Ian threatens to become worst hurricane to hit Tampa in century
Brian K. Sullivan, Bloomberg News
….Ian will ride up Florida’s west coast, dragging its most powerful side along the coastline before making landfall by the end of the week. The state will very likely see widespread surge, wave and rain impacts no matter where it hits, Ryan Truchelut, president of WeatherTiger, said in an email.
….. Hurricane Ian could be the worst storm to hit Tampa in 101 years, according to Chuck Watson, a disaster modeler with Enki Research. The area has had many close calls in recent years, but the last devastating strike on the Tampa-St. Petersburg area was a 1921 storm that would have caused US$30 billion today.
I know I should have sympathy those who'll suffer the losses but part of me says nah, let it burn. And then perhaps the pain caused will be enough to see the end of the low tax, hands off magic peddled by these clowns.
Your Kiwi Saver will have exposure to the Gilts,as does the life insurance underwriters,As does the NZ super fund.
Robertson went to the UK to make arrangements for NZ Gilts to be listed on the UK FTSE, in November,a position that does not need to be exercised at the moment.
This sounds very like what has been going on in New Zealand with the things Robertson and Orr have been up to.
Still, what is a $9 billion loss between friends?
What odds are you offering on Robertson re-appointing Orr as the Governor of the RBNZ? The man who failed abysmally at his job of controlling inflation but instead managed to lose $9 billion of our money.
Very miss-leading narrative and he should frankly know better. The RBNZ doesn't have any possible concern about making losses. Same thing has been happened in Australia.
The losses mean nothing to the RBNZ because,
"Central banks can operate with negative equity forever"
That Robert Peston thread starts to go wrong where it claims tax payers are ultimately paying for this. The BoE may even believe it but will never the less be able to make the same intervention as necessary to raise bond prices and regardless of any loss recorded on their balance sheet, as they just did.
Given the debacle now unfolding in the UK, our MSM is strangley uncurious as to the link between Chris Luxon and the "highly opaque" extreme neoliberal UK think tank the Policy Exchange:
Liz Truss "…then became head of economic and social policy at Policy Exchange, which was also listed by Transparify as “highly opaque”. Policy Exchange is the group that (after Porter left) called for a new law against Extinction Rebellion, which became, in former home secretary Priti Patel’s hands, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act. We later discovered it had received $30,000 from the US oil company Exxon…"
IMHO, it no coincidence that Luxon came back from the UK, where he was a "keynote speaker" at the policy exchange, spouting an incredibly hardline and extreme neoliberal policy agenda. The intellectual influence on Luxon since his return from the UK are clear, and the media owe it to NZ voters to inform them of the sort of faith based, neoliberal double down, policies the Policy Exchange advocates and appear to have been taken up bu the LOTO – and by extension, the National party.
Make no mistake – the economic magical thinking that is tanking the UK at the moment is EXACTLY what Luxon has been proposing to anyone who will listen since his return from the UK – which isn't surprising, given the company he chose to keep while he was there.
"Given the debacle now unfolding in the UK, our MSM is strangley uncurious as to the link between Chris Luxon and the "highly opaque" extreme neoliberal UK think tank the Policy Exchange:"….my thoughts exactly..
..but then our MSM, and without the slightest hesitation, would like all it's consumers to turn off any and all critical thinking capacity that they might have, and believe that the Russians have just sabotaged their own Nord Stream pipe lines….the only good thing about the way they torture logic so brutally, is that the screams of it on the rack, most days on the morning radio, makes getting out of bed very easy for me.
It is amazing that theres been next to no discussion in our msm of the possibility that the sabotage was done to remove negotiations based on renewed gas flows from the table.
The only half-decent reason I have read so far for this sabotage is the Russians are demonstrating their ability to attack underwater energy pipelines to and from Norway and the UK to mainland Europe to up the ante. Remember, Putin has the unshakeable belief common to all Fascists that the west is weak and it will eventually cave if he makes life hard enough. This also chimes with recent reports from Norway of all sorts of odd shenanagins occurring around their oil and facilities in the North Sea. They've upped the protection of their facilities, and you can have zero doubt that Russian surface and sub-surface activity is now under close watch by NATO submarines and other forces.
Think about it – an attack by Russia on key underwater infrastructure would be difficult to prove (thus preventing NATO invoking Article 5) and would be calculated to upset the fine margins that Western European countried are working to to prevent major energy issues this northern winter.
However, it is also upping the tension in what is becoming an increasingly tense just-short-of-war confrontation between NATO and Russia, where we are rapidly approaching a situation analogous to the situation between the supposedly neutral United States and Germany in the North Atlantic between April and December 1941 – a full on unofficial shooting war in all but name in a certain theatre. All pretence was dropped when Germany declared war on the United States in December 1941, which is where this war is heading – a full on NATO/Russia confrontation.
I get that part, just the other side seems also plausible. Once winter hits in earnest and people really start to struggle to stay warm in the face of high energy costs there is potential for civil unrest which would put plenty of pressure on politicians to go back to the table (appeasement) to get gas flows moving. Refusal to do so creates space for more pro Russian political groups to gain support that potentially drives a great big wedge in Nato.
“because it is uninformed speculation”…that is what the MSM is in the bussiness of doing…and on this very subject..today, as we speak.
Why would anyone destroy their own infrastructure that they have just finishing spending the last few years building and not just take out someone else's pipe line…?
