Despatches from Surrealistan
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4:15 am, June 6th, 2019 - 7 comments
Categories: Donald Trump, Europe, Privatisation, uk politics, us politics -
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London feels surreal. Joined the demo against Trump. He’s in town to see the Queen, see off the Prime Minister, and plunder the NHS in the name of “free trade.” Saw the play “The Last Temptation of Boris Johnson,” which might be prescient.
Attention will now turn to May’s replacement as Conservative leader, and PM for however much time may be remaining. The large field is just starting to be winnowed; Trump has shown his hand by meeting with Johnson, Gove and Farage. God help us.
But that was one reason why the play was interesting as well as entertaining, although all the Brits present must have felt uncomfortable as it revealed the surreal nature of their politics.
The first act was historical, about a dinner in 2016 which actually happened, where Johnson invited Gove and his wife and decided with their support to opt for Leave in the referendum.
The second act was set in 2029, where Johnson got a second chance, this time selected by the party to take Britain back into the EU in “Brentry”, and had another supportive dinner with Gove, now a Church of England priest about to be made bishop.
Famously Gove stabbed Johnson in the back in 2016 at the last minute, hence May. In the play in 2029 Gove stabs him in the front, in front of the TV cameras. I won’t be surprised if that does prove to be prescient.
As for the emperor of the West in Surrealistan, my favourite take was this photo, brilliantly described by Caitlin Johnstone. Oh Britannia!
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- Working for Families gets cost of living boostPutting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...4 days ago
- Post-Cabinet press conferenceMost weeks, following Cabinet, the Prime Minister holds a press conference for members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. This page contains the transcripts from those press conferences, which are supplied by Hansard to the Office of the Prime Minister. It is important to note that the transcripts have not been edited ...4 days ago
- Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrappedThe Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...5 days ago
- NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in GazaNew Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...1 week ago
- Condolences on passing of Henry KissingerForeign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...1 week ago
- Backing our kids to learn the basicsEvery child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...1 week ago
- US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through tradeI would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber. I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...1 week ago
- Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, AucklandGood morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States. This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...1 week ago
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bianca Baggiarini, Lecturer, Australian National University Last week, reports emerged that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are using an artificial intelligence (AI) system called Habsora (Hebrew for “The Gospel”) to select targets in the war on Hamas in Gaza. The system has ...57 mins ago - Frank and far-reaching: Senate report recommends shake-up of the way freedom of information is handl...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Johan Lidberg, Associate Professor, School of Media, Film and Journalism, Monash University The most significant recommendation in the Senate inquiry report on the functionality of the Commonwealth FOI system is this: move the federal Freedom of Information (FOI) function from the Office ...1 hour ago
- Week in Politics: New government survives first Question Time
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- Listen: The real cost of the smoking excise tax
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- GCSB Minister Judith Collins condemns Russian cyber attacksNew Zealand is joining other nations, including Britain, in condemning Russian government malicious cyber-attacks. ...10 hours ago
- GCSB Minister Judith Collins condemns Russian cyber attacksNew Zealand is joining other nations, including Britain, in condemning Russian government malicious cyber-attacks. ...10 hours ago
- Ryan Bridge to host Three’s new 7pm showWith The Project wrapping up last week (you can read Duncan Greive’s excellent reflections on that here), Warner Bros Discovery has announced broadcaster Ryan Bridge will host a brand new current affairs show for Three. The currently unnamed show will focus on live news and interviews and is a return ...10 hours ago
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- MPs settle into new roles as parliament cranks back into actionThere may be less than a fortnight left in the political year, but politicians seem determined to make the final days count, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Question time is ...12 hours ago
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- Chris Hipkins opens up on what went wrong at the 2023 electionOn a quiet morning before the first parliamentary question time of the new term, Chris Hipkins and Christopher Luxon took a moment to analyse and reflect on their election campaigns. When Chris Hipkins was sworn in as prime minister on January 21, 2023, he had a feeling of optimism and ...14 hours ago
- McGoverne returns in search of the Fern
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- Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 8 DecemberLoading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 8 December appeared first on Newsroom. ...14 hours ago
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Caitlin is absolutely right on this
The Aussies certainly have it all over us when it comes to producing gutsy journalists and academics who tell it how it is.
