From buying furniture and cars, to communicating with friends and relatives, much of our personal dealings are online these days. As Edward Snowden revealed mining this Metadata can tell you a lot about any persons of interest to your investigation.
Uncovering war crimes. Unmasking war criminals. Bellingcat.
In response to the military setbacks suffered by Russian forces in Kharkiv and Kherson and in particular the bombing of the bridge linking Crimea to Russia, Russian Federation operatives have been conducting revenge attacks against civilian infrastructure across Ukraine. These revenge attacks that have no military purpose or agency, other than terrorising and causing hardship to the civilian population.
Revenge terror attacks against civilian infrastructure and civilians are a war crime.
Bellingcat set out to identify the individuals orchestrating these missile and drone strikes against civilians.
War criminals be warned. No one is untouchable
The 10 October attacks marked Russia’s largest coordinated missile strikes since the beginning of the war….
….Bellingcat and its investigative partners The Insider and Der Spiegel were able to discover a hitherto secretive group of dozens of military engineers with an educational and professional background in missile programming. Phone metadata shows contacts between these individuals and their superiors spiked shortly before many of the high-precision Russian cruise missile strikes that have killed hundreds and deprived millions in Ukraine of access to electricity and heating….
….Most members identified by Bellingcat and partners are young men and women, including one husband-and-wife couple, many with IT and even computer-gaming backgrounds….
….Others are recipients of various military awards, including from Russian President, Vladimir Putin.
Bellingcat approached each identified member of this clandestine GVC unit with an offer to confirm or deny our findings, and with a list of questions including who selects the targets and whether the civilian casualties are the result of computational error or intentional targeting of civilians….
….The identification of this clandestine group within the Ministry of Defence was made by parsing through open-source data of thousands of graduates of Russia’s leading military institutes that focus on missile engineering and programming,…
Of course they would. The Russian's requirements are very simple. They only require a single sentence, of just three words, to be announced by the Ukraine Government.
"We surrender unconditionally".
The problem is that President of theirs. He refuses to say it. How unreasonable of him.
"I'm pretty sure the Russians would readily agree to peace talks, if only the Ukrainians would agree." mikesh
Putin had his chance to accept a negotiated peace, but turned it down.
Putin should have taken Ukraine's generous peace offers when they made them back in March. Instead Russian Federation negotiators kept mindlessly repeating demands for Ukraine's surrender, and 'denazification' i.e. Putin's euphemism for regime change.
During the March negotiations Ukraine made two concessions to the Russian Federation to try and achieve a negotiated peace.
The Ukraine government in Kiev offered to hold a referendum to try and get a binding mandate from the Ukrainian people for Ukraine neutrality.
Zelensky says Ukraine prepared to discuss neutrality in peace talks
Published 28 March 2022
Ukraine's president has said his government is prepared to discuss adopting a neutral status as part of a peace deal with Russia.
In an interview with independent Russian journalists, Volodymyr Zelensky said any such deal would have to be put to a referendum in Ukraine.
…..The news comes as the negotiations between the two countries are set to resume this week in Turkey….
…The possibility of Ukrainian neutrality is not new. It's been discussed by Russian and Ukrainian officials for at least two weeks.
But President Zelensky's reference is perhaps the most explicit so far.
Clearly, there's no room for Nato membership in such a vision of Ukraine's future.
Removing that aspiration from Ukraine's constitution (it was added in 2019) will need to be put to a referendum. With support for membership at an all-time high, it will be a bitter pill for many Ukrainians to swallow….
For a referendum to proceed it is obvious that a ceasefire would firstly had to have been agreed to.
The bloody minded Russian negotiators refused to even consider Ukraine's offer of a ceasefire during the negotiations. Instead pressing ahead with their invasion while attending 'peace talks'.
In a recognition of the situation on the ground, Ukraine also offered the Russia Federation, a concession that Ukraine would not forcibly try to retake Ukrainian territory in the Donbas occupied by Russia before February 24, 2020.
On occupied territories
Zelensky told the journalists his goal was to “minimize the victim count, end the war as soon as possible and withdraw the Russian troops to ‘compromise’ territories… I realize that it is impossible to make Russia leave these territories. It would lead to World War Three,” he said.
….President Zelensky says Russian troops must retreat to positions held before Moscow's full-scale invasion began on 24 February.
He says Ukraine will not try and retake the Donbas or Crimea by force,….
If they are not prepared to talk peace, they cannot complain about the damage that is Russia is effecting. Why should Russia stop the bombing? What’s in it for them?
Arse. The arrival of mechanised warfare certainly saw numbers rise but the Thirty Years War killed more than a third of Germany's population, a tenth of France's population died during the Napoleonic wars and who the fuck knows how many civilians died during Russia's imperialist expansion and assorted global uprisings, revolutions and conquests.
Russia has shown by their actions and threats that they have no interest in peace.
So have the Ukrainians. So they need to get over themselves and stop complaining about the damage that Russia is doing. Do they not realise that they are involved in a war.
Putin has said recently that he will not use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. But of course he's a liar, isn't he, so the Ukrainians had better watch out, hadn't they.
Well he lied about invading didn't he? So he cannot be trusted.
But it's more that he's a despotic genocide with a list of warcrimes that wouldn't fit in your tiny mind that's the issue. Putin is a very bad man – not in theory, but in practice. Nor are these incidents isolated, it is a sustained and frequent practice. Putin has more form than Harold Shipman – which you would know if you bothered to inform yourself properly instead of lying your ignorant arse off and whining about "propaganda".
You know full well that there will be nothing on the internet that either proves or disproves that Yeltsin was a Western stooge. If I ever meet the guy I will certainly not apologise for calling him that;
If he is a very bad man he's probably the best person to rule Russia; certainly an improvement on the drunken sot who preceded him, and probably better than Gorbachev, whom I respect, even if Putin doesn't think much of him. Good guys probably don't last long at the top in Russia.
I usually don't talk about Putin himself. I prefer to talk about Russia, and where I think her interests lie.
there will be nothing on the internet that either proves or disproves that Yeltsin was a Western stooge.
Nevertheless, the search for anything even suggesting the kite you have flown would be a salutary lesson for you in not letting your reckons get ahead of available evidence – these vagrant prejudices you leave loitering without means of support do nothing to inform debate.
I prefer to talk about Russia, and where I think her interests lie.
Perhaps you should do that then – think about how Russia can recover from decades of kleptocracy, a humiliating defeat, and loss of standing with all the neighbouring countries. The present despot only obstructs the kind of change Russia has needed since Tsarist times. It was not coincidence that Russia had a revolution – it's really very poorly run.
"Do they not realise that they are involved in a war."mikesh
Ukrainians do realise that they are involved in a war,
Russians do not realise they are involved in a war, because they have been lied to by their government that they are involved in a 'Special Military Operation'.
Possibly, part of the reason why Russia is losing, the 'WAR'.
Unlike you I don't bother playing around with semantics. There is a war going on in Ukraine, not a game of tiddly winks. Russia is trying to regain the territory given away by Western stooge, Boris Yeltsin.
"Russia is trying to regain the territory given away by Western stooge, Boris Yeltsin." mickesh
That's a weirdly distorted take on history there mikesh.
The breakaway of the former Soviet controlled territories occurred, when the whole population of the old Soviet Union, including the people in Russia itself, rose up against the Soviet empire, and tore it down.
After Gorbachev, Yeltsin became the fall guy for the unstoppable dissolution of the Soviet Union that had already begun under Gorbachev.
Boris Yeltsin had very little to with it, he just happened to be the one in the hotseat when it happened.
