UEFA Could Boycott FIFA

It's good to see someone finally standing for something. The plans by FIFA to effectively sell the World Cup to private interests are obscene. Gianni Infantino has to go. 

If the plans do go ahead, Association Football (soccer or just football to many) will become like the WWE, just a display of skill with no real meaning.

This year's World Cup was a disaster, what with surge pricing and hydration breaks. And the halftime show during the final was ridiculous.

If UEFA boycott, they could run their own competition in direct competition. Outside of Europe, only Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina have won World Cups, the game is dominated by the Europeans.

https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/02a7-213a92896eb0-54dfbf454e3b-1000--statement-on-behalf-of-uefa-and-its-55-national-associations/

UEFA and its 55 member associations stand as one. We unanimously and unequivocally reject FIFA’s proposal to transfer ownership interests in the World Cup and other FIFA competitions to private investors.

The World Cup cannot be treated as an investment product. It is one of football’s greatest sporting legacies. It has been built over generations by players, national teams and supporters across every continent. No part of it should ever be surrendered to private investors. The World Cup is not for sale.

Is Our Money Safe?

The greatest risk of AI is its ability to hack our finances. One day, we may wake up to find our money has disappeared. 

AI is a useful tool, but it is often wrong, and not in shape to be full trusted.

The Opportunity Party

New Zealand voters will have noticed the rise of The Opportunity Party, TOP, in the polls. The media is pushing them hard, not a day goes by without them being mentioned.

Rumour is, they've been taken over by Labour and they're now a budget brand of Labour and the Greens. Hearing this, I tried to find things out; who exactly is the TOP leader married to? His name is Grant. That's it, Grant. Good luck getting more information on him. I heard he was related to Labour leader Chris Hipkins, I wonder if that's true?

Then another rumour has the TOP deputy leader related to James Shaw, former Greens leader.

Given the silence around the real name and career of the TOP leader's husband, and the sudden excitement of the media at everything TOP, with gushing praise that is sick inducing, I WILL NOT be voting for these tax tax tax fiends in the 2026 general election.

Thought New Zealanders ought to be forewarned. 

Dr Fauci Exposed

Should Anthony Fauci be subjected to much closer scrutiny?

AI Companies Destroying Books - Literally

AI companies are buying up books and then shredding them. This could be the biggest ever destruction of a key component of the developed world, going on right underneath us. How is this even allowed to happen?

Finding the Drones - It's Hard

Iran is a large country and the drones they use are small. They're hard to find and knock out. Moreover, drones are cheap to make compared to the missiles used to destroy them.

Mail We All Know

 AI can deliver something entertaining. I find this Royal Mail spoof advert very accurate. 

End of the Lucky Country

Australia is going down. I called this 16 years ago, now it's a reality. Last year, I pulled out the last bit of money I had in Australia. 

Tariffs Once Again

The latest round of tariffs from the Trump administration sees Australia and New Zealand imposed with a 12.5% tariff barrier. The excuse given relates to forced labour. Kind of weird that as I don't see how forced labour is involved in producing NZ wine. But, I laughed at Australia which has gone out of its way to be a lapdog of the US, only to be kicked in the teeth as well. 

Interestingly, NZ faces a 12.5% tariff on its lamb meat, but not beef. That would be because hamburger patties sold by McDonalds are made with NZ beef. The NZ beef has the right consistency to hold together and is therefore easier to cook and serve as a hamburger.

Fuel Crisis Real

With war going fully regional in the Middle East, we are now looking at the possibility of diesel running out. This is not a pricing exercise, it is a have nothing at all crisis. I put it like this; if you have no water you're dead two and a half days later. It doesn't matter that a bottle of water hundreds of miles away is only a dollar, you can't reach it, so you die.

When it comes to diesel, it is like that complete lack of water. No diesel, no economy. It doesn't matter that diesel in some other part of the world is cheap, or whatever.

Thing is, both the Australia and New Zealand governments have had months to solve this, but they played politics, happy feelings, sing kumbaya, hope and pray.

Regional Conflict

The Houthis of Yemen have announced a blockade of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, principally targeting Saudi Arabia. This will have a major effect on the world economy as currently Saudi Arabia has diverted its oil exports to its ports on the Red Sea, away from transiting the Strait of Hormuz, which is also blocked.  

With this move, we can say that the US-Iran war has now gone regional. Yemen's Houthis are backed by Iran.

