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Comment: Open mike 02/12/2024
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 6:57 am, December 2nd, 2024
Try answering my question: what essential services are provided by those ministries? [TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.] [Hassling other ...Comment: END GAME
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 8:10 pm, December 1st, 2024
Selling off public assets to solve short-term financial problems is obviously not a sustainable strategy. What do you do when you've hocked off all the family silver? Key's sale of 49 % of our hydro capacity was a shocker, and created a precedent for ...Comment: END GAME
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 7:48 pm, December 1st, 2024
"Capitalism is incompatible with Democracy." Jeez, someone tell the Germans, the French, the Swedes, the Danes, the Dutch etc that they've been doing it wrong for decades. All of those countries are democracies that have a mixed economy i.e. a vigorous ...Comment: The 2024 US Election: A No-Win Scenario
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 8:51 pm, November 4th, 2024
Is NPR a reliable, politically neutral source? [yes. Stop trolling. And take a week off, the last thing we need this week is this particular combination of stupid and disingenuous. I suggest you up your game because you're heading for a long ban - weka]Comment: The 2024 US Election: A No-Win Scenario
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 8:12 pm, November 4th, 2024
"The anti-war movement will continue until the genocide is ended and Palestine is free." 1. What would a map of "free Palestine" look like? 2. What makes you imagine that the conflict in Gaza is a major issue in the US election? Most Americans will be ...Comment: Open mike 29/10/2024
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 10:04 am, October 30th, 2024
What is "neo-biological realism"? Googling the term didn't get me anywhere useful.Comment: Act’s revenge on the Waitangi Tribunal
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 8:33 pm, October 27th, 2024
Care to provide some examples of Labour's "conciliatory and balanced" approach?Comment: David Seymour Chooses School Lunches Provider With Questionable Record: Listeria, Horse Meat & Poor Quality
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 3:35 pm, October 26th, 2024
There's no such thing as "woke" food, and those French menus seem to consist of sensible balanced meals.Comment: David Seymour Chooses School Lunches Provider With Questionable Record: Listeria, Horse Meat & Poor Quality
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 10:41 am, October 25th, 2024
ACT believes in self-reliance, right? Rather than handing people a fish to eat, teach them how to catch their own fish etc. But Seymour hates the idea of school lunches so much that's he's missed a trick here. A school lunches program could be used as a ...Comment: Doomed?
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 7:54 pm, October 21st, 2024
I couldn't agree more. Stop the war on the "white heteronormative patriarchy", go away and spend some time in the wilderness, and come back with a genuine national-building project, and practical measures to improve the lives of ordinary people.Comment: Latest poll result – National is being cleaned out by NZ First and Act
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 1:38 pm, October 19th, 2024
OK, so we don't actually know what happened behind the scenes.Comment: Open mike 19/10/2024
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 1:34 pm, October 19th, 2024
It would be great if TS moderators protected commentators from actual abuse. [TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]Comment: Chris Trotter’s Arguments for the Treaty Principles Bill Are Flawed
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 1:32 pm, October 19th, 2024
I'm never going to agree with Trotter on everything (especially when he seems to change his mind so often), and I agree we need a CGT.Comment: Chris Trotter’s Arguments for the Treaty Principles Bill Are Flawed
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 11:22 am, October 19th, 2024
The idea of human rights has been perverted by the UN and by the woke left. That becomes apparent when western courts emit decisions like this one: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/332673/corrections-to-cover-philip-smith-s-costs-over-toupee-case No, " ...Comment: Chris Trotter’s Arguments for the Treaty Principles Bill Are Flawed
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 10:55 am, October 19th, 2024
So if ACT and Seymour didn't have links to the Atlas Network, you would be less worried about the treaty bill?Comment: Chris Trotter’s Arguments for the Treaty Principles Bill Are Flawed
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 10:31 am, October 19th, 2024
No, human rights are not about "dignity". They are about protecting the individual from abuse by the state e.g. no arbitrary detention, the right to a fair trial, no torture, no "disappearing" of people. What exactly makes Palmer a person of substance, in ...Comment: Open mike 19/10/2024
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 10:24 am, October 19th, 2024
I've only just come across this good news story. The so-called "Disinformation Project" is closing its doors: https://www.thedisinfoproject.org/ Their website shows an astonishing level of delusion and paranoia: At the same time as disinformation grows, ...Comment: Open mike 19/10/2024
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 10:07 am, October 19th, 2024
This looks like a terrible policy. I like some of the things this government is doing, but I can't see any upside to this move. Online gambling will be a whole lot harder to regulate or police than in-person gambling. Let's make it easier for gambling ...Comment: Chris Trotter’s Arguments for the Treaty Principles Bill Are Flawed
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 9:36 am, October 19th, 2024
"Trotter is like many who admired systems which are also failing" Trotter has long been a critic of some of NZ's institutions. But like most sensible people, he recognizes the dangers posed by the undermining of equality before the law. "he is in the ...Comment: Latest poll result – National is being cleaned out by NZ First and Act
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 2:15 pm, October 14th, 2024
How do you know RANZ were in the process of suspending/expelling Farrar? Can you provide a link?Comment: Latest poll result – National is being cleaned out by NZ First and Act
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 1:40 pm, October 14th, 2024