Pres. Biden: "If Russia invades…then there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it."
Reporter: "But how will you do that, exactly, since…the project is in Germany's control?"
Biden: "I promise you, we will be able to do that." abcn.ws/3B5SScx
End of quote. Personally, I cannot remember Putin threatening specifically any action like this…
What is salient is not important. What is important is not salient. Most of the time, most of the media obsess over issues of mind-numbing triviality. Much of the world’s political journalism is little more than court gossip: who’s in, who’s out, who said what to whom. At the same time, issues of immense, even existential importance are largely or entirely ignored.
With the exception of all-out nuclear war, all the most important problems that confront us are environmental. None of our hopes, none of our dreams, none of our plans and expectations can survive the loss of a habitable planet. And there is scarcely an Earth system that is not now threatened with collapse.
The challenges of life on spaceship Earth have become too big too quickly – examples of localised collapse occur daily now. Local action will be where it's at, trying to roll with the global warming punches; to adapt so that as many as possible are 'comfortable', for now.
Space ship Earth….or as has been said, a Blue Marble..or I think, a precious Jewel 🌍 ..surrounded by deep black space.
The early 1970s marked the beginning of an era of environmental activism in the US, and the blue marble Earth photo, being the first ever taken of an illuminated face of the entire planet, rapidly became a symbol of the movement.
Average COVID-19 mortality per million was 288.54 in countries without face mask policies and 48.40 in countries with face mask policies. In no mask countries, adjusted average daily increase was 0.1553 − 0.0017 X (days since the first case) log deaths per million, compared with 0.0900 − 0.0009 X (days since the first case) log deaths per million in the countries with a mandate. A total of 60 days into the pandemic, countries without face mask mandates had an average daily increase of 0.0533 deaths per million, compared with the average daily increase of 0.0360 deaths per million for countries with face mask mandates.
Conclusions
This study's significant results show that face mask mandates were associated with lower COVID-19 deaths rates than the rates in countries without mandates. These findings support the use of face masks to prevent excess COVID-19 deaths and should be advised during airborne disease epidemics.
Politics Spread COVID: Developing a Public Health Response [22 Aug 2022]
The circumstances leading to one million American deaths from COVID-19 are familiar to health educators: The pandemic was politicized from the outset; public health professionals were pushed aside and sometimes attacked; in many areas, compliance with public health recommendations was low, and vaccine uptake was much less than required to meet the threat; the public health community tied itself in knots trying to figure out how to cut through the plethora of misinformation; people in marginalized populations died in vastly disproportionate numbers in spite of years of preparation to prevent just that outcome. Cumulative mortality is equivalent to some of the “worst case” scenarios put forth by U.S. public health experts at the beginning of the pandemic even though we’ve worked so hard to prepare for this type of global pandemic, so what went wrong? Profound changes in American politics have led to a relationship between public health and swaths of society that is quite unlike what previously was assumed in the dominant models of public health; it was believed that public health experts would be treated as and listened to as the experts they are in the field. As the politicization of the pandemic and subsequent deaths show, these assumptions are no longer valid and we cannot assure the health of the public as we are required to do. The assumptions that we have operated under for so long in public health now must be deconstructed and revisited in order to move forward and prevent unnecessary future deaths. To do this, we must better understand the influence of American politics and we must more effectively engage in politics at all levels.
I wouldn't call what Kelvin said racist, but it is ideologically driven ie if you are Maori (or even Pakeha) you have to think a certain way otherwise you are wrong.
So Maori who don't go along with what the Maori Party or Labour are saying about colonization and culture don't have right think. They need to change their thinking.
BTW apparently Te Party Moari have something on their website saying that Maori are genetically stronger than other races. Even the Race Relations Concilliator is calling this racist. I think if they have no scientific evidence for this it is just dumb and part of the elevating of one race above others.
Even the Race Relations Concilliator is calling this racist.
This claim isn't true at all. Here is a link to the ACT party press release that claims racism from TPM:
“Te Pāti Māori has been engaging in racial discrimination on its website with claims of genetic superiority, but when notified, New Zealand’s Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon refused to publicly stand up to it,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.
I can't find anything linkable sorry, it was a opposition in the house , querying him about child welfate, (minds gone blank on the name) he told her she needed to cross the bridge in to maoridom and stop thinking vanilla!
This is a Maori woman raised in tough conditions being attacked by a minister of government.
My view is maori culture is becoming the dominant religion in this country and if ypu don't jump in line your out.
"What the Member needs to do is cross the bridge that is Te Tiriti o Waitangi from her Pākehā world into the Māori world and understand exactly why, how the Māori world operates," Davis said.
"It's no good looking at the world through a vanilla lens," he added.
Well the woke left will have us believe that a man can identify as a woman and therefore actually be a woman, so unless you are up in arms about this then you can't really complain about Judith identifying as a 27 year old Slovakian model
It was Collins’ colleague Michael ‘homeless‘ Woodhouse who labelled her comment “flippant” – “27-year-old Slovakian models” all look alike to me, and those with a sensitive 'nose' can smell 'woke' left, right and centre.
The guys a real piece of work, he makes his comments then hides behind "Davis told her he did not intend to cause personal offence, but understands that his comments could have."
COULD HAVE That is really taking responsibility and ownership for his words and that they were offensive not COULD HAVE !!! I wonder what internal ramifications there are ??? Not many here principled enough to call him out.
