In which Peter Bale and I do a ‘pop-up’ 20 minute Hoon video chat on Trump’s second inauguration, including the risks of big new US tariffs, Elon Musk’s conflicts of interests and his arm movements
Trump is a gangster; Elon is an actual fascist. The salute was deliberate (I do wonder if it was not signalling but perhaps a deliberate media distraction). The world is going to be a much less stable and safe place over the next few years. Cracker interview team.
We have the Nero of the American Empire.... besides all of that crap, I'm waiting for his plane to be named a senator and, at some stage, see Washington DC burning.
Remember all those claims that the January 6th riot in Washington in 2021 was all a plot by the FBI and Antifa to discredit Donald Trump. Well then, why has Trump just pardoned all these people
In some ways the salute is a distraction (deliberate?) from the announcements and orders.
If the tariffs do come at the start of next month then the impact on inflation and interest rates will quickly filter through to the back pockets of Americans which seems to be where many keep their brains.
I'm wondering if we'll eventually see the public turn back to journalism as social media content continues to go downhill and people get sick of it and want (relatively) trustworthy information.
That was a meaty chat. I think one of the things that stood out for me was something I’ve been thinking about a lot and that’s how we define right and left. With four decades of think tanks trying to shift the ‘centre’ it’s now very unhelpful. I’ve been calling it the neo-right or the neo-robber barons, who want their new gilded age built on the bodies of workers and poisoned land. So grateful to have the excellent content from the Kaka and the Hoon.
Thanks - missed it live and was waiting for the post. Like many, I’ve been largely ignoring USA politics since its election. I fully support NZ distancing itself from future alliances. I encourage NZers not to foresake our traditional values and system of governance (which is incrementally being eroded by the current Coalition government day-by-day).
Yes I tried to put in a submission - but it was onerous (and I thought 'leading' in a few of the questions). I ran out of time after printing out a number of documents and going through the questionnaire. The whole process is questionable. They seem to want to be rid of important tenets of independent advice - 'trust us pollies and our mates - we know what we're doing' type of approach, plus strengthening certain rights over the right of the greater good. I could imagine the drafters having a great chuckle when putting it together. And I can see how it's going to play out - 'people asked for this' - yeah, those nutters with a pro-bill sanctioned script. It got some coverage on Radio National at the 11th hour - but deserves much more media scrutiny.
Thank you Peter & Bernard for this timely special and edspecially its serious tone. Anticipating the 20th January Inauguration shit show I avoided watching it like you'd avoid the live streaming of the ChCh shooter. Some RNZ radio news, but put off by nervous chuckle of one reporter listing outrageous Trumpisms. More RNZ Concert, silence and gardening yesterday.
The Medium is the Message. The Bannon playbook for political management - "throw shit" at the media - demands we become literate in the veil of *politics of distraction*. Viz. Twinning major "red flag" and complex polecon Bills: the Key government Flag/TPPA/Marine Resources Bills , this mob's Principles of TOW/(De)Regulatory Bills with boot camps tacked on. The politics of distraction has been refined and successful in the winner-takes-all era between the inauguration of Reagan to yesterday's obscenity. Now gloves are off, the veil is drawn.
Dorothy gets to see behind the veil of the Wizard of Oz (Ars/Arts): its the political economy, its the End of Modernity, its...it's the Vibe, to quote the immortal Danny Denutto in The Castle movie.
The Upside of Down, as the realm of necessity bites deeper - a broader openness to the old question: What Must be Done.
The psychology of Denial and Distraction demands an insightful, circumspect, lateral, creative and compassionate response. As both private and public citizens.
I just listened to the Rest is Politics USA mini series The trump insurrection and this episode is a really good reminder of what happened on January 6 2021 (the 2 preceding episodes give really good background to the buildup)
While substack is great for Authors, the problem is that every journalist is on there looking to get an income after the closure of so many publications. And most still have a very small readership which means that the echo chambers are duplicated. But it gets expensive to subscribe to all those you think are interesting, whereas at least with one or two subscription/s to an organisation you get a good range of journalism. I know this is obvious. I do my bit and subscribe to Spinoff, Newsroom, NZ Herald and the listener as well as the Kaka (where the full sub price is going to bite soon).
One of the things that disturbs me is how the NZ initiative have really expanded their reach and they are quoted without any context on their connections. RNZ I am looking at you.
An interview or discussion I heard yesterday with Kristian Niemietz of the Institute of Economic affairs (IEA , - beloved by Liz Truss & promoter of Thatcher) and Aaron Bastani of Novara Media. A neoliberal and a Marxist was extremely interesting and both displayed intellectual curiosity.
Thanks Bernard, Peter and everyone else for your comments. I have been tuning out the news to a certain extent, finding it more than discombobulating. I'm 62, my daughter is 19, and I am very afraid we are leaving the world in a worse place.. then today I watched the homily given by Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde in front of Donald Trump at the Washington National Cathedral. Musk &co were all there, and it occurred to me she had more balls than those tech billionaires. Signs of hope...
I watched too and greatly admired her clear spoken rejection of the new government's beliefs and plans. Yes she had more balls than any of them and I just hope her directness prods others to follow suit.
Trump is a gangster; Elon is an actual fascist. The salute was deliberate (I do wonder if it was not signalling but perhaps a deliberate media distraction). The world is going to be a much less stable and safe place over the next few years. Cracker interview team.
