Author Archive
The Schnews.
Written By: - Date published: 1:16 pm, April 28th, 2018 - 7 comments
Apologies to the Schnews that was actually a pretty good wee publication that came out of Brighton, England.
Grotesque.
Written By: - Date published: 12:26 pm, April 27th, 2018 - 92 comments
People from Douma have been to The Hague and spoken of their experiences on the night of a supposed chemical attack by Syrian forces.
Thank you Metiria.
Written By: - Date published: 11:14 am, April 25th, 2018 - 94 comments
Some movement on social security (a thing we all deserve)
Workers’ Rights. Our Rights. And a Government Breaking Bad.
Written By: - Date published: 11:14 am, April 24th, 2018 - 17 comments
Time for the government to pull its head in.
Freedom of Speech and Expression
Written By: - Date published: 10:14 am, April 24th, 2018 - 47 comments
Bollocks and bullshit lands on shits and giggles.
North Korea
Written By: - Date published: 11:51 am, April 22nd, 2018 - 17 comments
When enemies are all around…
Bullshit upon Bullshit.
Written By: - Date published: 9:31 am, April 18th, 2018 - 34 comments
Doctors being intimidated.
Compassion?
Written By: - Date published: 12:05 pm, April 17th, 2018 - 70 comments
May claimed she couldn’t wait until Monday before unleashing compassion on Syria on Friday night. Which brought a line from this to mind….
The Humanity.
Written By: - Date published: 10:59 am, April 15th, 2018 - 160 comments
Apparently “this lot” really do care about people.
What’s the Game?
Written By: - Date published: 12:57 pm, April 14th, 2018 - 194 comments
What the hell are Macron, May and Trump playing at?
Ice
Written By: - Date published: 12:17 pm, April 13th, 2018 - 35 comments
There’s something about Antarctica…
Crazees and clowns
Written By: - Date published: 9:58 am, April 12th, 2018 - 42 comments
Can we have some sanity please?
Labour speaks up.
Written By: - Date published: 9:50 am, April 8th, 2018 - 5 comments
Partial transcript of a speech as reported in “The Independent”
Gaza
Written By: - Date published: 10:46 am, April 6th, 2018 - 69 comments
Is it the new by-word for silence?
The Largesse
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, April 3rd, 2018 - 51 comments
April the first and second mark the days when those receiving entitlements receive a yearly increase in line with the CPI and the governments increase to Accommodation Supplement also comes into effect. So what does it all mean for those receiving entitlements?
Love war, fear and hate.
Written By: - Date published: 10:59 am, March 31st, 2018 - 28 comments
Political power doesn’t respond well when those who are meant to be invisible decide to be visible.
The Birds.
Written By: - Date published: 10:41 am, March 24th, 2018 - 23 comments
Yup. It’s okay to be a bit scared.
Democracy, Faux Democracy and Terror.
Written By: - Date published: 11:27 am, March 19th, 2018 - 37 comments
Facebook, Putin, poisoning and Ghouta have all given fairly extensive media coverage of late. Nothing much on Afrin. Afrin has just fallen to terrorists backed by Turkey.
Update: the photo used for this post is of the The Queer Insurrection and Liberation Army (TQILA), who are part of the International Revolutionary People’s Guerrilla Forces fighting in Syria.
Sanctions. Weapons of War.
Written By: - Date published: 11:50 am, March 18th, 2018 - 53 comments
When elite’s tussle, shouldn’t we look after us and ours?
Some Trash.
Written By: - Date published: 11:52 am, March 1st, 2018 - 27 comments
Being anti-plastic is all the rage these days. How might business respond?
Facebook Bullshit
Written By: - Date published: 12:04 pm, February 26th, 2018 - 70 comments
A very cursory glance at Facebook, Palantir Technologies, Cambridge Analytica, AggregateIQ, click bait, targeted ads…and what the hell is the FBI playing at?
Bio-fuels.
Written By: - Date published: 2:15 pm, February 11th, 2018 - 35 comments
Biofuels and fossil. The difference?
Buttered Bread
Written By: - Date published: 11:20 am, February 6th, 2018 - 84 comments
What side’s yours buttered on?
