It’s no secret that I am a big fan of Puddles and last time I got into an exchange of views with her, I got my arse delivered in a sling. However……I have another view on ECAN.
I have had horrific experience of the “old” ECAN and the subversion of science by politicians both inside and outside the organisation. I have been in meetings where ECAN staff have stated that “no matter what the science showed, they would not budge”.
Series of restructuring robbed ECAN of a lot of it’s best technical staff to the extent that now most of the expertise on Canterbury groundwater resides in external consultancies.
During the Rakaia Selwyn hearing before commissioners, the commissioners took the unprecedented step of issuing a memo of concern to ECAN that they believed that ECAN may not follow the commissioner’s findings.
A few councillors with strong links to green causes and a few key activist staff had subverted a good organisation, driven out it’s top scientists and were waging a war against ratepayers, other councillors and the remaining competent technical staff.
I see that those making most noise currently fall into that camp.
Your description of your experiences of the claimed ‘unscientific’ arguments of some members of the ECan staff is a good example of one of the main points I was making: The idea that collective decisions (i.e., political decisions) should increasingly be seen as technical matters that can be made through objective, science-based, technical procedures.
So, thanks for demonstrating my point đ
The post, in any event, wasn’t about my views of how ECan was or is operating (at the operational level), so I’m not sure why you believe you have a different view from me on that.
My argument is a simple one: Any problems that may have existed with ECan – and that point itself has been debated (e.g., Kerry Burke’s letter to The Press in this morning’s paper) – should have been corrected through the democratic process.
There’s a value in democratic processes that goes far beyond the pragmatics of getting things done. It’s about how best to hold a group (e.g., society) together over the long-term by distributing power evenly (or as evenly as possible).
If you’re right that ECan was ‘hijacked’ by some greenies who scared off all the scientists, then let that be part of the debate during the next ECan elections. That way ‘we’, the people, will hear all sides of that particular argument and ‘we’ will decide who we believe or support.
Democracy, after all, is just a ‘free market’ in arguments aimed at persuading each other. And, there’s good reason to believe that, human reasoning evolved through, and in, argumentative contexts.
As the authors in that link argue, better decisions get made, on average, in groups than by the ‘best’ individuals who comprise the group, largely because our reasoning abilities are all about trying to promote our own argument and trying to find holes in the arguments of others, rather than to get at ‘the truth’. In fact, ‘the truth’ is better attained at the group/collective level.
That’s why humans evolved to do so much arguing:
“While there can hardly be any archaeological evidence for the claim that argumentation already played an important role in early human groups, we note that anthropologists have repeatedly observed people arguing in small-scale traditional societies (Boehm et al. 1996; Brown 1991; Mercier, in press a).”
At the group level these argumentative reasoning skills get used – by the collective – to come to better decisions than anyone could make alone.
That’s one reason I prefer democracy rather than rule by experts.
The interesting thing, grumpy, is that my preference is based on the relevant science – now you wouldn’t not be persuaded by the science, would you??
[And, if it’s any consolation to people who argue a lot on blogs, the authors conclude:
“we note that the argumentative theory of reasoning should be congenial to those of us who enjoy spending endless hours debating ideas â but this, of course, is not an argument for (or against) the theory.“]
The problem with the “democratic process” as regards ECAN is that there really isn’t one. The low voter turnout ( around 25%) threw up a disproportionate result, so that a minority political view was able, with management and staff collusion, to take over – or at least subvert the operations of the council.
The subsequent hounding out of those with different views, usually scientists, led to an organisation ruled by dogma.
ECAN started to lose every hearing on the science.
As you say, I would be persuaded by the science. As an engineer, I think quite a bit of science, that is why I hate to see it bastardised.
It was telling, that in my case, you got diametricaly opposed technical opinions depending on which scientist gave the opinion – and the management refused to allow peer review.
I guess the government just don’t feel enough has changed. Bear in mind that Labour almost got around to the same action but was saved by the election and that cleanout then fell to National.
Terrific writing. Great stuff. Loved that quote no technocratic rationality reigning righteous over democratic input when solving problems – had the same kind of suspicion as Heidegger’s The Question Concerning Technology. Lots of ways to use this article in the office here. Very helpful.
Yes great writing. Would it be presumptuous to ask for some paragraphs. Then can read and pause to take in the points then continue. At present it is a wall of words.
When people post a link, could people please say what it is to, and why we might be interested in reading it. My browsers have been loading very slowly for the last day or so. That link won’t load at all…. just keeps spinning & then times out.
[lprent: I am unsurprised. It is a RSS feed link. I have put a link to the actual post on a note. ]
Given the likely demographics of Herald online Poll of The Day “Which Party would get your vote in an election today?” The Nats must be bloody worried, although it looks like Colin Craig could have been busy on his VPN services.
Amongst the continuous bene bashing and the falling apart of the asset sales program a further issue has dodged the headlines but in the long term may be more important than any other issue.
The Governments Climate Change Response (rendering the ETS practically toothless) Amendment Bill is making its way through Parliament. Â The bill is 79 pages of highly technical law changes but essentially does a couple of things:
1. Â It postpones indefinitely Agriculture’s entry into the NZETS,
2. Â The price cap for carbon will be extended,
3. Â It further subsidizes polluters by extending the two credits for one scheme for a further three years.
The process is eye watering. Â The bill was introduced on August 20 and submissions closed on September 10, a short four weeks later. Â The select committee report is scheduled for October 17. Â The Government is smashing this through.
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Jan Wright has in her typical blunt style said that the bill will render the ETS “almost toothless”.Â
In 50 years time what does the Government expect us to say to our children?
OECD says NZ spends greater proportion of govt spending on education than any other country. 21.2% vs OECD average of 13%.
Great that National proves it values education and disproves the ranting here.
[lprent: Fis, do you remember that you should link to support your assertions of fact? Or say why you are not. Not doing so is troll tactic to generate meaningless conversations. I get irritated because the resulting discussions are boring to read – and I don’t like being bored. In this case as Mickey points out the figures you were quoting were probably from the 2009 report and reported the Labour governments performance. So I suspect the omission of a link was deliberate.
One month ban for being a stupid troll again and not linking… You have actually doing pretty well about avoiding moderator attention this time, so we won’t play the full doubleup anti-troll response. See you on Oct 12 and we’ll see if you can resist your old habits then. ]
Federated Farmers ( the Farmere Trade Union) and Fonterra had very very well funded Lobby operation in Parliament that give then 1st dibs on any policy they choose. And that their members contributed heavily to the National Party election fund.
Our children will probably say that the
2012 generation were very easily fooled and bought by interest groups who wanted profit now, without any investment in the future. They will accuse us of massive inter generational theft, greed and stupidity.
I’m amazed that they didn’t just eliminate it but, then, I suppose they have to at least try and look like they’re doing something about climate change even though they’re not.
Free Trade Talks – Key on Morning Report this morning
Apparently the Japanese governement has the difficult position of having to placate its strong “agricultural lobby” – very influential apparently.
Strong agricultural lobby has never ever been a problem for countries like New Zealand in its free trade talks. Yeah Right.
In fact try to get any government policy change in any area (even social ) and the first port of call for cabinet is “what do the cow-cockies think …?
…Broad Band?
Water rights?
Driving license age?
ECAN?
About Japan’s agriculture. Remember that wee incident at Fukushima? Given that more radiation was released than at Chernobyl and given that radiation is still being released. And given that there are still areas in Europe where food production is prohibited (eg certain farms in Wales, areas in Germany etc) because of persistent radiation contamination from Chernobyl…What is this fucking government doing with regards monitoring imports of fish, monitoring of migratory fish catches, monitoring of Japanese food imports and the monitoring of non-food imports from Japan?
The process of monitoring and – where potential risks are identified â testing, is the same approach as that being taken by other countries. (Like the US policy of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’…ie, no possibility of identifying potential risk? -B) Our assessment and targeted testing activity will complement our work with international food safety agencies and importers to monitor the situation. To date no relevant food has arrived from the areas of interest and as such no testing has been required.
So the tuna and the mutton birds (migratory) and theseaweed, noodles, wasabi etc are all A-OK. Because no fucker is monitoring fuck all. That’s a relief. Pass the soy sauce will you….
What Japan is weighing up is whether to go West with the TPP or to hook into the Chinese Block, squabbling over islands suggests this may not happen, but Governments can be very pragmatic when it comes to their trade interests. Which don’t necessarily lie with Washington.
An interview with Anna Osborne, whose husband Milton was killed at Pike River, on the World Socialist Website. This interview gives a much fuller account from the perspective of one of the miners families than anything I’ve seen on the MSM.
We likes âthem cutsâ very much indeed thank you nice Mr Blue. We glow and warmly thank the poor stressed funders as we humbly look forward to expiring unattended from various hideous medical events.
Two points on that:
a 4% increase a year with 10-15% of current calls being “non-urgent” means that any benefit of cutting “non-urgent” services will be gone in 2 or three years;
   Â
Quite a few conditions that get worse over time can be prevented/treated at the start by going to a GP. Barriers to primary care include a lack of funds (both for the GP and for transport). So it gets left until it gets worse. At which time an ambulance is called if they can’t get to ED themselves. But of course now the ambulance most likely will be delayed until the call centre know it’s an emergency. Â So the poor who were denied primary care also get delayed secondary/tertiary treatment. But who cares how many of the poor drop off due to something that could have been treated with a GP script days or weeks before? They’re non-productive economic units.
  Â
Fucking Nats.Â
I am aware of a situation where a house was being burgled, while the occupants were inside, they called 111, and when spoke to the operator, was told they would have to make a complaint which would be responded to in 48 hours, or they could come to the station.
