Prejudice against folks who get high to improve their mental health remains in the media. Media don't reflect grass-roots reality!
A couple years after California legalised cannabis for adult use in 2016, Danielle Simone Brand decided to try it. A journalist in the US Pacific Northwest, Brand, now 42, found cannabis left her feeling “better and more embodied, happier in my body and mind”. Looking at legal cannabis as a wellness tool, she quickly liked how using the substance herself bettered her ability to parent her two children, now 8 and 11.
“Cannabis helps me in certain transitional moments,” she says. “I can more easily set aside my workday to-do list, along with whatever challenges and frustrations I've experienced that day, and get into the kind of headspace where I can patiently help with homework or make dinner with my daughter.”
Brand, the author of Weed Mom: The Canna-Curious Woman's Guide to Healthier Relaxation, Happier Parenting, and Chilling TF Out, says cannabis helped her slow down enough to linger with her kids at bedtime. Because she was so often in a hurry to get them to bed at a reasonable hour – and buy some rest for herself – Brand says she was missing out on time when her kids were keen to connect. That meant she failed to hear important details about what they were learning, how they felt about school and their relationships with friends.
The first time researcher Heather McIlvaine-Newsad became aware of cannamoms was around 2018, due to the emergence of Facebook groups devoted to the new social movement. An anthropology professor and co-founder of Western Illinois University’s interdisciplinary minor in cannabis and culture, McIlvaine-Newsad noted some of the Facebook discussion groups had been running for several years. Today, she says there are more than two dozen such groups on Facebook, boasting several thousands of members.
53-year-old Barinder Rasode also felt her stress ratchet up during the pandemic. With three children, aged 28, 25 and 17, the Vancouver, British Columbia-based mother struggled to parent amid Covid-19, especially while trying to explain to her youngest child what was going on. “You’re dealing with a teenager whose world has got turned upside down, and you’re confined in a small space, all together, for more hours than anybody should,” says Rasode, a former municipal politician turned CEO of medical-cannabis business-incubator GrowTech Labs.
Many cannamoms, including Rasode, Thomas and Brand, all ‘microdose’ cannabis – using the plant or its extracts in small doses.
That's the key point for therapeutic usage. The homeopathic analogy applies. Just use enough to shift your state of mind. No more is necessary.
Why? The psyche is a complex system. Gestalt shifts result from tiny triggers. Neuroscience has documented the various ways different parts of the brain contribute their function to consciousness, and also has moved on to document how feelings produced throughout the body likewise affect our outlook, behaviour, and decision-making. Such practical holism informs our grasp of health nowadays.
Different strokes for different folks. Its a sorry description of those that have control that they should mandate that we only have access to the two most lethal.
A family member has the unerring ability to 'friend' the non functioning potheads. Some are truly sorry specimens particularly when the overuse is coupled with an innate lack of intelligence and the cannabis use started in the early teens. Some of them are not able to hold down a steady job and never will. I find it very sad.
I've been to the wards (note the plural) of non functioning people with fetal alcohol syndrome, truly disturbing individuals who never had a chance, never even had the choice, some not able to survive without assistance. I found that incredibly sad. No choice comes without repercussions. But that the government should dictate that alcohol is the only choice for an activity that seems to be intrinsic to mankind is truly heinous.
Its not about good and bad or protecting a population, if it was we would see regulation of sugar, its simply bad law and a rotten government unwilling to do the right thing.
Those days we got it via contacts as “Buddha Sticks” from off the ships at Port Taranaki. It was wrapped around matchstick-thin sticks of bamboo & came from SE Asia.
I rolled a cigar-sized doobie out of four cigarette papers for my mates at a party in Waitara. Got stoned as frack & it freaked me out – although it made the contemporary music we were playing on the stereo about 3 times as interesting – I found I could hone in on drums, bass, guitars, keyboards, vocals, BVs & hear them with pristine clarity like never before.
I was so stoned that when I stepped off my mate’s doorstep to leave for home (about a four inch height) it was like I was experiencing slow motion & the step seemed about a foot high. Not hallucinating as such, just felt very much in an altered state of consciousness. Thank goodness another, rather straight, mate who didn’t partake drove us home to New Plymouth.
When I got home at about 2 am I was freaking out that I might have damaged my brain. I was much too stoned to even talk to my older brother who saw my red eyes, guessed what was happening, & told me to go to bed before my parents saw me.
Woke up the next morning & I was fine. No after effects at all. Man, this is way better than booze, I concluded.
It didn’t become a regular feature of my life until my mid-20s. I never got it from gangs. I always seemed to be able to find non-gang sources (at work or when out socially) who just quietly grew their own & sometimes sold oz bags on the side. I also grew my own (in amongst carefully selected tall marigolds) for about 10 years.
It was never available at my school in my schooldays, though I believe it IS commonly available there nowdays.
I’m glad I never got onto it when at school. I had enuf trouble concentrating when bored as it was. If I’d being doing dope in my schooldays I’d have had no idea what we’d just been taught after every class.
You may have heard NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard warning the public that everybody should expect to get infected by the Omicron variant.
That’s pretty gloomy, but is he wrong?
I asked Hunter, Plank and Martiniuk about this.
“Basically he is correct,” Hunter replied. “Nothing in medicine is 100 per cent, but the large majority of people will get Omicron.”
Martiniuk said she did not know. “But wouldn’t you rather delay getting it until a few years from now? Wouldn’t you rather get it when there are better treatments and better vaccines?”
