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Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 2:28 pm, February 13th, 2025
My understanding is that it had to be closed (as in no staff access, let alone public access) as it had the same structural issues that caused the StatsNZ building to pancake. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/200m-problem-why-is-wellingtons-central-library- ...Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 1:36 pm, February 13th, 2025
If the library needed restoration (because of risk of catastrophic failure in an earthquake) - then it could not have been occupied while assessment and planning went on. If it's not safe, then it's not safe. If it's safe to occupy, then the rebuild was ...Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 12:05 pm, February 10th, 2025
I can't understand how someone with poor, or minimal English can effectively set up and operate a business in NZ. Which is the only reason that wealthy investors should be prioritized.Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 12:00 pm, February 10th, 2025
Really not supporting this, or Erica Sanford's recently announced revision of the requirements for the wealthy investor category for NZ citizenship. It seems to me as though the wealthy category is very hit-or-miss when it comes to considering the benefit ...Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 9:55 am, February 10th, 2025
IIRC, Green was one of the 8 congresspeople who opposed the resolution supporting Israel following the Hamas attack. He has a very long history of pro-Palestinian views. It would be more remarkable to showcase Republicans, or hawkish Democrats condemning ...Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 9:49 am, February 10th, 2025
Your 'reason for suspicion' appears to be that they are (or have been) IDF personnel. Anything else would require an in-depth investigation - which is way outside the remit of our police force. It's simply another way to attempt to ban Israelis from ...Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 9:46 am, February 10th, 2025
I think that you're the one getting ahead of yourself. There is no 'reasonable evidence' that any individual Israeli soldier has committed war crimes, when they apply for a NZ visa, and visit this country as a tourist. It would require an in-depth ...Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 10:10 am, February 6th, 2025
Well, unless they plan on depopulating it in perpetuity (somewhat at odds with the 'Riviera' image) - then people will be present. And guerillas have lots of history of blending in with the population in order to attack.Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 10:06 am, February 6th, 2025
The Treasury has said that Krause part of the DOGE 'team' has only access to the 'coded' part of the data. The letter stated that Tom Krause, a member of Musk's DOGE team who has been brought in as a Treasury Department employee, will "have read-only ...Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 9:48 am, February 6th, 2025
For your equivalence to work, you'd have to have Netanyahu presenting the leader of Hamas (or Qatar, if you insist on a state leader) with the golden pager. I highly doubt that any US citizens were affected by the pager explosions.Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 9:45 am, February 6th, 2025
I would regard this as an insane plan (if plan it is, and not just grandstanding). I can't think of anything more doomed to failure than an American occupation force in Gaza. The British learned this in the early part of the 20th century, when both Jews ...Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 9:40 am, February 6th, 2025
But once you add family income as a variable. No! State integrated schools and charter schools in NZ do not perform better than State schools. Can you link to any evidence for this? It doesn't seem to be borne out by the MoE data in the EQI (replacing ...Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 9:18 am, February 6th, 2025
Yes. Just note the long tail reaching secondary school illiterate. Who were at primary during the last National Governments "unfortunate experiment" in education. Forcing Teachers into a strait jacket after they canned the Clark Governments evidence based ...Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 9:07 am, February 6th, 2025
Lastly. State schools would perform a lot better, if we could teach as we are taught to teach, with evidence based pedagogy and with regard to learners needs. Instead of having to follow particularly National Governments”one size fits all” nostalgia for ...Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 9:27 am, February 5th, 2025
"Limit funds to New Zealand citizens only with all donations not membership fees disclosed (they will still use fund-raising events to hide donations)." I'd support requiring that fundraising events (over about $20 pp - so excluding sausage sizzles) - have ...Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 9:21 am, February 5th, 2025
If you struggle with differing viewpoints, then you are likely to find a political blog a ... challenging ... place. I've been commenting on the need for phonics-based reading education in NZ on TS, for quite some time. Based on the overwhelming ...Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 9:11 am, February 5th, 2025
The Reading Recovery programme in NZ has been anything but successful over the last 2 decades. Just witness the long tail of children who are reaching secondary school as functionally illiterate. Most of which have failed to learn in the classroom, and ...Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 5:40 pm, February 4th, 2025
Not sure where this is coming from.... The one area that they have mandated is phonics-based reading - and all of the international research is with them, there. They've also set minimum standards for the amount of 'basics (reading, writing, maths) which ...Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 5:29 pm, February 4th, 2025
I believe that Trump had already comprehensively demonstrated that over Panama.Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 5:23 pm, February 4th, 2025
And if not there, who will stand for us in Wellington? History of trade disputes tell us that no one (among the powerful nations) will stand up for us. Did the EU tell France to back off over the threatened trade sanctions following the Rainbow Warrior? I ...Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 5:18 pm, February 4th, 2025
Just go on digging. Those 'dumb' people have just as much voting power as the 'smart' ones you profess to admire. And, by alienating them, you pretty much guarantee they won't vote for you (as in the wider left you --there is zero chance any of them will ...Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 2:51 pm, February 4th, 2025
I don't think that holds true. Darlene Tana 'lawyered up' against the GP - although, again, name suppression was pretty much irrelevant - since her name was in the media before the issue went to court (indeed, I don't know if it's gone to court yet) What I ...Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 2:42 pm, February 4th, 2025
It would be interesting to know at what point the police informed ACT that they were actively investigating Jago. Obviously the investigation commenced sometime between the beginning of November, and January 19th when he was arrested.Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 2:30 pm, February 4th, 2025
It does seem to me, that if you have wealth and power, if you choose to apply for name suppression - (and your association with the case is not already a matter of public knowledge, via the NZ media) then the courts are highly likely to grant it. To take a ...Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 2:16 pm, February 4th, 2025
And attitudes like that from the Left is why US voters support Trump. Describing people as 'dumb' because you disagree with their politics, is not precisely the brightest way to treat people. If you (as in the Left - including the Democrats in the US) ...Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 12:49 pm, February 4th, 2025
So, are the other countries prepared to increase their contributions to make up the difference? It seems.... unlikely..... Especially with the rise in right-wing (and potentially isolationist) regimes in many of the larger contributers. Germany for example ...Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 12:42 pm, February 4th, 2025
Well, so far the 'State' has shown minimal ability to learn from any source in education. I have zero confidence that they will do so. More importantly, those parents who have kids who are falling through the cracks have zero confidence in state education. ...Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 12:30 pm, February 4th, 2025
AFAICS, Trump is not proposing to close the border, 'just' to increase tariffs. Which would make those automotive parts more expensive to source from Mexico (I'm not sure of Canada's contribution here). In the short term Ford, GM, etc - will scream bloody ...Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 11:59 am, February 4th, 2025
And the other countries are going to double or triple their contributions - to make up for the loss in funding? https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/secre_e/budget_e/budget2024_member_contribution_e.pdf Don't see it happening myself..... Shooting the goose ...Written By: Belladonna - Date published: 11:54 am, February 4th, 2025
Go right ahead. I think you are vastly under-estimating just how much the US contributes to the UN and other international support organizations. Look at WHO funding, for example: https://www.statista.com/chart/33800/top-contributors-to-the-world-health- ...
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