So if a sample of only 2.8% is considered insufficient by Professor Gray, how many political polls have any validity? Professor Gray says "nothing to see here folks", but anyone who works at a NZ Tertiary Institution (as I do) knows about the climate of ...Comment: Latest poll result – National is being cleaned out by NZ First and Act
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 12:54 pm, October 14th, 2024
John Key had brains? And the evidence for that is ...? I think Key cut a very mediocre figure - he just had bags of self-confidence. Key's idea of a legacy (a rigged flag referendum) shows his shallowness. Improved public infrastructure would have been a ...Comment: Mountain Tui: Trump’s shooting reveals a hidden danger for New Zealand too
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 6:06 pm, July 16th, 2024
The comments of chiefs at the signing make it clear they knew the treaty meant recognizing the authority of the British monarch over them. Some of them were uncomfortable with the idea, but signed anyway. And Sir Apirana Ngata was in no doubt that the ...Comment: Mountain Tui: Trump’s shooting reveals a hidden danger for New Zealand too
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 5:59 pm, July 16th, 2024
Why does Seymour need an "expert in Te Reo"? All too often, "expert" turns out to mean an activist. And judges and politicians have been redefining the treaty for decades, so why single out Seymour's initiative? What on earth is "racist" about insisting on ...Comment: Mountain Tui: Trump’s shooting reveals a hidden danger for New Zealand too
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 9:39 am, July 16th, 2024
No, just a test to see if the contemporary left has a sense of humour. The test is clearly negative.Comment: Mountain Tui: Trump’s shooting reveals a hidden danger for New Zealand too
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 9:37 am, July 16th, 2024
What exactly is racist about wanting equality of all NZers before the law, or about wanting to stop distortion of the treaty by activist judges? I support certain special rights for Maaori, like rights to practice traditional harvesting. But in most things ...Comment: Mountain Tui: Trump’s shooting reveals a hidden danger for New Zealand too
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 6:47 am, July 16th, 2024
What exactly is "racist" or "transphobic" about the current government?Comment: Mountain Tui: Trump’s shooting reveals a hidden danger for New Zealand too
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 4:36 pm, July 15th, 2024
Are you sure they were strawmen? I hope you haven't misgendered any hypothetical straw people. [lprent: Bad idea trying to get a troll rise off an author. It irritates me becasue it wastes my time. Count yourself warned. ]Comment: Mountain Tui: Trump’s shooting reveals a hidden danger for New Zealand too
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 1:32 pm, July 15th, 2024
"see how our people can rise to the challenge of those who would divide us too" Those who would divide us? That's newspeak for "those who disagree with contemporary woke orthodoxy". Yes Trump's rhetoric is often divisive. But it's frankly dishonest to ...Comment: Open mike 13/07/2024
Written By: Dolomedes III - Date published: 6:29 pm, July 13th, 2024
"these are letters, not “articles” So what? How does that invalidate anything I've said? Hopefully you have more to offer than pedantry. "As you know, RSNZ did not cancel anybody’s membership." As YOU know, I did not say that RSNZ cancelled anybody's ...
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- “That would never happen here!”
Today is Donald J Trump’s second inauguration ceremony.I try not to follow too much US news, and yet these developments are noteworthy and somehow relevant to us here.Only hours in, parts of their Project 2025 ‘think/junk tank’ policies — long planned and signalled — are already live:And Elon Musk, who ...6 hours ago - Finally
Back in March, Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier resigned after hitting the age limit for his office. And now, almost a year later, parliament has finally gotten around to appointing a replacement: John Richard Allen is likely to take over the role of chief ombudsman from Peter Boshier, who still ...13 hours ago - Close To The Edge.
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- National Hugging Day
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Last night I chatted with Northland emergency doctor on the substack app for subscribers about whether the appointment of Simeon Brown to replace Shane Reti as Health Minister. We discussed whether the new minister can turn around decades of under-funding in real and per-capita terms. Our chat followed his ...1 day ago
- The cabinet metastasises
Christopher Luxon is every dismal boss who ever made you wince, or roll your eyes, or think to yourself I have absolutely got to get the hell out of this place.Get a load of what he shared with us at his cabinet reshuffle, trying to be all sensitive and gracious.Dr ...2 days ago - Puberty blockers
The text of my submission to the Ministry of Health's unnecessary and politicised review of the use of puberty blockers for young trans and nonbinary people in Aotearoa. ...2 days ago - Why the TikTok Ban Was Just a Stunt
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Sometimes I wake in the middle of the nightAnd rub my achin' old eyesIs that a voice from inside-a my headOr does it come down from the skies?"There's a time to laugh butThere's a time to weepAnd a time to make a big change"Wake-up you-bum-the-time has-comeTo arrange and re-arrange and ...2 days ago - Luxon flicks Reti’s hospital pass to Brown
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Yesterday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced a cabinet reshuffle, which saw Simeon Brown picking up the Health portfolio as it’s been taken off Dr Shane Reti, and Transport has been given to Chris Bishop. Additionally, Simeon’s energy and local government portfolios now sit with Simon Watts. This is very good ...2 days ago - Signs of panic
The sacking of Health Minister Shane Reti yesterday had an air of panic about it. A media advisory inviting journalists to a Sunday afternoon press conference at Premier House went out on Saturday night. Caucus members did not learn that even that was happening until yesterday morning. Reti’s fate was ...2 days ago - Gordon Campbell On The Rise Of Simeon Brown
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After another substantial hiatus from online Chess, I’ve been taking it up again. I am genuinely terrible at five-minute Blitz, what with the tight time constraints, though I periodically con myself into thinking that I have been improving. But seeing as my past foray into Chess led to me having ...2 days ago - Don’t You Know Who I Am?
