Slow Decline of New Zealand

New Zealand is going backwards slowly, inexorably. The latest example of this comes with the news that the country's only rail enabled Cook Strait ferry is to be shut down, with no replacement in sight. Of course, that's not what the incompetent politicians in Wellington are saying, they're spinning it as saving the taxpayer money (of course they would). 

By doing away with the last rail enabled ferry, the rail link from one end of the country to the other will be broken for the first time since the Cook Strait ferries were introduced in 1962. Before then, rail freight could not be transported on the same wagon right through the country. Instead, coastal shipping was used; for instance from Nelson to Wellington, the journey was by overnight vessel via French Pass, or from Lyttelton (Christchurch) to Wellington. Or we can go farther back, getting from Wellington to Auckland meant taking a ship to New Plymouth and then rail from there to Auckland. 

When the Cook Strait ferries came along, for the first time a rail journey could start in Invercargill at one end of the country in the deep south, and end at Whangarei in the far north, the whole journey could take place with the same wagon taking the entire trip. 

But now, this is all too difficult. The government owned rail company want to replace the ferries they currently run. Those new ferries are intended to be rail enabled, except they're at least four years away and no contract has been signed for their construction. Do you smell bullshit at this stage? I certainly do.

These new ferries won't match the existing infrastructure, so new facilities must be built. The usual way to do this would be to build the new facilities alongside the old, and continue using the old until the new ships arrive. Given this is the most sensible approach, my thinking is the country is being lied to, no rail enabled ferries will arrive.

Future governments will, likely, simply cancel the whole idea of a rail connected country, effectively taking NZ back in time to an age when everything was much more difficult to do. I see this approach happen all the time, and this is largely driven by the North Island who see no point in connecting the whole country as they live in their North Island bubble.

This is another reason to say goodbye to the North Island, the South Island needs to go it alone and achieve independence. If it does not become independent then the South Island will be destroyed by the idiots in the North, mark my words. 

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/559509/aratere-interislander-s-only-rail-enabled-ferry-to-retire

Not Really American Things

Hah, I knew this; baseball evolved from the English game of rounders and cricket. Little known fact: the first game of international cricket was played in 1844 between Canada and the United States. Canada won, of course. Stick that up your jumper, Donald Trump.

Merger of Hino and Mitsubishi Fuso

I may be drawing a rather long bow here, but I think the proposed merger of truck manufacturers, Hino Motors and Mitsubishi Fuso is a reaction to the growth of China. Their output of trucks and buses have really gathered pace, and this merger of two of the big three truck brands in Japan appears to be a defensive move.

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15720057

A new entity will be formed which will be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Hino parent, Toyota and Mitsubishi Fuso parent, Daimler Truck of Germany will each have an equal share.

Piers Morgan Interviews Virginia Giuffre's Lawyer

Piers Morgan has conducted quite a sensitive but still somewhat searching interview of Virginia Giuffre's lawyer, David Boies. I found it interesting that he had a senior partner with his firm, spend almost all of their time for years working on the case. They were very thorough, and proved Ms Giuffre's claims.

Mysterious Deaths

I had no idea, but it appears there is a long list of those associated with Jeffrey Epstein who wound up dead. What are the odds?

Virginia Giuffre

It was upsetting to hear of the passing of Virginia Giuffre (nee Roberts), the woman trafficked and abused by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. 

In 2022 she received a substantial out of court settlement from Prince Andrew. But since, the personal attacks on her became even more unhinged. 

Were these attacks coordinated? Clearly, some believe so, here's a screenshot from one of the biggest conservative commentators on Twitter:

Catturd on Giuffre

The Luxury Products Grift

Who'd a thunk!

China 'will fight to the end'

China appears ready to go the distance, they're not going to buckle.

New Zealand in 1959

A piece of modern social history from New Zealand's National Film Unit, shows what life was like in NZ during the 1950's and 60's. It's fairly accurate, and a lot of what is covered still holds true today. 

