I see the man-child narcissist in the USA wants to have his own parade like his good mates in other parts of the world. I reckon his will be huger than theirs though.
I think it's great that he got over the trauma of not being able to serve in the forces and now loves to be seen with the military. That shows the enormous courage and quality of the man.
Ever since President William McKinley’s administration — which began in 1897 — every single occupant of the White House, save for Trump, has had a dog at some point.
“I don’t know, I don’t feel good,” he said. “Feels a little phony to me.” A lot of people had told him to get a dog because it would look good politically, he added, but he hadn’t felt the need because “that’s not the relationship I have with my people.”
lol didn't need one politically – what a crooked stick he is
First POTUS to legitimise a murderous thug and his regime's system of collective punishment that results in the intergenerational and often lifetime incarceration, forced hard labour, calculated starvation and torture of families percieved or otherwise to be enemies of the ruling clique.
You could have mentioned their green tech and decent public transport that functions under heavy sanctions, but that would be a whole lot less warmongering.
It's just Trumpian farce. No-one who has been watching him objectively could think it was anything but. It may be to show Iran that if they would just abandon their plans for nuclear use they too could be sweet flavour of the month.
The North Koreans being shown the pics on their side of the border don't necessarily know the orange one is a petulant manbaby.
All many of them know is that the regime rattled sabres with the US and the US now recognises their regime. Helps keep the slave camps going for a bit longer.
Given that list was heavy with right wing fuckwits, I'm not sure you demonstrated any point of note. Got a similar list of lefties who refused service using paperwork shenanigans? Not conchies, who stood up and said "no" and took the consequences, but the dudes who sadly just missed out because of some convenient condition that hasn't stopped them leading full lives, or because their bosses just really needed them and only them as a law clerk?
I'm sure that the millionaire fraudster living in a golden mansion (that would make Louis IV make snide comments to Liberace about the tacky decor) and the hardline prosecutor would both have been regarded as "lefties", but I was thinking someone more conventionally "left", even for the US.
Sanders was a conchy, and faced billyclubs anyway. Biden seems to be the closest bet, as far as I can see.
To be fair, he was dealing with his own personal Vietnam at the time. It was so unfair to him that he didn't get a Congressional Medal of Honor for it.
The problem the world has with trump is not trump himself but the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have been disenfranchised by previous administrations and think he is the second messiah because his go to phrase is “ put America first.” Don’t blame the clown preacher blame the dumb congregation.
You could also blame tradition. America First has been percolating through US society for a century, so all Trump did was revive it. Complex memes that have been doing contagion for a century are very powerful.
The Native American Party, renamed the American Party in 1855 and commonly known as the Know Nothing movement, was an Americannativistpolitical party that operated nationally in the mid-1850s. It was primarily anti-Catholic, xenophobic, and hostile to immigration, starting originally as a secret society. The movement briefly emerged as a major political party in the form of the American Party. Adherents to the movement were to reply "I know nothing" when asked about its specifics by outsiders, thus providing the group with its common name.
Ah, so that's where Sergeant Schultz got his favourite saying from!
"The Prime Minister sounded increasingly like Sergeant Schultz, his repeated “I know NOTHING” denials less and less credible or convincing as the interviews proceeded. He looked irritated and out of sorts, frustrated by the inability of these idiots to see his point of view that, though he was Minister for the SIS, he could not be held responsible for the actions of people in his department that impinged on the impartiality of the Service. It had nothing to do with him."
Blame them both New view. Cheap, crass, dim-witted, a thug and devoid of class. That's Trump for you and his supporters are no better.
I listened to some of Trump's 4th July speech extolling the military – courageous and the mightiest soldiers in the world he said – or something like that. How would he know? He was a draft dodger.
In the meantime the concentration camps are thriving in the South but not the inmates, they are dying. It's only a matter of time before the camps start appearing elsewhere.
Thanks Anne and Andre (that's got a good ring about it …) will check them out.
I tried to see some on an Indy100 link but that froze my computer so did not pursue that link or others.
You two will also appreciate the link that Sabine put up at 6 on Open Mike – check it out if you haven't already. LOL.
I suspect it is going to be another little sleep night tonight as I check out July 4 'celebrations' in my adopted US home town (Washington DC). I lived there for almost 7 years, aged 14 – 21, so it disgusts me what Trump is doing to some very important American traditions etc.
Decoding things, looks like democracy is intended to be introduced to Europe in 2025, and it will happen as the result of realistic disobedience. The code format seems to be derived from standard internet password format (upper & lower case letters mixed with numbers), to get younger generations aboard I guess.
Top work those Westland Milk farmers who took the dividends for years, underinvested, hollowed the company with low product development, made the only choice to go for a for sale, cut its executives bonuses if they completed the sale, the sold it off the the Chinese.
Pack of pricks.
Really, really hard to see us getting ahead as a country when this is the long term attitude of milk farmers.
They bring to mind some of the cockies of my youth.