So where is this test I can take to find out how Māori I or anyone else is ???
Yeah, so I [Chhour] received a phone call just before 12, um, to apologise, um – he [Davis] was apologising for the statements he made and if I, if I felt personally upset by those statements, and I’ve accepted that apology as genuine, and I hope that we can have more constructive debates within the house from now on, um, without personal attacks. https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/middayreport/audio/2018860658/act-party-on-whakapapa-and-oranga-tamariki
The guys [sic] a real piece of work…
!!! ??? ??? Outrageous “piece of work“. Mind you, anyone can make a mistake
Davis was wrong to say it and he apologised, rightly so.
ACT demanding apologies for offence caused is a surprising but welcome turn of events. They throw much worse insults around all the time, and anyone who suggests an apology is often dismissed. If Davis had called for the execution of an ACT MP, that would be fine with Seymour … apparently. Good to know ACT won't be doing that any more, right?
I am not sure I am advocating for Maori as such (even though my spouse is Maori).
I am advocating for people being able to express their opinion. Because that is what Willie and Kelvin seem to be saying that you have to have a certain ideological perspective otherwise your thinking is wrong and if you are Maori and have "wrong think" then we wll patronize and demean you.
Maori don't just have one perspective. Funny that.
In recent years, all and sundry, with or without reason, have used the popular formula that "we woke up in another country." The resetting of the terms of the Kremlin usurper, the arrest of Alexei Navalny, the recognition of the "independence" of the DPR and LPR, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine – all these events received the same similar response. Today, however, it is probably worth recognizing that none of them deserved such an assessment: the mobilization announced on September 21 became a milestone that truly divided modern Russian history into “before” and “after”, an event that began the final countdown of the Putin era.
[…]
With his decision to mobilize (and not at all about a “special military operation”), Putin announced the termination of the existing contract with the country. Today it has become clear that, on the one hand, the population no longer has personal freedoms, which for more than twenty years the Kremlin has guaranteed with a reduction or even absence of political ones; and, on the other hand, slavish obedience to power and non-interference in politics does not provide any economic growth.
It must be understood that the redistribution of national wealth through theft and corruption of the last twenty years cannot be compared with its destruction in the aggressive war waged by Russia today. The largest amount confiscated from an official or security official (the case of Colonel Zakharchenko), which once shocked Russia, corresponds to spending 6 hours, and the cost of “Putin’s palace” mentioned in Navalny’s investigation corresponds to 2 days of continuation of the Ukrainian adventure (which, as now Obviously, it will only get more expensive over time.
Two years ago, I spoke of how the 2020s would be “a time of terror and pure authoritarianism” for Russian power, suggesting that such tools of dominance could help Putin rule throughout the decade. Today, this forecast has to be changed: madness has reached a scale that cannot be maintained even for several years.
For the first time in years I stopped off online to ZB news. Never again.
Saw this from Kate Hawkesby – the other half of the Hosk.
Pot calling kettle black? You bet.
I haven't been following the case of the Davis/Chhour row, so it may well be he went too far. But anyone who knows Kelvin or had a conversation with him will be able to tell you he is one straight-up guy. If he lost it you can be sure he had grounds for doing so:
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span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
We might be in Invercargill but all anyone can talk about is Gore. Specifically, Salford Street. That’s where three-year-old Lachlan Jones lived, south of the centre of town, between the A&P Showgrounds and the Mataura River. Roughly 1.2 km away from the single level home he lived in with his ...
MONDAY I lined up the latest round of civil servants from city hall against the wall, and signalled for the firing squad to drop their rifles. I stepped up onto a wooden crate to look at the office workers in the eye. But that didn’t feel right, so I found ...
Keen hiker and second-year MSc student Liam Hewson wears two hats when he’s in the great outdoors. “The scientist in me appreciates nature and goes, ‘Oh, there’s that thing and there’s another thing,’ but then the tramper and the outdoorsy person in me thinks, ‘Cool bush.’” Born and bred in ...
After a long and illustrious career as a goal kicker, Dan Carter’s favourite way to unwind is… kicking goals. Why can’t he get enough of it? And what it’s like to watch him do it for an hour straight? A semicircle of people wielding cameras and phones has formed in ...
Dame Susan Devoy takes us through her life in television, including late night ER debriefs, her proudest CTI moment and the show she watches in secret. Quite aside from her four world champion squash titles, Dame Susan Devoy will likely go down in history as one of the best Celebrity ...
Hera Lindsay Bird reveals the best places in Ōtepoti to score more for your apocalypse-prep book hoard.Sometimes I get the feeling I’ve been killed in a car crash, and this second half of my life is just the brain unspooling itself, like one of those episodes of a hospital ...
ThreeNow’s new murder mystery series takes us on a dark, damp journey into the Australian wilderness.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. High Country is ThreeNow’s new Australian eight-part crime drama, set in a remote part of the Victorian highlands. It tells ...
Introducing a new way to read The Spinoff every weekend. After nearly 10 years of being an online magazine, we’re finally embracing the weekend liftout. Despite our best efforts to convince you otherwise, writers and editors at The Spinoff don’t work weekend. It is through the sheer power of technology ...
Tip one: let yourself be nurtured by this big old man. Tip two: don’t ask him to adopt you. So, you’ve arrived at your first session with a new therapist. He tells you to make yourself comfortable and you opt for the tweed armchair, hoping it makes you look like ...
