Doyle, in the wake of Winston Peters' waging a homophobic hate-campaign against them: GRC’s report said a “hostility network” of politicians, commentators, conspiracy theorists, alternative media outlets and those opposed to the rainbow community had produced ...
National Party MP Hamish Campbell’s ties to the secretive Two By Twos "church" raises serious questions that are not being answered. This shadowy group, currently being investigated by the FBI for numerous cases of child abuse, hides behind a facade of faith while Campbell dodges scrutiny, claiming it’s a “private ...
National Party MP Hamish Campbell’s ties to the secretive Two By Twos "church" raises serious questions that are not being answered. This shadowy group, currently being investigated by the FBI for numerous cases of child abuse, hides behind a facade of faith while Campbell dodges scrutiny, claiming it’s a “private ...
The economy is not doing what it was supposed to when PM Christopher Luxon said in January it was ‘going for growth.’ Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short from our political economy on Tuesday, April 15:New Zealand’s economic recovery is stalling, according to business surveys, retail spending and ...
This is a guest post by Lewis Creed, managing editor of the University of Auckland student publication Craccum, which is currently running a campaign for a safer Symonds Street in the wake of a horrific recent crash.The post has two parts: 1) Craccum’s original call for safety (6 ...
NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff has published an opinion piece which makes the case for a different approach to economic development, as proposed in the CTU’s Aotearoa Reimagined programme. The number of people studying to become teachers has jumped after several years of low enrolment. The coalition has directed Health New ...
The growth of China’s AI industry gives it great influence over emerging technologies. That creates security risks for countries using those technologies. So, Australia must foster its own domestic AI industry to protect its interests. ...
Unfortunately we have another National Party government in power at the moment, and as a consequence, another economic dumpster fire taking hold. Inflation’s hurting Kiwis, and instead of providing relief, National is fiddling while wallets burn.Prime Minister Chris Luxon's response is a tired remix of tax cuts for the rich ...
Girls who are boys who like boys to be girlsWho do boys like they're girls, who do girls like they're boysAlways should be someone you really loveSongwriters: Damon Albarn / Graham Leslie Coxon / Alexander Rowntree David / Alexander James Steven.Last month, I wrote about the Birds and Bees being ...
Australia needs to reevaluate its security priorities and establish a more dynamic regulatory framework for cybersecurity. To advance in this area, it can learn from Britain’s Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, which presents a compelling ...
Deputy PM Winston Peters likes nothing more than to portray himself as the only wise old head while everyone else is losing theirs. Yet this time, his “old master” routine isn’t working. What global trade is experiencing is more than the usual swings and roundabouts of market sentiment. President Donald ...
After stonewalling requests for information on boot camps, the Government has now offered up a blog post right before Easter weekend rather than provide clarity on the pilot. ...
More people could be harmed if Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey does not guarantee to protect patients and workers as the Police withdraw from supporting mental health call outs. ...
The Green Party recognises the extension of visa allowances for our Pacific whānau as a step in the right direction but continues to call for a Pacific Visa Waiver. ...
The Government yesterday released its annual child poverty statistics, and by its own admission, more tamariki across Aotearoa are now living in material hardship. ...
Today, Te Pāti Māori join the motu in celebration as the Treaty Principles Bill is voted down at its second reading. “From the beginning, this Bill was never welcome in this House,” said Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader, Rawiri Waititi. “Our response to the first reading was one of protest: protesting ...
The Green Party is proud to have voted down the Coalition Government’s Treaty Principles Bill, an archaic piece of legislation that sought to attack the nation’s founding agreement. ...
A Member’s Bill in the name of Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter which aims to stop coal mining, the Crown Minerals (Prohibition of Mining) Amendment Bill, has been pulled from Parliament’s ‘biscuit tin’ today. ...
Labour MP Kieran McAnulty’s Members Bill to make the law simpler and fairer for businesses operating on Easter, Anzac and Christmas Days has passed its first reading after a conscience vote in Parliament. ...