However, what stands out for me is just how far NZ has fallen. It is now seemingly incapable of doing anything at all. In this film you can see ships loading at ports, and at the time NZ had the largest fleet of merchant ships in the Southern Hemisphere. You can see it had a military, but what is not mentioned is that NZ maintained a permanent presence in Singapore, defending the region from communist insurgency. Singapore and Malaysia are partly the creation of NZ, not only did they defend them, but NZ brought their brightest to NZ and educated them in its universities. They learnt well and went home to put those lessons into effect.

However, NZ lost its way. What went wrong? It became complacent and allowed weak people to take charge. From 1984 onward, NZ has been in gradual decline. There are signs of improvement, more so in the South Island, but overall things have gone backward. If you doubt this, consider some of the statements made in the commentary; unions were compulsory and workers experienced high rates of pay and low cost of living. Now, households on two incomes can barely manage. Homelessness was virtually unknown because anyone who lacked accommodation was given it, and often a complete house at that. They'd pay rent, but that was in proportion to how much they earned. 

What happened to the National Film Unit? It was sold to Television New Zealand for a derisory sum. That tells the story of NZ right there.

Yes, I'm a stuck record on the subject, but the only way I see any semblance of NZ surviving is if the South Island goes it alone. The North Island in its madness will sink the whole ship otherwise. 

Kyle Kulinski Accuses Trump Regime

Could this be happening? Kyle Kulinski is claiming that children are being denied lawyers and are being forced to represent themselves in deportation hearings in the US. 

Kemi Badenoch at PMQ's

Kemi Badenoch performs well during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons:

Where's the Gold?

The price of gold is rising and buyers are taking physical delivery, and not trusting Western banks to store it:

Trade Deals

Is it believable to think countries are lining up to sign bilateral trade deals with the United States. Wouldn't this turn the World Trade Organisation and all previous free trade deals on their heads? 

Take Australia as an example, they have a free trade deal with the US, but that appears to now be worthless.

New Zealand's prime minister, Christopher Luxon has rushed to London to talk to the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer. No doubt, this is so the pair can get their stories straight. For New Zealand, there is a lot at stake; the UK is NZ's eighth largest trade partner, with much deeper cultural links, while China is NZ's largest trade partner by far. NZ has a large trade surplus with China, meaning China buys more from NZ than it sells to it. A larger trade surplus than exists with the US, and China isn't complaining. 

Those countries NZ has a large trade surplus with are: China, USA, Taiwan, Canada, Indonesia and India. My advice would be to wait out the current Trump administration, they're unlikely to last forever and any trade deals appear whimsical to say the least. Any trade partner has to be reliable, and the US has proven they're unreliable.

What do I think will likely happen? NZ will sit on the fence but buckle to US demands, thus wrecking the entire NZ economy. Australia will buckle sooner and they'll go downhill as a result. The UK will buckle immediately. 

But, what I hope will happen is that countries grow a pair and stand their ground. If they don't stand their ground, the US will be emboldened to make further demands.

China has warned any trade deals with the US which also attack China, will result in retaliation. That would be justified in my opinion. Any country rushing to sign a trade deal with the US, under terms dictated by the US, are taking a huge risk if they have a large share of their trade with China. 

Cybertruck Junk

 The Cybertruck is probably the worst car ever made.

United States and India

If they've got any brains, India would be wise to not choose sides in the current trade war between China and the United States. 

Pope Francis

Pope Francis has died, aged 88. He had a good innings, and the thing I liked about him was he lived in a modest sized apartment in the Vatican. Reportedly, he also cooked for himself. The next step is the choice of a new Pope, through the process of a convocation of the Cardinals. I wonder who will emerge from the pack?

Someone on the TV said that when the Pope died, they'd hit his forehead with a hammer three times to confirm he's dead. Imagine sleeping soundly, and then whack - ouch. However, this time it was just the doctor signing off and issuing a death certificate.

Chinese Trump

This guy does Donald Trump well, but he has better hair...just saying:

How Will Caterpillar Handle Change?