Plank certainly doesn’t agree with Hazzard’s messaging. He sees it as defeatist, but he acknowledges the minister probably has a point. The sheer speed at which the virus spreads, and the fact it evades vaccination, means that once it starts spreading it’s going to infect a lot of people – although maybe not everyone.
“But that doesn't mean you don’t do anything to try and slow it down or stop it,” Plank says, “And there are still vulnerable groups, and we really need to keep those groups in mind.”
Nothing wrong with slowing it down, applying the precautionary principle. However the unity stance is never going to work – particularly if directed against Gaia.
Problem with academics is lack of Gaian consciousness. Ivory-tower syndrome rules their thinking. Plank always seems sensible & I haven't disagreed with any of his views, but he's bound by his indoctrination like all the others. To grasp the evolutionary context, one must think outside the academic square.
There could already be people in the community with it that don't realise they have it. Remember many people don't know they have it until the test result comes back.
I already commented on that article on another thread, so won't repeat myself.
Instead, and in light of the official narrative crumbling (and not a moment too soon), I'll post these wee lines from a piece of Guardian reporting today –
The government said a further 154 people had died in England within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19.
Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have now been 174,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
Bit of a shift from the reporting of these past few years that would have read along the lines of – "another 154 Covid deaths" and "there have been a total of 174 000 Covid deaths"
While I welcome the change, I'd really quite like the bastards behind the ubiquitous "project fear" reporting of these past few years to be dragged into public view and dealt with appropriately.
We can take comfort in recent UK trends (30th Dec. 332 deaths, 31st Dec. 203 deaths, 1st Jan. 154 deaths – a year ago it was 592 deaths per day [7-day moving average] and rising), and in the roll-out of boosters and new treatments for COVID infections.
Should be a doddle for all but the seriously ill and/or dying from now on – 'cry freedums' trumps "project fear". However, we may not be out of the dense woods just yet – let's touch base in 3 – 4 weeks to re-examine the pandemic success story that is the UK. And keep an eye out for new variants of concern, why not.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA council chairman, has said it is “wholly erroneous to talk about the risk of the NHS becoming overwhelmed”, adding that the new year began with the NHS “already overwhelmed, in a parlous state, and with patient care suffering”.
He described staff as “exhausted”, and added: “A key priority for the government this year must be to properly invest in doctors’ wellbeing, recognising that the NHS cannot afford to lose any more of its workforce without dangerously jeopardising patient care.”
Well nothing will change until the people of the world somehow unite and create a World without money system. We are still in a primitive stage of evolution so a World without money system could be a long time in the waiting.
Has Biden succeeded in taxing the shit out of the wealthy, as he intended?
The only other way to control greed is by making it morally reprehensible to society, but even Christianity & Islam – which both try to do that – have spectacularly failed in that regard.
I dunno how practical a world without money is. Money has been around for so long because it’s just so practical.
But we could sure do with a major reform of the international currency markets that are still far too much controlled by the US & allow the US to strangle economies of countries they don’t like or whose leaders or policies are inconvenient to their government or the major corporations who fund their politicians.
If you really want to have a world without money you are going to have to come up with a simple way to trade your work for others..
If you, a maker of shoes, but who likes strawberries, wants to find a way of exchanging your shoes for someone else's strawberries how are you going to do it without having the intermediary of money? How do you find a seller of strawberries? What do you do if they don't want a new pair of shoes? What do you do if you really want some strawberries next month and not today? What if you only want a small amount of strawberries in comparison with a large pair of shoes?
etc, etc, etc. Money, in some form or other is perhaps the greatest invention of, and the most useful thing ever created by, the Human Race.
The experience of Hungary, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkey – to name just the best-known recent cases – show that a transition from some kind of power-sharing democracy to despotism can happen rapidly, in not much longer than a decade.
That was certainly the case in the 20th Century & nothing has changed. In fact it can happen even more quickly these days, imo. Look how many people in the US bought into the “Trump’s the solution” madness from the “get-go”!
Democracy loses credibility when it fails to deliver. Find a National or Labour voter & target the bugger. See if you can wake him up. From your source:
Despotisms in practice strive to learn the arts of nimble governance. They do more than repeat the mantra of “popular sovereignty”: their leaders harness public opinion polling agencies, think tanks, election campaigns, happiness forums, policy feedback groups, online hearings and other early warning detectors.
The rulers of the new despotisms are deception and seduction perfectionists. They do all they can to camouflage the violence they wield against those who refuse to conform.
Using a combination of slick means, including calibrated coercion masked by balaclavas, they manage to win the loyalty of sections of the middle classes, skilled and unskilled workers, and the poor. Despotisms are hard governments in soft velvet form. They work tirelessly to lure their subjects into subjection. Voluntary servitude is their thing.
Voluntary servitude is the ethos of your typical Nat/Lab voter. They are literally unable to think of what else to do with their lives.
So my point is our mainstreamer political duopoly is already operating to simulate democracy just like the despots. They just use a bit more of that velvet…
It's worth keeping in mind that whenever we tear down the achievements of liberal democracy – that you're also serving an despot's purpose knowingly or not.
A decent start to the test, a bit disappointing losing Blundell at the end but its still 258 runs in the bank with 5 wickets in hand
Minimum target from here would be at least 350 and then we'll see what the bowlers can do on this pitch.
A good start to Youngs career as opener but its a shame we can't seem to produce another opening partner for Latham (at least it means we can put him in the team)
Blundell hasn't been going too well of late but he deserves more of an extended run in the role (maybe swop with Ravindra in the batting order?) however hes not just replacing an all time NZ great, hes replacing one of the best wicketkeeper/batters of all time
Having said that Cleaver, Fletcher and Seifert are all doing well in FC cricket so a decent score in the 2nd innings would do him a world of good.
