Can someone explain what is going on here? Having been denied access for the past 24 hrs I’m now receiving a not very commenter friendly version of TS. Is it just temporary or what? Thanks.
On my mobile pages are formatting correctly (both mobile and desktop view on Chrome connected through my house wifi), but using firefox, IE11 and Opera 18.0 on Windows 8 it looks like CSS are missing (I’ll have a look using browsers on my kubuntu box a bit later, but I dont expect any difference).
Have cleared cache and cookies on all browsers, no change.
I’m not a web guy, very much a generalist, but thought I might have a look anyway using using Firebug.
My first thought was maybe there was an issue with js resulting in no reference to any css, but I’m able to connect to all the js urls referenced in the in the page source; http://cdn.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/wptouch-pro-3/include/js/desktop-switch.js as well as the 3rd party ones like nz.imrworldwide, ajax.cloudflare etc.
Little climate clock is running quite happily as well. No js seems to be ok.
Hope you can isolate the CSS issue shortly Lprent.
Having a look at thestandard stripped of formatting as well as the viewing the source has prompted me to reflect on how far the web has come along in the last few years.
It seems like it was just the other day I was starting to explore the web using lynx. The primary driver for getting connected was to build my first OS, on the first machine I built, Slackware running on an early 386.
After buying all the components I needed, and assembling it, with some advice over the phone from my brother who actually worked with computers (for an actual job, that you could get actual money!). I then bought myself a Slackware book, which came with a single floppy disk.
The disk contained all the tools needed to format the hard drive and connect to one of the slackware ftp sites to download the latest build.
Once I’d done that, configured my settings (manually configuring settings for the video adapter and screen was the most finickity) I recompiled the kernel, and viola! A command prompt.
The next step was to get X-Windows up and running, this was to take longer than all the previous steps combined.
Running Lynx connected me to a fascinating new world, and I immediately found that I was not the only one having trouble with X-Windows.
After reading everything I could find on X-Windows, and finding a group of other folks from around the world who were also learning to hate X-Windows, together we helped solve each others issues, and in a matter of only a few weeks, I was able to get X-Windows running properly, in black and white.
I know it must be almost 20 years ago now, but it feels like it was just the other day.
Macro +100…the Standard seemed to be out of reach yesterday( my partner said it wasnt me and my computer ….the site was down!)…what happened I wonder ?…was it cyber sabotage?
…my only alternative distraction and local political education was my usual the Daily Blog ( David Cunliffe interview was great!)…I refuse to go to those other horrible sites ….Kiwi Blog and Slater”s what- char- ma- call-it ? ( the Devils own territory)
Shows how important ‘ the Standard’ is for a genuine grassroots Left voice!…. imo
smirk to you philip ure….btw my son has given up being a vegan ( thank God)….and is now a mere vegetarian.(and getting fatter)….waiting til he gives up being a vegetarian
I gave up veganism after 1 day, vegetarianism after 2 days… and am now back to eating lovely little lambies, rabbits , beef on the hoof, chicken, fish, eggs, venison…..yum!….I will have to have another incarnation
Thank goodness… I couldn’t get access yesterday or this morning. I felt like I was marooned and cut off from civilisation (apart from the Daily Blog of course).
Macro and Chooky – agree totally. I was wanting to put up some info about our blockade of State Highway One on Thursday (28 Nov) in a more timely fashion, but never mind …. The Standard is now back to normal ! Great.
People from the Hikurangi and Puhipuhi communities have been feeling very frustrated that all attempts to engage with senior Govt Ministers and the PM about their very real worries about mercury being exposed and leaking into our waterways through gold exploratory drilling in the Puhipuhi Hills (about 36 kms north of Whangarei) were not being listened to. We finally got fed up, and organised a peaceful two-hour blockade of SH1. There was a detour route – through a sealed, winding country road with the occasional one-lane bridge along it.
For buses and huge logging trucks, delivery trucks etc we acknowledged this could be a nuisance to them and slow down their delivery times between Whangarei and further north – Kawakawa, Bay of Islands etc. It probably added up to half-an-hour to their journey. This was a cost to business, AND a cost to Government whose various departments had to do the actual stoppage – put up road blocks, monitor the situation constantly, etc etc.
We’ve been told the exploratory gold drilling will be a “minimal” disruption and not cause a nuisance. This is a nonsense ! The drilling involves going down at least 500 metres on each site, starting with a big hole and gradually narrowing, taking out all that soil and rock for sample analysis, and replacing it with a slurry of water, concrete and goodness knows what else. The mining company representative told us these details in person.
What he couldn’t tell us : would any of that drilling hit any of the myriad of underground aquifers which currently feed the water bores people use for personal water use and farm stock ?
This is a really important question. Because the Puhipuhi hills are riddled with mercury throughout its soil and rocks, it has hundreds (if not thousands) of underground aquifers and springs, as well as the surface water in streams and rivers – all of which run directly down via about 50 kms – into the Kaipara Harbour which is the spawning ground for snapper and other fish.
There is documented evidence that disturbing the soil and rocks leads to mercury leaching out into the streams, the roadside ditches, spilling onto vegetation – killing fish species, grasses and vegetation and making farm animals sick.
We’ve come up with a number of feasible alternative economic development concepts – they just need a bit more research, more strategic planning and considerable government funding to make them all into real, environmentally sustainable employment opportunities for people in the north.
But we cannot get the Government to listen. Hence the SH1 blockade last Thursday. We’re now awaiting a response. I guess you could say – watch this space !
Hi Jenny,
Good on you I know exactly the area that you are talking about.
Can I ask, since Northland votes for Hone and anyone dressed in blue are the local farmers either going to actually join the Nacts and get an MP more responsive to their concerns, vote for the same old, or vote with labour and the Greens? To some extent I think the longer term remedy is in their own hands – how many would have to join the local Nacts to control the branch?
…yes Jenny…great summary of the environmentalist action!….I heard on the radio that farmers are also very concerned about mercury leaching into waterways…great they are also joining in and taking action for the environment
This isn’t quite “The Standard” web-site that I was used too. Somewhere in cyberspace is a comment I posted, unless ‘Karol’ didn’t like it. And it’s not the easiest link to get too now.