 A bit of a case study: I remember when Caterpillar moved its head office in Asia from Japan to China. They saw the future and moved from the fast growing market that was Japan, to an even faster growing one in China.

Caterpillar has manufacturing facilities across the globe, several in China. Other main plants exist in Japan, Thailand, Mexico, Brazil and the UK. The very large dozers, off-highway trucks and such are still made in the USA, but that's it. If you're driving along and see a Caterpillar, it's highly unlikely to be a machine made in the USA. To see those, you have to be on a mine site, or very large construction site, well away from the gaze of ordinary folk.

Given the direction things are headed, how is Caterpillar going to service its customers in the US? All of the main manufacturing bases are now behind Donald Trump's paywall. And it gets worse, all of the parts supply comes from China as I understand it. No matter where the machine is made, parts come from China. With huge tariffs in place, it will become impossible for American contractors to repair their equipment. They'll be forced to use after-market knock-off parts suppliers.

Here's a list of Caterpillar locations: https://www.caterpillar.com/en/company/global-footprint.html

These facilities cannot be relocated easily. And why would Caterpillar even want to, seeing as most of their machines exist outside of the US?

And this problem isn't just reserved for the one brand. Imagine the scale of the problem across all industry in America. Basically, the task of relocating is so big, it could wreck the economy.

[ Edit: Caterpillar has applied for various waivers, we'll have to see how this develops]

Italy's Meloni Representing EU?

Italy's Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni is in Washington meeting with US President, Donald Trump. Hang on, is Meloni representing the EU here, or advancing Italy alone, or even her own agenda? It appears to be a lot of the latter, and less of the former.

All trade deals must go through Brussels. There's no flexibility on the issue, so perhaps Donald Trump is trying to divide and conquer.

Privately, I've been joking that Europe in six months time will have convinced itself that China is wrong, and the US is right. They'll go back to their abuser, all the while saying it will be different this time, they really do love us.

Meanwhile, in Asia they can see this play out and they'll be grouping together, they'll just deal with one another and cut off links with the US. It'll be interesting to see what Japan and South Korea do, but I feel fairly certain that the ASEAN countries will 'choose' China. They have to deal with China day-to-day on all sorts of issues, I cannot see them siding with the US or Europe.

Putin must be laughing his tits off about now. 

245% Tariffs

This is now getting ridiculous. The US has increased its tariff on imports from China to 245%. But electronics such as smart phones and laptop computers are exempt, so what effect will these tariffs have on China? Not much, is my estimation.

Looking into this, I find that clothing, along with toys and sporting goods make up over a quarter of all US imports from China. Going into the summer therefore, the US will be missing out on cheap baseball bats and balls. And the price of clothing at Walmart will skyrocket as even alternative suppliers such as Vietnam and Bangladesh have had high tariffs placed on them (although now paused for 90 days).

On the other side of the equation, China has stopped supplying rare earth minerals, which it has a market share globally of 95%. Plus, China has stopped buying logs, beef and soybeans from the US. It can obtain all these from other suppliers; soybeans from Brazil, beef from Argentina, logs from New Zealand and so on. 

Also, I see that China has stopped dealing with Boeing, including buying spare parts. Little known is that Airbus has an assembly facility in China, so they'll be gaining there, and China has its own airplanes, an industry it put effort into since Trump 1.0. They could see where things were headed and planned ahead.

Factor in also, China is building fast rail links, it does not rely on air travel as much as other countries do, it is similar to Japan in that respect.

China's president, Xi Jinping is visiting ASEAN countries right now, shoring up relationships. The ASEAN region is China's biggest trading partner. Something I think the US has got badly wrong, it singled out this region for punitive tariffs, effectively driving China and the ASEAN countries together.

In short, I don't see China backing down as it can do without the US. Anything it finds it really does need, it can afford to do without until a substitute is found. Reportedly, the US has asked Europe to decide, them or China. I'm assuming Europe will buckle and choose the US. But any country watching this would be wise to observe and do nothing. What we are witnessing is a huge act of self-harm and Europe may be about to jump onto a sinking ship. 