I didn’t know books could open you back up; that there were books that stayed with you, where reading was like a chemical event. I knew nothing.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.Not too long ago, I was listening to the American ...
Former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen has already started training for the Enhanced games, though says he won’t start taking performance enhancing substances until about nine months out from the competition. The Australian world champion was the first athlete to be announced by Enhanced, but he says the organisation has had ...
Everyone thinks he’s dead. Every day they expect his body to be washed up along the coast. Most likely up Karitane way, the way the tide’s running. But nobody’ll be too surprised if his body’s never found. Even in death he wouldn’t have wished for such attention. He would have ...
Council members voted 21 to 4 in favour of Ahluwalia returning to the Laucala campus following a much-awaited meeting in Vanuatu this week. It comes as USP and its two unions — the Association of the University of the South Pacific Staff (AUSPS) and the Administration and Support Staff Union ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicola Henry, Professor & Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT University Shutterstock Following an emergency meeting of the National Cabinet this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a raft of measures to tackle the problem ...
Analysis - A poll showing the opposition is more popular than the government raises questions, politicians go through their 'trial by pay rise' and a Green MP loses her cool in the debating chamber. ...
The entire stretch of Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast will be subject to a joint customary marine title for two hapū, and extending up to four miles out to sea. A High Court judge has found the two groups, who during the case settled a dispute over boundaries for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Hall, Lecturer, Media & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University A longstanding feud between TikTok and Universal Music Group seems to have finally reached an end, with both parties signing a deal that will see Universal-backed music returned to the social media ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Siobhan O’Dean, Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney After several highly publicised alleged murders of women in Australia, the Albanese government this week pledged more than A$925 million over five years ...
Political parties have now fully disclosed the donations they received last year - with National getting more than double the cash of any other party. ...
A Pacific regionalism expert has called out New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS military pact. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard de Grijs, Professor of Astrophysics, Macquarie University Bruno Scramgnon/Pexels All systems are “go” for tonight’s launch of China’s next step in a carefully planned lunar exploration program. Placed on top of a powerful Long March 5 rocket, the Chang’e 6 ...
National returned a massive donation the day after a Newsroom story linked the donors to a property being investigated for operating unlawfully as a migrant workers’ hostel. The party’s 2023 donation filings, released on Friday, show it returned a $200,000 donation from Buen Holdings on August 23. That was the ...
Pacific Media Watch New Zealand has slumped to an unprecedented 19th place in the annual Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index survey released today on World Press Freedom Day — May 3. This was a drop of six places from 13th last year when it slipped out of its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, Political Historian and Administrator Officer, Australian Historical Association, Australian National University Australia has had its fair share of public record-keeping controversies in recent years. Some have been mere farce, as in the case of two formerly government-owned filing cabinets (containing ...
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), a United Nations-affiliated organization dedicated to fostering peace through civilian-led initiatives, has issued a statement in response to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. ...
A poem by Tessa Keenan, from AUP New Poets 10. Mātou These days we are a photograph; one of a farm strewn with cows that used to be bright harakeke or swamp. The kids point at it and say the sun sits behind a smudge (left by someone at Christmas); ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Faber & Faber, $25)The masterful Irish writer ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. Key facts Marriages and civil unions In ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lennon Y.C. Chang, Associate Professor of Cyber Risk and Policy, Deakin University Taiwan stands out as a beacon of democracy, innovation and resilience in an increasingly autocratic region. But this is under growing threat. In recent years, China has used a variety ...
In this excerpt from her new memoir, Dame Susan Devoy remembers her turn as star contestant on the 2022 season of Celebrity Treasure Island. The most anxious time of every day was pre-elimination, when you knew this could be your final day on the show. I felt such contradictory emotions, ...
A week that began in triumph ended in an all-too-familiar disaster for the Green Party. Duncan Greive asks if there’s something in the mission that breaks its best and brightest. A long, strange week for the Green party began with a fantastic poll result. On one level this is hardly ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Vanuatu’s former prime minister and opposition MP Ishmael Kalsakau has stepped down — just two days after he confirmed he was the rightful opposition leader. Kalsakau, MP for Port Vila, confirmed to ABC’s Pacific Beat, and the Vanuatu Daily Post on Thursday that he ...
What’s to blame for the coalition’s choppy start? Six months in, and the mojo meter is in the doldrums. A new poll would put National out of power and sees its leader, Chris Luxon, sliding in popularity. How much is it about policy, how much coalition management and a perception ...
The striking report goes far beyond the proposed repeal of the Oranga Tamariki Act’s Treaty of Waitangi provision, and its impact should be felt far beyond the unique circumstances of the claim it addresses. Earlier this week, the Waitangi Tribunal released an interim report on the government’s proposed repeal of ...
The world has been experiencing a productivity slowdown, from which New Zealand has not been exempt. COVID-19 temporarily boosted labour productivity, but more recently, productivity has retreated. The overall trend since 2007 has been one of slow productivity ...
