“The upshot of all of this is we are seeing a highly inflationary negative supply shock, not a very deflationary negative net demand shock. Oops, because the central banks responded as if it was the latter,” Zollner said.
With the Safe Areas bill passing its 3rd reading, how do i find out who are the 12 MPs who voted against the bill are? Luxon has previously voted against it according to a newshub article from 12 March 2021. I will try to post the link. “How MPs voted on law change that would all safe zone around abortion clinics”.
Apologies if someone has already commented on this subject.
Nine dissenting votes came from National Party MPs, and three from Labour. The entire Act, Green and Māori parties voted in favour of the bill.
Act Party leader David Seymour was originally against the amendment, and had tried to pass a provision prohibiting it in the law. But Seymour voted for the bill on Wednesday, following changes made in the select committee process.
I suggest you have a look at the website that reports parliament. In the old days the record was called Hansard. You get all the details of votes there.
New Zealand Labour 3 (Kanongata'a-Suisuiki, Leavasa, Strange); New Zealand National 9 (Brown, Hipango, Lee, O'Connor, Penk, Pugh, Simmonds, Upston, Woodhouse).
On Radio NZ this morning Gerry Brownlee wondered why we continue diplomatic relations with a country, Russia, which acts so aggressively attacking another country.
They meanwhile keep putting out propoganda justifying their actions.
Countries, people, believe propoganda or go along with narratives painted by it for their own reasons.
Like NZ went along with the 'weapons of mass destruction' thing and the US attacking another country. I wonder back then if there were calls to cut off diplomatic relations with the USA.
I heard him & he did make sense for a change – but he didn't address the function of diplomacy at all. He didn't even point out that Labour aren't using it!
Mahuta ought to call the Russian ambassador in for a meeting, tell him that offensive propaganda doesn't work, and suggest a focus on resolving the discord that produced the war in the first place. If we engage with Russia constructively & signal a future in which peaceful coexistence prevails, we have potential to co-create a pathway to that future. Let's do this.
Offending people alienates them. Collaboration develops upon the opposite basis. Likewise the economy develops on a mutual-benefit basis. Focus on common ground (actual or potential) has to be the attitude one takes into diplomacy, if one wants to generate agreements via negotiation.
There's a bunch of regular contributors to this site that appear to believe it is. I'm not necessarily one of them. However it is true that offending people to alienate them has been part of the traditional way of politics throughout history – probably because the users find it a useful technique.
As a manipulation strategy it depends on the motives of the user, right? So there's an ethical dimension to the context. When I use the technique it's for the enhancement of the common good. The target, irritated, becomes more likely to engage the issue on a deeper mental level. Ponder, reflect, and one often finds perception changing downstream in consequence…
Provocation can be useful tool, but it is extremely difficult to wield it and get the desired/optimal result and it easily backfires. It takes loads of practice and experience and you have to know with whom you’re dealing. I use it, but only in specific circumstances with very clear purpose in mind. Another risk is that one gets a reputation as provocateur, manipulator, stirrer, or something similar and labelled & treated as such by default – it’s almost impossible to correct/shake such perception once it has hardened in the minds of others.
Indeed. Some folks seem to have an innate difficulty with reframing on others. The fact that emotional intelligence is more inherently missing online (due to biological basis in facial expressions & body language) is relevant to this difficulty too. I agree re usage with carefully managed parameters being an essential skill. You get boundary issues…
Yup, maybe I should do a Post one day on the inherent limitations of written debate and conversation. Plenty has been written about language perceptions of e-mail messages and how to improve effective communication from a mostly professional perspective (e.g. less is more). Then again, the written form has many unique advantages too.
An official weigh-in at a local farming store put Dug at 7.8 kilograms (17 pounds), equal to a couple of sacks of regular potatoes, or one small dog. The existing Guinness record will stand, a 2011 monster from Britain that weighed in at just under 5 kg.
Nounself pronouns are a type of pronoun featuring a noun which one relates to. For example, I use bee pronouns, which can be used in this way: “This is bee’s coat”.
Emojiself pronouns are pronouns stemmed from an emoji, for example: “This is ’s coat”.
Some people use no pronouns, instead using a person’s name where a pronoun would be: “This is Tom’s coat”.
It is also important to note that if a person uses multiple pronouns that they expect these pronouns to be alternated in sentences. For example, I myself go by bee/it/they pronouns so when referring to me, one might say: “This is Rome, bee thinks it could have left its coat in the house so they are just going to go look for it, we should join bee.”
So what have we learnt? That any person can use any pronouns, that neopronouns are valid and an established part of the English language, and that language itself is evolving all the time.
What have I learnt? A sense of humour is vital when confronted by the ridiculous, And Rome is the gift that keeps on giving, when linking to their{?) definition of (?) gender – Maverique:
Maverique is a term that has recently emerged. Although the term may be growing in usage, and is significant and well-sourced enough to warrant inclusion on this wiki, it may still be relatively unknown outside of the platform or community where it originated. The exact definition and name may not have stabilized, and may change significantly as more people identify with it.
Maverique is a non-binary gender identity, that is defined by autonomy and conviction about one's inner sense of self. It is not related to or derived from manhood or womanhood, but also is not neutrois or agender.
