Question: I notice changing my name means posts go into moderation. I’d like the mods to enjoy their Sunday. Is this a prob for them or is there some guidance on the best way to do this without dropping into moderation?
[lprent: It is the best defense against trolls. They have to write a coherent comment and have it accepted by a moderator before they can write comments freely. It also makes it difficult fo astroturfers to construct a range of identities. The alternative route is the kiwiblog one where a login is required. ]
Head of Jewish Defence League UK supports Anders Breivik, says victims “not innocent”
Written by Brit Dee Thursday, 19 April 2012 14:16
Roberta Moore, who was intimately connected to the anti-Muslim English Defence League (EDL) and continues to run their Jewish Division’s Facebook page, has expressed her support for Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik – and described his teenage victims as being “not innocent”.
In a post made on April 17th to the Jewish Defence League UK Blogger site, believed to be run by Moore and supported by comments posted in her name on Facebook, she describes the Norwegian court as a “kangaroo court”, asks whether a “man like Breivik in a case such as this surely deserves a better trial than that?”, refers to the “Leftist slander constantly being thrown to undermine him and his views”, and defends him against charges of child murder by parroting Breivik’s defence that his victims were young adults, attending an “indoctrination camp”, who were “not innocent”. A comment attributed to Moore states
I hold the same amount of sympathy for the [sic] those on Utoya as I would if somebody committed this act on a Hitler Youth camp in the 1940’s, or were they just “children” as well?
Such offensive comments will no doubt prove awkward for the EDL, who have recently been attempting to change their image as a group of thuggish racists, by repeatedly stating that they stand firmly against violence and extremism.
Whilst Moore claimed to have left the EDL in June last year, she was until then closely connected to the group’s leadership and inner circle, with whom she apparently maintained contact after her departure. She even reportedly helped EDL leader Stephen Lennon (a.k.a. “Tommy Robinson”) attend an EDL demonstration in September last year – from which he had been banned, resulting in his arrest for breach of bail conditions – by smuggling him in dressed as a rabbi.
Moore is also said to be friends with shadowy EDL financier and strategist Alan Ayling (a.k.a. “Alan Lake”), a wealthy businessman who was recently suspended from his management post at a major international development bank, after the discovery of his real identity. A disaffected founding member of the EDL named Paul Ray has confirmed that Ayling was present at the first 2009 meeting of the group, which actually took place in Ayling’s expensive London flat.
Ayling has admitted funding the EDL, and whilst he publically condemned Breivik’s attack he also described it as “chickens come home to roost”. Other disturbing comments made by Ayling on his “4Freedoms” website include his suggestion in July last year that David Cameron, Nick Clegg, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, be executed.
If Moore is no longer connected to the EDL, then it is surprising that the Facebook page she operates still carries their….
Why is it anti-semitic to note the irony of far right Zionists and neofascists making common cause against Muslims? I’ve seen many examples of it, especially on Facebook groups about Palestine/Israel, where it is possible to see who someone’s friends are and which causes someone has liked. When fascism reappears wrapped in the Star of David, as it is with much of the Israeli fascist right, I for one will not ignore it because of the danger of being called anti-semitic.
Long article on just how much tracking the private sector does. It truly does make what the government knows about people seem inconsequential in comparison.
And some bright sparks in Birmingham, as part of a doctoral thesis I think, have created an algorithm that takes all such data and predicts where you’ll be next.
With the growth in mobile apps and GPS tagged events it’s a stalkers best friend.
WSJ quote:
“In the past, tracking companies and retailers had a tougher time identifying online users. Today, a single Web page can contain computer code from dozens of different ad companies or tracking firms. These separate chunks of code often share information with each other.”
You are onto it! And that is only “some” of what goes on!
Those that love Facebook and use that social media are largely blind and ignorant of what happens with their information.
And Google (incl. “google ads”) is virtually EVERYWHERE!
I have been checking some browsing history again and again, and also observing what scripts are instantly activated in the background on websites is truly very, very worrying.
But how do you know, what the government’s or rather state’s agencies are already doing? They may be up to more than so many think.
1984 was once “fiction”, but give it a few more years, and we will be right in the midst of such scenarios.
Tetraplegic Semisi Ma’afu Samiu, injured here in 2006, has been declined New Zealand residency and is being deported to Tonga. It’s expected that his life span will be diminished because the care available in New Zealand is not available in Tonga. But that’s no enough for our officialdom:
[ACC] provided a motorised wheelchair, the bed and a hoist to move between the two. If he left New Zealand, that equipment would remain here.
—-
Last month, Samiu agreed to obey a directive from Immigration NZ and return to Tonga, but when he discovered ACC’s equipment would have to stay he called it off.
So not just his life expectancy, but the things that make his life, and the tasks of his carers, bearable in his remaining years. Surely this is a case for a bit of consideration.
Rosey, this is outrageous, and IMO, far from petty, instead vicious and callous, if not racist as well.
And this under a National Government that without any hesitation generously paid out $100,000,000 dollars to the rich and white Roger Kerr to cover his losses after he blew his $70 million investment in South Canturbury Finance.
Is this justice? Is this fair? Does this sort of ammoral iniquitous double standard make any sort of economic or moral sense?
War against the poor, more like.
A campaign of appeals and protest on behalf of this man and his family needs to be directed to the Minister.
A complaint against the miserable and heartless bureaucrat that has effectively sentenced Semisi Samiu to a degrading and cruel death should also be actioned.
Failing all that, I for one would be happy to put my body between any police contigent sent by Terri Bentley to drag this wounded man from his bed and dump him into on airplane.
Hi Jenny; You mean the Business Round Table, Rodger Kerr? and his $70 million of Hubbard’s South Canterbury Finance? and of course Rodger helped to set up Local Government New Zealand. And of course their buddies in the Nat Govt. are selling off our sovereignty in the TPPA negotiations. I’m joining the dots here.
And I don’t think a mere dysmocratic election will solve this!!!!!
How the hell is it that somebody can be in NZ for at least six years and not have residency? And if his daughter has residency, then why doesn’t he qualify on the basis of his daughters’ status? And what is his wifes status? Meanwhile, isn’t deliberately putting somebody in harms way contrary to some aspect of human rights legislation? Lost for words really…
In the meantime it seems like the slaves are slacking off and the beatings will continue until productivity rises:
If so, you’re one of New Zealand’s “lost souls”, the people identified in a workplace productivity survey as our biggest time-wasters – losing 21 per cent of the day.