So a team, in the near future, of:
Latham
Young
Williamson
Conway
Nicholls
Ravindra
Blundell
Jamieson
Southee
Wagner
Boult
Isn't too shabby, maybe would like to see more of Patel and Jamieson maybe a position too high but still pretty good.
Excellent choices for the Black Caps PR. I will miss Taylor.
on another recreational note, West Side Story 2021 is definitely worth seeing. I am not going to make any judgements about which version is better. I love this musical and both movies are wonderful. One of the differences though is that I found the gangs quite scary, especially the Jets. There was a look of deprivation about them and the violence felt more authentic to who the characters were (rather than unfortunate accidents in the 1960’s version).
I couldn’t help but think of the gangs in NZ and how we hear about these scenarios in the news.
Whats good about this team is that we also have Mitchell in the reserves and hes shown to be more than able to make the step up to top order international batting.
We've got good pace bowling reserves, plenty of wicket keeping/batters floating about. If we could just sort out the spinning options we'd be a threat in all conditions.
Excellent choices for the Black Caps PR. I will miss Taylor.
on another recreational note, West Side Story 2021 is definitely worth seeing. I am not going to make any judgements about which version is better. I love this musical and both movies are wonderful. One of the differences though is that I found the gangs quite scary in the 2021 version, especially the Jets. There was a look of deprivation about them and the violence felt more authentic to who the characters were (rather than unfortunate accidents in the 1960’s version).
I couldn’t help but think of the gangs in NZ and how we hear about these scenarios in the news.
The "poster child" politicians for liberalism just can't help themselves. From Jacinda's "be kind" before openly guffawing at creating a divided NZ, to this corker from her "poster child" predecessor.
I think he was a black slave in a former life. He’s now a white 'waste of space' liberal who's conflicted. He now realises ''black faces don't matter.''
don't know who BLN are, but in this tweet, they are clearly misrepresenting what Trudeau is saying.
They claim that he said unvaccinated people are them unscientific, misogynists and racists, and that he was attacking unvaccinated people.
Whereas what he actually said is two things:
there are vaccine hesitant people, and they will keep trying to convince them
there are another group of people who are "ferociously against vaccination", and who tend to be anti-science, racist, misongynist. They are small group.
Here's a transcript,
Why BLN would want to conflate vax hesitant people with hard core anti-vaxxers connected to Qanon etc I don't know. Seems weird to me.
I don't believe Bull was being careless at all, quite the opposite in fact.
His "divided NZ" is just more billshit, some love to play the persecution up for whatever reasons."No papers" is another one used the other day . Ffs what's this country coming to when one has to travel 50 km , pass 6 supermarkets, 8 dairies, 3 bakeries just to find a bakery with a cafe attached to it in order to satisfy a need to feel persecuted!
Anyway. You want to talk to the 9 year olds who have been told they can't do any extracurricular activities next year unless they're injected and then come back and tell me how NZ isn't divided?
You want to talk about the kids whose heads are all fucked up because "unless injected" they don't get to hang out with their school pals? (Maybe you don't recall what a huge deal peer pressure and social acceptance was as a pre-teen kid)
Or maybe just tell me how the clip Rosemary put up doesn't mean that NZ's been deliberately divided?
20 odd km is the distance on public transport btw (not 50km) – to the bakery I've been buying my bread from these past two years or more because it's decent bread they bake.
You deliberately overlooking Trudeau's hypocrisy? (Blumenthal’s tweet’s arguably really quite pertinent and funny)
The guy who runs around in black face saying racists are not going to tolerated…
Anyway, hypocrisy aside, what do you think he means when he says those who resist the injections and who he considers to be anti-science and/or racist and/or misogynists may well not be tolerated?
You can the circularity of his argument, whereby anyone who refuses to submit to an injection in spite of government persuasion becomes almost by definition a person harbouring personal traits or beliefs that he reckons ought not to be tolerated, yes?
So what would the next step in this "othering" be? Open season on the deplorable un-injected?
Looks like the interview was from September, I'll hazard a guess that there is broader context, including what he said next.
BLN's website page on the piece is obviously manipulative and not journalism. There's no date or context for the video, and their headlines and brief content smack of sensationalism and trumpism (note they accuse Trudeau of being divisive while they are doing exactly that with their approach). This is the kind of shit I would expect to be passed around on FB without any attempt at fact checking.
BLN – "Shining a light on the science and data of Covid-19. Investigate and arrive at your own conclusions." BLN is also active on Telegram – the extremists' platform of choice.
The tweet was compiled by Max Blumenthal ffs. What earthly difference does it make what platform or outlet was carrying the original clip that he used in making his observation?
And….are you insinuating that "telegram" – 'the extremists' platform of choice' (in your words) is perhaps where misogynists, racists and anti-science types gather?
Perhaps you think, essentially in parallel with Trudeau, that Telegram, or anyone who uses Telegram is another indication (alongside people refusing injections?) of who ought not be tolerated?
Trudeau says, "But also, there are people who are ferociously against vaccination…" and it's those he lambasts, not the "vaccine hesitant” or the broader "unvaccinated".
The comment (above) "Prime Minister @Justin Trudeau launches into an unfounded and divisive tirade on unvaccinated people … " is a crock.
I call them 'malignant anti vaxxers' and they are a different breed from many who are hesitant or the broader unvaccinated. These are the ones who send out false letters to people about booster shots using MOH letterhead, damage vaccine centres, bully those turning up at centres so that the centres have to close.
They are the ones who featured in David Farrier's Loopy article
Looks like omicron is becoming likely to be viewed as similar to the flu.
