Archive for May, 2016
Open mike 12/05/2016
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 12th, 2016 - 119 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Daily Review 11/05/2016
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 pm, May 11th, 2016 - 25 comments
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don’t forget to be kind to each other …
Key thrown out of Parliament
Written By: - Date published: 3:01 pm, May 11th, 2016 - 138 comments
John Key was given his marching order from the House today for repeatedly disobeying the speaker.
Talley’s don’t want you to read this
Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, May 11th, 2016 - 14 comments
The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions has just launched its new digital campaigning site – Together
And their first campaign is focused on Talley’s
Silencing scientists integral to National’s anti-science DNA
Written By: - Date published: 1:34 pm, May 11th, 2016 - 40 comments
“It’s gone too far. The spin and message control has got stronger. They are less willing to put scientists out there to talk to the public because of the inability to control the message” – Shaun Hendy.
Fairfax and NZME and merger talks on
Written By: - Date published: 9:57 am, May 11th, 2016 - 13 comments
As previously discussed here, bad for the media, bad for democracy.
Key lashes out with the smears over tax haven status
Written By: - Date published: 9:36 am, May 11th, 2016 - 122 comments
Key was disgraceful in parliament yesterday, doing his buffoon act to try and trivialise the tax haven issue, and lashing out with the smears.
Random impertinent question: Why did Cameron get diversion?
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, May 11th, 2016 - 32 comments
Why did the police offer Cameron Slater the soft option of diversion when he doesn’t qualify?
Random impertinent question: Did Cameron breach his own name suppression order?
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, May 11th, 2016 - 7 comments
Has Cameron Slater created legal history by being a party to the breach of his own name suppression order?
Hickey on Housing data
Written By: - Date published: 7:16 am, May 11th, 2016 - 26 comments
“Mr Hickey said the actual figure for foreigners buying homes here could be anywhere between 3 and 48 percent.”
Open mike 11/05/2016
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 11th, 2016 - 143 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Daily Review 10/05/2016
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 pm, May 10th, 2016 - 59 comments
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don’t forget to be kind to each other …
I don’t “own” The Standard
Written By: - Date published: 5:20 pm, May 10th, 2016 - 44 comments
Can I point out to the media, Cameron Slater, and for that matter the legal dimwits at the West Auckland site Lauda Finem. I don’t own The Standard. I haven’t even owned the domain name for more than 6 years. I used to own the domain up until 2010. But that was signed over in that year to be the property of The Standard Trust.
The plot to hack The Standard
Written By: - Date published: 4:11 pm, May 10th, 2016 - 128 comments
As reported by Newshub: “Slater sought a court order to keep his name and the details of this case secret forever. However Newshub and others, including the owner of The Standard, fought him in court and won.”
APN Fairfax NZ merger?
Written By: - Date published: 9:31 am, May 10th, 2016 - 20 comments
A healthy democracy requires a healthy media, and in NZ both are getting sicker.
Sprung again – Key’s “lawyer” has close links to Mossack Fonseca
Written By: - Date published: 8:01 am, May 10th, 2016 - 170 comments
Contrary to Prime Minister John Key’s categorical assertion, his “lawyer”, Ken Whitney, has been found to have links to Mossack Fonseca, the Panama law firm at the centre of a global scandal on tax evasion and avoidance, TVNZ reported today.
John Key vs the world
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, May 10th, 2016 - 22 comments
Is John Key the only international leader defending tax havens? Includes bonus international media round up of yesterday’s revelations.
Key’s Lawyer is a Mossack Man
Written By: - Date published: 6:44 am, May 10th, 2016 - 50 comments
Despite the PM’s assurances, it turns out the his lawyer had direct links to Mossack Fonseca. And so did everyone else in the room when Todd McClay was successfully convinced to drop the IRD review into foreign trust. Someone’s been telling porkies …
Open mike 10/05/2016
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 10th, 2016 - 119 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Broken
Written By: - Date published: 8:35 pm, May 9th, 2016 - 253 comments
The Standard is broken. We are not a safe place for women. How do we fix that?
Daily Review 09/06/2016
Written By: - Date published: 5:59 pm, May 9th, 2016 - 16 comments
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don’t forget to be kind to each other …
The link between tax havens, criminals and the amoral rich
Written By: - Date published: 2:23 pm, May 9th, 2016 - 162 comments
“The Panama Papers issue is either illegal, or verging on illegal, it’s tax evasion, rather than tax avoidance,” Brash said.
Logging truck roll overs meeting: Otaika Valley Hall tomorrow night!
Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, May 9th, 2016 - 19 comments
A fully laden logging truck tears up the road like thousands of cars. And when they keep rolling over around the corner, locals get very nervous and upset for themselves and their kids.