Nicola Willis continues to sit on her hands amid a global economic crisis, leaving the Reserve Bank to act for New Zealanders who are worried about their jobs, mortgages, and KiwiSaver. ...
Today, the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill has passed its third and final reading, but there is one more stage before it becomes law. The Governor-General must give their ‘Royal assent’ for any bill to become legally enforceable. This means that, even if a bill gets voted ...
Abortion care at Whakatāne Hospital has been quietly shelved, with patients told they will likely have to travel more than an hour to Tauranga to get the treatment they need. ...
Thousands of New Zealanders’ submissions are missing from the official parliamentary record because the National-dominated Justice Select Committee has rushed work on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...
Today’s announcement of 10 percent tariffs for New Zealand goods entering the United States is disappointing for exporters and consumers alike, with the long-lasting impact on prices and inflation still unknown. ...
The National Government’s choices have contributed to a slow-down in the building sector, as thousands of people have lost their jobs in construction. ...
Willie Apiata’s decision to hand over his Victoria Cross to the Minister for Veterans is a powerful and selfless act, made on behalf of all those who have served our country. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Reardon, Postdoctoral Researcher, Pulsar Timing and Gravitational Waves, Swinburne University of Technology Artist’s impression of a pulsar bow shock scattering a radio beam.Carl Knox/Swinburne/OzGrav With the most powerful radio telescope in the southern hemisphere, we have observed a twinkling star ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joel Hodge, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Theology and Philosophy, Australian Catholic University Pope Francis has died on Easter Monday, aged 88, the Vatican announced. The head of the Catholic Church had recently survived being hospitalised with a serious bout of double pneumonia. ...
Of the 1500 new places, 1000 were last week allocated to five housing providers through 'strategic partnerships' to make contracting the homes more efficient. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathleen Garland, PhD Candidate, School of Biological Sciences, Monash University The faces of living and extinct theropod dinosaurs.Left: Riya Bidaye; right: Indian Roller model (NHMUK S1987) from TEMPO bird project – MorphoSource. Bird beaks come in almost every shape and size ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Renwick, Professor, Physical Geography (Climate Science), Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Shutterstock/EvaL Miko If heat rises, why does it get colder as you climb up mountains? – Ollie, 8, Christchurch, New Zealand That is an ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Rindert Algra-Maschio, PhD Candidate, Social and Political Sciences, Monash University Three weeks into the federal election campaign and both major parties have already pledged to spend billions in taxpayer dollars if elected on May 3. But with so many policies ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Palazzo, Adjunct Professor in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at UNSW Canberra, UNSW Sydney For more than a century, Australia has followed the same defence policy: dependence on a great power. This was first the United Kingdom and then ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Farah Houdroge, Mathematical Modeller, Burnet Institute ChameleonsEye/Shutterstock Needle and syringe programs are a proven public health intervention that provide free, sterile injecting equipment to people who use drugs. By reducing needle sharing, these programs help prevent the spread of blood-borne viruses ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Hazel, Associate Professor, School of Animal and Veterinary Science, University of Adelaide Lucigerma/Shutterstock Caring for a new puppy can be wonderful, but it can also bring feelings of depression, extreme stress and exhaustion. This is sometimes referred to as “the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katherine Kent, Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Wollongong StoryTime Studio/ Shutterstock Being a university student has long been associated with eating instant noodles, taking advantage of pub meal deals and generally living frugally. But for several ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Harrison, Director, Master of Business Administration Program (MBA); Co-Director, Better Consumption Lab, Deakin University Justin Sullivan/Getty You may have seen them around town or in the news. Bumper stickers on Teslas broadcasting to anyone who looks: “I bought this before ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Claire Hooker, Senior Lecturer and Coordinator, Health and Medical Humanities, University of Sydney A new state-of-the-art tube fishway technology called the “Fishheart” has been launched at Menindee Lakes, located on the Baaka-Darling River, New South Wales. The technology – part of ...
This Easter Sunday harassment of the victim’s family is part of a deliberate tactic to silence the victims, who were wrongfully duped of their money, efforts and hopes for a better future. ...