Flag
The maverique flag was designed by Vesper H. on June 16, 2014. The color meanings are as follows:
Yellow: Independent from other genders. Yellow was chosen because it is a primary color, which means that it cannot be obtained from combining other colors, similar to how maverique is not derivative of other genders.
White: Autonomy and independence, especially from the gender binary
Orange: Inner conviction in regard to one's gender
and yes, its the daily fail, but fwiw, they actually write about this and they also don't put it behind a paywall.
But women, transwomen, non binary people are chucked together in 'mixed' wards now cause 'single sex' wards would be not inclusive to men. Never mind the women and girls that get assaulted.
…….and it wouldn't be complete without a yuk anecdote.
Was very ill after bowel blockage/perforation and was first in room next to nurses, then in room of four……3 women and one elderly man. Man always informed us that he was going to the loo for a piXX or shXT. Generally walked round with everything askew. Asked to have my curtains drawn around me as last thing I wanted when hooked up and in pain was hearing and seeing a person like that.
Other nurses were always flinging the curtains back. One night at 11.30pm I texted my sister in Southland who rang security at the hospital here in Wellington who evicted all the man's visitors. After a couple of days of this and lack of sleep through his uncouth and long stay visitors I got to need a single room again.
I am not sure why they cannot have a room with females in it and one with males in it……or why they had a room with 3 women captive in their beds needing help to mobilise to get to the loo or were still at the stage where we were hooked up, and one mobilising uncouth male. Why not four people in same boat male or female? Seemed to have taken no care and anything goes.
Spent the night in Middlemore's Children's Hospital with my young (10) son, who was booked in for an early morning orthopaedic surgery. Was in a ward with a lovely young man, who was being visited by extended family, who we spoke to in the early afternoon.'
The visitors kept coming and increased, and while trying to settle my son down, became louder and louder. After a while, visitors left and new ones arrived. After 9pm I spoke to the family, the grandfather of the boy next to us, had also been at Middlemore and had passed away. We were seeing the traipse of visitors moving between the two patients. Having some sympathy for the family, I just returned to trying to read/bore my son to sleep. But the (loud) conversations continued until 11.00pm, primarily talking about death and body preparations. At which time, I spoke to the ward staff, who suggested I have empathy for the family. I said, I do, but could they not relocate the boy into one of the empty four rooms I could see on the ward? They said No. I then suggested they go and clear out the room so my son could get to sleep, because I didn't think that it was my place to do so, and I might unwittingly cause offense.
About 11.30pm they reluctantly did so. Allowing four adults to stay in the room overnight.
The only reason I can see for not providing this family with a separate room was sheer laziness. The constant visitors etc. continued for the next two days, and after waiting several hours after the surgeon's approval to go home, we gave up, and I checked my son out at 3.30pm so he could catch up on sleep and start recovery.
Mixing sexes in this already sub-standard service, is asking for trouble.
I agree. The service I had first and then when I slightly relapsed and had to have a single room again was exemplary. It was just the few days after I was moved from the initial surgery room and then being in this horrible shared room that was so ghastly.
When I was up and walking like crazy to get my strength back one of the initial nurses followed me down to a big lounge and said she agreed with me, that getting security to evict the visitors was a good thing (they were helpless to do it), he was a difficult patient/person but he needed help as his uncared for diabetes & lung condition had meant he was in danger of losing his leg. Sad but you do get to choose whether you are crude and rude to those around you and he chose to be crude and rude. She said 'some of us try to keep him away from rooms with woman patients but his condition sometimes means that he needs to be close to the nurses station' & mentioned the hospital policy of male/female wards…….say no more. .
The NHS review into single-sex wards is being carried out by a "trans advocate" who has said that rules that allow patients to self-identify their gender will not be changed, The Telegraph can reveal.
Dr Michael Brady, the national adviser for LGBT health at NHS England, has written to campaign groups telling them that there is “no plan to reduce existing rights of trans people”. Controversial charities Stonewall and Mermaids had contributed “very helpfully” to the process, Dr Brady told the Trans NHS Staff Network in emails seen by The Telegraph.
It has been warned that trusts are following NHS England guidance on eliminating mixed-sex wards which states that patients should be accommodated according to their presentation and “the way they dress, and the name and pronouns they currently use”.
Despite the review of this guidance being ordered amid concern for the impact on women, Dr Brady said in emails that the “commitment from the team leading on the review is supporting the maintenance/strengthening of trans rights in the update”.
As is this one here with Ireland, can't decide on a gender, tick men women other what ever and we randomly assign something to you…..never mind the 'requirement to truthfully fill out this census' lol
At the launch of Census 2022 The Taoiseach said “it will be fascinating to see what Census 2022 tells us about our country
all of us will be fascinated…..all of us
and this is just such a good read on the Maya Forstater Case again currently being held, this time its her past employer being taken to task. No need for Twitter, this app here is even better as they are just the full thread.
No, it wasn't the fact that so many pregnant women have not had a booster despite them having an unborn babe to protect as well as themselves. Although that is bad enough.
Its because they have been referred to as "people". They are women. WOMEN! So effing well say so. This pc garbage where difference, whatever it may be, must be hidden behind some heavy beige curtain has gone too far.
Who are these beige people who are responsible for this nonsensical crap?
But, but, but didn't you know about the womb transplants…..several pre implantation and a couple where they just took the whole thing holus bolus and transplanted it into a 'person'.