When it was explained again that there offenders inside the house, the message was repeated that they could go to a station, or wait 48 hours!
Can’t see why Ambulance would be any different if this is the response to peoples safety by the police.
Next up fire brigade – I’m sorry sir, only your lounge is on fire, we are unable to send an appliance until at least 3 major sections of the house are ablaze!
What do they actually consider urgent? I can see how all the things listed could be fatal. Will the NActoids be happy when they’ve finally got the situation that I remember in 2000 in SĂŁo Paulo? One of my students had the people who pick up corpses knock on his door to ask if he had any gladwrap. Someone had died in an adjacent flat and the body was so decomposed that they couldn’t get a decent grip on it. The City Council had cut their funding for gloves on some totally spurious basis and this was what it led to.
In many ways, Brazil has improved since then. Our country hasn’t, and won’t until we change the way of doing things.
Back in good old NZ, a friend of mine was a doctor in the Nelson area. He told me how it was virtually impossible to get an ambulance to a rural address because all the despatching had been centralised in Auckland. Third house on the right after the bridge by the burnt out barn was not something the operators understood as an address.
The decision to wind down the heating grants was made after an Economic Development Ministry report found insulating houses provided much greater benefits than subsidising clean heating, particularly in low-income households.
The report found the $330 million cost of the scheme had delivered $1.2 billion in benefits, mostly in health savings from warmer, insulated houses.
It found no clear economic benefits associated with grants for clean heating, which it said might be because clean heating improved health only if people were able and willing to pay the ongoing energy bills.
Gee, what a surprise.
I actually suspect that people ran out to get a heat pump when they should have done the insulation and then found that it didn’t work because the house was inherently cold (but were, of course, blaming the heat pump).
Tuhoe have reached a settlement involving a form of governance over the Ureweras. Water rights issues are heading through the process. Wind rights have been glanced at. Rights over here and rights over there. It becomes all very confusing.
I propose settling all things once and for all by providing to Maori a consistent 10% ownership in everything in the land. Then we can be done with it. This can reflected in, say, a 10% slice of all taxation going to them for use rights by the wider population. A regular tithe, poll tax, call it what you will, but lets just pay it and be done. Then we can move on from the flaws of the treaty. A specific broad tax payable to people on the basis of their race, and the treaty. Sure, some detail would be lost and gained here and there but broadly the concept is consistent.
Alongside the pan tax there could be a separate set of laws and regulations, criminal justice system, etc. Even separate schools and welfare systems. I think this is good and appears to be what many have argued for.
Give Maori 100% and hope they’re nicer people than pakeha have been.
I was once asked how many seats Maori should have in parliament. My reply of “All of them” met with outraged shock. Personally, I wouldn’t be worried at all. I’m far more worried about carpetbagging pakeha in suits than I am about Maori in the Urewera.
Can a bad/useless/corrupt/putwhatyoulikehere government do good things? Can a bad person do good things?
Obviously this has been a point of discussion around other areas and putting value judgements of what ‘bad’ is aside I want to thank finlayson (I don’t think he’s ‘bad’), personally and as a representative of the government, for saying these things
“Ngai Tuhoe’s history shows clearly why it is so important to settle genuine historic Treaty grievances,” Finalyson said.
“The conditions in Te Urewera, which contains some of our most deprived and isolated communities, show the very real and continued effects of the Crown’s Treaty breaches on the daily lives of Ngai Tuhoe people in the present.”
Huge areas of Tuhoe land were wrongly confiscated and more purchased unjustly, Finlayson said.
“Military campaigns against Tuhoe prisoners and civilians were described even at the time as extermination and the Crown employed a scorched earth policy in Tuhoe settlements.”
This settlement is a strong step towards mana motuhake for NgÄi Tuhoe and I congratulate them.
It is not perfect but it is a step in the right direction and as Tuhoe negotiator Tamati Kruger has said, “he believed the tribe had ultimately won what it was seeking, which was control over the park.”
I wonder about the figure of 170M – is that figure used for relativity or do they calculate it some other way?
edit – snap vto, interesting to see our different perspectives…
On the one hand we have the treaty and colonisation which must be dealt with. On the other we have the settings required for a healthy society as we tootle into the future. As you know, I don’t think the two things lead to the same result. There must be a way that can be achieved but lordy it seems difficult.
A few odd things happening to the comments section on the top right of the screen – periodically disappearing, or turning into an overlaid mess, but only for a few seconds, then back to normal again.
Could well be my computer which is particularly sluggish today.
If that Herald poll was accurate, it surely says that the worse this Government behaves the better the voters like it! How many people who have protested the sale of assets, really been sincere?
If you look at polls of who is against the sale of assets, the age range and which people are active voters, its difficult to see how the referendum will end up backing the sale of assets.
Where do you get that idea from Mark?
Please don’t say the Herald
The herald poll was an on line poll how many working class and poor have access to time and computers or read the herald, how many repeat votes no limit on the number of times you can vote Its pure BS.
Opinions in the herald blogs have changed quite markedly as more and more are against govt.
@Dr Terry – I wish the herald would release some readership demographics, I suspect it would show a significant portion of reader are “likely” to be of the centre right persuasion, hence an artificially high support figure for the Nats.
You could be onto something a good farming friend of mine (National Voter) expressed the following
“I don’t want the assests sold but what are we going to do about the debt” Unfortunately Labour have not been doing a good job of articulating an economic alternative. Although the conservative policy is a no to assest sales.
1) You identify all the corporate income streaming out of NZ and you turn them back to NZ.
2) You sort out our exchange rates so that our manufacturers and exporters are not being crippled.
3) You increase tax rates on the wealthiest 5% of NZers so that we do not have to borrow that same money from China, Saudi Arabia and Singapore.
4) You put 50,000 people back to work building up the country so that they are not on benefits.
In response to Iprent calling my support for a new and independent investigation an obsession here is why: 50 different forms of cancer have been added to the list of ailments First responders (Some 70.000 of them) can claim compensation for. That has been an 11 year struggle. For them 911 never ended.
What is really baffling is that in the longs of first responders Nano Thermite residue has been found. Nano Thermite can only be produced in high security Military laboratories in the US. I wonder could the 19 young Muslims who after all were able to evade the US airforce and break the laws of physics also have gained access to those laboratories?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bzyQfHj6fq8
[lprent: You’re treating it as if it was a pejorative expression? Obsessions are what can eventually change the world. Ask any scientist or programmer or blogger or campaigner for any cause through any era. You have to be obsessed with something before you can achieve much beyond the norms. Of course the vast majority of obsessions don’t bear any fruit.
However supporting obsessional people is worth the effort – which is why many people are tolerated commenting here. But I can’t see much reason to be particularly nice about it. I’m afraid that testing an obsession to destruction is about the only effective way to find out if it has merit. ]
Nano-thermite should not be in those lungs for starters Weka and a lot of us have been trying to help first responders and support them in their battle so that sort of kept 911 alive as they were dying. You don’t have to be obsessive just concerned and puzzled by the total lack of support from the US government for these heroes will do.
What relationship does the Chch earthquake and the dust in the air on that day have to do with 70.000 First responders in New York on 911?
I haven’t given it much thought but with the authorities blatantly lying in New York I gave the dust in New York a lot of thought on that day.
It would be an interesting research project though and I would hope that Chch dust victims won’t have to fight for 11 years until they got medical help and compensation like the heroes of 911 had too.
“It would be an interesting research project though and I would hope that Chch dust victims wonât have to fight for 11 years until they got medical help and compensation like the heroes of 911 had too.”
Â
The statement above is untrue. The US Government has been funding medical help for First Responders from the start. All that has changed in yesterdays announcement is that a further 50 types of cancer are now also recognised as potential 9/11 related claims. In other words, the scheme that already exists has been widened in scope.
The statement above is untrue. The US Government has been funding medical help for First Responders from the start.
Yeah except your statement is too vague to be useful. It really means nothing in fact when monthly medical bills for one person can add up to tens of thousands of dollars, and the Federal Gov might pay for a pittance.
See here for an example of Republicans voting down health care funding for 9/11 responders:
A verbal flash-fire erupted on the House floor Thursday night over nine-year battle to pass a benefits bill for emergency workers who were first on the scene of the 9/11 attacks.
Frustrated with Republican votes against the $7.4 billion measure because Democrats suspended the rules to prevent them from offering unrelated amendments — and at the same time requiring a two-thirds majority to pass — Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner excoriated the minority party.
Facts aren’t vague, CV. They’re, um, facts. I wasn’t clarifying the quality of the US Government assistance, just confirming that it has existed all along. So it was a factual and, therefore, useful contribution dispelling some fact free and, therefore, useless hyperbole in the original comment.
For those of you who unlike TRP really want to know how the 911 First Responders fared after they outlived their sell by date as propaganda props to help the Bush administration use the events of 911 to invade and destroy the Arab world which to this day Obama and the other head of the dragon continue to do, here is a link to the Feal Good site. The Feal Good foundation is one of the most important Foundations to provide aid to the First Responders.
This link leads to the News page which gives a good chronological list of the history of the battle for free healthcare for the First Responders, many of whom have died along the way leaving their spouses and Children destitute and with debilitating healthcare bills to deal with.
John Feal who started the Foundation was a 911 First responder and lost half a foot while in the Pit (the name for what was left of the WTC complex) when a steel beam fell on it. He had no money but began to help his former colleagues and people started to give money and help as his project became more known.
Obsession=a persistent idea or impulse that continually forces its way into consciousness, often associated with anxiety and mental illness.