On 21 September 1993, in breach of the constitution, Yeltsin announced in a televised address his decision to disband the Supreme Soviet and Congress of People's Deputies by decree. In his address, Yeltsin declared his intent to rule by decree until the election of the new parliament and a referendum on a new constitution, triggering the constitutional crisis of October 1993. On the night after Yeltsin's televised address, the Supreme Soviet declared Yeltsin removed from the presidency for breaching the constitution, and Vice-President Alexander Rutskoy was sworn in as acting president.[113]
Between 21 and 24 September, Yeltsin was confronted by popular unrest. Demonstrators protested the terrible living conditions under Yeltsin. Since 1989, GDP had declined by half. Corruption was rampant, violent crime was skyrocketing, medical services were collapsing, food and fuel were increasingly scarce and life expectancy was falling for all but a tiny handful of the population; moreover, Yeltsin was increasingly getting the blame. By early-October, Yeltsin had secured the support of Russia's army and ministry of interior forces. In a massive show of force, Yeltsin called up tanks to shell the Russian White House (parliament building). The attack killed 187 people and wounded almost 500 others.[113]
As the Supreme Soviet was dissolved, elections to the newly established parliament, the State Duma, were held in December 1993. Candidates associated with Yeltsin's economic policies were overwhelmed by a huge anti-Yeltsin vote, the bulk of which was divided between the Communist Party and ultra-nationalists. However, the referendum held at the same time approved the new constitution, which significantly expanded the powers of the president, giving Yeltsin the right to appoint the members of the government, to dismiss the prime minister and, in some cases, to dissolve the Duma.[115]
That seems to be how the Soviet empire was dissolved.
Here's a clue for you mikesh; It wasn't Gorbachev, it wasn't Yeltsin, it wasn't the communist hardliners who tried to oppose the popular revolt against the Soviet union with tanks and military force.
The same people who deny the agency of the people in the fall of the Soviet Union and try to blame secret agents of the West conspiring inside the Duma.
Are the same people who claim that the Arab Spring was a CIA plot.
That the Maidan popular revolt against Viktor Yanukovych was a Nazi coup.
The East German authorities could have prevented the fall of the wall had they wanted to. They chose not to. Certainly, there was was public pressure, protests, etc, and there was also an alternative route to West Germany, apparently, via Prague. I think "the people" were encouraged by the apparent softening of Soviet attitudes exemplified by Gorbachev's advocacy of glasnost and perestroika.
Unless Helen you truly believe that all of the wests declared enemies are irredeemably bad , inhumane,barbaric and backward, and that is why we are enemies, and the west represents all that is superior in the human world, and we can believe everything that our intelligence agencies tell us via their paid for journalists.
1, Why is it bellingcats responsibility to investigate all war crimes? They have identified these ones. Perhaps they will identify the others.
2. War crimes by one side don't justify them by the other. You can just agree that Russia bombing civilian homes and infrastructure is bad. Trying to pull whataboutisim doesn't make dead civilians any less dead.
3. Russia has been aggresive to its neighbours for decades. It invaded Chechnya in 1999. They invaded Georgia in 2008. They invaded Ukraine in the Crimea in 2014. In all those cases the West did not intervene. They chose appeasement. Russia responded by continuing to invade and harm its neighbours. Now they threaten nuclear escalation if they don't get their way.
Ukraine has real issues internally that were theirs to sort out. This current crisis is of Russia's making and it is disgusting the amount of people on the left who will support their imperialism and war crimes just to be able to try and show how much they hate the US and the west.
Consistency is what I'm about .What you call whataboutism(that old trope from the cold war)is what I refer to when calling out hypocrisy. The fact that Bellingcat for the vast majority of its reports amplifies western geopolitical aims does not instil confidence in their impartiality
By the way Chechnya is not a neighbour, its a republic within the Russian federation, and furthermore, even the EU recognises that Sashkavilli initiated the short Georgia war by sending troops to kill the Russian peacekeepers in breakaway South Ossetia
You don't understand. Poor little South Osettia would not be able to look after itself if it wasn't part of the Russian federation. It is really in their best interest to be ruled by Russia. They are reliant on the benevolent rule of Mr Putin.
Hold on, that sounds a lot like the justification the British and other empires used during colonisation. Must be a coincidence.
There is no requirement on Bellingcat to do Russia research on Ukrainian war crimes. Of course they will focus on those committed by Russia. That doesn't make them any less valid.
If a union finds cases of bad employers but doesn't go through and investigate all of the bad employees, does that invalidate their research? Do those employers suddenly become good? If animal rights activists find cases of farmer abuse but don't report on good farmers does that make the abuse go away?
Whataboutisim is weak arguments that try to ignore one sides failings by blaming the other side of also not being perfect. All it results in is everyone's failings being ignored.
That doesn't mean context has to be ignored. I can say that Ukraine has done bad things and so has Russia. Apparently you can't. This is what makes you seem so blinded by your hatred of the west. You would rather ignore Russia's war crimes or act like they are acceptable.
Give it a try. See if you can admit that firing missiles into civilian houses, as Russia have, is bad and should not happen.
I can do whataboutisim too though. Funny how when Chechnya want independence its OK for Russia to bomb them to hell, support war lords, and make sure they are "a republic within the Russian federation". Yet when Ukraine tries to maintain Crimea or the Donbass it totally justifies Russian invasion. Weird that. Oh that's right, Nazis. Cause there are no Nazis in the Russian military. Hell we just had a story about NZ Neo-Nazis trying to join the NZDF. Hope Australia or someone doesn't try to de-nazify us. Terrible argument but on the level of what you have offered to justify Russian war crimes.
The fact that Bellingcat for the vast majority of its reports amplifies western geopolitical aims does not instil confidence in their impartiality
So that's the end run that allows you to consistently ignore their evidence – it doesn't gel with the world according to Putin. Not much does – it's not much of a standard. Russia is still fighting to suppress the revolutions of 1848, absent a monolithic creed like Stalinism, it can only hold together by heavy-handed use of surveillance and brute force.
Of course, Ukraine is also running an international propaganda war, very deftly, I might add. But that seems fair enough, given its existential crisis, and the fact it did not start this conflict.
Putin's forces shun international media and agencies like the Red Cross. What are they hiding? In comparison, Ukraine allows reasonable acess to these agencies. It simply cannot afford to alienate international support by committing anti-Russian atrocities. Plus, maybe also, Ukraine is taking a more ethical stance…
I see you're using your usual selective ethics jawty everything russia does is bad and a war crime as of course ukraine would never commit a war crime nooooooo !!
Worth pointing out that over half according to wiki of ukraine's railway system is electric so prob some advantage to Russia if it can limit the supply dont you think ???
I see you're using your usual selective ethics jawty…..
Accusing me of using selective ethics, is an unwarranted personal attack unsupported by facts. To accuse me of this being my usual practice is a dirty slur.
Following the bombing of the Kerch Bridge. Members of the Russian government said there would be retaliation, the Russian president said there would be a harsh response to any attack on Russian targets.
The threat made by the Russian President and members of his government of a Harsh response, and of Retaliation against Ukraine, – threats made following the attack on the Kersk Bridge, were carried out with missile and drone attacks on civilian infrastructure across Ukraine.
Leonid Slutsky, head of the foreign affairs committee in the Russian parliament's lower house, said "consequences will be imminent" if Ukraine was responsible.
Leader of the Just Russia faction Sergei Mironov said Russia should respond by attacking key Ukrainian infrastructure…
…..Mr. Putin said the strikes were in response to a blast that hit a key Russian bridge over the weekend, which he called a “terrorist attack.’’ He threatened further strikes if Ukraine continued to hit Russian targets.
The Russian President has blamed Ukraine for the bombing of a vital bridge that links Russia and Crimea, which he has previously described as an ”act of terrorism”. Vladimir Putin has said the widespread missile attack on Ukraine was in retaliation for "terrorist action" against Russia…..
……President Putin spoke at a meeting of Russia’s Security Council and said: "If attacks continue against Russia, the response will be harsh."
Finance Minister Grant Robertson says there is no evidence suggesting banks are making unreasonable profits as inflation and the cost-of-living crisis impact on New Zealand families.
Robertson told Morning Report hikes in bank loans, including mortgage rate loans, were set off what the Reserve Bank did and that banks' profits were not excessive.
Why the need for different plattforms, they are all very much the same. Are people really going to leave Twitter because Elon Musk is now the 'owner'. Would these same people refuse to drive a Tesla and rather get a Volkswagen cause Elon Musk? I find this strange.
it's not because Musk is the owner, it's because of what he says he is going to do to twitter. Can you see the difference?
the thing that made me reactivate my mastodon account yesterday wasn't so much Musk as the appearance of Superfollow, where you can pay to access premium content of popular accounts. The account gets $, and I assume twitter does as well. If it takes off, it's going to change twitter a lot. It's already complicated enough with so much of MSM behind a paywall now.
Mastodon is a bit different from twitter. It doesn't hurt to have two short form platforms. And it's good to have something up and running in case twitter does turn to shit.
