No, because certain Maori have worked out (taken them a while) that the seven Maori seats if held as a block makes them kingmakers in the majority of electoral situations.
If you’re on the Maori electoral roll and not voting Maori Party you’re an idiot.
That would only be true if voters had a say in which way the Mp jumped (and even then, individual voters would still have no say). Lots of Māori don’t want a National govt, why would they take the risk?
yes, I understand what the Mp is. I’m just saying that not all Māori will agree with you that the Mp represent their best interests. Having a Labour led govt with strong Māori MPs is a better bet for some.
“Maori voting Labour in an MMP environment is hard to understand”
Not really, as I’ve already explained, why vote Mp and risk having National in govt again?
Nope – if the MP go with National you get lots of loony, right-wing economic and social policy that is dreadful for most Maori (and most Pakeha too but proportionately more Maori)
Your statement should read: “If you are on the Maori roll and you vote for anyone who might enable National you are an idiot”.
But then again, unlike you I don’t presume to speak for Maori.
Objectively at the moment it appears Māori (collectively) can choose to go MP, Labour or swing to the left with Mana (I’m assuming Māori will not repeat the NZ First experiment again). Of course that is predicated on viewing Māori as one homogenous grouping which is not really the case. I’d have thought a strong left Mana block would create some interesting dynamics.
No I went with Internet Mana – I don’t believe that the kaupapa of the Mana Movement can be maintained by combining with The Māori Party in whatever way they are considering. At the moment I have lost faith and trust in the Mana leadership.
Monbiot as ever writes so much sense.
The 3rd in his series of solutions to neoliberalism.
“Without community, politics is dead. But communities have been scattered like dust in the wind. At work, at home, both practically and imaginatively, we are atomised.
As a result, politics is experienced by many people as an external force: dull and irrelevant at best, oppressive and frightening at worst. It is handed down from above rather than developed from below. There are exceptions – the Sanders and Corbyn campaigns, for instance – but even they seemed shallowly rooted in comparison with the deep foundations of solidarity movements grew from in the past, and may disperse as quickly as they gather.
It is in the powder of shattered communities that anti-politics swirls, raising towering dust-devils of demagoguery and extremism. These tornadoes threaten to tear down whatever social structures still stand.
When people are atomised and afraid, they feel driven to defend their own interests against other people’s. In other words, they are pushed away from intrinsic values such as empathy, connectedness and kindness, and towards extrinsic values such as power, fame and status. The problem created by the politics of extreme individualism is self-perpetuating. Conversely, a political model based only on state provision can leave people dependent, isolated and highly vulnerable to cuts. The welfare state remains essential: it has relieved levels of want and squalor that many people now find hard to imagine. But it can also, inadvertently, erode community, sorting people into silos to deliver isolated services, weakening their ties to society.”
Almost continuous warm, moist air invasions of the Arctic during fall and winter of 2016 and 2017 have resulted in the lowest sea ice refreeze rates on record. As a result, the amount of ice covering sections of the Northern Hemisphere ocean is now remarkably lower than during past comparable periods. In other words, we’ve never seen a winter in which Northern Hemisphere sea ice was so weak and reduced.
One key measure, sea ice volume, has shown particular losses when compared to past years. And even taking into account a long term trend of ice losses for the northern polar region that has been ongoing since the 20th Century, the 2016-2017 losses stand out like a flashing red indicator light. A trend directly related to the human-forced warming of our world through fossil fuel burning and related greenhouse gas emissions.”
The North Pole has not witnessed the Sun over its horizon for the last three months but will be warmer than many parts of Mediterranean countries later in the week
‘The North Pole will later this week enjoy temperatures of 21C (70F) above its historic average.
It should be witnessing temperatures of around -25C to -50C (-13F -58F) however at a temperature of around -4C (+24.8) later in the week The North Pole will be once again warmer than many parts of the Mediterranean
Another incredible scenario is developing this week in the The North Pole, which has not witnessed the Sun over its horizon for the last three months but will be warmer than many parts of Mediterranean countries, Spain France, Italy and Greece.’