Commemorating an anniversary of what is arguable one of the most devastating and globally influential catastrophes (Mostly so for Afghanis and Iraqis who had nothing to do with the events) and asking questions about puzzling questions that remain does not constitute an obsession.
If it does thousands of Scientists, Architects, Engineers, Fire fighters Military personal etc would have to be classified as obsessed.
In Germany, most Arab countries, Russia and large areas of the US 80% of the population would be obsessive as those are the numbers which come back as either believing that the US government did no tell the truth or was involved in the events.
In New York 50% believe the official story is rubbish and more than a 100.000 signatures were collected to get a new and independent investigation.
In Italy Judge Ferdinando Imposimato who is the honorary President of the Supreme Court of Italy, and former Senior Investigative Judge, and who presided over several terrorism-related cases, including the kidnapping and ultimate assassination of President Aldo Moro, the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II, other political assassinations and kidnapping cases and several cases against the Mafia. He is a former Senator who served on the Anti-Mafia Commission in three administrations, stated that he would refer the case to the International court of Justice.
Italy has a long history with State Crimes against Democracy and both a former president and this judge have no problem accepting that we need a new and independent investigation.
You also remarked that: Even her science is well argued even if I personally think it is more hopeful than accurate.
I understand that to argue as a moderator with a commentator is a colossal waste of time but I would really like to hear your argument as to how you come to the hopeful bit. Are you arguing that I hope that the events of 911 were perpetrated by our own leaders?
To say so means that you have absolutely no idea how painful it is to have to come to the conclusion that it wasn’t an outside enemy who attacked us but rather a shady group in our own midst. You can fight the enemy at the gate but an enemy in your midst is more devastating and hellish than anything I can think of. Not to be able to trust your own is a hideous thought. To go there is lonely, scary and dangerous and infinitely sad.
Maybe that is why it is so hard for you to actually have a look at the information on offer. Maybe if you did you would understand that to do so means to leave all hope behind.
Would you say that that Italian document is about as solid a presentation of the case as one can expect Eve?
Alternatively, do you think it is strong?
You say that you have reluctantly come to the conclusions you hold. Does that presentation of the case strike you as convincing? When you read it, do you quite often think, ‘well, that’s not quite the whole story there Judge, you are leaving out some very important deatails that go against your conclusion’? Things like that.
Because that’s what I found myself thinkng when reading it. Quite a bit.
And that’s leaving aside this little gem:
The authoritative theologian David Ray Griffin has described
very precisely why the hypothesis of controlled demolition should be taken into
consideration.
Honestly, what is one to make of that? Is it a typo?
If not, why should I listen to an authoratative theologian with regard to a hypothesis of controlled demolition?
The judge doesn’t tell me why I should, I wonder if you can.
Dear PB, Another shining example of taking things out of context!
First of all Judge Ferdinando Imposimato is the honorary president of the Italian Supreme Court. He was given this role after a career that saw him presiding over high profile court cases such as the murder of Aldo Moro a former (39th ) Prime Minister of Italy, the attempted murder of Pope John Paul II.
He is a specialist and investigative judge who knows all the ins and outs of the Mafia, International Drugs trading and State crimes against Democracy.
Italy which was on the receiving end of the Gladio operations while Judge Imposimato presided over these cases, is a country which is very aware of how the CIA and other secretive organisations operate in order to manipulate politics and entire populations through fear.
I hope that if not you readers who actually do believe you donât get to where the Judge is by being flimsy in your reasoning and that it requires intelligence, discipline, hard work, and personal integrity to achieve what he achieved.
To take one paragraph out of an excerpt of the letter the Judge wrote is careless and showing intellectual laziness in the most positive case but is misleading and dishonest in the worst.
For those of you who never heard of David Ray Griffin here is his wiki link. David Ray Griffin used his skills of reasoning as a Professor in Theology and 20th century Philosophy which taught from 1973 until April 2004 to analyse the events of 911.
On his Wiki page you will see that he has published a whole series of books on the subject and if you could actually be bothered to read any of them I can assure you you will find them to be solid scientific analysis. For those of you who canât be bothered but donât mind a lecture on video here is one example of DRGâs intellectual prowess.
To put this aside with a sneer is again dishonest and intellectually lazy because if you give credence to âAuthorityâ (as most do in the case of 911) and the powers that be merely because you ought to you should also give credence to judges with a long history of intellectual and personal integrity who, after studying material they have been given by other persons of authority in subjects and science connected to the events of 911, reach a conclusion not aligned with the Conspiracy theory the Political powers that be want us to accept without critical thinking.
He is a theologian who has written a number of books promoting trutherism. Fair enough, but he doesn’t sound unbiased to me. He takes a post modrn approach to reconciling beliefs with other beliefs. It’s not exactly the sort of thing criminal investigators rely on, for example. It is certainly not ‘scientific’.
RE: The Toronto hearings. Who was representing the other side of the debate? Was there cross examination of witnesses, or did they just present their own theories?
And I have no doubts about the Jufges credentials, it’s his argument as presented in that piece that I was talking about.
But apparently, the only thing we should look at is his credentials, and therefore conclude that his argument must be unquestionable.
This was not a long screed attacking you. This was a long screed giving a lot of links to people who actually do want to know about 911.
Big difference!
I know you won’t put in the hards slog but you know what? Other people do and it is those I aim for. I give them the information and they investigate and make up their own minds.
The Judge did and so did millions upon millions of people and idjits like you are an incredible help achieving that. I don’t want to attack you! You are merely a means to an end.
Have a nice day on your planet, wherever that is!
Sorry for the triple post. The site reported a failure to deliver and I tried again. It seems there was a bug at play. I prefer the last one to stay if you want to delete any of them.
There’s a peer reviewed article about something consistent with nanothermite being found in the dust:
The Open Chemical Physics Journal, 2009, 2, 7-31
This journal is open access and available to anyone for download of articles. Just google it.
I have absolutely no idea how rigorous the peer review process is for this journal, but I know one of the associate editors personally and might ask him if I can ever spare an hour or so for a quick answer. As soon as I get time, I’ll have a more critical look at the article itself. I can actually make a meaningful analysis of a published work much more easily than I can of a youtube video.
BTW nanothermite is even used in fireworks these days. It’s more available than it was in 2001, and appears to have been commercially available in applications since at least 2010: http://research.missouri.edu/otmir/mte2012/featuredtech/abstracts.html
Â
Capital gains are free of tax, which means there’s an incentive to finalize business endeavors
early and take the capital gain. An incentive to short change and cut corners. Oops, look at
our housing stock, cheap nasty, thrown up on unsuitable land… …our government is corrupt.
People don’t usually get criminal records just for smoking a joint anyway. In most cases the cops ignore it, and have done for years unless they’re after you for some other reason. He has less than a point.
Half a million is revealed as the cost for the chch eq blueprint launch (lunch??), and Gerry drops the mask and calls us names. Big time! Read the comments on the second link, couldn’t be hotter, 50 to 1 against Gerry. What a complete idiot.
DAVID SHEARER to the Minister of Education: Has she been informed whether the Prime Minister stands by all the statements he and his Ministers have made regarding the Reading Recovery Programme?
.
Shearer withdrew the question because he is now no longer able to hold the PM to account.
Peter’s has been protesting because it has impacted on his planned supplementaries.
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Minister of Finance: What did he mean when he said that there is a “level of discomfort about the high level of the New Zealand dollar” in answer to Oral Question No 2 yesterday?
First Lockwood says Blinglish must answer, explain, clarify, or something. Then, Lockwood decided it wasn’t in the public interest to answer….. say what?
Wow, that’s a pretty random comment, Chris. Well up to your usual standard đ Funny how it’s almost interchangeable with this one. Were you and CV seperated at birth?
This summer I accompanied a team to the cascades wilderness in the pacific northwest to document the front line, boots on the ice field work that is revealing the emerging story of global climate change.
This is the first of a series of videos documenting what I learned, and what I saw.
Canada left the Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming  [CAGW] group-think last year after listening to their scientists;  now Germany is preparing to leave the sinking ship
UPDATE: reaction from Die Welt journalist Ulli Kulke here (in German), who says this is a welcome but not surprising conclusion.
*** Â Â **************************Â
So they will now persuade the rest of Europe that the hoax is coming to an end;
economics [aka Global Financial Crisis /unsustainable subsidies for wind/solar etc] always trump feel-good bullshit like socialists “saving the planet” from the nasty capitalists.
Â
Now – if we could just get the Global Warming to open the Desert Road, Rimutakas etc etc we could get on with enjoying the Spring.
You know something, if such a particularly significant even had occurred then you would be able to find it in the news but it just doesn’t seem to be there.
In the 1970’s the ‘hoax’ was Global Cooling – some of the same names from pushing that fraud [front page of Time Magazine etc.] even turn up as the early doom-sayers in the 1990’s proclaiming Global Warming.
As at 2012 we’re into 10+ years of flat lining global temperatures; while at the same time atmospheric CO2 has gone up from about 290ppm to 390ppm. Â Governments are beginning to see the disconnect between CO2 and world temperatures.Â
I read the article you link to; it is not really anything to do with why Governments are making these decisions now in 2012; it is more a wailing about the media [and me thinks the general population] loosing interest in CAGW as life continues on as normal, with the usual rise and fall in climate matters for now in excess of 20 years. Â It is hard to keep yelling doom for 20 years and expect people to still be listening.
And lets hope, also for the good people of Europe who are suffering high unemployment etc.  Good decisions by their Governments will have world-wide implications.