Thank you for this ; I am being sustained by the good Substack users who keep my world sane.
We have the Nero of the American Empire.... besides all of that crap, I'm waiting for his plane to be named a senator and, at some stage, see Washington DC burning.
Doubt the Donald would bring himself to take Nero’s way out if the Pretorians knock on his door
true... but let's not abandon hope... we have not much else!
Remember all those claims that the January 6th riot in Washington in 2021 was all a plot by the FBI and Antifa to discredit Donald Trump. Well then, why has Trump just pardoned all these people
In some ways the salute is a distraction (deliberate?) from the announcements and orders.
If the tariffs do come at the start of next month then the impact on inflation and interest rates will quickly filter through to the back pockets of Americans which seems to be where many keep their brains.
I think he wanted to do something that would make him look godlike to the loser incels who follow him because he was on drugs and had no boundaries.
I'm wondering if we'll eventually see the public turn back to journalism as social media content continues to go downhill and people get sick of it and want (relatively) trustworthy information.
That was a meaty chat. I think one of the things that stood out for me was something I’ve been thinking about a lot and that’s how we define right and left. With four decades of think tanks trying to shift the ‘centre’ it’s now very unhelpful. I’ve been calling it the neo-right or the neo-robber barons, who want their new gilded age built on the bodies of workers and poisoned land. So grateful to have the excellent content from the Kaka and the Hoon.
Thanks - missed it live and was waiting for the post. Like many, I’ve been largely ignoring USA politics since its election. I fully support NZ distancing itself from future alliances. I encourage NZers not to foresake our traditional values and system of governance (which is incrementally being eroded by the current Coalition government day-by-day).
the draft Regulatory Standards Bill is a MASSIVE increment.
Seymour would become a dictator over NZ parliament.
Yes I tried to put in a submission - but it was onerous (and I thought 'leading' in a few of the questions). I ran out of time after printing out a number of documents and going through the questionnaire. The whole process is questionable. They seem to want to be rid of important tenets of independent advice - 'trust us pollies and our mates - we know what we're doing' type of approach, plus strengthening certain rights over the right of the greater good. I could imagine the drafters having a great chuckle when putting it together. And I can see how it's going to play out - 'people asked for this' - yeah, those nutters with a pro-bill sanctioned script. It got some coverage on Radio National at the 11th hour - but deserves much more media scrutiny.
Thank you Peter & Bernard for this timely special and edspecially its serious tone. Anticipating the 20th January Inauguration shit show I avoided watching it like you'd avoid the live streaming of the ChCh shooter. Some RNZ radio news, but put off by nervous chuckle of one reporter listing outrageous Trumpisms. More RNZ Concert, silence and gardening yesterday.
The Medium is the Message. The Bannon playbook for political management - "throw shit" at the media - demands we become literate in the veil of *politics of distraction*. Viz. Twinning major "red flag" and complex polecon Bills: the Key government Flag/TPPA/Marine Resources Bills , this mob's Principles of TOW/(De)Regulatory Bills with boot camps tacked on. The politics of distraction has been refined and successful in the winner-takes-all era between the inauguration of Reagan to yesterday's obscenity. Now gloves are off, the veil is drawn.
Dorothy gets to see behind the veil of the Wizard of Oz (Ars/Arts): its the political economy, its the End of Modernity, its...it's the Vibe, to quote the immortal Danny Denutto in The Castle movie.
The Upside of Down, as the realm of necessity bites deeper - a broader openness to the old question: What Must be Done.
The psychology of Denial and Distraction demands an insightful, circumspect, lateral, creative and compassionate response. As both private and public citizens.
Roll on TKP 26/50. Game on.
I just listened to the Rest is Politics USA mini series The trump insurrection and this episode is a really good reminder of what happened on January 6 2021 (the 2 preceding episodes give really good background to the buildup)
https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/the-rest-is-politics-us/id1743030473?i=1000684754963
While substack is great for Authors, the problem is that every journalist is on there looking to get an income after the closure of so many publications. And most still have a very small readership which means that the echo chambers are duplicated. But it gets expensive to subscribe to all those you think are interesting, whereas at least with one or two subscription/s to an organisation you get a good range of journalism. I know this is obvious. I do my bit and subscribe to Spinoff, Newsroom, NZ Herald and the listener as well as the Kaka (where the full sub price is going to bite soon).
One of the things that disturbs me is how the NZ initiative have really expanded their reach and they are quoted without any context on their connections. RNZ I am looking at you.
An interview or discussion I heard yesterday with Kristian Niemietz of the Institute of Economic affairs (IEA , - beloved by Liz Truss & promoter of Thatcher) and Aaron Bastani of Novara Media. A neoliberal and a Marxist was extremely interesting and both displayed intellectual curiosity.
https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/novara-media/id1001507547?i=1000684834289
Thanks for this summary Bernard. I generally don’t have time to listen to the mini-podcasts so the main points are valuable
Thanks Bernard, Peter and everyone else for your comments. I have been tuning out the news to a certain extent, finding it more than discombobulating. I'm 62, my daughter is 19, and I am very afraid we are leaving the world in a worse place.. then today I watched the homily given by Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde in front of Donald Trump at the Washington National Cathedral. Musk &co were all there, and it occurred to me she had more balls than those tech billionaires. Signs of hope...
I watched too and greatly admired her clear spoken rejection of the new government's beliefs and plans. Yes she had more balls than any of them and I just hope her directness prods others to follow suit.