Rise up o children wont you dance with meRise up little children come and set me freeRise little ones riseNo shame no fearDon't you know who I amSongwriter: Rebecca Laurel FountainI’m sure you know the go with this format. Some memories, some questions, letsss go…2015A decade ago, I made the ...3 days ago - In Defence of Golriz Ghahraman
In 2017, when Ghahraman was elected to Parliament as a Green MP, she recounted both the highlights and challenges of her role -There was love, support, and encouragement.And on the flipside, there was intense, visceral and unchecked hate.That came with violent threats - many of them. More on that later.People ...3 days ago - Too tiny to matter; enough to change everything
It gives me the biggest kick to learn that something I’ve enthused about has been enough to make you say Go on then, I'm going to do it. The e-bikes, the hearing aids, the prostate health, the cheese puffs. And now the solar power. Yes! Happy to share the details.We ...3 days ago - Fact brief – Can CO2 be ignored because it’s just a trace gas?
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 from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Can CO2 be ...3 days ago
- Bastards Abound
The old bastard left his ties and his suitA brown box, mothballs and bowling shoesAnd his opinion so you'd never have to choosePretty soon, you'll be an old bastard tooYou get smaller as the world gets bigThe more you know you know you don't know shit"The whiz man" will never ...4 days ago - Latest Poll- Nats in a slo-mo death spiral?
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.The Numbers2024 could easily have been National’s “Annus Horribilis” and 2025 shows no signs of a reprieve for our Landlord PM Chris Luxon and his inept Finance Minister Nikki “Noboats” Willis.Several polls last year ...4 days ago - Clearing the Decks: Government replaces half of the Waitangi Tribunal
This Friday afternoon, Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka announced an overhaul of the Waitangi Tribunal.The government has effectively cleared house - appointing 8 new members - and combined with October’s appointment of former ACT leader Richard Prebble, that’s 9 appointees.[I am not certain, but can only presume, Prebble went in ...4 days ago - Back on Track?
The state of the current economy may be similar to when National left office in 2017.In December, a couple of days after the Treasury released its 2024 Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update (HEYFU24), Statistics New Zealand reported its estimate for volume GDP for the previous September 24 quarter. Instead ...4 days ago - Handbags and Gladrags
So what becomes of you, my love?When they have finally stripped you ofThe handbags and the gladragsThat your poor old granddadHad to sweat to buy you, babySongwriter: Mike D'aboIn yesterday’s newsletter, I expressed sadness at seeing Golriz Ghahraman back on the front pages for shoplifting. As someone who is no ...5 days ago - Weekly Roundup 17-January-2025
It’s Friday and time for another roundup of things that caught our attention this week. This post, like all our work, is brought to you by a largely volunteer crew and made possible by generous donations from our readers and fans. If you’d like to support our work, you can join ...5 days ago
- How the Far Right Weaponised the Grooming Gangs Story
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Open access notables Long-term trends in heat wave gaps for the New York City metropolitan area, Lin & Colle, Urban Climate: Heat waves occurring in close succession to one another are hazardous because of the prolonged stress on the human body and energy demand. A heat wave gap metric, the ...5 days ago
- NZ: The Final Atlas Network Puzzle Piece Has Arrived
The final Atlas Network playbook puzzle piece is here, and it slipped in to Aotearoa New Zealand with little fan fare or attention. The implications are stark.Today, writes Dr Bex, the submission for the Crimes (Countering Foreign Interference) Amendment Bill closes: 11:59pm January 16, 2025.As usual, the language of the ...5 days ago - Not getting any younger
Excitement in the seaside village! Look what might be coming! 400 million dollars worth of investment! In the very beating heart of the village! Are we excited and eager to see this happen, what with every last bank branch gone and shops sitting forlornly quiet awaiting a customer?Yes please, apply ...6 days ago - Political societies and economic preferences.