Dumb AF on their 60 acre rehab blocks with 40 cows, separators and pigs, yet they considered themselves landed gentry because could afford a new car every other year.
It looks like dressing up in traditional costume and sitting cross-legged on the floor, then taking your short sword and stabbing it deep into your abdomen before twisting it and slicing left, then right. Somehow I doubt that the board chair will genuinely take full responsibility.
Open access notables Recent intensified riverine CO2 emission across the Northern Hemisphere permafrost region, Mu et al., Nature Communications:Global warming causes permafrost thawing, transferring large amounts of soil carbon into rivers, which inevitably accelerates riverine CO2 release. However, temporally and spatially explicit variations of riverine CO2 emissions remain unclear, limiting the ...
Once a venomous thorn in New Zealand’s blogosphere, Cathy Odgers, aka Cactus Kate, has slunk into the shadows, her once-sharp quills dulled by the fallout of Dirty Politics.The dishonest attack-blogger, alongside her vile accomplices such as Cameron Slater, were key players in the National Party’s sordid smear campaigns, exposed by Nicky ...
Once upon a time, not so long ago, those who talked of Australian sovereign capability, especially in the technology sector, were generally considered an amusing group of eccentrics. After all, technology ecosystems are global and ...
The ACT Party leader’s latest pet project is bleeding taxpayers dry, with $10 million funneled into seven charter schools for just 215 students. That’s a jaw-dropping $46,500 per student, compared to roughly $9,000 per head in state schools.You’d think Seymour would’ve learned from the last charter school fiasco, but apparently, ...
India navigated relations with the United States quite skilfully during the first Trump administration, better than many other US allies did. Doing so a second time will be more difficult, but India’s strategic awareness and ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi is concerned for low-income workers given new data released by Stats NZ that shows inflation was 2.5% for the year to March 2025, rising from 2.2% in December last year. “The prices of things that people can’t avoid are rising – meaning inflation is rising ...
Last week, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment recommended that forestry be removed from the Emissions Trading Scheme. Its an unfortunate but necessary move, required to prevent the ETS's total collapse in a decade or so. So naturally, National has told him to fuck off, and that they won't be ...
China’s recent naval circumnavigation of Australia has highlighted a pressing need to defend Australia’s air and sea approaches more effectively. Potent as nuclear submarines are, the first Australian boats under AUKUS are at least seven ...
In yesterday’s post I tried to present the Reserve Bank Funding Agreement for 2025-30, as approved by the Minister of Finance and the Bank’s Board, in the context of the previous agreement, and the variation to that agreement signed up to by Grant Robertson a few weeks before the last ...
Australia’s bid to co-host the 31st international climate negotiations (COP31) with Pacific island countries in late 2026 is directly in our national interest. But success will require consultation with the Pacific. For that reason, no ...
Old and outdated buildings being demolished at Wellington Hospital in 2018. The new infrastructure being funded today will not be sufficient for future population size and some will not be built by 2035. File photo: Lynn GrievesonLong stories short from our political economy on Thursday, April 17:Simeon Brown has unveiled ...
The introduction of AI in workplaces can create significant health and safety risks for workers (such as intensification of work, and extreme surveillance) which can significantly impact workers’ mental and physical wellbeing. It is critical that unions and workers are involved in any decision to introduce AI so that ...
Donald Trump’s return to the White House and aggressive posturing is undermining global diplomacy, and New Zealand must stand firm in rejecting his reckless, fascist-driven policies that are dragging the world toward chaos.As a nation with a proud history of peacekeeping and principled foreign policy, we should limit our role ...
Sunday marks three months since Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president. What a ride: the style rude, language raucous, and the results rogue. Beyond manners, rudeness matters because tone signals intent as well as personality. ...
There are any number of reasons why anyone thinking of heading to the United States for a holiday should think twice. They would be giving their money to a totalitarian state where political dissenters are being rounded up and imprisoned here and here, where universities are having their funds for ...
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The Ukraine war has been called the bloodiest conflict since World War II. As of July 2024, 10,000 women were serving in frontline combat roles. Try telling them—from the safety of an Australian lounge room—they ...
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This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). From "founder" of Tesla and the OG rocket man with SpaceX, and rebranding twitter as X, Musk has ...
Back in February 2024, a rat infestation attracted a fair few headlines in the South Dunedin Countdown supermarket. Today, the rats struck again. They took out the Otago-Southland region’s internet connection. https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360656230/internet-outage-hits-otago-and-southland Strictly, it was just a coincidence – rats decided to gnaw through one fibre cable, while some hapless ...
I came in this morning after doing some chores and looked quickly at Twitter before unpacking the groceries. Someone was retweeting a Radio NZ story with the headline “Reserve Bank’s budget to be slashed by 25%”. Wow, I thought, the Minister of Finance has really delivered this time. And then ...
So, having teased it last week, Andrew Little has announced he will run for mayor of Wellington. On RNZ, he's saying its all about services - "fixing the pipes, making public transport cheaper, investing in parks, swimming pools and libraries, and developing more housing". Meanwhile, to the readers of the ...