It never occurs to the nit-wit who wrote this bit of puffery that 100% ‘on-task’ productivity is impossible and dangerous, nor does the research quoted seem to track how much these people actually get done; that personal productivity and patterns of work are highly variable.
After all if one person gets twice as much done in a week as another, who cares if they spend more ‘downtime’ in anyone day?
Oh the irony!
“Embrace of a killer: Former IRA terrorist Martin McGuinness greets Hillary Clinton”
Just who deserves the title of “Butcher” and “Terrorist” more? McGuinness or Clinton?
There’s nothing “Former” about Clinton’s terrorism or butchery.
Embrace of a killer: Former IRA terrorist Martin McGuinness greets Hillary Clinton…
If Hillary Clinton had any misgivings about exchanging a kiss and a handshake with a man who used to be known as the Butcher of Bogside, she did a very good job of hiding them.
The US Secretary of State was all smiles as she met former IRA terrorist and Ulster’s deputy first minister Martin McGuinness when she arrived in Belfast for her eighth visit to the province.
Her visit comes as rioting broke out across Belfast tonight after hundreds of loyalists took to the streets to protest over flags…
…Mrs Clinton said: ‘There will always be disagreement in democratic societies, but violence is never an acceptable response. All need to confront the remaining challenge of sectarian divisions, peacefully together.’…
Look at who wrote it. Paul Little is one of the lickspittle regulars who used to appear on Paul Holmes’s pisspoor radio show on Saturday mornings. He delivered anodyne reviews of books, which Holmes had usually read himself anyway, and far more perceptively.
On one infamous occasion, Little attempted to ingratiate himself by calling Holmes “Sir Paul”.
Holmes, contemptuous of the display of self-debasement by his underling, sneered: “Oh yes, ha ha ha, you know what to say, don’t you.”
So Paul Little’s byline on any article is a virtual guarantee that it’s going to be shoddy and third-rate.
Why don’t you put your opinion onto the comments section below the article?
Eagle-eyed readers will have spotted the grievous error committed by this writer (i.e., moi) in comment number 8.1, in which I wrote….
Holmes, contemptuous of the display of self-debasement by his underling, sneered: “Oh yes, ha ha ha, you know what to say, don’t you.”
Of course, the compound word “self-debasement” is not what I meant to write. The word I should have used was “self-abasement”.
So that sentence now reads…
Holmes, contemptuous of the display of self-abasement by his underling, sneered: “Oh yes, ha ha ha, you know what to say, don’t you.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Self-abasement: voluntary self-punishment or humiliation in order to atone for some real or imagined wrongdoing, or to curry favour with someone who holds you in contempt.
Using a technology known as augmented reality, which overlays real world images with digital ones, these windshields could display driving directions, text messages or impending hazards, all without requiring drivers to take their eyes off the road.
Although it would a neat technology one does wonder why they’d even bother considering that we already have self-drive cars that will be much safer.
A year on from a stonking election result (which gave them an extra four MPs) the latest Fairfax Media/Ipsos poll shows the Greens have dropped from 11.9 per cent to 10.5 per cent.
Disappointing, for sure. But what should worry them more are shifting attitudes to the environment. Just 5 per cent rated the environment or climate change as the number one issue facing the country. Even among Green supporters, the economy and rising jobless rates are more important above saving the planet.
Just 16 per cent of those who vote Green talked to our pollsters about the environment. Mining figured even less – just 2 per cent brought it up – and only one person raised fracking. Even more telling is that more than half (55.8 per cent) of our respondents agreed with the statement: “For the sake of the economy, we should focus less on climate change – we’re too small to make much difference anyway.”
But why would Green supporters and voters talk about climate change when the Green Party itself is playing it down?
Alongside Labour, the Greens’ strategy for 2013 is to turn up the heat on job creation. They’ll start it with a cross-party manufacturing inquiry in the new year and a focus on monetary policy which will play to concern about the high dollar.
Green Party members I have spoken to, argue that it is the party’s job to follow public opinion, others including myself argue that it is a political party’s job to lead it.
National and Labour have no trouble leading on matters they feel strongly about, even when the vast majority of the public are not just disinterested but even hostile.
To lead the Green Party needs to turn up the heat on the government over Climate Change. After all isn’t this where the government’s performance is weakest and where the Green Party could land some very heavy blows.
I have asked Green supporters, why when the Green Party can host, with Labour, a cross-party manufacturing inquiry focusing on monetary policy and the concern over the high dollar why can’t they call a cross-party inquiry into climate change?
This would put Climate Change, (which, is an existential issue) back in the public spotlight.
If the Green Party cannot raise climate change as an issue in opposition, then they are even less likely to do so as a minority partner in government.
I think it’s more likely that the greens you were talking to were trying to explain political reality to you. the fact that you just dismiss what they had to say is by the by really.
But the fact remains that the Green party is getting around 10 % and is in opposition. They can and do lead policy on a number of issues; it’s a slow and laborious process. You seem to want them to become a single issue party and doom themselves to irrelevance, and won’t be happy until they do so, but that isn’t the party they are, and that is a good thing.
I am very aware of “political reality”. The world is heating up dangerously. That is a reality.
A reality that every political party including the Green Party has to prioritise if millions are not to die and whole eco-systems are not to be wiped out.
If the Greens are not prepared to prioritise this ‘existential’ threat then they are not really a Green Party, they are just another mainstream social democratic party. (Maybe a little further left than Labour).
Of course I know that is not what you meant, by use of the term “political reality”. What you meant, is the so called “Pragmatic” decision every third party is called to make. Whether or not to compromise principle to get a place at the table.
Look, usually this doesn’t end up well. Lib Dems and Conservatives in the UK, Maori Party and National, the Alliance and Labour. And so it will be for the Green Party.
All the evidence is that a Shearer led administration is committed to carry on with opening up the Denniston Plateau to strip mine it of coal for export to China, to deep sea oil drilling to fracking, and more motorway expansion. All of which will exponentially increase this country’s CO2 emissions. The Green Party will never recover if they a part of a government committed to these “realities”.
Political reality may allow Green Party compromise, but reality, reality won’t.
You sneer at pragmatism, as if sticking to a purist line is a political possibility. It isn’t. At the moment the greens are getting about 10 % support.