A Belgian scientific research station in Antarctica is dealing with an outbreak of Covid-19, despite workers being fully vaccinated and based in one of the world's remotest regions. Since 14 December, at least 16 of the 25 workers at the Princess Elisabeth Polar Station have caught the virus. Officials say cases remain mild so far.
Joseph Cheek, a project manager for the International Polar Foundation, told the BBC: "All residents of the station were offered the opportunity to leave on a scheduled flight on 12 January. However, they all expressed their wish to stay and continue their work."
Govts have trained people to see a 64% pandemic infection rate as a calamity. Having this team of scientists treat it as no problem could cause a wave of cognitive dissonance to spread around the world with this news…
So we've gone from it being official govt figures, to a youtuber not even bothering linking to a news article I can't read.
[RL: Bill provided a time reference: At about 10 minutes in, the NHS figures are presented. I tested all the links and encountered no problem or paywalls. Moderation has been working to encourage cites and your initial sneering response, lacking any argument or detail, was not needed. Personally I do not do Twitter and you seem to have a thing against YT, but both are frequently used and that isn’t going to change.]
"About 10 minutes in", NHS figures for admissions are presented, but then factored down with the "20%" figure from the telegraph (a link only visible as far as I can see at the bottom of the paper in the video, and had to be hand-transposed into the browser to find I wasn't allowed to read the article).
There appears to be a fundamental citation gap in that argument, let alone from anything based on official figures for the 20% claim.
[RL: Your carping about paywalls is easily addressed in a few seconds work with a search engine. I’m not going to do that for you. In the meantime you have failed to acknowledge my original moderation warning and are now heading into ‘wasting my time’ territory.]
Didn't realise it was a warning, and still can't find the telegraph source from the video in the links you reckoned worked fine. But now I know, so I'll leave it.
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Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
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. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
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. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
We might be in Invercargill but all anyone can talk about is Gore. Specifically, Salford Street. That’s where three-year-old Lachlan Jones lived, south of the centre of town, between the A&P Showgrounds and the Mataura River. Roughly 1.2 km away from the single level home he lived in with his ...
MONDAY I lined up the latest round of civil servants from city hall against the wall, and signalled for the firing squad to drop their rifles. I stepped up onto a wooden crate to look at the office workers in the eye. But that didn’t feel right, so I found ...
Keen hiker and second-year MSc student Liam Hewson wears two hats when he’s in the great outdoors. “The scientist in me appreciates nature and goes, ‘Oh, there’s that thing and there’s another thing,’ but then the tramper and the outdoorsy person in me thinks, ‘Cool bush.’” Born and bred in ...
After a long and illustrious career as a goal kicker, Dan Carter’s favourite way to unwind is… kicking goals. Why can’t he get enough of it? And what it’s like to watch him do it for an hour straight? A semicircle of people wielding cameras and phones has formed in ...
Dame Susan Devoy takes us through her life in television, including late night ER debriefs, her proudest CTI moment and the show she watches in secret. Quite aside from her four world champion squash titles, Dame Susan Devoy will likely go down in history as one of the best Celebrity ...
Hera Lindsay Bird reveals the best places in Ōtepoti to score more for your apocalypse-prep book hoard.Sometimes I get the feeling I’ve been killed in a car crash, and this second half of my life is just the brain unspooling itself, like one of those episodes of a hospital ...
ThreeNow’s new murder mystery series takes us on a dark, damp journey into the Australian wilderness.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. High Country is ThreeNow’s new Australian eight-part crime drama, set in a remote part of the Victorian highlands. It tells ...
Introducing a new way to read The Spinoff every weekend. After nearly 10 years of being an online magazine, we’re finally embracing the weekend liftout. Despite our best efforts to convince you otherwise, writers and editors at The Spinoff don’t work weekend. It is through the sheer power of technology ...
Tip one: let yourself be nurtured by this big old man. Tip two: don’t ask him to adopt you. So, you’ve arrived at your first session with a new therapist. He tells you to make yourself comfortable and you opt for the tweed armchair, hoping it makes you look like ...
I didn’t know books could open you back up; that there were books that stayed with you, where reading was like a chemical event. I knew nothing.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.Not too long ago, I was listening to the American ...
Former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen has already started training for the Enhanced games, though says he won’t start taking performance enhancing substances until about nine months out from the competition. The Australian world champion was the first athlete to be announced by Enhanced, but he says the organisation has had ...
Everyone thinks he’s dead. Every day they expect his body to be washed up along the coast. Most likely up Karitane way, the way the tide’s running. But nobody’ll be too surprised if his body’s never found. Even in death he wouldn’t have wished for such attention. He would have ...
Council members voted 21 to 4 in favour of Ahluwalia returning to the Laucala campus following a much-awaited meeting in Vanuatu this week. It comes as USP and its two unions — the Association of the University of the South Pacific Staff (AUSPS) and the Administration and Support Staff Union ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicola Henry, Professor & Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT University Shutterstock Following an emergency meeting of the National Cabinet this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a raft of measures to tackle the problem ...
Analysis - A poll showing the opposition is more popular than the government raises questions, politicians go through their 'trial by pay rise' and a Green MP loses her cool in the debating chamber. ...
The entire stretch of Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast will be subject to a joint customary marine title for two hapū, and extending up to four miles out to sea. A High Court judge has found the two groups, who during the case settled a dispute over boundaries for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Hall, Lecturer, Media & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University A longstanding feud between TikTok and Universal Music Group seems to have finally reached an end, with both parties signing a deal that will see Universal-backed music returned to the social media ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Siobhan O’Dean, Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney After several highly publicised alleged murders of women in Australia, the Albanese government this week pledged more than A$925 million over five years ...