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In the week of Australia’s 3 May election, ASPI will release Agenda for Change 2025: preparedness and resilience in an uncertain world, a report promoting public debate and understanding on issues of strategic importance to ...
Yesterday, 5,500 senior doctors across Aotearoa New Zealand voted overwhelmingly to strike for a day.This is the first time in New Zealand ASMS members have taken strike action for 24 hours.They are asking the government tofund them and account for resource shortfalls.Vacancies are critical - 45-50% in some regions.The ...
For years and years and years, David Seymour and his posse of deluded neoliberals have been preaching their “tough on crime” gospel to voters. Harsher sentences! More police! Lock ‘em up! Throw away the key. But when it comes to their own, namely former Act Party president Tim Jago, a ...
Judith Collins is a seasoned master at political hypocrisy. As New Zealand’s Defence Minister, she's recently been banging the war drum, announcing a jaw-dropping $12 billion boost to the defence budget over the next four years, all while the coalition of chaos cries poor over housing, health, and education.Apparently, there’s ...
I’m on the London Overground watching what the phones people are holding are doing to their faces: The man-bun guy who could not be less impressed by what he's seeing but cannot stop reading; the woman who's impatient for a response; the one who’s frowning; the one who’s puzzled; the ...
You don't have no prescriptionYou don't have to take no pillsYou don't have no prescriptionAnd baby don't have to take no pillsIf you come to see meDoctor Brown will cure your ills.Songwriters: Waymon Glasco.Dr Luxon. Image: David and Grok.First, they came for the Bottom FeedersAnd I did not speak outBecause ...
The Health Minister says the striking doctors already “well remunerated,” and are “walking away from” and “hurting” their patients. File photo: Lynn GrievesonLong stories short from our political economy on Wednesday, April 16:Simeon Brown has attacked1 doctors striking for more than a 1.5% pay rise as already “well remunerated,” even ...
The time is ripe for Australia and South Korea to strengthen cooperation in space, through embarking on joint projects and initiatives that offer practical outcomes for both countries. This is the finding of a new ...
Hi,When Trump raised tariffs against China to 145%, he destined many small businesses to annihilation. The Daily podcast captured the mass chaos by zooming in and talking to one person, Beth Benike, a small-business owner who will likely lose her home very soon.She pointed out that no, she wasn’t surprised ...
National’s handling of inflation and the cost-of-living crisis is an utter shambles and a gutless betrayal of every Kiwi scraping by. The Coalition of Chaos Ministers strut around preaching about how effective their policies are, but really all they're doing is perpetuating a cruel and sick joke of undelivered promises, ...
Most people wouldn't have heard of a little worm like Rhys Williams, a so-called businessman and former NZ First member, who has recently been unmasked as the venomous troll behind a relentless online campaign targeting Green Party MP Benjamin Doyle.According to reports, Williams has been slinging mud at Doyle under ...
Illustration credit: Jonathan McHugh (New Statesman)The other day, a subscriber said they were unsubscribing because they needed “some good news”.I empathised. Don’t we all.I skimmed a NZME article about the impacts of tariffs this morning with analysis from Kiwibank’s Jarrod Kerr. Kerr, their Chief Economist, suggested another recession is the ...
Let’s assume, as prudence demands we assume, that the United States will not at any predictable time go back to being its old, reliable self. This means its allies must be prepared indefinitely to lean ...
Over the last three rather tumultuous US trade policy weeks, I’ve read these four books. I started with Irwin (whose book had sat on my pile for years, consulted from time to time but not read) in a week of lots of flights and hanging around airports/hotels, and then one ...
Indonesia could do without an increase in military spending that the Ministry of Defence is proposing. The country has more pressing issues, including public welfare and human rights. Moreover, the transparency and accountability to justify ...
Former Hutt City councillor Chris Milne has slithered back into the spotlight, not as a principled dissenter, but as a vindictive puppeteer of digital venom. The revelations from a recent court case paint a damning portrait of a man whose departure from Hutt City Council in 2022 was merely the ...
That's the conclusion of a report into security risks against Green MP Benjamin Doyle, in the wake of Winston Peters' waging a homophobic hate-campaign against them: GRC’s report said a “hostility network” of politicians, commentators, conspiracy theorists, alternative media outlets and those opposed to the rainbow community had produced ...
That's the conclusion of a report into security risks against Green MP Benjamin Doyle, in the wake of Winston Peters' waging a homophobic hate-campaign against them: GRC’s report said a “hostility network” of politicians, commentators, conspiracy theorists, alternative media outlets and those opposed to the rainbow community had produced ...
National Party MP Hamish Campbell’s ties to the secretive Two By Twos "church" raises serious questions that are not being answered. This shadowy group, currently being investigated by the FBI for numerous cases of child abuse, hides behind a facade of faith while Campbell dodges scrutiny, claiming it’s a “private ...