Conspiracy theories abounds. Who is spying on who ?
What’s the story on David Hay and Greens I read what Danyl had to say overt at Dimpost but like him I also have sources within Greens and get a quite different story from Danyl.
The information flowing through MSM now looks very like someone trying to muddy the waters on the whole imbroglio
Most disappointed in the process they adopted think it could have been handled better
It would seem that there have been a number of ‘issues’ with Mr Hay dating back quite some time, one strand of the rumors is that the ‘leadership challenge’ issued publicly by Hay was a late and ham-fisted attempt at embarrassing the Party in an attempt to stop any disciplinary action it was thinking of taking,
i do not see how the Party could have handled ‘issues’ it had with Hay any differently and it must be remembered that it was Mr Hay who dragged the issue into the public arena in that attempt at embarrassment,
The party seem to have quickly taken the required actions and my opinion is that there is no or minimal damage that will accrue from the actions the Party took,
i find spurious Hay’s claim that only having 3 of it’s current MP’s domiciled in Auckland is ‘hurting’ the Green Party in terms of voting, a quick look at the Party Vote in the Auckland electorates, including National held ones, will tell everyone that in most the Green Party did extremely well in 2011 at times doubling the Party Vote,
Whether David Hay has any large amount of support in the Auckland area that could potentially cause a split in the Party there has yet to be seen, i tho doubt that and it is my belief that most members are more then happy with the current leadership being provided by Metiria and Russell…
Has Labour a policy to bring Private schools down. Christ’s College in Christchurch an elite school for the children of wealthy Cantabrians operates as a registered charity and receives a per pupil grant from the Government. What about a change that would.
1. Eliminate the charitable status retrospectively- ie unless they can prove that they actually are a charity then their tax free status needs to be revoked as far back as possible.
2. Stop funding a separate education system for the elites out of the education funding for all New Zealanders.
Are there any other ways to break these institutions. The thing is what I am suggesting sounds a bit nasty doesn’t it. But the right broke the union movement in New Zealand so it only seems fair for the left to break the institutions that help to create and maintain an elite.
Yep I agree , if they want their elite status they can fund it themselves. And we could look at stripping off some of the other institutions – employer federations for example. They have too big a voice with no competing dialogue
Christ’s College in Christchurch an elite school for the children of wealthy Cantabrians operates as a registered charity
How does that work?
Stop funding a separate education system for the elites out of the education funding for all New Zealanders.
Government funding of private needs to be stopped ASAP. Government funding should only be going to state schools. If people want education outside of that then that’s their choice and their costs.
Are there any other ways to break these institutions.
Don’t need to break them, just stop government funding of them.
+1 …agree Plan B…if people want an elite education they should pay for it themselves…..ordinary NZers tax money should go to upgrading the State Education system and Continuing Education
( Continuing Education…. National dismantled and gave the money directly to private schools!…an absolute disgrace and very cruel !…because Continuing Education provided opportunities for learning from all sectors of society, town and country, young and old, successful people and those struggling, new immigrants, those newly moved from another city, those recovering from depression or mental illness, the newly bereaved, the unemployed, the retired …it provided social cohesion, the opportunity to make new friends from all strata of society)
Yes State taxpayers money should be for State Education!
In actual fact if children can get through/stick with the State Education system….. mix it with the hoi polloi (the smokers in the hedges, wild parties, uncouth language etc) and get their NCEA 3 …they statistically do better at university….probably because they haven’t been pampered ,’hot housed’ little plants ….and they are socially more sophisticated
…..also from what I have heard and observed, private schools have their own problems of under-achievment , bullying, drugs ….and in some cases these problems are all the more vicious because they are swept under the carpet.
Agree Plan B and Chooky. Private Schools are decimating our local high school by taking many of the farmers kids away, for some reason most dairy farmers now send their kids to private schools. But to be honest, when I was in high school in the early 80″s, it was the farmers kids who were the biggest bigots, so in some ways it is good to get rid of them…but on the flip side, these kids have no chance of reform if they attend private schools. In public schools they would mix with everyone in the school, sports teams, etc and it was good for them. These private schooled kids eventually come back to take over their family farms, they are not part of the local community, and they seem to struggle to mix socially so they end up being the biggest loser in my opinion.
But to be honest, when I was in high school in the early 80″s, it was the farmers kids who were the biggest bigots, so in some ways it is good to get rid of them…but on the flip side, these kids have no chance of reform if they attend private schools.
Makes you wonder why they’re being sent to private schools? Perhaps their parents don’t want them to know what real life is like.
@ Saarbo and DTB…their parents want the best for them…(and when they are newly very rich dairy farmers they think private schools are the best, even although they may not have had a private education themselves ….but sometimes a private school education is most definitely not the best)….i went to a big co-ed state school with farmers kids and other kids , some were from rich families and some from poorer families …it didnt matter ( whereas I think it matters in Private schools how much money you have)…I know some farmers’ kids and other kids who went to Private schools and absolutely loathed the experience( one came from a very wealthy city family)…so much so they left at the earliest opportunity or switched to a State school
….. It is a misconception that all farmers are wealthy and all students at Private schools come from wealthy families ( some families struggled to send their kids to private boarding schools)…Farmers and farmers kids are a mixed bag like everyone else…..Ernest Rutherford was a farmers kid, as have been many notable scientists and NZers …..In my experience many farmers kids who went to Private schools dont necessarily go on to university …and if they do , they dont necessarily do that well…but that is a personal generalisation
…making the most of education often depends on the education values of the parents…and of course whether the kid is inclined to put in the effort….so State Schools, where some get scholarships to university and some choose to create trouble behind the bike sheds or in the hedges …. are good enough for everyone ….and those who want an elite or special school should pay for it imo
The point I was getting at is that private schools would tend to cement in attitudes that reflect what the “elite” think about the world whereas public schools would change as society and knowledge changes.
@DTB…private schools can do this agreed …and this is what they are meant to do !