Political parties have now fully disclosed the donations they received last year - with National getting more than double the cash of any other party. ...
A Pacific regionalism expert has called out New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS military pact. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard de Grijs, Professor of Astrophysics, Macquarie University Bruno Scramgnon/Pexels All systems are “go” for tonight’s launch of China’s next step in a carefully planned lunar exploration program. Placed on top of a powerful Long March 5 rocket, the Chang’e 6 ...
National returned a massive donation the day after a Newsroom story linked the donors to a property being investigated for operating unlawfully as a migrant workers’ hostel. The party’s 2023 donation filings, released on Friday, show it returned a $200,000 donation from Buen Holdings on August 23. That was the ...
Pacific Media Watch New Zealand has slumped to an unprecedented 19th place in the annual Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index survey released today on World Press Freedom Day — May 3. This was a drop of six places from 13th last year when it slipped out of its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, Political Historian and Administrator Officer, Australian Historical Association, Australian National University Australia has had its fair share of public record-keeping controversies in recent years. Some have been mere farce, as in the case of two formerly government-owned filing cabinets (containing ...
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), a United Nations-affiliated organization dedicated to fostering peace through civilian-led initiatives, has issued a statement in response to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. ...
A poem by Tessa Keenan, from AUP New Poets 10. Mātou These days we are a photograph; one of a farm strewn with cows that used to be bright harakeke or swamp. The kids point at it and say the sun sits behind a smudge (left by someone at Christmas); ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Faber & Faber, $25)The masterful Irish writer ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. Key facts Marriages and civil unions In ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lennon Y.C. Chang, Associate Professor of Cyber Risk and Policy, Deakin University Taiwan stands out as a beacon of democracy, innovation and resilience in an increasingly autocratic region. But this is under growing threat. In recent years, China has used a variety ...
In this excerpt from her new memoir, Dame Susan Devoy remembers her turn as star contestant on the 2022 season of Celebrity Treasure Island. The most anxious time of every day was pre-elimination, when you knew this could be your final day on the show. I felt such contradictory emotions, ...
A week that began in triumph ended in an all-too-familiar disaster for the Green Party. Duncan Greive asks if there’s something in the mission that breaks its best and brightest. A long, strange week for the Green party began with a fantastic poll result. On one level this is hardly ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Vanuatu’s former prime minister and opposition MP Ishmael Kalsakau has stepped down — just two days after he confirmed he was the rightful opposition leader. Kalsakau, MP for Port Vila, confirmed to ABC’s Pacific Beat, and the Vanuatu Daily Post on Thursday that he ...
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Prejudice against folks who get high to improve their mental health remains in the media. Media don't reflect grass-roots reality!
That's the key point for therapeutic usage. The homeopathic analogy applies. Just use enough to shift your state of mind. No more is necessary.
Why? The psyche is a complex system. Gestalt shifts result from tiny triggers. Neuroscience has documented the various ways different parts of the brain contribute their function to consciousness, and also has moved on to document how feelings produced throughout the body likewise affect our outlook, behaviour, and decision-making. Such practical holism informs our grasp of health nowadays.
Wondering if these cannamoms ,start off….'cannakids'….I hope not,although it is hard to imagine…they won't.
I hope so. They'd be likely to become the ones that rescue humanity from mainstreamer-driven cultural toxic sludge.
I've seen it affect people in different ways…functioning potheads,psychotics and schizophrenia….
Me too, in 1972. It became obvious that some users just don't do moderation. The concept of self-discipline is too alien..
Different strokes for different folks. Its a sorry description of those that have control that they should mandate that we only have access to the two most lethal.
A family member has the unerring ability to 'friend' the non functioning potheads. Some are truly sorry specimens particularly when the overuse is coupled with an innate lack of intelligence and the cannabis use started in the early teens. Some of them are not able to hold down a steady job and never will. I find it very sad.
I've been to the wards (note the plural) of non functioning people with fetal alcohol syndrome, truly disturbing individuals who never had a chance, never even had the choice, some not able to survive without assistance. I found that incredibly sad. No choice comes without repercussions. But that the government should dictate that alcohol is the only choice for an activity that seems to be intrinsic to mankind is truly heinous.
Its not about good and bad or protecting a population, if it was we would see regulation of sugar, its simply bad law and a rotten government unwilling to do the right thing.
I was 16 when I first tried it in 1973.
Those days we got it via contacts as “Buddha Sticks” from off the ships at Port Taranaki. It was wrapped around matchstick-thin sticks of bamboo & came from SE Asia.
I rolled a cigar-sized doobie out of four cigarette papers for my mates at a party in Waitara. Got stoned as frack & it freaked me out – although it made the contemporary music we were playing on the stereo about 3 times as interesting – I found I could hone in on drums, bass, guitars, keyboards, vocals, BVs & hear them with pristine clarity like never before.
I was so stoned that when I stepped off my mate’s doorstep to leave for home (about a four inch height) it was like I was experiencing slow motion & the step seemed about a foot high. Not hallucinating as such, just felt very much in an altered state of consciousness. Thank goodness another, rather straight, mate who didn’t partake drove us home to New Plymouth.
When I got home at about 2 am I was freaking out that I might have damaged my brain. I was much too stoned to even talk to my older brother who saw my red eyes, guessed what was happening, & told me to go to bed before my parents saw me.
Woke up the next morning & I was fine. No after effects at all. Man, this is way better than booze, I concluded.