Be Like Singapore

The Singapore prime minister, being an adult

Trade War and New Zealand's Oil Problem

New Zealand no longer has an oil refinery. However, New Zealand does export oil from its onshore and offshore oil wells. The shutting down of NZ's state of the art oil refinery is the biggest act of corporate vandalism NZ has endured. It was an act of sabotage.

New Zealand must immediately start refining oil once more. That's because, when the current trade war becomes kinetic, NZ will be isolated and unable to fuel itself. The country will grind to a halt, no farms operating, no food in the supermarkets. Things will get very bad very quickly.

Currently, NZ exports about 31,000 barrels of oil per day, and imports 108,000 barrels of oil equivalent (dated 2016 figures, but this is the best I've got). That leaves a deficit, but here's the thing; there is sufficient output from its own resources to keep farms and industry functioning. 

Clearly, there are vast resources available, but these need the wells to be drilled and developed, so I'm just going with what is currently being produced.

When the proverbial hits the fan, NZ will be unable to obtain jet fuel, petrol, diesel or bitumen from its usual sources in Southeast Asia. NZ will be completely isolated. Back in the 1940's, NZ went through this as it couldn't get reliable supplies during WWII. Cars back then even resorted to running on coal gas. However, industry did not rely on fossil fuels to the same extent as they do now. If they did use fossil fuels, it was firing up boilers using coal, or they relied on non-fossil fuel hydro electricity. At home, people cooked using piped coal gas from the local gas works. Add to that, NZ had the southern hemisphere's largest fleet of cargo vessels (Union Steamship Company), so it could obtain whatever it needed using its own vessels.

Now, NZ has no ships. In maybe only a few months time, NZ will be sitting around begging someone to spare capacity and please send it some diesel.

Do you think the NZ government will be acting on this, and doing something? Nah, they're too thick, they're a bunch of undereducated morons.

Check the link:

https://www.worldometers.info/oil/new-zealand-oil/

Kim Iversen: Where Things Went Wrong

Quality rant this from Kim Iversen. 

Ray Dalio on a Bigger Problem

The founder of hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates explains where we are at right now:

Olympics

Here's a question: you know how there are all these countries represented at the Olympics every four years. How come all the member states of the EU get to be individually represented; you know, France, Germany, Belgium etc., but the UK is not allowed to have England, Wales, Scotland etc? And how come the USA cannot have all its individual states represented; California, Texas, Georgia etc. Shouldn't there only be an EU at the Olympics?

Would the IOC be full of it maybe?

Tariffs and Trade Southeast Asia

ASEAN countries are faced with economic challenges, both as the trade war ramps up, but also due to changes in consumer demand. For instance, in 2024 car production in Thailand contracted 30%, with Suzuki and Subaru shutting down altogether. 

Indonesia is a critical source of nickel, required for use in batteries. I wonder, are there viable nickel deposits in the Nelson and Marlborough areas, has New Zealand looked hard enough?

Trump Sometimes Right

US President, Donald Trump isn't letting 2020 go and to that end he's signed executive orders calling for individuals to be investigated by the Department of Justice:

Of course, the 2020 elections were rigged. Note, I use the plural because New Zealand preceded the US elections, and that was a test run. All the NZ ballots cast in 2020 have since been destroyed. That was the start, then the forces of darkness refined their processes and ran the most dishonestly run campaign in history, surpassing even India for corruption.

Everything in 2020 was to get Donald Trump out of the White House. He was fired, just like The Apprentice. But, he came back, dodged a bullet and now he's out for revenge. And on that score, I don't care, anyone who was involved has it coming to them, throw away the key.

However, isolationism is the wrong approach IMO, it will push Europe and China together, ushering in a Big Brother, Big Tech, dystopian future with carbon and social credit scores. But, at least the US is adjusting, now exempting certain electronics such as computer chips, laptops and smart phones from punitive tariffs. Apple must have said, you're going to break us.