….on the other hand given popular music culture ….I think many from private schools want to rebel….. and get out of jail as fast as they can…… and meet the real world head on… fill up the reality gaps in their lives….. and prove to themselves and everyone else they can trash themselves better than the best of them!…in other words they go crazy once they get let out of jail much to the bemusement of their State educated mates, who have seen it all before long ago and are much more cautious….
Re Alwyn’s complaint… reply doesn’t seem to be working for me. Can’t search commenters comments either. What with all this spying caper that’s occurring, you have to wonder if someone out there doesn’t like us. 🙁
Remember that the while the parents get subsidized for their kids private school education those same parents are still paying the taxes to go towards everyone elses public school education
So in effect its cheaper for NZ and gives more resources to everyone else if more kids go private
Also remember Wanganui Collegiate are now receiving subsidies from Government under some form of the Integrated Schools System. I personally think it is time that Integrated Schools was scrapped. In the most it seems a large subsidy to the Catholic Church and a few other denominational schools. Put all the money into state schools and let private schools stand on their own feet
Even if government money is being spent on private schools, if they’re spending $$$$$ for each public school space, and $$ in subsidies for each private school space, that’s still a saving.
How does that work. If there were no private schools receiving subsidies then the money paid to those schools could go to the already existing state schools.
Why pay a subsidy to someone to duplicate the already existing state structure
Er, you can’t just magically fit more children into the existing state schools without increasing funding.
If it costs $$$$$ to educate a child in the state system, and the state pays $$ in the private system, if all of the private schools shut down the government would need to find $$$ extra for each of those children that will now need to go the state schools.
So you are then happy for private medical insurance to have some form of state subsidy? As from my perspective private medical, pension and schooling are the same, and I find it difficult for one to be state supported while the others are not, or am I missing something?
Love to ask Polly’s why this is so and for them to find reason to justify this.
The private medical industry already does have a state subsidy, in the form of them only taking on the easy/profitable surgeries and therapies. All emergency work is done by the public system.
Note that I’m not justifying or saying that the current system is good. Just that it *is* saving the taxpayer’s money compared to what we would be paying if the private schools didn’t exist at all.
I understand your points that have been made, yet if we integrated these private school students would the marginal cost be that great ? Would schools such as kings, st Kent’s etc just close down., if there was no govt assistance many of these and similar schools would still continue to exist.
There is from my observation plenty of new clients to these schools being sourced from the burbs, so the perception is that over the last 10+ years that private is far superior to state! which is supported by govt policy of making these schools more affordable.
You did note the existence of the I think didn’t you?
There’s a few thousand state schools with hundreds of thousands of pupils. There’s a few private schools with a few thousand pupils. Those private school pupils come from across the country. If we then distributed them across the public school system it probably wouldn’t raise pupil numbers beyond what each public school could handle as is. A little more funding would help of course and perhaps some more class rooms.
Now, I call again for you to back up your assertion.
Factor in many of the priviledged hide their family incomes behind trust accounts, etc, and so qualify for student allowances at uni. My lads ended up with $60,000 loans!
I’m using firefox mickysavage and according to naturesong it’s one of those affected. But I’m a pc dummy – don’t know what to do about it. Not even sure what a cookie is…
Btw Redlogix (might as well reply here since my TS settings are way to hell..), my father said exactly the same as your father did re-Muldoon – down to the same words. He also had a few dealings with him many,many years ago.
Generally the schools ‘operating budget’ , ie salaries and annual overheads is paid for from the state. In some senses that’s actually quite fair, every parent pays taxes and every parent regardless of whether their children are in the public or private sector get a benefit from this. The idea that private schooling parents somehow ‘pay twice’ for their children’s education is quite wrong.
The main fiscal difference between public and state sector schooling is where the capital budget comes from, ie land, buildings and facilities.
In the public sector the capital budget is a small fraction of the operating budget, probably around 10% if the following numbers are a guide:
The Minister of Education is responsible for appropriations in Vote Education for the 2012/13 financial
year covering the following:
….
• a total of nearly $6,687 million for educational services from schools (including teacher salaries), early
childhood education providers and other education providers
• a total of just over $21 million for capital expenditure for Crown entities and schools, and
• a total of nearly $631 million for capital expenditure by the Ministry of Education, mainly related to school sector property.
How the private sector spends it’s income is of course far more opaque. What we can assume is that they exercise more choice around using its substantial fee income …on more staff, fancier buildings and facilities, advertising and the like. And that by itself is not a bad thing. Unlike some here on the left I’ve no real problem with various non-state actors in the education system. The Catholic, Steiner and various other alternatives have a legitimate place alongside a healthy public system.
What I do object to is seeing a private sector, targeting the very wealthy, and growing at the expense of the public system, as trend that has been long established in say England, and has rapidly evolved in Australia over the last few decades.
That is nothing more than pure snobbery and elitism. It entrenches social privilege and economic inequality. It is the antithesis of sound education and over generations it enforces the haves and the have-nots. The left soundly rejects it.
I was wondering that too. I met David Hay campaigning in Epsom last election, and he seemed reasonable enough, and had useful things to say in the election debates (which were extremely divisive).
About No. 5 – mining. Just some info on the mining coy De Grey that has right to look at Puhipuhi
minerals. De Grey Mining Limited is a West Australian based public company exploring for high-grade epithermal gold-silver on 4,675 square kilometres in Santa Cruz and Rio Negro Provinces, Argentina.
In Santa Cruz, the Sierra Morena and Pachi Projects are drill ready and the company will test defined targets early in the 2012-2013 field season.
In November 2012, De Grey Mining signed an agreement with Waihi Gold Company Ltd to acquire 100% of the Puhipuhi Project located on the North Island of New Zealand.
– and while I reckon most of you are cheering about whats happening to Cameron Slater at the moment I think the implications are worth considering for everyone, left or right
Oh this is UGLY no matter what browser Ii use FF, Opera, or even Ugg Internet Exploder. The whole site is indented left, with what looks like screwed up carriage returns.
MickyS – I couldn’t do a reply this time either. Managed it earlier in the day though.