John Key chickens out of #panamapapers interview
Written By: - Date published: 8:31 am, May 9th, 2016 - 37 comments
This morning John Key refused to be interviewed on Radio New Zealand after learning that they intended to ask him questions about the Panama Papers. And some elements of the media are for some strange reason trying to say there is nothing to see because he personally has not been implicated.
NZ exporting poverty
Written By: - Date published: 8:23 am, May 9th, 2016 - 15 comments
By enabling tax evasion for the rich in other (notably South American) countries NZ is exporting poverty. It’s all perfectly legal. And that’s exactly the problem.
Sprung! New Panama Papers dump confirm NZ is a tax haven
Written By: - Date published: 7:33 am, May 9th, 2016 - 277 comments
A new release of Panama papers absolutely confirms New Zealand is a tax haven says Nicky Hager. And ironically, it is because of New Zealand’s squeaky clean reputation that tens of thousands of foreigners have come flooding here.
Rather than actually dealing with the issue, John Key is using his old classics “nothing to see here” coupled with “Labour did it too”, “nicky hager is a conspiracy nut”, and “wait for the (Shewan) whitewash enquiry” defenses.
Open mike 09/05/2016
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 9th, 2016 - 51 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
In Defense of Tony Veitch.
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 pm, May 8th, 2016 - 174 comments
I was asked by trp to respond to his post earlier today separately. I’ll start by re-quoting a comment from Anne: I can vouch for the truth of that statement. That is not to degrade the ever present ‘intimate’ violence perpetrated by men against women and children. However women are just as capable of performing […]
Panama Papers whistleblower cites Pacific isles, NZ, for good reasons
Written By: - Date published: 6:37 pm, May 8th, 2016 - 23 comments
Jurgen Mossack told Field his business involved people “trying to avoid paying taxes in their home countries” – crucially “avoidance”, “unlike evasion”, is within the law.
Why we need to support Medical Cannabis Awareness NZ
Written By: - Date published: 6:08 pm, May 8th, 2016 - 24 comments
A new charity has been set up to use GiveALittle to raise funds for people who have been granted access to a medial cannabis product – and then they can’t afford them. I don’t want these people missing out on what I am getting from this drug. It works. Help them
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Tony Veitch: I’m the Real Victim Here.
Written By: - Date published: 12:05 pm, May 8th, 2016 - 137 comments
Domestic abuser Tony Veitch has written a self absorbed piece about how domestic abuser Tony Veitch is better now. Good on domestic abuser Tony Veitch!
UPDATE: Veitch’s victim’s father calls for a real apology.
- Israel orders patients, staff to ‘evacuate’ last two hospitals in northern Gaza siege
Asia Pacific Report Israel is forcing two hospitals in northern Gaza to evacuate under threat of attack as its ethnic cleansing campaign continues. Israeli forces have surrounded the Indonesian Hospital, where many staff and patients sought shelter after nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital was destroyed in an Israeli raid last week, ...6 days ago - Pacific 2025: Vanuatu quake, Tongan and Kanaky shakeups, Trump questions set tone for coming year
Navigating the shared challenges of climate change, geostrategic tensions, political upheaval, disaster recovery and decolonisation plus a 50th birthday party, reports a BenarNews contributor’s analysis. COMMENTARY: By Tess Newton Cain Vanuatu’s devastating earthquake and dramatic political developments in Tonga and New Caledonia at the end of 2024 set the tone ...6 days ago
- From a colonial hill town to Idris Elba’s island masterplan: what do these Sierra Leone developmen...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milo Gough, Lecturer in History, University of Manchester An artist’s impression of Idris Elba’s planned eco-city, Sherbro Island City. Greenfield Planners Sdn Bhd / Sherbro Alliance Partners Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, is celebrated as a city founded to resettle freed slaves in ...6 days ago
- From a colonial hill town to Idris Elba’s island masterplan: what two Sierra Leone developments a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milo Gough, Lecturer in History, University of Manchester An artist’s impression of Idris Elba’s planned eco-city, Sherbro Island City. Greenfield Planners Sdn Bhd / Sherbro Alliance Partners Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, is celebrated as a city founded to resettle freed slaves in ...6 days ago
- ‘You’ll love it, but you’ll hate it’: Christian Cullen on becoming CTI’s most unlikely sta...