It didn’t become a regular feature of my life until my mid-20s. I never got it from gangs. I always seemed to be able to find non-gang sources (at work or when out socially) who just quietly grew their own & sometimes sold oz bags on the side. I also grew my own (in amongst carefully selected tall marigolds) for about 10 years.
It was never available at my school in my schooldays, though I believe it IS commonly available there nowdays.
I’m glad I never got onto it when at school. I had enuf trouble concentrating when bored as it was. If I’d being doing dope in my schooldays I’d have had no idea what we’d just been taught after every class.
https://imgur.com/u8Fo1wf
Should Team Kiwi keep trying to slow it down, or just let 'er rip? I'd prefer to err on the side of caution, but ‘we’ may not have much choice.
Unite against
COVID-19
https://covid19.govt.nz
Nothing wrong with slowing it down, applying the precautionary principle. However the unity stance is never going to work – particularly if directed against Gaia.
Problem with academics is lack of Gaian consciousness. Ivory-tower syndrome rules their thinking. Plank always seems sensible & I haven't disagreed with any of his views, but he's bound by his indoctrination like all the others. To grasp the evolutionary context, one must think outside the academic square.
Your humble giants must be quite lumbered by Frank farsightedness
There could already be people in the community with it that don't realise they have it. Remember many people don't know they have it until the test result comes back.
Good point, Jester, there certainly could be – guess we'll find out soon enough.
I already commented on that article on another thread, so won't repeat myself.
Instead, and in light of the official narrative crumbling (and not a moment too soon), I'll post these wee lines from a piece of Guardian reporting today –
The government said a further 154 people had died in England within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19.
Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have now been 174,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
Bit of a shift from the reporting of these past few years that would have read along the lines of – "another 154 Covid deaths" and "there have been a total of 174 000 Covid deaths"
While I welcome the change, I'd really quite like the bastards behind the ubiquitous "project fear" reporting of these past few years to be dragged into public view and dealt with appropriately.
We can take comfort in recent UK trends (30th Dec. 332 deaths, 31st Dec. 203 deaths, 1st Jan. 154 deaths – a year ago it was 592 deaths per day [7-day moving average] and rising), and in the roll-out of boosters and new treatments for COVID infections.
Should be a doddle for all but the seriously ill and/or dying from now on – 'cry freedums' trumps "project fear". However, we may not be out of the dense woods just yet – let's touch base in 3 – 4 weeks to re-examine the pandemic success story that is the UK. And keep an eye out for new variants of concern, why not.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic#Misinformation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_misinformation
Just something else to fret about.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/despotic-regimes-a-new-global-competitor-to-be-reckoned-with?utm_source=Friends+of+the+Newsroom&utm_campaign=9668ee764f-Summer+Newsroom+02.01.2022&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_71de5c4b35-9668ee764f-47886425
ISTM inequality is the driving force. Even in Aotearoa.
Well nothing will change until the people of the world somehow unite and create a World without money system. We are still in a primitive stage of evolution so a World without money system could be a long time in the waiting.
The BIG question is how do you control greed?
Regulation. And taxation.
Has Biden succeeded in taxing the shit out of the wealthy, as he intended?
The only other way to control greed is by making it morally reprehensible to society, but even Christianity & Islam – which both try to do that – have spectacularly failed in that regard.
Speaking of…morals…arise Sir Tony Blair…what rogues gallery would be complete without his admission.
A man who ignored 1million people protesting in London,and went ahead with a war of death and destruction in Iraq,based on a litany of…lies.
Wonderful world…beautiful ..people.
Well said Blazer
I dunno how practical a world without money is. Money has been around for so long because it’s just so practical.
But we could sure do with a major reform of the international currency markets that are still far too much controlled by the US & allow the US to strangle economies of countries they don’t like or whose leaders or policies are inconvenient to their government or the major corporations who fund their politicians.
Well I have an opinion piece on that,too big for here but can be read as a free download at: http://byd0nz.com
If you really want to have a world without money you are going to have to come up with a simple way to trade your work for others..
If you, a maker of shoes, but who likes strawberries, wants to find a way of exchanging your shoes for someone else's strawberries how are you going to do it without having the intermediary of money? How do you find a seller of strawberries? What do you do if they don't want a new pair of shoes? What do you do if you really want some strawberries next month and not today? What if you only want a small amount of strawberries in comparison with a large pair of shoes?
etc, etc, etc. Money, in some form or other is perhaps the greatest invention of, and the most useful thing ever created by, the Human Race.
The experience of Hungary, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkey – to name just the best-known recent cases – show that a transition from some kind of power-sharing democracy to despotism can happen rapidly, in not much longer than a decade.
That was certainly the case in the 20th Century & nothing has changed. In fact it can happen even more quickly these days, imo. Look how many people in the US bought into the “Trump’s the solution” madness from the “get-go”!
Thanks for that. A good read & well-made points.
Democracy loses credibility when it fails to deliver. Find a National or Labour voter & target the bugger. See if you can wake him up. From your source:
Voluntary servitude is the ethos of your typical Nat/Lab voter. They are literally unable to think of what else to do with their lives.
So my point is our mainstreamer political duopoly is already operating to simulate democracy just like the despots. They just use a bit more of that velvet…
Excellent article.
It's worth keeping in mind that whenever we tear down the achievements of liberal democracy – that you're also serving an despot's purpose knowingly or not.
Isn't he saying that liberal democracy=despotism?
Cricket, cricket, cricket!
A decent start to the test, a bit disappointing losing Blundell at the end but its still 258 runs in the bank with 5 wickets in hand
Minimum target from here would be at least 350 and then we'll see what the bowlers can do on this pitch.