What’s more wasteful than spending $315k on syrup and machine maintenance? Trying to drum up a controversy about it.Cast your mind back to the pre-pandemic idylls of 2019. A “rat” was a disgusting rodent and not a self-administered plague test; the sixth Labour government was in power; and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Professor of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Monash University, Monash University Ken stocker/Shutterstock In the wake of numerous killings of women allegedly by men’s violence in 2024, thousands of Australians have joined rallies across the country to demand action ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Henry Cutler, Professor and Director, Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University Oleg Ivanov IL/Shutterstock Waiting times for public hospital elective surgery have been in the news ahead of this year’s federal budget. That’s the type of non-emergency surgery ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Konstantine Panegyres, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne Amna Artist/Shutterstock One of the earliest descriptions of someone with cancer comes from the fourth century BC. Satyrus, tyrant of the city of Heracleia on the Black Sea, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Rose, Professor of Sustainable Future Transport, University of Sydney LanaElcova/Shutterstock Electric vehicles are often seen as the panacea to cutting emissions – and air pollution – from transport. Is this view correct? Yes – but only once uptake accelerates. Despite the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giselle Natassia Woodley, Researcher and Phd Candidate, Edith Cowan University There is widespread agreement Australia needs to do better when it comes to gender-based violence. Anger and frustration at the numbers of women being killed saw national rallies over the weekend and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Graham, Lecturer in Economics, University of Sydney Mark and Anna Photography/Shutterstock As home ownership moves further out of reach for many Australians, “rentvesting” is being touted as a lifesaver. Rentvesting is the practice of renting one property to live ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sukhmani Khorana, Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, UNSW Sydney Netflix The new season of Heartbreak High is garnering mixed reviews. Critics are writing about the racy story lines, comparing it to other coming-of-age series about teenage relationships and ...
Bob Carr intends to launch legal action against Winston Peters and Julie Anne Genter is facing a second allegation of bullying. Both sucked the air out of an announcement on education, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in ...
In 1995, Sally Clark went out on her own in a bold and unorthodox attempt to join an illustrious group of equestrian riders conquering the world. In the days of glovebox road maps, brick cell phones, and the hit song How Bizarre, Clark refused to follow Sir Mark Todd, Blyth ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Beaglehole, Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago niphon/Getty Images The number of people accessing medication for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Aotearoa New Zealand increased significantly between 2006 and 2022. But the disorder is still under-diagnosed and ...
To celebrate the start of New Zealand music month, we look back at the best local tuneage that managed to weasel its way into Hollywood productions. There’s nothing quite like the thrilling zap of recognition when New Zealand weasels its way into a glamorous Hollywood production. Crack open a Tui ...
People trust other people more than institutions. So how can the media gain that trust through journalists without losing what’s important about the institution? Anna Rawhiti-Connell reflects on two years of curating the news for The Bulletin.Amonth ago, armed cops descended on my neighbourhood as calls to “lock your ...
Essay: If the Crown harms children, how do you hold it accountable? Analysis by Aaron Smale in light of the Waitangi Tribunal court decision. The post The Crown versus Māori Children appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: PFAS – per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – are a class of thousands of man-made chemicals used widely in everyday consumer items such as textiles, packaging, and cookware, popular for their water, grease and stain-repellent properties. However, the very properties that make PFAS so attractive to manufacturers are also what ...
NONFICTION 1 The Last Secret Agent by Pippa Latour & Jude Dobson (Allen & Unwin, $37.99)’ This is the hottest book in New Zealand, number one with a bullet in its first week, selling more than any overseas title, and demand is so huge that it’s already been reprinted. A ...
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A warning – suicide is discussed in this podcast New Zealand’s own long-running soap Shortland Street doesn’t hesitate to kill off its much-loved characters. But would TVNZ dare to kill off our favourite soap? That’s the fear as times get tough in television – even though it’s been pointed out ...
Very old joke. circa 1930s
A woman greets a business man in a nightclub, and says, "Sorry to hear about the fire at your business"
The business man replies "Shhh! tomorrow"
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/300700362/multiple-fires-in-central-auckland-offices-being-treated-as-suspicious
Excoriating Liz Truss is like shooting fish in a barrel. Even the IMF has said that her tax cuts/austerity/cruelty plan is shite. Here's Jonathan Pie.
Bomber Bradbury splurged a (well referenced) rant:
Lis Truss destroys UK economy with far right economic mythology | The Daily Blog
I wonder how long will it be, before 'disaster modelers' are describing the ‘worst storm’ to hit a community, as the worst storm in a millennium?
And what will that storm be like?
Will it be in our children's lifetimes?
'
@0:47 minutes
….we are not there yet
Huge Bank of a England intervention to try and head off a potential financial catastrophe of Truss and Kwartang's making.
https://twitter.com/EdConwaySky/status/1575128310740389889
https://twitter.com/Peston/status/1575160338248761344
the long gilt depreciation removed 1 trillion in value from pension funds and Insurance companies.
It was an own goal by the gang of 4 as the financial markets did not like the mini budget.
I know I should have sympathy those who'll suffer the losses but part of me says nah, let it burn. And then perhaps the pain caused will be enough to see the end of the low tax, hands off magic peddled by these clowns.
Your Kiwi Saver will have exposure to the Gilts,as does the life insurance underwriters,As does the NZ super fund.
Robertson went to the UK to make arrangements for NZ Gilts to be listed on the UK FTSE, in November,a position that does not need to be exercised at the moment.
This sounds very like what has been going on in New Zealand with the things Robertson and Orr have been up to.
Still, what is a $9 billion loss between friends?
What odds are you offering on Robertson re-appointing Orr as the Governor of the RBNZ? The man who failed abysmally at his job of controlling inflation but instead managed to lose $9 billion of our money.
https://croakingcassandra.com/2022/09/15/the-9-billion-dollar-man/
Very miss-leading narrative and he should frankly know better. The RBNZ doesn't have any possible concern about making losses. Same thing has been happened in Australia.