Much discussion has been held over the Regulatory Standards Bill (RSB), the latest in a series of rightwing attempts to enshrine into law pro-market precepts such as the primacy of private property ownership. Underneath the good governance and economic efficiency gobbledegook language of the Bill is an interest to strip ...6 days ago - Submission on Crimes (Countering Foreign Interference) Amendment Bill
We are concerned that the Amendment Bill, as proposed, could impair the operations and legitimate interests of the NZ Trade Union movement. It is also likely to negatively impact the ability of other civil society actors to conduct their affairs without the threat of criminal sanctions. We ask that ...6 days ago - The Ol’ Switcheroo
I can't take itHow could I fake it?How could I fake it?And I can't take itHow could I fake it?How could I fake it?Song: The Lonely Biscuits.“A bit nippy”, I thought when I woke this morning, and then, soon after that, I wondered whether hell had frozen over. Dear friends, ...6 days ago - Nobody’s insurance rates are safe from climate change
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- Gordon Campbell On More Threats To Democracy From David Seymour
Early reports indicate that the temporary Israel/Hamas ceasefire deal (due to take effect on Sunday) will allow for the gradual release of groups of Israeli hostages, the release of an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails (likely only a fraction of the total incarcerated population), and the withdrawal ...6 days ago
- Choosing your fights
My daily news diet is not what it once was.It was the TV news that lost me first. Too infantilising, too breathless, too frustrating.The Herald was next. You could look past the reactionary framing while it was being a decent newspaper of record, but once Shayne Currie began unleashing all ...7 days ago - Hit The Road Jack
Hit the road Jack and don't you come backNo more, no more, no more, no moreHit the road Jack and don't you come back no moreWhat you say?Songwriters: Percy MayfieldMorena,I keep many of my posts, like this one, paywall-free so that everyone can read them.However, please consider supporting me as ...7 days ago - Review: The Narnia books, by C.S. Lewis (1950-1956) – Part One
This might be the longest delay between reading (or in this case re-reading) a work, and actually writing a review of it I have ever managed. Indeed, when I last read these books in December 2022, I was not planning on writing anything about them… but as A Phuulish Fellow ...1 week ago - Sabin 33 #11 – Is solar energy more expensive than energy from fossil fuels?
On November 1, 2024 we announced the publication of 33 rebuttals based on the report "Rebutting 33 False Claims About Solar, Wind, and Electric Vehicles" written by Matthew Eisenson, Jacob Elkin, Andy Fitch, Matthew Ard, Kaya Sittinger & Samuel Lavine and published by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia ...1 week ago
- Our Health Isn’t Your Wealth, Shane Reti & Lester Levy
Kia Ora,I try to keep most my posts without a paywall for public interest journalism purposes. However, if you can afford to, please consider supporting me as a paid subscriber and/or supporting over at Ko-Fi. That will help me to continue, and to keep spending time on the work. Embarrassingly, ...1 week ago
- No one could save me but you
There was a time when Google was the best thing in my world. I was an early adopter of their AdWords program and boy did I like what it did for my business. It put rocket fuel in it, is what it did. For every dollar I spent, those ads ...1 week ago - The disinformation grift in NZ.
A while back I was engaged in an unpleasant exchange with a leader of the most well-known NZ anti-vax group and several like-minded trolls. I had responded to a racist meme on social media in which a rightwing podcaster in the US interviewed one of the leaders of the Proud ...1 week ago
- Anna Wilding, Bullshit Master
Hi,If you’ve been reading Webworm for a while, you’ll be familiar with Anna Wilding. Between 2020 and 2021 I looked at how the New Zealander had managed to weasel her way into countless news stories over the years, often with very little proof any of it had actually happened. When ...1 week ago - Summertime in Aotearoa
It's a long white cloud for you, baby; staying together alwaysSummertime in AotearoaWhere the sunshine kisses the water, we will find it alwaysSummertime in AotearoaYeah, it′s SummertimeIt's SummertimeWriters: Codi Wehi Ngatai, Moresby Kainuku, Pipiwharauroa Campbell, Taulutoa Michael Schuster, Rebekah Jane Brady, Te Naawe Jordan Muturangi Tupe, Thomas Edward Scrase.Many of ...1 week ago - 2024 sets some new road safety records
Last year, 292 people died unnecessarily on our roads. That is the lowest result in over a decade and only the fourth time in the last 70 years we’ve seen fewer than 300 deaths in a calendar year. Yet, while it is 292 people too many, with each death being ...1 week ago
- The role of climate change in the catastrophic 2025 Los Angeles fires
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob Henson Flames from the Palisades Fire burn a building at Sunset Boulevard amid a powerful windstorm on January 8, 2025 in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The fast-moving wildfire had destroyed thousands of structures and ...1 week ago
- Submission on Regulatory Standards Bill
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.The Regulatory Standards Bill, as I understand it, seeks to bind parliament to a specific range of law-making.For example, it seems to ensure primacy of individual rights over that of community, environment, te Tiriti ...1 week ago - There’s a solution in there, there really is
Happy New Year!I had a lovely break, thanks very much for asking: friends, family, sunshine, books, podcasts, refreshing swims, barbecues, bike rides. So good to step away from the firehose for a while, to have less Trump and Seymour in your day. Who needs the Luxons in their risible PJs ...1 week ago - Hamilton Central Station: Britomart 2.0