John Pilger
Julian Assange
Caitlin Johnstone
James O'Neill who started as an academic and barrister in NZ, now lives in Australia
John Helmer now living in Moscow
Prof Tim Anderson , recently sacked from Sydney University after 20 years for criticising Israel's treatment of the Palestinians
And it can't be easy , what with the Federal police raiding the public broadcaster ABC
"In Australia "free press" means the police are free to seize complete control of the press via a search warrant. This is from John Lyons, Executive Editor ABC News & ABC Head of Investigative Journalism:"
"AFP: I’m still staggered by the power of this warrant. It allows the AFP to “add, copy, delete or alter” material in the ABC’s computers. All Australians, please think about that: as of this moment, the AFP has the power to delete material in the ABC’s computers. Australia 2019."
Folks , we're all in big trouble here
Thanks for the Caitlin Johnstone article Mike, they'll break her if they can
The Aussie media is a lot more diverse than ours and still retains a strong public service element with the ABC. I can find something to both inspire and irritate the piss out of me in every publication I look at … I take that as a healthy sign.
These AFP raids however are very troubling … very.
They (the aussies) might have it all over us when it come to gusty journalist but they are way behind us on gay rights and indigenous rights and issues and given our size we cant beat them at everything even though we try
That exactly why those Aussie journalists who expose such things are brave, they're going against the current.
Pilger in particular has exposed governmental racism and near genocide of Aboriginal people
Our journalists had 9 years to rail against homelessness for instance, only now, when we have the mildest of left wing govts, they choose to raise the alarm and wring their hands
It's getting surreal when the post refers to 2029 as if it is present day in the 5th para. Better change that as at least dates are stable (at present)* and something we can still relate to now. Or underline that the post features a play satirically sending up the past, present and into the future.
Edit:
Perhaps like the change of calendar from 1750, the Brits need to think seriously of a change of political practice from the Westminster two-party system to one as we have, where new Parties can arise more organically, but Party has to gain say 4-5% of the vote to get in, or winning one or more electorates are then regarded as an Independent which cuts out the problems we have had with this situation.
If Brits can play up with their 'United Queendom' as the USA has done, and are voting themselves out of the EU (which has provided them with the peace that they gained so precariously in 1945), with a mere simple majority, it would not be ground-breaking to treat their political system as radically, seeing it isn't working for the mass of the people.
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendar_(New_Style)_Act_1750 and http://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/hg/colonialresearch/calendar Today, Americans are used to a calendar with a "year" based [on] the earth's rotation around the sun, with "months" having no relationship to the cycles of the moon and New Years Day falling on January 1. However, that system was not adopted in England and its colonies until 1752.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most of the world. It is named after Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in October 1582….The calendar was developed as a correction to the Julian calendar,[Note 1] shortening the average year by 0.0075 days…
https://blog.studocu.com/en/lifestyle/calendars-famous-world/ (The world moves on while we are working out what time and date we are at. We seem to have forgotten about establishing t&d I notice, as I look at reports on the internet and want to pin them to their period.
Improvements to matching naming to reality of seasons as experienced have been made, what about matching method of political practices to reality of experience right now)??!
Time for a Change resonates Big Ben. Boom. Boom.
And I love that image of the Hobbits titled 'Brexit Remorse'!
The Three Stooges
Mike Smith in his Dispatch seems a bit upset. For Britain, which is now a mere Fossil, has sworn itself to the total Power of the United States.
Donald Madman Trump Says Smith " has shown his hand by meeting with Johnson, Gove and Farage. God help us."
Men of no Standing. No Matter. For all the English citizens are now dishelved suckers wanting to suckle and dribble at the Tits of Trump.
Every bit of Trade in Britain will be sacked and splintered by the Gluttonous USA. Especially – National Health.
Neither will The Planet Earth be able to cope with Amercan Pollution. For the Monkey Idiots that comprise the United States would rather Kill Planet Earth than do anything else.
Americans are the Enemy of not only the Earth, but of Reason itself.
Look out Children!. You are in the hands of murderous Mr Trump and his weird family.