National Party MP Hamish Campbell’s ties to the secretive Two By Twos "church" raises serious questions that are not being answered. This shadowy group, currently being investigated by the FBI for numerous cases of child abuse, hides behind a facade of faith while Campbell dodges scrutiny, claiming it’s a “private ...
The economy is not doing what it was supposed to when PM Christopher Luxon said in January it was ‘going for growth.’ Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short from our political economy on Tuesday, April 15:New Zealand’s economic recovery is stalling, according to business surveys, retail spending and ...
This is a guest post by Lewis Creed, managing editor of the University of Auckland student publication Craccum, which is currently running a campaign for a safer Symonds Street in the wake of a horrific recent crash.The post has two parts: 1) Craccum’s original call for safety (6 ...
NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff has published an opinion piece which makes the case for a different approach to economic development, as proposed in the CTU’s Aotearoa Reimagined programme. The number of people studying to become teachers has jumped after several years of low enrolment. The coalition has directed Health New ...
The growth of China’s AI industry gives it great influence over emerging technologies. That creates security risks for countries using those technologies. So, Australia must foster its own domestic AI industry to protect its interests. ...
Unfortunately we have another National Party government in power at the moment, and as a consequence, another economic dumpster fire taking hold. Inflation’s hurting Kiwis, and instead of providing relief, National is fiddling while wallets burn.Prime Minister Chris Luxon's response is a tired remix of tax cuts for the rich ...
Girls who are boys who like boys to be girlsWho do boys like they're girls, who do girls like they're boysAlways should be someone you really loveSongwriters: Damon Albarn / Graham Leslie Coxon / Alexander Rowntree David / Alexander James Steven.Last month, I wrote about the Birds and Bees being ...
Australia needs to reevaluate its security priorities and establish a more dynamic regulatory framework for cybersecurity. To advance in this area, it can learn from Britain’s Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, which presents a compelling ...
Deputy PM Winston Peters likes nothing more than to portray himself as the only wise old head while everyone else is losing theirs. Yet this time, his “old master” routine isn’t working. What global trade is experiencing is more than the usual swings and roundabouts of market sentiment. President Donald ...
President Trump’s hopes of ending the war in Ukraine seemed more driven by ego than realistic analysis. Professor Vladimir Brovkin’s latest video above highlights the internal conflicts within the USA, Russia, Europe, and Ukraine, which are currently hindering peace talks and clarity. Brovkin pointed out major contradictions within ...
In the cesspool that is often New Zealand’s online political discourse, few figures wield their influence as destructively as Ani O’Brien. Masquerading as a champion of free speech and women’s rights, O’Brien’s campaigns are a masterclass in bad faith, built on a foundation of lies, selective outrage, and a knack ...
The international challenge confronting Australia today is unparalleled, at least since the 1940s. It requires what the late Brendan Sargeant, a defence analyst, called strategic imagination. We need more than shrewd economic manoeuvring and a ...
This year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) will take place as a fully hybrid conference in both Vienna and online from April 27 to May 2. This year, I'll join the event on site in Vienna for the full week and I've already picked several sessions I plan ...
Here’s a book that looks not in at China but out from China. David Daokui Li’s China’s World View: Demystifying China to Prevent Global Conflict is a refreshing offering in that Li is very much ...
The New Zealand National Party has long mastered the art of crafting messaging that resonates with a large number of desperate, often white middle-class, voters. From their 2023 campaign mantra of “getting our country back on track” to promises of economic revival, safer streets, and better education, their rhetoric paints ...
A global contest of ideas is underway, and democracy as an ideal is at stake. Democracies must respond by lifting support for public service media with an international footprint. With the recent decision by the ...
It is almost six weeks since the shock announcement early on the afternoon of Wednesday 5 March that the Governor of the Reserve Bank, Adrian Orr, was resigning effective 31 March, and that in fact he had already left and an acting Governor was already in place. Orr had been ...
The PSA surveyed more than 900 of its members, with 55 percent of respondents saying AI is used at their place of work, despite most workers not being in trained in how to use the technology safely. Figures to be released on Thursday are expected to show inflation has risen ...
Be on guard for AI-powered messaging and disinformation in the campaign for Australia’s 3 May election. And be aware that parties can use AI to sharpen their campaigning, zeroing in on issues that the technology ...
Strap yourselves in, folks, it’s time for another round of Arsehole of the Week, and this week’s golden derrière trophy goes to—drumroll, please—David Seymour, the ACT Party’s resident genius who thought, “You know what we need? A shiny new Treaty Principles Bill to "fix" all that pesky Māori-Crown partnership nonsense ...
Apple Store, Shanghai. Trump wants all iPhones to be made in the USM but experts say that is impossible. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories shortist from our political economy on Monday, April 14:Donald Trump’s exemption on tariffs on phones and computers is temporary, and he wants all iPhones made in the ...