Patrick Reynolds is deputy chair of the Auckland City Centre Advisory Panel and a director of Greater Auckland In 2003, after much argument, including the election of a Mayor in 2001 who ran on stopping it, Britomart train station in downtown Auckland opened. A mere 1km twin track terminating branch ...1 week ago
- Geoffrey Miller: Christopher Luxon’s important trip to the Middle East
For the first time in a decade, a New Zealand Prime Minister is heading to the Middle East. The trip is more than just a courtesy call. New Zealand PMs frequently change planes in Dubai en route to destinations elsewhere. But Christopher Luxon’s visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ...1 week ago - 2025 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #02
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 5, 2025 thru Sat, January 11, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...1 week ago
- Gordon Campbell On The History Of Doo Wop Music
The decade between 1952 and the early 1960s was the peak period for the style of music we now call doo wop, after which it got dissolved into soul music, girl groups, and within pop music in general. Basically, doo wop was a form of small group harmonising with a ...1 week ago
- If You Tolerate This
The future teaches you to be aloneThe present to be afraid and coldSo if I can shoot rabbits, then I can shoot fascists…And if you tolerate thisThen your children will be nextSongwriters: James Dean Bradfield / Sean Anthony Moore / Nicholas Allen Jones.Do you remember at school, studying the rise ...1 week ago - Elon Musk Adores Chris Luxon
When National won the New Zealand election in 2023, one of the first to congratulate Luxon was tech-billionaire and entrepreneur extraordinaire Elon Musk.And last year, after Luxon posted a video about a trip to Malaysia, Musk came forward again to heap praise on Christopher:So it was perhaps par for the ...1 week ago - American Carnage
Hi,Today’s Webworm features a new short film from documentary maker Giorgio Angelini. It’s about Luigi Mangione — but it’s also, really, about everything in America right now.Bear with me.Shortly after I sent out my last missive from the fires on Wednesday, one broke out a little too close to home ...1 week ago
- Careless Memories
So soon just after you've goneMy senses sharpenBut it always takes so damn longBefore I feel how much my eyes have darkenedFear hangs in a plane of gun smokeDrifting in our roomSo easy to disturb, with a thought, with a whisperWith a careless memorySongwriters: Andy Taylor / John Taylor / ...2 weeks ago - A Bully of Billionaires
Can we trust the Trump cabinet to act in the public interest?Nine of Trump’s closest advisers are billionaires. Their total net worth is in excess of $US375b (providing there is not a share-market crash). In contrast, the total net worth of Trump’s first Cabinet was about $6b. (Joe Biden’s Cabinet ...2 weeks ago - Weekly Roundup 10-January-2025
Welcome back to our weekly roundup. We hope you had a good break (if you had one). Here’s a few of the stories that caught our attention over the last few weeks. This holiday period on Greater Auckland Since our last roundup we’ve: Taken a look back at ...2 weeks ago
- L.A. Burns
2 weeks ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #2 2025
Open access notables Large emissions of CO2 and CH4 due to active-layer warming in Arctic tundra, Torn et al., Nature Communications: Climate warming may accelerate decomposition of Arctic soil carbon, but few controlled experiments have manipulated the entire active layer. To determine surface-atmosphere fluxes of carbon dioxide and ...2 weeks ago
- Local government in Wellington – what’s been achieved
It's election year for Wellington City Council and for the Regional Council. What have the progressive councillors achieved over the last couple of years. What were the blocks and failures? What's with the targeting of the mayor and city council by the Post and by central government? Why does the ...2 weeks ago
- 300,000!
Over the holidays, there was a rising tide of calls for people to submit on National's repulsive, white supremacist Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill, along with a wave of advice and examples of what to say. And it looks like people rose to the occasion, with over 300,000 ...2 weeks ago
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The lie is my expenseThe scope of my desireThe Party blessed me with its futureAnd I protect it with fireI am the Nina The Pinta The Santa MariaThe noose and the rapistAnd the fields overseerThe agents of orangeThe priests of HiroshimaThe cost of my desire…Sleep now in the fireSongwriters: Brad ...2 weeks ago - Exploring the drivers of modern global warming
This is a re-post from the Climate Brink Global surface temperatures have risen around 1.3C since the preindustrial (1850-1900) period as a result of human activity.1 However, this aggregate number masks a lot of underlying factors that contribute to global surface temperature changes over time. These include CO2, which is the primary ...2 weeks ago
- Wayne Wright Jr Celebrates His Increasing Political Fortunes with Sean Plunket – Who Does Your...
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Hi,Right now the power is out, so I’m just relying on the laptop battery and tethering to my phone’s 5G which is dropping in and out. We’ll see how we go.First up — I’m fine. I can’t see any flames out the window. I live in the greater Hollywood area ...2 weeks ago
- Mood of the Workforce Survey 2025
2024 was a tough year for working Kiwis. But together we’ve been able to fight back for a just and fair New Zealand and in 2025 we need to keep standing up for what’s right and having our voices heard. That starts with our Mood of the Workforce Survey. It’s your ...2 weeks ago
- Pumpkin Day
Time is never time at allYou can never ever leaveWithout leaving a piece of youthAnd our lives are forever changedWe will never be the sameThe more you change, the less you feelSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan.Babinden - Baba’s DayToday, January 8th, 2025, is Babinden, “The Day of the baba” or “The ...2 weeks ago - How Do We Fight Back?