I was thinking about finding a cluster of women on mastodon. Don't know yet what M is doing with GC content.
To be fair i am currently blocked for suggesting that certain people who may not identify as 'women' still need to make sure they get appropriate healthcare for certain body parts in response to an article that lamented the loss of a transman to cervical cancer.
How bad do you think it could get under Elon Musk? Seriously, what do you think is going to happen? The sky falling on our heads? I don't understand the need for 'safe spaces' and 'echo chambers'. Twitter is actually quite good for what it should do, some persons who work for Twitter may have a heavy hand as to what they consider 'hate speech' now already, so really what is to worry? Oh that he may give the orange menace their twitter account back? Or that people just can't report others whom they disagree with off the platform via malicious mass reporting? Or that there might now be different opinions?
there's lots of speculation about what Musk will do, but for me the pertinent point is that he's a fuckwit with a massive ego who thinks he knows best and who belongs to the death cult that is killing the planet despite some attempt at greenwashing.
Will he be better or worse than Jack? I don't know, but my guess is his particular world view alongside his ego will make it worse. But then as I said, twitter already made things worse with teh Superfollow thing.
Maybe things will get better for GC debate, I don't know (plenty of GC seem to think it will). We will see if that outweighs the downsides.
Elon Musk has completed his $44bn (£38.1bn) takeover of Twitter, according to an investor in the firm.
Twitter's chief executive and finance boss have reportedly left with immediate effect … working at Twitter may become more onerous. The Tesla chief executive has previously tweeted that employees should anticipate work ethic expectations that are "extreme".
In a tweet addressed to Twitter advertisers Mr Musk said that the platform could not become a "free-for-all hellscape" and must be "warm and welcoming for all".
Many analysts argued the price Mr Musk is now paying for the company is too high given the decline in the values of many tech stocks and Twitter's struggle to attract users and grow.
The entrepreneur has also posted that his plans for Twitter include "X, the app for everything".
Some suggest this might be something along the lines of the hugely successful Chinese app WeChat, a kind of "super app" that incorporates different services including messaging, social media, payments and food orders.
It's hard to make payments on margin calls if the bonds have crashed in value, so share sales it is. And funds paying out money as people retire will be selling stocks high in value not delivering much dividend flow.
Bonds have an inverse relationship with value as the price decreases with liquidity.If the asset is deleveraged it maintains still has a coupon value.
There have been losses with large funds in the bond markets,mostly due to positions,but reversed some what now as both large banks and sovereign funds dump high PE'S for value.
Mostly though it is companies returning to fair value,not expected value,as the world contracts into a normative state (post covid) and wealth destruction in the on demand bourgeois set,as costs move to reality.
I made the point in one of my posts about Tuhoe and wider Treaty Settlements that Tuhoe & the results of these settlements are not the problem.
I said that those of real concern and posing a real threat to the way of life of all NZers whether Maori or Pakeha are those belonging to the Sovereign Citizen movement.
The SIS has commented on the Sov Cit movement here.
Added to these there are the likes of VFF*, Counterspin and various other 'disgruntlers'.
The concern at the Sov Cit threat is that this could be started by a legitimate act, say vehicle stop or similar, which may be a seen as bringing the power of the State upon the Sov Cit triggering an OTT response.
it will be interesting to see if those elected backed by VFF are able to get over their one issue interest and become those with useful alternate viewpoints or whether they will remain mired in anti public health or anti wide general measures to help the widest group. We needs lots of diverse thinking in our local governments and one issue wonders are not really very useful.
I did link I thought to the SIS report. I did comment that a flare-up of anti authority from Sov Cits movement could come from a routine and non threatening, to most of us, action by the Police or other law enforcement, say a traffic stop.
'Increasingly, it is also seen as a vehicle for retribution. Some element of this has existed for a while, Hattotuwa said: “This is not something that is parenthetical, peripheral or marginal; this is not something that is occasional. This is something that has increasingly defined the anti-vax community.”
It includes fantasies about Nuremberg trials for people who support vaccination, and mass arrests of politicians and media figures, as advocated by the likes of Counterspin Media.
Now, with the announcement that vaccination mandates would end, these groups have increasingly turned their attention to vengeance.
“Now the whole conversation writ large is around holding the PM and the government accountable for genocide. And that's where you find this heightened discussion around, you know, self appointments of sheriffs and marshals – they now want to hold the individuals they think were responsible for the genocide accountable under sovereign citizen and common law frameworks,” Hattotuwa said.'
‘Also, because some have engaged in armed confrontations with law enforcement,[2][14] the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) classifies “sovereign citizen extremists” as domestic terrorists.[15] Terry Nichols, one of the perpetrators of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, subscribed to a variation of sovereign citizen ideology.[12] In surveys conducted in 2014 and 2015, representatives of U.S. law enforcement ranked the risk of terrorism from the sovereign citizen movement higher than the risk from any other group, including Islamic extremists, militias, racist skinheads, neo-Nazis and radical environmentalists.[16][17] The New South Wales Police Force in Australia has also identified sovereign citizens as a potential terrorist threat.[18]’
I suggest that bringing in their odd rules and trying to enforce them on others who are unwilling to accept them will heighten the potential for violence. And just because we haven't heard from Counterspin, Arps, Sivell et al recently it does not mean they have all gone to paint their houses and grow potatoes.
[Wiki text converted to text-only without all (too many) the hyperlinks that triggered Auto-Moderation – Incognito]
Well if I am 'handwringing' it is supported by NZ Govt agencies and other western governments. I am happy to be in such company as often over the years I have found myself not supporting the govt in power eg all through neo lib times, Vietnam War, Springbok tour etc.
Nothing wrong with 'concern' I would have thought.
'Speculation' is not part of this, see SIS report. My knowledge of these and other groups has been built on my observations of this group, and many of the dissent groups involved. In particular, having worked my whole life looking at land and constitutional issues their basic premise, relating to Admiralty law is tosh.
Admiralty law, law of discovery and the sea precedes the actual signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.
The ToW, whether you like it or not, is the closest thing we have to a founding document framing the constitutional rights of all NZers. It is being relied on by Maori, through various statutes on the Treaty giving redress against the other partner.
If some group convinces flammable others that this is incorrect then we will have people fomenting trouble for those, and Maori in particular, who believe/rely on the Treaty.
I would have thought the possibility of uncalled for and wrongful death or injury when this is inflicted by a 'nutter' organisation with fringe ideas would be abhorrent.
In NZ's very recent past we have had first-hand experience of the harm that be wreaked by a fringe person on a mission (Christchurch) would come high up on the list of things that are a threat. NZ agencies with their role of intelligence took their eyes off the ball with tragic results. I think it is significant that US agencies have classed this group as a terrorist organisation.
The upsetting of the rule of law based on a Westminster style of government
This article discusses and approves of the SIS keeping an eye on dissidents such as the Sov Cit movement saying their beliefs are
'The pseudo-law arguments are a collection of motifs that sound like law and often involve legal terminology, but which lead to legally incorrect results. Most pseudo-law is designed to defeat or bypass state, police, court and institutional authority.' Quoted from a Canadian Court case.
The article also says quoting Prof Spoonley
'So what is to be done about this threat of overthrow by such extremists? Spoonley suggests police and the SIS need to be more public about the resources being deployed and the information being obtained about local activists.
We need to be better informed, he says. He points out that police are enhancing existing systems to better record hate crimes which should be an important source of information and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet will be announcing some of the details of the new centre of excellence that will provide evidence of local developments.
The author of the aritcle, Ret Judge David Harvey, concludes 'One hopes these investigations will not be restricted to extremists on the Right but to other extremist groups that are threats to our society.
It is doubtful, in my opinion, that sovereign citizens fulfil that criterion. They are a nuisance.'
This is where I disagree. We seem to have looked on people such as the Chch gunman and others looking at 4chan and 8chan, Telegram as fringe people and not pondered what may happen should they or a group let some trigger go to their head.
Nothing wrong with watchful waiting and pondering the threat to us all and what we can do, ourselves, to counter this. As we saw during Covid, groups with a beef at the Govt & our system of Govt, took the chance to attempt to destabilise. Much of this was done with the bombardment on many media channels by mis & disinformation.