There is a window within which political parties can operate in a democracy. The boundaries of that window are determined by the electorate. If a political party steps out of that window, they cease to have any influence.
You seem to think that not having any influence is better than having some.
That is not a serious position. It’s childish.
The task of a political party is to effect policy change. That must be done within the window of what people will accept. Because democracy. It is the task of NGOs and activists and academics and others to move the window. Political parties can’t do it.
That’s not ‘pragmatism’ it’s reality.
If the people shift, the politicians will be forced to follow.
“Why do you want to know, do you want to conduct a purge of your own?”
That was nasty. I asked because I suspected that you were referring to GP members who comment here and I thought you might be misrepresenting their views. Your repeated equivocation furthers my suspicion that you are skewing the GP policies and actions because of your obsession about CC.
You may call it obsession but it may be what is required.
Better to be obsessed than deliberately decide to ignore it.
With the climate disintegrating. Our political leaders arguing about the arrangement of the deck chairs. IMO pathalogical. Bordering on obsessive compulsive disorder.
Neither I nor the GP have decided to deliberately ignore CC. That’s been proven to you in recent days. You insist on repeatedly distorting the truth. I think that is a highly flawed strategy. You could still lobby for action on CC without doing that.
Politicians may be rearranging the deck chairs, but you are arguing for changing course once we’ve already hit the iceberg. Just as crazy.
“That is a question they have avoided since they were formed,”
More likely is that many Greens are aware of the inherent incompatibility between capitalism and ecological sustainability, but choose to not focus on it because they want the Greens to be a successful political party.
The other option is open honesty about the state of the world and zero MPs. How would that help? Serious question. I’d like to know how you see it working for a political party to tell the truth about the world and be effective as a party.
If you have followed my comments you will be aware that I have tried to popularise the example of Winston Churchill. Churchill once convinced of the danger never compromised one bit in his opposition to fascism, despite being a back bench MP, despite getting into parlliament as an independent, with no caucus at all to support him.
He just never shut up. And kept telling the truth to everyone he met in any forum he was given.
From a minority position he won over the whole of parliament.
That is true leadership. This is the historic mission of the Green Party if they chose to accept it.
Jenny one would suggest all green voter and member are climate change acceptors way way ahead of the curve and as thing become obvious then gradually the rest adopt this belief or position. My gentleman farmer granddad knew before you probably that something climatic was up and in his later years took to the Internet read read and went from Tory blue to labour red. He even praised HC.
He fought for freedom and would have be agasped at any attempt to silent well though out opinion or argument. Freedom is our last bastion.
The other example I like to give of winning over the whole of parliament from a minority position is that of the New Zealand Labour Party in 1984. Though in opposition the Labour Party became the centre of organising against nuclear ship visits. LECs mobilised their members and to protests and printed leaflets and distributed bumper stickers. In parliament Labour MPs debated with and condemned the National Party for supporting nuclear ship visits.
Eventually they moved two National MPs to vote for an opposition bill to ban nuclear ship visits, (put up, by of all people, Richard Prebble). To prevent the vote being put Muldoon called a snap election.
Strangely when in government things changed, The Labour government achieved what Muldoon couldn’t putting off the vote for another three years, even agreeing a year after getting into office to let a (possibly), nuclear armed warship the USS Buchanan visit New Zealand. A visit that had to be canceled after Nicky Hager met with David Lange in the Beehive and threatened mass protests.
The lesson here is that sometimes a political party is more powerful in opposition, particularly if they stay close to their grass roots membership and don’t betray their principles.
Nuclear weapons free is a completely different issue. CC is big and scarey and requires radical changes to society, including alot of personal sacrifice. Nuclear weapons free legislation was relatively easy to support as it didn’t affect people in their day to day lives.
You left the role of the peace movement out of your story.
The other place your example falls down on is that Labour had to form govt to pass the legislation. They didn’t remain a glorified lobby group.
re the Churchill example, I don’t believe you can manufacture such people or circumstances. Do you see any one person in NZ politics who is the equivalent of Churchill?
Cunliffe comes closest, he has got the talent, he has got the knowledge, he has got the experience.
But has he got the bulldog spirit?
I must admit. He has been a bit quiet of late. Has he been intimidated? Or is he just biding his time? Or is it that no opportunity has presented itself to him to speak out. (I think it would be great if he made a statement of the gagging of Colonial Viper. But that is just my opinion.)
Maybe the Green Party could invite David Cunliffe to one of their meetings to deliver one of his famous addresses on climate change and the economy.
He’s “a bit quiet of late” because he is operating under a full gag order from David Shearer.
There was a press conference from Shearer a little while ago explaining it.
Why won’t the Greens call an all party inquiry into climate change?
Goodness knows they have got cause to.
“Katrina, All Over Again”
Hurricane Sandy, if you are poor, is the Katrina of the North. It has exposed the nation’s fragile, dilapidated and shoddy infrastructure, one that crumbles under minimal stress. It has highlighted the inability of utility companies, as well as state and federal agencies, to cope with the looming environmental disasters that because of the climate crisis will soon come in wave after wave. But, most important, it illustrates the depraved mentality of an oligarchic and corporate elite that, as conditions worsen, retreats into self-contained gated communities, guts basic services and abandons the wider population.
Maximising environmental and social sustainability is the overriding principle in all Green party policy. I do not think Green members are going to let the parliamentary team give it up, even if they wanted to, which I doubt.
.
And. Unlike the other parties, Greens use membership consensus to set policy.
“Reports Warn Europe Is Nearing Irreversible Threat From Catastrophic Climate Change”
“Time is running out, but the technical means and the policy tools to allow the world to stay below [3.6F of warming] are still available to governments and societies,” said Christiana Figueres, the UN’s top climate official, who will head next week’s climate talks…..
According to the UNEP report, which has drawn on the research from more than 50 scientists, the widening gap between climate plans and scientific estimates means that governments must step up their commitments to avoid even worse effects from global warming.
“The transition to a low-carbon, inclusive green economy is happening far too slowly and the opportunity for meeting [scientific advice on emissions targets] is narrowing annually,” said Achim Steiner, executive director of UNEP. Lawrence LeBlondredOrbit.com
Jenny 12
That Common Dreams link you put up was very descriptive of the plight of the low income people in USA. I was taken by that piece you quoted about the elite retreating into self-contained gated communities. Devil take the hindmost.