Summer reissue: Former All Black and recent Celebrity Treasure Island castaway Christian Cullen looks back on his life in TV. First published October 12, 2024. Every season of Celebrity Treasure Island brings with it a surprise breakout star, and often it’s the person you know the least about or have ...6 days ago - Mike Johnson elected speaker of US House as Trump’s Republicans unite behind him
Two Republican opponents switched their votes to support him after more than half an hour of negotiations. ...6 days ago - My emotion is my strength – Karen Chhour
“People comment a lot on how emotional I am.”The children’s minister says she’s always been an emotional person. It’s her way of coping with trauma.“Because if you bottle that up it turns into something quite nasty, right? It turns into anger, it turns into frustration, and you start to look ...6 days ago - Anne Salmond: Hunger Games in the Beehive
Comment: There are times when fiction anticipates life, and dystopian nightmares become real.Who would have thought that in New Zealand, a relatively wealthy country that was once proudly egalitarian, a version of The Hunger Games would play out?That a government would cut thousands of jobs, deny desperate families emergency food ...6 days ago
- The Secret Diary of .. New Year’s Resolutions
Christopher LuxonWell, what I’d say to you about my New Year’s resolutions is that this year is going to be better than the last, probably, I mean I should think there’s a good chance of that happening, an even chance, there’s a narrow window, the odds are against us but ...6 days ago
- ‘Grossly misleading to me and to the country’: the Lange-Douglas letters, unearthed
Summer reissue: The meltdown in the relationship between the key players in the fourth Labour government can be charted in an extraordinary exchange of correspondence. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and ...6 days ago
- How many goddamn words should I be saying to my baby?
Summer reissue: I read yet another study about toddlers, screen time and language development, and it sent me off the deep end. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to ...6 days ago
- What it takes to be an Olympian, and why you don’t have it
Summer reissue: This year Tori Peeters competed at the Paris Olympics in the javelin. Ten years ago, Madeleine Chapman thought she might be in the same position. She talks to Peeters about what it takes to go all the way – and mulls her own life decisions in the process. ...6 days ago
- Remembering Young George, the barber who cut Auckland’s hair forever
Summer reissue: He earned 5c for his first cut in 1955, and $35 for his last in March. Duncan Greive recalls the life of his late barber, ‘Young’ George Dyas, who never stopped snipping. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these ...6 days ago
- Daily crossword, Saturday 4 January
The post Daily crossword, Saturday 4 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...6 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Saturday 4 January
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Saturday 4 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...6 days ago
- From a colonial hill town to Idris Elba’s island masterplan, what can two Sierra Leone development...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milo Gough, Lecturer in History, University of Manchester An artist’s impression of Idris Elba’s planned eco-city, Sherbro Island City. Greenfield Planners Sdn Bhd / Sherbro Alliance Partners Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, is celebrated as a city founded to resettle freed slaves in ...6 days ago
- ‘Suspend Israel ties’ plea to global medical professionals – Auckland hospital protest vigil o...
Asia Pacific Report The UN’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, has called on “medical professionals worldwide” to suspend ties with Israel in an act of solidarity with the more than “1000 colleagues of yours” killed in Gaza over the past 14 months. Countless ...6 days ago
- A politician for the people: Dame Tariana Turia, 1944-2025
The co-founder of Te Pāti Māori and architect of Whānau Ora will be remembered as a skilled political tactician who dedicated her life to the wellbeing of Māori, writes Miriama Aoake. Part of the hesitation of entering politics for any sane person is surely compromise. Compromise is essential in the ...7 days ago
- Honouring Kahurangi Tariana Turia:
...7 days ago - ‘She believed in people’ – Tributes from across political parties for Dame Tariana...
A stern but loving auntie, a woman of unshakeable principle, the very definition of a wāhine toa - those are just a few of the tributes flooding in for Dame Tariana Turia. ...7 days ago
- A year in The House: Law and order, deregulation and repeal
In its first year this Parliament has passed 46 new laws, with another 37 underway. We outline some of the government's major changes. ...7 days ago
- ‘Crime against journalism’: Gaza journalists slam PA’s Al Jazeera ban
By Maram Humaid in Deir el-Balah, Gaza Journalists gathered at Gaza’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital expressed outrage and confusion about the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) decision to shut down Al Jazeera’s office in the occupied West Bank. “Shutting down a major outlet like Al Jazeera is a crime against journalism,” said freelance ...7 days ago
- Katrina Mitchell-Kouttab: The Palestine tragedy – why it should matter to you and our world
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Katrina Mitchell-Kouttab As 2024 came to a close and we have stepped into a new year overshadowed by ongoing atrocities, have you stopped to consider how these events are reshaping your world? Did you notice how your future ...7 days ago
- Cook Islands ‘not qualified’ for UN membership, says prime minister
By Talaia Mika of the Cook Islands News The Cook Islands will not pursue membership in the United Nations and the Commonwealth due to its inability to meet the criteria for UN membership and existing relationship with New Zealand, which fulfils Commonwealth membership requirements. Prime Minister Mark Brown has clarified ...7 days ago