My view is that dissident groups got away for so long because of NZers' natural reticence in challenging, our propensity to give everyone a fair go (with tragic results in Christchurch). We don't need to couple those traits with another one…that of burying our heads in the sand because 'it won't/can't happen here'.
Since Covid and the rise of these groups we do however have interesting, well read and informative people who are unafraid to counter disinformation publicly.
oh the problem with our hospitals delivery is not a dangerously low number of health professionals who are burnt out. It’s that they need performance indicators (targets). And expectations. …..
I don’t know how or why the health workforce puts up with this on going insult fron this Govt.
but of course the reason that ED wait times have got worse is that the staff are a bunch of slackers sitting around the staff tea room chatting away(sarc)
I hold Little and Rob Campbell with the deepest contempt
I'd also be providing support bursaries for studying health (nurses, radiographers, allied health workers) – to encourage people to choose this career.
And, removing the artificial 'caps' on numbers allowed to study.
Doesn't solve the 'right now' problem, but makes a start on solving the 'in 10 years' problem.
And, no, I don't have a problem with the 'unfairness' of people being paid to study in certain fields. As a country, we need medical workers a heck of a lot more than we need lawyers, social anthropologists or accountants.
There have been performance indicators (nurse to patient ratios, wait times) agreed upon and enacted for the last few pay rounds. They get busy, authoritive titles, and not much changes.
No prizes for guessing our local ED has been failing in them for the last decade and a half.
Poverty underpins a lot of it. Few choices for too many, waiting till it is an emergency before seeking treatment. Especially mental, dental and drugs and alcohol.
Poverty of courage and imagination in those that set direction and allocate the $ too.
I accept that Michelle Boag is caught up as a victim in a case in Auckland where a convicted 'prominent businessman has had his name suppressed.
The lines about her reputation being put in “serious jeopardy” and "reputational damage" bring a smile though. Michelle Boag? Reputation? Amongst whom?
"In 2020, Boag resigned as the president of the National, leaving the political party after 47 years.
Her resignation came after revelations she'd passed on private information to the National health spokesperson, after previously passing on the private information of Covid-19 cases.
In 1996 during the Winebox Inquiry, the Commissioner, Sir Ronald Davison, ruled that Boag, who was the director of TVNZ and a Fay Richwhite PR executive, had deliberately deceived the Commission and was guilty of contempt."
Should I contact Nikki Kaye, Michael Woodhouse or Cameron Slater to find if they've heard who the Auckland businessman is? I wouldn't bother checking with Hamish Walker.
The lines about her reputation being put in “serious jeopardy” and "reputational damage" bring a smile though. Michelle Boag? Reputation?
Some Gnat loyalists no doubt feel that Boag did the right thing – her only mistake was getting caught. Having covered herself in dirt, she had to take one for the strong team.
"Is it an honest mistake? Deliberate? I don't know, they'll have to look back down the chain of where it comes from. Perhaps Michelle Boag shouldn't have passed on information that was supposed to be kept to her … but young Hamish, if he's an honest mistake, then he probably shouldn't be prosecuted for it," Kevin said.
He didn't agree with Walker's decision not to contest his seat in the upcoming election.
"That would be a big shame for such a young person that would have, I would say, a pretty good future in politics."
The identity of the 'prominent businessman' is one of the worst-kept secrets in Auckland (no, I'm not going to say it here, as TS would then be liable for breach of court suppression orders).
It is outrageous that minor figures in this case have been publicly identified while he continues to fight to protect his identity.
I think that, once someone is convicted – unless innocent victims in the case (e.g. family sexual abuse) request name suppression – the criminal should be automatically identified. The shame you and your family may feel, and any consequential social or financial penalties, are part of the sentence for your criminal offending.
And, victims, witnesses, or associated figures, who are discussed in the trial, should have automatic suppression of names and any identifying details (unless they choose to waive suppression).
[People who are not convicted, should also have automatic suppression of their names, unless they choose to waive the right]
I think our law and our media – have the 'rights' the wrong way around. Victims should not have to appeal to the courts for their right to privacy. The media should have to appeal, and demonstrate a legitimate public interest, before the appeal is granted.
While I agree that Boag has performed many an own-goal in terms of her media profile and/or reputation (her involvement with the release of the covid information, was then, and remains, indefensible); in this case, she actually had nothing to do with the businessman at all – and her name and identity were used blatantly without her knowledge, let alone permission.
Actually, we don't need to know.
And the media don't need to report now, and didn't need to report during the trial about a "well-known political figure" – when it was immediately evident (and admitted by one of the defendants) that he'd lied about her involvement. It was pure media-story-beat-up for click-bait headlines.
Hating Boag for what she's done, is one thing. Smearing her because someone lied about her involvement, (in what is a very nasty sexual assault and intimidation case), is quite another.
Not sure if this is what the court meant. True, its a surprise somebody would lie about her involvement. Boags reputation appears intact, we know she did do the dodgy things she resigned positions over.
If Bolsonaro wins we all lose – the rain forests depletion needs to end, its now at the tipping point towards permanent decline.
The campaign has descended into a holy war as the candidates vie for millions of religious votes. Lula has traditionally had the support of Catholics, while Bolsonaro is allied to the ever-growing evangelical church. Their support could make – or break – a candidate.
Pastor Valdinei Ferreira says Brazil has imported 'conspirituality' from the US
It's become so extreme that even the Pope spoke out this week, asking Brazil's patron saint to free Brazilians from hate, intolerance and violence ahead of the elections.
Pastor Valdinei Ferreira, from Sao Paulo's Evangelical Cathedral, rejects this politicisation of religion.
"Faith has been seized upon as a political identity and people end up validating the Christian faith of someone based on the political choices they make," he says. "In my opinion, Bolsonaro has caused that – if you don't vote for him, you're written off as a person who's gone against God. I vote for Lula because he just wants to be president – Bolsonaro is a candidate to be God."
Pastor Valdinei uses a special term for what he sees happening in Brazil – conspirituality.
"It's something that came from the US and is happening here – this fusion of spirituality and conspiracy theories," he explains. "You mobilise people because you mess with the religious sentiment of good and evil – but it's guided by a conspiracy theory."
If the GOP in its current form win Congress on November 1, there will be consequences for the future of democracy, not just in the USA (and Americans are now discussing a future where the nation divides permanently) but in the wider world (as to credibility and unity on foreign policy).
Forget the politics – this was the number one water-cooler discussion at work today (I work with lots of mums and/or grandmas with kids).
“Tip Top has discontinued two of its most popular flavours, the 2-litre tubs of Cookies and Cream and Goody Goody Gumdrops, causing outrage among Kiwis online.”
Opinion was fairly equally divided between family loyalty to the 2 flavours – but the outrage was real!
The responsibility avoiding right don’t have to be the only voices in the conversation!
Beginning to think I’m a member of the Hayden Donnell left…
This Wayne Brown is just another bs austerity Tory, with a touch of Trump blitzkrieg- announce a crisis and then cut cut cut. Skirt the council and try to govern by pronouncement. Nothing new or innovative.
But the Trussites aren’t gone, her ideology has just gone looking for a better sales team to sneak through class warfare and wealth transfer. They just don’t want the electorate to see them profiteering so obviously. It’s no good to push it through if it sees a 30 point poll gap and criticism from the markets…
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
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There are few secrets kept from the internet.
From buying furniture and cars, to communicating with friends and relatives, much of our personal dealings are online these days. As Edward Snowden revealed mining this Metadata can tell you a lot about any persons of interest to your investigation.
Uncovering war crimes. Unmasking war criminals. Bellingcat.
In response to the military setbacks suffered by Russian forces in Kharkiv and Kherson and in particular the bombing of the bridge linking Crimea to Russia, Russian Federation operatives have been conducting revenge attacks against civilian infrastructure across Ukraine. These revenge attacks that have no military purpose or agency, other than terrorising and causing hardship to the civilian population.
Revenge terror attacks against civilian infrastructure and civilians are a war crime.
Bellingcat set out to identify the individuals orchestrating these missile and drone strikes against civilians.
War criminals be warned. No one is untouchable
I'm pretty sure the Russians would readily agree to peace talks, if only the Ukrainians would agree.
Of course they would. The Russian's requirements are very simple. They only require a single sentence, of just three words, to be announced by the Ukraine Government.
"We surrender unconditionally".