To Grey Warbler @ 19 – thanks for the De Grey Mining info. We’ve picked up most of that, but didn’t realise they were drill ready on their Argentina sites. Our govt has allowed them to delay their actual drilling here (Puhipuhi) until April 2014. So far this is the third extension of time they’ve been granted. We’re not sure if they’ve run out of cash for the job, or if the Argentina work is holding them up.
I am very happy I can still put a post up despite what the site looks like. And I wonder about lprent trying to work his way through the various paradigms and puzzles of what to do for the best. Its a dynamic world out there. So we’re thinking about you Lynn. Have fun. (Ironic!)
NZ (Key) has been invited to the G20 in Brisbane, 15-16 November 2014.
That’s the ‘top table’ summit, with Obama and co. Pictures of the PM in the Queensland sunshine, chatting with world leaders, handshakes and smiles for the telly.
gobsmacked
I think you could be right. Key could advance himself in this foreign forum, and leave his lieutenants to keep the ball in the air here. One has to look at the bigger picture, the most advantageous use of opportunity cost time etc for the key to understanding his NZ campaign.
If by “TS” you mean The Standard? I, along with many others (but apparently not everyone) had massive Cloudflare problems yesterday. For me it got resolved around 9:00 or so, in that I could (sporadically) access the site, but the display was all broken; lots of plain text, blue links on a white background. Had a little bit of that this morning, but it’s cleared up now.
So if you’re seeing that, I suspect it may resolve itself for you in due course.
Be nice if we got some response from Lynn as to what went wrong.
Had that a few times over the last day or so. That, the comment errors and the fact that the site was going really slow finally had me stop looking/posting yesterday. Been good for me today though.
Mike Williams just repeated a very cute quote on Col Craig (sounds more manly than Colin). It is the one mentioned below in bold in Bryce Edwards 27/11 extensive piece on him and the possibility of a deal over Poorer Benefit’s electorate seat. The Standard Coat-tail comment is also referred to –
Bryce Edwards: Political roundup: Winning at the 2014 general election. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11163647
The latest must-read feature about Colin Craig and his policies is Andrea Vance’s Conservative Party: Crazy or credible?. This comprehensive piece also includes a list of 10 of the Conservatives’ ‘more interesting policy platforms’ compiled by Steve Kilgallon. Complimenting this is Vance’s own opinion piece, Craig politics – nice and nutty, which features the memorable line: ‘So far, all the signals point to him being nuttier than squirrel poo’.
Transmission Gully is underway and yet this is what the NZ Herlad has to say about PPPs It is very damming and a bit amazing for a mainstream media outlet to come right out and say it.
Cargo-cult mystique of funding through private sector deals blurs burden of risk for public. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11…
PPPs are like renting the same car every day for 25 years , you get to pay a lot of money (many times the actual cost of a car) and at then end of it you get to keep the 25 year old bomb of a car, which is of course clapped out. Brilliant.
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Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
Tinting car windows offers numerous benefits, including enhanced privacy, reduced glare, UV protection, and a more stylish look for your vehicle. However, the cost of window tinting can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help you understand how much you can expect to ...
The pungent smell of gasoline in your car can be an alarming and potentially dangerous problem. Not only is the odor unpleasant, but it can also indicate a serious issue with your vehicle’s fuel system. In this article, we will explore the various reasons why your car may smell like ...
Tree sap can be a sticky, unsightly mess on your car’s exterior. It can be difficult to remove, but with the right techniques and products, you can restore your car to its former glory. Understanding Tree Sap Tree sap is a thick, viscous liquid produced by trees to seal wounds ...
The amount of paint needed to paint a car depends on a number of factors, including the size of the car, the number of coats you plan to apply, and the type of paint you are using. In general, you will need between 1 and 2 gallons of paint for ...
Jump-starting a car is a common task that can be performed even in adverse weather conditions like rain. However, safety precautions and proper techniques are crucial to avoid potential hazards. This comprehensive guide will provide detailed instructions on how to safely jump a car in the rain, ensuring both your ...
Graham Adams writes about the $55m media fund — When Patrick Gower was asked by Mike Hosking last week what he would say to the many Newstalk ZB callers who allege the Labour government bribed media with $55 million of taxpayers’ money via the Public Interest Journalism Fund — and ...
Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
Chris Trotter writes – MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor in Honiara Solomon Islands’ incumbent prime minister Manasseh Sogavare has been re-elected in the East Choiseul constituency. It is the opening move in the political chess match to form the country’s next government. Returning officer Christopher Makoni made the declaration late last night after ...
Headline: The moment of friction. – 36th Parallel Assessments In strategic studies “friction” is a term that it is used to describe the moment when military action encounters adversary resistance. “Friction” is one of four (along with an unofficial fifth) “F’s” in military strategy, which includes force (kinetic mass), ...
The Fast-track Bill, if passed, would allow three Ministers, unchallenged and unchecked, to approve the immediate extraction and exhaustion of one-off resources. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne iamharin/Shutterstock For many people, the term “bulk billed” refers to a GP visit they don’t have to pay ...
Emmas Hislop, Sidnam and Wehipeihana discuss what’s in a name. Emma Sidnam: Hello Emmas! Thank you so much for agreeing to do this with me. My first question for you is related to what’s been on my mind for a while. It’s very important. You see we’ve recently had some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Sievers, Research Fellow, Global Wetlands Project, Australia Rivers Institute, Griffith University Chris Brown Humans love the coast. But we love it to death, so much so we’ve destroyed valuable coastal habitat – in the case of some types of habitat, ...
Josh Thomson on the 80s milk ad jingle he can’t stop singing, the beauty of The Simpsons, why Jersey Shore is as good as Shakespeare and more. For someone who spends a lot of time on our screens, popping up in everything from 7 Days to Taskmaster, Educators to Good ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
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Welcome Back!
Can someone explain what is going on here? Having been denied access for the past 24 hrs I’m now receiving a not very commenter friendly version of TS. Is it just temporary or what? Thanks.
Is still not well, looks to be having a formatting problem now, corrupt CSS somewhere?