- Obit: Dame Tariana Turia has died
The former Labour Party MP and Te Pāti Māori co-founder was recognised for her commitment to Māori. ...1 week ago
- Division, abuse and rates pain: Local politics year in review
A rising tide of abuse, escalating costs and the clash between central and local government - Marika Hill looks back at local politics in 2024. ...1 week ago
- Dame Tariana Turia has died
The former politician suffered a stroke earlier this week. ...1 week ago
- ‘One of the most important species for science’: how the humble fruit fly transformed 4 fields o...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ary Hoffmann, Professor, School of BioSciences and Bio21 Institute, The University of Melbourne Drosophila melanogaster. Deep Scope/Shutterstock The common fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster), more correctly called the vinegar fly, is a frequent visitor to ripe fruit in households around the world, where ...1 week ago
- Genius or charlatan? The strange tale of a 19th-century polymath who left a trail of controversy acr...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Ludewig, Professor and Head of the School of Humanities, The University of Western Australia The Burra Burra Mine, 1847. Samuel Thomas Gill / State Library of NSW About 20 minutes’ drive north of Geraldton, on Australia’s west coast, lies a hill ...1 week ago
- Summer holidays haven’t changed much since ancient Greece and Rome (except maybe the sand wrestlin...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Konstantine Panegyres, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, researching Greco-Roman antiquity, The University of Melbourne Imagine a summer holiday at a seaside resort, with days spent sunbathing, reading books, exploring nature and chatting with friends. Sounds like it could be anywhere in Australia or ...1 week ago
- The elimination of cervical cancer in NZ is within reach in our lifetime – but not without funding...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Francesca Storey, Deputy Director Te Tātai Hauora o Hine – National Centre for Women’s Health Research Aotearoa, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington After committing to a global plan to eliminate cervical cancer, New Zealand is lagging behind Australia and ...1 week ago
- Why do some people’s hair and nails grow quicker than mine?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Moscova, Adjunct Associate Professor, Anatomy, UNSW Sydney Jari Lobo/Pexels Throughout recorded history, our hair and nails played an important role in signifying who we are and our social status. You could say, they separate the caveman from businessman. It ...1 week ago
- Monarch butterflies are in decline in NZ and Australia – they need your help to track where they g...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Myron Zalucki, Professor in Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland Kathy Reid, CC BY-SA Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) appear to be declining not just in North America but also in Australiasia. Could this be a consequence of global change, including ...1 week ago
- Australia needs better ways of storing renewable electricity for later. That’s where ‘flow batte...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Skyllas-Kazacos, Professor Emeritus, School of Chemical Engineering, UNSW Sydney As more and more solar and wind energy enters Australia’s grid, we will need ways to store it for later. We can store electricity in several different ways, from pumped hydroelectric ...1 week ago
- Unlocking the past: how NZ’s first jail tells a complex story of colonial identity
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christine McCarthy, Senior Lecturer in Interior Architecture, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington View of Kororāreka in the Bay of Islands, 1845, by George Thomas Clayton. via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY New Zealand’s first jail was a simple affair, just ...1 week ago
- Is it important to read the explanatory labels next to artworks? We asked 5 experts
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Noor Gillani, Digital Culture Editor Shutterstock You’re standing at the centre of an expansive art gallery, overwhelmed by what’s in front of you: panel after panel of stupendous works – densely-written labels affixed next to each piece. These labels may offer ...1 week ago
- Te Pāti Māori co-founder Dame Tariana Turia dies
Dame Tariana Turia has died aged 80 in Whangaehu overnight.The founder and former co-leader of Te Pāti Māori suffered a stroke earlier this week and was said not to have long left.A press release from Te Ranga Tupua said she had died in the early hours of Friday morning. “A mother ...1 week ago
- DoC’s big donation drive gets mixed reviews
An $80 million subantarctic pest eradication project is being backed by a high-profile conservation charity targeting wealthy individuals.Since it was established in 2000, NZ Nature Fund has raised $5 million for project-specific conservation work, including $1.2 million over the past year. Projects, often managed by the Department of Conservation (DoC), ...1 week ago
- Rust Belt vs the beltway: Vance’s memoir more relevant than ever
Opinion: When it was first published in 2016, JD Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy was hailed by Britain’s Sunday Times as “the political book of the year”. The Independent described it as “an insight into Trump and Brexit”.Hillbilly Elegy is an autobiographical account of Vance’s life, growing up in a poor, white ...1 week ago
- Positive sports fandom: netball fans show the way
Sport is a place where ‘real’ fans are often assumed to be men. Global research tells us that female fans of live men’s sport often face misogynistic and homophobic environments that include swearing, drunkenness and yelling negative comments and abuse at opponents and referees. In men’s sport, a quick skim through ...1 week ago
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