A good start to Youngs career as opener but its a shame we can't seem to produce another opening partner for Latham (at least it means we can put him in the team)
Blundell hasn't been going too well of late but he deserves more of an extended run in the role (maybe swop with Ravindra in the batting order?) however hes not just replacing an all time NZ great, hes replacing one of the best wicketkeeper/batters of all time
Having said that Cleaver, Fletcher and Seifert are all doing well in FC cricket so a decent score in the 2nd innings would do him a world of good.
So a team, in the near future, of:
Latham
Young
Williamson
Conway
Nicholls
Ravindra
Blundell
Jamieson
Southee
Wagner
Boult
Isn't too shabby, maybe would like to see more of Patel and Jamieson maybe a position too high but still pretty good.
Heartening to see this: https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/cricket/black-caps/300489169/devon-conway-plays-leading-hand-for-black-caps-on-return-from-injury-with-ton
Some good comments in there
Time ticks on. Southee 33 years old, Wagner 35, Boult 32.
Incredible effort by Bangladesh today to lose only 2 wickets. Hats off to this young side.
Indeed, they're doing very well. The Black Caps maybe a little complacent..?
on another recreational note, West Side Story 2021 is definitely worth seeing. I am not going to make any judgements about which version is better. I love this musical and both movies are wonderful. One of the differences though is that I found the gangs quite scary, especially the Jets. There was a look of deprivation about them and the violence felt more authentic to who the characters were (rather than unfortunate accidents in the 1960’s version).
I couldn’t help but think of the gangs in NZ and how we hear about these scenarios in the news.
Whats good about this team is that we also have Mitchell in the reserves and hes shown to be more than able to make the step up to top order international batting.
We've got good pace bowling reserves, plenty of wicket keeping/batters floating about. If we could just sort out the spinning options we'd be a threat in all conditions.
on another recreational note, West Side Story 2021 is definitely worth seeing. I am not going to make any judgements about which version is better. I love this musical and both movies are wonderful. One of the differences though is that I found the gangs quite scary in the 2021 version, especially the Jets. There was a look of deprivation about them and the violence felt more authentic to who the characters were (rather than unfortunate accidents in the 1960’s version).
I couldn’t help but think of the gangs in NZ and how we hear about these scenarios in the news.
Santners no good at test level (very good white ball player though)
Disappointed with Patel not playing and I think we're a batter or all rounder short
The "poster child" politicians for liberalism just can't help themselves. From Jacinda's "be kind" before openly guffawing at creating a divided NZ, to this corker from her "poster child" predecessor.
https://twitter.com/MaxBlumenthal/status/1477360402338095113?s=20
I think he was a black slave in a former life. He’s now a white 'waste of space' liberal who's conflicted. He now realises ''black faces don't matter.''
lol yes he makes your skin crawl doesnt he haha
don't know who BLN are, but in this tweet, they are clearly misrepresenting what Trudeau is saying.
They claim that he said unvaccinated people are them unscientific, misogynists and racists, and that he was attacking unvaccinated people.
Whereas what he actually said is two things:
Here's a transcript,
Why BLN would want to conflate vax hesitant people with hard core anti-vaxxers connected to Qanon etc I don't know. Seems weird to me.
just seen Robert has made the same point below.
Was Bill careless in posting this, or did he intend to smear Trudeau?
It's a poor attempt, either way. It only required reading and a little thought to expose the bullsh*t.
taking a crack at liberals, while smearing Trudeau and Ardern, in one short comment. And yep, the tweet had obvious red flags.
…smearing…Ardern…
She needs no help with that.
I'm not sure what she covered herself with here…but it won't go down in history as "glory".
You’re in premod. Please respond here https://thestandard.org.nz/new-zealand-2-covid-0-so-far/#comment-1847239
I don't believe Bull was being careless at all, quite the opposite in fact.
His "divided NZ" is just more billshit, some love to play the persecution up for whatever reasons."No papers" is another one used the other day . Ffs what's this country coming to when one has to travel 50 km , pass 6 supermarkets, 8 dairies, 3 bakeries just to find a bakery with a cafe attached to it in order to satisfy a need to feel persecuted!
You're correct. I wasn't being careless.
Anyway. You want to talk to the 9 year olds who have been told they can't do any extracurricular activities next year unless they're injected and then come back and tell me how NZ isn't divided?
You want to talk about the kids whose heads are all fucked up because "unless injected" they don't get to hang out with their school pals? (Maybe you don't recall what a huge deal peer pressure and social acceptance was as a pre-teen kid)
Or maybe just tell me how the clip Rosemary put up doesn't mean that NZ's been deliberately divided?
20 odd km is the distance on public transport btw (not 50km) – to the bakery I've been buying my bread from these past two years or more because it's decent bread they bake.
You deliberately overlooking Trudeau's hypocrisy? (Blumenthal’s tweet’s arguably really quite pertinent and funny)
The guy who runs around in black face saying racists are not going to tolerated…
Anyway, hypocrisy aside, what do you think he means when he says those who resist the injections and who he considers to be anti-science and/or racist and/or misogynists may well not be tolerated?
You can the circularity of his argument, whereby anyone who refuses to submit to an injection in spite of government persuasion becomes almost by definition a person harbouring personal traits or beliefs that he reckons ought not to be tolerated, yes?
So what would the next step in this "othering" be? Open season on the deplorable un-injected?
Scratch a liberal…. 😉
That's as may be, but the comment+tweet you put up is a crock.
Looks like the interview was from September, I'll hazard a guess that there is broader context, including what he said next.