The same folk who are responsible for putting alleged in front of anything that might be criminal.
Someone with a knife stuck in them has been stabbed. It may have been accidental, or self-inflicted, or the work of some other person – but the stabbing is factual, not an allegation.
Another Russian general killed (and Maj Gen Oleg Mityaev has a particularly unsavory reputation from Syria so let's no cry for him). Scores of other senior officers (colonels and majors) are also confirmed dead. If Ukrainian claims are correct (and they've got form for bumping off senior Russian officers – see Nikolai Vatutin) then fully 20% of all Russian general officers present in the Ukraine have been killed in 20 days.
There is only two reasons officers this senior get killed in large numbers. Either they are making a last stand or, as I suspect in this case, they are at the front trying to exhort and motivate their army by sheer force of will and are getting picked off by the defenders because their army is hopeless and they are get quickly identified and targeted in insecure locations.
I have a growing suspicion the Russians are are in trouble and if the Ukrainians can counter-attack they might find themselves with a lot of willing prisoners.
A loitering munition (also known as a suicide drone or kamikaze drone is a weapon system category in which the munition loiters (waits passively) around the target area for some time and attacks only once a target is located.
They can hang about, potentially for hours, waiting for a target.
Imagine a completely AI, pre-programmed 2kg flying fragmentation grenade that cost less than $200 smashing on to you after waiting for an hour for you (or someone else with a human shape and heat signature or simply moves) to step outside of your dugout and you’ve got the future. Oh and if you jump into your tank to hide the big brother one will swoop down and blow the whole vehicle to smithereens as well.
The wee one is just like a grenade. The big one does tank take-outs:
The larger Switchblade 600 loitering munition weighs 50 lb (23 kg) but is man-portable and can be set up in 10 minutes. It is designed to fly out to 40 km (25 mi) in 20 minutes, then loiter for another 20 minutes (giving it an 80 km (50 mi) total range) and attack at a 115 mph (185 km/h) dash speed, carrying an anti-armor warhead designed to neutralize armored vehicles.
A touchscreen tablet-based fire control system can manually or autonomously control the munition, and it is secured through onboard encrypted data links and Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module GPS with a patented wave-off capability.
Perhaps because of the way Willis implied that managing the economy of a sovereign nation with its own currency was like a managing a household budget? She said that women commonly do the latter – and it was therefore good to have a female finance spokesperson.
As false equivalences go, it's a very serviceable one. It makes a good dose of austerity aimed at the lower orders seem like unavoidable common sense that can be delivered with implacable certainty. When that certainty becomes transcendent and quasi-religious, we are definitely in Ruth Richardson territory.
Ok so I don't normally do posts like this but here goes.
I prefer movies and pop culture to anything else (yes that includes Jude and cricket) so I'm posting a link to anyone that wants to help fund awesome content.
I watched In Search Of Darkness (about 80s horror) and it was good, really good. You can tell its a labour of love for these guys and that they're really into it and this (80s sci-fi) is looking even better
Will pass on link to young man who is currently living in our granny flat. As he is immunocompromised and ill, he is really isolated from his age group,. I'm thepoor substitute- we talk and trade links.
One of them was Flight of the Navigatot Special FX
Yesterday was the 55th anniversary of the My Lai massacre in the Vietnam War, an event that has been acknowledged was only the tip of an iceberg of war crimes.
The one shining light was the humanity and bravery of Hugh Thompson and his helicopter crew, a man who was shunned in the aftermath but deserved the highest praise for his stance. If we think of Chelsea Manning, Assange, and Snowden, Thompson stands in their company.
Some people publicly stated that they felt Thompson was the only soldier at My Lai who should be punished (for turning his weapons on fellow American troops) and wanted to see him court-martialed for his actions at My Lai.
You won't read of this anniversary in the media anywhere. This was a turning point in my belief in the myth of the USA. Carpet bombing, chemical warfare, and a pointless cause.
Dylan nailed it in Blind Willie McTell. Six words in this verse define so much of American history, and nothing's changed.
I recall observing under George W with his nuclear penetrator, and today with some comments about "small" nukes, that there is a recurring tendency to regard nukes as just really big bombs, maybe with some lingering cancer effects over future decades if the bomb is "dirty".
It's possibly pertinent to point out that they're not just a big bomb. Most people suffering traumatic injuries from a bomb tend to die relatively quickly, or survive.
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
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 ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to ...
RNZ News As Israel presses ahead with strikes in Rafah and seizing the Rafah crossing from Egypt, aid agencies are sounding the alarm of a “catastrophic humanitarian situation”. Rafah was “significant” because it was the only part in Gaza that had not been terribly damaged by the conflict, United Nations ...
With funding set to be scrapped for the Hamilton-Auckland commuter train, Te Huia enthusiast Georgie Dansey argues for it to be thrown a lifeline. It’s 5.45am and the chain of my crappy old bike falls off slugging up the one hill in Hamilton. I contemplate yeeting the bike into the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Cooke, Honorary Fellow, School of the Environment, The University of Queensland We feel ecological grief when we lose places, species or ecosystems we value and love. These losses are a growing threat to mental health and wellbeing globally. We all see ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shauna Brail, Associate Professor, Institute for Management & Innovation, University of Toronto A shift to hybrid and remote work continues to affect worker presence in Toronto’s downtown.(Shutterstock) Downtown Toronto, the core of Canada’s largest city, continues to reel from the lingering ...
