Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson 688 pages Simon & Schuster Published: Sept 2023 Despite my bias against biographies of people whose lives are still unfolding, Walter Isaacson’s review of Elon Musk proved irresistibly tempting. I was lured by the prospect of gaining insight into Musk’s entrepreneurial magic and the possibility of understanding what makes this […]
Unrelated Reading: “Elon Musk” by Walter Isaacson
Unrelated Reading: “Elon Musk” by Walter Isaacson
18 Sep 2023 Leave a comment
Market Garden
17 Sep 2023 Leave a comment

Operation Market Garden was a failed operation by the allied forces, which would have dire consequences for the Netherlands in the winter that followed. Irish journalist and author, Cornelius Ryan wrote the book “A Bridge too Far” about the operation. Market Garden was divided in two parts. Market: airborne forces of Lieutenant General Lewis H. […]
Market Garden
Clean, Safe & Reliable Nuclear Power the Environment’s Best Friend
17 Sep 2023 Leave a comment

Wind and solar have lost their ‘social licence’; the masses no longer believe the ‘clean and green’ propaganda. Wrecked communities, wrecked environments and wrecked economies are too difficult to hide or spin away. Once people get a grip on the great wind and solar scam, their conversion is irreversible. The original trope had it that […]
Clean, Safe & Reliable Nuclear Power the Environment’s Best Friend
September 16, 1701: Prince James, the Prince of Wales claims the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland. Part I.
17 Sep 2023 Leave a comment
James Francis Edward Stuart (June 10, 1688 – January 1, 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs, was the son of King James II-VII of England, Scotland and Ireland, and his second wife, Mary of Modena, (Maria Beatrice d’Este), the second (but eldest surviving) child of Alfonso IV, Duke of Modena, and his wife, Laura […]
September 16, 1701: Prince James, the Prince of Wales claims the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland. Part I.
ERIC CRAMPTON: Foreign buyer taxes
17 Sep 2023 Leave a comment
The problem with taking GST off of food has little to do with the revenue cost of the policy, it’s that it’s just dumb to begin with. Any gains to households are smaller than those that could be achieved through other instruments, and there’s long-term cost to the integrity of the tax system. So I […]
ERIC CRAMPTON: Foreign buyer taxes
MICHAEL BASSETT: OUR MEDIA STILL DON’T GET IT
16 Sep 2023 Leave a comment
If Labour ministers and our left-leaning media knew more about New Zealand’s political history they would stop giving so much publicity to National’s tax-cut plans, ill-advised though they might be. The attacks are only increasing the likelihood that National will be elected. In one celebrated election, 1928, the government and the media concentrated so much…
MICHAEL BASSETT: OUR MEDIA STILL DON’T GET IT
CNN’s Makes the Case for an Impeachment Inquiry
16 Sep 2023 Leave a comment

I recently wrote a column about five facts that justified the start of an impeachment inquiry. While I have stressed that I do not believe that there is currently sufficient evidence for an actual impeachment, I am mystified by the claim that there is not ample evidence to warrant an inquiry into possible impeachable offenses.…
CNN’s Makes the Case for an Impeachment Inquiry
Populism fact of the day
16 Sep 2023 Leave a comment
Populism at the country level is at an all-time high, with more than 25% of nations currently governed by populists. How do economies perform under populist leaders? We build a new long run cross- country database to study the macroeconomic history of populism. We identify 51 populist presidents and prime ministers from 1900 to 2020 […]
Populism fact of the day
Co-leader of N.Z.’s Māori Party claims that Māori are a genetically superior group
16 Sep 2023 Leave a comment

Is it okay for oppressed minorities to evince blatantly racist attitudes, claiming, for example, that they are “genetically superior to other groups”? (Needless to say, the claim I’m discussing here is not backed by evidence.) I’d argue that no, dismissing entire groups as inferior based purely on stereotypes is wrong, whoever does it. But it’s […]
Co-leader of N.Z.’s Māori Party claims that Māori are a genetically superior group
Why Won’t Greenpeace Admit Wind Turbines May Be Killing Whales?
16 Sep 2023 Leave a comment
By Paul Homewood Who cares about whales? Whales might be dying because of sonar surveying, but Greenpeace simply ignores the science that doesn’t suit it.
Why Won’t Greenpeace Admit Wind Turbines May Be Killing Whales?
When is an Emperor not an Emperor? Caesar Augustus. Part I.
15 Sep 2023 Leave a comment
In my study of European Royalty and the history of monarchy in general one of the things that I’ve learned is that the concept of monarchy has been in a constant state of evolution and adaptation. I even see that here with the development of the title and position of Roman Emperor. To historians, and […]
When is an Emperor not an Emperor? Caesar Augustus. Part I.
The fiscal gap that is macroeconomically significant
15 Sep 2023 Leave a comment

That was a weird 24 hours or so. If you had told me a week ago that anything I was involved with would be the lead item on Morning Report and on the two TV channels’ evening news bulletins, I would not have believed you. Election campaigns are funny things. I don’t want to say […]
The fiscal gap that is macroeconomically significant
Changing sides: ‘turncoats’ in the English Civil Wars
15 Sep 2023 Leave a comment

Throughout the English Civil Wars, it was common for people to switch sides between Parliamentarians and Royalists; these people earned the nickname ‘turncoat’. Dr Patrick Little from our Lords 1640-1660 project explores two obscure figures in the Civil Wars and why they became turncoats. The English Civil War divided communities along religious and political lines. But […]
Changing sides: ‘turncoats’ in the English Civil Wars
Net Zero ban on petrol cars may wipe out European car makers, BMW chief warns
14 Sep 2023 Leave a comment
By Paul Homewood A net zero ban on petrol and diesel cars means European car makers risk being wiped out by cheaper Chinese competition, the chief of BMW has warned. Oliver Zipse said mid-market manufacturers in Britain and the EU would be unable to compete with Chinese rivals on price when it came […]
Net Zero ban on petrol cars may wipe out European car makers, BMW chief warns
ANANISH CHAUDHURI: Why Winston Peters will be returning to Parliament in October
14 Sep 2023 Leave a comment
On October 14th, Winston Peters will most likely be back in Parliament. The reason for this support is simple: he showed up at the Wellington protests. In the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, the Black Lives Matter protests flared in the US. This was in the middle of the ongoing pandemic. Progressives were all strongly…
ANANISH CHAUDHURI: Why Winston Peters will be returning to Parliament in October
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