Rimutaka Prison.
Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, January 28th, 2018 - 51 comments
Who are the bigger criminals?
Updated.
Plastic Fantastic
Written By: - Date published: 9:33 am, January 26th, 2018 - 55 comments
Billions of disease laden pieces of plastic killing reefs. No effective solution offered.
The Humanity.
Written By: - Date published: 5:57 pm, January 25th, 2018 - 8 comments
Thoughtless thugs. Killers.
Solidarity
Written By: - Date published: 10:40 am, January 22nd, 2018 - 7 comments
History not forgotten.
Women’s March Speech.
Written By: - Date published: 3:58 pm, January 21st, 2018 - 46 comments
Sometimes, someone just knocks it out the park. Viola Davis just knocked it out the park. (h/t Carolyn_nth)
Cape Town
Written By: - Date published: 4:39 pm, January 20th, 2018 - 9 comments
A 100 day count down.
States United.
Written By: - Date published: 9:44 am, January 20th, 2018 - 12 comments
On how states in conflict, have seemingly and nevertheless, managed to share in the likely or possible creation of one common goal.
Nuclear Options.
Written By: - Date published: 12:13 pm, January 17th, 2018 - 54 comments
What could possibly be wrong in opting for a nuclear option?!
- Civil society groups call on NZ to bar new Israeli envoy over ‘flagrant’ Gaza genocide
Asia Pacific Report A broad coalition of civil society organisations in Aotearoa New Zealand have signed an open letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters urging the coalition government to refuse to accept the credentials of a new Israeli ambassador while the state continues to disregard international law and to ...5 days ago - Mediawatch: The good, bad and weird media in 2024
Biggest flip-flop; best leading media by the nose; the Billy Connolly prize for breaking news about a single animal - Mediawatch's not-very-prestigious and not-at-all coveted annual media awards. ...5 days ago - Vanuatu quake: Services still down nearly 24 hours after Port Vila hit
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist World Vision’s Vanuatu country director says electricity and water are still affected in the capital Port Vila and strategic bridges connecting the city are damaged, nearly 24 hours after a 7.3 earthquake just before 1pm on Tuesday afternoon. The city has had multiple aftershocks ...5 days ago
- Vanuatu quake: State of emergency declared, Fiji’s Rabuka offers help
By Monika Singh of Wansolwara Vanuatu is now in a state of emergency with at least 14 confirmed deaths following a 7.3 magnitude earthquake that struck the capital Port Vila yesterday, followed bya 6.1 quake and other after shocks today. According to the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) in Vanuatu, ...5 days ago
- Christmas can be challenging for people with hearing loss. Here are 7 ways you can help
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Ekberg, Senior Lecturer, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University Paulina Rojas/Shutterstock For many people, Christmas can be the most social time of the year. The holiday period is often filled with parties, lunches, dinners and celebrations of all ...5 days ago
- If Treasury forecasts are right, it could be a decade before Australia is ‘back in black’
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra After two successive surpluses, the federal budget will be back in deficit in 2024–25, according to the much-anticipated budget update released on Wednesday. Known as the Mid-Year Economic ...5 days ago
- Lake Alice Payments Discriminatory
“While we applaud the Govt for trying to do the right thing for Lake Alice survivors & in recognising international recommendations, why is this Govt not doing right by all other survivors and recognising domestic recommendations?” Ms Cooper and ...5 days ago - Attorney-general ‘appalled’ after Judge and former doctor verbally abuse Winston Peters ...