Kia ora, readers. It’s time to pull back the curtain on some uncomfortable truths about New Zealand’s political landscape. The National Party, often cloaked in the guise of "sensible centrism," has, at times, veered into territory that smells suspiciously like fascism.Now, before you roll your eyes and mutter about hyperbole, ...
Australia’s east coast is facing a gas crisis, as the country exports most of the gas it produces. Although it’s a major producer, Australia faces a risk of domestic liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply shortfalls ...
Overnight, Donald J. Trump, America’s 47th President, and only the second President since 1893 to win non-consecutive terms, rolled back more of his“no exemptions, no negotiations”&“no big deal” tariffs.Smartphones, computers, and other electronics1are now exempt from the 125% levies imposed on imports from China; they retain ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 6, 2025 thru Sat, April 12, 2025. This week's roundup is again published by category and sorted by number of articles included in each. The formatting is a ...
Just one year of loveIs better than a lifetime aloneOne sentimental moment in your armsIs like a shooting star right through my heartIt's always a rainy day without youI'm a prisoner of love inside youI'm falling apart all around you, yeahSongwriter: John Deacon.Morena folks, it feels like it’s been quite ...
“It's a history of colonial ruin, not a history of colonial progress,”says Michele Leggott, of the Harris family.We’re talking about Groundwork: The Art and Writing of Emily Cumming Harris, in which she and Catherine Field-Dodgson recall a near-forgotten and fascinating life, thefemale speck in the history of texts.Emily’s ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is the sun responsible for global warming? Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, not solar variability, is responsible for the global warming observed ...
Hitherto, 2025 has not been great in terms of luck on the short story front (or on the personal front. Several acquaintances have sadly passed away in the last few days). But I can report one story acceptance today. In fact, it’s quite the impressive acceptance, being my second ‘professional ...
Six long stories short from our political economy in the week to Saturday, April 12:Donald Trump exploded a neutron bomb under 80 years of globalisation, but Nicola Willis said the Government would cut operational and capital spending even more to achieve a Budget surplus by 2027/28. That even tighter fiscal ...
On 22 May, the coalition government will release its budget for 2025, which it says will focus on "boosting economic growth, improving social outcomes, controlling government spending, and investing in long-term infrastructure.” But who, really, is this budget designed to serve? What values and visions for Aotearoa New Zealand lie ...
After stonewalling requests for information on boot camps, the Government has now offered up a blog post right before Easter weekend rather than provide clarity on the pilot. ...
More people could be harmed if Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey does not guarantee to protect patients and workers as the Police withdraw from supporting mental health call outs. ...
The Green Party recognises the extension of visa allowances for our Pacific whānau as a step in the right direction but continues to call for a Pacific Visa Waiver. ...
The Government yesterday released its annual child poverty statistics, and by its own admission, more tamariki across Aotearoa are now living in material hardship. ...
Today, Te Pāti Māori join the motu in celebration as the Treaty Principles Bill is voted down at its second reading. “From the beginning, this Bill was never welcome in this House,” said Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader, Rawiri Waititi. “Our response to the first reading was one of protest: protesting ...
The Green Party is proud to have voted down the Coalition Government’s Treaty Principles Bill, an archaic piece of legislation that sought to attack the nation’s founding agreement. ...
A Member’s Bill in the name of Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter which aims to stop coal mining, the Crown Minerals (Prohibition of Mining) Amendment Bill, has been pulled from Parliament’s ‘biscuit tin’ today. ...
Labour MP Kieran McAnulty’s Members Bill to make the law simpler and fairer for businesses operating on Easter, Anzac and Christmas Days has passed its first reading after a conscience vote in Parliament. ...
Nicola Willis continues to sit on her hands amid a global economic crisis, leaving the Reserve Bank to act for New Zealanders who are worried about their jobs, mortgages, and KiwiSaver. ...
Today, the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill has passed its third and final reading, but there is one more stage before it becomes law. The Governor-General must give their ‘Royal assent’ for any bill to become legally enforceable. This means that, even if a bill gets voted ...
Abortion care at Whakatāne Hospital has been quietly shelved, with patients told they will likely have to travel more than an hour to Tauranga to get the treatment they need. ...
Thousands of New Zealanders’ submissions are missing from the official parliamentary record because the National-dominated Justice Select Committee has rushed work on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...
Today’s announcement of 10 percent tariffs for New Zealand goods entering the United States is disappointing for exporters and consumers alike, with the long-lasting impact on prices and inflation still unknown. ...
The National Government’s choices have contributed to a slow-down in the building sector, as thousands of people have lost their jobs in construction. ...
Willie Apiata’s decision to hand over his Victoria Cross to the Minister for Veterans is a powerful and selfless act, made on behalf of all those who have served our country. ...
The Privileges Committee has denied fundamental rights to Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Rawiri Waititi and Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, breaching their own standing orders, breaching principles of natural justice, and highlighting systemic prejudice and discrimination within our parliamentary processes. The three MPs were summoned to the privileges committee following their performance of a haka ...
April 1 used to be a day when workers could count on a pay rise with stronger support for those doing it tough, but that’s not the case under this Government. ...