So if you say you care about the environment, and want to prevent catastrophic climate change, then what are you doing to mitigate your own carbon footprint?
The most fundamental thing one can do positively is to revert to a plant based diet.
So, we are on the brink of disaster.
What is the single most dramatic positive act we can do to stop catastrophic climate change ?
Don’t eat meat.
Enjoy a plant based diet.
Paul how is your veganism going? Do you use recipes? What foods are you enjoying at the moment. I ask because even though I have been a vegetarian for over 30 years I have struggled to be vegan – I’m wondering how you do it.
I’m not totally there myself yet.
Have over the past 2 years been persuaded that the environmental and animal cruelty issues to attempt first to cut down eating minimum, then go vegetarian, then cut out dairy.
Going well so far and really enjoying learning new ways of preparing and cooking foods. It is much easier now than it was a while ago, according to friends.
Yes I use recipes and in seasonal vegetables, seeds and beans work well.
For anyone in the Auckland area with a connection to kauri trees and wanting to do something about kauri dieback, the Kauri Rescue project is launching at the Titirangi War Memorial Hall Thursday 9th Feb (tomorrow) at 7:00 pm.
So, we are on the brink of disaster.
What is the single most dramatic positive act we can do to stop catastrophic climate change ?
Don’t eat meat.
Enjoy a plant based diet.
I’d be interested to see more of this research paper, but it is behind a pay wall, and has yet to be peer reviewed. The paper is by Facundo Alvaredo, Lucas Chancel, Piketty, Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman.
…finds that the bottom 50%’s share of income in the United States is “collapsing.”
The headlining graph is stark. It shows the income share of the bottom 50% in the US noticeably dropping since 1978. In comparison, Frances bottom 50% share starts lower than the US, but stays steady since then, so now the US line is well below it.
Big income growth all round in China, but the share of the bottom 50% is now below the US line.
In the U.S., between 1978 and 2015, the income share of the bottom 50% fell to 12% from 20%. Total real income for that group fell 1% during that time period.
That’s not the case elsewhere. In China — where there also has been a marked rise in income inequality — the bottom 50% saw their income go up by 401%, not surprising given the industrialization the world’s second-largest economy has seen. Even in developed France, however, the bottom 50% saw their income grow, by 39%.
But the total income growth for the whole population of China, from 1978-2015 is 811%, and for the top 10% is 1294%.
“The median cost of rent in Wellington has soared to a record $480 per week, according to latest Trade Me data.
Rents in the capital for January were up 6.8 per cent on last year, with tenants being asked to fork out an extra $1500 per year for a typical rental property.
Head of Trade Me Property Nigel Jeffries said a sharp dip in the number of properties available was exacerbating the issue.”
Amazing, isn’t.
Abuse landlords, make them fiscally responsible for their tenants ‘accidents’, demand that they all provide five-star accommodation, and the buggers just disappear on you.
Who would have expected it?
Or: stuff the housing market thus boosting demand for rental properties means that landlords don’t have to spend as much money listing on trademe as current tenants suck up the higher rental prices or know people who are willing to sign almost any lease.
Are the actual houses disappearing? Probably not. So they’re either owner-occupied, vacant, or being let without advertising. Property prices speak against the first option.
The report on Radionz on how the housing market is going in NZ follows the sharemarket report. The ups and downs of the housing market are now an indicator of financial action that the keen investor listens to.
What other things that are essential to human beings can be montised and traded so that there is more potential for the wealth creators to grow their capital accretions? Food, bread, radishes? (A radish was an esteemed prize to Jews hiding from the Nazis in WW2. A piece of fresh veg. delightful.) We may find our values change similarly in another ten years.
Could we be trading in slaves or babies. ‘Babies have been busily traded today, with the peak being achieved in Premium beautiful golden-skinned ones. The indices are higher than ever with great demand coming from….. ‘ /sarc FGS
However already Filipino women, young, needy women from any country,may be lucky to be chosen to work hard as maids, or unlucky to find they are channelled to being prositutes or beaten; so the hard-hearted modern world turns out to be just like the same in an older world. Men work on high-rise buildings with the same options. The Burma railway, almost.