I have this feeling that the wealthy in NZ are getting all the money possible salted away before everything goes pear-shaped. And our pollies cannot find in their DNA the early Labour commitment to doing something to help the country and people rather than fill their time with personalities which are just ways of passing time.
Meanwhile Doha winds down to another last minute agreement which takes us apparently nowhere further on tackling Climate Change – the US runs interference on pretty much everything, China and Eastern Europe grimly hold on to their “developing nation” status and “hot gas” exemptions, “damage aid” is agreed for poorer countries but no liability is accepted by rich countries, no mechanism to collect and pay out is put in place and no agreement on where the money will come from.
“Our” Government’s meaningless response looks to the long term – presumably when they’ve all retired and taken all the profits and left the mess to someone else.
I have a love hate relationship with The Standard. I am pretty middle of the road when it comes to political opinion, I am a pragmatist as opposed to avowed leftist/righty which generally puts me at odds with the status quo (both here and at Kiwiblog).
That said, I respect the idea that opinion should be broadcast no matter how much it disagrees with your own politics.
If you have to muzzle your opponent you have already lost. I look forward to the return of CV so we can argue each other again.
To fight the war against Climate Change leadership is necessary.
Where will this leadership come from?
“So they [the Government] go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent…. Owing to past neglect, in the face of the plainest warnings, we have entered upon a period of danger…. The era of procrastination, of half measures, of soothing and baffling expedience of delays, is coming to its close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences…. We cannot avoid this period, we are in it now….”
Winston Churchill, November 12, 1936, House of Commons
When it comes to Climate Change. Doesn’t this strange paradox of dithering, procrastination, of half measures, of soothing and expedience and delays, describe our present parliament, both government and opposition. Especially when we have entered a period of dangerous consequences.
Currently now that the apologists and Ignorers of climate change are dominant, one each, in two of the major parties in parliament. And the Greens are busy tailoring their party to fit with this paradigm.
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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 new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
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, ...
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 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. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Asia Pacific Report A Pacific civil society alliance has condemned French neocolonial policies in Kanaky New Caledonia, saying Paris is set on “maintaining the status quo” and denying the indigenous Kanak people their inalienable right to self-determination. The Pacific Regional Non-Governmental Organisations (PRNGOs) Alliance, representing some 15 groups, said in ...
Koi Tū New Zealand cannot sit back and see the collapse of its Fourth Estate, the director of Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures, Sir Peter Gluckman, says in the foreword of a paper published today. The paper, “If not journalists, then who?” paints a picture of an industry ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Foreign investment proposals with implications for Australia’s strategic or economic security will face tougher scrutiny, under a policy overhaul to be announced by Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Wednesday. At the same time, the government ...
A Waitangi Tribunal inquiry report has warned government that a repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act could cause harm to children in care. ...
The Treasury has published today three new papers covering government consumption multipliers, automatic stabilisers and the impacts of global shocks on New Zealand’s economy. ...
Asia Pacific Report The Pacific state of Hawai’i’s House of Representatives has joined the state’s Senate in calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza, becoming the first state to pass such a resolution, reports Hawaii News Now. In March, the Senate passed a ceasefire resolution with a 24–1 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Ferrie, A/Prof, UTS Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research and ARC DECRA Fellow, University of Technology Sydney PsiQuantum The Australian government has announced a pledge of approximately A$940 million (US$617 million) to PsiQuantum, a quantum computing start-up company based in Silicon Valley. Half ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hunter Bennett, Lecturer in Exercise Science, University of South Australia Cameron Prins/Shutterstock If you spend a lot of time exploring fitness content online, you might have come across the concept of heart rate zones. Heart rate zone training has become more ...
SPECIAL REPORT:By Eugene Doyle He is the most popular Palestinian leader alive today — and yet few people in the West even know his name. Absolutely no one in Gaza or the West Bank does not know him. That difference speaks volumes about who dominates the media narrative that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Will McCallum, PhD Candidate – School of Communication and Creative Arts, Deakin University Earlier this year, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of not supporting Operation Sovereign Borders – the military-led border security operation that has “closed Australia’s borders ...
By Melyne Baroi in Port Moresby A Papua New Guinea MP, Peter Isoaimo, who had been ousted by the National Court in an alleged bribery case, has been reinstated by the Supreme Court on appeal. A three-member Supreme Court bench found that the National Court had erred in finding that ...
Publisher Chris Holdaway reflects on the unique project of collecting the work of the late, terrific poet Schaeffer Lemalu. One of the nice things you can do as a truly independent publisher is to make the books that writers want to make, whatever they happen to be. That’s how I’ve ...
Those profiled in the stamp series served on overseas deployments from 1995 onwards, and all have been awarded theNew Zealand Operational Service Medal. ...
Last night’s dismal poll result for the coalition government shows the limits of trying to govern as an opposition, argues Joel MacManus. There’s a quote from the American political activist Barbara Deming: “Vengeance is not the point; change is. But the trouble is that in most people’s minds, the thought ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shireen Morris, Associate Professor and Director of the Radical Centre Reform Lab at Macquarie University Law School, Macquarie University Leonid Andronov/Shutterstock Foreign interference in Australian democracy poses a growing risk to our national sovereignty. It refers to coercive, corrupt or ...
A defendant charged by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has pleaded guilty to four charges of obtaining by deception in relation to a mortgage fraud scheme. Sentencing has been scheduled for 14 August 2024. ...
What to say when pesky journalists ask gotcha questions like ‘can you name a single book you’ve ever read?’ and ‘did you read it, or did you just see the movie?’This week, Act Party arts spokesperson Todd Stephenson foolishly agreed to an interview with Newsroom’s Steve Braunias regarding his ...
Explainer - What will a ban on cellphones in schools achieve? Can students use them during lunch breaks? And what happens if you need to contact your child? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jodi Rowley, Curator, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Biology, Australian Museum, UNSW Sydney Jodi Rowley, CC BY-NC-ND In winter 2021, Australia’s frogs started dropping dead. People began posting images of dead frogs on social media. Unable to travel to investigate the deaths ...