The losses mean nothing to the RBNZ because,
"Central banks can operate with negative equity forever"
http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=50504
Blame it on the Pandemic ,an unexpected event that chartered new territory in its effects.
That Robert Peston thread starts to go wrong where it claims tax payers are ultimately paying for this. The BoE may even believe it but will never the less be able to make the same intervention as necessary to raise bond prices and regardless of any loss recorded on their balance sheet, as they just did.
Given the debacle now unfolding in the UK, our MSM is strangley uncurious as to the link between Chris Luxon and the "highly opaque" extreme neoliberal UK think tank the Policy Exchange:
Liz Truss "…then became head of economic and social policy at Policy Exchange, which was also listed by Transparify as “highly opaque”. Policy Exchange is the group that (after Porter left) called for a new law against Extinction Rebellion, which became, in former home secretary Priti Patel’s hands, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act. We later discovered it had received $30,000 from the US oil company Exxon…"
IMHO, it no coincidence that Luxon came back from the UK, where he was a "keynote speaker" at the policy exchange, spouting an incredibly hardline and extreme neoliberal policy agenda. The intellectual influence on Luxon since his return from the UK are clear, and the media owe it to NZ voters to inform them of the sort of faith based, neoliberal double down, policies the Policy Exchange advocates and appear to have been taken up bu the LOTO – and by extension, the National party.
Make no mistake – the economic magical thinking that is tanking the UK at the moment is EXACTLY what Luxon has been proposing to anyone who will listen since his return from the UK – which isn't surprising, given the company he chose to keep while he was there.
"Given the debacle now unfolding in the UK, our MSM is strangley uncurious as to the link between Chris Luxon and the "highly opaque" extreme neoliberal UK think tank the Policy Exchange:"….my thoughts exactly..
..but then our MSM, and without the slightest hesitation, would like all it's consumers to turn off any and all critical thinking capacity that they might have, and believe that the Russians have just sabotaged their own Nord Stream pipe lines….the only good thing about the way they torture logic so brutally, is that the screams of it on the rack, most days on the morning radio, makes getting out of bed very easy for me.
It is amazing that theres been next to no discussion in our msm of the possibility that the sabotage was done to remove negotiations based on renewed gas flows from the table.
…exactly right, wonder why that is?
because it is uninformed speculation, that's why.
The only half-decent reason I have read so far for this sabotage is the Russians are demonstrating their ability to attack underwater energy pipelines to and from Norway and the UK to mainland Europe to up the ante. Remember, Putin has the unshakeable belief common to all Fascists that the west is weak and it will eventually cave if he makes life hard enough. This also chimes with recent reports from Norway of all sorts of odd shenanagins occurring around their oil and facilities in the North Sea. They've upped the protection of their facilities, and you can have zero doubt that Russian surface and sub-surface activity is now under close watch by NATO submarines and other forces.
Think about it – an attack by Russia on key underwater infrastructure would be difficult to prove (thus preventing NATO invoking Article 5) and would be calculated to upset the fine margins that Western European countried are working to to prevent major energy issues this northern winter.
However, it is also upping the tension in what is becoming an increasingly tense just-short-of-war confrontation between NATO and Russia, where we are rapidly approaching a situation analogous to the situation between the supposedly neutral United States and Germany in the North Atlantic between April and December 1941 – a full on unofficial shooting war in all but name in a certain theatre. All pretence was dropped when Germany declared war on the United States in December 1941, which is where this war is heading – a full on NATO/Russia confrontation.
I get that part, just the other side seems also plausible. Once winter hits in earnest and people really start to struggle to stay warm in the face of high energy costs there is potential for civil unrest which would put plenty of pressure on politicians to go back to the table (appeasement) to get gas flows moving. Refusal to do so creates space for more pro Russian political groups to gain support that potentially drives a great big wedge in Nato.
A destroyed pipeline removes that possibility.
“because it is uninformed speculation”…that is what the MSM is in the bussiness of doing…and on this very subject..today, as we speak.
Why would anyone destroy their own infrastructure that they have just finishing spending the last few years building and not just take out someone else's pipe line…?
Sanctuary – Could the following possibly help you in your ruminations?
ABC News @ABC – 9:59pm · 7 Feb 2022
Pres. Biden: "If Russia invades…then there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it."
Reporter: "But how will you do that, exactly, since…the project is in Germany's control?"
Biden: "I promise you, we will be able to do that."
abcn.ws/3B5SScx
End of quote. Personally, I cannot remember Putin threatening specifically any action like this…
Stern words from Monbiot in The Guardian, but the UK has more pressing concerns.
The challenges of life on spaceship Earth have become too big too quickly – examples of localised collapse occur daily now. Local action will be where it's at, trying to roll with the global warming punches; to adapt so that as many as possible are 'comfortable', for now.
It tends to make Guy McPherson's 'all gone by 2026' frightening real!
Space ship Earth….or as has been said, a Blue Marble..or I think, a precious Jewel 🌍 ..surrounded by deep black space.
90 Years ! And they still dont get the enormity of climate change.
That Blue Marble photo had an enormous impact on me. Maybe it should be again put up as a reminder. There is NO Planet B
"…to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot – the only home we've ever known."