The problem is that President of theirs. He refuses to say it. How unreasonable of him.
Revanchist idiocy.
'
"I'm pretty sure the Russians would readily agree to peace talks, if only the Ukrainians would agree." mikesh
Putin had his chance to accept a negotiated peace, but turned it down.
Putin should have taken Ukraine's generous peace offers when they made them back in March. Instead Russian Federation negotiators kept mindlessly repeating demands for Ukraine's surrender, and 'denazification' i.e. Putin's euphemism for regime change.
During the March negotiations Ukraine made two concessions to the Russian Federation to try and achieve a negotiated peace.
The Ukraine government in Kiev offered to hold a referendum to try and get a binding mandate from the Ukrainian people for Ukraine neutrality.
For a referendum to proceed it is obvious that a ceasefire would firstly had to have been agreed to.
The bloody minded Russian negotiators refused to even consider Ukraine's offer of a ceasefire during the negotiations. Instead pressing ahead with their invasion while attending 'peace talks'.
In a recognition of the situation on the ground, Ukraine also offered the Russia Federation, a concession that Ukraine would not forcibly try to retake Ukrainian territory in the Donbas occupied by Russia before February 24, 2020.
Now that the Ukraine has seized the initiative, Russia wants to negotiate a ceasefire?
The escalation of attacks on civilian infrastructure, indicate that the Russian Federation has no interest in making peace.
Any ceasefire now would be used by Russia to properly train and equip the hundreds of thousands of conscripts to regroup for another attack.
The best hope for a timely end to this conflict is for Ukraine to press their advantage, to push the Russians back across the border.
If they are not prepared to talk peace, they cannot complain about the damage that is Russia is effecting. Why should Russia stop the bombing? What’s in it for them?
They should stop the bombing because the egregious murder of inoffensive civilians is, outside the strange world of Putin dupes, a Bad Thing.
If the rules favour your enemy, why abide by them.
Civilians are not your enemy – unless you're from before the 19th century.
No. I'm from the 0gth century. That was when civilians started dying in, for example, the battle of Britain, Dresden, Cologne, etc.
Arse. The arrival of mechanised warfare certainly saw numbers rise but the Thirty Years War killed more than a third of Germany's population, a tenth of France's population died during the Napoleonic wars and who the fuck knows how many civilians died during Russia's imperialist expansion and assorted global uprisings, revolutions and conquests.
If you are walking down the street, and you are attacked. You have no choice but to do your best to defend yourself
If you stop defending yourself you could be badly hurt or even killed.
The attacker can stop attacking you or you can overcome your defender.
If no one comes to your aid, the only way the person being attacked can stop the attack is by overcoming their attacker.
The onus is on the aggressor to stop the attack, not the defender.
The same with war.
Russia has shown by their actions and threats that they have no interest in peace.
Only in regrouping to continue the their attack on Ukraine.
Russia has shown by their actions and threats that they have no interest in peace.
So have the Ukrainians. So they need to get over themselves and stop complaining about the damage that Russia is doing. Do they not realise that they are involved in a war.
So they need to get over themselves and stop complaining about the damage that Russia is doing.
Oh – I thought the Putin dupe line was that it's not a war, only a special military operation? Liars need better memories.
A non sequitur but, from your point of view, good propaganda.
Putin has said recently that he will not use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. But of course he's a liar, isn't he, so the Ukrainians had better watch out, hadn't they.
Well he lied about invading didn't he? So he cannot be trusted.
But it's more that he's a despotic genocide with a list of warcrimes that wouldn't fit in your tiny mind that's the issue. Putin is a very bad man – not in theory, but in practice. Nor are these incidents isolated, it is a sustained and frequent practice. Putin has more form than Harold Shipman – which you would know if you bothered to inform yourself properly instead of lying your ignorant arse off and whining about "propaganda".
You know full well that there will be nothing on the internet that either proves or disproves that Yeltsin was a Western stooge. If I ever meet the guy I will certainly not apologise for calling him that;
If he is a very bad man he's probably the best person to rule Russia; certainly an improvement on the drunken sot who preceded him, and probably better than Gorbachev, whom I respect, even if Putin doesn't think much of him. Good guys probably don't last long at the top in Russia.
I usually don't talk about Putin himself. I prefer to talk about Russia, and where I think her interests lie.
there will be nothing on the internet that either proves or disproves that Yeltsin was a Western stooge.
Nevertheless, the search for anything even suggesting the kite you have flown would be a salutary lesson for you in not letting your reckons get ahead of available evidence – these vagrant prejudices you leave loitering without means of support do nothing to inform debate.
I prefer to talk about Russia, and where I think her interests lie.
Perhaps you should do that then – think about how Russia can recover from decades of kleptocracy, a humiliating defeat, and loss of standing with all the neighbouring countries. The present despot only obstructs the kind of change Russia has needed since Tsarist times. It was not coincidence that Russia had a revolution – it's really very poorly run.
"Do they not realise that they are involved in a war." mikesh
Ukrainians do realise that they are involved in a war,
Russians do not realise they are involved in a war, because they have been lied to by their government that they are involved in a 'Special Military Operation'.
Possibly, part of the reason why Russia is losing, the 'WAR'.
Unlike you I don't bother playing around with semantics. There is a war going on in Ukraine, not a game of tiddly winks. Russia is trying to regain the territory given away by Western stooge, Boris Yeltsin.
Liar.
Yeltsin was a useless alcoholic with few or no redeeming features. But there is no evidence whatsoever to indicate that he was a western stooge.
You really ought to come up with some substance to support your mindless ranting – or better yet, desist.
'There are two kinds of knowing, fact and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.' – Hippocrates
But there is no evidence whatsoever to indicate that he was a western stooge.
He may not have been. He may just have conducted himself like one.
He may not have been. He may just have conducted himself like one.
Spare us your vacuous speculation, and produce something to support your contention.
"Russia is trying to regain the territory given away by Western stooge, Boris Yeltsin." mickesh
That's a weirdly distorted take on history there mikesh.
The breakaway of the former Soviet controlled territories occurred, when the whole population of the old Soviet Union, including the people in Russia itself, rose up against the Soviet empire, and tore it down.
After Gorbachev, Yeltsin became the fall guy for the unstoppable dissolution of the Soviet Union that had already begun under Gorbachev.
Boris Yeltsin had very little to with it, he just happened to be the one in the hotseat when it happened.
He Tangata, He Tangata, He Tangata
On 21 September 1993, in breach of the constitution, Yeltsin announced in a televised address his decision to disband the Supreme Soviet and Congress of People's Deputies by decree. In his address, Yeltsin declared his intent to rule by decree until the election of the new parliament and a referendum on a new constitution, triggering the constitutional crisis of October 1993. On the night after Yeltsin's televised address, the Supreme Soviet declared Yeltsin removed from the presidency for breaching the constitution, and Vice-President Alexander Rutskoy was sworn in as acting president.[113]
Between 21 and 24 September, Yeltsin was confronted by popular unrest. Demonstrators protested the terrible living conditions under Yeltsin. Since 1989, GDP had declined by half. Corruption was rampant, violent crime was skyrocketing, medical services were collapsing, food and fuel were increasingly scarce and life expectancy was falling for all but a tiny handful of the population; moreover, Yeltsin was increasingly getting the blame. By early-October, Yeltsin had secured the support of Russia's army and ministry of interior forces. In a massive show of force, Yeltsin called up tanks to shell the Russian White House (parliament building). The attack killed 187 people and wounded almost 500 others.[113]
As the Supreme Soviet was dissolved, elections to the newly established parliament, the State Duma, were held in December 1993. Candidates associated with Yeltsin's economic policies were overwhelmed by a huge anti-Yeltsin vote, the bulk of which was divided between the Communist Party and ultra-nationalists. However, the referendum held at the same time approved the new constitution, which significantly expanded the powers of the president, giving Yeltsin the right to appoint the members of the government, to dismiss the prime minister and, in some cases, to dissolve the Duma.[115]
That seems to be how the Soviet empire was dissolved.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Yeltsin#Confrontation_with_parliament
Meanwhile, outside in the real world. Where history is really made.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmRPP2WXX0U
What is the most important thing in the world?