Māori own huge areas of land in Aotearoa but as climate change accelerates and carbon markets take hold, many are being backed into a corner.Māori connections to the whenua and ngahere run deep, rooted in whakapapa and sustained through generations. Today, that whenua is at a crossroads – squeezed ...
Comment: Two decades ago, I drove from Germany to Southern Belgium to visit the Commonwealth Memorial at Tyne Cot. The remains of my great grandmother’s brother, Private Robert Macalister, lay there. I didn’t know what to expect.Even in early summer, nine decades later, Passchendaele was blanketed in a thick, low ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra As it seeks to gain some momentum for its campaign, the Coalition on Monday will focus on law and order, announcing $355 million for a National Drug Enforcement and Organised Crime Strike Team to fight ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne With less than two weeks to go now until the federal election, the polls continue to favour the government being returned. ...
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone Israel assassinated a photojournalist in Gaza in an airstrike targeting her family’s home on Wednesday, the day after it was announced that a documentary she appears in would premier in Cannes next month. Her name was ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Whittaker, Senior Lecturer in Physics, Nottingham Trent University Darryl Fonseka/Shutterstocl What do you think of when it comes to extra terrestrial life? Most popular sci-fi books and TV shows suggest humanoid beings could live on other planets. But when astronomers ...
By Colin Peacock, RNZ Mediawatchpresenter In 1979, Sam Neill appeared in an Australian comedy movie about hacks on a Sydney newspaper. The Journalist was billed as “a saucy, sexy, funny look at a man with a nose for scandal and a weakness for women”. That would probably not fly ...
The governments blueprint of how it will invest $12 billion over the next four years into the New Zealand Defence Force mentions climate change twice. ...
Protesters are occupying the site of a proposed fast-tracked coal mine on the Denniston Plateau, near Westport. The 70-strong group, organised by climate activism group 350Aotearoa, says this is just the first of a series of protest actions they are prepared to take against the mining company, Bathurst Resources Ltd., if ...
In an art world context, photography has evolved significantly over the years pushing boundaries in both technique and concept. No longer the poor cousin of painting, but still much more affordable thanks to photographs being sold in numbered editions, an art photograph doesn’t merely capture a moment—artists use the medium ...
Last year, 20,000 observations of Christchurch species were made during the annual City Nature Challenge, a way for anyone to get involved in biodiversity. It’s back again this month. Even in suburbia, even on grey autumn weekends, there is biodiversity. You just need the time to look for it: to ...
Asia Pacific Report Peaceful protesters in Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest city Auckland held an Easter prayer vigil honouring Palestinian political prisoners and the sacrifice of thousands of innocent lives as relentless Israeli bombing of displaced Gazans in tents killed at least 92 people in two days. Organisers of the rally ...
ANALYSIS:By Ben Bohane This week Cambodia marks the 50th anniversary of the fall of Phnom Penh to the murderous Khmer Rouge, and Vietnam celebrates the fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese forces in April 1975. They are being commemorated very differently; after all, there’s nothing to celebrate in Cambodia. ...
By Gujari Singh in Washington The Trump administration has issued a new executive order opening up vast swathes of protected ocean to commercial exploitation, including areas within the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument. It allows commercial fishing in areas long considered off-limits due to their ecological significance — despite ...
New Zealand commemoration lead John McLeod said a small team, including members of the NZDF and the NZ Embassy, assisted in the covering up of remains that were exposed. ...
This Bill is a great opportunity to improve our system of government across all levels. Let’s make sure we get it right and give the public a say on a simple and enduring solution. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Nicholls, Senior Research Associate in Media and Communications, University of Sydney Tech giant Google has just suffered another legal blow in the United States, losing a landmark antitrust case. This follows on from the company’s loss in a similar case last ...
Trump threatens to halt Iranian oil exports cos he’s decided he doesn’t like them. Iran responds with a veiled threat of their own and scoffs at his suggestion he could halt their oil exports. Trump responds today with the following:
Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!
Pot calls the kettle black. Trump is effectively threatening any nation who stands up to his bullying antics by threatening to “press the button”.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12093850
He’s trying to force up the price of oil.