ACT Party leader John Banks says he welcomes changes to the local body laws governing donations, saying he was the victim of a law that is unclear and unfair.
Yeah, I don’t think too many people are going to see him as a victim.
“As Charles Dickens said in 1838 the law is an ass – and it’s important that the Government cleans it up. No candidate for public office should go through what I had to go through.”
Now that one actually gave me a laugh. The man is an utterly shameless piece of sh*t. First why throw in the exact year that Dickens said that? Showing off. Practiced that line in front of the mirror did we John? Second the only reason he got away with his blatant law-breaking is because of the technicality of the incident occuring more than 6 months ago. His second sentence should be “No candidate for public office should be able to get away scot free after fiddling the books like I did.” But he’s the victim here? He had to put up with a tough time because of this silly law? Tui ad?
To me Banks is an even bigger candidate for narcissistic personality disorder than Gerry Brownlee. (Google: narcissistic personality disorder arrogant “never wrong”.)
Ha Ignorance of the law now is the Banks (John that is) excuse! Good at passing them, bad at understanding what they mean these pollies. What we pay them for I don’t know. If we worked at Parliament in shifts ourselves we could make as big a mess at a quarter? of the cost, and our canteen would be Bellamys. We would still keep Bellamys, there have to be some perks.
Not long ago the new ACC board was announced. It will be headed by Paula Rebstock, who already heads the newly created Social Welfare Board as well. I wonder what else she is in charge now. One other board member is Dr Des Gorman, who has over many years been advising ACC on a wider range of claims cases, apparently making some questioned and disputed assessments.
Dr Des Gorman as one new board member of ACC, working alongside the new head of ACC, who is Paula Rebstock (former business operator, Commerce Commissioner, senior Welfare Working Group member), does send serious warning signals. It does show anything else but a supposed âchange of cultureâ at ACC.
Also does he already hold such a wide range of high ranking, key positions in the health and health related training sector, one must ask, can this be in the public interest?
http://healthworkforce.govt.nz/sites/all/files/Discussion Paper – Workforce Requirements for New Models of Service Delivery.pdf
(see especially the already commenced training program to enable GPs to complete some additional modules in training, equipping them with basic âmental healthâ qualification, to be used for treating and assessing mental health clients, also of course, for WINZ)
So Dr Gorman seems to have his hands into most of the health sector somehow. That does scare me, as his influence, combined with other peculiar new ACC board members, is likely to change little, and lead to more secrecy in the way they will operate. ’60 minutes’ last Sunday exposed what has already been going on.
Also I noted new updates in an older thread of discussion they have. And to my surprise they indicate, that the Principal Health Advisor of MSD, who introduced and managed the training of “designated doctors” and also his own internal staff (Regional Health and Disability Advisors, Health and Disability Coordinators, all advising case managers at WINZ) in 2008, is now MOVING OVER TO A JOB AT ACC:
And although not finally confirmed, a WINZ client has informed me, that some informations he has obtained, do indicate, that at least for now, and already for some time, the involvement of “designated doctors” by MSD and Work and Income for medical examinations and assessments has been stopped!?
So some major changes are happening. Very, very interesting, but maybe also worrying, what will come next.
Religion in this case, TM. Poverty, ignorance and superstition led to the film being made and the same combination led to the riots in Egypt and Libya against the film. Time to outlaw god, for the good of humankind.
Buzz from the Beehive Transport Minister Simeon Brown dutifully issued advice to all road users to keep safe on our roads during the Easter weekend. He encouraged them to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. ...
Oliver Hartwich writes –Â New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern â and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her governmentâs ...
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As weâve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealandâs biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealandâs biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a âmoisture-ladenâ long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own governmentâs fiscal policies raised issues of substance. âToday in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media â sure enough â have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willisâ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra â that the Budget âwill deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing.  Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – Itâs becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-MÄori andâŠ. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you donât like and donât ...
Don Brash writes –Â As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that countryâs mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isnât already pretty well-off? Itâs as if protecting landlordsâ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of Nationalâs ...
 Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, itâs that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxonâs ...
Robert MacCulloch writes –Â The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this yearâs Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran OâSullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm â a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon â note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinsonâs analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana â or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. Itâs a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealandâs highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes –Â Â Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – âIt is often said that behind every great man is a great womanâ. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their âLadies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxonâ. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Petersâ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes â If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshubâs closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
The Coalition Governmentâs plan to âget Auckland movingâ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities sheâs meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Governmentâs archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the Americaâs Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it wonât stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Memberâs Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labourâs change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand Firstâs State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared âco-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te PÄti MÄori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. âIâm calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to âtake back our countryâ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jonesâ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Governmentâs fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Governmentâs miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesnât act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. âIt was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. âThe Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend.  âThis travel will focus on a range of New Zealandâs traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,â Mr Peters says.  Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. âRoad safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. âOur relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliamentâs order paper. âThe Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,â Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams wonât be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. âThe coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. âDam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. âI have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. âThe Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023â24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the governmentâs finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Governmentâs Budget objectives. âThe coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says.                                        âThe Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says.  âThese changes are long overdue â the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealandâs growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Ministerâs Prizes for Space today. âNew Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealandâs concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. Â Â âThe Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Educationâs School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. âThere is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. âToday I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of Peopleâs Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. âThe use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,â Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. âWeâre sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealandâs ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. Â Â âI am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. âI have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commissionâs online consultation portal.â Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. âComprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. âI would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. âThis is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women donât ...
Good morning, itâs great to be here.  First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Governmentâs ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Governmentâs commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools MÄori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. âThe Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, Iâm proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of todayâs address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and Iâm sorry I canât be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the WhangÄrei site where the facility will be constructed. âNorthland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata MÄori 20 years ago, says MÄori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisationâs 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Analysis - Nicola Willis is holding firm on tax cuts despite the economic outlook being worse than forecast and critics urging her to wait, writes Peter Wilson for The Week In Politics. ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealandâs Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The countryâs largest trade union â The Public Service Association â says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership sheâs hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article â Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? â looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Booksâ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pickânâmix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If youâre at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, donât panic: The Spinoffâs got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but letâs be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time â but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “Itâs official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “weâre in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who havenât accessed support to come forward and engage with the councilâs recovery office. It ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliamentâs forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the âdisappearanceâ of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people âsequesteredâ in this weekâs raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Itâs Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether youâre a boomer, or an â80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fijiâs Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? â Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems thereâs one luxury most Australians wonât sacrifice â their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Educationâs claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxonâs fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20â24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50â44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayersâ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the Peopleâs Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether youâre facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, itâs always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. Itâs an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting âoff the booksâ illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Governmentâs announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is âshamefulâ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain â a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata MÄori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is âfar-off sightâ. In the contemporary and living language of te reo MÄori, âwhakaataâ as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israelâs war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Governmentâs decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for âDead in Bedâ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research â and large-scale commercialisation. Whatâs beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martinâs favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martinâs fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Heraâs help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. Iâm 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queenâs crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday â and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli militaryâs genocide of Palestinians, the United States abstained rather than vetoing it. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, ...
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand investigative journalist and author says the US spy system hosted by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) appears to be a controversial intelligence system used in global capture-kill operations. Writing a commentary for RNZ News today, Nicky Hager, author of Secret Power, a 1996 ...
While Nicola Willis wouldnât give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this yearâs budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoffâs morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayersâ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Departmentâs Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayersâ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the countryâs top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, MÄori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
WOW !!
http://www.thepoliticalscientist.org/?feed=rss2
[lprent: probably this post on ECan and the pretty obvious intent by the government to remove democracy from Christchurch and cantabury ]
Freaking outstanding. A must-read.
Thanks for linking.
+1. Frightening and should be a call to arms! đ
It’s no secret that I am a big fan of Puddles and last time I got into an exchange of views with her, I got my arse delivered in a sling. However……I have another view on ECAN.
I have had horrific experience of the “old” ECAN and the subversion of science by politicians both inside and outside the organisation. I have been in meetings where ECAN staff have stated that “no matter what the science showed, they would not budge”.
Series of restructuring robbed ECAN of a lot of it’s best technical staff to the extent that now most of the expertise on Canterbury groundwater resides in external consultancies.
During the Rakaia Selwyn hearing before commissioners, the commissioners took the unprecedented step of issuing a memo of concern to ECAN that they believed that ECAN may not follow the commissioner’s findings.
A few councillors with strong links to green causes and a few key activist staff had subverted a good organisation, driven out it’s top scientists and were waging a war against ratepayers, other councillors and the remaining competent technical staff.
I see that those making most noise currently fall into that camp.
Hi grumpy,
Your description of your experiences of the claimed ‘unscientific’ arguments of some members of the ECan staff is a good example of one of the main points I was making: The idea that collective decisions (i.e., political decisions) should increasingly be seen as technical matters that can be made through objective, science-based, technical procedures.
So, thanks for demonstrating my point đ
The post, in any event, wasn’t about my views of how ECan was or is operating (at the operational level), so I’m not sure why you believe you have a different view from me on that.
My argument is a simple one: Any problems that may have existed with ECan – and that point itself has been debated (e.g., Kerry Burke’s letter to The Press in this morning’s paper) – should have been corrected through the democratic process.
There’s a value in democratic processes that goes far beyond the pragmatics of getting things done. It’s about how best to hold a group (e.g., society) together over the long-term by distributing power evenly (or as evenly as possible).
If you’re right that ECan was ‘hijacked’ by some greenies who scared off all the scientists, then let that be part of the debate during the next ECan elections. That way ‘we’, the people, will hear all sides of that particular argument and ‘we’ will decide who we believe or support.
