Random Politics

[Ab]

Someone at National needs to suggest to Opposition Leader Christopher Luxon that he go on an immediate holiday with his family and turn off all communications devices including but not limited to smoke signals and carrier pigeons. Anything that enables the thoughts that are in his head to reach other people needs to be disabled. Like, now.

[fixed_truth]

Yeah this was probably always gonna be somewhat in the spotlight after the USA situation but politically he could have handled it a lot better.

Christopher Luxon doubles down on pro-life stance, won't reveal thoughts on people who get abortions

[Ab]

I have no idea why Luxon thinks a position of "there are deaths that I consider tantamount to murder taking place in this country but when I'm in a position to stop them I won't" makes him seem like an electable leader?

If they're tantamount to murder then he should stop them when he has the power to do so. It's a moral imperative.

[blynk]

Originally Posted by Ab

There is someone literally at the Cabinet table right now who believes women’s right to abortion should be restricted. Seems to me that’s more of a source of concern than the personal morality of someone who isn’t in government.

Although we all know the power the leader has in the party compared to someone that is in cabinet, so I care more what the opposition leader has to say compared to anyone in cabinet.
*unless they were Minister of Justice or Health. Then that could hit a little matter a little more.

[Ab]

Originally Posted by fixed_truth

Yeah this was probably always gonna be somewhat in the spotlight after the USA situation but politically he could have handled it a lot better.

Alito's draft leaked in the first week of May, the world has known this was coming for nearly two months. I can't believe Luxon's comms advisors didn't have draft statements ready and waiting.

[Ab]

Originally Posted by blynk

Although we all know the power the leader has in the party compared to someone that is in cabinet

what? the Leader of the Opposition has no power at all. He or she is just another MP, and an MP for the side of the House that doesn't have the numbers to pass legislation.

[Lightspeed]

For now.

[Lightspeed]

What's going to happen here:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/...inds-to-a-halt

With no fuel and no cash, Sri Lanka grinds to a halt

Less than a day’s worth of fuel remains, says the energy minister, as the cash-strapped nation extends school closures.

[StN]

[Lightspeed]

Well yeah, you gotta wonder how the government is going to be able to assert its authority.

[Ab]

I'm not across what's going on in Sri Lanka. Why the collapse?

[Lightspeed]

Hard to say. There are claims of nepotism and corruption, but that sounds like the normal state of affairs. It looks like the accumulation of problems reaching a peak. The country was shaky before the pandemic, which again is fairly normal, but with the pandemic followed by the war in Ukraine, aligning with the specific vulnerabilities of the country, it's just fallen over.

[Lightspeed]

He's out!

Boris Johnson to resign as UK Conservative leader

[Lightspeed]

This is perfect:

Bye Bye Boris

[Ab]

oh fuuuuuuck

Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has collapsed bleeding and is in heart failure after apparently being shot during a campaign speech in western Japan, NHK public television has reported.

[Lightspeed]

Crazy.

[DrTiTus]

Originally Posted by Ab

oh fuuuuuuck

Oh whaaaaat. That sucks. I had nothing against that guy. Obviously someone did.

[Lightspeed]

[DrTiTus]

I didn't hear there were a lot of protests going on right now.

https://twitter.com/frankoz95967943/...72336494403584

[Ab]

Originally Posted by Lightspeed

Hard to say. There are claims of nepotism and corruption, but that sounds like the normal state of affairs. It looks like the accumulation of problems reaching a peak. The country was shaky before the pandemic, which again is fairly normal, but with the pandemic followed by the war in Ukraine, aligning with the specific vulnerabilities of the country, it's just fallen over.

Interesting take from Foreignpolicy.com:

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa promised in his 2019 election campaign to transition the country's farmers to organic agriculture over a period of 10 years. Last April, Rajapaksa's government made good on that promise, imposing a nationwide ban on the importation and use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides and ordering the country's 2 million farmers to go organic.

The result was brutal and swift. Against claims that organic methods can produce comparable yields to conventional farming, domestic rice production fell 20 percent in just the first six months. Sri Lanka, long self-sufficient in rice production, has been forced to import $450 million worth of rice even as domestic prices for this staple of the national diet surged by around 50 percent. The ban also devastated the nation's tea crop, its primary export and source of foreign exchange.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/05...arming-crisis/

[StN]

Oh now I remember - this from the BBC Inquiry podcast. I really should pay more attention as I fall asleep!

[Lightspeed]

Oof, I mean that can't help right?

[The Edge]

Looks like Sri Lanka will have a new president soon.
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/12/a...ntl/index.html

[Ab]

BBC is reporting he got out:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-62132271

[Ab]

NZ: second-worst place in the world to move to

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ace-to-move-to

Suck it (*checks results*) Kuwait!

[StN]

Wait... I've seen Sicario.

[fixed_truth]

New Zealand Today interview with Guy Williams sparks call for Leo Molloy to withdraw from Auckland mayoral race
I can imagine the circus if this clown gets in

[Lightspeed]

ACT's cost of living plan

Seymour helping out the struggling folks of Epsom.

[DrTiTus]

The US escaped recession by simply redefining "recession".

Just like we've redefined "vaccine", "woman", and "rights".

I'm sure I'm not the only one that can't wait for societal collapse. I'm sick of these fucking idiots in charge. At least when everything collapses there will be proof that they had no fucking clue, and aren't still being defended by absolute morons.

[Lightspeed]

Nope. It's still NBER calling the shots the same way they have since at least the 1960s.

[DrTiTus]

Oh look, one showed up to defend them just now. Imagine my surprise.

In macroeconomics, recessions are officially recognized after two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth rates. In the U.S., they are declared by a committee of experts at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

So, everyone else is calling it a recession, but "the experts" will twist reality to propagate whatever bullshit story they want. Everyone else knows its a recession, even if you don't.

[Lightspeed]

Feel free to point out the dramatic shift in their approach to determining a recession. Take your time, you've obviously just learnt of the organisation.

[DrTiTus]

Feel free to lick my hole.

[Lightspeed]

lololz, that's what I thought.

[DrTiTus]

The US is still in a recession. I'm well aware they're claiming they're not. You might even figure that's why I made the post in the first place. I even mentioned your kind in the post, because I expected you to reply with a "well actually" and repeat the official Government position.

Our leaders are idiots, and people who rely on them and take their word as gospel are just as bad. If you haven't been able to figure this out well into your adult life, there is no hope, and you'll continue to be a bootlicker.

[Lightspeed]

I'm not yet ready to buy up stories of the wicked smarty-pants experts. It's not like that it hasn't been tried, the expert placed above the public. However that's ultimately self-defeating while education is open to the public, where anyone able to show up to class and demonstrate comprehension can learn what the experts know, with plenty of scope to expose illegitimate, incoherent practices. That's happened, it continues to happen and our institutions grow more robust.

If we can't rely on legitimacy any more, we're fucked anyway. Keeping billions fed relies on complex systems acting in legitimate fashion. People keep it up because of powerful incentives.

[xor]

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/overse...SARIK6ZFMOXNM/

#Aroha, got mine despite currently living/working outside of NZ.

[DrTiTus]

Good, keep it. Their mistake, you didn't commit fraud.

[Ab]

Maybe it would be easier to make a list of things that this Labour govt has not cocked up?

[xor]

Wanna start taking bets about the success of next year's census?