On my mobile pages are formatting correctly (both mobile and desktop view on Chrome connected through my house wifi), but using firefox, IE11 and Opera 18.0 on Windows 8 it looks like CSS are missing (I’ll have a look using browsers on my kubuntu box a bit later, but I dont expect any difference).
Have cleared cache and cookies on all browsers, no change.
Same.
Issue is no CSS.
I’m not a web guy, very much a generalist, but thought I might have a look anyway using using Firebug.
My first thought was maybe there was an issue with js resulting in no reference to any css, but I’m able to connect to all the js urls referenced in the in the page source; http://cdn.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/wptouch-pro-3/include/js/desktop-switch.js as well as the 3rd party ones like nz.imrworldwide, ajax.cloudflare etc.
Little climate clock is running quite happily as well. No js seems to be ok.
Hope you can isolate the CSS issue shortly Lprent.
Having a look at thestandard stripped of formatting as well as the viewing the source has prompted me to reflect on how far the web has come along in the last few years.
It seems like it was just the other day I was starting to explore the web using lynx. The primary driver for getting connected was to build my first OS, on the first machine I built, Slackware running on an early 386.
After buying all the components I needed, and assembling it, with some advice over the phone from my brother who actually worked with computers (for an actual job, that you could get actual money!). I then bought myself a Slackware book, which came with a single floppy disk.
The disk contained all the tools needed to format the hard drive and connect to one of the slackware ftp sites to download the latest build.
Once I’d done that, configured my settings (manually configuring settings for the video adapter and screen was the most finickity) I recompiled the kernel, and viola! A command prompt.
The next step was to get X-Windows up and running, this was to take longer than all the previous steps combined.
Running Lynx connected me to a fascinating new world, and I immediately found that I was not the only one having trouble with X-Windows.
After reading everything I could find on X-Windows, and finding a group of other folks from around the world who were also learning to hate X-Windows, together we helped solve each others issues, and in a matter of only a few weeks, I was able to get X-Windows running properly, in black and white.
I know it must be almost 20 years ago now, but it feels like it was just the other day.
Macro +100…the Standard seemed to be out of reach yesterday( my partner said it wasnt me and my computer ….the site was down!)…what happened I wonder ?…was it cyber sabotage?
…my only alternative distraction and local political education was my usual the Daily Blog ( David Cunliffe interview was great!)…I refuse to go to those other horrible sites ….Kiwi Blog and Slater”s what- char- ma- call-it ? ( the Devils own territory)
Shows how important ‘ the Standard’ is for a genuine grassroots Left voice!…. imo
It seems, from a couple of conversations I had on Twitter, that Cloudflare was having issues.
“..my only alternative distraction and local political education ..
ahem..!
phillip ure..
smirk to you philip ure….btw my son has given up being a vegan ( thank God)….and is now a mere vegetarian.(and getting fatter)….waiting til he gives up being a vegetarian
I gave up veganism after 1 day, vegetarianism after 2 days… and am now back to eating lovely little lambies, rabbits , beef on the hoof, chicken, fish, eggs, venison…..yum!….I will have to have another incarnation
….and the little piggies taste best of all!…yum yum
Thank goodness… I couldn’t get access yesterday or this morning. I felt like I was marooned and cut off from civilisation (apart from the Daily Blog of course).
Macro and Chooky – agree totally. I was wanting to put up some info about our blockade of State Highway One on Thursday (28 Nov) in a more timely fashion, but never mind …. The Standard is now back to normal ! Great.
People from the Hikurangi and Puhipuhi communities have been feeling very frustrated that all attempts to engage with senior Govt Ministers and the PM about their very real worries about mercury being exposed and leaking into our waterways through gold exploratory drilling in the Puhipuhi Hills (about 36 kms north of Whangarei) were not being listened to. We finally got fed up, and organised a peaceful two-hour blockade of SH1. There was a detour route – through a sealed, winding country road with the occasional one-lane bridge along it.
For buses and huge logging trucks, delivery trucks etc we acknowledged this could be a nuisance to them and slow down their delivery times between Whangarei and further north – Kawakawa, Bay of Islands etc. It probably added up to half-an-hour to their journey. This was a cost to business, AND a cost to Government whose various departments had to do the actual stoppage – put up road blocks, monitor the situation constantly, etc etc.
We’ve been told the exploratory gold drilling will be a “minimal” disruption and not cause a nuisance. This is a nonsense ! The drilling involves going down at least 500 metres on each site, starting with a big hole and gradually narrowing, taking out all that soil and rock for sample analysis, and replacing it with a slurry of water, concrete and goodness knows what else. The mining company representative told us these details in person.
What he couldn’t tell us : would any of that drilling hit any of the myriad of underground aquifers which currently feed the water bores people use for personal water use and farm stock ?
This is a really important question. Because the Puhipuhi hills are riddled with mercury throughout its soil and rocks, it has hundreds (if not thousands) of underground aquifers and springs, as well as the surface water in streams and rivers – all of which run directly down via about 50 kms – into the Kaipara Harbour which is the spawning ground for snapper and other fish.
There is documented evidence that disturbing the soil and rocks leads to mercury leaching out into the streams, the roadside ditches, spilling onto vegetation – killing fish species, grasses and vegetation and making farm animals sick.
We’ve come up with a number of feasible alternative economic development concepts – they just need a bit more research, more strategic planning and considerable government funding to make them all into real, environmentally sustainable employment opportunities for people in the north.
But we cannot get the Government to listen. Hence the SH1 blockade last Thursday. We’re now awaiting a response. I guess you could say – watch this space !
Yes, saw you on TV3 news Jenny, well done.
With TS down I managed to read a few more pages of The Luminaries than I otherwise would have…
Hi Jenny,
Good on you I know exactly the area that you are talking about.
Can I ask, since Northland votes for Hone and anyone dressed in blue are the local farmers either going to actually join the Nacts and get an MP more responsive to their concerns, vote for the same old, or vote with labour and the Greens? To some extent I think the longer term remedy is in their own hands – how many would have to join the local Nacts to control the branch?
Well, I’m not Nact, RedBaronCV so I don’t know about that, but I would hope by now some of the Nat voters in the area are waking up.