Democracy, after all, is just a ‘free market’ in arguments aimed at persuading each other. And, there’s good reason to believe that, human reasoning evolved through, and in, argumentative contexts.
As the authors in that link argue, better decisions get made, on average, in groups than by the ‘best’ individuals who comprise the group, largely because our reasoning abilities are all about trying to promote our own argument and trying to find holes in the arguments of others, rather than to get at ‘the truth’. In fact, ‘the truth’ is better attained at the group/collective level.
That’s why humans evolved to do so much arguing:
“While there can hardly be any archaeological evidence for the claim that argumentation already played an important role in early human groups, we note that anthropologists have repeatedly observed people arguing in small-scale traditional societies (Boehm et al. 1996; Brown 1991; Mercier, in press a).”
At the group level these argumentative reasoning skills get used – by the collective – to come to better decisions than anyone could make alone.
That’s one reason I prefer democracy rather than rule by experts.
The interesting thing, grumpy, is that my preference is based on the relevant science – now you wouldn’t not be persuaded by the science, would you??
[And, if it’s any consolation to people who argue a lot on blogs, the authors conclude:
“we note that the argumentative theory of reasoning should be congenial to those of us who enjoy spending endless hours debating ideas â but this, of course, is not an argument for (or against) the theory.“]
BTW, I appreciate your comments here.Â
The problem with the “democratic process” as regards ECAN is that there really isn’t one. The low voter turnout ( around 25%) threw up a disproportionate result, so that a minority political view was able, with management and staff collusion, to take over – or at least subvert the operations of the council.
The subsequent hounding out of those with different views, usually scientists, led to an organisation ruled by dogma.
ECAN started to lose every hearing on the science.
As you say, I would be persuaded by the science. As an engineer, I think quite a bit of science, that is why I hate to see it bastardised.
It was telling, that in my case, you got diametricaly opposed technical opinions depending on which scientist gave the opinion – and the management refused to allow peer review.
I guess the government just don’t feel enough has changed. Bear in mind that Labour almost got around to the same action but was saved by the election and that cleanout then fell to National.
Terrific writing. Great stuff. Loved that quote no technocratic rationality reigning righteous over democratic input when solving problems – had the same kind of suspicion as Heidegger’s The Question Concerning Technology. Lots of ways to use this article in the office here. Very helpful.
Yes great writing. Would it be presumptuous to ask for some paragraphs. Then can read and pause to take in the points then continue. At present it is a wall of words.
When people post a link, could people please say what it is to, and why we might be interested in reading it. My browsers have been loading very slowly for the last day or so. That link won’t load at all…. just keeps spinning & then times out.
[lprent: I am unsurprised. It is a RSS feed link. I have put a link to the actual post on a note. ]
Ah, thanks. That loads much more easily.
Given the likely demographics of Herald online Poll of The Day “Which Party would get your vote in an election today?” The Nats must be bloody worried, although it looks like Colin Craig could have been busy on his VPN services.
Amongst the continuous bene bashing and the falling apart of the asset sales program a further issue has dodged the headlines but in the long term may be more important than any other issue.
The Governments Climate Change Response (rendering the ETS practically toothless) Amendment Bill is making its way through Parliament. Â The bill is 79 pages of highly technical law changes but essentially does a couple of things:
1. Â It postpones indefinitely Agriculture’s entry into the NZETS,
2. Â The price cap for carbon will be extended,
3. Â It further subsidizes polluters by extending the two credits for one scheme for a further three years.
The process is eye watering. Â The bill was introduced on August 20 and submissions closed on September 10, a short four weeks later. Â The select committee report is scheduled for October 17. Â The Government is smashing this through.
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Jan Wright has in her typical blunt style said that the bill will render the ETS “almost toothless”.Â
In 50 years time what does the Government expect us to say to our children?
What will our children say about this Government and the many who support it?
Our children will probably say that the
OECD says NZ spends greater proportion of govt spending on education than any other country. 21.2% vs OECD average of 13%.
Great that National proves it values education and disproves the ranting here.
[lprent: Fis, do you remember that you should link to support your assertions of fact? Or say why you are not. Not doing so is troll tactic to generate meaningless conversations. I get irritated because the resulting discussions are boring to read – and I don’t like being bored. In this case as Mickey points out the figures you were quoting were probably from the 2009 report and reported the Labour governments performance. So I suspect the omission of a link was deliberate.
One month ban for being a stupid troll again and not linking… You have actually doing pretty well about avoiding moderator attention this time, so we won’t play the full doubleup anti-troll response. See you on Oct 12 and we’ll see if you can resist your old habits then. ]
Oh Fisi it was for 2009 which is directly related to the 2008 budget. You should be thanking Helen Clark. I am sure the figures are now worse …
Fisani
Our children will probably say that the
Federated Farmers ( the Farmere Trade Union) and Fonterra had very very well funded Lobby operation in Parliament that give then 1st dibs on any policy they choose. And that their members contributed heavily to the National Party election fund.
Our children will probably say that the
2012 generation were very easily fooled and bought by interest groups who wanted profit now, without any investment in the future. They will accuse us of massive inter generational theft, greed and stupidity.
Don’t let the date get in the way of your cool story though.
I’m amazed that they didn’t just eliminate it but, then, I suppose they have to at least try and look like they’re doing something about climate change even though they’re not.
Free Trade Talks – Key on Morning Report this morning
Apparently the Japanese governement has the difficult position of having to placate its strong “agricultural lobby” – very influential apparently.
Strong agricultural lobby has never ever been a problem for countries like New Zealand in its free trade talks. Yeah Right.
In fact try to get any government policy change in any area (even social ) and the first port of call for cabinet is “what do the cow-cockies think …?
…Broad Band?
Water rights?
Driving license age?
ECAN?
About Japan’s agriculture. Remember that wee incident at Fukushima? Given that more radiation was released than at Chernobyl and given that radiation is still being released. And given that there are still areas in Europe where food production is prohibited (eg certain farms in Wales, areas in Germany etc) because of persistent radiation contamination from Chernobyl…What is this fucking government doing with regards monitoring imports of fish, monitoring of migratory fish catches, monitoring of Japanese food imports and the monitoring of non-food imports from Japan?
So the tuna and the mutton birds (migratory) and theseaweed, noodles, wasabi etc are all A-OK. Because no fucker is monitoring fuck all. That’s a relief. Pass the soy sauce will you….
http://www.foodsafety.govt.nz/elibrary/industry/japanese-earthquake/maf-monitoring-japanese-imports.htm
What Japan is weighing up is whether to go West with the TPP or to hook into the Chinese Block, squabbling over islands suggests this may not happen, but Governments can be very pragmatic when it comes to their trade interests. Which don’t necessarily lie with Washington.
An interview with Anna Osborne, whose husband Milton was killed at Pike River, on the World Socialist Website. This interview gives a much fuller account from the perspective of one of the miners families than anything I’ve seen on the MSM.
How do we like them cuts eh?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10833423
Ambulances will not be sent to 111 calls deemed ‘non-urgent’ such as:
“abdominal pain, allergies, animal bites, assaults, back pain, falls, headaches, exposure to cold, lacerations, and feeling sick.”
I’m not a doctor, but it strikes me that some of those can be pretty damn urgent.
The Ministry’s response?
“no significant funding increases were planned, the spokesman said.
“St John is making excellent progress with introducing new ways of working that will enable it to manage demand growth within existing resources.””
St John’s Ambulance scare. I have very recently joined their emergency alarm scheme and already I am getting worried!
We likes âthem cutsâ very much indeed thank you nice Mr Blue. We glow and warmly thank the poor stressed funders as we humbly look forward to expiring unattended from various hideous medical events.
Two points on that:
a 4% increase a year with 10-15% of current calls being “non-urgent” means that any benefit of cutting “non-urgent” services will be gone in 2 or three years;
   Â
Quite a few conditions that get worse over time can be prevented/treated at the start by going to a GP. Barriers to primary care include a lack of funds (both for the GP and for transport). So it gets left until it gets worse. At which time an ambulance is called if they can’t get to ED themselves. But of course now the ambulance most likely will be delayed until the call centre know it’s an emergency. Â So the poor who were denied primary care also get delayed secondary/tertiary treatment. But who cares how many of the poor drop off due to something that could have been treated with a GP script days or weeks before? They’re non-productive economic units.
  Â
Fucking Nats.Â
This is no surprise.
I am aware of a situation where a house was being burgled, while the occupants were inside, they called 111, and when spoke to the operator, was told they would have to make a complaint which would be responded to in 48 hours, or they could come to the station.
When it was explained again that there offenders inside the house, the message was repeated that they could go to a station, or wait 48 hours!
Can’t see why Ambulance would be any different if this is the response to peoples safety by the police.
Next up fire brigade – I’m sorry sir, only your lounge is on fire, we are unable to send an appliance until at least 3 major sections of the house are ablaze!
I guess the response is to lie and say the intruders have gun.
Or better still, you have a gun and have shot them!,
What do they actually consider urgent? I can see how all the things listed could be fatal. Will the NActoids be happy when they’ve finally got the situation that I remember in 2000 in SĂŁo Paulo? One of my students had the people who pick up corpses knock on his door to ask if he had any gladwrap. Someone had died in an adjacent flat and the body was so decomposed that they couldn’t get a decent grip on it. The City Council had cut their funding for gloves on some totally spurious basis and this was what it led to.
In many ways, Brazil has improved since then. Our country hasn’t, and won’t until we change the way of doing things.