Hi,New Zealand multi-billionaire Nick Mowbray continues to tweet at me, seemingly still unhappy about my Webworm story covering his apparent enthusiasm for far right, anti-Islam campaigner Tommy Robinson.Mowbray can be a bit hard to follow at the best of times, but I think this is a billionaire sort of dangling ...2 weeks ago - Submission on Treaty Principles Bill
..I/We wish to make the following comments:I oppose the Treaty Principles Bill."5. Act binds the CrownThis Act binds the Crown."How does this Act "bind the Crown" when Te Tiriti o Waitangi, which the Act refers to, has been violated by the Crown on numerous occassions, resulting in massive loss of ...2 weeks ago
- Aotearoa must step up as Trump plays with climate fire
The Green Party is calling on the Government to stand firm and work with allies to progress climate action as Donald Trump signals his intent to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords once again. ...17 hours ago - Release: Cabinet reshuffle a futile exercise from failing government
National's Cabinet reshuffle is a futile attempt to turn around a failing government. ...20 hours ago - Greens welcome Gaza ceasefire, but say more work to do
The Green Party has welcomed the provisional ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, and reiterated its call for New Zealand to push for an end to the unlawful occupation of Palestine. ...6 days ago
- Release: Labour mourns passing of Dame Tariana Turia
Ka kohukohu te awa o Whanganui!Ka tau te kākahu taratara ki runga I te maunga o Whānau Ora!Ka tangi hotuhotu tō iwi Māori! ...1 week ago
- Release: Labour acknowledges Lyn Fleming’s death
Labour expresses its shock and sadness at the death of widely respected Police Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming. ...1 week ago
- Greens welcome deadline extension but reiterate call for Bill to be binned
The Green Party welcomes the extension of the deadline for Treaty Principles Bill submissions but continues to call on the Government to abandon the Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party pays respects to Dame Tariana Turia
The Green Party acknowledges the enormous life, contribution and passing of Dame Tariana (Kahurangi) Turia, the co-founder of Te Pāti Māori. ...3 weeks ago
- KO disruptive tenants’ easy ride over
Complaints about disruptive behaviour now handled in around 13 days (down from around 60 days a year ago) 553 Section 55A notices issued by Kāinga Ora since July 2024, up from 41 issued during the same period in the previous year. Of that 553, first notices made up around 83 ...2 weeks ago - 80% reduction in building determination wait times
The time it takes to process building determinations has improved significantly over the last year which means fewer delays in homes being built, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “New Zealand has a persistent shortage of houses. Making it easier and quicker for new homes to be built will ...2 weeks ago
- Top baby names for 2024
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden is pleased to announce the annual list of New Zealand’s most popular baby names for 2024. “For the second consecutive year, Noah has claimed the top spot for boys with 250 babies sharing the name, while Isla has returned to the most popular ...2 weeks ago
- Enabling works to begin on Westgate Bus Station
Work is set to get underway on a new bus station at Westgate this week. A contract has been awarded to HEB Construction to start a package of enabling works to get the site ready in advance of main construction beginning in mid-2025, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“A new Westgate ...2 weeks ago
- A nationwide shift towards acting together to stop family and sexual violence
Minister for Children and for Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour is encouraging people to use the resources available to them to get help, and to report instances of family and sexual violence amongst their friends, families, and loved ones who are in need. “The death of a ...2 weeks ago
- He poroporoaki ki a Kahurangi Tariana Turia
Uia te pō, rangahaua te pō, whakamāramatia mai he aha tō tango, he aha tō kāwhaki? Whitirere ki te ao, tirotiro kau au, kei hea taku rātā whakamarumaru i te au o te pakanga mo te mana motuhake? Au te pō, ngū te pō, ue hā! E te kahurangi māreikura, ...3 weeks ago
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Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says people with diabetes and other painful conditions will benefit from a significant new qualification to boost training in foot care. “It sounds simple, but quality and regular foot and nail care is vital in preventing potentially serious complications from diabetes, like blisters or sores, which can take a long time to heal ...3 weeks ago
- Clean-out at the Waitangi Tribunal: Who’s in and who’s out?
There’s been a major shake-up at the Waitangi Tribunal, with more than half of the current members, including some esteemed Māori academics, losing their places to make way for some controversial new appointments. Established in 1975, the Waitangi Tribunal investigates alleged Crown breaches of the promises made to Māori in ...22 minutes ago - Are we doing enough about ‘forever chemicals’?