Responding to an Auditor-General's report slamming failures in the administration of the 2023 General Election, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: ...
Productivity apps now make up a big chunk of the software market. But do they work? And why do they all have AI integrations?Despite being firmly on the record as a physical planner fan, I sometimes dream of something better than my pretty diary and its scrawled, ugly, interior ...
The Taxpayers’ Union says the Beehive need to lead by example, following reports of more than $50,000 spent upgrading video conferencing equipment and furniture in the Prime Minister’s office. Taxpayers’ Union Campaign Manager, Connor Molloy, ...
An objective list of the 50 most powerful people in New Zealand, as judged by the Spinoff Editorial Board. It’s power list season, baby, and we want in on the action. Sure, there’s the rich list and the powerful “c-suite” list and the young people with power (hmmm) but here, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thalia Anthony, Professor of Law, University of Technology Sydney ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the names of deceased people, and describes ongoing colonial violence towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. First Nations people in Australia ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Macquarie University Netflix Baby Reindeer’s phenomenal success has much to do with its writer and lead, Richard Gadd, who plays Donny in a tender semi-autobiographical account of sexual abuse, harassment and stalking. Gadd’s story has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle KarolinaGrabowska/Pexels If you didn’t have food allergies as a child, is it possible to develop them as an adult? The short answer is yes. But the reasons why are much ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Moon, Professor of History, Auckland University of Technology Ans Westra, self-portrait, c. 1963. National Library ref AWM-0705-F They try but invariably fail – those writers who believe they are capable of encapsulating in prose or verse the essence of ...
Stewart Sowman-Lund looks at the growing concern around the world in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. What’s all this? When Covid-19 arrived on our shores in early 2020, some argued we were too slow, or crucially, ill-prepared for a pandemic. So ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Franco Montalto, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and Director, Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory, Drexel University Water runs into a storm drain in a Los Angeles alley on Aug. 19, 2023, during Tropical Storm Hilary.Citizen of the Planet/Universal Images ...
The inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones has turned up a new witness who says he saw two teenagers and a small child in a high vis vest in the area where the boy’s body was found the day he died. Lachie’s body was discovered face up ...
Stories from the tenancy trenches, featuring spider infestations, cupboard rats and same-sex discrimination. Lucy’s brother was living in a damp 1930s building in Mt Eden where “he had to tie the cupboard doors closed so the rats didn’t get in”. Although he shared custody of his six-year-old son, his property ...
Simeon Brown, Chris Luxon, and Wayne Brown climbed into a hole and announced a plan to solve Auckland’s water woes. This is how it’ll work. New Zealand’s pipes are munted. They’re cracked and leaking, and struggling to handle all the extra poos excreted by our rising population. It’s a big, ...
I knew Taika Waititi quite well when he was a kid. His mother lived in a tall narrow house in Aro St, and my youngest sister had a similar house two doors along. They were both single mums, they each had a son aged seven. Taika and my nephew Stepan ...
Opinion: “As time passes, knowledge of the circumstances of the August 2016 outbreak will fade and its immediate impact will be lost.” This statement is from the 2017 report of the Official Inquiry into the Havelock North campylobacteriosis outbreak. The then National-led government established the inquiry after the outbreak left ...
Opinion: Nicholas Khoo looks at two key points in the high-stakes foreign policy pact debate – and asks if NZ can engage with as little drama as possible. The post Where to next for the Aukus ruckus? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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Opinion: ‘Reference-class forecasting’ is at the heart of improving pricing a project and identifying the expected timeframe but it doesn’t appear to be in use here The post ‘Think fast and act slowly’ is failing big projects appeared first on Newsroom. ...
What do a sombrero in Argentina and cognitive driving tests have in common? Don’t worry, we’re not setting up a bad joke. Hinengaro Clinic dementia clinician Gregory Winkelman has the answer on today’s episode of The Detail. “We ask a patient’s spouse or son or daughter: If you went to ...
Wellington long jumper Phoebe Edwards is back and she’s having fun again. Until this year, Edwards, a top athlete in her teens, had never competed as a senior athlete in New Zealand. In March, the 26-year-old won a national long jump title in a lifetime best of 6.28m after ...
After replacing a fifth of their caucus in just four months, the Greens’ opportunity to reset, reshuffle and refocus on the Government is quickly slipping away The post Persistent Green Party scandals delay caucus reset appeared first on Newsroom. ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
By Robin Martin, RNZ News reporter A New Zealand local authority, Whanganui District Council, has passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, condemnation of all acts of violence and terror against civilians on both sides of the conflict and the immediate return of hostages. It comes as ...
Asia Pacific Report The Aotearoa chapter of the Women’s International league for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has appealed to the New Zealand government to call out Israel over the “cruel and barbaric use of force” in Gaza and demand a permanent ceasefire. The league’s open letter was sent to Prime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will invest $566 million over a decade on data, maps and other tools to promote exploration and development in Australia’s resources industry. The project will fund “the first comprehensive map of what’s ...