Back in good old NZ, a friend of mine was a doctor in the Nelson area. He told me how it was virtually impossible to get an ambulance to a rural address because all the despatching had been centralised in Auckland. Third house on the right after the bridge by the burnt out barn was not something the operators understood as an address.
No ‘economic benefits’ from heat pumps so they scrap the grants.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/7658669/Clean-heat-grants-quietly-scrapped
Glad to hear it. Heat pumps are evil on so many levels.Â
Gee, what a surprise.
I actually suspect that people ran out to get a heat pump when they should have done the insulation and then found that it didn’t work because the house was inherently cold (but were, of course, blaming the heat pump).
…or, someone actually read this and then wondered why no-one in organisations like EECA had a frigging clue…..
http://www.theglobalmail.org/investigations/in/power-bill-surge/
Great article thanks.
Don,t thank me, ad mentioned it in another thread. I agree, perfect.
What?! There were subsidies available for oversized fan heaters????
Tuhoe have reached a settlement involving a form of governance over the Ureweras. Water rights issues are heading through the process. Wind rights have been glanced at. Rights over here and rights over there. It becomes all very confusing.
I propose settling all things once and for all by providing to Maori a consistent 10% ownership in everything in the land. Then we can be done with it. This can reflected in, say, a 10% slice of all taxation going to them for use rights by the wider population. A regular tithe, poll tax, call it what you will, but lets just pay it and be done. Then we can move on from the flaws of the treaty. A specific broad tax payable to people on the basis of their race, and the treaty. Sure, some detail would be lost and gained here and there but broadly the concept is consistent.
Alongside the pan tax there could be a separate set of laws and regulations, criminal justice system, etc. Even separate schools and welfare systems. I think this is good and appears to be what many have argued for.
Let’s do it.
Why 10%?
Give Maori 100% and hope they’re nicer people than pakeha have been.
I was once asked how many seats Maori should have in parliament. My reply of “All of them” met with outraged shock. Personally, I wouldn’t be worried at all. I’m far more worried about carpetbagging pakeha in suits than I am about Maori in the Urewera.
Can a bad/useless/corrupt/putwhatyoulikehere government do good things? Can a bad person do good things?
Obviously this has been a point of discussion around other areas and putting value judgements of what ‘bad’ is aside I want to thank finlayson (I don’t think he’s ‘bad’), personally and as a representative of the government, for saying these things
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/7653374/Historic-Treaty-settlement-for-Tuhoe
This settlement is a strong step towards mana motuhake for NgÄi Tuhoe and I congratulate them.
It is not perfect but it is a step in the right direction and as Tuhoe negotiator Tamati Kruger has said, “he believed the tribe had ultimately won what it was seeking, which was control over the park.”
I wonder about the figure of 170M – is that figure used for relativity or do they calculate it some other way?
edit – snap vto, interesting to see our different perspectives…
snap true mr marty.
On the one hand we have the treaty and colonisation which must be dealt with. On the other we have the settings required for a healthy society as we tootle into the future. As you know, I don’t think the two things lead to the same result. There must be a way that can be achieved but lordy it seems difficult.
we must walk backwards into the future – holding hands as we step
A few odd things happening to the comments section on the top right of the screen – periodically disappearing, or turning into an overlaid mess, but only for a few seconds, then back to normal again.
Could well be my computer which is particularly sluggish today.
I’m having to press F5 fairly often to reload The Standard, as it seems reluctant to load correctly the first time around.
If that Herald poll was accurate, it surely says that the worse this Government behaves the better the voters like it! How many people who have protested the sale of assets, really been sincere?
Read it and weep losers. You will be smashed in any referendum.
đ
Well then you better get out and get more signatures for the petition. Have to ensure that the referendum goes ahead so that we’ll be trashed.
If you look at polls of who is against the sale of assets, the age range and which people are active voters, its difficult to see how the referendum will end up backing the sale of assets.
Where do you get that idea from Mark?
Please don’t say the Herald
Where do you get that idea from Mark?
It comes out of is head fatty. What goes in and what comes out are two totally different things.
The herald poll was an on line poll how many working class and poor have access to time and computers or read the herald, how many repeat votes no limit on the number of times you can vote Its pure BS.
Opinions in the herald blogs have changed quite markedly as more and more are against govt.
@Dr Terry – I wish the herald would release some readership demographics, I suspect it would show a significant portion of reader are “likely” to be of the centre right persuasion, hence an artificially high support figure for the Nats.
You could be onto something a good farming friend of mine (National Voter) expressed the following
“I don’t want the assests sold but what are we going to do about the debt” Unfortunately Labour have not been doing a good job of articulating an economic alternative. Although the conservative policy is a no to assest sales.
What do we do about the debt?
1) You identify all the corporate income streaming out of NZ and you turn them back to NZ.
2) You sort out our exchange rates so that our manufacturers and exporters are not being crippled.
3) You increase tax rates on the wealthiest 5% of NZers so that we do not have to borrow that same money from China, Saudi Arabia and Singapore.
4) You put 50,000 people back to work building up the country so that they are not on benefits.
In response to Iprent calling my support for a new and independent investigation an obsession here is why: 50 different forms of cancer have been added to the list of ailments First responders (Some 70.000 of them) can claim compensation for. That has been an 11 year struggle. For them 911 never ended.
What is really baffling is that in the longs of first responders Nano Thermite residue has been found. Nano Thermite can only be produced in high security Military laboratories in the US. I wonder could the 19 young Muslims who after all were able to evade the US airforce and break the laws of physics also have gained access to those laboratories?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bzyQfHj6fq8
[lprent: You’re treating it as if it was a pejorative expression? Obsessions are what can eventually change the world. Ask any scientist or programmer or blogger or campaigner for any cause through any era. You have to be obsessed with something before you can achieve much beyond the norms. Of course the vast majority of obsessions don’t bear any fruit.
However supporting obsessional people is worth the effort – which is why many people are tolerated commenting here. But I can’t see much reason to be particularly nice about it. I’m afraid that testing an obsession to destruction is about the only effective way to find out if it has merit. ]
That link doesn’t really explain your obsession though.Â
btw, what do you think is going to happen in Chch once the long term effects of toxic dust become evident?Â
Nano-thermite should not be in those lungs for starters Weka and a lot of us have been trying to help first responders and support them in their battle so that sort of kept 911 alive as they were dying. You don’t have to be obsessive just concerned and puzzled by the total lack of support from the US government for these heroes will do.
What relationship does the Chch earthquake and the dust in the air on that day have to do with 70.000 First responders in New York on 911?
I haven’t given it much thought but with the authorities blatantly lying in New York I gave the dust in New York a lot of thought on that day.
It would be an interesting research project though and I would hope that Chch dust victims won’t have to fight for 11 years until they got medical help and compensation like the heroes of 911 had too.
“It would be an interesting research project though and I would hope that Chch dust victims wonât have to fight for 11 years until they got medical help and compensation like the heroes of 911 had too.”
Â
The statement above is untrue. The US Government has been funding medical help for First Responders from the start. All that has changed in yesterdays announcement is that a further 50 types of cancer are now also recognised as potential 9/11 related claims. In other words, the scheme that already exists has been widened in scope.
TRP said:
Yeah except your statement is too vague to be useful. It really means nothing in fact when monthly medical bills for one person can add up to tens of thousands of dollars, and the Federal Gov might pay for a pittance.
See here for an example of Republicans voting down health care funding for 9/11 responders:
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-07-30/politics/9.11.responders.bill_1_simple-majority-vote-majority-rule-benefits-bill?_s=PM:POLITICS
Facts aren’t vague, CV. They’re, um, facts. I wasn’t clarifying the quality of the US Government assistance, just confirming that it has existed all along. So it was a factual and, therefore, useful contribution dispelling some fact free and, therefore, useless hyperbole in the original comment.
Facts aren’t just facts mate. Are they complete? Are they accurate? Are they contextualised?
Regardless, you do accept that the US Congress stalled for years a multibillion dollar health package for 9/11 responders?
For those of you who unlike TRP really want to know how the 911 First Responders fared after they outlived their sell by date as propaganda props to help the Bush administration use the events of 911 to invade and destroy the Arab world which to this day Obama and the other head of the dragon continue to do, here is a link to the Feal Good site. The Feal Good foundation is one of the most important Foundations to provide aid to the First Responders.
This link leads to the News page which gives a good chronological list of the history of the battle for free healthcare for the First Responders, many of whom have died along the way leaving their spouses and Children destitute and with debilitating healthcare bills to deal with.
John Feal who started the Foundation was a 911 First responder and lost half a foot while in the Pit (the name for what was left of the WTC complex) when a steel beam fell on it. He had no money but began to help his former colleagues and people started to give money and help as his project became more known.
Under TRP’s criteria, 9/11 emergency workers being given free boxes of sticky plasters would be counted as “government assistance”.
You’re being a dick, CV. I have no such criteria, I was just pointing out one of Trav’s many mistakes.
There wurrn”t and isn’t none asbestos in Ch/ch. Nones I tell’s ye!
Iprent,
Obsession=a persistent idea or impulse that continually forces its way into consciousness, often associated with anxiety and mental illness.
Commemorating an anniversary of what is arguable one of the most devastating and globally influential catastrophes (Mostly so for Afghanis and Iraqis who had nothing to do with the events) and asking questions about puzzling questions that remain does not constitute an obsession.
If it does thousands of Scientists, Architects, Engineers, Fire fighters Military personal etc would have to be classified as obsessed.
In Germany, most Arab countries, Russia and large areas of the US 80% of the population would be obsessive as those are the numbers which come back as either believing that the US government did no tell the truth or was involved in the events.
