Trump to meet Putin in Alaska

(Cartoon from 2018)

The oppressed have become the oppressors.

The right people won't drown in your depths. They will meet you there. @MāoriBoyHealing On TikTok

Photo of a very clear, reflective lake with a giant bolder in the middle, a tree is in the foreground on the left, and in the distance are mountains that are then reflected upside down in the lake.

Another photo of the clear reflective lake, at dusk, with mountains in the background, and many boulders sticking up throughout the lake.

Photo of the night sky with many stars, surrounded by the tops of pine trees.

View from high up a mountain looking down at tons of trees and some mountain lakes off in the distance.

In related news, spent the past four days camping/hiking/kayaking (and for a bit searching the lake for a phone) and we didn't even need to ask the Army Corps. of Engineers to change the water level.

Photo of a guy in a kayak or canoe smiling and giving a thumbs up. He has a mustache, and a blue zip fleece, and is wearing a Sierra Nevada hat.

Bluesky folks... can anyone help me figure out who this nice person is? This weekend, me eldest dropped their phone (in a waterproof pouch) in Wright's Lake, and we spent hours hunting the lake for it, only to find it at the ranger's the next day with this photo as the last photo added...

August 10, 2025 On Friday, Democracy Forward Foundation sued the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to make it respond to its request for the release of the Epstein files, as we...

August 10, 2025

TARIFF SURPRISE FOR NZ-NEWS A sheep labelled 'NZ' jumps over a 10% tariff barrier, then a 15%. Trump: "WONDERFUL! NOW JUMP HIGHER"

Higher? #nzpol cartoon for Farmers Weekly newspaper.

The stars have aligned folks... jobs are evaporating companies are going bust, Govt have disowned the economy (nuffin to do with us), and kiwis are fleeing in record numbers. Praise be those aligning stars.

Fantastic.

Let’s release *all* the files and expose everyone in them, regardless of political party.

This isn’t a left vs right issue, it’s a basic human decency issue.

YouTube video by Gisela João - Topic Sei finalmente

Some lovely fado for Monday.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O_B...

‘Competitive’ Asian supermarket prices benefit consumers The Commerce Commission says the increased competition that exists between Asian grocery stores is something it would like to see across the entire sector.

Get cracking to those Asian supermarkets
Due to do our fortnightly run to our local tomorrow

What it costs me to fill the trolley there is about half of what it would from Woolworths, Pak n Save and New World
www.rnz.co.nz/news/chinese...

www.motherjones.com

#MotherJones
current issue:

Ending the night with this.

Inslee: If you need more energy, the dumbest thing you can do is disallow access to wind, solar, and advanced batteries—three of the most productive ways of producing new energy. And yet, that’s exactly what he’s done.

Someone forgot to take down this webpage:

www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/v...

Sad.

A Georgia man who opened fire on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters, shooting dozens of rounds into the sprawling complex and killing a police officer, had blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Saturday.

Monocausal explanations don't work for incidents like this. That said, the article very clearly highlights key radicalisation drivers - incl. current institutional, & political leadership, & Covid-19 vaxx-related conspiracies, & disinfo - behind this shooting. apnews.com/article/cdc-...

"Importantly, this extensive work would not have been possible without the support by multiple NIH grants now being subject to profound cuts, no less $2.6 billion specific to Harvard."

Sound a bit familiar?

Sanders Takes Oligarchy Fight to Appalachia With Standing-Room-Only Crowd in West Virginia | Common Dreams Join Bernie Sanders on his Fighting Oligarchy Tour as he rallies against the billionaire class's control and Republican cuts to healthcare and social programs. #FightingOligarchy

Bernie speaks to a standing room only crowd in West Virginia, speaking against cuts to health care and social programs. 🧪 #MedicalSky

Watch: Albanese went to hongi Luxon, then it got awkward Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was giving the traditional Māori greeting to those welcoming him to Queenstown. Then he got to Luxon - who went in for a hug.

Now I’ve seen the whole party welcomed, what’s even worse is Cluxon rubbing and patting Ta Tipene O’Regan’s back in the most patronising manner. Cluxon has no idea how to interact with people. He’s a pig. #nzpol

www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360...

Trump considering deploying up to 1,000 National Guard to D.C. The number of Guard who would be assigned is still in flux, the officials say, and most of the troops would likely be pulled from the D.C. National Guard.

Trump’s move to mobilize the National Guard against Americans in DC is another telltale sign of his authoritarian ambitions. But at some point signs of authoritarianism stop being signs and become symptoms of an autocratic regime. We’re far past that point now. www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/t...

FBI agents are not trained to patrol streets. And every agent that is assigned to do that is NOT investigating:

*foreign spies stealing gov’t and trade secrets
*foreign and domestic terrorist threats
*crimes like fraud, corruption, trafficking, and violent crimes (among others)

Do you feel safer?

He surely is. What completely staggers me is that 25 people actually voted for him when he stood for the Te Aratai school board.

Bleedin' heck! It's sort of funny, in a pathetically tragic way.

What's darkly funny about far-right Free Speech Union's full-throated support of violent extremist, neo-Nazi, & white supremacist Phil Arps' Mayoral candidacy (because, FSU 🤡) is that he telegraphs he wants to kill them too. Arps' 'One Policy' argot is code for extrajudicial hanging or executions.

Welcome to the Paul... The Other One Local Government Election Hub - a one stop resource for voters wanting to learn more about this year's Local Body Elections. With a team of researchers, we've put together some handy guide videos on local government, some basic info to understand the different systems in place, fact checked some of the flood of disinformation coming from the hard right and conspiracy pushing groups around the country wanting to manipulate how you vote and some tools to help other voters keep informed.

There are two new videos by @paulbarlownz.bsky.social on his socials, incl. YouTube www.youtube.com/@Paul...theo... on the local government election. Well worth watching. There's also a very useful collection of material on local government elections on his website, paultheotherone.com/lg25/

Thank you - I'm always on the lookout for a good recomendation. I have a special soft spot for Australian authors, too.

Will Putin be a no show?

Ukraine war briefing: US ambassador to Nato says Zelenskyy could attend Alaska summit but decision is Trump’s Matthew Whitaker spoke as Europeans put pressure on US to include Ukrainian president in meeting with Putin

Well well! Looky here:

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...