The US dollar increasing in value + higher oil prices equals good for the US economy
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/How-High-Can-Trump-Push-Oil-Prices.html
Quite a poignant paragraph in that link,
“Moreover, there is an even more poignant example of the Trump administration’s willingness to sow chaos without much thought to the consequences. The unexpectedly stiff tariffs on China have sparked retaliation, with major Chinese tariffs set to go into effect on U.S. soy, corn and pork. The American agricultural industry is up in arms, a constituency that largely supported Trump in the 2016 election.
Turmoil in the aluminum market is one thing, but enraging American farmers is another.”
And gas prices. At $100 / barrel the good ol’ boys will be grizzling a bit when they fill up the pickup
Could get messy, could get real messy
Could get messy, could get real messy.
Hope you’re right. Nothing would amuse me more than watching his own supporters roaring with rage. They foisted a demented president on the world so let them reap the consequences.
Poignant?? Do you mean ironic? Please explain if I have misunderstood and assumed that somebody used a word without knowing its meaning.
I think you’re referring to Graeme @1.1.1
He quoted from BM’s link.
Thanks Anne
After quickly skimming BM’s link, I don’t think that either Nick Cunningham or Graeme have any idea of what poignant means.
Rather poignant, really.
And gas prices. At $100 / barrel the good ol’ boys will be grizzling a bit when they fill up the pickup
All depends, normally the US falls as oil rises if Trump can skew that so the dollar increases as oil prices increase then the US is making a shit ton of money off their oil reserves and the voter public ain’t taking it up the chook at the pump.
Big win for Trump and the Saudi’s and Putin and any other country who makes money off oil.
You’re making the mistake of thinking something resembling rational thought and planning is happening inside the rotting halloween jack’o’lantern.
You’re making the mistake of overcomplicating things and looking for stuff that isn’t there.
The best and most successful plans are the simple ones.
Ilan Goldenberg sums it up on twitter better than I ever could
“Don’t worry. This is just step A of Trump’s standard nonproliferation strategy
1. Scary sounding tweets threatening nuclear war
2. Agree to summit with no plan whatsoever & then declare victory
3 Get taken to the cleaners in follow on negotiations”
https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/07/donald-trump-threatens-to-annihilate-iran-but-no-one-really-cares/
I also suspect that the interests of the USA aren’t the same as the interests of people who profit from high oil prices.
I was having a look at the oil futures market last month as there is bloke who has taken a huge punt that the oil price will go a $100 plus within 12mths or the end of the yr. The scary thing is that this guy has about a 97% Strike rate at getting it right, but low oil prices is one of the reasons why we have low interest rates and low inflation atm and if and when the price of oil starts heading Nth again expect to interest rates along with inflation to start moving Nth.
We have a four year supply gap in crude oil production due to kick in the end of this year.
https://www.peakprosperity.com/blog/109505/looming-energy-shock
Prices were going to climb sharply anyway. Great time for those govt morons to add more fuel taxes.
This time it won’t matter so much; renewables and associated technologies are already cheaper, oil price rises will only hasten their adoption.
Here’s one I’ve been following, a new solar technology using a class of conductors called pervoskite that has the potential to be at least half the cost of silicon PV’s. Still in the early stages, but shows promise:
https://www.perovskite-info.com/
It’s also why the article you linked to demonstrates a huge drop in fossil carbon production investment … the smart money in town already knows that it’s days are numbered.
Great time for those govt morons to add more fuel taxes.
Agree that’s some seriously dumb shit, this government really has me scratching my head as to what they’re doing?
Do they actually know what they’re doing? that’s the million dollar question.
The Edsel of politics?
Melania just needs to pry the phone out of his stubby fingers, burp him, swaddle him in his cot, and turn the lights out. Maybe he won’t be so cranky in the morning.
The cartoon in the OP is of course a delusion.
