Author Archive
Two Faced Liberalism.
Written By: - Date published: 3:31 pm, January 13th, 2018 - 89 comments
Caring and heartless.
You Cowed?
Written By: - Date published: 3:21 pm, January 11th, 2018 - 94 comments
To bleat and wring hands, or to act? Jeez. It’s a difficult one.
Theatre and Oprah
Written By: - Date published: 6:25 pm, January 9th, 2018 - 42 comments
Maybe ‘circus’ would be more apt that ‘theatre’ with regards the Oprah spectacle.
Hatchets and Knives.
Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, January 9th, 2018 - 20 comments
A little on the (predictable) fallout from Emily Thornberry’s BBC Radio 4 interview.
The Saviour Machine
Written By: - Date published: 10:29 am, January 9th, 2018 - 66 comments
Our ingenuity.
UK Intelligence
Written By: - Date published: 10:50 am, January 7th, 2018 - 43 comments
From the Opposition Labour Party, a rare instance of common sense and intelligence on display with regards foreign relations.
Up in Smoke.
Written By: - Date published: 2:38 pm, January 5th, 2018 - 23 comments
US reverses Federal marijuana stance.
When the jet stream slows…
Written By: - Date published: 11:54 am, December 30th, 2017 - 39 comments
…let’s ridicule Donald Trump.
This. Almost.
Written By: - Date published: 10:05 am, December 23rd, 2017 - 26 comments
It’s not perfect. Maybe it’s a start.
A Christmas Rabbit-hole.
Written By: - Date published: 9:01 am, December 23rd, 2017 - 26 comments
Just some light-hearted musings.
Another middle finger?
Written By: - Date published: 10:33 am, December 22nd, 2017 - 3 comments
With just over half the votes counted, it looks like Catalonia has opted to ditch Spanish central rule.
Let’s stop kidding ourselves.
Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, December 18th, 2017 - 131 comments
The “Adapting to Climate Change in NZ” report.
Shaking the Tree
Written By: - Date published: 11:35 am, December 11th, 2017 - 69 comments
When an apple tree is shaken, pips can fall to the ground and germinate. And then things grow back more or less as before.
Brain Curdle.
Written By: - Date published: 4:37 pm, December 9th, 2017 - 75 comments
If ever anyone needed a reason to insist on secularism…
4 just became the new 2.
Written By: - Date published: 11:44 am, December 7th, 2017 - 14 comments
Someone just did something sensible, and it’s frightening.
Tenancy Stuff.
Written By: - Date published: 8:44 am, December 2nd, 2017 - 45 comments
How’s about private tenants in New Zealand were warm, dry and secure? Too big an ask?
Up the spout, round the bend and down the tubes.
Written By: - Date published: 11:43 am, November 28th, 2017 - 34 comments
It’s no longer really working out (kicking the AGW can down the road), but we seem to be hooked into a peculiar form of madness even as everything appears to be coming apart at the seams. It’s beyond me…
Friggit!
Written By: - Date published: 8:01 pm, November 23rd, 2017 - 155 comments
Frigate. Send one. Now.
Zimbabwe
Written By: - Date published: 11:37 am, November 20th, 2017 - 24 comments
I suspect I’m in the same boat as most when I say my knowledge of Zimbabwe is neither broad nor particularly deep. But anyway. Here’s some initial thoughts on current developments.
Labour’s home.
Written By: - Date published: 5:06 pm, November 19th, 2017 - 13 comments
Scottish Labour leadership election concludes. And kangaroos.
Thank You Canada!
Written By: - Date published: 8:50 am, November 11th, 2017 - 123 comments
Is this the sound a trade deal makes when someone pulls the flush?
This TPP…
Written By: - Date published: 11:19 am, November 8th, 2017 - 68 comments
Some aspects of the TPP no-one’s mentioning.
The Missing Noun.
Written By: - Date published: 10:09 am, November 8th, 2017 - 88 comments
When they said they wanted to eradicate poverty, I didn’t suspect they simply meant to expunge the word.
Remember, remember!
Written By: - Date published: 9:03 pm, November 1st, 2017 - 8 comments
Sunday the 5th of November from 12 O’Clock onwards, by the bandstand in Dunedin’s Botanic Gardens.
Deary me.
Written By: - Date published: 4:26 pm, October 30th, 2017 - 87 comments
It would seem Labour’s got nuffin when it comes to the TPP.
Catalonia
Written By: - Date published: 10:58 am, October 28th, 2017 - 62 comments
The predictable reactions of regional and world leaders.
oh fuck
Written By: - Date published: 1:53 pm, October 27th, 2017 - 98 comments
Sorry about the title. But seriously, what other reaction is there?
A Sugar Coated World
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, October 24th, 2017 - 42 comments
Yum! That would make for generations of ecstatic kids, no?
Professor Mark Blyth on…
Written By: - Date published: 11:26 am, October 18th, 2017 - 22 comments
…the past 70 years of economic theory and practice. (h/t Adam)
Happy Oompa Loompas?
Written By: - Date published: 12:48 pm, October 14th, 2017 - 9 comments
Dunedin hosts a celebratory graduation ceremony for discarded labour.
Donkey Dick Duncan
Written By: - Date published: 11:34 am, October 9th, 2017 - 318 comments
Gross political incompetence, not immigration, is what lies behind and beneath New Zealand’s infra-structure problems. Only a excited donkey’s dick waving in a stiff breeze might point accusingly towards immigrants and immigration as the problem.
- 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 ...1 week 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". ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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. ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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. ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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. ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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. ...1 week 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. ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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. ...1 week 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. ...1 week 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. ...1 week 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. ...1 week ago
- Government consults on engineered stone benchtop ban
Australia banned its use and manufacture in July. ...1 week 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 . ...1 week 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. ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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. ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week ago
- The very long road to fiscal recovery
Treasury’s latest update showed only small glimmers of light at the end of the tunnel, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund for The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...1 week ago
- Opposition accuses Nicola Willis of ‘creative accounting’
The finance minister's new indicator for measuring the budget has led to accusations of creative accounting from opposition parties. ...1 week ago
- Zombies given new life as fast-track passes into law
Ministers behind the bill say allowing certain projects to avoid extra scrutiny was a feature, not a bug, as fast-track is set for royal assent The post Zombies given new life as fast-track passes into law appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- Waitangi trust chair urges Christopher Luxon to show up Treaty grounds
The Waitangi National Trust chair hopes Christopher Luxon makes his way to the Treaty grounds for the annual commemorations. ...1 week ago
- Early childhood education regulations ‘excessive and confusing’ – Ministry
Children in early learning are at an unacceptable risk of harm due to gaps in the way the sector is monitored, the regulatory review of early childhood education says. ...1 week ago
- Allegations against TAB’s operator spark money laundering scrutiny
Racing Minister won’t say what’s being investigated: ‘You don’t tell a burglar when the cops are going to turn up’ The post Allegations against TAB’s operator spark money laundering scrutiny appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
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