TW20: ARMS DEALERS WINNING, THE WORLD IS CHANGING, AND HARD TIMES FOR JOE AVERAGE

Join VJM and bobdub as they take a look at current affairs from the perspective of the Alt Centre
with shrooms

This week we look at
1 Russian attack on Kiev repelled by patriot system
https://www.reuters.com/world/falling-debris-causes-fires-two-kyiv-sites-officials-2023-05-18/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_campaign=Daily-Briefing&utm_term=051823
After particularly heavy air strikes on Kyiv on Tuesday, Ukraine said it had shot down six Russian "Kinzhal" missiles. Moscow later denied losing six of the hypersonic missiles which it has touted as all but unstoppable.
Russia said it had destroyed a U.S.-made Patriot missile defence system during Tuesday's attacks but Ukraine denied this.

2 The world around us is changing – advice from the alternative centre?
(Global warming PLUS tsunami warning)
https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/more-likely-than-not-world-will-soon-see-15c-warming-wmo-2023-05-17/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_campaign=Daily-Briefing&utm_term=051723
Partially responsible for boosting the chance of soon hitting 1.5C is an El Niño weather pattern expected to develop in the coming months. During El Niño, warmer waters in the tropical Pacific heat the atmosphere above, lifting global temperatures.
The WMO also found a 98% chance that one of the next five years will be the hottest on record, surpassing 2016 which saw a global temperature impacted by about 1.3C (2.3F) of warming.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300884247/civil-defence-assesses-tsunami-threat-from-magnitude-77-earthquake-near-loyalty-islands

3 NZ Budget – help for the vulnerable but interest rate hike
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/132080018/budget-2023-the-bread-and-butter-pudding-budget?rm=a
Virtually all prescriptions will now be free with the Government scrapping the $5 co-payment. People with young children in care will get an extra subsidy, with 20 free hours at early childhood centres extended to 2-year-olds in addition to 3- and 5-year-olds. The sector, which can be a financially precarious one, also gets more money for teachers and running childcare centres.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/132087748/budget-2023-grant-robertsons-budget-has-one-marker-who-matters-adrian-orr
A number of bank economists now predict an interest rate hike of another 50 points by Adrian Orr next Wednesday. The language the central bank’s monetary policy committee uses that day will be closely watched – especially any mention of expansionary fiscal policy meaning an extended rate tightening cycle.

4 Migration in New Zealand – society under pressure?
https://www.interest.co.nz/personal-finance/121227/surging-inbound-migration-seen-adding-demand-new-zealand-economy-westpac
"...That sharp rise in net migration will see population growth rising from just 0.5% at the end of 2022 to 2.4% by the close of this year. That would be the fastest rate of population growth New Zealand has seen in decades, and it signals a large increase in many businesses’ demand base."
"On one hand, an influx of workers may help to take the upward pressure out of wages – employers are certainly hoping this will be the case.
"But in other areas they are likely to add to already- strong demand, particularly in housing, where population growth is set to outstrip the pace of homebuilding in the year ahead. This uncertain balance will also have important implications for monetary policy."
Unfortunately, the surge in migration "has the potential to disturb the grand plan" the Reserve Bank has for reining in inflation, the economists say.

5 MDMA in Australia – will it come to NZ?
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-psychedelic-therapies-mental-illnesses-legal.html
Prof. Loo says there are two main ways that psychedelic drugs can help people with long-term, treatment-resistant mental illnesses.
"One is that they reset your brain functioning. So, a bit like rebooting the computer," Prof. Loo says.
When someone is suffering from a mental illness for an extended period, their brain can become stuck in certain negative thought patterns. The longer the brain stays in these thought patterns, the more they can become 'hardwired."
Psychedelic drugs may enable rigid thought patterns to shift, enabling new thoughts, insights and perspectives to emerge.