Aren’t we civilised and so technologically advanced, and our education – so wonderful.
Pity we can’t run ourselves a bit better, adapt our thinking strategies so we can self-govern to an level that includes all society, for better actions that enable us to appreciate ourselves better, have a better life, at the same time treating others better.
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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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All nation states have a right to defend themselves. But do regimes enjoy an equal right to self-defence? Is the security of a particular party-in-power a fundamental right of nations? The Chinese government is asking ...
A modest attempt to analyse Donald Trump’s tariff policies.Alfred Marshall, whose text book was still in use 40 years after he died wrote ‘every short statement about economics is misleading with the possible exception of my present one.’ (The text book is 719 pages.) It’s a timely reminder that any ...
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28 April 2025 Mournfor theDead FightFor theLiving Every week in New Zealand 18 workers are killed as a consequence of work. Every 15 minutes, a worker suffers ...
The world is trying to make sense of the Trump tariffs. Is there a grand design and strategy, or is it all instinct and improvisation? But much more important is the question of what will ...
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The Pacific Response Group (PRG), a new disaster coordination organisation, has operated through its first high-risk weather season. But as representatives from each Pacific military leave Brisbane to return to their home countries for the ...
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And this is what I'm gonna doI'm gonna put a call to you'Cause I feel good tonightAnd everything's gonna beRight-right-rightI'm gonna have a good time tonightRock and roll music gonna play all nightCome on, baby, it won't take longOnly take a minute just to sing my songSongwriters: Kirk Pengilly / ...
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The StrategistBy Gatra Priyandita and Christian Guntur Lebang
Another Friday, another roundup. Autumn is starting to set in, certainly getting darker earlier but we hope you enjoy some of the stories we found interesting this week. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday we ran a guest post from the wonderful Darren Davis about what’s happening ...
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USAID cuts and tariffs will harm the United States’ reputation in the Pacific more than they will harm the region itself. The resilient region will adjust to the economic challenges and other partners will fill ...
National's racist and divisive Treaty Principles Bill was just voted down by the House, 112 to 11. Good fucking riddance. The bill was not a good-faith effort at legislating, or at starting a "constitutional conversation". Instead it was a bad faith attempt to stoke division and incite racial hatred - ...
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A ballot for three Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Life Jackets for Children and Young Persons Bill (Cameron Brewer) Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Restrictions on Issue of Off-Licences and Low and No Alcohol Products) Amendment Bill (Mike Butterick) Crown ...
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This is a re-post from The Electrotech Revolution by Daan Walter Last week, UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch took the stage to advocate for slowing the rollout of renewables, arguing that they ultimately lead to higher costs: “Huge amounts are being spent on switching round how we distribute electricity ...
That there, that's not meI go where I pleaseI walk through wallsI float down the LiffeyI'm not hereThis isn't happeningI'm not hereI'm not hereSongwriters: Philip James Selway / Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood / Edward John O'Brien / Thomas Edward Yorke / Colin Charles Greenwood.I had mixed views when the first ...
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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. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to scrap proposed changes to Early Childhood Care, after attending a petition calling for the Government to ‘Put tamariki at the heart of decisions about ECE’. ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill today that will remove the power of MPs conscience votes and ensure mandatory national referendums are held before any conscience issues are passed into law. “We are giving democracy and power back to the people”, says New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters. ...
Welcome to members of the diplomatic corp, fellow members of parliament, the fourth estate, foreign affairs experts, trade tragics, ladies and gentlemen. ...
In recent weeks, disturbing instances of state-sanctioned violence against Māori have shed light on the systemic racism permeating our institutions. An 11-year-old autistic Māori child was forcibly medicated at the Henry Bennett Centre, a 15-year-old had his jaw broken by police in Napier, kaumātua Dean Wickliffe went on a hunger ...
Confidence in the job market has continued to drop to its lowest level in five years as more New Zealanders feel uncertain about finding work, keeping their jobs, and getting decent pay, according to the latest Westpac-McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index. ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk A leaked “working paper” on New Caledonia’s future political status is causing concern on the local stage and has prompted a “clarification” from the French government’s Minister for Overseas Manuel Valls. Details of the document, which was supposed to remain confidential, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Political leaders’ kids are routinely put on display to share the glory or the pain of election night. Earlier, they’re often at campaign launches to “humanise” the candidates. Peter Dutton pulled out all stops ...
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With this revealed, surely a sackable offence.
Poto Williams hired PR company to attack Willie Jackson.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/02/poto-williams-hired-pr-firm-for-willie-jackson-ploy.html
My posts are not getting through?
Did I miss something?
[r0b: lprent added you to moderation for a bit, if you look back through your old comments you will probably find a note]
Audrey Young
@audreyNZH
Maori Party’s Marama Fox: “We no longer need to be led by the politics of a left or a right; blue undies, red undies, same skid marks…”
https://twitter.com/audreyNZH/status/829169281048866816
Maori party wants to control all the Maori seats and become Kingmaker.
A good strategy in an MMP environment doesn’t matter if it’s National or Labour Maori party gets to implement lots of Maori focused policy.
I’d be surprised if Labour holds onto any Maori seats at this years election.
“I’d be surprised if Labour holds onto any Maori seats at this years election.”
Why? Because Fox can make a joke in positioning between L and N?
No, because certain Maori have worked out (taken them a while) that the seven Maori seats if held as a block makes them kingmakers in the majority of electoral situations.
If you’re on the Maori electoral roll and not voting Maori Party you’re an idiot.
That would only be true if voters had a say in which way the Mp jumped (and even then, individual voters would still have no say). Lots of Māori don’t want a National govt, why would they take the risk?
The Maori party is only about Maori their objective is to get the best deal for Maori no matter who’s in power.
Maori voting Labour in an MMP environment is hard to understand
yes, I understand what the Mp is. I’m just saying that not all Māori will agree with you that the Mp represent their best interests. Having a Labour led govt with strong Māori MPs is a better bet for some.
“Maori voting Labour in an MMP environment is hard to understand”
Not really, as I’ve already explained, why vote Mp and risk having National in govt again?
Maori who aren’t iwi leaders might disagree.
Nope – if the MP go with National you get lots of loony, right-wing economic and social policy that is dreadful for most Maori (and most Pakeha too but proportionately more Maori)
Your statement should read: “If you are on the Maori roll and you vote for anyone who might enable National you are an idiot”.
But then again, unlike you I don’t presume to speak for Maori.
I’m on the Māori roll and have voted for them once many moons ago. I have lost faith in them also many moons ago.
I then voted Mana and I lost faith in them.
Who to vote for now? – at this point I think what’s the point.
I probably am an idiot for sure.
Was that because of the Mana-Internet connection?
Objectively at the moment it appears Māori (collectively) can choose to go MP, Labour or swing to the left with Mana (I’m assuming Māori will not repeat the NZ First experiment again). Of course that is predicated on viewing Māori as one homogenous grouping which is not really the case. I’d have thought a strong left Mana block would create some interesting dynamics.
No I went with Internet Mana – I don’t believe that the kaupapa of the Mana Movement can be maintained by combining with The Māori Party in whatever way they are considering. At the moment I have lost faith and trust in the Mana leadership.
Thanks.
I should perhaps have added the Greens into the mix of alternatives for Māori collectively to support.
Quite a witty comment from Marama that except that the middle is the arsehole where the shit comes out.
lol.
Well, Marama, skid marks only show up when you’re full of shit.
And only one of those colours of undies does anything good for your people.
Tusk @TuskCulture 1h1 hour ago
“There was never a time when women weren’t threatened” Anne Else on why this Trump era is an ongoing yet more apparent thing #cindytalks
https://twitter.com/TuskCulture/status/829197508245078016
Monbiot as ever writes so much sense.
The 3rd in his series of solutions to neoliberalism.
“Without community, politics is dead. But communities have been scattered like dust in the wind. At work, at home, both practically and imaginatively, we are atomised.
As a result, politics is experienced by many people as an external force: dull and irrelevant at best, oppressive and frightening at worst. It is handed down from above rather than developed from below. There are exceptions – the Sanders and Corbyn campaigns, for instance – but even they seemed shallowly rooted in comparison with the deep foundations of solidarity movements grew from in the past, and may disperse as quickly as they gather.
It is in the powder of shattered communities that anti-politics swirls, raising towering dust-devils of demagoguery and extremism. These tornadoes threaten to tear down whatever social structures still stand.
When people are atomised and afraid, they feel driven to defend their own interests against other people’s. In other words, they are pushed away from intrinsic values such as empathy, connectedness and kindness, and towards extrinsic values such as power, fame and status. The problem created by the politics of extreme individualism is self-perpetuating. Conversely, a political model based only on state provision can leave people dependent, isolated and highly vulnerable to cuts. The welfare state remains essential: it has relieved levels of want and squalor that many people now find hard to imagine. But it can also, inadvertently, erode community, sorting people into silos to deliver isolated services, weakening their ties to society.”
Read the whole article here.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/08/take-back-control-bottom-up-communities
it aint sexy but it might work….and it certainly wouldn’t do any harm
Hmmm don’t tell Pulla – but this is groundbreaking news in UK.
Disabled man just one more benefit cut from having sufficient incentive to walk again!
/sarc
Arctic ice at lowest ever by far.
Almost continuous warm, moist air invasions of the Arctic during fall and winter of 2016 and 2017 have resulted in the lowest sea ice refreeze rates on record. As a result, the amount of ice covering sections of the Northern Hemisphere ocean is now remarkably lower than during past comparable periods. In other words, we’ve never seen a winter in which Northern Hemisphere sea ice was so weak and reduced.
One key measure, sea ice volume, has shown particular losses when compared to past years. And even taking into account a long term trend of ice losses for the northern polar region that has been ongoing since the 20th Century, the 2016-2017 losses stand out like a flashing red indicator light. A trend directly related to the human-forced warming of our world through fossil fuel burning and related greenhouse gas emissions.”
Read it all here.
https://robertscribbler.com/2017/02/08/arctic-sea-ice-volume-is-lowest-on-record-by-a-considerable-margin/
More on that subject.
The North Pole has not witnessed the Sun over its horizon for the last three months but will be warmer than many parts of Mediterranean countries later in the week
‘The North Pole will later this week enjoy temperatures of 21C (70F) above its historic average.
It should be witnessing temperatures of around -25C to -50C (-13F -58F) however at a temperature of around -4C (+24.8) later in the week The North Pole will be once again warmer than many parts of the Mediterranean
Another incredible scenario is developing this week in the The North Pole, which has not witnessed the Sun over its horizon for the last three months but will be warmer than many parts of Mediterranean countries, Spain France, Italy and Greece.’
http://www.thebigwobble.org/2017/02/the-north-pole-has-not-witnessed-sun.html
So if you say you care about the environment, and want to prevent catastrophic climate change, then what are you doing to mitigate your own carbon footprint?
The most fundamental thing one can do positively is to revert to a plant based diet.
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/shocking-environment-facts-about-meat/
So, we are on the brink of disaster.
What is the single most dramatic positive act we can do to stop catastrophic climate change ?
Don’t eat meat.
Enjoy a plant based diet.
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/shocking-environment-facts-about-meat/
Great speech on the subject
Paul how is your veganism going? Do you use recipes? What foods are you enjoying at the moment. I ask because even though I have been a vegetarian for over 30 years I have struggled to be vegan – I’m wondering how you do it.
I’m not totally there myself yet.
Have over the past 2 years been persuaded that the environmental and animal cruelty issues to attempt first to cut down eating minimum, then go vegetarian, then cut out dairy.
Going well so far and really enjoying learning new ways of preparing and cooking foods. It is much easier now than it was a while ago, according to friends.
Yes I use recipes and in seasonal vegetables, seeds and beans work well.
Onya
Thanks.
The other thing I have noticed is how supportive the vegetarian and vegan community is. People keep lending recipe books.
For anyone in the Auckland area with a connection to kauri trees and wanting to do something about kauri dieback, the Kauri Rescue project is launching at the Titirangi War Memorial Hall Thursday 9th Feb (tomorrow) at 7:00 pm.
http://www.kaurirescue.org.nz/events.html
http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/89085676/five-years-on-and-diseased-kauri-injected-with-phosphite-are-growing-strong
nice one. Some comments from scientists on twitter today that there is also still a huge need to prevent spread (The disease is like HIV)
So, we are on the brink of disaster.
What is the single most dramatic positive act we can do to stop catastrophic climate change ?
Don’t eat meat.
Enjoy a plant based diet.
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/shocking-environment-facts-about-meat/
hush, you
/
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Sessions has used the awesome powers of his office in a shabby attempt to intimidate and frighten elderly black voters.
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3259988-Scott-King-1986-Letter-and-Testimony-Signed.html#document/p1
https://twitter.com/i/moments/829166461503553536
Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway insists she was murdered during Bowling Green Massacre
I’d be interested to see more of this research paper, but it is behind a pay wall, and has yet to be peer reviewed. The paper is by Facundo Alvaredo, Lucas Chancel, Piketty, Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman.
An article about it in MarketWatch says it:
The headlining graph is stark. It shows the income share of the bottom 50% in the US noticeably dropping since 1978. In comparison, Frances bottom 50% share starts lower than the US, but stays steady since then, so now the US line is well below it.
Big income growth all round in China, but the share of the bottom 50% is now below the US line.
But the total income growth for the whole population of China, from 1978-2015 is 811%, and for the top 10% is 1294%.
“The median cost of rent in Wellington has soared to a record $480 per week, according to latest Trade Me data.
Rents in the capital for January were up 6.8 per cent on last year, with tenants being asked to fork out an extra $1500 per year for a typical rental property.
Head of Trade Me Property Nigel Jeffries said a sharp dip in the number of properties available was exacerbating the issue.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/n…ectid=11796759
Amazing, isn’t.
Abuse landlords, make them fiscally responsible for their tenants ‘accidents’, demand that they all provide five-star accommodation, and the buggers just disappear on you.
Who would have expected it?
Or: stuff the housing market thus boosting demand for rental properties means that landlords don’t have to spend as much money listing on trademe as current tenants suck up the higher rental prices or know people who are willing to sign almost any lease.
Are the actual houses disappearing? Probably not. So they’re either owner-occupied, vacant, or being let without advertising. Property prices speak against the first option.
The report on Radionz on how the housing market is going in NZ follows the sharemarket report. The ups and downs of the housing market are now an indicator of financial action that the keen investor listens to.
What other things that are essential to human beings can be montised and traded so that there is more potential for the wealth creators to grow their capital accretions? Food, bread, radishes? (A radish was an esteemed prize to Jews hiding from the Nazis in WW2. A piece of fresh veg. delightful.) We may find our values change similarly in another ten years.
Could we be trading in slaves or babies. ‘Babies have been busily traded today, with the peak being achieved in Premium beautiful golden-skinned ones. The indices are higher than ever with great demand coming from….. ‘ /sarc FGS
However already Filipino women, young, needy women from any country,may be lucky to be chosen to work hard as maids, or unlucky to find they are channelled to being prositutes or beaten; so the hard-hearted modern world turns out to be just like the same in an older world. Men work on high-rise buildings with the same options. The Burma railway, almost.
Aren’t we civilised and so technologically advanced, and our education – so wonderful.
Pity we can’t run ourselves a bit better, adapt our thinking strategies so we can self-govern to an level that includes all society, for better actions that enable us to appreciate ourselves better, have a better life, at the same time treating others better.