…yes Jenny…great summary of the environmentalist action!….I heard on the radio that farmers are also very concerned about mercury leaching into waterways…great they are also joining in and taking action for the environment
I don’t seem to be able to reply to any comments.
When I click on the “Reply” the message “Error on page” comes up.
Can anyone reply to a comment?
It is working for me alwyn.
This isn’t quite “The Standard” web-site that I was used too. Somewhere in cyberspace is a comment I posted, unless ‘Karol’ didn’t like it. And it’s not the easiest link to get too now.
Conspiracy theories abounds. Who is spying on who ?
No sign of it in spam will. Maybe the internet ate it?
What’s the story on David Hay and Greens I read what Danyl had to say overt at Dimpost but like him I also have sources within Greens and get a quite different story from Danyl.
The information flowing through MSM now looks very like someone trying to muddy the waters on the whole imbroglio
Most disappointed in the process they adopted think it could have been handled better
It would seem that there have been a number of ‘issues’ with Mr Hay dating back quite some time, one strand of the rumors is that the ‘leadership challenge’ issued publicly by Hay was a late and ham-fisted attempt at embarrassing the Party in an attempt to stop any disciplinary action it was thinking of taking,
i do not see how the Party could have handled ‘issues’ it had with Hay any differently and it must be remembered that it was Mr Hay who dragged the issue into the public arena in that attempt at embarrassment,
The party seem to have quickly taken the required actions and my opinion is that there is no or minimal damage that will accrue from the actions the Party took,
i find spurious Hay’s claim that only having 3 of it’s current MP’s domiciled in Auckland is ‘hurting’ the Green Party in terms of voting, a quick look at the Party Vote in the Auckland electorates, including National held ones, will tell everyone that in most the Green Party did extremely well in 2011 at times doubling the Party Vote,
Whether David Hay has any large amount of support in the Auckland area that could potentially cause a split in the Party there has yet to be seen, i tho doubt that and it is my belief that most members are more then happy with the current leadership being provided by Metiria and Russell…
Has Labour a policy to bring Private schools down. Christ’s College in Christchurch an elite school for the children of wealthy Cantabrians operates as a registered charity and receives a per pupil grant from the Government. What about a change that would.
1. Eliminate the charitable status retrospectively- ie unless they can prove that they actually are a charity then their tax free status needs to be revoked as far back as possible.
2. Stop funding a separate education system for the elites out of the education funding for all New Zealanders.
Are there any other ways to break these institutions. The thing is what I am suggesting sounds a bit nasty doesn’t it. But the right broke the union movement in New Zealand so it only seems fair for the left to break the institutions that help to create and maintain an elite.
Yep I agree , if they want their elite status they can fund it themselves. And we could look at stripping off some of the other institutions – employer federations for example. They have too big a voice with no competing dialogue
How does that work?
Government funding of private needs to be stopped ASAP. Government funding should only be going to state schools. If people want education outside of that then that’s their choice and their costs.
Don’t need to break them, just stop government funding of them.
+1 …agree Plan B…if people want an elite education they should pay for it themselves…..ordinary NZers tax money should go to upgrading the State Education system and Continuing Education
( Continuing Education…. National dismantled and gave the money directly to private schools!…an absolute disgrace and very cruel !…because Continuing Education provided opportunities for learning from all sectors of society, town and country, young and old, successful people and those struggling, new immigrants, those newly moved from another city, those recovering from depression or mental illness, the newly bereaved, the unemployed, the retired …it provided social cohesion, the opportunity to make new friends from all strata of society)
Yes State taxpayers money should be for State Education!
In actual fact if children can get through/stick with the State Education system….. mix it with the hoi polloi (the smokers in the hedges, wild parties, uncouth language etc) and get their NCEA 3 …they statistically do better at university….probably because they haven’t been pampered ,’hot housed’ little plants ….and they are socially more sophisticated
…..also from what I have heard and observed, private schools have their own problems of under-achievment , bullying, drugs ….and in some cases these problems are all the more vicious because they are swept under the carpet.
Agree Plan B and Chooky. Private Schools are decimating our local high school by taking many of the farmers kids away, for some reason most dairy farmers now send their kids to private schools. But to be honest, when I was in high school in the early 80″s, it was the farmers kids who were the biggest bigots, so in some ways it is good to get rid of them…but on the flip side, these kids have no chance of reform if they attend private schools. In public schools they would mix with everyone in the school, sports teams, etc and it was good for them. These private schooled kids eventually come back to take over their family farms, they are not part of the local community, and they seem to struggle to mix socially so they end up being the biggest loser in my opinion.
Makes you wonder why they’re being sent to private schools? Perhaps their parents don’t want them to know what real life is like.
@ Saarbo and DTB…their parents want the best for them…(and when they are newly very rich dairy farmers they think private schools are the best, even although they may not have had a private education themselves ….but sometimes a private school education is most definitely not the best)….i went to a big co-ed state school with farmers kids and other kids , some were from rich families and some from poorer families …it didnt matter ( whereas I think it matters in Private schools how much money you have)…I know some farmers’ kids and other kids who went to Private schools and absolutely loathed the experience( one came from a very wealthy city family)…so much so they left at the earliest opportunity or switched to a State school
….. It is a misconception that all farmers are wealthy and all students at Private schools come from wealthy families ( some families struggled to send their kids to private boarding schools)…Farmers and farmers kids are a mixed bag like everyone else…..Ernest Rutherford was a farmers kid, as have been many notable scientists and NZers …..In my experience many farmers kids who went to Private schools dont necessarily go on to university …and if they do , they dont necessarily do that well…but that is a personal generalisation
…making the most of education often depends on the education values of the parents…and of course whether the kid is inclined to put in the effort….so State Schools, where some get scholarships to university and some choose to create trouble behind the bike sheds or in the hedges …. are good enough for everyone ….and those who want an elite or special school should pay for it imo
The point I was getting at is that private schools would tend to cement in attitudes that reflect what the “elite” think about the world whereas public schools would change as society and knowledge changes.
@DTB…private schools can do this agreed …and this is what they are meant to do !
