CAN THE ALL BLACKS RESTORE NZ
If the All Blacks win the Rugby World Cup later this year it may just be the impetus to trigger the revival of NZ in general to lead us out of the desert into the promise land or return us to the balmy days when we at or near the top in so many international surveys - from happiness to economic prowess, from education to least corrupt.
I fear we are in a hole that is getting bigger - like that of those potholes in Ward Street, Upper Hutt.
Ardern resigned as PM and left the Labour-Green Government with a major reason perhaps being that she felt she lacked the skilled and professional competen support among her colleagues. Ardern to me needed propping up to be the great leader she showed and was capable of but the problem was, the props were on the earthquake fault line. And since her departure the Government at a cabinet, parliamentary and political levels has only gotten worse. It is virtually in disarray.
So we look to the opposition. Without an iota of a doubt in my mind, there will be a National-ACT government before the end of the year. And do I find that they will be sufficiently engaged at a higher level than what we have now. No.
Maybe the Football Ferns in July and August at the Women's FIFA World Cup will set a platform that will provide a boost to NZ that the All Blacks can finish off come October. Don't hold your breath.
EMPIRE BUILDING TRUMP
So Donald Trump does not want to start any wars and is a peace maker.
And yet he is seriously seeking to annex the world's largest island, Greenland from Denmark, take over the Panama Canal from the sovereign country of Panama who have owned it since 1977 and even forthrightly suggesting that Canada ceases being a nation and become a state or series of states of the USA.
Greenland above everything else, harbours minerals vital for todays and tomorrows world and that is what probably attracts Trump most. His son is looking things over in Greenland as this thread is being produced. Climate change is also changing Greenland which despite its name is currently mainly covered in ice and snow all year round. Greenland has a population of 55,000.
Panama's major asset after tourism and services is the canal with a current revenue of $5 billion. It operates its shipping charges through an international organisation so that the USA gets an unbias deal for its ships etc that use the canal. Panama is a poor country on the improve and has a population of 4.5 million.
Denmark is a member of NATO. But Trump has threatened many times for the USA to pull out of this Europe-USA defence alliance and Greenland may be the straw that finally breaks the pact.
Canada is surrounded by the USA but it is so much unlike the USA and much more akin to Australia and NZ. In contrast to the USA, Canada is one of the happiest countries in the world and in total land area is the world's second largest.
NZ is going to come under the scrutiny of Trump and his henchmen/women. He will probably look to cut NZ away from its free trade arrangements with China with some kind of ultimatum.
New Year, New Questions You Won’t Solve!
I get smaller every time I take a bath.
What am I?
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