First of all there is no unidimensional ‘fence line’ in life. You could argue on a global scale that the absolute poverty line (defined roughly as an income lower than $1 per day) might count, but that’s neither especially germane to the point, nor does anyone in NZ fall below this. Everyone can see the game if they care to.
And while clearly some people are much better off than others, it’s not obvious there is any simple ‘box’ you can give everyone to make everyone all the same. We all differ in so many different dimensions there is simply no rational mechanism to determine exactly what each individual needs to create ‘equity’ with everyone else as the second panel implies.
The third panel actually expresses the real problem quite inadvertently. The very few people who do extremely well, are so far ahead of everyone else, there really is no sane way to make us all equal, short of actively preventing anyone from excelling or succeeding at anything. This applies to any human activity, not just wealth.
Inequality is real, but it’s a far more subtle and pervasive problem than this irritatingly simplistic little cartoon presents.
RL
Equity looks reasonable to aim at.
It sounds good I agree, but drill into the details and it collapses. Fast.
Oh god no, a cartoon that isn’t an economics treatise. We will all become stupid now.
Fair enough … but exactly was it meant to convey? And why is it so often linked to as some kind of lefty wisdom, when plainly it isn’t.
Everyone can see the game if they care to.
When were you last in NZ Red? And did you actually take time to see what we have now in this god-forsaken country?
It’s nothing like it was even 5 years ago.
I’m involved with the local food bank and with the homeless here in Thames (which in a population of around 7500, has at least 30 people sleeping rough every night). If you were to take the time to talk to these people you would find that lifes circumstances have dealt them a very heavy blow, and no! they do not have the where-with-all to see the game, and very little chance to ever.
It’s a false to say that for people in NZ all you need is $1 a day! This is not some undeveloped country – suffice to say though – we are rapidly heading in that direction.
Given we may yet land up in Thames in the medium-term future I can only hope we meetup sometime Macro. And yes helping those around you is absolutely part of the solution, even if sometimes all you can do is listen respectfully. Thanks.
Yes the absolute poverty line in NZ is higher than it is globally, that’s a fair point. But while I may not have lived in NZ the past five years or so, I’m certain it’s still substantially better than many other countries I’ve worked in. You have to ask what you are comparing to.
The causes of people landing up right at the bottom of the heap are many and complex; and of course a decade of National Party stupidity only intensified the problem. But every society has people in this position, and there is much research looking at the complex causes of homelessness and associated struggles. And obviously many need help, or at the least a more benign environment, to get their lives back together.
But if you’ve listened to their stories you’ll also know that you can’t change someone else’s life unless and until they want it to happen as well. I’m not arguing a binary personal/social responsibility case here because demonstrably both are insufficient. The optimum path has to be something that intelligently combines both.
Given we may yet land up in Thames in the medium-term future I can only hope we meetup sometime Macro.
I’d look forward to that Red.
We need to be brave like Portugal.
‘Portugal Dared to Cast Aside Austerity. It’s Having a Major Revival.
At a time of mounting uncertainty in Europe, the country has defied critics who insisted on austerity as the answer to the Continent’s economic and financial crisis.
……….But as the misery deepened, Portugal took a daring stand: In 2015, it cast aside the austerity measures its European creditors had imposed, igniting a virtuous cycle that put its economy back on a path to growth. The country reversed cuts to wages, pensions and social security, and offered incentives to businesses.
The government’s U-turn, and willingness to spend, had a powerful effect. Creditors railed against the move, but the gloom that had gripped the nation through years of belt-tightening began to lift. Business confidence rebounded. Production and exports began to take off — including at Mr. Rivera’s olive groves.’
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/22/business/portugal-economy-austerity.html
Excellent, you found an article that validates how capitalism can lift a country. Government spending may have increased, but not government ownership of industries.
Craig Murray om Twitter.
‘”They may be jihadists but they are our jihadists”. Fascinating that the “White Helmets” are being brought straight to UK with families when the Afghan and Iraqi military interpreters were not. The British government does not do this from humanity or obligation.’
Wired Talk. Fascinating. Did you know the vein pattern inside you is unique?
https://youtu.be/Qjqa8oTikP8