Asia Pacific Report Following an open letter by Auckland University academics speaking out in support of their students’ right to protest against the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, a group of academics at Otago University have today also called on New Zealand academic institutions to “repair colonial violence” and end ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linda J. Graham, Professor and Director of the Centre for Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology Ryan Tauss/ Unsplash, CC BY Two male students have been expelled from a Melbourne private school for their involvement in a list ranking female students. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The Reserve Bank is now assuming Australians will see no interest rate cuts this year – and quite possibly none before the next federal election, due next May. That’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University The Victorian budget offered more of the same on Tuesday, with the only change being how the budget papers were packaged. The usual shrink wrap was gone, hinting at savings in the pages ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Coalition is demanding extensive amendments to the government’s legislation targeting non-citizens who refuse to co-operate with their removal. In a dissenting report to the senate inquiry into the legislation, the Coalition says it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanita Yadav, Senior Research Fellow, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Brett Boardman/Belvoir The complex and grappling issue of violence against women takes centre stage in the soul-stirring solo dance drama Nayika: A Dancing Girl. During a dinner conversation ...
Disruption to patient care from a nationwide junior doctors strike is bordering on unsafe, a senior doctor claims, despite what health officials say. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Ground Picture/Shutterstock The anti-cancer drug abemaciclib (also known as Vernezio) has this month been added to the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to treat certain ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic McAfee, Postdoctoral researcher, marine ecology, University of Adelaide Robbie Porter, OzFish Unlimited Around Australia, hundreds of people are coming together to help a once-prized, but decimated and largely forgotten marine ecosystem. They’re busy restoring Australia’s native oyster and mussel reefs. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Webb, Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology Austin Human/Unsplash How does Earth stop meteors from hitting Earth and hurting people? –Asher, 6 years 11 months, New South Wales Alright, let’s embark on a meteor ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rory Mulcahy, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of the Sunshine Coast Professional sports organisations regularly promote and develop initiatives to support diversity, equity and inclusion. While sport has the power to change attitudes by sparking conversations about political issues and social ...
Comment: The weekly Monday post-Cabinet press conference is a useful forum for observing Christopher Luxon and how he is developing into the job of Prime Minister. He attempts to convey the impression of a man of action, speaking fast, delivering memorised National Party strategies in a connect-the-slogans kind of way, ...
Double votes, missing ballot boxes, tired tech and stressed staff: how tick-tallying went astray at last year’s election. Cast your mind back to November 2023, that bleary-eyed post-election period duringwhichwewaited, andwaited, for a coalition deal to be hammered out. A distraction from the hotel-hopping of our ...
International audiences are starting to discover what New Zealand already knew about After the Party.When After the Party aired in New Zealand last year, the response was fast and furious. In his preview for Rec Room, Duncan Greive said it was a “gritty, wrenching and highly confronting” series. By ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shahram Akbarzadeh, Convenor of the Middle East Studies Forum (MESF), and Acting Director the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University Iran’s leadership has been a direct beneficiary of the months-long war in Gaza. With every missile that Israel fires ...
Claire Mabey reviews the haunting and sexy debut novel from Sinéad Gleeson, who is about to touch down in Aotearoa for a string of live events.When Irish writer Sinéad Gleeson was in Aotearoa in 2018 with her spectacular collection of essays, Constellations, she told me she was working on ...
PNG Post-Courier Bougainville Affairs Minister Manasseh Makiba has described the Post-Courier’s front page story yesterday regarding a meeting between Bougainville and national government leaders as “sensationalised” and without substance. The Autonomous Bougainville Government (AGB) had warned it might use “other avenues to gain its independence” should the PNG government “continue ...
Where some saw the worst press conference given by the government to date, Anna Rawhiti-Connell recognised girl maths game.Nicola Willis, recently exasperated by comparisons to Ruth Richardson, said she was “a bit sick of being compared with every female finance minister that’s ever been out there.”Some think that’s ...
The March results are reported against forecasts based on the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update 2023 (HYEFU 2023), published on 20 December 2023 and the results for the same period for the previous year. ...
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Adding gender to the Human Rights Act would simply make the implicit explicit. So why is it so controversial? Paul Thistoll explain. At present, Aotearoa’s 1993 Human Rights Act (HRA) includes sex, marital status, religious belief, ethical belief (meaning a lack of religious belief), colour, race, ethnicity or national origin, ...
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“The upshot of all of this is we are seeing a highly inflationary negative supply shock, not a very deflationary negative net demand shock. Oops, because the central banks responded as if it was the latter,” Zollner said.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/128077662/partys-over-says-anz-chief-economist-sharon-zollner
Self criticism?
With the Safe Areas bill passing its 3rd reading, how do i find out who are the 12 MPs who voted against the bill are? Luxon has previously voted against it according to a newshub article from 12 March 2021. I will try to post the link. “How MPs voted on law change that would all safe zone around abortion clinics”.
Apologies if someone has already commented on this subject.
Thanks Dennis but who are those MPs? I like to keep tabs on conscience votes.
I suggest you have a look at the website that reports parliament. In the old days the record was called Hansard. You get all the details of votes there.
https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/
Thanks Dennis – that is what I was lokking for.
Noes 12
New Zealand Labour 3 (Kanongata'a-Suisuiki, Leavasa, Strange); New Zealand National 9 (Brown, Hipango, Lee, O'Connor, Penk, Pugh, Simmonds, Upston, Woodhouse).