"the Momentary masters"….. Carl Sagan. Thankyou DMK. This should be required viewing.
To the planet Earth.
So things that don't work actually work.
/
https://twitter.com/DFisman/status/1574922349345898496
Results
Average COVID-19 mortality per million was 288.54 in countries without face mask policies and 48.40 in countries with face mask policies. In no mask countries, adjusted average daily increase was 0.1553 − 0.0017 X (days since the first case) log deaths per million, compared with 0.0900 − 0.0009 X (days since the first case) log deaths per million in the countries with a mandate. A total of 60 days into the pandemic, countries without face mask mandates had an average daily increase of 0.0533 deaths per million, compared with the average daily increase of 0.0360 deaths per million for countries with face mask mandates.
Conclusions
This study's significant results show that face mask mandates were associated with lower COVID-19 deaths rates than the rates in countries without mandates. These findings support the use of face masks to prevent excess COVID-19 deaths and should be advised during airborne disease epidemics.
https://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(21)00557-2/fulltext#%20
And pity the public health leaders (Bloomfield, Fauci et al.)
It might be that not having mask policies was a sign that governments didn't give much of a sht in other ways as well. Not the masks per se?
Good point.
Well haven't we done well with the removal of masks in enclosed settings with inadequate ventilation,.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/475716/high-demand-at-christchurch-hospital-sees-surgeries-rescheduled
Kinda gob smacked that it's lunchtime and the fact Kelvin Davis told a Maori woman she ain't moari enough hasn't been discussed her, dude needs to go.
This seems very uncharacteristic for Davis.
Maybe worth looking at the latest Al Jazeera documentary discussing alleged systematic racism inside the UK Labour Party.
Maybe this kind of attitude is more common than assumed.
Can one be racist against one's own race.?
Its possible.
Maybe the previous episode then. Many of the UK Labour party members expelled for Anti-Semitism are Jewish.
I wouldn't call what Kelvin said racist, but it is ideologically driven ie if you are Maori (or even Pakeha) you have to think a certain way otherwise you are wrong.
So Maori who don't go along with what the Maori Party or Labour are saying about colonization and culture don't have right think. They need to change their thinking.
BTW apparently Te Party Moari have something on their website saying that Maori are genetically stronger than other races. Even the Race Relations Concilliator is calling this racist. I think if they have no scientific evidence for this it is just dumb and part of the elevating of one race above others.
Even the Race Relations Concilliator is calling this racist.
This claim isn't true at all. Here is a link to the ACT party press release that claims racism from TPM:
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2209/S00157/racial-discrimination-by-te-pati-maori-must-stop.htm
https://theplatform.kiwi/podcasts/episode/meng-foon-calls-the-maori-party-racist
Actually although he was slow to respond to Seymour, Meng Foon has stated he thinks it is racist.
But these are now the silly scraps that focussing on race leads to us having.
I don't think it racist, but its possibly incorrect which is dumb of Te Party Maori to make such as statement. It then becomes a race to the bottom.
And by the way, who discovered and decoded our genetic make up? Western Science. Irony much.
Thanks for providing a link.
Yes, it's an incorrect statement as it doesn't actually mean anything scientific; genetic 'makeup' isn't 'strong' or 'weak,' it just is.
What exactly did he say? What is the context?
I can't find anything linkable sorry, it was a opposition in the house , querying him about child welfate, (minds gone blank on the name) he told her she needed to cross the bridge in to maoridom and stop thinking vanilla!
This is a Maori woman raised in tough conditions being attacked by a minister of government.
My view is maori culture is becoming the dominant religion in this country and if ypu don't jump in line your out.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/09/oriini-kaipara-says-labour-s-kelvin-davis-owes-act-s-karen-chhour-an-apology-after-degrading-comments.html
Davis has apologised personally to Chhour, who accepted the apology as genuine.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/middayreport/audio/2018860658/act-party-on-whakapapa-and-oranga-tamariki
This is why Kelvin is not allowed out often.
Is that right?
Well the woke left will have us believe that a man can identify as a woman and therefore actually be a woman, so unless you are up in arms about this then you can't really complain about Judith identifying as a 27 year old Slovakian model
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018758973/woodhouse-s-isolation-homeless-mystery-man-claim-debunked
It was Collins’ colleague Michael ‘homeless‘ Woodhouse who labelled her comment “flippant” – “27-year-old Slovakian models” all look alike to me, and those with a sensitive 'nose' can smell 'woke' left, right and centre.
Yip mostly I can't stand the woman(collins) but that was some cracking good humor
When he is 'allowed out' Kelvin opens his mouth and keeps his boss in the news for all the wrong reasons.
Davis won't be suspended from Labour after Māori ACT MP comment, PM says deputy was 'too personal' (msn.com)
Watch: PM Ardern faces media after Davis 'Pākehā world' comment (msn.com)
The guys a real piece of work, he makes his comments then hides behind "Davis told her he did not intend to cause personal offence, but understands that his comments could have."
COULD HAVE That is really taking responsibility and ownership for his words and that they were offensive not COULD HAVE !!! I wonder what internal ramifications there are ??? Not many here principled enough to call him out.
So where is this test I can take to find out how Māori I or anyone else is ???
!!! ??? ??? Outrageous “piece of work“. Mind you, anyone can make a mistake
Davis was wrong to say it and he apologised, rightly so.