BLN's website page on the piece is obviously manipulative and not journalism. There's no date or context for the video, and their headlines and brief content smack of sensationalism and trumpism (note they accuse Trudeau of being divisive while they are doing exactly that with their approach). This is the kind of shit I would expect to be passed around on FB without any attempt at fact checking.
https://brightlightnews.com/trudeau-launches-divisive-hate-rhetoric-against-unvaccinated/
BLN – "Shining a light on the science and data of Covid-19. Investigate and arrive at your own conclusions." BLN is also active on Telegram – the extremists' platform of choice.
The tweet was compiled by Max Blumenthal ffs. What earthly difference does it make what platform or outlet was carrying the original clip that he used in making his observation?
And….are you insinuating that "telegram" – 'the extremists' platform of choice' (in your words) is perhaps where misogynists, racists and anti-science types gather?
Perhaps you think, essentially in parallel with Trudeau, that Telegram, or anyone who uses Telegram is another indication (alongside people refusing injections?) of who ought not be tolerated?
Scratch a liberal…
Trudeau says, "But also, there are people who are ferociously against vaccination…" and it's those he lambasts, not the "vaccine hesitant” or the broader "unvaccinated".
The comment (above) "Prime Minister @Justin Trudeau launches into an unfounded and divisive tirade on unvaccinated people … " is a crock.
I call them 'malignant anti vaxxers' and they are a different breed from many who are hesitant or the broader unvaccinated. These are the ones who send out false letters to people about booster shots using MOH letterhead, damage vaccine centres, bully those turning up at centres so that the centres have to close.
They are the ones who featured in David Farrier's Loopy article
https://www.webworm.co/p/loopy
and form part of the dirty dozen anti vaxxers
https://www.counterhate.com/disinformationdozen
I am hoping that some of the genuine unvaccinated who have concerns about mRNA will take the opportunity to access the AstraZeneca vaccine
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300452571/covid19-nz-government-says-anyone-will-be-able-to-get-astrazeneca-vaccine
Just for something different (we all know who won)
That was quite stupid.
Didn't think it funny or not like the subject?
When the Rabbi Yeshua shot a couple of Corinthians…
https://twitter.com/HillReporter/status/1473635317806632962
Looks like omicron is becoming likely to be viewed as similar to the flu.
Joseph Cheek, a project manager for the International Polar Foundation, told the BBC: "All residents of the station were offered the opportunity to leave on a scheduled flight on 12 January. However, they all expressed their wish to stay and continue their work."
Govts have trained people to see a 64% pandemic infection rate as a calamity. Having this team of scientists treat it as no problem could cause a wave of cognitive dissonance to spread around the world with this news…
Maybe.
https://twitter.com/math_rachel/status/1477154650939813891
Has the strain been identified as Omicron?…..the article dosnt say.
Once bitten, twice shy.
https://twitter.com/PasiRayala/status/1476834923831087108
https://twitter.com/PasiRayala/status/1476578294845915139
https://twitter.com/PasiRayala/status/1477291787509284869
test
edit: weird. Got a wordfence 403 error in another post.
comment doesn't work sans links, either. Supposed to be in the "Good News" post, but no messages banning me from it as far as I've seen.
I'll try posting it here, to see if the 403repeats
attempt 1 -fail
removing bullets – fail
half length with links in -pass
If someone wants to provide evidence via youtube, they have a couple of options:
they can either link to the source document directly and "tip their hat" to the youtube video; or
they can link directly to the timestamp of the relevant source being mentioned; or
they can do either of the above and
If someone wants to waste other people's time instead of actually providing evidence, they can provide a 20minute video.
As it was, the source for his 80% figure seems to be an article from the Telegraph – not included below his video with all the other links. Funny how the basis for his assumption isn't listed with the rest of his source data. The Telegraph article also seems to be paywalled. I'm sure it's just unfortunate.
So we've gone from it being official govt figures, to a youtuber not even bothering linking to a news article I can't read.
[RL: Bill provided a time reference: At about 10 minutes in, the NHS figures are presented. I tested all the links and encountered no problem or paywalls. Moderation has been working to encourage cites and your initial sneering response, lacking any argument or detail, was not needed. Personally I do not do Twitter and you seem to have a thing against YT, but both are frequently used and that isn’t going to change.]
other half test – fail
other half bullets removed -fail
no colons – pass
Now, I can offer a way that the two positions are conflicting with the same data-
20% might be the primary diagnosis with no secondary diagnoses. Covid, nothing else. Nothing, not even a sixth finger or scabies.
47% have a primary diagnosis of covid, with other secondary diagnoses of varying complexity
33% have covid as a secondary diagnoses, with their primary ailment as primary dx, or they caught it in hospital.
But then that would rely on lazy, unfamiliar, or outright misleading analyses on the part of the newspaper's source.
Mod note for you.
You tested all the links. Was the telegraph link in the section below the video?
because I'm still getting
"About 10 minutes in", NHS figures for admissions are presented, but then factored down with the "20%" figure from the telegraph (a link only visible as far as I can see at the bottom of the paper in the video, and had to be hand-transposed into the browser to find I wasn't allowed to read the article).
There appears to be a fundamental citation gap in that argument, let alone from anything based on official figures for the 20% claim.
[RL: Your carping about paywalls is easily addressed in a few seconds work with a search engine. I’m not going to do that for you. In the meantime you have failed to acknowledge my original moderation warning and are now heading into ‘wasting my time’ territory.]
Mod note
Didn't realise it was a warning, and still can't find the telegraph source from the video in the links you reckoned worked fine. But now I know, so I'll leave it.