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?!
- A world on fire: the World Bulletin year in review
Looking back at the events that made headlines around the globe in 2024. This is an excerpt from The World Bulletin, our weekly global current affairs newsletter exclusively for Spinoff Members. Sign up here. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be hard pressed to think of a grimmer year than ...6 days ago - Government to change free speech rules for universities
The coalition's proposal will also prohibit unis from adopting positions on issues that don't relate to their "core functions". ...6 days ago - From garlic to parsley, new research reveals the herbs and spices Australians love most
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Evangeline Mantzioris, Program Director of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Accredited Practising Dietitian, University of South Australia Herbs and spices have been used in cooking for centuries. They add flavour, aroma and colour to foods and have long been used for health ...6 days ago - Keith Rankin Essay – Judaism, Antisemitism, and Israel
Analysis by Keith Rankin. To understand antisemitism, we need a meaning for ‘semitism’, and another -ism to contextualise semitism. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. Literally, semitism means the promotion of the Semitic people, whoever ...6 days ago
- Former Defence Minister Peeni Henare calls Vanuatu flight woes ’embarrassing
A Hercules plane carrying urban rescue staff to Vanuatu was stranded in New Caledonia after an engine fault. ...6 days ago
- The Spinoff’s favourite movies of 2024
6 days ago
- NZ’s dairy industry faces an uncertain future – its fate now lies in its ability to adapt
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milena Bojovic, PhD Candidate, Macquarie University William West/AFP via Getty Images New Zealand’s dairy sector faces an uncertain future due to several challenges, including water pollution, high emissions, animal welfare concerns and market volatility. All of these issues are building ...6 days ago
- Call for entries: Rod Oram Memorial Essay Prize
Calling all young writers!To honour our great friend and esteemed colleague, Rod Oram, we are calling for essays from young people campaigning for a more equitable, sustainable and compassionate world.Rod Oram was a revered journalist and environmentalist, known for his rigorously researched and passionate commentaries on business, government and wider ...6 days ago - Banger alert: the song of the summer is ‘Harty Māori Stylez’
Espresso this, Not Like Us that. There will be only one true song of Aotearoa’s summer: Harty Māori Stylez by Te Kura Reo Rua o Waikirikiri. This summer, as you cruise coast to coast, you’re going to need an anthem to soundtrack your movements. A song that encapsulates the feeling ...6 days ago
- GMO Bill Creates More Societal Division
Organics Aotearoa New Zealand (OANZ) last week completed another two days with Ministers, political leaders, Ministries and primary sector leaders sharing science knowledge, societal concerns, economic impacts and trade findings. ...6 days ago - Lake Alice redress payments won’t have sway on what other survivors receive
Lead minister of the government's response to abuse in care Erica Stanford said Cabinet looked at this case very separately. ...6 days ago
- Help Me Hera: I hate spending Christmas with my in-laws
I grew up in a family where Christmas was all about tradition and hospitality. My husband’s family takes a different approach. How do I get over my resentment and have a nice day? Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nz Dear Hera The Christmas I had growing up was always quite lovely, ...6 days ago
- AI will continue to grow in 2025. But it will face major challenges along the way
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daswin de Silva, Professor of AI and Analytics, Deputy Director of the Centre for Data Analytics and Cognition, La Trobe University cybermagician/Shutterstock In 2024, artificial intelligence (AI) continued taking large and surprising steps forward. People started conversing with AI “resurrections” ...6 days ago
- Fifty years ago, Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin. The lessons from it have still not been learnt
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Farram, Associate Professor in North Australian and Regional Studies (History), Charles Darwin University It is hard to comprehend the force with which Cyclone Tracy struck Darwin early on Christmas Day, 1974. It was so ferocious that it killed 66 people, partly ...6 days ago
- Australia has an ongoing GP shortage. Why can’t we just train more GPs?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Harrison, Senior Lecturer, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney NotarYES/Shutterstock If you have Australia is critically short of GPs – and the shortfall is growing, predicted to be 8,600 GPs by 2048. So why can’t we just train ...6 days ago
- Could NZ’s two kākā subspecies actually be remnants of a more diverse species? Here’s why we n...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Knapp, Associate Professor in Biological Anthropology, University of Otago Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images As many Wellingtonians will know, kākā can be trouble. New Zealand’s pesky forest parrots have expanded throughout New Zealand’s capital city since they were reintroduced 22 ...6 days ago