….on the other hand given popular music culture ….I think many from private schools want to rebel….. and get out of jail as fast as they can…… and meet the real world head on… fill up the reality gaps in their lives….. and prove to themselves and everyone else they can trash themselves better than the best of them!…in other words they go crazy once they get let out of jail much to the bemusement of their State educated mates, who have seen it all before long ago and are much more cautious….
Hi mickeysavage.
Re Alwyn’s complaint… reply doesn’t seem to be working for me. Can’t search commenters comments either. What with all this spying caper that’s occurring, you have to wonder if someone out there doesn’t like us. 🙁
Hi Anne
It is working fine for me but there are a few issues obviously …
What browser are you using?
Remember that the while the parents get subsidized for their kids private school education those same parents are still paying the taxes to go towards everyone elses public school education
So in effect its cheaper for NZ and gives more resources to everyone else if more kids go private
But when private schools ALSO receive substantial funding from the state, your argument disappears up it’s own fundament.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/3309627/Private-schools-fail-to-keep-lid-on-fees
Most parents are paying more for private schools this year despite a $35 million government funding boost to make them more affordable.- why are we spending public money to make private schools more affordable ?
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/private-schools-could-receive-taxpayer-funding-increase-5411270
Using this logic perhaps private Heath care should be treated in a similar manner ???
Also remember Wanganui Collegiate are now receiving subsidies from Government under some form of the Integrated Schools System. I personally think it is time that Integrated Schools was scrapped. In the most it seems a large subsidy to the Catholic Church and a few other denominational schools. Put all the money into state schools and let private schools stand on their own feet
+1
The state isn’t there to prop up private businesses.
This government is!
Well, true but it’s still up to us to disabuse them of the notion.
Even if government money is being spent on private schools, if they’re spending $$$$$ for each public school space, and $$ in subsidies for each private school space, that’s still a saving.
How does that work. If there were no private schools receiving subsidies then the money paid to those schools could go to the already existing state schools.
Why pay a subsidy to someone to duplicate the already existing state structure
Er, you can’t just magically fit more children into the existing state schools without increasing funding.
If it costs $$$$$ to educate a child in the state system, and the state pays $$ in the private system, if all of the private schools shut down the government would need to find $$$ extra for each of those children that will now need to go the state schools.
So you are then happy for private medical insurance to have some form of state subsidy? As from my perspective private medical, pension and schooling are the same, and I find it difficult for one to be state supported while the others are not, or am I missing something?
Love to ask Polly’s why this is so and for them to find reason to justify this.
The private medical industry already does have a state subsidy, in the form of them only taking on the easy/profitable surgeries and therapies. All emergency work is done by the public system.
Note that I’m not justifying or saying that the current system is good. Just that it *is* saving the taxpayer’s money compared to what we would be paying if the private schools didn’t exist at all.
Also mess ups caused from within the private system always end up back in the public system to be patched up.
Same with any cosmetic surgery from Thailand. Cheap price for the punter, but when it gets infected back here, the NZ tax payer takes the hit.
I understand your points that have been made, yet if we integrated these private school students would the marginal cost be that great ? Would schools such as kings, st Kent’s etc just close down., if there was no govt assistance many of these and similar schools would still continue to exist.
There is from my observation plenty of new clients to these schools being sourced from the burbs, so the perception is that over the last 10+ years that private is far superior to state! which is supported by govt policy of making these schools more affordable.
I think you’ll find that the state schools could easily take in the all the pupils in private schools and require very little extra funding to do so.
[citation needed]
You did note the existence of the I think didn’t you?
There’s a few thousand state schools with hundreds of thousands of pupils. There’s a few private schools with a few thousand pupils. Those private school pupils come from across the country. If we then distributed them across the public school system it probably wouldn’t raise pupil numbers beyond what each public school could handle as is. A little more funding would help of course and perhaps some more class rooms.
Now, I call again for you to back up your assertion.
[citation needed]
Factor in many of the priviledged hide their family incomes behind trust accounts, etc, and so qualify for student allowances at uni. My lads ended up with $60,000 loans!
Please explain to me how this works?
I’m using firefox mickysavage and according to naturesong it’s one of those affected. But I’m a pc dummy – don’t know what to do about it. Not even sure what a cookie is…
Btw Redlogix (might as well reply here since my TS settings are way to hell..), my father said exactly the same as your father did re-Muldoon – down to the same words. He also had a few dealings with him many,many years ago.
I think its more cost effective but if you have some figures that show otherwise I’d be interested in seeing them
Generally the schools ‘operating budget’ , ie salaries and annual overheads is paid for from the state. In some senses that’s actually quite fair, every parent pays taxes and every parent regardless of whether their children are in the public or private sector get a benefit from this. The idea that private schooling parents somehow ‘pay twice’ for their children’s education is quite wrong.
The main fiscal difference between public and state sector schooling is where the capital budget comes from, ie land, buildings and facilities.
In the public sector the capital budget is a small fraction of the operating budget, probably around 10% if the following numbers are a guide:
http://www.treasury.govt.nz/budget/2012/estimates/est12educ.pdf
How the private sector spends it’s income is of course far more opaque. What we can assume is that they exercise more choice around using its substantial fee income …on more staff, fancier buildings and facilities, advertising and the like. And that by itself is not a bad thing. Unlike some here on the left I’ve no real problem with various non-state actors in the education system. The Catholic, Steiner and various other alternatives have a legitimate place alongside a healthy public system.
What I do object to is seeing a private sector, targeting the very wealthy, and growing at the expense of the public system, as trend that has been long established in say England, and has rapidly evolved in Australia over the last few decades.
That is nothing more than pure snobbery and elitism. It entrenches social privilege and economic inequality. It is the antithesis of sound education and over generations it enforces the haves and the have-nots. The left soundly rejects it.
Is david hay related to sir keith hay and his son david hay.
I was wondering that too. I met David Hay campaigning in Epsom last election, and he seemed reasonable enough, and had useful things to say in the election debates (which were extremely divisive).
LPrent,
Was it a javascript issue?