Attorney-general Judith Collins said she was aware of what happened and was "appalled by it". ...5 days ago
- Why Vanuatu should brace for even more aftershocks after this week’s deadly quakes: a seismologist...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dee Ninis, Earthquake Scientist, Monash University Rescue services working in Port Vila, December 18 2024. Vanuatu Police Force/Facebook The death toll from Vanuatu’s earthquake disaster continues to rise, with international search and rescue operations underway to help people hit by the initial ...5 days ago
- Lake Alice survivor realises house bus dream with redress payment
Robyn Dandy plans to use her $150K payment to go on a South Island roadtrip with her pets in honour of the grandson she's lost. ...5 days ago
- Cabinet sets aside $22.6m for survivors tortured at Lake Alice
Analysis: More than 50 years after the first children were tortured at Lake Alice, the Government has announced redress, which includes either a rapid payment of $150,000 or an uncapped personalised payment.The Prime Minister set expectations that redress for Lake Alice survivors would be announced before the end of the ...5 days ago - Final decisions on TVNZ restructure to be announced in coming days
TVNZ's chief executive Jodi O'Donnell appeared before MPs at select committee on Wednesday for its annual review and outlined the big costs for the company. ...5 days ago
- Let’s take the boat out! 5 tips on staying safe on the water if you fancy a drink
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Peden, NHMRC Research Fellow, School of Population Health & co-founder UNSW Beach Safety Research Group, UNSW Sydney View Apart/Shutterstock Australia is a nation of boaters, with one of the world’s highest rates of boat ownership. There are about one million ...5 days ago
- A bitter rivalry is emerging in the Middle East between two old adversaries over the future of Syria
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus Professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Conversation; Mohammed Badra (EPA), Maxim Shemetov (Reuters Pool/EPA), Stoyan Nenov (Reuters Pool/AP) The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria has opened a new front for ...5 days ago
- Flying this holiday season? Here’s why air travel makes us so cranky – and what to do about it
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Senior Lecturer of Urban Risk & Resilience, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock The holidays are coming, airports are packed and emotions are running high. You’ve probably seen it or even been part of it: that tense moment when a passenger snaps ...5 days ago
- Minister Needs To Listen To The Evidence On Engineered Stone Ban
“We need to follow Australia’s example and implement a total ban of engineered stone, a dangerous product that is killing workers,” said Polaczuk. ...5 days ago
- How to not hug people you don’t want to hug this holiday season
You dread it, but they love it: here’s how to tell your family you’re hoping for a no-contact Christmas before they wrap their unwanted arms around you. There is nothing like Christmas to bring the blow of family obligation hurtling through your otherwise enjoyable life like a wrecking ball. And ...5 days ago - MPs Should Take A Break & Reject Easter Trading Bill
We reject any liberalisation of Easter trading laws and also Anzac and Christmas days because workers deserve this special annual break to spend time with their families. ...5 days ago
- Watch: Lake Alice survivors to get $150,000 each in redress
Erica Stanford has unveiled the government's redress plan for those tortured at the psychiatric hospital. ...5 days ago
- Peters considers legal action over judge’s ‘verbal attack’
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters is considering legal action after a district court judge and a celebrity doctor “verbally attacked” him and other party members at a Christmas function.On Wednesday, The Post reported District Court judge Ema Aitken and intensive care specialist David Galler had apologised after their actions ...5 days ago
- A return to balanced budgets is a decade away, mid-year update says
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The federal budget is headed for a deficit of $26.9 billion this financial year – $1.3 billion better than the estimate in May – but in the following three years the budget is forecast to ...5 days ago
- Labor and Albanese end 2024 in worst poll position this term
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll , conducted December 11–15 from a sample of 1,151, gave the Coalition a 48–47 lead including undecided, unchanged ...5 days ago
- How feelings of disconnection and lack of control fuel conspiracy beliefs – new research
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elianne Albath, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Social Psychology, University of Basel Conspiracy theories have always been a part of society, offering explanations – sometimes simple, often elaborate – for complex events. Some have uncovered genuine conspiracies, such as the Watergate scandal. ...5 days ago
- Watch live: Lake Alice survivors to get $150,000 each in redress
Erica Stanford has unveiled the government's redress plan for those tortured at the psychiatric hospital. ...5 days ago
