Archive for September, 2016
On the whiner’s excuse “but we are so small”
Written By: - Date published: 9:07 am, September 6th, 2016 - 20 comments
Damon over at civicanalysis wrote an interesting post over the weekend “How New Zealand can help save the world” (and then pointed my attention to it đ ). It looks at what we can do to structurally alleviate climate change. But also looked at some of the economic benefits
Can a national park be a person?
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, September 6th, 2016 - 17 comments
While New Zealand trashes its water and argues over whether we are allow to say ‘dairy cow’ at the same time, this 1 min video on The Guardian Facebook page about the Rights of Nature in NZ gets 2.4 million views
Key: Kiwis are lazy drug users
Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, September 6th, 2016 - 197 comments
John Key let the mask slip yesterday – as he said that we needed immigrant labour even for unskilled work because of the work ethic and drug use of New Zealand workers.  That’s how he sees normal Kiwis, but actually maybe they just need proper pay & conditions.
Open Mike 06/09/2016
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, September 6th, 2016 - 63 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 âŠ
Little’s Big Parliamentary ‘Member’
Written By: - Date published: 11:18 pm, September 5th, 2016 - 32 comments
Andrew Little fully fronts up.
Daily Review 05/09/2016
Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, September 5th, 2016 - 17 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).  Donât forget to be kind to each other âŠ
Kevin Hague to leave Parliament
Written By: - Date published: 5:28 pm, September 5th, 2016 - 26 comments
In breaking news Kevin Hague has announced that he is to leave Parliament to head Forest and Bird.
Take the power back
Written By: - Date published: 10:26 am, September 5th, 2016 - 49 comments
The Jobs That Count campaign isnât just about Talley’s AFFCO. Itâs about getting local councils that work for all of us and make sure that the big businesses in our communities give back to us.
Will Shane Jones stand for NZ First in Whangarei?
Written By: - Date published: 9:08 am, September 5th, 2016 - 53 comments
Rumours suggesting that Shane Jones will stand for New Zealand First in Whangarei at the next election have resurfaced.
Open Mike 05/09/2016
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, September 5th, 2016 - 90 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 âŠ
The Mayoral candidates and the living wage proposal
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, September 4th, 2016 - 29 comments
I attended the Living Wage People’s assembly this week in St Matthews in the City.  The idea behind the meeting was to get Mayoral and Waitemata ward candidates to express their views on the living wage proposal as well as improved public transport services and rental accommodation standards.  The organiser was Living Wage Aotearoa who have been […]
Open Mike 04/09/2016
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, September 4th, 2016 - 90 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 âŠ
Festival of Dangerous Ideas
Written By: - Date published: 10:06 am, September 3rd, 2016 - 8 comments
The Festival of Dangerous Ideas (FODI) brings leading thinkers and culture creators from around the world to the Sydney Opera House stages and online to discuss and debate the important ideas of our time.
Close the camps Australia
Written By: - Date published: 7:53 am, September 3rd, 2016 - 29 comments
A protest is planned today in Auckland against Wilson’s Parking for its parent company’s management of the Nauru and Manus Island refugee detention centre.
Open Mike 03/09/2016
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, September 3rd, 2016 - 72 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 âŠ
Daily Review 02/09/2016
Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, September 2nd, 2016 - 15 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). Donât forget to be kind to each other âŠ
Women wearing clothes
Written By: - Date published: 1:26 pm, September 2nd, 2016 - 109 comments
In France and Italy there have been recent examples of men telling women what they can and cannot wear.
Disturbing.
Written By: - Date published: 11:12 am, September 2nd, 2016 - 14 comments
Given the topic of this post, it seems appropriate not to attach an image.
Only unsustainable net migration fuels “growth”
Written By: - Date published: 10:22 am, September 2nd, 2016 - 107 comments
Our National dipshit ministers have decided to start a new growth industry. They importing low-skilled to extract their savings, using them to generate artificial heat in the service economy and to slow wage growth. On the way through they’re also screwing the housing market. Our current net permanent long-term migration is completely unsustainable. Perhaps it is time to vote NZ First?
Open Mike 02/09/2016
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, September 2nd, 2016 - 112 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 âŠ
World Water Week
Written By: - Date published: 11:18 am, September 1st, 2016 - 11 comments
Never heard of it? Neither had I.
Democracy doesn’t belong to government…
Written By: - Date published: 11:14 am, September 1st, 2016 - 78 comments
42 years on, Norman Kirk’s words and work remain a beacon.