There are other kites being flown as well as tariffs; the US wants to get its civilian shipbuilding back. That horse has long since bolted; the world's largest shipbuilders are now, China, Korea, Japan, and the Philippines in that order. Shipbuilders like Italy cannot even register 1% of tonnage built each year. The US is 0.10% of all tonnage built, just ahead of Iran. If the US was serious about this, it could develop Colombia which already has a Jones Act exemption. They've got the space and cheap labour. But, I cannot see the US suddenly finding shipbuilding workers by the hundreds of thousands, it just isn't going to happen.

Oh, and the investigation of Chris Krebs brings that royal person, Prince Harry into the mix. Krebs is involved with the Aspen Institute, alongside the dufus. Maybe the wayward son with the terrible wife (quoting Trump) needs to start packing his bags, otherwise there may be a knock on the door. 

Trade War - Who Will Come Out Ahead?

It's complicated as the actress said to the bishop; but I cannot see how the US comes out ahead in its trade war with China. The US risks irretrievably damaging its reputation, and damaging its own economy. 

China can get by without dealing with the US, after all, it isn't putting up trade barriers to the rest of the world, and it has over a billion consumers at home. On the subject of the US trying to convince South-East Asian countries to put up trade barriers with China, remember JD Vance called the Chinese a bunch of peasants. That won't have gone down well, so I don't see Asia as a region siding with the US on this. They'll sit on the fence, or choose China - for now.

Susanne Cobey - Eagle Crusher Company, Inc

From time-to-time I draw attention to a woman owned and/or controlled business. Well, one such is the Eagle Crusher Company, Inc., of Galion, Ohio. Its CEO is Susanne Cobey, who is also in the hall of fame of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers in the USA.

https://www.aem.org/about/hall-of-fame/susanne-cobey

https://eaglecrusher.com

Significant is that Ms Cobey, very early on, fully embraced the recycling of demolition debris. Now considered a focal part of the industry, Eagle Crushers led the pack in embracing this change.

China Ascendant

Interesting views here, China has experienced unprecedented levels of growth and are now ascendant. They listened, learned and implemented measures that worked. And what does the US do? It sets out to stamp on them, not ask them how they did it and learn themselves. 

Sarah Wynn-Williams Whistleblower

Kiwi lawyer, Sarah Wynn-Williams has appeared before the US Senate Judiciary Committee. She reveals the level of collusion between Meta and China. 

Effect of Tariffs

Law firm, England & Knight have put up the following page summarising the full effect of China's counter-tariffs:

https://www.hklaw.com/en/insights/publications/2025/04/chinas-comprehensive-retaliation-against-us-tariffs

Note that Red States will bear the full impact of effective bans on poultry, pork, wheat and soybeans. China can easily replace these supply lines with output from Brazil, Argentina, New Zealand and Australia.

Further, Canada and Mexico are still where they are:

Tariff Pause - Confusing

I'm struggling to keep up with Trump's latest moves, which appear increasingly unhinged. Conflicting reports say that Canada and Mexico are unchanged, I don't know exactly what applies to steel and aluminium, or cars for that matter. 

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/09/trump-announces-90-day-tariff-pause-for-at-least-some-countries.html

And then, out of this confusion, is it possible the White House is making money out of it?

China Responds

China has hit back at the US by implementing an 84% tariff on imports of US goods. This seems quite cleverly pitched as the measure isn't countervailing, meaning a reply with equal force, but it will be debilitating for US exporters. Good news for other exporters though:

It's About Wealth Transfer

A lot to unpack here, no idea who this bloke is, but he's very bright. I like his idea that what we're seeing now is huge wealth transfer - again. That's because the US must always import some things, it simply has to. So these imports will be tariffed, making the price of everything in the US much higher. The US doesn't have the manufacturing capacity to substitute with its own output. 