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/03/how-mps-voted-on-law-change-that-would-allow-safe-zones-around-abortion-clinics.html
On Radio NZ this morning Gerry Brownlee wondered why we continue diplomatic relations with a country, Russia, which acts so aggressively attacking another country.
They meanwhile keep putting out propoganda justifying their actions.
Countries, people, believe propoganda or go along with narratives painted by it for their own reasons.
Like NZ went along with the 'weapons of mass destruction' thing and the US attacking another country. I wonder back then if there were calls to cut off diplomatic relations with the USA.
I heard him & he did make sense for a change – but he didn't address the function of diplomacy at all. He didn't even point out that Labour aren't using it!
Mahuta ought to call the Russian ambassador in for a meeting, tell him that offensive propaganda doesn't work, and suggest a focus on resolving the discord that produced the war in the first place. If we engage with Russia constructively & signal a future in which peaceful coexistence prevails, we have potential to co-create a pathway to that future. Let's do this.
"Tell him that offensive propaganda doesn't work?"
It doesn't? How do you know?
Offending people alienates them. Collaboration develops upon the opposite basis. Likewise the economy develops on a mutual-benefit basis. Focus on common ground (actual or potential) has to be the attitude one takes into diplomacy, if one wants to generate agreements via negotiation.
You see offending people to alienate them as a useful manipulation strategy?
There's a bunch of regular contributors to this site that appear to believe it is. I'm not necessarily one of them. However it is true that offending people to alienate them has been part of the traditional way of politics throughout history – probably because the users find it a useful technique.
As a manipulation strategy it depends on the motives of the user, right? So there's an ethical dimension to the context. When I use the technique it's for the enhancement of the common good. The target, irritated, becomes more likely to engage the issue on a deeper mental level. Ponder, reflect, and one often finds perception changing downstream in consequence…
Provocation can be useful tool, but it is extremely difficult to wield it and get the desired/optimal result and it easily backfires. It takes loads of practice and experience and you have to know with whom you’re dealing. I use it, but only in specific circumstances with very clear purpose in mind. Another risk is that one gets a reputation as provocateur, manipulator, stirrer, or something similar and labelled & treated as such by default – it’s almost impossible to correct/shake such perception once it has hardened in the minds of others.
Indeed. Some folks seem to have an innate difficulty with reframing on others. The fact that emotional intelligence is more inherently missing online (due to biological basis in facial expressions & body language) is relevant to this difficulty too. I agree re usage with carefully managed parameters being an essential skill. You get boundary issues…
Yup, maybe I should do a Post one day on the inherent limitations of written debate and conversation. Plenty has been written about language perceptions of e-mail messages and how to improve effective communication from a mostly professional perspective (e.g. less is more). Then again, the written form has many unique advantages too.
Kiwi spud invalidated as world record:
Dug's owner is a real hoot!
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018834450/dna-testing-reveals-dug-is-not-a-spud
A whole city explains on behalf of the UK's largest transgender parents advocacy and support organisation – and I still don't understand,
(Or am laughing my head off, while simultaneously despairing. Take your pick.)
https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/news/tag/neopronouns/
What have I learnt? A sense of humour is vital when confronted by the ridiculous, And Rome is the gift that keeps on giving, when linking to their{?) definition of (?) gender – Maverique:
https://lgbtqia.fandom.com/wiki/Maverique
Cool, an impressive selection of neothoughts!
First song that came on in the car seems appropriate. (Apparently the most hated Clash song. I like it, }
https://youtu.be/hZw23sWlyG0
Do they have non binary wards in hospitals now?
I mean how do you decide where to put patients?
Will we have bee wards?
Maybe the Beehive was future proofing.Too daft for words
You might want to read this,
and yes, its the daily fail, but fwiw, they actually write about this and they also don't put it behind a paywall.
But women, transwomen, non binary people are chucked together in 'mixed' wards now cause 'single sex' wards would be not inclusive to men. Never mind the women and girls that get assaulted.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10064607/NHS-policy-documents-compare-patients-want-stay-single-sex-wards-racists-says-nurse.html
the guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/30/mixed-sexed-wards-endanger-and-humiliate-women
again the daily fail
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9854261/Convicts-born-male-identify-female-placed-women-wards.html
etc etc etc etc etc etc
Yes. Papers and news media I would previously not read are often the only ones reporting.
Free press, and free speech? Hah!
…….and it wouldn't be complete without a yuk anecdote.
Was very ill after bowel blockage/perforation and was first in room next to nurses, then in room of four……3 women and one elderly man. Man always informed us that he was going to the loo for a piXX or shXT. Generally walked round with everything askew. Asked to have my curtains drawn around me as last thing I wanted when hooked up and in pain was hearing and seeing a person like that.
Other nurses were always flinging the curtains back. One night at 11.30pm I texted my sister in Southland who rang security at the hospital here in Wellington who evicted all the man's visitors. After a couple of days of this and lack of sleep through his uncouth and long stay visitors I got to need a single room again.
I am not sure why they cannot have a room with females in it and one with males in it……or why they had a room with 3 women captive in their beds needing help to mobilise to get to the loo or were still at the stage where we were hooked up, and one mobilising uncouth male. Why not four people in same boat male or female? Seemed to have taken no care and anything goes.