PFAS chemicals are omnipresent, enduring, and almost certainly in your bloodstream. Here’s a guide to where they come from, why there are concerns about their use and what regulations are in place to help you avoid exposure. Your raincoat, beading with water. The slippery smooth surface of your non-stick pans. ...22 minutes ago
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Comment: If you’ve ever wondered how Omni Consumer Products became the government in the 1987 Paul Verhoeven film, Robocop, you’re about to find out. As Donald J. Trump, a convicted felon and a man who tried to violently seize power through a failed coup in 2020, begins his second term ...22 minutes ago - Europe’s far-right dominoes knock down democracy
Opinion: Austria is poised to become the next European country to fall to the far right. There is only one option for mainstream parties to break this cycle. The post Europe’s far-right dominoes knock down democracy appeared first on Newsroom. ...22 minutes ago
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Prime Minister Christoper Luxon has turned Finance Minister Nicola Willis into a ‘super minister’ by adding the rebranded economic portfolio to her plate and bolstering her ability to implement change.Luxon announced his decision to appoint Nicola Willis to the role of Minister for Economic Growth as part of a wider ...22 minutes ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Wednesday 22 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, Wednesday 22 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...22 minutes ago
- Harvey Crewe’s cousin speaks out
When I reflect on my life, I look at how everything changed on the evening of June 22, 1970.I was lying in bed when the phone went late one night. My father picked it up. He was on the phone for what seemed like an eternity, and I could tell ...22 minutes ago
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Opinion: After an exhaustive period of consultation spanning almost two years, the Privacy Commissioner, in the week before Christmas, released the draft version of the Biometric Processing Privacy Code he intends to issue under the Privacy Act.Biometric information, collected through the likes of facial recognition technology, is personal information covered ...22 minutes ago
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Opinion: With a freshly minted transport minister taking the helm this week, it’s a good time to consider why we lack a fair and objective conversation about transport in New Zealand.The main reason for opposing investment in public transport and rail is that these modes reduce the reliance on and ...22 minutes ago
- Record-breaking Kiwi swimmer goes out on her terms
After 23 years following a black line at the bottom of a swimming pool, Aquablack and Olympian Helena Gasson has retired from competitive swimming on her terms.She now wants to share her expertise and give back to the sport after being the only New Zealander to compete at an Oceania ...22 minutes ago
- Daily crossword, Wednesday 22 January
The post Daily crossword, Wednesday 22 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...22 minutes ago
- Judge grants Māori six more customary marine titles as Govt second guesses its coastline reform
A temporary impasse between the executive and the courts over the Marine and Coastal Areas Act has now seen six more Māori groups granted customary rights by the High Court.The judge in the latest case says the courts can’t wait for what might eventuate from Parliament but must decide applications ...22 minutes ago
- Ethnic community leaders slam Lee’s removal from diversity portfolio
After sitting on the back benches as an MP for five terms, Lee was given the ethnic communities, economic development, and media and communications portfolios after the coalition government won the 2023 election. Lee was demoted from Cabinet in April last year, with Luxon stripping her of the media and ...2 hours ago - Albanese finally summons national cabinet to consider antisemitism epidemic
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra After rejecting calls for months, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese finally summoned a Tuesday national cabinet meeting to discuss Australia’s rising wave of antisemitic attacks and other incidents. This followed the torching of a childcare ...8 hours ago
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COMMENTARY: By Eugene Doyle A litmus test of Israel’s commitment to abandon genocide and start down the road towards lasting peace is whether they choose to release the most important of all the hostages, Marwan Barghouti. During the past 22 years in Israeli prisons he has been beaten, tortured, sexually ...9 hours ago
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tessa Leach, Research Manager, Industry, at Climateworks Centre, Monash University Maksim_Gusev/Shutterstock Aluminium is an exceptionally useful metal. Lightweight, resistant to rust and able to be turned into alloys with other metals. Small wonder it’s the second most used metal in the ...10 hours ago
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samuel Garrett, Research Associate, United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney In a piece of pure political theatre, Donald Trump began his second presidency by signing a host of executive orders before a rapturous crowd of 20,000 in Washington on Monday. ...10 hours ago
- Trump’s meme coin is nothing new: it takes a page out of the ancient world’s playbook
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gil Davis, Associate Professor and Director, Ancient Israel Program, Australian Catholic University Roman coins circa 8 BCE-7 BCE, during the rule of Augustus (Octavian). © The Trustees of the British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA Nowadays, we probably never stop to think about why ...11 hours ago
- Vanuatu risks return to all-male parliament in snap election in spite of strong ‘ vot woman’ cam...