In New York 50% believe the official story is rubbish and more than a 100.000 signatures were collected to get a new and independent investigation.
In Italy Judge Ferdinando Imposimato who is the honorary President of the Supreme Court of Italy, and former Senior Investigative Judge, and who presided over several terrorism-related cases, including the kidnapping and ultimate assassination of President Aldo Moro, the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II, other political assassinations and kidnapping cases and several cases against the Mafia. He is a former Senator who served on the Anti-Mafia Commission in three administrations, stated that he would refer the case to the International court of Justice.
Italy has a long history with State Crimes against Democracy and both a former president and this judge have no problem accepting that we need a new and independent investigation.
You also remarked that: Even her science is well argued even if I personally think it is more hopeful than accurate.
I understand that to argue as a moderator with a commentator is a colossal waste of time but I would really like to hear your argument as to how you come to the hopeful bit. Are you arguing that I hope that the events of 911 were perpetrated by our own leaders?
To say so means that you have absolutely no idea how painful it is to have to come to the conclusion that it wasn’t an outside enemy who attacked us but rather a shady group in our own midst. You can fight the enemy at the gate but an enemy in your midst is more devastating and hellish than anything I can think of. Not to be able to trust your own is a hideous thought. To go there is lonely, scary and dangerous and infinitely sad.
Maybe that is why it is so hard for you to actually have a look at the information on offer. Maybe if you did you would understand that to do so means to leave all hope behind.
Attacked “us”? Didnae attack me.
Would you say that that Italian document is about as solid a presentation of the case as one can expect Eve?
Alternatively, do you think it is strong?
You say that you have reluctantly come to the conclusions you hold. Does that presentation of the case strike you as convincing? When you read it, do you quite often think, ‘well, that’s not quite the whole story there Judge, you are leaving out some very important deatails that go against your conclusion’? Things like that.
Because that’s what I found myself thinkng when reading it. Quite a bit.
And that’s leaving aside this little gem:
The authoritative theologian David Ray Griffin has described
very precisely why the hypothesis of controlled demolition should be taken into
consideration.
Honestly, what is one to make of that? Is it a typo?
If not, why should I listen to an authoratative theologian with regard to a hypothesis of controlled demolition?
The judge doesn’t tell me why I should, I wonder if you can.
Dear PB, Another shining example of taking things out of context!
First of all Judge Ferdinando Imposimato is the honorary president of the Italian Supreme Court. He was given this role after a career that saw him presiding over high profile court cases such as the murder of Aldo Moro a former (39th ) Prime Minister of Italy, the attempted murder of Pope John Paul II.
He is a specialist and investigative judge who knows all the ins and outs of the Mafia, International Drugs trading and State crimes against Democracy.
Italy which was on the receiving end of the Gladio operations while Judge Imposimato presided over these cases, is a country which is very aware of how the CIA and other secretive organisations operate in order to manipulate politics and entire populations through fear.
Here is a BBC documentary on the Gladio operations also known as State Sponsored Crime.
I hope that if not you readers who actually do believe you donât get to where the Judge is by being flimsy in your reasoning and that it requires intelligence, discipline, hard work, and personal integrity to achieve what he achieved.
To take one paragraph out of an excerpt of the letter the Judge wrote is careless and showing intellectual laziness in the most positive case but is misleading and dishonest in the worst.
For those of you who never heard of David Ray Griffin here is his wiki link. David Ray Griffin used his skills of reasoning as a Professor in Theology and 20th century Philosophy which taught from 1973 until April 2004 to analyse the events of 911.
On his Wiki page you will see that he has published a whole series of books on the subject and if you could actually be bothered to read any of them I can assure you you will find them to be solid scientific analysis. For those of you who canât be bothered but donât mind a lecture on video here is one example of DRGâs intellectual prowess.
What PBâs simplistic and dishonest comment does not convey either is that the letter from Judge Imposimanto is a verdict in reaction to the Toronto hearings which heard the testimonies and scientific analysis of the many scientists and professionals who put their cases before a very erudite panel chaired by the judge.
To put this aside with a sneer is again dishonest and intellectually lazy because if you give credence to âAuthorityâ (as most do in the case of 911) and the powers that be merely because you ought to you should also give credence to judges with a long history of intellectual and personal integrity who, after studying material they have been given by other persons of authority in subjects and science connected to the events of 911, reach a conclusion not aligned with the Conspiracy theory the Political powers that be want us to accept without critical thinking.
Another long screed attacking me for asking questions.
Here is the wiki link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ray_Griffin
He is a theologian who has written a number of books promoting trutherism. Fair enough, but he doesn’t sound unbiased to me. He takes a post modrn approach to reconciling beliefs with other beliefs. It’s not exactly the sort of thing criminal investigators rely on, for example. It is certainly not ‘scientific’.
RE: The Toronto hearings. Who was representing the other side of the debate? Was there cross examination of witnesses, or did they just present their own theories?
And I have no doubts about the Jufges credentials, it’s his argument as presented in that piece that I was talking about.
But apparently, the only thing we should look at is his credentials, and therefore conclude that his argument must be unquestionable.
No PB,
This was not a long screed attacking you. This was a long screed giving a lot of links to people who actually do want to know about 911.
Big difference!
I know you won’t put in the hards slog but you know what? Other people do and it is those I aim for. I give them the information and they investigate and make up their own minds.
The Judge did and so did millions upon millions of people and idjits like you are an incredible help achieving that. I don’t want to attack you! You are merely a means to an end.
Have a nice day on your planet, wherever that is!
Appears to be a blog version of palilalia.
Perhaps with a hint of Aspergers on the side ?
“You are merely a means to an end.”
No Eve, I am a person.
And Yes, your screed was an attck on me. you called me dishonest and balh blah blah, but never even attemted to answer my questions.
I did not quote out of context, so that was a false accusation. A lie.
I quoted the Judge’s report, and asked what the quote was supposed to mean. That is asking for context
That is not attacking you, it is pointing out the fact of what you did.
Sorry for the triple post. The site reported a failure to deliver and I tried again. It seems there was a bug at play. I prefer the last one to stay if you want to delete any of them.
Oh, you object to being objectified and portrayed as a 2 dimensional character. Funny that!
There’s a peer reviewed article about something consistent with nanothermite being found in the dust:
The Open Chemical Physics Journal, 2009, 2, 7-31
This journal is open access and available to anyone for download of articles. Just google it.
I have absolutely no idea how rigorous the peer review process is for this journal, but I know one of the associate editors personally and might ask him if I can ever spare an hour or so for a quick answer. As soon as I get time, I’ll have a more critical look at the article itself. I can actually make a meaningful analysis of a published work much more easily than I can of a youtube video.
BTW nanothermite is even used in fireworks these days. It’s more available than it was in 2001, and appears to have been commercially available in applications since at least 2010:
http://research.missouri.edu/otmir/mte2012/featuredtech/abstracts.html
Â
That’s very interesting.
The government has a costly group of business beneficiaries who they encourage to continue acting irresponsibly, while parent beneficiaries get bashed again by Bennett with a draconian form of social engineering: http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/09/polluters-benefit-beneficiaries-bashed.html
I note that Eddie has said similar things to me.
Capital gains are free of tax, which means there’s an incentive to finalize business endeavors
early and take the capital gain. An incentive to short change and cut corners. Oops, look at
our housing stock, cheap nasty, thrown up on unsuitable land… …our government is corrupt.
Seen on Shearer live a few minutes ago:
Yep, it seems that he’s still trying the confuse and misdirection method of hiding the fact that he doesn’t have a point.
People don’t usually get criminal records just for smoking a joint anyway. In most cases the cops ignore it, and have done for years unless they’re after you for some other reason. He has less than a point.
Newsflash: Brownlee says what he thinks!
On the day we find what our equake $$$ are being spent on, Gerry tells us what he really thinks about equake people.
Half a million is revealed as the cost for the chch eq blueprint launch (lunch??), and Gerry drops the mask and calls us names. Big time! Read the comments on the second link, couldn’t be hotter, 50 to 1 against Gerry. What a complete idiot.
Shameful goings on in the House today, on the part of the PM and Speaker!
Shearer’s question 1 was originally to the PM and was changed to be to the Minister of Ed:
http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Business/QOA/2/f/3/00HOH_OralQuestions-List-of-questions-for-oral-answer.htm
.
Shearer withdrew the question because he is now no longer able to hold the PM to account.
Peter’s has been protesting because it has impacted on his planned supplementaries.
And now English says he can’t/won’t explain what he means by “discomfort” in this context:
http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Business/QOA/2/f/3/00HOH_OralQuestions-List-of-questions-for-oral-answer.htm
First Lockwood says Blinglish must answer, explain, clarify, or something. Then, Lockwood decided it wasn’t in the public interest to answer….. say what?
In an attempt to energize the base, National releases new ad campaign
Nice work, William, probably a bit intellectual for National Party activists though. Iwi/Kiwi is about as challenging as they can handle.
Lovely! I printed it out and put it on the front door of the office.
oooo…. but, sir, that’s pure godw1n!
So Nationals throwing down the gauntlet to Labour already, how will Labour respond?
Wow, that’s a pretty random comment, Chris. Well up to your usual standard đ Funny how it’s almost interchangeable with this one. Were you and CV seperated at birth?
Not really, Labour came out swinging with the food for selected students and now N ational have counter-attacked with welfare.
Will Labour be able to withstand the onslaught or will it be up to the Greens to tag in and make some headway
When you say “counter attacked with welfare” you mean counter attacked with “smashing” welfare, right?
lol – one might say they broke welfare over labour’s head. To early to see if labour was hurt by it…
Smashed ’em bro!