Spent the night in Middlemore's Children's Hospital with my young (10) son, who was booked in for an early morning orthopaedic surgery. Was in a ward with a lovely young man, who was being visited by extended family, who we spoke to in the early afternoon.'
The visitors kept coming and increased, and while trying to settle my son down, became louder and louder. After a while, visitors left and new ones arrived. After 9pm I spoke to the family, the grandfather of the boy next to us, had also been at Middlemore and had passed away. We were seeing the traipse of visitors moving between the two patients. Having some sympathy for the family, I just returned to trying to read/bore my son to sleep. But the (loud) conversations continued until 11.00pm, primarily talking about death and body preparations. At which time, I spoke to the ward staff, who suggested I have empathy for the family. I said, I do, but could they not relocate the boy into one of the empty four rooms I could see on the ward? They said No. I then suggested they go and clear out the room so my son could get to sleep, because I didn't think that it was my place to do so, and I might unwittingly cause offense.
About 11.30pm they reluctantly did so. Allowing four adults to stay in the room overnight.
The only reason I can see for not providing this family with a separate room was sheer laziness. The constant visitors etc. continued for the next two days, and after waiting several hours after the surgeon's approval to go home, we gave up, and I checked my son out at 3.30pm so he could catch up on sleep and start recovery.
Mixing sexes in this already sub-standard service, is asking for trouble.
I agree. The service I had first and then when I slightly relapsed and had to have a single room again was exemplary. It was just the few days after I was moved from the initial surgery room and then being in this horrible shared room that was so ghastly.
When I was up and walking like crazy to get my strength back one of the initial nurses followed me down to a big lounge and said she agreed with me, that getting security to evict the visitors was a good thing (they were helpless to do it), he was a difficult patient/person but he needed help as his uncared for diabetes & lung condition had meant he was in danger of losing his leg. Sad but you do get to choose whether you are crude and rude to those around you and he chose to be crude and rude. She said 'some of us try to keep him away from rooms with woman patients but his condition sometimes means that he needs to be close to the nurses station' & mentioned the hospital policy of male/female wards…….say no more. .
Because according to some that man is a woman and not only that, but he is the only woman with rights to dignity and safety in that room.
Archived link to Telegraph article, published 15 March 2022, following the review of the mixed sex wards policy:
"Fears over ‘flawed’ NHS single-sex wards review carried out by ‘trans advocate"
https://archive.ph/hAzF4
No impact, they said.
i am trying to post an image, but i can't size it correctly. It was a bit of a laugh.
you can find all the genders here…pick multiples if multiples apply First item on this post linked below.
https://grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/glinners-twitter-9e9?s=r
As is this one here with Ireland, can't decide on a gender, tick men women other what ever and we randomly assign something to you…..never mind the 'requirement to truthfully fill out this census' lol
https://grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/ireland-careens-into-the-unknown?s=r
all of us will be fascinated…..all of us
and this is just such a good read on the Maya Forstater Case again currently being held, this time its her past employer being taken to task. No need for Twitter, this app here is even better as they are just the full thread.
https://threadreaderapp.com/user/tribunaltweets
My daughter and I had a quiet laugh over that list when having our morning coffee.
It's still concerning how close the reality is to satire.
Ireland has lost the plot.
The tribunal tweets spell out plainly both the silencing and the fallacy.
He created some of the greatest comedy ever seen on TV, probably wouldn't be allowed now
He has been de-platformed, and is currently fighting to stay involved in a Father Ted musical production.
In short, you're right, he's not.
Particularly amusing as virtually all bees are female (only the drones are male).
And people thought the stuff the protesters at parliament were shouting was batshit crazy……
I saw this headline this morning and it stuck in my craw:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300542780/covid19-less-than-half-of-pregnant-people-in-auckland-dhb-are-boosted
No, it wasn't the fact that so many pregnant women have not had a booster despite them having an unborn babe to protect as well as themselves. Although that is bad enough.
Its because they have been referred to as "people". They are women. WOMEN! So effing well say so. This pc garbage where difference, whatever it may be, must be hidden behind some heavy beige curtain has gone too far.
Who are these beige people who are responsible for this nonsensical crap?
But, but, but didn't you know about the womb transplants…..several pre implantation and a couple where they just took the whole thing holus bolus and transplanted it into a 'person'.
You didn't?
No, neither did I.
\sarc.
Come on in Anne, the water's fine….
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-9908667/Jessica-Alves-travels-Brazil-transgender-woman-womb-transplant.html
That the ADHB National Women's Health "provides high-quality health services for women" shows the ADHB acknowledges women among it's clientele.
https://www.nationalwomenshealth.adhb.govt.nz
That will be under increasing pressure to change:
"Not all pregnant people are women, or mothers"
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/parenting/pregnancy/300250546/not-all-pregnant-people-are-women-or-mothers:
"Otago Polytechnic to lead research project on trans and non-binary-inclusive maternity care":
https://www.op.ac.nz/about-us/news-and-events/item/8834
MoH is halfway there:
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/life-stages/maternity-services/updates-work-maternity-services-sector
eg. "March 2022
Advisory to lead maternity care (LMC) midwives about funding for care of COVID-19 positive women/people"
Another instance of conflating biological sex with gender identity.
The same folk who are responsible for putting alleged in front of anything that might be criminal.