Here's a clue for you mikesh; It wasn't Gorbachev, it wasn't Yeltsin, it wasn't the communist hardliners who tried to oppose the popular revolt against the Soviet union with tanks and military force.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpUsHf8e7yk
'The people united can never be defeated'
The same people who deny the agency of the people in the fall of the Soviet Union and try to blame secret agents of the West conspiring inside the Duma.
Are the same people who claim that the Arab Spring was a CIA plot.
That the Maidan popular revolt against Viktor Yanukovych was a Nazi coup.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzNxLzFfR5w
The East German authorities could have prevented the fall of the wall had they wanted to. They chose not to. Certainly, there was was public pressure, protests, etc, and there was also an alternative route to West Germany, apparently, via Prague. I think "the people" were encouraged by the apparent softening of Soviet attitudes exemplified by Gorbachev's advocacy of glasnost and perestroika.
But why has Bellingcat never shown any interest in documenting the crimes of the Ukrainian govt against its own citizens from 2014 on.
The OSCE has noted these crimes, but does not go so far as naming names.Why has Bellingcat turned a blind eye to this?
Surely a truly investigative independent organisation would pursue all breaches of human rights
Unless they are totally partisan and funded largely by western agencies strongly connected to govt.
https://mronline.org/2021/10/11/bellingcat-funded-by-u-s-and-uk-intelligence-contractors-that-aided-extremists-in-syria/
Unless Helen you truly believe that all of the wests declared enemies are irredeemably bad , inhumane,barbaric and backward, and that is why we are enemies, and the west represents all that is superior in the human world, and we can believe everything that our intelligence agencies tell us via their paid for journalists.
Sorry,I'm not buying it
Even if everything you said is true:
1, Why is it bellingcats responsibility to investigate all war crimes? They have identified these ones. Perhaps they will identify the others.
2. War crimes by one side don't justify them by the other. You can just agree that Russia bombing civilian homes and infrastructure is bad. Trying to pull whataboutisim doesn't make dead civilians any less dead.
3. Russia has been aggresive to its neighbours for decades. It invaded Chechnya in 1999. They invaded Georgia in 2008. They invaded Ukraine in the Crimea in 2014. In all those cases the West did not intervene. They chose appeasement. Russia responded by continuing to invade and harm its neighbours. Now they threaten nuclear escalation if they don't get their way.
Ukraine has real issues internally that were theirs to sort out. This current crisis is of Russia's making and it is disgusting the amount of people on the left who will support their imperialism and war crimes just to be able to try and show how much they hate the US and the west.
Consistency is what I'm about .What you call whataboutism(that old trope from the cold war)is what I refer to when calling out hypocrisy. The fact that Bellingcat for the vast majority of its reports amplifies western geopolitical aims does not instil confidence in their impartiality
By the way Chechnya is not a neighbour, its a republic within the Russian federation, and furthermore, even the EU recognises that Sashkavilli initiated the short Georgia war by sending troops to kill the Russian peacekeepers in breakaway South Ossetia
https://euobserver.com/world/28747
Why has Russia not merged North Ossetia and South Ossetia together so they can be an independent nation state?
South Osettia has already been integrated within the Russian economy.It is entirely dependent on Russian help and finance
Taken from Georgia merely to be integrated into the borg to prevent autonomy for it, or a combined Ossetia?
Russia crushes Chechnya independence and now the vassal tyrant of Chechnya fights to expand Russian borders into Ukraine. There is a pattern.
You don't understand. Poor little South Osettia would not be able to look after itself if it wasn't part of the Russian federation. It is really in their best interest to be ruled by Russia. They are reliant on the benevolent rule of Mr Putin.
Hold on, that sounds a lot like the justification the British and other empires used during colonisation. Must be a coincidence.
….integrated into the Russian economy?
….entirely dependent on Russian help and finance?
Sounds like the definition of a colony.
There is no requirement on Bellingcat to do Russia research on Ukrainian war crimes. Of course they will focus on those committed by Russia. That doesn't make them any less valid.
If a union finds cases of bad employers but doesn't go through and investigate all of the bad employees, does that invalidate their research? Do those employers suddenly become good? If animal rights activists find cases of farmer abuse but don't report on good farmers does that make the abuse go away?
Whataboutisim is weak arguments that try to ignore one sides failings by blaming the other side of also not being perfect. All it results in is everyone's failings being ignored.
That doesn't mean context has to be ignored. I can say that Ukraine has done bad things and so has Russia. Apparently you can't. This is what makes you seem so blinded by your hatred of the west. You would rather ignore Russia's war crimes or act like they are acceptable.
Give it a try. See if you can admit that firing missiles into civilian houses, as Russia have, is bad and should not happen.
I can do whataboutisim too though. Funny how when Chechnya want independence its OK for Russia to bomb them to hell, support war lords, and make sure they are "a republic within the Russian federation". Yet when Ukraine tries to maintain Crimea or the Donbass it totally justifies Russian invasion. Weird that. Oh that's right, Nazis. Cause there are no Nazis in the Russian military. Hell we just had a story about NZ Neo-Nazis trying to join the NZDF. Hope Australia or someone doesn't try to de-nazify us. Terrible argument but on the level of what you have offered to justify Russian war crimes.
The fact that Bellingcat for the vast majority of its reports amplifies western geopolitical aims does not instil confidence in their impartiality
So that's the end run that allows you to consistently ignore their evidence – it doesn't gel with the world according to Putin. Not much does – it's not much of a standard. Russia is still fighting to suppress the revolutions of 1848, absent a monolithic creed like Stalinism, it can only hold together by heavy-handed use of surveillance and brute force.
Bellingcat has carried out investigations on Ukraine government in the recent past, e.g.
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2019/10/21/how-to-mainstream-neo-nazis-a-lesson-from-ukraines-new-government
It's transparent about its funders, and investigates a wide range of topics world-wide, supported by citizen researchers.
https://www.bellingcat.com/about/
Of course, Ukraine is also running an international propaganda war, very deftly, I might add. But that seems fair enough, given its existential crisis, and the fact it did not start this conflict.
Putin's forces shun international media and agencies like the Red Cross. What are they hiding? In comparison, Ukraine allows reasonable acess to these agencies. It simply cannot afford to alienate international support by committing anti-Russian atrocities. Plus, maybe also, Ukraine is taking a more ethical stance…
"Revenge attacks etc "
I see you're using your usual selective ethics jawty everything russia does is bad and a war crime as of course ukraine would never commit a war crime nooooooo !!
Worth pointing out that over half according to wiki of ukraine's railway system is electric so prob some advantage to Russia if it can limit the supply dont you think ???
Accusing me of using selective ethics, is an unwarranted personal attack unsupported by facts. To accuse me of this being my usual practice is a dirty slur.
Following the bombing of the Kerch Bridge. Members of the Russian government said there would be retaliation, the Russian president said there would be a harsh response to any attack on Russian targets.
The threat made by the Russian President and members of his government of a Harsh response, and of Retaliation against Ukraine, – threats made following the attack on the Kersk Bridge, were carried out with missile and drone attacks on civilian infrastructure across Ukraine.
ANZ PROFIT 2.3billion
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/300722132/anz-records-first-2b-profit-keeping-close-eye-on-recent-homebuyers
THAT is 10$ a week for EVERY person in NZ
Don't worry, the Minister knows best:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/476953/cost-of-living-crisis-robertson-says-govt-to-support-low-and-middle-income-earners-banks-not-making-excessive-profits
On One News last night when questioned about 2B profit answered to the tune of:
'People need to realise we're very very big and have over 200B in assets.'
In other words: 2B isn't much you peasant, we've got 100 times that!
And somehow, that made it better?
They have 200 billion in loans recievable.
Not, Assets.
Don't those get recorded on the asset side of ANZs balance sheet?
Yes, they do.
Hence the comment.
Only "Assets" by accounting convention.
And by convention they account for deposits as liabilities.
And then the same pricks warn us to tighten our belt:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/477553/rising-interest-rates-spell-pain-for-mortgage-holders-anz
https://twitter.com/JulieAnneGenter/status/1585400231495356416
I'm on Mastodon if anyone else wants to connect there.
https://mastodon.nz/web/@weka
Mastodon trending on twitter ahead of the Musk take over of twitter.
https://twitter.com/search?q=Mastodon&src=trend_click&vertical=trends
Why?
why what?