Winston Peters is shopping for smaller ferries after Nicola Willis torpedoed the original deal, which would have delivered new rail enabled ferries next year. ...
The Government should work with other countries to press the Myanmar military regime to stop its bombing campaign especially while the country recovers from the devastating earthquake. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Peter Dutton, now seriously on the back foot, has made an extraordinarily big “aspirational” commitment at the back end of this campaign. He says he wants to see a move to indexing personal income ...
Essay by Keith Rankin. Operation Gomorrah may have been the most cynical event of World War Two (WW2). Not only did the name fully convey the intent of the war crimes about to be committed, it, also represented the single biggest 24-hour murder toll for the European war that I ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Tietz, Senior Lecturer in Industrial Design, UNSW Sydney A New South Wales Senate inquiry into public toilets is underway, looking into the provision, design and maintenance of public toilets across the state. Whenever I mention this inquiry, however, everyone nervously ...
Shrinking budgets and job insecurity means there are fewer opportunities for young journalists, and that’s bad news, especially in regional Australia, reports 360infoANALYSIS:By Jee Young Lee of the University of Canberra Australia risks losing a generation of young journalists, particularly in the regions where they face the closure ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tessa Charles, Accelerator Physicist, Monash University An artist’s impression of the tunnel of the proposed Future Circular Collider.CERN The Large Hadron Collider has been responsible for astounding advances in physics: the discovery of the elusive, long-sought Higgs boson as well as ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer McKay, Professor in Business Law, University of South Australia Parkova/Shutterstock Could someone take you to court over an agreement you made – or at least appeared to make – by sending a “”? Emojis can have more legal weight ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Trang Nguyen, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Global Food and Resources, University of Adelaide Stokkete, Shutterstock Australians waste around 7.68 million tonnes of food a year. This costs the economy an estimated A$36.6 billion and households up to $2,500 annually. ...
Pushing people off income support doesn’t make the job market fairer or more accessible. It just assumes success is possible while unemployment rises and support systems become harder to navigate. ...
A year since the inquest into the death of Gore three-year-old Lachlan Jones began and the Coroner has completed his provisional findings. Interested parties have been provided with a copy of Coroner Ho’s provisional findings and have until May 16 to respond.The Coroner has indicated the final decision will be delivered on June 3 in Invercargill, citing high ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ken Nosaka, Professor of Exercise and Sports Science, Edith Cowan University Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock Do you ever feel like you can’t stop moving after you’ve pushed yourself exercising? Maybe you find yourself walking around in circles when you come off the pitch, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland After decades of Hollywood showcasing white-picket-fence celebrity smiles, the world has fallen for White Lotus actor Aimee Lou Wood’s teeth.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachelle Martin, Senior Lecturer in Rehabilitation & Disability, University of Otago Getty Images Disabled people encounter all kinds of barriers to accessing healthcare – and not simply because some face significant mobility challenges. Others will see their symptoms not investigated properly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Simpson, Senior Lecturer, International Studies, University of South Australia Despite the challenges faced by local democratic activists, Thailand has often been an oasis of relative liberalism compared with neighbouring countries such as Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. Westerners, in particular, have been ...
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I see the man-child narcissist in the USA wants to have his own parade like his good mates in other parts of the world. I reckon his will be huger than theirs though.
https://time.com/5619191/donald-trump-july-4-speech-controversy/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMLtkp4AFkchttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMLtkp4AFkc
tRump sized.
https://twitter.com/biner54/status/1146436537074298880
Hey, those were among the best APCs money could buy back in 1990.
Sabine also posted a wonderful picture at 6 on Open Mike today – well worth a look and a laugh.
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-04-07-2019/#comment-1634002
all those tanks will do wonders for the US crumbling infrastructure
Those seventy tonne behemoths should grind the National Mall into hard fill.
So there's that.
I think it's great that he got over the trauma of not being able to serve in the forces and now loves to be seen with the military. That shows the enormous courage and quality of the man.
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/donald-trump-avoided-the-military-draft-which-was-common-at-the-time-vietnam-war-2018-12?r=US&IR=T
Anyone with connections avoided the draft
https://www.cheatsheet.com/money-career/its-not-just-donald-trump-these-famous-americans-also-received-draft-deferments.html
tRump is the chickenhawk personified – a bullying, strutting, obnoxious and dangerous thug who liked to play soldier boi dress-up.
https://web.archive.org/web/20110604160503/http://www.nhgazette.com/chickenhawks/
First US Pres to step inside North Korea though, and gets along pretty well with Vlad too. Hopeful signs for the world.
he's not cool – 120 years
this is why he doesn't
lol didn't need one politically – what a crooked stick he is
First POTUS to legitimise a murderous thug and his regime's system of collective punishment that results in the intergenerational and often lifetime incarceration, forced hard labour, calculated starvation and torture of families percieved or otherwise to be enemies of the ruling clique.
