Congratulations to Clayton Cosgrove for his performance on RNZ this morning. He made very sharp points on the Key&co handling of Solid Energy. He “gives” good radio!
Kerry called for collective action to deal with this problem. “So let’s commit ourselves to doing the smart thing and the right thing and truly commit to tackling this challenge,” he said. “Because if we don’t rise to meet it, rising temperatures and rising sea levels will surely lead to rising costs down the road. If we waste this opportunity, it may be the only thing our generations are remembered for. We need to find the courage to leave a far different legacy.”
“We cannot talk about the unprecedented changes happening on our planet without talking about the unprecedented changes in its population – another great opportunity at our fingertips,” he warned.
But midway through the climate change section, Kerry paused. “Can we all say thank you and to our signers?” the secretary of state said referencing those who were translating his speech into sign language.
There’s the answer Jenny, the one people can’t get their heads around being foisted upon them!
Sergey Brin and Mark Zuckerberg, along with their spouses, joined Russian venture capitalist Yuri Milner to award 11 scientists $3 million each to launch the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences.
Solving the enormous complexity of human diseases calls for a much bigger effort compared to fundamental physics and therefore requires multiple sponsors to reward outstanding achievements,” Milner said of the Silicon Valley heavyweights teaming up to back the award.
This public admission that Google/FB are in fact the same entity being confirmed in this open collaboration, referring to sponsoring research which has long since been going on, and to which the results will not be available, for those John Kerry has designated to be reduced in numbers!
Go ahead and argue it then James, be sure to trace the shareholders of those companies all the way back, as far as possible.
Don’t forget that its been well covered in the MSM, that the intelligence services are *key stakeholders* in both google/FB!
McFlock – Unprecedented changes in population, and another great opportunity at *our* fingertips – Note, not yours or mine eh, we are not, *our*
Increased funding in medical research – nah thats an announcement of whats already been going on – i.e – access to advancements that the masses are never going to see or get!
For someone who seems to take some pride in being a word nerd, you are not at all able to read through the words delivered by the rulers – Which is why you and your ilk flap around wondering WFT is really happening!
As to what medical advances the hooples “see or get” – well, how has your smallpox or polio been? Too long ago? Popped by A&E recently, or do you think the CT scanners want to rob your thoughts? Maybe you meant the bulk of the world population – well, fair call on that, it does take a while to get to those places. Capitalism sucks at that, by definition. Although there are quite a few organisations providing new AIDS or Malaria treatments in deprived regions.
It’s not “the rulers” words I have much difficulty seeing through.
Figuring out WTF planet you are on, however…
Maybe I “get” more than for what you give me credit, while you flit from shallow thought to shallow thought, thinking the world would be so much better if everyone did what you said.
He makes the very good point that essentially the Government is selling legislation for the convention centre. There is currently a cap on the number of casinos and on the provision of casino gambling and if the Convention Centre as envisaged is to go ahead then this law will have to change.
He says:
Would we mind if a tobacco company were to build the convention centre in return for lowering the smoking age? How about a mining company in return for the right to mine a national park? Would you be outraged if Greenpeace built it in return for heavy regulation on the fishing industry, or perhaps the mining industry? How about PETA build it in return for heavy animal welfare codes for the pork or poultry industries?.
The point is that the validity of these ideas has nothing to do with a convention centre. Call me naive but I assume laws restricting pokie machines came about through a process focused on the pros and cons of pokie machines. Surely therefore, assessing the pros and cons of pokie machines is the only way this legislation should be changed. A new convention centre may or may not be a great idea, but it is completely unrelated to the debate on restrictions on pokie machines and should stay that way.
Cripes. Whatever’s become of all our big strong “anti nanny-state” boys?
Seems they’ve run out of assorted scapegoats and random Lithuanian left-handed beneficiaries to bash, so it’s on to the spouses.
How is a spouse defined? And does Bluster Borrows’ latest brainwave mean that every criminal act by the little woman is now also blamed on her knowing lord and master? And Vicky Vercoe?
If not why not?
Where are the concerned Lords of the Law Societies in all this?
Or does it just apply to those solo slappers. You know, like Slippery’s mum.
Ah well, as the boy himself said, if you cancel all their benefits, bugger-all will starve. Just not sure he meant the lads as well…..
I see Chris Trotter has chucked in the towel over trying to stop the train-wreck that is the Labour Party:
Charles Chauvel, “Champagne Charlie”, that wilful roisterer whose liberal disposition and utterly brilliant legal mind promised a Labour Attorney General and Justice Minister of rare ability and enduring achievement, is merely the latest victim of a Labour caucus which, increasingly, is distinguished by nothing other than its dreary mediocrity.
I ask myself: “With Champagne Charlie gone, can the talented Mr Cunliffe be far behind?”
New Zealand now faces the dismal prospect of a change of government by default. It is entirely possible that, in twenty months’ time, Mr Key and his National Party, in spite of enjoying a ten percentage point advantage over their nearest political rival – will, nevertheless, lose the 2014 General Election
He concludes:
The mandate of these three, ideologically distinct, political parties will be impossible for the electorate to discern. Inevitably, New Zealand’s policy direction will default to the usual bureaucratic suspects: Treasury, MFAT and the Ministry for Primary Industries. Their attached ministers are unlikely to cause any trouble. The ambition of courtiers is to climb things – not change things.