Aussie gets its first federal Aboriginal woman MP
Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, September 1st, 2016 - 3 comments
Linda Burney, the newly elected MP for Barton, gave an historic, powerful maiden speech yesterday. I enter this place as a representative of the people of Barton, a community I have been proud to live in for almost 20 years. If there is a god of demography it is one of his great ironies that […]
European Union v Apple and the US
Written By: - Date published: 8:02 am, September 1st, 2016 - 49 comments
And in Europe the EU has taken steps against Apple for rampant tax evasion and an EU-US free trade deal appears to be dead.
Water quality too important for bird-brained excuses
Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, September 1st, 2016 - 59 comments
Nick Smith’s latest excuse for inaction on water quality is birds. Yes birds. You couldn’t make this shit up.
For a dose of blessed sanity, watch the (10 min) webcast by Dr Mike Joy explaining what the real problem is.
Open Mike 01/09/2016
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, September 1st, 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 âŠ
- Israel orders patients, staff to âevacuateâ 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 contributorâs analysis. COMMENTARY: By Tess Newton Cain Vanuatuâs 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 Elbaâs 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 Leoneâs capital, Freetown, is celebrated as a city founded to resettle freed slaves in ...6 days ago
- From a colonial hill town to Idris Elbaâs 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 Leoneâs capital, Freetown, is celebrated as a city founded to resettle freed slaves in ...6 days ago
- âYouâll love it, but youâll hate itâ: Christian Cullen on becoming CTIâs 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 itâs 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 â Karen Chhour
âPeople comment a lot on how emotional I am.âThe childrenâs minister says sheâs always been an emotional person. Itâs her way of coping with trauma.âBecause 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 Yearâs 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
- âGrossly misleading to me and to the countryâ: 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 donât 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 â and mulls her own life decisions in the process. ...6 days ago
- Remembering Young George, the barber who cut Aucklandâs 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, âYoungâ 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 Elbaâs 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 Leoneâs capital, Freetown, is celebrated as a city founded to resettle freed slaves in ...6 days ago
- âSuspend Israel tiesâ plea to global medical professionals â Auckland hospital protest vigil o...
Asia Pacific Report The UNâs Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, has called on âmedical professionals worldwideâ to suspend ties with Israel in an act of solidarity with the more than â1000 colleagues of yoursâ 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 PÄti MÄori and architect of WhÄnau Ora will be remembered as a skilled political tactician who dedicated her life to the wellbeing of MÄori, 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 wÄhine 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
- âCrime against journalismâ: Gaza journalists slam PAâs Al Jazeera ban
By Maram Humaid in Deir el-Balah, Gaza Journalists gathered at Gazaâs Al-Aqsa Martyrsâ Hospital expressed outrage and confusion about the Palestinian Authorityâs (PA) decision to shut down Al Jazeeraâs office in the occupied West Bank. âShutting down a major outlet like Al Jazeera is a crime against journalism,â said freelance ...7 days ago
- Katrina Mitchell-Kouttab: The Palestine tragedy â why it should matter to you and our world
Report by Dr David Robie – CafĂ© 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 ânot qualifiedâ 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 PÄti MÄori co-founder was recognised for her commitment to MÄori. ...7 days 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
- âOne of the most important species for scienceâ: 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 minutesâ drive north of Geraldton, on Australiaâs west coast, lies a hill ...1 week ago
- Summer holidays havenât 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 â but not without funding...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Francesca Storey, Deputy Director Te TÄtai Hauora o Hine â National Centre for Womenâs Health Research Aotearoa, Te Herenga Waka â 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 peopleâs 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 â 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. Thatâs where âflow 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 Australiaâs 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 NZâs 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 â Victoria University of Wellington View of KororÄreka in the Bay of Islands, 1845, by George Thomas Clayton. via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY New Zealandâs 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 Youâre standing at the centre of an expansive art gallery, overwhelmed by whatâs in front of you: panel after panel of stupendous works â densely-written labels affixed next to each piece. These labels may offer ...1 week ago
- Te PÄti MÄori co-founder Dame Tariana Turia dies
Dame Tariana Turia has died aged 80 in Whangaehu overnight.The founder and former co-leader of Te PÄti MÄori 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
- DoCâs 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: Vanceâs memoir more relevant than ever
Opinion: When it was first published in 2016, JD Vanceâs Hillbilly Elegy was hailed by Britainâs Sunday Times as âthe political book of the yearâ. The Independent described it as âan insight into Trump and Brexitâ.Hillbilly Elegy is an autobiographical account of Vanceâs life, growing up in a poor, white ...1 week ago
- Positive sports fandom: netball fans show the way
Sport is a place where ârealâ fans are often assumed to be men. Global research tells us that female fans of live menâs sport often face misogynistic and homophobic environments that include swearing, drunkenness and yelling negative comments and abuse at opponents and referees. In menâs sport, a quick skim through ...1 week ago
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