By Leah Lowonbu in Port Vila Vanuatu’s only incumbent female parliamentarian has lost her seat in a snap election leaving only one woman candidate in contention after an unofficial vote count. The unofficial counting at polling locations indicated the majority of the 52 incumbent MPs have been reelected but also ...11 hours ago
- What are plyometric exercises? How all that hopping and jumping builds strength, speed and power
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Justin Keogh, Associate Dean of Research, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University Photo by cottonbro studio/Pexels If you’ve ever seen people at the gym or the park jumping, hopping or hurling weighted balls to the ground, chances are they ...12 hours ago
- The $Trump memecoin is reaping billions – but like the man himself, it’s extremely volatile
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra Freshly elected US president Donald Trump has exercised his usual degree of modesty and named his newly launched cryptocurrency or memecoin, $Trump. And like the man himself, the ...12 hours ago
- Executive orders show Trump’s power and political theatre, but his honeymoon period may be short-l...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samuel Garrett, Research Associate, United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney In a piece of pure political theatre, Donald Trump began his second presidency by signing a host of executive orders before a rapturous crowd of 20,000 in Washington on Monday. ...12 hours ago
- This K-pop band just made US Billboard history. Here’s how Stray Kids conquered the music world
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominique Falla, Associate Professor, Queensland College of Art and Design, Griffith University JYP Entertainment A South Korean boy band you’ve probably never heard of recently made history by becoming the first act to debut at No. 1 on the US Billboard ...12 hours ago
- Trump promises a second term focused on immigration and nationalism – as well as revenge and retri...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Shortis, Adjunct Senior Fellow, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University Today, in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington DC, the 47th President of the United States was sworn into office. The second Trump era has begun. In his inaugural ...13 hours ago
- The Fold: On Meta going Maga, TikTok’s perilous future and NZ media in 2025
Anna Rawhiti-Connell joins Duncan Greive to recap a big month for social media, and make some predictions for the year ahead. You could say it’s been an epochal month in the geopolitics of social media. As The Fold returns for 2025, The Spinoff’s resident social media philosopher queen, Anna Rawhiti-Connell, ...13 hours ago
- Game, set, debate: why do women only play 3 sets in tennis?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sophia Nimphius, Professor of Human Performance, Edith Cowan University Tennis fans are once again filling Melbourne Park for the 2025 Australian Open, after setting an all-time attendance record in 2024. The Australian Open is one of four annual Grand Slam events, alongside ...14 hours ago
- Treaty Principles Bill Cannot Proceed – NZCER
The proposed principles are inconsistent with Te Tiriti o Waitangi, they are unsupported by the text of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and seriously breach Te Tiriti o Waitangi with implications for the education sector, adds Tumuaki Graeme Cosslett. ...14 hours ago - Trump Exit From Paris Agreement Means NZ Must Rally With World To Save Climate
Greenpeace is calling on the Government to significantly strengthen its climate target, in particular the goal to cut methane emissions. This is what the independent Climate Change Commission advised in its report at the end of last year. ...15 hours ago
- Friend or foe? How Trump’s threats against ‘free-riding’ allies could backfire
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicholas Khoo, Associate Professor of International Politics and Principal Research Fellow, Institute for Indo-Pacific Affairs (Christchurch), University of Otago Getty Images Donald Trump is an unusual United States president in that he may be the first to strike greater anxiety in ...15 hours ago
- Allen likely to take-over from Boshier as Chief Ombudsman
John Richard Allen has been recommended for the role Peter Boshier still holds - despite a law requiring his resignation at age 72. ...15 hours ago - High-flying Governor-General Rolling Out The Royal Treatment
The Governor-General is already taking home $447,900 a year, plus an allowance of $40,551. Totalling almost seven times the median wage, no one can accuse Dame Cindy Kiro of being underpaid, Taxpayers’ Union Spokesman James Ross said. ...15 hours ago
- One simple trick to conquer your reading goals: read shorter books
Ten brilliant – and brilliantly short – books to kickstart the year. Whoever said “If you love something, you should let it go” was way off base. Anyone who sets a yearly reading goal knows the truth: if you love something, you should quantify it with a numerical target to ...15 hours ago
- PM, deputy congratulate Trump, Vance; keen to deepen ties with US
The prime minister and his deputy have also congratulated Donald Trump and JD Vance who have been sworn in as president and vice president today. ...15 hours ago
- Gaza ceasefire: RSF calls for open borders for journalists – end to impunity for Israel’s war cr...
Al Jazeera journalist Fadi al-Wahidi, who was gravely injured on 9 October 2024 while reporting from the Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip, is fighting for his life as the Israeli authorities continued to refuse his transfer to a hospital abroad, despite repeated calls from RSF. Also, two Palestinian ...16 hours ago
- A review of the two new ice blocks vying for the Cyclone’s crown
Can either newbie beat the best ice block in New Zealand? When I crowned the Cyclone the best ice block in New Zealand in 2023, I argued that it had earned the crown by being singular. As a Streets product, the Cyclone had no competitors, not from Tip Top and ...17 hours ago
- Great, there are microplastics in our compost now too
A new study from the University of Canterbury has found that not even our humble compost is safe from the scourge of microplastics. At first, you could be looking at a beautiful piece of abstract art, or a collection of precious gemstones extracted from a distant planet. There’s what appears ...19 hours ago
- Conservative Party Update
The New Conservative Party will now be campaigning under the name Conservative Party, dropping the "New." This change reflects our confidence in the enduring strength of our Conservative values – principles that speak for themselves without the need ...20 hours ago
- Green hydrogen: Is it time to switch off the taxpayer tap?
Green hydrogen - which has been described by fans as the "swiss army knife" of clean energy - has enjoyed a wave of private investment and government subsidies. ...20 hours ago
- Donald Trump to sign orders ending diversity programs, proclaim there are only two sexes
As part of the executive orders, federal funds will not be used to promote "gender ideology," an official said. ...20 hours ago
- The red flowering gum: a perennial favourite and a summer stunner
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences, The University of Melbourne ChWeiss/Shutterstock If you’ve been on a summertime stroll in recent weeks, chances are you’ve seen a red flowering gum, Corymbia ficifolia. This species comes from ...20 hours ago
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