Someone with a knife stuck in them has been stabbed. It may have been accidental, or self-inflicted, or the work of some other person – but the stabbing is factual, not an allegation.
Yes, that's annoying and happens often.
But given the clout the gender activists have it is scary.
Another Russian general killed (and Maj Gen Oleg Mityaev has a particularly unsavory reputation from Syria so let's no cry for him). Scores of other senior officers (colonels and majors) are also confirmed dead. If Ukrainian claims are correct (and they've got form for bumping off senior Russian officers – see Nikolai Vatutin) then fully 20% of all Russian general officers present in the Ukraine have been killed in 20 days.
There is only two reasons officers this senior get killed in large numbers. Either they are making a last stand or, as I suspect in this case, they are at the front trying to exhort and motivate their army by sheer force of will and are getting picked off by the defenders because their army is hopeless and they are get quickly identified and targeted in insecure locations.
I have a growing suspicion the Russians are are in trouble and if the Ukrainians can counter-attack they might find themselves with a lot of willing prisoners.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60767664
Insecure communications by Russia and every western spying asset providing information to the Ukraine may also be factors.
These freaking things are potentially going to change everything, potentially the biggest revolution in warfare in 100 years.
What are "loitering munitions"?
They can hang about, potentially for hours, waiting for a target.
Imagine a completely AI, pre-programmed 2kg flying fragmentation grenade that cost less than $200 smashing on to you after waiting for an hour for you (or someone else with a human shape and heat signature or simply moves) to step outside of your dugout and you’ve got the future. Oh and if you jump into your tank to hide the big brother one will swoop down and blow the whole vehicle to smithereens as well.
It isn't science fiction unfortunately….
The wee one is just like a grenade. The big one does tank take-outs:
God bless American hardware. But why not go the whole hog and release Area 51 tech on the Ruskies?
The UN has ended the war in Ukraine!
Just watching QT in parliament – Thursday always a quiet day.
But why . . . why does Nicola Willis remind me of Ruth Richardson?
Because you have unrealised sexual feelings towards Richardson and now you're transposing them on Willis?
God forbid I have 'unrealised sexual feelings' towards anyone (with the possible exception of Audrey Hepburn!)
But perhaps its the steely-eyed stare and the finger-nails-on-blackboard voice which seems so similar?
Perhaps because of the way Willis implied that managing the economy of a sovereign nation with its own currency was like a managing a household budget? She said that women commonly do the latter – and it was therefore good to have a female finance spokesperson.
As false equivalences go, it's a very serviceable one. It makes a good dose of austerity aimed at the lower orders seem like unavoidable common sense that can be delivered with implacable certainty. When that certainty becomes transcendent and quasi-religious, we are definitely in Ruth Richardson territory.
Thatcher popularised that simile a wee while ago.
Ok so I don't normally do posts like this but here goes.
I prefer movies and pop culture to anything else (yes that includes Jude and cricket) so I'm posting a link to anyone that wants to help fund awesome content.
https://80sscifidoc.com/?omnisendContactID=611cc6d61971973e6d1dab1c&utm_campaign=campaign%3A+ISOT+Digital+URL+Campaign+March+2022+-+FINAL+10%2F03+-+10343+%286229bd45c28857001eefa6d6%29&utm_medium=email&utm_source=omnisend
I watched In Search Of Darkness (about 80s horror) and it was good, really good. You can tell its a labour of love for these guys and that they're really into it and this (80s sci-fi) is looking even better
If you like that kind of thing
Will pass on link to young man who is currently living in our granny flat. As he is immunocompromised and ill, he is really isolated from his age group,. I'm thepoor substitute- we talk and trade links.
One of them was Flight of the Navigatot Special FX
https://youtu.be/tyixMpuGEL8
It was good. I'm sure he'll be interested.
Yesterday was the 55th anniversary of the My Lai massacre in the Vietnam War, an event that has been acknowledged was only the tip of an iceberg of war crimes.
https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/active_learning/explorations/vietnam/vietnam_mylai.cfm
The one shining light was the humanity and bravery of Hugh Thompson and his helicopter crew, a man who was shunned in the aftermath but deserved the highest praise for his stance. If we think of Chelsea Manning, Assange, and Snowden, Thompson stands in their company.
https://special-ops.org/hugh-thompson-the-forgotten-hero-of-my-lai/
You won't read of this anniversary in the media anywhere. This was a turning point in my belief in the myth of the USA. Carpet bombing, chemical warfare, and a pointless cause.
Dylan nailed it in Blind Willie McTell. Six words in this verse define so much of American history, and nothing's changed.
quite
https://twitter.com/coccinellanovem/status/1504139352791822338?s=21
I recall observing under George W with his nuclear penetrator, and today with some comments about "small" nukes, that there is a recurring tendency to regard nukes as just really big bombs, maybe with some lingering cancer effects over future decades if the bomb is "dirty".
It's possibly pertinent to point out that they're not just a big bomb. Most people suffering traumatic injuries from a bomb tend to die relatively quickly, or survive.
Sure, nukes kill lots of people quickly. But they also kill lots of people really slowly and inexorably over weeks or months. Lingering, painful deaths, by the thousand.
Yeah – you want to be in the immediate BOOM kill zone not in the BBQ and die much later zone