Too many CNN talking points possibly there Joe…
You could have mentioned their green tech and decent public transport that functions under heavy sanctions, but that would be a whole lot less warmongering.
Apparently things were as peachy as fuck in Theresienstadt, too.
/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZt92quVOsg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresienstadt_(1944_film)
Legitimising the NK regime is a shit idea.
And so is joe90's Godwinism.
Likening Bartlett's vile propaganda to an historical example ain't Godwinism.
/
It's just Trumpian farce. No-one who has been watching him objectively could think it was anything but. It may be to show Iran that if they would just abandon their plans for nuclear use they too could be sweet flavour of the month.
The North Koreans being shown the pics on their side of the border don't necessarily know the orange one is a petulant manbaby.
All many of them know is that the regime rattled sabres with the US and the US now recognises their regime. Helps keep the slave camps going for a bit longer.
That's a pretty good list of arseholes. Didn't know about Clinton (the least arseholey of the lot). There was a pretty good scene in Trumbo where John Wayne gets bollocked for having avoided doing anything in WW2.
Given that list was heavy with right wing fuckwits, I'm not sure you demonstrated any point of note. Got a similar list of lefties who refused service using paperwork shenanigans? Not conchies, who stood up and said "no" and took the consequences, but the dudes who sadly just missed out because of some convenient condition that hasn't stopped them leading full lives, or because their bosses just really needed them and only them as a law clerk?
Wasn't really taking into consideration their political affiliations, as I just was pointing out it was a common thing for people with connections.
But if you insist on going there
Both Trump and Rudy would have been democrats at the time.
Comments?
I'm sure that the millionaire fraudster living in a golden mansion (that would make Louis IV make snide comments to Liberace about the tacky decor) and the hardline prosecutor would both have been regarded as "lefties", but I was thinking someone more conventionally "left", even for the US.
Sanders was a conchy, and faced billyclubs anyway. Biden seems to be the closest bet, as far as I can see.
People of all colours have been getting out of ugly work and risk since time immemorial.
It is one of those things where "who is the worst" is a tad silly.
The whole democrat/republican thing in the US is a tad silly anyway given everything kind of switched.
Don't know why people bother so much talking about the idiot orange sexist twat or even US politics in general
Maybe a case that your list had a funny sample bias?
No idea
I just googled famous people who avoided the draft and that came up
Feel free to do a "right", "left", "politicians", if it gives you a buzz
John Wayne was a racist piece of scum by all accounts btw
You mean hollywood…… 14.20
Not just John wayne … who fitted in just fine 15 mins 55 secs
To be fair, he was dealing with his own personal Vietnam at the time. It was so unfair to him that he didn't get a Congressional Medal of Honor for it.
https://money.cnn.com/2016/10/14/media/trump-stern-vietnam-stds/index.html
Very excited.
'scuse the male pale stale that follows.
The Chills, Straitjacket Fits and The Blams (as well as a bunch of other artists), are playing The Others Way gig.
K Road, August 30th from 10 am.
Flying out.co.nz for tickets.
I am stoked to see The Blams.
Did you see this review/story? https://thespinoff.co.nz/books/04-07-2019/shayne-carters-rock-n-roll-memoir-and-stories-from-someone-who-was-there/
No, thanks Sacha.
IMO Kim Hill's hour long in depth interview with Shane Carter last Saturday was well worth a listen if you did not hear it.
Here is the RNZ article about the interview with links to the actual interview.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/2018693579/shayne-carter-on-his-memoir-dead-people-i-have-known
Thanks VV for pointing that out. Always enjoy hearing Shane Carter speak.
The problem the world has with trump is not trump himself but the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have been disenfranchised by previous administrations and think he is the second messiah because his go to phrase is “ put America first.” Don’t blame the clown preacher blame the dumb congregation.
You could also blame tradition. America First has been percolating through US society for a century, so all Trump did was revive it. Complex memes that have been doing contagion for a century are very powerful.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_First
Preceded by this mob.
The Native American Party, renamed the American Party in 1855 and commonly known as the Know Nothing movement, was an American nativist political party that operated nationally in the mid-1850s. It was primarily anti-Catholic, xenophobic, and hostile to immigration, starting originally as a secret society. The movement briefly emerged as a major political party in the form of the American Party. Adherents to the movement were to reply "I know nothing" when asked about its specifics by outsiders, thus providing the group with its common name.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Know_Nothing
Ah, so that's where Sergeant Schultz got his favourite saying from!
"The Prime Minister sounded increasingly like Sergeant Schultz, his repeated “I know NOTHING” denials less and less credible or convincing as the interviews proceeded. He looked irritated and out of sorts, frustrated by the inability of these idiots to see his point of view that, though he was Minister for the SIS, he could not be held responsible for the actions of people in his department that impinged on the impartiality of the Service. It had nothing to do with him."
https://www.nbr.co.nz/opinion/uncanny-resemblance-between-john-key-and-sergeant-schultz
Blame them both New view. Cheap, crass, dim-witted, a thug and devoid of class. That's Trump for you and his supporters are no better.