- The Spinoff’s favourite music of 2024
From Eden Park stepping up to rappers stepping each other out, we look back at the best of music this year. Read The Spinoff’s favourite TV shows of 2024. We’re a very small team here at The Spinoff, but we’ve tried our best to up our music coverage this year. ...5 days ago
- Vanuatu quake: Missing MFAT staff found safe, NZ offers search and rescue help
There are 58 New Zealanders registered as being in Vanuatu, though MFAT expects there are more who are not registered. ...5 days ago
- Government consults on engineered stone benchtop ban
Australia banned its use and manufacture in July. ...5 days ago
- Chris Penk rejects bid to change Petone’s name to Pito One
Chris Penk has said no to the change after it received backing from the . ...5 days ago
- How the Fast-track Approvals Bill became law
The contentious Fast-track Approvals Bill is now law - but it hit a few speed bumps on the way. ...5 days ago
- In six hours, everything changed: Watching Korea’s political turmoil from afar
In the aftermath of Yoon Suk-Yeol’s attempted insurrection, South Koreans around the world have been making their voices heard as they defend their homeland’s democratic institutions. Aotearoa is no exception, explains Rebekah Jaung. As we forge on ahead Those who live, follow on – from the song ‘March for Our ...6 days ago
- Kindergarten group fears rule overhaul will lower standards
Most early childhood groups backed changes to the sector's rules but Kindergartens Aotearoa said the review was focused on the needs of businesses rather than children. ...6 days ago
- Vanuatu quake: Death toll rises – 14 dead, hundreds hurt in 7.3 disaster
RNZ News The death toll from Vanuatu’s 7.3 earthquake is expected to rise because concrete buildings have collapsed with people inside in the capital Port Vila. International Federation of Red Cross Pacific head of delegation Katie Greenwood posted on X that the Vanuatu government was reporting 14 confirmed fatalities and ...6 days ago
- What happened to the Queenstown KFC road sign?
The iconic ‘No left turn except access to KFC’ road sign has vanished. Joel MacManus investigates. Queenstown is home to many of the world’s great natural wonders: Lake Wakatipu, The Remarkables and the only known skeleton of the New Zealand Mountain Dolphin. But all the beauty of mother nature pales ...6 days ago
- Calf’s head consommé with truffle quenelles: a history of what the royals ate for Christmas, from...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa J. Hackett, Lecturer, Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, University of New England Rijksmuseum As we prepare our Christmas fare – a hot roast with all the trimmings, a seafood smorgasbord or a beach-side barbecue – it is timely to think ...6 days ago
- Astronomers’ world-first discovery: twin stars trapped in galactic black hole orbit
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Barnes, Lecturer in Physics, Western Sydney University A laser aims at the centre of our galaxy, in the heart of the brightest part of the Milky Way. G. Hüdepohl/ESO At the centre of the Milky Way is a supermassive black hole ...6 days ago
- Most journalism fails Australians by failing in its reportage of Indigenous affairs. 7 changes would...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University Alessia Francischiello via Unsplash Much has been written about the longstanding failings of the Australian media in its reportage of Indigenous affairs. The most recent example is the ...6 days ago
- We studied 20 places around the world and found the most common diseases linked with voluntary assis...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eliana Close, Senior Research Fellow, Australian Centre for Health Law Research, Queensland University of Technology Ground Picture/Shutterstock More and more countries are legalising voluntary assisted dying. This lets a doctor, or sometimes a nurse practitioner, give life-ending medication to an eligible ...6 days ago
- A push to cool Australian cities may inadvertently increase our skin cancer risk, unless we act
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Stanford, Researcher Associate, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University Picture this: you’re working from home and it’s sweltering outside. You venture out for a coffee and move between patches of shade as you go. Good thing you wore your sunglasses, because ...6 days ago
- Some ancient Romans got to retire with a pension at 42, but retirement’s changed a bit over the ce...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Asher, Associate Professor in the UNSW Business School, UNSW Sydney siloto/Shutterstock This article is part of The Conversation’s “Retirement” series where experts examine issues including how much money we need to retire, retiring with debt, the psychological impact of retiring ...6 days ago
- Glam tidings of joy: how Slade made Merry Xmas Everybody a seasonal hit for the ages
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Blair, Teaching Fellow in Music, University of Otago Getty Images Are you hanging up your stocking on your wall? It’s the time that every Santa has a ball! You’ve probably just heard the 1973 Slade classic at the ...6 days ago
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