So, people on lower incomes will pay higher prices, an effective tax in other words. Small business will be driven to the wall, they're collateral damage. The winners will be large corporates which can fund the imports, and the difference between retail prices and the cost of production will be subsidised by the taxpayer. The people end up paying twice, another wealth transfer. Sounds logical, and explains why the takedown of the US economy. 

JD Vance Calls Chinese Peasants

Oh no, he did what? This is not going to end well. What it openly says to all of Asia is, that's what they really think of us. And they'll react accordingly.

Depression Looms

Secular Talks is a left-of-centre podcast out of the US. He's often quite perceptive and I laughed while watching this recent rant about how jiggered we are right now, what with imbeciles in the White House setting out to destroy the western world. 

New Zealand Defence Capability Plan

New Zealand Defence has today released its new spending plans over the next fifteen years. Spending will lift to 2% of GDP; it's long overdue and finally NZ is beginning to take its defence seriously. 

Those interested can read about it here: https://www.defence.govt.nz/our-work/equip/defence-capability-plan/

But plans upon plans won't arrest the decline, sadly, as why would young people join up to defend their country, only to risk being thrown under the bus, and betrayed by the government who are, let's face it, a bunch of blowhard incompetents or worse. The real problem is recruiting the people and then retaining them. Since 2020, all trust has been destroyed. I would not recommend a young person join up. It's not worth it.

Got a solution NZ government? Yeah, I thought not.

Ken Horlor's Book Promotion

Today, I've made my Kindle titles available for free, you can download a copy right now:

👇👇👇👇👇Click the title of your choice

The Crushing Son

Basketball Obsession

Dana Point

Snob's Guide to New Zealand

Trump Crashing Global Trade

Here's a YouTube video where the bloke thinks there's not a lot of thought gone into the current trade war, started by the US. If there is any sense to it, then, possibly, it is intended to force a renegotiation of any trade rules and relationships that do exist. The idea being to skew those new deals in favour of the US.

My own idea is that this government of billionaires are intentionally crashing the market. They make money short-selling on the drop, and then buy up entire industries when it bottoms out. They'll end up owning everything this way, and for cents on the dollar. If this is even close to their thinking, that is very dangerous indeed as it may become the French Revolution all over again.

What authorities and elites fail to remember, is that the thin blue line is a very thin line when the proverbial hits the fan. 

Tait Communications

 Have you ever seen or used one of these?

Tait Handsets

They're made in Christchurch, New Zealand; and exported around the world. Police and emergency services everywhere use Tait as they're reliable and secure. Very few people know that.

https://www.taitcommunications.com

Will the EU Crush America?

Err, I doubt the EU has the economic muscle to defeat the US in a trade war, but I guess we are about to find out. What is more likely to happen is the whole world decides to deal with one another and move away from the US dollar.

New Zealand's Tariff Rate - Liberation Day USA

I see reports on New Zealand being listed as charging the US a 20% tariff on its goods. In fact, NZ charges about 1.9% on average, plus 15% GST. The total of the two is 16.9%, the tariff being paid by the end-user, while the GST is refunded to the importer when they file their periodic GST return. 

However, this is NOT the methodology America appears to have used. How did NZ get listed at 20%? The US appears to have looked at the trade balance, currently NZ exports to the US, about $1.1 billion more than it imports from the US ($4.5 billion). Thus, the $1.1 billion surplus represents 19.65% of NZ's exports ($5.6 billion). They've rounded that 19.65% up to 20%. 

Any country whose surplus increases from hereon will likely face increases in tariffs if that surplus becomes a greater percentage of its exports to the US. The US is effectively saying, you need to buy more from us, if you want to sell more to us. You cannot buy nothing and expect to sell more. Do you see?

I'm sure NZ officials do not understand this methodology, so if you're reading this, please contact the NZ government and inform them. 