In the year ended March 2024, 0.4 percent of home transfers were to people who didn’t hold New Zealand citizenship or a resident visa, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wasay Majid, Research Assistant , University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau New Zealand’s accommodation supplement scheme is facing scrutiny, with Social Development Minister Louise Upston recently saying “there is merit in considering whether the current settings are fair and sustainable long-term”. The ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor The first prime ministerial candidate has been announced in Solomon Islands and it is not Manasseh Sogavare. The man of the hour is Jeremiah Manele, the MP for Hograno/Kia/Havulei constituency in Isabel Province, who served as minister of foreign affairs in the last government. ...
Protesting the removal of bins by leaving piles of your dog’s shit for others to deal with doesn’t make you a hero – it’s precious and entitled behaviour. You haven’t truly lived until you’ve stood on the shoreline of Auckland’s Cheltenham beach, desperately trying to scoop increasingly liquid dog shit ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon will be alert to the factors driving the dire polling, but won't be waving the white flag just yet, RNZ political editor Jo Moir writes. ...
Writer, teacher and academic Vincent O’Sullivan died on Sunday 28 April. Here we gather tributes from friends, colleagues, and students who remember his extraordinary contributions. I went down to the garage tonight. There was a bird shrieking out in the bush, in the dark, maybe a kākā. Miraculously, through the ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a burnt-out corporate escapee explains how she gets by ‘working as little as possible’. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Female Age: 31 Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: Contractor in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Schmidt, Professor of Chemistry, UNSW Sydney Albert Russ / Shutterstock The icebreaker of many a barbeque conversation is something like “what do you do for a crust?” “I teach chemistry at university,” is what we usually reply. Then silence. Our ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Asher Flynn, Associate Professor of Criminology, Monash University Shutterstock Sexual harassment is often considered to be a person-to-person act, but new research shows Australians are also experiencing and perpetrating workplace harassment in large numbers through technology. Our latest study shows one ...
A petition signed by more than 16,500 people, demanding the government take stronger action to halt the genocide of Palestinians by the State of Israel, is being presented to the House of Representatives today by Hon Phil Twyford. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Burnett, Honorary Associate Professor, ANU College of Law, Australian National University jenmartin/Shutterstock April has been a bad month for the Australian environment. The Great Barrier Reef was hit, yet again, by intense coral bleaching. And Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek delayed ...
Winston Peters might not give a ‘rat’s derriere’ about last night’s poll, but it revealed the unusual absence of a honeymoon period and little payoff for the government’s action plan approach, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marco de Jong, Lecturer, Law School, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Details released by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet under the Official Information Act reveal New Zealand officials have been considering involvement in AUKUS from the outset. ...
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Is the fringe radio station really in a financial crisis, or is it just running a hyped-up donation drive? Fringe internet radio station Reality Check Radio was launched by the anti-vaccine mandates group Voices for Freedom in March 2023. For the next year, it undertook probably the most aggressive promotional ...
Above the Fold: On Monday, the biggest Māori screen production company faced down the biggest funder of Māori content at the High Court. It was an incredibly tense moment – then, just as quickly, it resolved. Duncan Greive breaks down a strange day in the screen sector.Yesterday morning, Māori ...
It’s a ride that’s lasted almost 30 years for mother and daughter BMX riders Nancy and Toni James, and the next stop is the World Championships in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Almost 27 years ago, Nancy and her husband Gerrard took their oldest child, Daniel, to the Waitākere BMX Club. ...
When it comes to talking about the Government’s controversial fast-track consenting process, political scientist Richard Shaw refers to the famous Chinese sci-fi novel Three-Body Problem, while RNZ’s In Depth journalist Farah Hancock talks about zombie projects. Shaw is referring to the three-party coalition Government and how the proposed legislation is ...
Opinion: The debate over single gender versus co-educational schooling has long been controversial. I went to a co-ed school and was inspired by a remarkable woman who was my maths teacher, and because of her deep knowledge and passion for the subject, I knew that maths was definitely an option ...
He won everything and he earned a knighthood and he was a senior literary figure to the point that he was a living monument to himself until his death in the weekend at 86, but there was something about Vincent O’Sullivan that flew under the radar, that was independent and ...
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Question: I notice changing my name means posts go into moderation. I’d like the mods to enjoy their Sunday. Is this a prob for them or is there some guidance on the best way to do this without dropping into moderation?
[lprent: It is the best defense against trolls. They have to write a coherent comment and have it accepted by a moderator before they can write comments freely. It also makes it difficult fo astroturfers to construct a range of identities. The alternative route is the kiwiblog one where a login is required. ]
Head of Jewish Defence League UK supports Anders Breivik, says victims “not innocent”
Written by Brit Dee Thursday, 19 April 2012 14:16
Roberta Moore, who was intimately connected to the anti-Muslim English Defence League (EDL) and continues to run their Jewish Division’s Facebook page, has expressed her support for Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik – and described his teenage victims as being “not innocent”.
In a post made on April 17th to the Jewish Defence League UK Blogger site, believed to be run by Moore and supported by comments posted in her name on Facebook, she describes the Norwegian court as a “kangaroo court”, asks whether a “man like Breivik in a case such as this surely deserves a better trial than that?”, refers to the “Leftist slander constantly being thrown to undermine him and his views”, and defends him against charges of child murder by parroting Breivik’s defence that his victims were young adults, attending an “indoctrination camp”, who were “not innocent”. A comment attributed to Moore states
I hold the same amount of sympathy for the [sic] those on Utoya as I would if somebody committed this act on a Hitler Youth camp in the 1940’s, or were they just “children” as well?
Such offensive comments will no doubt prove awkward for the EDL, who have recently been attempting to change their image as a group of thuggish racists, by repeatedly stating that they stand firmly against violence and extremism.
Whilst Moore claimed to have left the EDL in June last year, she was until then closely connected to the group’s leadership and inner circle, with whom she apparently maintained contact after her departure. She even reportedly helped EDL leader Stephen Lennon (a.k.a. “Tommy Robinson”) attend an EDL demonstration in September last year – from which he had been banned, resulting in his arrest for breach of bail conditions – by smuggling him in dressed as a rabbi.
Moore is also said to be friends with shadowy EDL financier and strategist Alan Ayling (a.k.a. “Alan Lake”), a wealthy businessman who was recently suspended from his management post at a major international development bank, after the discovery of his real identity. A disaffected founding member of the EDL named Paul Ray has confirmed that Ayling was present at the first 2009 meeting of the group, which actually took place in Ayling’s expensive London flat.