It is in the nature of bulls to defend their own. Mr Cunliffe’s supporters should, therefore, console themselves with the knowledge that while they lacked the judgement to avoid a head-on collision with Labour’s locomotive, they retained just enough courage for one final, redeeming, charge.
I disagree with the misleading term “Cunliffe’s supporters” , but his blog pretty much sums up my views.
not “spam” (green eggs and ham)
is that Maryanne Street?
Prescription Charges- (“an inflation adjustment”; Ryally?)
-inflating stressors
-cost
-overwhelming discounting retailers
-and, surprise, surprise, scripts left on pharmacy shelves. (not mine, i only take an anti-histamine, amongst the privet i’m allergic to what NAct is pollinating)
Y-because we like you (but you are awe, shucks) agriculture’s Fall dethroned by Joining the National Party in December gifts may be exchanged, and briefly, “Jack’s as good as his master” Led by the braided F-ring circus when The Levee Breaks it will be Titian to the rescue we Assume / know Virgins were harmed in the painting of this tryptich tableaux, Actaeon though, was torn to pieces by his own hounds.Sooo…satyagrahn down, a node yore out there somwhere Cath; remember golden splendour? That was Delicious (Waves theta warm Helio-); can you see paradise by the dashboard light.
I haven’t read Geoff Bertram, Economist, Victoria University – today he made commented on Radionz about Solid Energy’s problems. I’ve decided for me he is someone with sound ideas whose mind is worth following, and I give a link to extensive notes he used at a lecture on our economy. It has great charts for those who like to see trends at a glance.
Notes for Fabians Seminar “Fresh Ideas for a Productive Economy”
July 2011 – Legislative Chamber, NZ Parliament
comprehensive (give us 40 acres and we’ll turn this rig around; bit tricky to reverse a road-train)
“failing states”; interesting. coming to a casino near you Monty?
(thanks for the weekend reading joe; it’s all agape where i hang out;”Giant steps are what you take, Walking On The Moon…”)
being the H-SS blade that i am sometime, i just about wept watching Campbell on the Canterbury Water Catchment, and all this “desert” has transpired in 40 years or so; smells like the fragrance of “Egypt” to me.
btw…
“the distinction between two sorts of truths…profound truths recognized by the fact that the opposite is also a profound truth, in contrast to trivialities, where opposites are obviously absurd.”
(Neils), hope that doesn’t Bohr you.
rhetorically, grammatically and logically speaking, experience is ambiguous and that’s a
Porcupinestarfish Fact.Record. (thank God for Martin Hannett the mad bastard).
aaah, so monitoring, not really training. But in effect it is to monitor the entire conversation at a later point for whatever purpose necessary I imagine. I don’t trust any such large organisation – in either intention or competency
Many moons ago a former acquaintance of mine worked at a local international toll exchange before it became fully automated. She regularly listened-in to conversations especially if they were well known people – pollies were a particularly good source of info. She got away with it because they didn’t have the ability to record every toll-call made through an operator. Years later I heard she was summarily sacked, and have always assumed she was eventually caught.
I repeat this anecdote because there can also be legitimate reasons for recording phone calls. For one thing it ensures the operators will always be polite and helpful and not try to fob the caller off in some way.
i fellow-ship at least three to four times a week with some wonderful “disciples”, all at different stages on their journeys (try not to stumble anybody), anyway, the same themes keep cropping up between people who are not individually in direct communication…
an interesting one is a perception of a reverse traversal of the biblical narrative unfolding all around
anyway,
Open Mike 12/02/2013 I asked “What has really made the Pope’s job untenable?”
To think that the Pope is more concerned about sex between priests than his failure to address child sexual assault sickens me. Consenting sex among adults is seen by the Pope as being a problem (adultery) and priests who have offended against children, they have not been exposed (reported to law enforcement) because of being protected by the Vatican.
Sounds as though there is a well organised theft ring in the Vatican and when you steal from your own action will be taken.
I can now see why the Pope does not have the stamina for the job and how he would have had to watch his back more than he will have to in the future. Quite clever in handing over the rot to his successor.
That article is a load of rubbish – I think you can be reasonably sure that the stories about underground gay sex, and corrution may well be true, but are being used as cover.
On December 17, 2012, they handed the pontiff two red-leather bound volumes, almost 300 pages long, containing “an exact map of the mischief and the bad fish” inside the Holy See, La Repubblica said.
This is something out of Nancy Drew – Its all terribly exciting if it was not such a load of crap.
Expose the sinister nature of the Church, people undersand what it represents, the trail of child abuse is the calling card for what sits at the heart of this *religious* entity.
Oh they worship a god alright, but its not the god they have the world believing it is!
Put it this way, whatever has been going on, is well before benedict became the pope, so stepping down on account of these gay sex stories is a nonsense, in any case wasn’t it because he was sick etc…
If anyone is being blackmailed it is likely to have been the pope himself, with these cover stories keeping people guessing.
What sort of entity hides the what could be the worlds history in its vaults, and among other secretive dealings, also supports a structure which preys on children, now what sort of religious entity feasts on that kind of energy!
The source who will do the exposing if the Pope is implicated has to be powerful e.g. connection to a marfia like organisation. This would make any Pope’s job untenable.
Also class one drugs may flow freely and a drug lord could be another source. Possibly priests mixed up in a drug cartel, (there could even be a P lab down in the winery cellars).
I also said on Open Mike 22/02/2013 “Probably the last eight decades of child sexual assault creating a backlog of settlements” The reason I only went back eight decades was because there will not be many survivors alive.
Regardless of commandments 6 & 7 being mentioned as the reason for the Pope’s resignation I want to know more about what the blackmail is about.
heh – if you did, then it wouldn’t be useful for blackmail 🙂
The cardinals were said to have uncovered an underground gay network, whose members organise sexual meetings in several venues in Rome and Vatican City, leaving them prone to blackmail.
You could probably add a few secret families a la Schwarzenegger and some financial stuff to the list, too. Plus any paedophiles or their protectors that might still be about.
Not really political, but I note that once again the crash occurred after “pursuit was abandoned”, which seems to be a recurring theme. Questions being whether the driver knew pursuit had been abandoned, and whether the crash occurred because the driver was still amped up after the chase, and whether “abandoned” is the same as “let go, move on to other jobs”. Not to mention whether the line about abandoning pursuit is pr spin.
I’m not suggesting the police shouldn’t do anything about joyriders. It’s just such a waste.
stolen car.
But I’m thinking more of alternative tactical solutions for police to use, rather than preventative measures like boosting social services and reducing inequality and deprivation.
Good on you for mentioning those prevention measures that might actually be effective at stopping kids from being killed, rather than simply apportioning blame in what might otherwise appear to be an effort to wash your and society’s hands clean of any obligation to try and stop our teenagers from being killed. Oh, um…
I’ve had friends who have done the job of coroner in various places around the country, and even with the most forgiving will in the world after you’ve seen your hundredth instance of drunken youths wrapping themselves and their passengers around other cars, pedestrians and inanimate objects they tend to have little sympathy left for the reckless unthinking behaviour and what are usually young men barely out of or into their teens.
I’m sure you and all your friends never did anything remotely stupid or dangerous as teenagers.
I’m a great fan of insensitivity born of bitter experience, but if we (as a society) are raising our kids wrong and then not finding ways to deal with them in safer ways than we are at present, then we are authors of our own demise (or irritation, as the case may be).
The “causing death” bit is often a matter of pure luck. And not just for stealing cars. Some really interesting work on brain development in teens has been done with scanners over the last ten or fifteen years. There are interesting reasons why they have seem to have shit impulse control and so on.
But okay. You and your mates are better than teenagers today. If only because one or two of your mates might have A) been lucky to avoid causing serious harm; and B) got diversion or a discharge without conviction.
So, do you have a solution for today’s teenagers and young adults? Or are you limited to “Get the parents to take away their keys”?
It is certainly a very difficult problem with no quick fix.
In relation to the particular problems we seem to have with young people in vehicles there may be a number interventions needed.
Vehicle immobilizers
Tougher and more thorough driving tests and education
Greater restrictions and penalties on alcohol
Greater restrictions and penalties on young drivers having more than one occupant in the vehicle
Greater restrictions on the power/top speed of vehicles
Taking a look at similar countries that don’t have these problems and asking why ?
Unlike some I do not believe these incidents are caused by police doing their job.
Yeah, I know McFlock, trite, and I am well aware of the stolen vehicle/police pursuit thing some youngsters engage in being an outcome of a youth disconnection that continues to grow.
While young men have always been drawn to riding their horses fast, there is nonetheless a strong element of modelling going on here.
All I can suggest is that when I was this age it would scarcely have occurred to any of us to actually try and outrun the cops. It just never happened. Something has changed.
Well…some of us were extremely naughty even back then (been reading my thoughts Red; was just nostalgically reminiscing with some “peers”, both former and current coincidentally last night, yet this longitudinal research being carried out by Otago recently demonstrated associations between media exposure and violence / anti-social / “deviant behaviour, then there is the “myth of invincibility”, anomie, gnomes without “homes”…(i was particularly interested when the availability / affordability of cars that were more powerful per mass than bikes came about.In the 70’s it seemed like a lot of moolah had to be outlaid to own a car that would beat a GSThou’ from the bay to taupo; 40mins, junction to junction)
+1. What more can be said though – I mean really! Life lost ….. next, next, next
– But you know… when you listen to them (AND hear them), they’re mostly of the “do the crime, pay the time ilk” in all their pathetic machismo – even though the lack of brain development, the peer pressure, and all the shit is well known.
I’d have thought a smart Police force would have picked up on that attitude (if they’re genuinely concerned about saving lives).
Unfortunately there seems to be a Polis Force that can be just as ficked as the ‘perps’ they pursue.
Never mind though aye! The trivialities such as the rep of silly little pricks at the wheel of a car (with underdeveloped brain material – as we already know) will soon be forgot.
Instead, the bastions of those mandated to protect us from evil – all wearing a uniform, and waddling like ducks with the necessary weaponry to suppress and protect (both themselves and a supposedly supporting public) have our undivided support and attention – after all – they’re such HEROES. Why they’ve even got a ‘personality’ ready to pop-up on the next MSM venue to remind us that’s so. Even before anyone ends up before the courts (usually).
I’ve never been able to understand how once upon a time, a comparatively primitively armed Polis force coped with gang warfare (Aro Valley/Wadestown bikie warfare – for example), – all the shite elsewhere, all the while dressed in suits of heavy serge, whilst today, tasers, long batons, suped-up cars carrying guns with bullets seem to be required.
Let’s just give them tanks and surface to air missiles now aye Greg!?
yeah, it’s pretty interesting how they almost never crash while the pursuit’s still going.
In which case there are issues around alternative pursuit measures (air, distance tailing without lights, anything else? ).
Heck, the sci-fi answer is a gps tag fired at the vehicle to everyone can pull back out of sight. Worst thing that would happen is that the occupants notice it and stop to either ditch the car or remove the tag, in which case the operative word is “stopped”. Even for a moment it gives time to put a roadblock up ahead.
The 1984 solution is to have a gps tag fitted to every car, one that also acts a transponder so the pursuer can identify the vehicle. Then the police would know where every car is, how fast it was going, where the boy racers are congregating on Saturday night, where all the park up sites are, who’s been into the grog shop, stopped by the tinny house, visited the dope patch or the burglary site, etc.
If the boss can monitor where the workers in the company car are by GPS, well …….nah, it’s all right, just joking……… though, …….. hmmmm……….. hmmmmm?
Lolz, never tried the stuff myself, having the belief that the mind can only be expanded so far i spent the 80’s doing just that with other illicit substances and the odd variety of mushroom and now happily stimulate my inner cranium with mugs of tea and the odd coffee while occasionally being the recipient of an infrequent flash-back,(or is that forward)…
Iggy and The Stooges on the cafe radio as I type…sorry to read of your health struggles…rare for any of us to get out of here unscathed…Killing us Softly with his song…(hey there is always Ray Winstone in The Sweeny to watch as we await Last Orders / Nil by Mouth you Sexy Beast; Ripleys Game, and even beyond the Edge of Darkness, beyond The Departed, is the horror of The War Zone (like The Woodsman); anyway, for something lighter there is always Jerusalem or The Magic Roundabout 🙂
Reading the background documents on FYI, the government’s clear aims were to avoid commitment while retaining access to the international carbon market. In that context, the lockout can only be viewed as a major foreign policy failure.
Another failure by this government. One that’s going to hit the financial markets and the local economy hard I suspect.
It’s all that time Jonkey spent in the US – invent a nice-sounding advertising slogan to hide a disaster, and just keep repeating it until people think it must be a good thing.
1:1…that’s running hard just to stay in the same place.
Gail the Actuary has some good thoughts on this issue, posted at The Oil Drum
The world outside of Saudi Arabia is now running into an investment sinkhole issue as well. This takes several forms: water limits that require deeper wells or desalination plants; oil and gas limits that require more expensive forms of extraction; and pollution limits requiring expensive adjustments to automobiles or to power plants.
These higher investment costs lead to higher end product costs of goods using these resources. These higher costs eventually transfer to other products that most of us consider essential: food because it uses much oil in growing and transport; electricity because it is associated with pollution controls; and metals for basic manufacturing, because they also use oil in extraction and transport.
Ultimately, these investment sinkholes seem likely to cause huge problems. In some sense, they mean the economy is becoming less efficient, rather than more efficient. From an investment point of view, they can expect to crowd out other types of investment. From a consumer’s point of view, they lead to a rising cost of essential products that can be expected to squeeze out other purchases.
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for ...
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Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
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New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
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This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
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Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
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For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
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This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
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Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
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There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive One minister is talking tough while a colleague – whose ministry had acted tough and drawn a barrage of flak – has shown an official softening. Some ministers are doing what Labour was good at, which is distributing public funds to causes regarded as worthy or ...
A ballot for 4 Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Insurance Contracts Bill (Duncan Webb) Income Tax (Clean Transport FBT Exclusion) Amendment Bill (Julie Anne Genter) Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill (Greg Fleming) Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) ...
One of the strongest narratives about "our" spy agencies is that they are basically institutional traitors, working for foreign powers (or just themselves), without any control or oversight by the elected government. And today, we have yet another report from the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security which explicitly confirms this. ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
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While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
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Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
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Well done David Shearer re: homophobe mumbling.
Congratulations to Clayton Cosgrove for his performance on RNZ this morning. He made very sharp points on the Key&co handling of Solid Energy. He “gives” good radio!
John Kerry, in a direct response to Jennys request for action on climate change. Promotes depopulation, channels GHW Bush, breaks speech, thanks sign language translators…
There’s the answer Jenny, the one people can’t get their heads around being foisted upon them!
But going against the Kerry talk of depopulation
Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin back research to extend life
This public admission that Google/FB are in fact the same entity being confirmed in this open collaboration, referring to sponsoring research which has long since been going on, and to which the results will not be available, for those John Kerry has designated to be reduced in numbers!
“This public admission that Google/FB are in fact the same entity ”
Ahhhh – no they are not.
You have to lose the tin foil hat.
I also liked the idea that Kerry has a list of designated individuals to kill in order to save the planet.
Most people would like increased funding for medical research, although a few would merely “+1” it.
Go ahead and argue it then James, be sure to trace the shareholders of those companies all the way back, as far as possible.
Don’t forget that its been well covered in the MSM, that the intelligence services are *key stakeholders* in both google/FB!
McFlock – Unprecedented changes in population, and another great opportunity at *our* fingertips – Note, not yours or mine eh, we are not, *our*
Increased funding in medical research – nah thats an announcement of whats already been going on – i.e – access to advancements that the masses are never going to see or get!
For someone who seems to take some pride in being a word nerd, you are not at all able to read through the words delivered by the rulers – Which is why you and your ilk flap around wondering WFT is really happening!
As to what medical advances the hooples “see or get” – well, how has your smallpox or polio been? Too long ago? Popped by A&E recently, or do you think the CT scanners want to rob your thoughts? Maybe you meant the bulk of the world population – well, fair call on that, it does take a while to get to those places. Capitalism sucks at that, by definition. Although there are quite a few organisations providing new AIDS or Malaria treatments in deprived regions.
It’s not “the rulers” words I have much difficulty seeing through.
Figuring out WTF planet you are on, however…
Planet Onan?
lol
by the way, you did get that the “like” vs “+1” thing was a fucking joke, right? Smile once in a while – it might stop you being such a tool.
McFlock – Nah you’re not getting it, don’t want to get etc..
Love the attempted personality reading though, probably not your strong point I’m guessing, intuition I mean!
Maybe I “get” more than for what you give me credit, while you flit from shallow thought to shallow thought, thinking the world would be so much better if everyone did what you said.
McFlock – it make no differnce to me what you do or dont get, that’s for you to fumble around with, I’m sure you can manage some additional fumbling!
What I can you, is that that use of the words, *shallow thought* in my direction, indicate you don’t understand diddly squat.
And yes, if people thought a little more deeply etc, then its possible we would not all be in the deep poo we’re in, thats fundamental!
lol:
don’t care
I iz deep
yez tha wirld wud b betta if peeps did what I sed.
You’re a true heir to the vacant crown of Bertrand Russell /sarc
There is a very good article by Simon Paterson on Stuff’s website this morning.
He makes the very good point that essentially the Government is selling legislation for the convention centre. There is currently a cap on the number of casinos and on the provision of casino gambling and if the Convention Centre as envisaged is to go ahead then this law will have to change.
He says:
Cripes. Whatever’s become of all our big strong “anti nanny-state” boys?
Seems they’ve run out of assorted scapegoats and random Lithuanian left-handed beneficiaries to bash, so it’s on to the spouses.
How is a spouse defined? And does Bluster Borrows’ latest brainwave mean that every criminal act by the little woman is now also blamed on her knowing lord and master? And Vicky Vercoe?
If not why not?
Where are the concerned Lords of the Law Societies in all this?
Or does it just apply to those solo slappers. You know, like Slippery’s mum.
Ah well, as the boy himself said, if you cancel all their benefits, bugger-all will starve. Just not sure he meant the lads as well…..
http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/
I see Chris Trotter has chucked in the towel over trying to stop the train-wreck that is the Labour Party:
He concludes:
I disagree with the misleading term “Cunliffe’s supporters” , but his blog pretty much sums up my views.
Ouch. He can be a bit hit and miss but on this occasion can I say that Trotter describes the situation perfectly.
Of course Shearer can use the upcoming rejig of Labour’s parliamentary seating arrangement to show that Trotter is wrong.
But I am not holding my breath.
not “spam” (green eggs and ham)
is that Maryanne Street?
Prescription Charges- (“an inflation adjustment”; Ryally?)
-inflating stressors
-cost
-overwhelming discounting retailers
-and, surprise, surprise, scripts left on pharmacy shelves. (not mine, i only take an anti-histamine, amongst the privet i’m allergic to what NAct is pollinating)
Y-because we like you (but you are awe, shucks) agriculture’s Fall dethroned by Joining the National Party in December gifts may be exchanged, and briefly, “Jack’s as good as his master” Led by the braided F-ring circus when The Levee Breaks it will be Titian to the rescue we Assume / know Virgins were harmed in the painting of this tryptich tableaux, Actaeon though, was torn to pieces by his own hounds.Sooo…satyagrahn down, a node yore out there somwhere Cath; remember golden splendour? That was Delicious (Waves theta warm Helio-); can you see paradise by the dashboard light.
I haven’t read Geoff Bertram, Economist, Victoria University – today he made commented on Radionz about Solid Energy’s problems. I’ve decided for me he is someone with sound ideas whose mind is worth following, and I give a link to extensive notes he used at a lecture on our economy. It has great charts for those who like to see trends at a glance.
Notes for Fabians Seminar “Fresh Ideas for a Productive Economy”
July 2011 – Legislative Chamber, NZ Parliament
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1107/S00315/geoff-bertram-fresh-ideas-for-a-productive-economy.htm
Listened to this Jeremy Grantham interview last night. Fascinating.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0148yp8
His 2012 third quarter newsletter too.
http://www.gurufocus.com/news/198413/gmos-jeremy-grantham-third-quarter-letter–on-the-road-to-zero-growth
Grantham on TS.
comprehensive (give us 40 acres and we’ll turn this rig around; bit tricky to reverse a road-train)
“failing states”; interesting. coming to a casino near you Monty?
(thanks for the weekend reading joe; it’s all agape where i hang out;”Giant steps are what you take, Walking On The Moon…”)
being the H-SS blade that i am sometime, i just about wept watching Campbell on the Canterbury Water Catchment, and all this “desert” has transpired in 40 years or so; smells like the fragrance of “Egypt” to me.
btw…
“the distinction between two sorts of truths…profound truths recognized by the fact that the opposite is also a profound truth, in contrast to trivialities, where opposites are obviously absurd.”
(Neils), hope that doesn’t Bohr you.
rhetorically, grammatically and logically speaking, experience is ambiguous and that’s a
Porcupinestarfish Fact.Record. (thank God for Martin Hannett the mad bastard).
Add Telecom to the list of companies laying off hundreds in this government’s term. It’s particularly bad as National prides itself on ICT.
The miners at the States Huntly coal mine are attending a meeting this afternoon, not sure what this is about but expect the worst,
Possibly ‘take a pay cut or face redundancies’ will be the best thing that those employed at Huntly can hope for…
What does this mean when you phone some large organisation….
“… please note that your call may be recorded for training purposes…”?
Sounds like BS to me and that they are simply being recorded for any purpose that may arise in the future.
It’s like its bloody big brother wherever one turns today.
Recorded for ‘training’ the operator you speak to should they not perform to company expectations.
aaah, so monitoring, not really training. But in effect it is to monitor the entire conversation at a later point for whatever purpose necessary I imagine. I don’t trust any such large organisation – in either intention or competency
Some of them have stopped saying “training purposes” and instead now simply say “for our purposes” which is a bit creepier but probably more honest.
Many moons ago a former acquaintance of mine worked at a local international toll exchange before it became fully automated. She regularly listened-in to conversations especially if they were well known people – pollies were a particularly good source of info. She got away with it because they didn’t have the ability to record every toll-call made through an operator. Years later I heard she was summarily sacked, and have always assumed she was eventually caught.
I repeat this anecdote because there can also be legitimate reasons for recording phone calls. For one thing it ensures the operators will always be polite and helpful and not try to fob the caller off in some way.
or mislead the customer. You never know if the customer has a recording of an unauthorised verbal guarantee, too.
Yeah, I sometimes record my phone conversations if I’m expecting sneakiness or duplicity from an organisation.
(And sometimes I just say I’m recording… )
Amoungst all the pretty bleak news, there’s this:
http://news.smh.com.au/world/vatican-scandal-cited-in-pope-resignation-20130222-2euzj.html
which promises weeks and years of lulz.
I love their language, I really do. Problems related to the 6th and 8th comandments. Quite so, yes indeed. *laughs*
i fellow-ship at least three to four times a week with some wonderful “disciples”, all at different stages on their journeys (try not to stumble anybody), anyway, the same themes keep cropping up between people who are not individually in direct communication…
an interesting one is a perception of a reverse traversal of the biblical narrative unfolding all around
anyway,
P.S:4-Aldous would be chuckley, or would he?
Open Mike 12/02/2013 I asked “What has really made the Pope’s job untenable?”
To think that the Pope is more concerned about sex between priests than his failure to address child sexual assault sickens me. Consenting sex among adults is seen by the Pope as being a problem (adultery) and priests who have offended against children, they have not been exposed (reported to law enforcement) because of being protected by the Vatican.
Sounds as though there is a well organised theft ring in the Vatican and when you steal from your own action will be taken.
I can now see why the Pope does not have the stamina for the job and how he would have had to watch his back more than he will have to in the future. Quite clever in handing over the rot to his successor.
Can a cardinal refuse the job?
That article is a load of rubbish – I think you can be reasonably sure that the stories about underground gay sex, and corrution may well be true, but are being used as cover.
This is something out of Nancy Drew – Its all terribly exciting if it was not such a load of crap.
Expose the sinister nature of the Church, people undersand what it represents, the trail of child abuse is the calling card for what sits at the heart of this *religious* entity.
Oh they worship a god alright, but its not the god they have the world believing it is!
Oh do go on.
You’ve clearly got your finger on it.
Put it this way, whatever has been going on, is well before benedict became the pope, so stepping down on account of these gay sex stories is a nonsense, in any case wasn’t it because he was sick etc…
If anyone is being blackmailed it is likely to have been the pope himself, with these cover stories keeping people guessing.
What sort of entity hides the what could be the worlds history in its vaults, and among other secretive dealings, also supports a structure which preys on children, now what sort of religious entity feasts on that kind of energy!
The source who will do the exposing if the Pope is implicated has to be powerful e.g. connection to a marfia like organisation. This would make any Pope’s job untenable.
Also class one drugs may flow freely and a drug lord could be another source. Possibly priests mixed up in a drug cartel, (there could even be a P lab down in the winery cellars).
I also said on Open Mike 22/02/2013 “Probably the last eight decades of child sexual assault creating a backlog of settlements” The reason I only went back eight decades was because there will not be many survivors alive.
Regardless of commandments 6 & 7 being mentioned as the reason for the Pope’s resignation I want to know more about what the blackmail is about.
I imagine that would be the gay sex. They’re shameless about everything else.
heh – if you did, then it wouldn’t be useful for blackmail 🙂
You could probably add a few secret families a la Schwarzenegger and some financial stuff to the list, too. Plus any paedophiles or their protectors that might still be about.
Another police chase, another death.
Not really political, but I note that once again the crash occurred after “pursuit was abandoned”, which seems to be a recurring theme. Questions being whether the driver knew pursuit had been abandoned, and whether the crash occurred because the driver was still amped up after the chase, and whether “abandoned” is the same as “let go, move on to other jobs”. Not to mention whether the line about abandoning pursuit is pr spin.
I’m not suggesting the police shouldn’t do anything about joyriders. It’s just such a waste.
Surprise surprise, adolescents dished up ‘wildest police chases’ as entertainment, think police chases are cool.
bit more complicated than that, issue-wise.
The question is how to stop kids dying, rather than blaming a tv format for something that predates reality television.
Get he parents to take away their keys ?
I see this was not an option in this instance as the vehicle appears to have been stolen.
stolen car.
But I’m thinking more of alternative tactical solutions for police to use, rather than preventative measures like boosting social services and reducing inequality and deprivation.
Good on you for mentioning those prevention measures that might actually be effective at stopping kids from being killed, rather than simply apportioning blame in what might otherwise appear to be an effort to wash your and society’s hands clean of any obligation to try and stop our teenagers from being killed. Oh, um…
I’ve had friends who have done the job of coroner in various places around the country, and even with the most forgiving will in the world after you’ve seen your hundredth instance of drunken youths wrapping themselves and their passengers around other cars, pedestrians and inanimate objects they tend to have little sympathy left for the reckless unthinking behaviour and what are usually young men barely out of or into their teens.
I’m sure you and all your friends never did anything remotely stupid or dangerous as teenagers.
I’m a great fan of insensitivity born of bitter experience, but if we (as a society) are raising our kids wrong and then not finding ways to deal with them in safer ways than we are at present, then we are authors of our own demise (or irritation, as the case may be).
I’m sure we did lots of stupid stuff but stealing cars, fleeing from the police and causing death wasn’t amongst the stupid stuff we did.
The “causing death” bit is often a matter of pure luck. And not just for stealing cars. Some really interesting work on brain development in teens has been done with scanners over the last ten or fifteen years. There are interesting reasons why they have seem to have shit impulse control and so on.
But okay. You and your mates are better than teenagers today. If only because one or two of your mates might have A) been lucky to avoid causing serious harm; and B) got diversion or a discharge without conviction.
So, do you have a solution for today’s teenagers and young adults? Or are you limited to “Get the parents to take away their keys”?
It is certainly a very difficult problem with no quick fix.
In relation to the particular problems we seem to have with young people in vehicles there may be a number interventions needed.
Vehicle immobilizers
Tougher and more thorough driving tests and education
Greater restrictions and penalties on alcohol
Greater restrictions and penalties on young drivers having more than one occupant in the vehicle
Greater restrictions on the power/top speed of vehicles
Taking a look at similar countries that don’t have these problems and asking why ?
Unlike some I do not believe these incidents are caused by police doing their job.
And you suggest immobilizers? Isn’t that changing how the police change their job?
And increased penalties might just increase the incentive to escape/run.
gah, i dunno.
Yeah, I know McFlock, trite, and I am well aware of the stolen vehicle/police pursuit thing some youngsters engage in being an outcome of a youth disconnection that continues to grow.
sigh..
I agree with joe90 on this.
While young men have always been drawn to riding their horses fast, there is nonetheless a strong element of modelling going on here.
All I can suggest is that when I was this age it would scarcely have occurred to any of us to actually try and outrun the cops. It just never happened. Something has changed.
Well…some of us were extremely naughty even back then (been reading my thoughts Red; was just nostalgically reminiscing with some “peers”, both former and current coincidentally last night, yet this longitudinal research being carried out by Otago recently demonstrated associations between media exposure and violence / anti-social / “deviant behaviour, then there is the “myth of invincibility”, anomie, gnomes without “homes”…(i was particularly interested when the availability / affordability of cars that were more powerful per mass than bikes came about.In the 70’s it seemed like a lot of moolah had to be outlaid to own a car that would beat a GSThou’ from the bay to taupo; 40mins, junction to junction)
+1. What more can be said though – I mean really! Life lost ….. next, next, next
– But you know… when you listen to them (AND hear them), they’re mostly of the “do the crime, pay the time ilk” in all their pathetic machismo – even though the lack of brain development, the peer pressure, and all the shit is well known.
I’d have thought a smart Police force would have picked up on that attitude (if they’re genuinely concerned about saving lives).
Unfortunately there seems to be a Polis Force that can be just as ficked as the ‘perps’ they pursue.
Never mind though aye! The trivialities such as the rep of silly little pricks at the wheel of a car (with underdeveloped brain material – as we already know) will soon be forgot.
Instead, the bastions of those mandated to protect us from evil – all wearing a uniform, and waddling like ducks with the necessary weaponry to suppress and protect (both themselves and a supposedly supporting public) have our undivided support and attention – after all – they’re such HEROES. Why they’ve even got a ‘personality’ ready to pop-up on the next MSM venue to remind us that’s so. Even before anyone ends up before the courts (usually).
I’ve never been able to understand how once upon a time, a comparatively primitively armed Polis force coped with gang warfare (Aro Valley/Wadestown bikie warfare – for example), – all the shite elsewhere, all the while dressed in suits of heavy serge, whilst today, tasers, long batons, suped-up cars carrying guns with bullets seem to be required.
Let’s just give them tanks and surface to air missiles now aye Greg!?
‘Oops, he’s leaving the road. Abandon pursuit.’
yeah, it’s pretty interesting how they almost never crash while the pursuit’s still going.
In which case there are issues around alternative pursuit measures (air, distance tailing without lights, anything else? ).
Heck, the sci-fi answer is a gps tag fired at the vehicle to everyone can pull back out of sight. Worst thing that would happen is that the occupants notice it and stop to either ditch the car or remove the tag, in which case the operative word is “stopped”. Even for a moment it gives time to put a roadblock up ahead.
The 1984 solution is to have a gps tag fitted to every car, one that also acts a transponder so the pursuer can identify the vehicle. Then the police would know where every car is, how fast it was going, where the boy racers are congregating on Saturday night, where all the park up sites are, who’s been into the grog shop, stopped by the tinny house, visited the dope patch or the burglary site, etc.
If the boss can monitor where the workers in the company car are by GPS, well …….nah, it’s all right, just joking……… though, …….. hmmmm……….. hmmmmm?
faster than the speed of sound
bandwidth congestion would be an issue. But they already have systems that can be activated in the case of vehicle theft.
Of course, but only if the little darlings involved are EGGS or ABGSS.
http://www.starchase.com/news-section/an-alternative-to-vehicle-pursuits.html
Of course, but only if the little darlings involved are EGGSS or ABGSS.
http://www.starchase.com/news-section/an-alternative-to-vehicle-pursuits.html
Of course, but only if the little darlings involved are EGGS or ABGSS.
http://www.starchase.com/news-section/an-alternative-to-vehicle-pursuits.html
well, this Krap is certainly not helping (been stung myself, i know, was “tired” and not thinking clearly)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10866933
Lolz, never tried the stuff myself, having the belief that the mind can only be expanded so far i spent the 80’s doing just that with other illicit substances and the odd variety of mushroom and now happily stimulate my inner cranium with mugs of tea and the odd coffee while occasionally being the recipient of an infrequent flash-back,(or is that forward)…
.
up
down
all around
please don’t
let
me
hit
the
ground
Iggy and The Stooges on the cafe radio as I type…sorry to read of your health struggles…rare for any of us to get out of here unscathed…Killing us Softly with his song…(hey there is always Ray Winstone in The Sweeny to watch as we await Last Orders / Nil by Mouth you Sexy Beast; Ripleys Game, and even beyond the Edge of Darkness, beyond The Departed, is the horror of The War Zone (like The Woodsman); anyway, for something lighter there is always Jerusalem or The Magic Roundabout 🙂
That K2 shit does push people off the edge. I see empty packets around the street most weeks.
Climate change: Locked out
Another failure by this government. One that’s going to hit the financial markets and the local economy hard I suspect.
btw, “Rollergirl, she just loves to take them on…skate-away, that’s all…she’s Making Movies…she just loves to see them fall…”
There’s so many different worlds
So many different suns
And we have just one world
But we live in different ones
Read more at http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/5863/#pvqK2DqA3kLFUTzC.99
French Toast
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9886776/France-freezes-spending-to-hit-EU-targets-as-slump-deepens.html
5 of Clubs for a Poor 500 all round escagot
http://seekingalpha.com/article/1212021-5-reasons-the-s-p-500-could-fall-20-by-the-end-of-2013
not “Permanent”
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/02/21/scientists-warn-of-melting-permafrost-if-temperatures-continue-to-rise/
(“tites” come down)
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23205-major-methane-release-is-almost-inevitable.html?cmpid=RSS|NSNS|2012-GLOBAL|online-news
Crazy old John Key saying don’t be too concerned about up to 1000 jobs going at telecom because we have ‘a flexible job market.’
trouble is, it only ever seems to bend in one direction: backwards
The only job market is being on an unemployment benefit and searching for work or going to a job interview if you’ re lucky.
Ha. It’s so bloody flexible if anyone manages to catch a job they soon discover they can’t hang on to it.
greased up and flexible then – and prepared to fuck anyone.
Only the nats could make that description repulsive.
It’s all that time Jonkey spent in the US – invent a nice-sounding advertising slogan to hide a disaster, and just keep repeating it until people think it must be a good thing.
A TED Talk from photographer Garth Lenz on the impact of tar sands oil: The true cost of oil.
Related:
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/aswift/transcanadas_record_presents_a.html
http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20130219/oil-sands-mining-tar-sands-alberta-canada-energy-return-on-investment-eroi-natural-gas-in-situ-dilbit-bitumen?page=show
http://www.desmog.ca/2013/02/18/tar-sands-tailings-contaminate-alberta-groundwater
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/02/19/alberta-bitumen-peace-river-baytex.html
1:1 over the complete cycle EROI
1:1…that’s running hard just to stay in the same place.
Gail the Actuary has some good thoughts on this issue, posted at The Oil Drum
http://www.theoildrum.com/node/9825
Crazy old John Banks on Focus on Politics said that the critics of Charter schools are right, but no one is listening to them.