I listened to some of Trump's 4th July speech extolling the military – courageous and the mightiest soldiers in the world he said – or something like that. How would he know? He was a draft dodger.
In the meantime the concentration camps are thriving in the South but not the inmates, they are dying. It's only a matter of time before the camps start appearing elsewhere.
This is interesting. Aussie billionaire selling his property to himself for increased value.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/property/113994687/aussie-billionaire-tim-roberts-sells-queenstown-property-for-top-price#comments
The comments touch on a few interesting scenarios:
This is worth investigating.
My theory: Poor misunderstood billionaire suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder flips house to an alternate personality state.
Shades of 'I wasn't speaking as a Prime Minister at that moment.' Rich people can afford lots of hats.
A big thank you to whoever is choosing the Daily Review pictures – am loving the "Where is
WallyIvanka?" series!A wonderful follow-on to her performance as ‘Ambassador-at-Large’ at the G20 meeting last week – LOL Shame she was not accredited to the role …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambassador-at-large
Ya wanna know where to go to overdose on them or you prefer to enjoy them one by one as micky trickles them out?
Here’s a few of them:
https://news.sky.com/story/unwantedivanka-awkward-g20-meeting-inspires-flurry-of-parodies-11752649
My fave is "Yalta". Three old men are sitting on a park bench and Ivanka is serenading them.
I wasn't going to spoil it by linking a bunch, but this one brought tears to my eyes so I had to share …
https://c.nau.ch/i/54WBw/1024/512/unwantedivanka.jpg
There's some brilliant ones out there. I nearly had a wee accident the other night. Micky must show the 'allied landing' one. It's a classic.
"The Shining" might be a bit too scary for use here, tho.
Oh my goooooddddd…..!!!!!!! Not just tears to my eyes, but what Anne said below!
Thanks Anne and Andre (that's got a good ring about it …) will check them out.
I tried to see some on an Indy100 link but that froze my computer so did not pursue that link or others.
You two will also appreciate the link that Sabine put up at 6 on Open Mike – check it out if you haven't already. LOL.
I suspect it is going to be another little sleep night tonight as I check out July 4 'celebrations' in my adopted US home town (Washington DC). I lived there for almost 7 years, aged 14 – 21, so it disgusts me what Trump is doing to some very important American traditions etc.
Just google unwanted ivanka and check out the images. Here's a starter pack.
https://www.liveleak.com/view?t=CUZob_1562030953
Won’t somebody please think of the racist, sexist turnkeys.
https://twitter.com/hectorgarza2455/status/1146484821654478848
https://www.propublica.org/article/secret-border-patrol-facebook-group-agents-joke-about-migrant-deaths-post-sexist-memes
lol put those arseholes in the cages I say – dirty racists
There's an exciting fashion trend evident in leftist political thought: using code in brand names for political parties. This quote gives two examples: "The European Realistic Disobedience Front, or MeRA25, is a left-wing Greek political party founded in 2018. Its founder and secretary is former Syriza MP and Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis. MeRa25 is part of the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (DiEM25), the European Spring and the Progressive International". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MeRA25
Decoding things, looks like democracy is intended to be introduced to Europe in 2025, and it will happen as the result of realistic disobedience. The code format seems to be derived from standard internet password format (upper & lower case letters mixed with numbers), to get younger generations aboard I guess.
Top work those Westland Milk farmers who took the dividends for years, underinvested, hollowed the company with low product development, made the only choice to go for a for sale, cut its executives bonuses if they completed the sale, the sold it off the the Chinese.
Pack of pricks.
Really, really hard to see us getting ahead as a country when this is the long term attitude of milk farmers.
They bring to mind some of the cockies of my youth.
Dumb AF on their 60 acre rehab blocks with 40 cows, separators and pigs, yet they considered themselves landed gentry because could afford a new car every other year.
I heard the chair of the board say he bears full responsibility, so that's ok.
I wonder what full responsibility looks like?
It looks like dressing up in traditional costume and sitting cross-legged on the floor, then taking your short sword and stabbing it deep into your abdomen before twisting it and slicing left, then right. Somehow I doubt that the board chair will genuinely take full responsibility.
I doubt that was in the prospectus.
it's a shower of gold
Do you mean in $NZ dollars?
Somebody got annoyed with the West Coast intransigence about new ideas, new business and called them 'feral'.
It's a miracle!
https://twitter.com/VicBergerIV/status/1145888528439508992
Nazis lie?
Say it ain't so.
https://twitter.com/IGD_News/status/1146238223485743104
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2019/07/02/news/allegations-against-portland-antifa-latest-effort-far-right-activists-vilify
Priorities.
https://twitter.com/AJEnglish/status/1146173126373498884
https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1146172211251822593
yep, one saving them, one killing them and we know which one is punished
I’ve seen a dementia sufferer get as teary AF.
https://twitter.com/ShotgunZen/status/1135453852617052161