About No. 5 – mining. Just some info on the mining coy De Grey that has right to look at Puhipuhi
minerals.
De Grey Mining Limited is a West Australian based public company exploring for high-grade epithermal gold-silver on 4,675 square kilometres in Santa Cruz and Rio Negro Provinces, Argentina.
In Santa Cruz, the Sierra Morena and Pachi Projects are drill ready and the company will test defined targets early in the 2012-2013 field season.
In November 2012, De Grey Mining signed an agreement with Waihi Gold Company Ltd to acquire 100% of the Puhipuhi Project located on the North Island of New Zealand.
Saw him on tv last night jayman. I wonder because the older david hay was a bit of an idiot…
great piece by steve braunias today.
This is sir keiths son
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=383859
Judging by his latest media release (see Scoop feed at right of screen) he has now lost the plot. Sad.
http://openparachute.wordpress.com/2013/10/01/september-13-nz-blogs-sitemeter-ranking/
– and while I reckon most of you are cheering about whats happening to Cameron Slater at the moment I think the implications are worth considering for everyone, left or right
I have no idea what’s happening to that oik, nor do I care.
Left wing bloggers in general already know they shouldn’t get down in the sewer and make stuff up. Blubber Boy needs to learn.
Oh this is UGLY no matter what browser Ii use FF, Opera, or even Ugg Internet Exploder. The whole site is indented left, with what looks like screwed up carriage returns.
It is fine for me David. Do you want to clear your cache and cookies and try again?
MickyS – I couldn’t do a reply this time either. Managed it earlier in the day though.
To Grey Warbler @ 19 – thanks for the De Grey Mining info. We’ve picked up most of that, but didn’t realise they were drill ready on their Argentina sites. Our govt has allowed them to delay their actual drilling here (Puhipuhi) until April 2014. So far this is the third extension of time they’ve been granted. We’re not sure if they’ve run out of cash for the job, or if the Argentina work is holding them up.
I am very happy I can still put a post up despite what the site looks like. And I wonder about lprent trying to work his way through the various paradigms and puzzles of what to do for the best. Its a dynamic world out there. So we’re thinking about you Lynn. Have fun. (Ironic!)
Great article in the Sydney Morning Herald.
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/inequality-at-the-heart-of-rejection-of-gonski-program-20131130-2yi54.html
Pencil in the election date:
NZ (Key) has been invited to the G20 in Brisbane, 15-16 November 2014.
That’s the ‘top table’ summit, with Obama and co. Pictures of the PM in the Queensland sunshine, chatting with world leaders, handshakes and smiles for the telly.
So the election will be held 1-2 weeks after.
Would he really want to be out of the country during the election campaign?
No he would not, he would not take a couple of days out of the campaign at that stage, let alone a week
It’s not a week, it’s a couple of days and it’s from the campaigning playbook. Image is all, see Reagan (D-day 1984)), Thatcher (Moscow 1987), etc.
You think Key wants to stay home and discuss issues?
Clark or Cunliffe wouldn’t go, but Key would (will).
Those events had considerably more import than a fucking G20 meeting that we don’t have any real business attending.
Key couldn’t get any concessions from Australia to help NZ citizens. But he did get ball tickets for the G20 from Abbott. Swell.
gobsmacked
I think you could be right. Key could advance himself in this foreign forum, and leave his lieutenants to keep the ball in the air here. One has to look at the bigger picture, the most advantageous use of opportunity cost time etc for the key to understanding his NZ campaign.
I pray this TS format improves…
If by “TS” you mean The Standard? I, along with many others (but apparently not everyone) had massive Cloudflare problems yesterday. For me it got resolved around 9:00 or so, in that I could (sporadically) access the site, but the display was all broken; lots of plain text, blue links on a white background. Had a little bit of that this morning, but it’s cleared up now.
So if you’re seeing that, I suspect it may resolve itself for you in due course.
Be nice if we got some response from Lynn as to what went wrong.
reply not working..
phillip ure..
even difficult to ‘reply’ appropriately Lanth.
THANK YOU LANTH. (been talking to others through fb; yes, that is how TS is for moi at present)
LA-Innnnnnnn, Lynn, Are you there? 🙂
and, yes, cleared cache and cookies etc on both browsers; Woe is me…
This browser (IE) pops out the ‘debugging’ box all the time, identifying errors.
Everything seems to be working fine in Chrome
At the moment the problem is with Kiwiblog.
Well the site’s loading properly again, thank god, but now I can’t reply to comments, boo.
The Standard currently looks like this for me in Chrome, anyone else experiencing this or is it just me… http://i.imgur.com/kvatW0Y.png
Had that a few times over the last day or so. That, the comment errors and the fact that the site was going really slow finally had me stop looking/posting yesterday. Been good for me today though.
All good for me today too.
Yes the site looks like that for me with Firefox on Ubuntu. So I guess the site is at fault.
Also this reply went in the wrong place.
Mike Williams just repeated a very cute quote on Col Craig (sounds more manly than Colin). It is the one mentioned below in bold in Bryce Edwards 27/11 extensive piece on him and the possibility of a deal over Poorer Benefit’s electorate seat. The Standard Coat-tail comment is also referred to –
Bryce Edwards: Political roundup: Winning at the 2014 general election.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11163647
The latest must-read feature about Colin Craig and his policies is Andrea Vance’s Conservative Party: Crazy or credible?. This comprehensive piece also includes a list of 10 of the Conservatives’ ‘more interesting policy platforms’ compiled by Steve Kilgallon. Complimenting this is Vance’s own opinion piece, Craig politics – nice and nutty, which features the memorable line: ‘So far, all the signals point to him being nuttier than squirrel poo’.
Transmission Gully is underway and yet this is what the NZ Herlad has to say about PPPs It is very damming and a bit amazing for a mainstream media outlet to come right out and say it.
Cargo-cult mystique of funding through private sector deals blurs burden of risk for public.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11…
PPPs are like renting the same car every day for 25 years , you get to pay a lot of money (many times the actual cost of a car) and at then end of it you get to keep the 25 year old bomb of a car, which is of course clapped out. Brilliant.