Why the need for different plattforms, they are all very much the same. Are people really going to leave Twitter because Elon Musk is now the 'owner'. Would these same people refuse to drive a Tesla and rather get a Volkswagen cause Elon Musk? I find this strange.
it's not because Musk is the owner, it's because of what he says he is going to do to twitter. Can you see the difference?
the thing that made me reactivate my mastodon account yesterday wasn't so much Musk as the appearance of Superfollow, where you can pay to access premium content of popular accounts. The account gets $, and I assume twitter does as well. If it takes off, it's going to change twitter a lot. It's already complicated enough with so much of MSM behind a paywall now.
Mastodon is a bit different from twitter. It doesn't hurt to have two short form platforms. And it's good to have something up and running in case twitter does turn to shit.
I was thinking about finding a cluster of women on mastodon. Don't know yet what M is doing with GC content.
To be fair i am currently blocked for suggesting that certain people who may not identify as 'women' still need to make sure they get appropriate healthcare for certain body parts in response to an article that lamented the loss of a transman to cervical cancer.
How bad do you think it could get under Elon Musk? Seriously, what do you think is going to happen? The sky falling on our heads? I don't understand the need for 'safe spaces' and 'echo chambers'. Twitter is actually quite good for what it should do, some persons who work for Twitter may have a heavy hand as to what they consider 'hate speech' now already, so really what is to worry? Oh that he may give the orange menace their twitter account back? Or that people just can't report others whom they disagree with off the platform via malicious mass reporting? Or that there might now be different opinions?
To weird.
do you mean your twitter account is locked?
there's lots of speculation about what Musk will do, but for me the pertinent point is that he's a fuckwit with a massive ego who thinks he knows best and who belongs to the death cult that is killing the planet despite some attempt at greenwashing.
Will he be better or worse than Jack? I don't know, but my guess is his particular world view alongside his ego will make it worse. But then as I said, twitter already made things worse with teh Superfollow thing.
Maybe things will get better for GC debate, I don't know (plenty of GC seem to think it will). We will see if that outweighs the downsides.
I will believe it when Megan Murphy and Graham Linehan get their Twitter accounts back.
and will all the kill terf accounts be let back in?
here ya go. He's a wanker who could have done good in the world and instead found a way to get liberals liking him making shitloads of money
https://twitter.com/Scott_Helme/status/1585618275647586304
Apparently, Tesla has an option for an in-built tee to rest your balls on while you drive, hence the logo.
It's a done deal.
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1585619322239561728/photo/1
Tech rout in markets,as growth stocks punished for being overvalued, on imaginary assets.
https://twitter.com/business/status/1585735733263876097?cxt=HHwWgoCyje6P1YEsAAAA
3 trillion lost as FAANGS ,defanged.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/27/the-biggest-tech-stocks-have-lost-3-trillion-in-market-cap-the-last-one-year.html
Pausing expansions,and constraining headcounts are first moves as economy moves from growth to value.
Superfunds taking big hits with investments in companies with high PE'S, shrink,and collateral damage expected with zombie companies.
It's hard to make payments on margin calls if the bonds have crashed in value, so share sales it is. And funds paying out money as people retire will be selling stocks high in value not delivering much dividend flow.
Bonds have an inverse relationship with value as the price decreases with liquidity.If the asset is deleveraged it maintains still has a coupon value.
There have been losses with large funds in the bond markets,mostly due to positions,but reversed some what now as both large banks and sovereign funds dump high PE'S for value.
Mostly though it is companies returning to fair value,not expected value,as the world contracts into a normative state (post covid) and wealth destruction in the on demand bourgeois set,as costs move to reality.
I made the point in one of my posts about Tuhoe and wider Treaty Settlements that Tuhoe & the results of these settlements are not the problem.
I said that those of real concern and posing a real threat to the way of life of all NZers whether Maori or Pakeha are those belonging to the Sovereign Citizen movement.
The SIS has commented on the Sov Cit movement here.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/10/realistic-possibility-anti-government-activists-could-commit-spontaneous-act-of-extremist-violence-warned-spies.html
Added to these there are the likes of VFF*, Counterspin and various other 'disgruntlers'.
The concern at the Sov Cit threat is that this could be started by a legitimate act, say vehicle stop or similar, which may be a seen as bringing the power of the State upon the Sov Cit triggering an OTT response.
"real concern and posing a real threat to the way of life of all NZers whether Maori or Pakeha are those belonging to the Sovereign Citizen movement."
Care to give an example or two of the "real threat to the way of life of all NZers"?
I did link I thought to the SIS report. I did comment that a flare-up of anti authority from Sov Cits movement could come from a routine and non threatening, to most of us, action by the Police or other law enforcement, say a traffic stop.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300555020/the-selfproclaimed-sheriffs-who-want-to-arrest-the-authorities
'Increasingly, it is also seen as a vehicle for retribution. Some element of this has existed for a while, Hattotuwa said: “This is not something that is parenthetical, peripheral or marginal; this is not something that is occasional. This is something that has increasingly defined the anti-vax community.”
It includes fantasies about Nuremberg trials for people who support vaccination, and mass arrests of politicians and media figures, as advocated by the likes of Counterspin Media.
Now, with the announcement that vaccination mandates would end, these groups have increasingly turned their attention to vengeance.
“Now the whole conversation writ large is around holding the PM and the government accountable for genocide. And that's where you find this heightened discussion around, you know, self appointments of sheriffs and marshals – they now want to hold the individuals they think were responsible for the genocide accountable under sovereign citizen and common law frameworks,” Hattotuwa said.'
From Wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_citizen_movement
‘Also, because some have engaged in armed confrontations with law enforcement,[2][14] the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) classifies “sovereign citizen extremists” as domestic terrorists.[15] Terry Nichols, one of the perpetrators of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, subscribed to a variation of sovereign citizen ideology.[12] In surveys conducted in 2014 and 2015, representatives of U.S. law enforcement ranked the risk of terrorism from the sovereign citizen movement higher than the risk from any other group, including Islamic extremists, militias, racist skinheads, neo-Nazis and radical environmentalists.[16][17] The New South Wales Police Force in Australia has also identified sovereign citizens as a potential terrorist threat.[18]’
I suggest that bringing in their odd rules and trying to enforce them on others who are unwilling to accept them will heighten the potential for violence. And just because we haven't heard from Counterspin, Arps, Sivell et al recently it does not mean they have all gone to paint their houses and grow potatoes.
[Wiki text converted to text-only without all (too many) the hyperlinks that triggered Auto-Moderation – Incognito]
Mod note
I am sorry for not removing them.
All good, it was merely an explanation as to why it was held up in Auto-Moderation. We have managed to thin out the repeat offenders, for now.
So, you've referenced a lot of speculation, concern and hand wringing.
I am none the wiser as to "real threat to the way of life of all NZers"?
Well if I am 'handwringing' it is supported by NZ Govt agencies and other western governments. I am happy to be in such company as often over the years I have found myself not supporting the govt in power eg all through neo lib times, Vietnam War, Springbok tour etc.
Nothing wrong with 'concern' I would have thought.
'Speculation' is not part of this, see SIS report. My knowledge of these and other groups has been built on my observations of this group, and many of the dissent groups involved. In particular, having worked my whole life looking at land and constitutional issues their basic premise, relating to Admiralty law is tosh.
Admiralty law, law of discovery and the sea precedes the actual signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.
The ToW, whether you like it or not, is the closest thing we have to a founding document framing the constitutional rights of all NZers. It is being relied on by Maori, through various statutes on the Treaty giving redress against the other partner.
If some group convinces flammable others that this is incorrect then we will have people fomenting trouble for those, and Maori in particular, who believe/rely on the Treaty.
I would have thought the possibility of uncalled for and wrongful death or injury when this is inflicted by a 'nutter' organisation with fringe ideas would be abhorrent.
In NZ's very recent past we have had first-hand experience of the harm that be wreaked by a fringe person on a mission (Christchurch) would come high up on the list of things that are a threat. NZ agencies with their role of intelligence took their eyes off the ball with tragic results. I think it is significant that US agencies have classed this group as a terrorist organisation.
The upsetting of the rule of law based on a Westminster style of government
https://adls.org.nz/Story?Action=View&Story_id=504
This article discusses and approves of the SIS keeping an eye on dissidents such as the Sov Cit movement saying their beliefs are
'The pseudo-law arguments are a collection of motifs that sound like law and often involve legal terminology, but which lead to legally incorrect results. Most pseudo-law is designed to defeat or bypass state, police, court and institutional authority.' Quoted from a Canadian Court case.