UK Slips Farther into the Mire

Nigel Farage calls out the incoming Prime Minister; Andy Burnham was not in parliament in 2024 and has no mandate to lead the UK. Labour had over 400 MPs and yet none were suitable to lead the country. Instead, they had to parachute in the Mayor of Manchester.

Election Interference

Finally, something from Donald Trump that is accurate and which people can support. The election in 2020 was rigged. Those who think it wasn't are wrong. Documents are now being declassified and released to the public; finally, an opportunity exists to discover what was, and may still be going on.

It is incredible to think about the journey we've been on. First came the years-long coup to undermine the first Trump administration, culminating in the rigged election. Then, Trump was de-banked and he dodged several attempts on his life, one of which would have been successful except for an invisible hand intervening and moving Donald Trump's head to one side.

Weeks before the US election in 2020, there was a New Zealand election and it was also rigged. I believe it was used as a practise run. A full investigation of that event cannot be conducted as the ballot papers were destroyed. 

So Many Questions, Very Few Answers

The whole Ann Widdecombe business is looking very dark:

Assassination of Ann Widdecombe

The latest news to come out regarding the murder of Ann Widdecombe is that it was a politically motivated assassination. The police and other spokespeople have gone out of their way to try and frame the murder as a burglary gone wrong. 

Ms Widdicombe was a former Conservative government minister and a prominent member of the fast-rising Reform UK. The new party is now the most popular political party in the UK, a position it has held for a year now. It is also the largest political party with over 270k members, and more than 2.5k councillors. 

Clearly, the powers-that-be want to end the threat Reform poses. Their media lackies have been attacking Reform politicians daily, but the public support has held. Now, they've gone to the next stage; simply do not protect them. And when attacks do occur, they'll deny the motivations, effectively saying nothing to see here, move along, and when that doesn't work, shut up, behave.

Did They Meet?

I found the following very interesting. It questions whether Prince Harry and Meghan Markle met King Charles recently.

Lindsey Graham

US Senator, Lindsey Graham has died suddenly at the age of 71. It has been reported he had a heart attack about 24-hours after arriving home from a visit to Ukraine. Pundits are speculating that Russia or Iran somehow got to him. 

A lot going on now, once again it's hard to keep up. 

Ann Widdecombe

Prominent British politician, Ann Widdecombe has been murdered. The police appear to be saying it was a burglary gone wrong. However, her political ally, Nigel Farage is implying that she was assassinated.

Nigel Farage Did Nothing Wrong

The UK House of Commons Code of Conduct is very clear about what gifts must be disclosed. The gift received by Nigel Farage does NOT require disclosure. The relevant rule is cited below:

42. Members should not register under this category: 

a) Benefits which could not reasonably be thought by others to be related to membership of the House or to the Member’s parliamentary or political activities, for example purely personal gifts or benefits from partners or family members, or loans or mortgage arrangements on commercial terms. However, both the possible motive of the giver and the use to which the gift is to be put should be considered. If there is any doubt, the benefit should be registered;

Nigel Farage at the time he received his gift was not a member of parliament, nor did he intend becoming an MP. Thus, no-one could reasonably think this gift was anything other than personal in nature. Such personal gifts are expressly excluded and SHOULD NOT be reported.

Mr Farage is being pilloried for following the express rules.

Clearly, there is an attempt underway to neuter him politically. With a delegitimised Andy Burnham about to become PM, a General Election may be about to be called and they want Farage pushed under. His move to resign and force a by-election in his constituency is a genius move as he has now been elevated to top of the news cycle, effectively making Burnham look weak and useless.

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmcode/1076/1076.pdf

Nuts and Bolts and Screws

It popped into my head the other day, whatever happened to Nuts and and Bolts and Screws Ltd? Turns out, they're still around, calling themselves NBS Ltd https://nutsandboltsandscrews.co.nz/about/

I used to buy things from them. You know the sort of thing, nuts, bolts and screws. I'd go in and ask them, you got any screws? They'd say, lots, what type of screw did I want? I'd say, one that's just right thanks. They'd ask self-tapping, and I'd reply, self tapping is best, always handy. They'd remind me to use a bit of lube, and did I want a coarse thread? I'd say I always use a bit of lube, and coarse is good but not too much friction. Then, they sell me a bolt and not a screw, because it's a bolt is what I really wanted.

Anyway, I still haven't been able to buy fork handles: