These are difficult times for people who are defending the Nixon administration. No matter where they go they are attacked by pseudo-liberals, McGovern lovers, heterosexual constitutionalists and paranoid John Dean believers.
As a public service, I am printing instant responses for loyal Nixonites when they are attacked at a party. Please cut it out and carry it in your pocket.
1. Everyone does it.
2. What about Chappaquiddick?
[…]
32. What about Chappaquiddick?
33. I think the people who make all this fuss about Watergate should be shot.
34. If the Democrats had the money they would have done the same thing.
35. I never did trust Haldeman and Ehrlichman.
36. If you say one more word about Watergate I’ll punch you in the nose.
A. If the person is bigger than you: “If you say one more word about Watergate I’m leaving this house.”
B. If it’s your own house and the person is bigger than you: “What about Chappaquiddick?”
“You can’t make up anything anymore. The world itself is a satire. All you’re doing is recording it.”
— Art Buchwald
“If you attack the establishment long enough and hard enough, they will make you a member of it.”
— Art Buchwald
“And Man created the plastic bag and the tin and aluminum can and the cellophane wrapper and the paper plate, and this was good because Man could then take his automobile and buy all his food in one place and He could save that which was good to eat in the refrigerator and throw away that which had no further use. And soon the earth was covered with plastic bags and aluminum cans and paper plates and disposable bottles and there was nowhere to sit down or walk, and Man shook his head and cried: “Look at this Godawful mess.”
— Art Buchwald https://www.inspiringquotes.us/author/4976-art-buchwald
I see according to the news on Prime and now TV1 we are in a middle of a drought. Napier being the worse affected area. I take it then all the water bottling companies have shut down.
It’s a pity Hawkes Bay threw the baby out with the bathwater when The Ruataniwha dam was scuttled to save 75 Hectares of second rate bush .
A bit of a dry spell and napier water supply is floundering.Whats going to happen when we get a real drought.
Yes please comment on today’s Open Thread. There I comment about an issue.
However, I refuse to debate the blatant puerile trolling topics you and other rwnjs bring up day after day.
I also see today Trump has passed his new tax laws reducing the corporate tax to 20%.
I find that ironic as a lot of the corporates like Apple Amazon don’t pay any tax.
So I take it then they now have to pay only 20% of the tax they don’t pay.
But since most of the money our country earns from the things we produce, and inbound tourism, is denominated in USD, we also get a very healthy rise in income.
So while imported items may be more expensive, they may also be more affordable since there is more money being earned by producers.
Why would money flood back into America.?America has had trillions of Q.E and dispersed it to the favoured few since 2008.What do you mean about the outlook for the NZ$?.Ex P.M and foreign exchange guru Key said around 65-66c U.S was the right rate for the NZ economy.As you know exchange rates are a double edged sword .
If that happens there will be some very digruntled corporates who make most of their money offshore. So probably not such a big rush of money back to the US…
I have read with interest on here the comments re some saying there is some kind of media agenda against the current govt.
From among others Garner, Soper and newshub in general.
It seems to pop up after Jacinda’s Monday AM slot etc
I have to say it amuses me slightly reading this after the onslaught of first Jacindamania, then days of articles on her dead cat, then articles about young women politicians around the world striving to be like Jacinda.
And now a ring on a different finger
Now I know Jacinda has no say in what is written about her and the media print what sells, but I am beginning to feel slightly bemused when this apparent bias against her comes up
Yet we had years of John Key’s cat, planking, dirty politics, avoiding serious media interviews, etc…. and years of the mainstream media failing to criticise anything much that he did…. a long, long honeymoon – 2 months after an election is not much of an MSM honeymoon.
“Pippa MacKay said she hopes the new Minister of Health was behind the Director-General of Health Chai Chuah’s resignation. She said he was a ‘bean counter’ who couldn’t count the beans properly.”
Just what effect the new Tax “Reforms” will have : https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/12/2/16720952/senate-tax-bill-inequality
Increasing inequality in an already hugely dysfunctional society is going to have serious consequences in the years ahead. Trump thinks the Democrats will pay for their refusal to “get behind” the Republicans, because he especially is going to benefit Very Bigly on this (even though he tries to tell the public otherwise). My pick is that in the years ahead the public – especially the workers who were foolish enough to vote for him – will punish him severely when they eventually realise just how he has robbed them.
Each bubble above represents the size of an automatic budget cut that could take place next year.
The Statutory Pay-as-You-Go Act of 2010, or Paygo, is an Obama-era update of a rule first enacted under President George H.W. Bush. It requires that legislation that adds to the federal deficit be paid for with spending cuts, increases in revenue or other offsets.
With the exception of Social Security, the post office and many income-based programs like unemployment benefits and food stamps, most mandatory spending programs — those automatically funded on a continuing basis, rather than appropriated year by year — are subject to Paygo. In 2018, for example, the law would claim $14 billion in various farm aid programs; $1.7 billion for Social Services block grants, which states use to help fund foster care, Meals on Wheels and other programs; and $69 million for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund.
JALALABAD, Afghanistan — Meena got chickenpox, measles and the mumps in prison. She was born there, nursed there and weaned there. Now 11 years old, she has spent her entire life in prison and will probably spend the rest of her childhood there as well.
The girl has never committed a crime, but her mother, Shirin Gul, is a convicted serial killer serving a life sentence, and under Afghan prison policy she can keep her daughter with her until she turns 18.
Meena was even conceived in prison, and has never been out, not even for a brief visit. She has never seen a television set, she said, and has no idea what the world outside the walls looks like.
Simon No Bridges on The Project tonight continuing the spin about a split in the coalition government over working for the dole. “Dramatic”, blah, ” train wreck”, blah “we thought it might take a while but its only taken four weeks” (or words to that effect) blah…
Apart from the spin I didn’t think a kiwi politician could mangle the English language more than Key, but I was wrong.
I quite agree Grey Area the man has appalling diction and looks like a bootlegger, nothing professional about him at all, it amazes me he had a former career as a Crown Prosecutor – it must have lowered the tone of the court rooms he attended no end.
The guy has to be masquerading as a semi-literate in order for many of our voters to identify with him.
Otherwise, it is impossible to contemplate how he ever graduated from any respectable university. (One of which apparently needs to be taken to task.)
I don’t get it either Whispering Kate. It is a simple matter for anyone involved in public life where they need to communicate, courtroom lawyers and politicians among them, to take some elocution lessons. It just takes a bit of effort.
I suspect Key never bothered as he came across as lazy and maybe Bridges is the same. Bridges seems to my ear to have a speech issue but his mangling seems to go beyond that.
I know they want to come across as a kiwi bloke especially Key but even average kiwi blokes are allowed to pronounce words clearly without sounding like they went to an English public school.
“High-ranking Republicans are hinting that, after their tax overhaul, the party intends to look at cutting spending on welfare, entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare, and other parts of the social safety net. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said recently that he wants Republicans to focus in 2018 on reducing spending on government programs. Last month, President Trump said welfare reform will “take place right after taxes, very soon, very shortly after taxes.”
a broken ineffectual health system that is the most expensive in the world…..(one that some here wish to emulate)….and Trump slashes tax for the uber wealthy…something is going to give.
Another great USA humourist whose name I must refresh today.
It’s been my policy to view the Internet not as an ‘information highway’, but as an electronic asylum filled with babbling loonies. Mike Royko
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/mike_royko_102381
And on a wayward election:
Later, when they sat down and went over the figures closely, they found an interesting pattern. Adamowski had received fifty-one percent of the votes, cast by white persons. But the enormous black vote had given Daley his victory. The people who were trapped in the ghetto slums and the nightmarish public housing projects, the people who had the worst school system and were most often degraded by the Police Department, the people who received the fewest campaign promises and who were ignored as part of the campaign trail, had given him his third term. They had done it quietly, asking for nothing in return. Exactly what they got.”
― Mike Royko, Boss: Richard J. Daley of Chicago https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/31199.Mike_Royko
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.The Regulatory Standards Bill, as I understand it, seeks to bind parliament to a specific range of law-making.For example, it seems to ensure primacy of individual rights over that of community, environment, te Tiriti ...
Happy New Year!I had a lovely break, thanks very much for asking: friends, family, sunshine, books, podcasts, refreshing swims, barbecues, bike rides. So good to step away from the firehose for a while, to have less Trump and Seymour in your day. Who needs the Luxons in their risible PJs ...
Patrick Reynolds is deputy chair of the Auckland City Centre Advisory Panel and a director of Greater Auckland In 2003, after much argument, including the election of a Mayor in 2001 who ran on stopping it, Britomart train station in downtown Auckland opened. A mere 1km twin track terminating branch ...
For the first time in a decade, a New Zealand Prime Minister is heading to the Middle East. The trip is more than just a courtesy call. New Zealand PMs frequently change planes in Dubai en route to destinations elsewhere. But Christopher Luxon’s visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 5, 2025 thru Sat, January 11, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
The decade between 1952 and the early 1960s was the peak period for the style of music we now call doo wop, after which it got dissolved into soul music, girl groups, and within pop music in general. Basically, doo wop was a form of small group harmonising with a ...
The future teaches you to be aloneThe present to be afraid and coldSo if I can shoot rabbits, then I can shoot fascists…And if you tolerate thisThen your children will be nextSongwriters: James Dean Bradfield / Sean Anthony Moore / Nicholas Allen Jones.Do you remember at school, studying the rise ...
When National won the New Zealand election in 2023, one of the first to congratulate Luxon was tech-billionaire and entrepreneur extraordinaire Elon Musk.And last year, after Luxon posted a video about a trip to Malaysia, Musk came forward again to heap praise on Christopher:So it was perhaps par for the ...
Hi,Today’s Webworm features a new short film from documentary maker Giorgio Angelini. It’s about Luigi Mangione — but it’s also, really, about everything in America right now.Bear with me.Shortly after I sent out my last missive from the fires on Wednesday, one broke out a little too close to home ...
So soon just after you've goneMy senses sharpenBut it always takes so damn longBefore I feel how much my eyes have darkenedFear hangs in a plane of gun smokeDrifting in our roomSo easy to disturb, with a thought, with a whisperWith a careless memorySongwriters: Andy Taylor / John Taylor / ...
Can we trust the Trump cabinet to act in the public interest?Nine of Trump’s closest advisers are billionaires. Their total net worth is in excess of $US375b (providing there is not a share-market crash). In contrast, the total net worth of Trump’s first Cabinet was about $6b. (Joe Biden’s Cabinet ...
Welcome back to our weekly roundup. We hope you had a good break (if you had one). Here’s a few of the stories that caught our attention over the last few weeks. This holiday period on Greater Auckland Since our last roundup we’ve: Taken a look back at ...
Sometimes I feel like I don't have a partnerSometimes I feel like my only friendIs the city I live in, The City of AngelsLonely as I am together we crySong: Anthony Kiedis, Chad Smith, Flea, John Frusciante.A home is engulfed in flames during the Eaton fire in the Altadena area. ...
Open access notablesLarge emissions of CO2 and CH4 due to active-layer warming in Arctic tundra, Torn et al., Nature Communications:Climate warming may accelerate decomposition of Arctic soil carbon, but few controlled experiments have manipulated the entire active layer. To determine surface-atmosphere fluxes of carbon dioxide and ...
It's election year for Wellington City Council and for the Regional Council. What have the progressive councillors achieved over the last couple of years. What were the blocks and failures? What's with the targeting of the mayor and city council by the Post and by central government? Why does the ...
Over the holidays, there was a rising tide of calls for people to submit on National's repulsive, white supremacist Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill, along with a wave of advice and examples of what to say. And it looks like people rose to the occasion, with over 300,000 ...
The lie is my expenseThe scope of my desireThe Party blessed me with its futureAnd I protect it with fireI am the Nina The Pinta The Santa MariaThe noose and the rapistAnd the fields overseerThe agents of orangeThe priests of HiroshimaThe cost of my desire…Sleep now in the fireSongwriters: Brad ...
This is a re-post from the Climate BrinkGlobal surface temperatures have risen around 1.3C since the preindustrial (1850-1900) period as a result of human activity.1 However, this aggregate number masks a lot of underlying factors that contribute to global surface temperature changes over time.These include CO2, which is the primary ...
There are times when movement around us seems to slow down. And the faster things get, the slower it all appears.And so it is with the whirlwind of early year political activity.They are harbingers for what is to come:Video: Wayne Wright Jnr, funder of Sean Plunket, talk growing power and ...
Hi,Right now the power is out, so I’m just relying on the laptop battery and tethering to my phone’s 5G which is dropping in and out. We’ll see how we go.First up — I’m fine. I can’t see any flames out the window. I live in the greater Hollywood area ...
2024 was a tough year for working Kiwis. But together we’ve been able to fight back for a just and fair New Zealand and in 2025 we need to keep standing up for what’s right and having our voices heard. That starts with our Mood of the Workforce Survey. It’s your ...
Time is never time at allYou can never ever leaveWithout leaving a piece of youthAnd our lives are forever changedWe will never be the sameThe more you change, the less you feelSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan.Babinden - Baba’s DayToday, January 8th, 2025, is Babinden, “The Day of the baba” or “The ...
..I/We wish to make the following comments:I oppose the Treaty Principles Bill."5. Act binds the CrownThis Act binds the Crown."How does this Act "bind the Crown" when Te Tiriti o Waitangi, which the Act refers to, has been violated by the Crown on numerous occassions, resulting in massive loss of ...
Everything is good and brownI'm here againWith a sunshine smile upon my faceMy friends are close at handAnd all my inhibitions have disappeared without a traceI'm glad, oh, that I found oohSomebody who I can rely onSongwriter: Jay KayGood morning, all you lovely people. Today, I’ve got nothing except a ...
Welcome to 2025. After wrapping up 2024, here’s a look at some of the things we can expect to see this year along with a few predictions. Council and Elections Elections One of the biggest things this year will be local body elections in October. Will Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Canadians can take a while to get angry – but when they finally do, watch out. Canada has been falling out of love with Justin Trudeau for years, and his exit has to be the least surprising news event of the New Year. On recent polling, Trudeau’s Liberal party has ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Much like 2023, many climate and energy records were broken in 2024. It was Earth’s hottest year on record by a wide margin, breaking the previous record that was set just last year by an even larger margin. Human-caused climate-warming pollution and ...
Submissions on National's racist, white supremacist Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill are due tomorrow! So today, after a good long holiday from all that bullshit, I finally got my shit together to submit on it. As I noted here, people should write their own submissions in their own ...
Ooh, baby (ooh, baby)It's making me crazy (it's making me crazy)Every time I look around (look around)Every time I look around (every time I look around)Every time I look aroundIt's in my faceSongwriters: Alan Leo Jansson / Paul Lawrence L. Fuemana.Today, I’ll be talking about rich, middle-aged men who’ve made ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 29, 2024 thru Sat, January 4, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Hi,The thing that stood out at me while shopping for Christmas presents in New Zealand was how hard it was to avoid Zuru products. Toy manufacturer Zuru is a bit like Netflix, in that it has so much data on what people want they can flood the market with so ...
And when a child is born into this worldIt has no conceptOf the tone of skin it's living inAnd there's a million voicesAnd there's a million voicesTo tell you what you should be thinkingSong by Neneh Cherry and Youssou N'Dour.The moment you see that face, you can hear her voice; ...
While we may not always have quality political leadership, a couple of recently published autobiographies indicate sometimes we strike it lucky. When ranking our prime ministers, retired professor of history Erik Olssen commented that ‘neither Holland nor Nash was especially effective as prime minister – even his private secretary thought ...
Baby, be the class clownI'll be the beauty queen in tearsIt's a new art form, showin' people how little we care (yeah)We're so happy, even when we're smilin' out of fearLet's go down to the tennis court and talk it up like, yeah (yeah)Songwriters: Joel Little / Ella Yelich O ...
Open access notables Why Misinformation Must Not Be Ignored, Ecker et al., American Psychologist:Recent academic debate has seen the emergence of the claim that misinformation is not a significant societal problem. We argue that the arguments used to support this minimizing position are flawed, particularly if interpreted (e.g., by policymakers or the public) as suggesting ...
What I’ve Been Doing: I buried a close family member.What I’ve Been Watching: Andor, Jack Reacher, Xmas movies.What I’ve Been Reflecting On: The Usefulness of Writing and the Worthiness of Doing So — especially as things become more transparent on their own.I also hate competing on any day, and if ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by John Wihbey. A version of this article first appeared on Yale Climate Connections on Nov. 11, 2008. (Image credits: The White House, Jonathan Cutrer / CC BY 2.0; President Jimmy Carter, Trikosko/Library of Congress; Solar dedication, Bill Fitz-Patrick / Jimmy Carter Library; Solar ...
Morena folks,We’re having a good break, recharging the batteries. Hope you’re enjoying the holiday period. I’m not feeling terribly inspired by much at the moment, I’m afraid—not from a writing point of view, anyway.So, today, we’re travelling back in time. You’ll have to imagine the wavy lines and sci-fi sound ...
Completed reads for 2024: Oration on the Dignity of Man, by Giovanni Pico della Mirandola A Platonic Discourse Upon Love, by Giovanni Pico della Mirandola Of Being and Unity, by Giovanni Pico della Mirandola The Life of Pico della Mirandola, by Giovanni Francesco Pico Three Letters Written by Pico ...
Welcome to 2025, Aotearoa. Well… what can one really say? 2024 was a story of a bad beginning, an infernal middle and an indescribably farcical end. But to chart a course for a real future, it does pay to know where we’ve been… so we know where we need ...
Welcome to the official half-way point of the 2020s. Anyway, as per my New Years tradition, here’s where A Phuulish Fellow’s blog traffic came from in 2024: United States United Kingdom New Zealand Canada Sweden Australia Germany Spain Brazil Finland The top four are the same as 2023, ...
Completed reads for December: Be A Wolf!, by Brian Strickland The Magic Flute [libretto], by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Emanuel Schikaneder The Invisible Eye, by Erckmann-Chatrian The Owl’s Ear, by Erckmann-Chatrian The Waters of Death, by Erckmann-Chatrian The Spider, by Hanns Heinz Ewers Who Knows?, by Guy de Maupassant ...
Well, it’s the last day of the year, so it’s time for a quick wrap-up of the most important things that happened in 2024 for urbanism and transport in our city. A huge thank you to everyone who has visited the blog and supported us in our mission to make ...
Leave your office, run past your funeralLeave your home, car, leave your pulpitJoin us in the streets where weJoin us in the streets where weDon't belong, don't belongHere under the starsThrowing light…Song: Jeffery BuckleyToday, I’ll discuss the standout politicians of the last 12 months. Each party will receive three awards, ...
Hi,A lot’s happened this year in the world of Webworm, and as 2024 comes to an end I thought I’d look back at a few of the things that popped. Maybe you missed them, or you might want to revisit some of these essay and podcast episodes over your break ...
Hi,I wanted to share this piece by film editor Dan Kircher about what cinema has been up to in 2024.Dan edited my documentary Mister Organ, as well as this year’s excellent crowd-pleasing Bookworm.Dan adores movies. He gets the language of cinema, he knows what he loves, and writes accordingly. And ...
Without delving into personal details but in order to give readers a sense of the year that was, I thought I would offer the study in contrasts that are Xmas 2023 and Xmas 2024: Xmas 2023 in Starship Children’s Hospital (after third of four surgeries). Even opening presents was an ...
Heavy disclaimer: Alpha/beta/omega dynamics is a popular trope that’s used in a wide range of stories and my thoughts on it do not apply to all cases. I’m most familiar with it through the lens of male-focused fanfic, typically m/m but sometimes also featuring m/f and that’s the situation I’m ...
Hi,Webworm has been pretty heavy this year — mainly because the world is pretty heavy. But as we sprint (or limp, you choose) through the final days of 2024, I wanted to keep Webworm a little lighter.So today I wanted to look at one of the biggest and weirdest elements ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 22, 2024 thru Sat, December 28, 2024. This week's roundup is the second one published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, ...
We’ll have a climate change ChristmasFrom now until foreverWarming our hearts and mindsAnd planet all togetherSpirits high and oceans higherChestnuts roast on wildfiresIf coal is on your wishlistMerry Climate Change ChristmasSong by Ian McConnellReindeer emissions are not something I’d thought about in terms of climate change. I guess some significant ...
KP continues to putt-putt along as a tiny niche blog that offers a NZ perspective on international affairs with a few observations about NZ domestic politics thrown in. In 2024 there was also some personal posts given that my son was in the last four months of a nine month ...
I can see very wellThere's a boat on the reef with a broken backAnd I can see it very wellThere's a joke and I know it very wellIt's one of those that I told you long agoTake my word I'm a madman, don't you knowSongwriters: Bernie Taupin / Elton JohnIt ...
.Acknowledgement: Tim PrebbleThanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work..With each passing day of bad headlines, squandering tax revenue to enrich the rich, deep cuts to our social services and a government struggling to keep the lipstick on its neo-liberal pig ...
This is from the 36th Parallel social media account (as brief food for thought). We know that Trump is ahistorical at best but he seems to think that he is Teddy Roosevelt and can use the threat of invoking the Monroe Doctrine and “Big Stick” gunboat diplomacy against Panama and ...
Don't you cry tonightI still love you, babyAnd don't you cry tonightDon't you cry tonightThere's a heaven above you, babyAnd don't you cry tonightSong: Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin“Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so”, said possibly the greatest philosopher ever to walk this earth, Douglas Adams.We have entered the ...
Because you're magicYou're magic people to meSong: Dave Para/Molly Para.Morena all, I hope you had a good day yesterday, however you spent it. Today, a few words about our celebration and a look at the various messages from our politicians.A Rockel XmasChristmas morning was spent with the five of us ...
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). 2024 has been a series of bad news for climate change. From scorching global temperatures leading to devastating ...
Ríu Ríu ChíuRíu Ríu Chíu is a Spanish Christmas song from the 16th Century. The traditional carol would likely have passed unnoticed by the English-speaking world had the made-for-television American band The Monkees not performed the song as part of their special Christmas show back in 1967. The show's ...
Dunedin’s summer thus far has been warm and humid… and it looks like we’re in for a grey Christmas. But it is now officially Christmas Day in this time zone, so never mind. This year, I’ve stumbled across an Old English version of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen: [youtube ...
The Green Party welcomes the extension of the deadline for Treaty Principles Bill submissions but continues to call on the Government to abandon the Bill. ...
Complaints about disruptive behaviour now handled in around 13 days (down from around 60 days a year ago) 553 Section 55A notices issued by Kāinga Ora since July 2024, up from 41 issued during the same period in the previous year. Of that 553, first notices made up around 83 ...
The time it takes to process building determinations has improved significantly over the last year which means fewer delays in homes being built, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “New Zealand has a persistent shortage of houses. Making it easier and quicker for new homes to be built will ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden is pleased to announce the annual list of New Zealand’s most popular baby names for 2024. “For the second consecutive year, Noah has claimed the top spot for boys with 250 babies sharing the name, while Isla has returned to the most popular ...
Work is set to get underway on a new bus station at Westgate this week. A contract has been awarded to HEB Construction to start a package of enabling works to get the site ready in advance of main construction beginning in mid-2025, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“A new Westgate ...
Minister for Children and for Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour is encouraging people to use the resources available to them to get help, and to report instances of family and sexual violence amongst their friends, families, and loved ones who are in need. “The death of a ...
Uia te pō, rangahaua te pō, whakamāramatia mai he aha tō tango, he aha tō kāwhaki? Whitirere ki te ao, tirotiro kau au, kei hea taku rātā whakamarumaru i te au o te pakanga mo te mana motuhake? Au te pō, ngū te pō, ue hā! E te kahurangi māreikura, ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says people with diabetes and other painful conditions will benefit from a significant new qualification to boost training in foot care. “It sounds simple, but quality and regular foot and nail care is vital in preventing potentially serious complications from diabetes, like blisters or sores, which can take a long time to heal ...
Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Pharmac David Seymour is pleased to see Pharmac continue to increase availability of medicines for Kiwis with the government’s largest ever investment in Pharmac. “Pharmac operates independently, but it must work within the budget constraints set by the government,” says Mr Seymour. “When this government assumed ...
Mā mua ka kite a muri, mā muri ka ora e mua - Those who lead give sight to those who follow, those who follow give life to those who lead. Māori recipients in the New Year 2025 Honours list show comprehensive dedication to improving communities across the motu that ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden is wishing all New Zealanders a great holiday season as Kiwis prepare for gatherings with friends and families to see in the New Year. It is a great time of year to remind everyone to stay fire safe over the summer. “I know ...
From 1 January 2025, first-time tertiary learners will have access to a new Fees Free entitlement of up to $12,000 for their final year of provider-based study or final two years of work-based learning, Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Targeting funding to the final year of study ...
“As we head into one of the busiest times of the year for Police, and family violence and sexual violence response services, it’s a good time to remind everyone what to do if they experience violence or are worried about others,” Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steve Turton, Adjunct Professor of Environmental Geography, CQUniversity Australia The world has watched in horror as fires continue to raze parts of Los Angeles, California. For those of us living in Australia, one of the world’s most fire-prone continents, the LA experience ...
Every story about the Ministry of Regulation seems to be about staffing cost blow-outs. The red tape slashing Ministry needs teeth, sure, but all we seem to hear about are teething problems, says axpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager James ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carmen Lim, NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow, National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research, The University of Queensland Visualistka/Shutterstock A multi-million dollar business has developed in Australia to meet the demand for medicinal cannabis. Australians spent more than A$400 million on it ...
Summer reissue: The tide is turning on Insta-therapy. Good riddance, but actual therapy is still good and worth doing. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Darius von Guttner Sporzynski, Historian, Australian Catholic University Stained glass with a depiction of the martyred nuns, Saint Honoré d’Eylau Church, Paris.Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA The Martyrs of Compiègne, a group of 16 Discalced Carmelite nuns executed during the Reign of ...
Tara Ward wades bravely into one of the thorniest January questions: how late is too late to greet someone with a cheery ‘Happy New Year’? Every January, New Zealand faces a big problem. I’m not referring to penguins strolling into petrol stations or cranky seagulls eating your chips, but something ...
The proposed Bill cuts across existing and soon-to-be-implemented frameworks, including Part 4 of the Legislation Act 2019, which is slated to come into force next year, and will make sensible improvements to regulation-making. ...
Summer reissue: For all the spectacle of WoW, Alex Casey couldn’t tear her eyes off Christopher Luxon in the front row. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pavlina Jasovska, Senior Lecturer in International Business & Strategy, University of Technology Sydney Multiculturalism is central to Australia’s identity, with more than half the population coming from overseas or having parents who did. Most Australians view multiculturalism positively. However, many experience ...
Treaty issues will dominate the first six months, but that’s not all, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in the first Bulletin of 2025. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Summer reissue: The Kim Dotcom challenge to John Key culminated in an extravaganza joining dots from the US, the UK, Russia – even North Korea. And it got very messy. Toby Manhire casts his eye back a decade.The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have ...
In our latest in-depth podcast investigation, Fractured, Melanie Reid and her team delve deep into a complex case involving a controversial medical diagnosis and its fallout on a young family. While Fractured is a forensic examination of this case here in New Zealand, the diagnosis that started it all is ...
Close to 2000 New Zealanders died carrying student loans in 2024, with the Inland Revenue Department having to wipe $28.8 million in unpaid debt.Both the number and value of loans being written off due to the holder dying has tripled over the past decade, government figures show. In 2014, $9 ...
Opinion: In late December we learned that, after a four-year battle with the Charities Services, Te Whānau O Waipareira Trust looks set to be deregistered as a charity. Most of what we know about the activities of Waipareira Trust, and the resulting Charities Services’ investigations, is due to tenacious reporting ...
Summer reissue: As homelessness hits an all-time high, New Zealand’s frontline organisations are embracing unconventional and innovative strategies. Joel MacManus takes a closer look at the crisis and meets the people who claim to have the cure.The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s Sunday “soft launch” of his campaign for election year was carefully calibrated to pitch to the party faithful while seeking to project enough nuance to avoid alienating centrist voters. It ...
Paula Southgate says she is not standing for re-election as she wants to make way for emerging leaders and spend more time with her friends and family. ...
The bipartisan support in parliament for the Foreign Interference Bill is a warning that there is no constituency in the New Zealand ruling class for the maintenance of basic democratic rights. There has been no critical reporting on the bill in the ...
Democracy Now!AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! As we continue our discussion of President Jimmy Carter’s legacy, we look at his policies in the Middle East and North Africa, in particular, Israel and Palestine.On Thursday during the state funeral in Washington, President Carter’s former adviser Stuart Eizenstat praised ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk France’s naval flagship, the 261m aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, is to be deployed to the Pacific later this year, as part of an exercise codenamed “Clémenceau 25”. French Naval Command Etat-Major’s Commodore Jacques Mallard told a French media briefing that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Vaughan, PhD Researcher Sport Integrity, University of Canberra As the Australian Open gets under way in Melbourne, the sport is facing a crisis over positive doping tests involving two of the biggest stars in tennis. Last March, the top-ranked men’s player, ...
Summer reissue: New Zealand used to be a country of vibrant synthetic striped polyprop. Then we got boring – and discovered merino. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to ...
It was a mild, cloudy morning in May 1974 when Oliver Sutherland and his wife, Ulla Sköld, were confronted, on their doorstep, by one of the country’s top cops.The couple were key members of the group Auckland Committee on Racism and Discrimination (Acord), which had been pushing the government to ...
Summer reissue: With funding ending for Archives New Zealand’s digitisation programme, Hera Lindsay Bird shares a taste of what’s being lost – because history isn’t just about the big-ticket items. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please ...
Since the dramatic scenes at Kabul Airport in 2021 of thousands of Afghans desperately seeking to escape, fearful of what a new Taliban regime would mean for their lives and livelihoods, the focus on Afghanistan in New Zealand has predictably waned. New crises have emerged, with the conflicts in Ukraine ...
Summer reissue: Pāua, canned spaghetti, povi masima and taro: Pepe’s Cafe understands the nature of food as love and community. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a ...
Summer reissue: Rachel Hunter sold out a Christchurch school hall for a mysterious sounding ‘Community Event’. Alex Casey went along to find out what it was all about. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our ...
Summer reissue: Drinking wasn’t just a pastime, it was my profession – and it got way out of control. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member ...
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, Sunday 12 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Asia Pacific Report A Palestine solidarity advocate today appealed to New Zealanders to shed their feelings of powerlessness over the Gaza genocide and “take action” in support of an effective global strategy of boycott, divestment and sanctions. “Many of us have become addicted to ‘doom scrolling’ — reading or watching ...
Art Buchwald, July 1973.
These are difficult times for people who are defending the Nixon administration. No matter where they go they are attacked by pseudo-liberals, McGovern lovers, heterosexual constitutionalists and paranoid John Dean believers.
As a public service, I am printing instant responses for loyal Nixonites when they are attacked at a party. Please cut it out and carry it in your pocket.
1. Everyone does it.
2. What about Chappaquiddick?
[…]
32. What about Chappaquiddick?
33. I think the people who make all this fuss about Watergate should be shot.
34. If the Democrats had the money they would have done the same thing.
35. I never did trust Haldeman and Ehrlichman.
36. If you say one more word about Watergate I’ll punch you in the nose.
A. If the person is bigger than you: “If you say one more word about Watergate I’m leaving this house.”
B. If it’s your own house and the person is bigger than you: “What about Chappaquiddick?”
http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/syndicated-columnists/article187662578.html
Art Buchwald – what a guy.
“You can’t make up anything anymore. The world itself is a satire. All you’re doing is recording it.”
— Art Buchwald
“If you attack the establishment long enough and hard enough, they will make you a member of it.”
— Art Buchwald
“And Man created the plastic bag and the tin and aluminum can and the cellophane wrapper and the paper plate, and this was good because Man could then take his automobile and buy all his food in one place and He could save that which was good to eat in the refrigerator and throw away that which had no further use. And soon the earth was covered with plastic bags and aluminum cans and paper plates and disposable bottles and there was nowhere to sit down or walk, and Man shook his head and cried: “Look at this Godawful mess.”
— Art Buchwald
https://www.inspiringquotes.us/author/4976-art-buchwald
I see according to the news on Prime and now TV1 we are in a middle of a drought. Napier being the worse affected area. I take it then all the water bottling companies have shut down.
It’s a pity Hawkes Bay threw the baby out with the bathwater when The Ruataniwha dam was scuttled to save 75 Hectares of second rate bush .
A bit of a dry spell and napier water supply is floundering.Whats going to happen when we get a real drought.
What exactly did the mad dam have to do with Napier’s
water supply? You’ve lost me there.
RWNJs seem to think that having a damn actually increases the amount of water that falls from the sky.
Just another nasty troll…..
Adding to the conversation as usual ed.
Yes please comment on today’s Open Thread. There I comment about an issue.
However, I refuse to debate the blatant puerile trolling topics you and other rwnjs bring up day after day.
“Yes please comment on today’s Open Thread. There I comment about an issue.”
I love it that you have to point out where you actually comment on a post as opposed to your very common writing “troll” as a replies.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/79109601/new-kiwi-water-bottling-plant-expects-to-ship-overseas-from-july
If I was a lawyer I would say “I rest my case m’lord
I also see today Trump has passed his new tax laws reducing the corporate tax to 20%.
I find that ironic as a lot of the corporates like Apple Amazon don’t pay any tax.
So I take it then they now have to pay only 20% of the tax they don’t pay.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2012/11/01/so-how-much-tax-did-apple-pay/#32fee3c715a2
Expect to see money flood into America as everyone buys greenbacks.
The outlook for the NZ Dollar not good which means disgruntled voters as costs go through the roof.
But since most of the money our country earns from the things we produce, and inbound tourism, is denominated in USD, we also get a very healthy rise in income.
So while imported items may be more expensive, they may also be more affordable since there is more money being earned by producers.
Why would money flood back into America.?America has had trillions of Q.E and dispersed it to the favoured few since 2008.What do you mean about the outlook for the NZ$?.Ex P.M and foreign exchange guru Key said around 65-66c U.S was the right rate for the NZ economy.As you know exchange rates are a double edged sword .
If that happens there will be some very digruntled corporates who make most of their money offshore. So probably not such a big rush of money back to the US…
You are disgruntled most days…
If wealthy NZers like you are disgruntled by this government that tells me they’re on the right track.
I have read with interest on here the comments re some saying there is some kind of media agenda against the current govt.
From among others Garner, Soper and newshub in general.
It seems to pop up after Jacinda’s Monday AM slot etc
I have to say it amuses me slightly reading this after the onslaught of first Jacindamania, then days of articles on her dead cat, then articles about young women politicians around the world striving to be like Jacinda.
And now a ring on a different finger
Now I know Jacinda has no say in what is written about her and the media print what sells, but I am beginning to feel slightly bemused when this apparent bias against her comes up
Yet we had years of John Key’s cat, planking, dirty politics, avoiding serious media interviews, etc…. and years of the mainstream media failing to criticise anything much that he did…. a long, long honeymoon – 2 months after an election is not much of an MSM honeymoon.
Don’t disagree
And people on here rightly highlighted it
Seems to have gone
And Max! Don’t forget Max …
Lol
Oh, happy day!!!!
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/345396/director-general-of-health-quits
Please let this just be the beginning of the Misery of Health purge….
I’m not the only one celebrating…http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018624123/chai-chuah-wasn-t-right-for-the-job-nzma-president
“Pippa MacKay said she hopes the new Minister of Health was behind the Director-General of Health Chai Chuah’s resignation. She said he was a ‘bean counter’ who couldn’t count the beans properly.”
Others who should perhaps be worried about their scalps can be found here…https://www.health.govt.nz/about-ministry/ministry-business-units
Just what effect the new Tax “Reforms” will have :
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/12/2/16720952/senate-tax-bill-inequality
Increasing inequality in an already hugely dysfunctional society is going to have serious consequences in the years ahead. Trump thinks the Democrats will pay for their refusal to “get behind” the Republicans, because he especially is going to benefit Very Bigly on this (even though he tries to tell the public otherwise). My pick is that in the years ahead the public – especially the workers who were foolish enough to vote for him – will punish him severely when they eventually realise just how he has robbed them.
The great giveaway.
Each bubble above represents the size of an automatic budget cut that could take place next year.
The Statutory Pay-as-You-Go Act of 2010, or Paygo, is an Obama-era update of a rule first enacted under President George H.W. Bush. It requires that legislation that adds to the federal deficit be paid for with spending cuts, increases in revenue or other offsets.
With the exception of Social Security, the post office and many income-based programs like unemployment benefits and food stamps, most mandatory spending programs — those automatically funded on a continuing basis, rather than appropriated year by year — are subject to Paygo. In 2018, for example, the law would claim $14 billion in various farm aid programs; $1.7 billion for Social Services block grants, which states use to help fund foster care, Meals on Wheels and other programs; and $69 million for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/29/upshot/paygo-medicare-cuts-tax-bill.html
And we support the Afghan government.
/
JALALABAD, Afghanistan — Meena got chickenpox, measles and the mumps in prison. She was born there, nursed there and weaned there. Now 11 years old, she has spent her entire life in prison and will probably spend the rest of her childhood there as well.
The girl has never committed a crime, but her mother, Shirin Gul, is a convicted serial killer serving a life sentence, and under Afghan prison policy she can keep her daughter with her until she turns 18.
Meena was even conceived in prison, and has never been out, not even for a brief visit. She has never seen a television set, she said, and has no idea what the world outside the walls looks like.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/03/world/asia/afghanistan-children-prison.html
Watch out for how many times number 11 turns up in the articles you read and post
Arcane claptrap FTW.
Simon No Bridges on The Project tonight continuing the spin about a split in the coalition government over working for the dole. “Dramatic”, blah, ” train wreck”, blah “we thought it might take a while but its only taken four weeks” (or words to that effect) blah…
Apart from the spin I didn’t think a kiwi politician could mangle the English language more than Key, but I was wrong.
Bridges isn’t with listening to.
Complete prat.
I quite agree Grey Area the man has appalling diction and looks like a bootlegger, nothing professional about him at all, it amazes me he had a former career as a Crown Prosecutor – it must have lowered the tone of the court rooms he attended no end.
The guy has to be masquerading as a semi-literate in order for many of our voters to identify with him.
Otherwise, it is impossible to contemplate how he ever graduated from any respectable university. (One of which apparently needs to be taken to task.)
I don’t get it either Whispering Kate. It is a simple matter for anyone involved in public life where they need to communicate, courtroom lawyers and politicians among them, to take some elocution lessons. It just takes a bit of effort.
I suspect Key never bothered as he came across as lazy and maybe Bridges is the same. Bridges seems to my ear to have a speech issue but his mangling seems to go beyond that.
I know they want to come across as a kiwi bloke especially Key but even average kiwi blokes are allowed to pronounce words clearly without sounding like they went to an English public school.
Ya gonna have to click the link.
https://twitter.com/glosswitch/status/937246067531354112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
preparing for American civil war 2.0
“High-ranking Republicans are hinting that, after their tax overhaul, the party intends to look at cutting spending on welfare, entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare, and other parts of the social safety net. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said recently that he wants Republicans to focus in 2018 on reducing spending on government programs. Last month, President Trump said welfare reform will “take place right after taxes, very soon, very shortly after taxes.”
http://gordoncampbell.scoop.co.nz/2017/12/04/gordon-campbell-on-the-right-wings-fetish-for-tax-cuts/#more-4976
That took me on a bit of a link hop but…
“Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death among Americans under 50.”
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/06/05/upshot/opioid-epidemic-drug-overdose-deaths-are-rising-faster-than-ever.html
a broken ineffectual health system that is the most expensive in the world…..(one that some here wish to emulate)….and Trump slashes tax for the uber wealthy…something is going to give.
Medical ‘errors’ are 3rd overall
Terminal decline
Brilliant video.
The story of a rodent’s unrelenting quest for happiness and fulfillment.
Directed and animated by Steve Cutts.
Wot a ratty Rat Race Ed.
Rachel Stewart.
‘At the interface between cricket and air pollution lies some people who will suddenly realise the planet’s not doing so well..’
https://t.co/LKsulgT2SL?amp=1
Another great USA humourist whose name I must refresh today.
It’s been my policy to view the Internet not as an ‘information highway’, but as an electronic asylum filled with babbling loonies. Mike Royko
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/mike_royko_102381
It’s much harder to be a liberal than a conservative. Why? Because it is easier to give someone the finger than a helping hand.
Mike Royko
http://www.azquotes.com/author/12724-Mike_Royko
And on a wayward election:
Later, when they sat down and went over the figures closely, they found an interesting pattern. Adamowski had received fifty-one percent of the votes, cast by white persons. But the enormous black vote had given Daley his victory. The people who were trapped in the ghetto slums and the nightmarish public housing projects, the people who had the worst school system and were most often degraded by the Police Department, the people who received the fewest campaign promises and who were ignored as part of the campaign trail, had given him his third term. They had done it quietly, asking for nothing in return. Exactly what they got.”
― Mike Royko, Boss: Richard J. Daley of Chicago
https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/31199.Mike_Royko