The article also says quoting Prof Spoonley
'So what is to be done about this threat of overthrow by such extremists? Spoonley suggests police and the SIS need to be more public about the resources being deployed and the information being obtained about local activists.
We need to be better informed, he says. He points out that police are enhancing existing systems to better record hate crimes which should be an important source of information and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet will be announcing some of the details of the new centre of excellence that will provide evidence of local developments.
The author of the aritcle, Ret Judge David Harvey, concludes 'One hopes these investigations will not be restricted to extremists on the Right but to other extremist groups that are threats to our society.
It is doubtful, in my opinion, that sovereign citizens fulfil that criterion. They are a nuisance.'
This is where I disagree. We seem to have looked on people such as the Chch gunman and others looking at 4chan and 8chan, Telegram as fringe people and not pondered what may happen should they or a group let some trigger go to their head.
Nothing wrong with watchful waiting and pondering the threat to us all and what we can do, ourselves, to counter this. As we saw during Covid, groups with a beef at the Govt & our system of Govt, took the chance to attempt to destabilise. Much of this was done with the bombardment on many media channels by mis & disinformation.
My view is that dissident groups got away for so long because of NZers' natural reticence in challenging, our propensity to give everyone a fair go (with tragic results in Christchurch). We don't need to couple those traits with another one…that of burying our heads in the sand because 'it won't/can't happen here'.
Since Covid and the rise of these groups we do however have interesting, well read and informative people who are unafraid to counter disinformation publicly.
Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/concern-candidates-not-being-upfront
and Byron C Clark
a NZer researcher and author
https://twitter.com/byroncclark/status/1556519417827442688
Marc Dalder has also commented
https://twitter.com/marcdaalder/status/1585704160020017152
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/health-nz-unveils-plan-te-pae-tata-to-tackle-wait-times-worker-shortages-with-range-of-performance-measurements/54L4HBPK2NAWHI2DXUNTNOHLEQ/
oh the problem with our hospitals delivery is not a dangerously low number of health professionals who are burnt out. It’s that they need performance indicators (targets). And expectations. …..
I don’t know how or why the health workforce puts up with this on going insult fron this Govt.
but of course the reason that ED wait times have got worse is that the staff are a bunch of slackers sitting around the staff tea room chatting away(sarc)
I hold Little and Rob Campbell with the deepest contempt
.
100% Peter. Very good starts.
The focus on Health NZ should be on retaining and recruiting health professionals. Now. Everything else can get bumped down the priority list
I'd also be providing support bursaries for studying health (nurses, radiographers, allied health workers) – to encourage people to choose this career.
And, removing the artificial 'caps' on numbers allowed to study.
Doesn't solve the 'right now' problem, but makes a start on solving the 'in 10 years' problem.
And, no, I don't have a problem with the 'unfairness' of people being paid to study in certain fields. As a country, we need medical workers a heck of a lot more than we need lawyers, social anthropologists or accountants.
Sure tweaks to encourage study in certain areas of health, or to increase pay to Oz levels sooner for specialists in scarce areas.
3. a national locum reserve to support provincial/rural GP's to have weekends off/holidays
There have been performance indicators (nurse to patient ratios, wait times) agreed upon and enacted for the last few pay rounds. They get busy, authoritive titles, and not much changes.
No prizes for guessing our local ED has been failing in them for the last decade and a half.
Poverty underpins a lot of it. Few choices for too many, waiting till it is an emergency before seeking treatment. Especially mental, dental and drugs and alcohol.
Poverty of courage and imagination in those that set direction and allocate the $ too.
For example, which one of the 101 recommendations in Reset and Restore Plan do you disagree with and why?
https://www.tewhatuora.govt.nz/about-us/news-and-updates/planned-care-programme-will-make-lasting-differences-to-health-service-delivery/
I accept that Michelle Boag is caught up as a victim in a case in Auckland where a convicted 'prominent businessman has had his name suppressed.
The lines about her reputation being put in “serious jeopardy” and "reputational damage" bring a smile though. Michelle Boag? Reputation? Amongst whom?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/130297725/michelle-boag-loses-supreme-court-fight-to-keep-name-secret-from-highprofile-trial
Should I contact Nikki Kaye, Michael Woodhouse or Cameron Slater to find if they've heard who the Auckland businessman is? I wouldn't bother checking with Hamish Walker.
Some Gnat loyalists no doubt feel that Boag did the right thing – her only mistake was getting caught. Having covered herself in dirt, she had to take one for the strong team.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vawBiuGHq1c
The identity of the 'prominent businessman' is one of the worst-kept secrets in Auckland (no, I'm not going to say it here, as TS would then be liable for breach of court suppression orders).
It is outrageous that minor figures in this case have been publicly identified while he continues to fight to protect his identity.
I think that, once someone is convicted – unless innocent victims in the case (e.g. family sexual abuse) request name suppression – the criminal should be automatically identified. The shame you and your family may feel, and any consequential social or financial penalties, are part of the sentence for your criminal offending.
And, victims, witnesses, or associated figures, who are discussed in the trial, should have automatic suppression of names and any identifying details (unless they choose to waive suppression).
[People who are not convicted, should also have automatic suppression of their names, unless they choose to waive the right]
I think our law and our media – have the 'rights' the wrong way around. Victims should not have to appeal to the courts for their right to privacy. The media should have to appeal, and demonstrate a legitimate public interest, before the appeal is granted.
While I agree that Boag has performed many an own-goal in terms of her media profile and/or reputation (her involvement with the release of the covid information, was then, and remains, indefensible); in this case, she actually had nothing to do with the businessman at all – and her name and identity were used blatantly without her knowledge, let alone permission.
Actually, we don't need to know.
And the media don't need to report now, and didn't need to report during the trial about a "well-known political figure" – when it was immediately evident (and admitted by one of the defendants) that he'd lied about her involvement. It was pure media-story-beat-up for click-bait headlines.
Hating Boag for what she's done, is one thing. Smearing her because someone lied about her involvement, (in what is a very nasty sexual assault and intimidation case), is quite another.
Not sure if this is what the court meant. True, its a surprise somebody would lie about her involvement. Boags reputation appears intact, we know she did do the dodgy things she resigned positions over.
Sunday 30 October, Brazil.
If Bolsonaro wins we all lose – the rain forests depletion needs to end, its now at the tipping point towards permanent decline.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-63422128
Forget the politics – this was the number one water-cooler discussion at work today (I work with lots of mums and/or grandmas with kids).
“Tip Top has discontinued two of its most popular flavours, the 2-litre tubs of Cookies and Cream and Goody Goody Gumdrops, causing outrage among Kiwis online.”
Opinion was fairly equally divided between family loyalty to the 2 flavours – but the outrage was real!
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/tip-top-discontinues-goody-goody-gumdrops-cookies-and-cream-2-litre-tubs/4UWN3S4A3GSN3JBG2BZTFQNVHA/?c_id=1&objectid=12561810&ref=rss
[I declare absolute neutrality. I don't eat much icecream at all, and prefer lemon if/when I do indulge. However, the teen is a C&C fan.]
Gumdrops? You mean smurf vomit – terrible flavour.
Apparently a big hit with 6-year-olds…..
Goodness me Stuart I've only just got over the Nat Tribes including the Pollutocrats and now we have smurf vomit!
This is a gift for tomorrow.
10 bs anti rail arguments on The Spinoff
High speed battery electric rail capable of running on NZ gauge and best of all it’s a kiwi design. Here it is, technological innovation that can help reduce our climate change bill.
The responsibility avoiding right don’t have to be the only voices in the conversation!
Beginning to think I’m a member of the Hayden Donnell left…
This Wayne Brown is just another bs austerity Tory, with a touch of Trump blitzkrieg- announce a crisis and then cut cut cut. Skirt the council and try to govern by pronouncement. Nothing new or innovative.
But the Trussites aren’t gone, her ideology has just gone looking for a better sales team to sneak through class warfare and wealth transfer. They just don’t want the electorate to see them profiteering so obviously. It’s no good to push it through if it sees a 30 point poll gap and criticism from the markets…