Dave, I got your point. While it may have been an initial sentiment, BLM is a divisive, violent hate group. Period. You can be for black lives without supporting that ridiculous Soros backed group.

Since I became politically aware over 50 years ago I have witnessed so-called right-leaning and so-called left-leaning governments fiddle with this and tinker with that, restructure this and reform that, and throughout that entire half-century everything that matters has been made worse and none of the fundamental issues that needed to be addressed long ago have ever been addressed.

The farcical puppet show that passes for an election in America is symptomatic of the level of corruption and inanity that is now endemic throughout western societies, and which is a direct consequence of dumbing-down and brainwashing of the masses.

I see no indication of that dismal situation changing any time soon but do see every indication the system will cause its own collapse in the medium term, i.e. 2020 to 2030 and will cause even more widespread suffering than it is already causing.

In theory this is very simple. The only tactical unity required is on Election Day (or during pre-voting I guess) we don’t vote for National, or one of their possible support parties (ACT, UF, Māori, or NZ First). There are two problems. One is that about 10% of those opposed to National will vote NZ First, despite them refusing to commit to getting National out of government. In NZ First were to withdraw this fence-sitting position before Election Day, I would of course withdraw this criticism, but in practice, they will go with Labour or National, depending on who offers Winston the best legacy project.

The second, more complicated problem is the ideologically committed ‘no confidence in the system’ non-vote. I sympathize with this position, I really do. The governing system in Aotearoa is parliamentary supremacy, masquerading as “representative democracy”. After 30 years of watching elections change very little beyond the colour they paint the bikesheds, I have very little confidence in them. I want my own political practice as a small part of a nonviolent democratic revolution in this country.

Some questions I would pose to my fellow anarchists and other ‘no confidence’ voters. If the revolution was next Thursday, what would Aotearoa look like after it was over? If we can’t achieve this utopia through electioneering (and I agree we can’t), what onviolent and consensus-building political practices can we use to achieve it? Are there law changes or public sector activities that can reduce our freedom of action to organise and create new institutions of deep democracy? If there are, isn’t it good strategy to identify the parliamentary parties least likely to impinge on our democratic freedoms (human rights, civil liberties etc), and most likely to respect our freedom to organise outside the parliamentary sphere, and vote for them? After all, it only takes a couple of hours every three years.

Have another beer, mate, “happy hour” at the “Cock and Bull”, to be renamed to the “Doom and Gloom” that will come upon us once the scorched earth economic and social policy will have reached the last corners of the globe. Well it is already here now, is it not?

Join Don the Con at the pub, and have another beer, and have another one after that, and yet another one, and so it goes, it is too much to endure and watch with a sober mind.

Interest rates pushed down [by central bankers] to the lowest in history, debt levels pushed up to the highest in history, share markets propped up by central banks and governments….

Massive mal-investment in convention centres, casinos, sports stadia, cruise ships, motorways…..

A state of perpetual war, focused on control of the last of the major petroleum and natural gas reserves and routes for pipelines, and justified by the phony narratives of ‘the war on terror’ and ‘bringing freedom and democracy’…..

All eyes on Syria because that is where the last moves of the end game are almost certainly going to be played, with Russia-China facing an existential threat from the US and the US facing an existential threat from Russia-China.

Meanwhile, everyone faces an existential threat from continuance of the insane, corrupt, dominant system.

, and vilification, incarceration or murder of anyone who exposes the numerous crimes.

As a member of the gang -the gang of thieves, liars and exploiters who have been screwing NZ for decades for personal gain- Brash can churn out any kind of garbage and it will be avidly reported by the corrupt, corporate-owned mainstream media.

The exploiters need a dumbed-down, brainwashed populace incapable of critical thinking to facilitate their loot-and-pollute agendas, so that is exactly what we have -a dumbed-down, brainwashed populace incapable of critical thinking.

We are now well down the path that leads to economic meltdown, social meltdown and environmental meltdown as a consequence of the idiotic pronouncements -“I don’t believe in global warming.”- of wankers like Brash, and the anti-intelligent-debate brigade that promote his exploitive, self-serving, short-term narratives.

It will be the collapse of the environment -promoted by arseholes like Brash- that will shortly ruin everything for everyone.

https://scripps.ucsd.edu/programs/keelingcurve/wp-content/plugins/sio-bluemoon/graphs/mlo_two_years.png

You are right MiA.
I think we are already are ‘a modern day version of fascism’ and if the Natz win the next election it will be cemented in. This government is not interested in informed democracy and is going out of its way to squash all opposition.

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/student-protesters-demonstrate-against-h-ms-inhumane-manufacturing

By the way, I watched the news, and on both channels, that is the Freeview ones, TV One and TV3 reported, that the H+M management or staff asked the media to return their media passes (that they had been issued), because the (dared) film the small protest by some concerned, dedicated, courageous protestors!!!

While the were sitting there silently and peacefully, thousands lined up to rush into the newly opened clothing retail story, to get a BARGAIN.

No further questions asked, it seems, after decades of consumerist conditioning, of depoliticising and dumbing down, people are no longer much interested how and where the goods they cherish are made. Never mind human rights and decent workers conditions.

Welcome to NZ Inc 2016, John Key can relish his perhaps good chances to get a fourth term.

Business rules, consumerism rules, commerce rules, greed and selfishness rule, we are fast moving to a modern day version of fascism if we do not watch out.