Ayling has admitted funding the EDL, and whilst he publically condemned Breivik’s attack he also described it as “chickens come home to roost”. Other disturbing comments made by Ayling on his “4Freedoms” website include his suggestion in July last year that David Cameron, Nick Clegg, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, be executed.
If Moore is no longer connected to the EDL, then it is surprising that the Facebook page she operates still carries their….
To find out more about these loons, click here….
http://www.resistradio.com/updates/head-of-jewish-defence-league-supports-anders-breivik-says-victims-not-innocent
Is there a point to this other than your rabid Antisemitism?
Why is it anti-semitic to note the irony of far right Zionists and neofascists making common cause against Muslims? I’ve seen many examples of it, especially on Facebook groups about Palestine/Israel, where it is possible to see who someone’s friends are and which causes someone has liked. When fascism reappears wrapped in the Star of David, as it is with much of the Israeli fascist right, I for one will not ignore it because of the danger of being called anti-semitic.
To be fair P the JDL is regarded as a hate group by both the Anti Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center
If censorship is this heavy handed against their own MP, what will happen when they are actually in government? Seeming more like National every day.
Long article on just how much tracking the private sector does. It truly does make what the government knows about people seem inconsequential in comparison.
And some bright sparks in Birmingham, as part of a doctoral thesis I think, have created an algorithm that takes all such data and predicts where you’ll be next.
With the growth in mobile apps and GPS tagged events it’s a stalkers best friend.
WSJ quote:
“In the past, tracking companies and retailers had a tougher time identifying online users. Today, a single Web page can contain computer code from dozens of different ad companies or tracking firms. These separate chunks of code often share information with each other.”
You are onto it! And that is only “some” of what goes on!
Those that love Facebook and use that social media are largely blind and ignorant of what happens with their information.
And Google (incl. “google ads”) is virtually EVERYWHERE!
I have been checking some browsing history again and again, and also observing what scripts are instantly activated in the background on websites is truly very, very worrying.
But how do you know, what the government’s or rather state’s agencies are already doing? They may be up to more than so many think.
1984 was once “fiction”, but give it a few more years, and we will be right in the midst of such scenarios.
How petty
Tetraplegic Semisi Ma’afu Samiu, injured here in 2006, has been declined New Zealand residency and is being deported to Tonga. It’s expected that his life span will be diminished because the care available in New Zealand is not available in Tonga. But that’s no enough for our officialdom:
So not just his life expectancy, but the things that make his life, and the tasks of his carers, bearable in his remaining years. Surely this is a case for a bit of consideration.
Rosey, this is outrageous, and IMO, far from petty, instead vicious and callous, if not racist as well.
And this under a National Government that without any hesitation generously paid out $100,000,000 dollars to the rich and white Roger Kerr to cover his losses after he blew his $70 million investment in South Canturbury Finance.
Is this justice? Is this fair? Does this sort of ammoral iniquitous double standard make any sort of economic or moral sense?
War against the poor, more like.
A campaign of appeals and protest on behalf of this man and his family needs to be directed to the Minister.
A complaint against the miserable and heartless bureaucrat that has effectively sentenced Semisi Samiu to a degrading and cruel death should also be actioned.
Failing all that, I for one would be happy to put my body between any police contigent sent by Terri Bentley to drag this wounded man from his bed and dump him into on airplane.
What has happened to this country?
Hi Jenny; You mean the Business Round Table, Rodger Kerr? and his $70 million of Hubbard’s South Canterbury Finance? and of course Rodger helped to set up Local Government New Zealand. And of course their buddies in the Nat Govt. are selling off our sovereignty in the TPPA negotiations. I’m joining the dots here.
And I don’t think a mere dysmocratic election will solve this!!!!!
Questions, questions, questions!
How the hell is it that somebody can be in NZ for at least six years and not have residency? And if his daughter has residency, then why doesn’t he qualify on the basis of his daughters’ status? And what is his wifes status? Meanwhile, isn’t deliberately putting somebody in harms way contrary to some aspect of human rights legislation? Lost for words really…
Yes your right Bill it’s in contravention to the NZ Bill of Human Rights, our constitution.
In the meantime it seems like the slaves are slacking off and the beatings will continue until productivity rises:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10852830
It never occurs to the nit-wit who wrote this bit of puffery that 100% ‘on-task’ productivity is impossible and dangerous, nor does the research quoted seem to track how much these people actually get done; that personal productivity and patterns of work are highly variable.
After all if one person gets twice as much done in a week as another, who cares if they spend more ‘downtime’ in anyone day?
That was a well balanced article wasn;t it! /sarc
These types of articles are all to frequently posted without a second thought put into giving the worker any credit at all…
NZH – The more you know, the better!
Oh the irony!
“Embrace of a killer: Former IRA terrorist Martin McGuinness greets Hillary Clinton”
Just who deserves the title of “Butcher” and “Terrorist” more? McGuinness or Clinton?
There’s nothing “Former” about Clinton’s terrorism or butchery.
Embrace of a killer: Former IRA terrorist Martin McGuinness greets Hillary Clinton…
If Hillary Clinton had any misgivings about exchanging a kiss and a handshake with a man who used to be known as the Butcher of Bogside, she did a very good job of hiding them.
The US Secretary of State was all smiles as she met former IRA terrorist and Ulster’s deputy first minister Martin McGuinness when she arrived in Belfast for her eighth visit to the province.
Her visit comes as rioting broke out across Belfast tonight after hundreds of loyalists took to the streets to protest over flags…
…Mrs Clinton said: ‘There will always be disagreement in democratic societies, but violence is never an acceptable response. All need to confront the remaining challenge of sectarian divisions, peacefully together.’…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2244514/Former-IRA-terrorist-Martin-McGuinness-greets-Hillary-Clinton-arrives-Ulster.html
(Orig. posted by Ed on Media Lens)
http://www.medialens.org/
NZ Herald Online edition – “gutter journalism” at its best, I suppose:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10852783
This passes as “journalism” by a Mr Little writing for NZ’s largest print media!?
More beneficiary bashing, based on anything else but facts. Look and read for yourselves!
Look at who wrote it. Paul Little is one of the lickspittle regulars who used to appear on Paul Holmes’s pisspoor radio show on Saturday mornings. He delivered anodyne reviews of books, which Holmes had usually read himself anyway, and far more perceptively.
On one infamous occasion, Little attempted to ingratiate himself by calling Holmes “Sir Paul”.
Holmes, contemptuous of the display of self-debasement by his underling, sneered: “Oh yes, ha ha ha, you know what to say, don’t you.”
So Paul Little’s byline on any article is a virtual guarantee that it’s going to be shoddy and third-rate.
Why don’t you put your opinion onto the comments section below the article?
ERRATUM
Eagle-eyed readers will have spotted the grievous error committed by this writer (i.e., moi) in comment number 8.1, in which I wrote….
Holmes, contemptuous of the display of self-debasement by his underling, sneered: “Oh yes, ha ha ha, you know what to say, don’t you.”
Of course, the compound word “self-debasement” is not what I meant to write. The word I should have used was “self-abasement”.
So that sentence now reads…
Holmes, contemptuous of the display of self-abasement by his underling, sneered: “Oh yes, ha ha ha, you know what to say, don’t you.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Self-abasement: voluntary self-punishment or humiliation in order to atone for some real or imagined wrongdoing, or to curry favour with someone who holds you in contempt.
Go back to RSRU Morrissey, Casper is waiting.
Thanks for the heads up, my friend. Always have time for Monsieur Milquetoast.
Meanwhile, you might like to say something critical in the comment’s section to Grovellor Little’s fourth-rate article?
A Computer for Your Car’s Windshield
Although it would a neat technology one does wonder why they’d even bother considering that we already have self-drive cars that will be much safer.
‘
What is behind Green Party CCI?
But why would Green supporters and voters talk about climate change when the Green Party itself is playing it down?
Green Party members I have spoken to, argue that it is the party’s job to follow public opinion, others including myself argue that it is a political party’s job to lead it.
National and Labour have no trouble leading on matters they feel strongly about, even when the vast majority of the public are not just disinterested but even hostile.
To lead the Green Party needs to turn up the heat on the government over Climate Change. After all isn’t this where the government’s performance is weakest and where the Green Party could land some very heavy blows.
I have asked Green supporters, why when the Green Party can host, with Labour, a cross-party manufacturing inquiry focusing on monetary policy and the concern over the high dollar why can’t they call a cross-party inquiry into climate change?
This would put Climate Change, (which, is an existential issue) back in the public spotlight.
If the Green Party cannot raise climate change as an issue in opposition, then they are even less likely to do so as a minority partner in government.
“Green Party members I have spoken to, argue that it is the party’s job to follow public opinion”
Oh yeah, who was that then?
Why do you want to know, do you want to conduct a purge of your own?
“Whatever you guys do, don’t talk to Jenny.”
I think it’s more likely that the greens you were talking to were trying to explain political reality to you. the fact that you just dismiss what they had to say is by the by really.
But the fact remains that the Green party is getting around 10 % and is in opposition. They can and do lead policy on a number of issues; it’s a slow and laborious process. You seem to want them to become a single issue party and doom themselves to irrelevance, and won’t be happy until they do so, but that isn’t the party they are, and that is a good thing.
I am very aware of “political reality”. The world is heating up dangerously. That is a reality.
A reality that every political party including the Green Party has to prioritise if millions are not to die and whole eco-systems are not to be wiped out.
If the Greens are not prepared to prioritise this ‘existential’ threat then they are not really a Green Party, they are just another mainstream social democratic party. (Maybe a little further left than Labour).
Of course I know that is not what you meant, by use of the term “political reality”. What you meant, is the so called “Pragmatic” decision every third party is called to make. Whether or not to compromise principle to get a place at the table.
Look, usually this doesn’t end up well. Lib Dems and Conservatives in the UK, Maori Party and National, the Alliance and Labour. And so it will be for the Green Party.
All the evidence is that a Shearer led administration is committed to carry on with opening up the Denniston Plateau to strip mine it of coal for export to China, to deep sea oil drilling to fracking, and more motorway expansion. All of which will exponentially increase this country’s CO2 emissions. The Green Party will never recover if they a part of a government committed to these “realities”.
Political reality may allow Green Party compromise, but reality, reality won’t.
No, you don’t understand what I meant.
You sneer at pragmatism, as if sticking to a purist line is a political possibility. It isn’t. At the moment the greens are getting about 10 % support.
There is a window within which political parties can operate in a democracy. The boundaries of that window are determined by the electorate. If a political party steps out of that window, they cease to have any influence.
You seem to think that not having any influence is better than having some.
That is not a serious position. It’s childish.
The task of a political party is to effect policy change. That must be done within the window of what people will accept. Because democracy. It is the task of NGOs and activists and academics and others to move the window. Political parties can’t do it.
That’s not ‘pragmatism’ it’s reality.
If the people shift, the politicians will be forced to follow.
“Why do you want to know, do you want to conduct a purge of your own?”
That was nasty. I asked because I suspected that you were referring to GP members who comment here and I thought you might be misrepresenting their views. Your repeated equivocation furthers my suspicion that you are skewing the GP policies and actions because of your obsession about CC.
You may call it obsession but it may be what is required.
Better to be obsessed than deliberately decide to ignore it.
With the climate disintegrating. Our political leaders arguing about the arrangement of the deck chairs. IMO pathalogical. Bordering on obsessive compulsive disorder.
Neither I nor the GP have decided to deliberately ignore CC. That’s been proven to you in recent days. You insist on repeatedly distorting the truth. I think that is a highly flawed strategy. You could still lobby for action on CC without doing that.
Politicians may be rearranging the deck chairs, but you are arguing for changing course once we’ve already hit the iceberg. Just as crazy.
The Green Party can’t look at climate change too closely because that would involve asking whether capitalism is ecologically sustainable.
That is a question they have avoided since they were formed, in fact it could be argued they exist to muddy the waters and make sure it is not asked.
Thats almost dead center!
“That is a question they have avoided since they were formed,”
More likely is that many Greens are aware of the inherent incompatibility between capitalism and ecological sustainability, but choose to not focus on it because they want the Greens to be a successful political party.
The other option is open honesty about the state of the world and zero MPs. How would that help? Serious question. I’d like to know how you see it working for a political party to tell the truth about the world and be effective as a party.
If you have followed my comments you will be aware that I have tried to popularise the example of Winston Churchill. Churchill once convinced of the danger never compromised one bit in his opposition to fascism, despite being a back bench MP, despite getting into parlliament as an independent, with no caucus at all to support him.
He just never shut up. And kept telling the truth to everyone he met in any forum he was given.
From a minority position he won over the whole of parliament.
That is true leadership. This is the historic mission of the Green Party if they chose to accept it.
Jenny one would suggest all green voter and member are climate change acceptors way way ahead of the curve and as thing become obvious then gradually the rest adopt this belief or position. My gentleman farmer granddad knew before you probably that something climatic was up and in his later years took to the Internet read read and went from Tory blue to labour red. He even praised HC.
He fought for freedom and would have be agasped at any attempt to silent well though out opinion or argument. Freedom is our last bastion.
The other example I like to give of winning over the whole of parliament from a minority position is that of the New Zealand Labour Party in 1984. Though in opposition the Labour Party became the centre of organising against nuclear ship visits. LECs mobilised their members and to protests and printed leaflets and distributed bumper stickers. In parliament Labour MPs debated with and condemned the National Party for supporting nuclear ship visits.
Eventually they moved two National MPs to vote for an opposition bill to ban nuclear ship visits, (put up, by of all people, Richard Prebble). To prevent the vote being put Muldoon called a snap election.
Strangely when in government things changed, The Labour government achieved what Muldoon couldn’t putting off the vote for another three years, even agreeing a year after getting into office to let a (possibly), nuclear armed warship the USS Buchanan visit New Zealand. A visit that had to be canceled after Nicky Hager met with David Lange in the Beehive and threatened mass protests.
The lesson here is that sometimes a political party is more powerful in opposition, particularly if they stay close to their grass roots membership and don’t betray their principles.
Nuclear weapons free is a completely different issue. CC is big and scarey and requires radical changes to society, including alot of personal sacrifice. Nuclear weapons free legislation was relatively easy to support as it didn’t affect people in their day to day lives.
You left the role of the peace movement out of your story.
The other place your example falls down on is that Labour had to form govt to pass the legislation. They didn’t remain a glorified lobby group.
re the Churchill example, I don’t believe you can manufacture such people or circumstances. Do you see any one person in NZ politics who is the equivalent of Churchill?
Cunliffe comes closest, he has got the talent, he has got the knowledge, he has got the experience.
But has he got the bulldog spirit?
I must admit. He has been a bit quiet of late. Has he been intimidated? Or is he just biding his time? Or is it that no opportunity has presented itself to him to speak out. (I think it would be great if he made a statement of the gagging of Colonial Viper. But that is just my opinion.)
Maybe the Green Party could invite David Cunliffe to one of their meetings to deliver one of his famous addresses on climate change and the economy.
He’s “a bit quiet of late” because he is operating under a full gag order from David Shearer.
There was a press conference from Shearer a little while ago explaining it.
‘
Why won’t the Greens call an all party inquiry into climate change?
Goodness knows they have got cause to.
What are the Greens waiting for, till this happens to us?
Jenny, have you asked the GP to call for an all-party inquiry into CC?
What if I have?
Jenny I’m assuming you haven’t, but was giving you the benefit of the doubt. But if you have, what did they say?
Currently in a few Green party policy groups.
Maximising environmental and social sustainability is the overriding principle in all Green party policy. I do not think Green members are going to let the parliamentary team give it up, even if they wanted to, which I doubt.
.
And. Unlike the other parties, Greens use membership consensus to set policy.
Well change is coming to the mighty LP too so we can bind the caucus to solid policy remits from our policy groups…well hopefully.
“Reports Warn Europe Is Nearing Irreversible Threat From Catastrophic Climate Change”
Jenny 12
That Common Dreams link you put up was very descriptive of the plight of the low income people in USA. I was taken by that piece you quoted about the elite retreating into self-contained gated communities. Devil take the hindmost.
I have this feeling that the wealthy in NZ are getting all the money possible salted away before everything goes pear-shaped. And our pollies cannot find in their DNA the early Labour commitment to doing something to help the country and people rather than fill their time with personalities which are just ways of passing time.
Exactly that’s why we need to win in 2014 but also win with the correct plan.
Here’s the trailer for Chasing Ice and a news piece on the movie.
Meanwhile Doha winds down to another last minute agreement which takes us apparently nowhere further on tackling Climate Change – the US runs interference on pretty much everything, China and Eastern Europe grimly hold on to their “developing nation” status and “hot gas” exemptions, “damage aid” is agreed for poorer countries but no liability is accepted by rich countries, no mechanism to collect and pay out is put in place and no agreement on where the money will come from.
“Our” Government’s meaningless response looks to the long term – presumably when they’ve all retired and taken all the profits and left the mess to someone else.
I’d have to agree with Greenpeace that Doha “failed to live up to even the historically low expectations”.
And here is the take from The Guardian.
I have a love hate relationship with The Standard. I am pretty middle of the road when it comes to political opinion, I am a pragmatist as opposed to avowed leftist/righty which generally puts me at odds with the status quo (both here and at Kiwiblog).
That said, I respect the idea that opinion should be broadcast no matter how much it disagrees with your own politics.
If you have to muzzle your opponent you have already lost. I look forward to the return of CV so we can argue each other again.
Oh ColonialContrarian shelve that anger and feel the love. Put your Sgt. Peppers album on and chill when the hate overflows onto your keyboard.
I’m sure CV is missing you too even though it must get boring for him always winning the debate with you 😉
You make a good point about the muzzle business.
To fight the war against Climate Change leadership is necessary.
Where will this leadership come from?
When it comes to Climate Change. Doesn’t this strange paradox of dithering, procrastination, of half measures, of soothing and expedience and delays, describe our present parliament, both government and opposition. Especially when we have entered a period of dangerous consequences.
Currently now that the apologists and Ignorers of climate change are dominant, one each, in two of the major parties in parliament. And the Greens are busy tailoring their party to fit with this paradigm.
The big political question is:
Who will be New Zealand’s Climate Churchill?
“The Climate Pearl Harbors and Polands are here. The Climate Churchills and FDRs aren’t.”
Could Russel Norman be this Climate Change Churchill?
Could anyone else hiding in the Green Party caucus be keeping their light under a bushel?
In my opinon the closest we have to a Climate Churchill in our parliament is David Cunliffe.
In my opinion Cunliffe’s treatment at the hands of the Shearer gang could also be seen as a warning shot across the bows of the Green Party…..
‘Raise the issue of climate change at your cost.’