Glaciers and Climate Change: Mauri Pelto Interview
This summer I accompanied a team to the cascades wilderness in the pacific northwest to document the front line, boots on the ice field work that is revealing the emerging story of global climate change.
This is the first of a series of videos documenting what I learned, and what I saw.
more at
http://www.nichols.edu/departments/glacier/
http://glacierchange.wordpress.com/
http://glacierchange.wordpress.com/2012/07/14/easton-glacier-assessment-washington/
http://www.nichols.edu/departments/glacier/easton.htm
Canada left the Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming  [CAGW] group-think last year after listening to their scientists;  now Germany is preparing to leave the sinking ship
http://notrickszone.com/2012/09/10/german-academy-of-sciences-and-engineering-calls-off-climate-ctatstrophe-coping-will-not-be-a-problem/Â
German Academy Of Sciences And Engineering Calls Off Climate Catastrophe â Coping Will Not Be A Problem
By P Gosselin on 10. September 2012
*** Â Â **************************Â
Â
FFS
No surprise that coping will not be a problem for the richest countries in the world…at least for a little while.
You know something, if such a particularly significant even had occurred then you would be able to find it in the news but it just doesn’t seem to be there.
A link was provided – but don’t sweat it;
there is plenty more reversals being put into action.
Here is another one to reverse the trend of bio-fuels;
some are saying ‘why should we starve, while the rich fill their SUV’s with biofuels”?
So bio-fuels are getting close scrutiny; and failing the exposure……
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/10/us-eu-biofuels-idUSBRE8890SJ20120910Â Â
No there wasn’t. Well, not to a credible source – just a couple of blogs.
BTW, I’ve never been a fan of bio-fuels. I’d rather just get rid of the cars and turn trains, buses and trucks electric.
The U-turns from the fear of the  CAGW hoax continue:
Europe are now trying to back-track on their Aviation tax
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-09-11/europe-mulls-suspending-airline-emissions-chargeÂ
France is moving to lift its ban on Fracking
http://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2012/09/12/french-government-open-to-explore-shale-gas-extraction-report/Â
Italy is aiming to double its oil and gas production – resulting in 25,000 real [not green subsidized] jobs and $Billions saved in oil imports.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/09/11/uk-italy-energy-idUKBRE88A0JZ20120911Â Â
 Tis a good day for future prosperity.
Nice try, but that’s not evidence of a “hoax” just of governments’ stupidity:
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/10/820871/abcs-blakemore-climate-coverage-drop-due-to-disinformation-and-intimidation-campaign-plus-immensity-of-crisis/?mobile=nc
In the 1970’s the ‘hoax’ was Global Cooling – some of the same names from pushing that fraud [front page of Time Magazine etc.] even turn up as the early doom-sayers in the 1990’s proclaiming Global Warming.
As at 2012 we’re into 10+ years of flat lining global temperatures; while at the same time atmospheric CO2 has gone up from about 290ppm to 390ppm. Â Governments are beginning to see the disconnect between CO2 and world temperatures.Â
I read the article you link to; it is not really anything to do with why Governments are making these decisions now in 2012; it is more a wailing about the media [and me thinks the general population] loosing interest in CAGW as life continues on as normal, with the usual rise and fall in climate matters for now in excess of 20 years. Â It is hard to keep yelling doom for 20 years and expect people to still be listening.
FIFY
And lets hope, also for the good people of Europe who are suffering high unemployment etc.  Good decisions by their Governments will have world-wide implications.
And Banks has come out with his excuse for being corrupt – it was the law’s fault.
Yeah, I don’t think too many people are going to see him as a victim.
“As Charles Dickens said in 1838 the law is an ass – and it’s important that the Government cleans it up. No candidate for public office should go through what I had to go through.”
Now that one actually gave me a laugh. The man is an utterly shameless piece of sh*t. First why throw in the exact year that Dickens said that? Showing off. Practiced that line in front of the mirror did we John? Second the only reason he got away with his blatant law-breaking is because of the technicality of the incident occuring more than 6 months ago. His second sentence should be “No candidate for public office should be able to get away scot free after fiddling the books like I did.” But he’s the victim here? He had to put up with a tough time because of this silly law? Tui ad?
To me Banks is an even bigger candidate for narcissistic personality disorder than Gerry Brownlee. (Google: narcissistic personality disorder arrogant “never wrong”.)
Agree.
That guy is political poison
Ha Ignorance of the law now is the Banks (John that is) excuse! Good at passing them, bad at understanding what they mean these pollies. What we pay them for I don’t know. If we worked at Parliament in shifts ourselves we could make as big a mess at a quarter? of the cost, and our canteen would be Bellamys. We would still keep Bellamys, there have to be some perks.
A bit on the new ACC Board:
Not long ago the new ACC board was announced. It will be headed by Paula Rebstock, who already heads the newly created Social Welfare Board as well. I wonder what else she is in charge now. One other board member is Dr Des Gorman, who has over many years been advising ACC on a wider range of claims cases, apparently making some questioned and disputed assessments.
Dr Des Gorman as one new board member of ACC, working alongside the new head of ACC, who is Paula Rebstock (former business operator, Commerce Commissioner, senior Welfare Working Group member), does send serious warning signals. It does show anything else but a supposed âchange of cultureâ at ACC.
Also does he already hold such a wide range of high ranking, key positions in the health and health related training sector, one must ask, can this be in the public interest?
His involvements can be viewed in the following:
Dr Des Gormanâs appointment to the ACC Board, announcement National Party website:
http://www.national.org.nz/Article.aspx?articleId=39319
Dr Gormanâs qualifications, summarised background and reference to his senior position at the Medical School of the University of Auckland:
https://www.alumni.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/af-des-gorman
Dr Des Gormanâs controversial assessments and recommendations:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCecwuwCHb4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QknNdOhOkr8&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCecwuwCHb4&feature=relmfu
Dr Des Gormanâs involvement in the appointment of the Health and Disability Commissioner:
http://accforum.org/forums/index.php?/topic/11451-des-gorman-involved-in-appointment-of-health-and-disability-commissioner/
Dr Des Gorman as Executive Chair of Health Workforce New Zealand (a new business focused organisation set up within the Ministry of Health in 2009, by Tony Ryall):
http://www.healthworkforce.govt.nz/about-us/board-members
Health Workforce NZâs Annual Plan for 2011-2012:
http://www.healthworkforce.govt.nz/sites/all/files/HWNZ%20Annual%20Plan%202011-12.pdf
http://www.healthworkforce.govt.nz/sites/all/files/HWNZ Annual Plan 2011-12.pdf
Health Worforce NZâs influence on GP training by the Royal NZ College of GPs:
http://www.healthworkforce.govt.nz/our-work/gp-training-review
http://healthworkforce.govt.nz/our-work/gp-training-review/discussion-paper-and-feedback
http://healthworkforce.govt.nz/sites/all/files/Discussion Paper – Workforce Requirements for New Models of Service Delivery.pdf
(see especially the already commenced training program to enable GPs to complete some additional modules in training, equipping them with basic âmental healthâ qualification, to be used for treating and assessing mental health clients, also of course, for WINZ)
Dr Gormanâs involvement with the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners:
http://www.rnzcgp.org.nz/home/SearchForm?Search=Des+Gorman
Dr Des Gorman as member of the National Health Board:
http://www.nationalhealthboard.govt.nz/who-we-are/our-members
Dr Gormanâs attendance NZ Healthcare Congress 2012:
http://www.healthcarecongress.org.nz/page.php?ref=programme
He is not popular on the ACC Forum website, not surprisingly. There is some interesting info to be found on assessors:
http://accforum.org/forums/index.php?/forum/58-acc-asessorscontractors/
So Dr Gorman seems to have his hands into most of the health sector somehow. That does scare me, as his influence, combined with other peculiar new ACC board members, is likely to change little, and lead to more secrecy in the way they will operate. ’60 minutes’ last Sunday exposed what has already been going on.
http://www.tv3.co.nz/September-9th—Exit-Strategy/tabid/1343/articleID/79380/Default.aspx
Also I noted new updates in an older thread of discussion they have. And to my surprise they indicate, that the Principal Health Advisor of MSD, who introduced and managed the training of “designated doctors” and also his own internal staff (Regional Health and Disability Advisors, Health and Disability Coordinators, all advising case managers at WINZ) in 2008, is now MOVING OVER TO A JOB AT ACC:
http://accforum.org/forums/index.php?/topic/7309-drs-anthony-djurkov-david-bratt-peter-jansen/
(see post or page # 12 and so)
And although not finally confirmed, a WINZ client has informed me, that some informations he has obtained, do indicate, that at least for now, and already for some time, the involvement of “designated doctors” by MSD and Work and Income for medical examinations and assessments has been stopped!?
So some major changes are happening. Very, very interesting, but maybe also worrying, what will come next.
The US ambassador to Libya has just been killed. A rocket attack on his vehicle, apparently.
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/09/the-movie-so-offensive-that-egyptians-just-stormed-the-us-embassy-over/262225/
edit: Google translation of this post
Why is it that so many ungrateful wretches still fail to feel the love for the yankee devils?
Religion in this case, TM. Poverty, ignorance and superstition led to the film being made and the same combination led to the riots in Egypt and Libya against the film. Time to outlaw god, for the good of humankind.
As an atheist I agree! The damage done to human progression by theists of various persuasions over the last few thousands of years is immense.
Steve Keen’s NZ lecture.
Alan Bollard: goodbye and good riddance. What a dodgepot.