Kea Aerospace

New Zealand are world leaders in private high altitude aerospace development. Kea Aerospace is another company with aircraft up and running from its base in Christchurch. Clever idea this one; they're making aircraft that fly perpetually, with solar panels charging batteries during the day. Being in the air so long, they can do accurate testing, provide cost-effective communications, you name it. One of the founders is Mark Rocket, who was also a founder of Rocket Lab. Mark Rocket is a clever guy and I've spoken to him previously, he complimented me once by saying I had good ideas (heh). 

https://www.keaaerospace.com

In the below video at about the 1:03 mark, you can get a good aerial view over Banks Peninsula with Akaroa Harbour on full display. This harbour is massive, you could lose several cruise ships in it, wondering where did they go? 

Trump Tariff List

Here is a list of what each country faces. Brexit seems to have avoided the worst since it has left the EU. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1jxrnl9xe2o

10% baseline for all countries, with the following only facing that baseline rate (amongst others):

• United Kingdom
• Singapore
• Brazil
• Australia
• New Zealand
• Turkey
• Colombia
• Argentina
• El Salvador
• United Arab Emirates
• Saudi Arabia

Punitive rates, as follows on some countries:

• European Union: 20%
• China: 54%
• Vietnam: 46%
• Thailand: 36%
• Japan: 24%
• Cambodia: 49%
• South Africa: 30%
• Taiwan: 32%

Plus; 25% tariff on all car imports to the US.

Canada and Mexico have nothing added to the measures already introduced against them.

Trump's Tariff Regime

Here is a brief rundown on Donald Trump's 'reciprocal' tariffs:

Dawn Aerospace

I have previously mentioned that New Zealand leads the world in private companies accessing space. Rocket Lab is fully operational and launches satellites on its NZ built conveyance from its launch facility on the Mahia Peninsula, near Gisborne in the North Island.

Now, almost up and running and currently testing is Dawn Aerospace in Canterbury, the South Island's largest province. The vehicle is a purpose built rocket aircraft for launching payloads into space. The aircraft has approval and can potentially launch from any airport in the world. 

Their aircraft, the Mk-II Aurora became the first civil aircraft to go supersonic since Concorde, when it went supersonic on the 12th November, 2024.

https://www.dawnaerospace.com/latest-news/certifiedsupersonic

Dawn Aerospace, proudly announces that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has awarded it a certificate to fly the Mk-II Aurora at unlimited speeds, including supersonic, up to 80,000 feet altitude. This certification permits operations beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) without the need for restricted airspace.

The Mk-II Aurora is a rocket-powered aircraft, designed to be the first vehicle ever to fly to 100 km altitude, the edge of space, twice in a single day. It is rapidly reusable and low cost, making it well suited for a variety of applications in microgravity, high speed flight research, earth observation, as well as other defence and civil uses.

“This unlocks the next major performance milestone for the Mk-II vehicle, namely supersonic flight,” said CEO, Stefan Powell. “To the best of our knowledge, this would be the first privately funded UAV to break the sound barrier.”

Liberation Day

April 2nd., 2025 is almost here and we will soon find out what effect Trump's tariff regime will have on world trade. While I think it unlikely, I wouldn't be surprised if some overseas based manufacturers pull out of the US market altogether, just to make doing business simpler. 

https://apnews.com/article/trump-new-tariffs-liberation-day-import-taxes-118d73f50e5133ef3d9598aed6661a6c

As he announced 25% auto tariffs last week, he alleged that America has been ripped off because it imports more goods than it exports.

“This is the beginning of Liberation Day in America,” Trump said. “We’re going to charge countries for doing business in our country and taking our jobs, taking our wealth, taking a lot of things that they’ve been taking over the years. They’ve taken so much out of our country, friend and foe. And, frankly, friend has been oftentimes much worse than foe.”

<snip>

The Republican president plans to tax imported pharmaceutical drugs, copper and lumber. He has put forth a 25% tariff on any country that imports oil from Venezuela, even though the United States also does so. Imports from China are being charged an additional 20% tax because of its role in fentanyl production. Trump has imposed separate tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico for the stated reason of stopping drug smuggling and illegal immigration. Trump also expanded his 2018 steel and aluminum tariffs to 25% on all imports.