- More than 1,300 Hajj pilgrims died this year when humidity and heat pushed past survivable limits. I...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Ramsay, Research Affiliate in Climate Adaptation, Monash University Every year, hundreds of thousands of Muslims undertake the Hajj –the sacred pilgrimage to Mecca. In 2024, the pilgrimage took place in mid-June, the start of the Saudi summer. But this year, ...6 days ago
- How a Cold War satellite and Robert Menzies changed the way Australian schools are funded
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Clark, Adjunct Professor of History, University of Adelaide Prime Minister Robert Menzies during the 1963 federal election campaign. Image courtesy of the National Archives of Australia. NAA: A1200, L46014 As students and teachers prepare to go on holidays, there’s a ...6 days ago
- Where does Santa live? It’s a trickier question to answer than you may think
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marcus Harmes, Professor in Pathways Education, University of Southern Queensland Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland. Roman Babakin/Shutterstock Sending a letter to Santa can be difficult as no one can agree on where exactly Santa lives. Several countries are competing to ...6 days ago
- Winston Peters spends much of year’s last speech criticising Te Pāti Māori, Waititi breaks i...
Watch: "Have a good Christmas, 'cos you'll need it sunshine," the NZ First leader said in a rowdy final debate in the house. ...6 days ago
- The year in five news events
For the penultimate Bulletin of 2024, editor Stewart Sowman-Lund flicks back through some of the biggest headlines of the year. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...6 days ago
- Swimming loses public funding but elite duo protected
High Performance Sport New Zealand will invest $162.8m into 36 national sporting organisations and athletes over the next four years, up from $131m in the four years leading up to this year’s Paris Olympics.From March next year, nearly $41 million per annum will go directly to national sports organisations for ...6 days ago
- Former National MP joins push for University of Waikato’s third medical school.
A former National MP and incumbent Hamilton City Councillor has been hired by the University of Waikato to advocate for its proposed third medical school. ...6 days ago
- Transmission Gully: New plan to tackle long-standing fight
A new plan has been hatched to try to resolve a years-long fight to protect native fish at Transmission Gully. ...6 days ago
- Opposition parties move towards ‘formalising’ collaboration
Te Pāti Māori had to "get past ourselves" and is figuring out working with Labour. Labour says collaboration is still "casual", but the Greens say they'll be meeting regularly. ...6 days ago
- The Spinoff’s biggest stories of 2024
From malls to gods, woke foods to putrid stenches, the year’s greatest hits had a bit of everything. A tip: to create a perfect summer reading list (albeit with a crowded browser), click the headline of every story you missed to open it in a fresh tab. The 10 most ...6 days ago
- Ten stories that defined New Zealand’s media in 2024
It was a torrid year for almost every aspect of New Zealand’s media. Duncan Greive breaks down the key storylines – and the one vast, existential threat lurking underneath. Duncan Greive and Glen Kyne discuss many of these stories on The Fold’s year in review. 1. The end of ...6 days ago
- Daily crossword, Thursday 19 December
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- Huzzah! The 2024 ReadingRoom awards
And so 2024 in New Zealand literature will be remembered for not all that much, hardly anything to do with actual literature, more to do with politics and money, as in it will be remembered for 1) the shameful hunting of poet Tusiata Avia for having the gall to express ...6 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 19 December
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, Thursday 19 December appeared first on Newsroom. ...6 days ago
- Vanuatu quake: Hospitals under pressure as death, damage toll grows
By Harry Pearl of BenarNews Vanuatu is taking stock of damage from a powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake that has killed at least 14 people and collapsed buildings in the capital Port Vila, as the first trickle of international assistance began arriving in the disaster-prone Pacific nation. The quake rattled the ...6 days ago
- 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 ...7 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. ...7 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 ...7 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, ...7 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 ...7 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 ...7 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 ...7 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". ...7 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 ...7 days ago
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