ACT demanding apologies for offence caused is a surprising but welcome turn of events. They throw much worse insults around all the time, and anyone who suggests an apology is often dismissed. If Davis had called for the execution of an ACT MP, that would be fine with Seymour … apparently. Good to know ACT won't be doing that any more, right?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/bay-of-plenty/128699219/act-defend-tauranga-candidate-after-off-with-her-head-comment-aimed-at-tolley
But to be fair, sometimes they do apologise for their nastiness …
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/11/act-mp-mark-cameron-regrets-flippant-remarks-about-prime-minister-jacinda-ardern.html
There’s heaps more, we could do this all day.
Its just part of the new ideology, if you don't agree with them, then they denigrate you. Thus Willie calling David Seymour a "uselss Maori"
Good for you Anker, advocating for Māori.
I am not sure I am advocating for Maori as such (even though my spouse is Maori).
I am advocating for people being able to express their opinion. Because that is what Willie and Kelvin seem to be saying that you have to have a certain ideological perspective otherwise your thinking is wrong and if you are Maori and have "wrong think" then we wll patronize and demean you.
Maori don't just have one perspective. Funny that.
I've often wondered if the large Maori flight to aussie is because in part they can't be bothered proving they are Maori enough.
Apologies if my inference was wrong, and/or you’re not comfortable with it.
No problem Drowsy.
To be honest I wondered if you were being sacastic. Always to good to clear things up.
Not my job to advocate for Maori as such. Husband who is Maori shares many of my views about culture and the Treaty.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2022/09/29/reality-bites/
Chris Trotter has written a very good article about this on TDB (see above link)
Ripley's…believe it or…not!
'Kiwibank believed inflation had peaked at 7.3%, and should fall back to within the Reserve Bank's target band of 1% to 3% in 2023.'
BNZ and Kiwibank lift mortgage rates: 'It can be daunting to see mortgage rates increase', economist says | Stuff.co.nz
Pessimism from economist and Putin opponent Vladislav Inozemtsev.
In recent years, all and sundry, with or without reason, have used the popular formula that "we woke up in another country." The resetting of the terms of the Kremlin usurper, the arrest of Alexei Navalny, the recognition of the "independence" of the DPR and LPR, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine – all these events received the same similar response. Today, however, it is probably worth recognizing that none of them deserved such an assessment: the mobilization announced on September 21 became a milestone that truly divided modern Russian history into “before” and “after”, an event that began the final countdown of the Putin era.
[…]
With his decision to mobilize (and not at all about a “special military operation”), Putin announced the termination of the existing contract with the country. Today it has become clear that, on the one hand, the population no longer has personal freedoms, which for more than twenty years the Kremlin has guaranteed with a reduction or even absence of political ones; and, on the other hand, slavish obedience to power and non-interference in politics does not provide any economic growth.
It must be understood that the redistribution of national wealth through theft and corruption of the last twenty years cannot be compared with its destruction in the aggressive war waged by Russia today. The largest amount confiscated from an official or security official (the case of Colonel Zakharchenko), which once shocked Russia, corresponds to spending 6 hours, and the cost of “Putin’s palace” mentioned in Navalny’s investigation corresponds to 2 days of continuation of the Ukrainian adventure (which, as now Obviously, it will only get more expensive over time.
Two years ago, I spoke of how the 2020s would be “a time of terror and pure authoritarianism” for Russian power, suggesting that such tools of dominance could help Putin rule throughout the decade. Today, this forecast has to be changed: madness has reached a scale that cannot be maintained even for several years.
“The Russian economy,” I wrote in early March, “will die by winter ,” and now I think I was right…
https://theins.ru/opinions/inozemtsev/255405?fbclid=IwAR0vn8qQpDdG5-gkETY5n-2kJ8Vwomu8XCf6ZkHDj6ZReEwVLICD7tXTupc
google translate
How are we all feeling about the new normal?
https://twitter.com/wxkaitlin/status/1575188234010705920?
Juice Media talks to an eco-socialist Sabrina Fernandes about the Brazilian election.
And why …
For the first time in years I stopped off online to ZB news. Never again.
Saw this from Kate Hawkesby – the other half of the Hosk.
Pot calling kettle black? You bet.
I haven't been following the case of the Davis/Chhour row, so it may well be he went too far. But anyone who knows Kelvin or had a conversation with him will be able to tell you he is one straight-up guy. If he lost it you can be sure he had grounds for doing so:
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/early-edition/opinion/kate-hawkesby-kelvin-davis-how-maori-are-you-routine-yesterday-was-a-disturbing-trip-backwards/?dicbo=v2-23285ec58ee70d7a2d7b42daf6772842
Nope. I haven't listened to the audio. That would be too stressful. I'm just going on the written word.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/nurses-warned-plan-to-turn-down-extra-shifts-next-week-likely-illegal/QIGZ355EZM6DCOQM2YCKOZHXKU/
Boy they Health NZ sure no how to keep their staff happy.
What the hell are these over payed bureaucrats playing at?
Well it's about time! Pity it took the public backlash of marches and protests to finally get some action against a ridiculous sentence.
Crown appeals teen rapist Jayden Meyer's home detention sentence – NZ Herald
Appeal launched against nine-month 'Home D' sentence for teen rapist | Stuff.co.nz
Tis almost as if marches and protests worked ……
Yep, otherwise this sort of thing happens.
Corrections reviewing notification policy after neighbour on parole commits murder | Stuff.co.nz