Good chat in the first part of this video (about 5 minutes) about they why and how of Hurricane Florence. Then it goes into more general stuff about climate change and some of the political problems. Total video time 20 min.
Good vid, Adam. I just saw Trump on the news and I swear he thinks that having the most brutal beating ever is something to look forward to. We have the best disasters! The bigliest!!! DEMS said it couldn’t be done. Sad!
And thanks for giving some time/content detail; too many folk just drop a link and expect the reader to wade through the waffle to get to the relevant bit.
I got caught out – ate some non meat ones 25 years ago then realised they put beef fucken fat in ice cream and everything – felt like puking for weeks.
yes – could be worse – in the corporate world I worked in for years I got fed asparagus rolls as my vegetarian meal – grew quite fond of tinned asparagus I have to say.
“When you became a vegetarian, you quickly learned it wasn’t just about skipping pepperoni on that pizza. You had to start scanning labels for ingredients like capric acid, tallow, rennet, glycerin, whey, suet, stereate, and emulsifiers—because eating animal fat by any other name would be just as carnivorous. What you may not know is that plenty of common foods widely considered to be vegetarian-friendly (or perhaps we should say veg-adjacent) actually contain animal fat, not just dairy fat. That means flesh. Read on to learn more.
1. Ice Cream
Ice cream is the one comfort food that temporarily heals all wounds. Unfortunately, you may be noshing on Bessie under all that chocolate sauce. Many brands of ice cream contain capric acid, a fatty acid that’s obtained from animal fats. Check the label.”
Stop listening to and viewing the corporate media, designed to dumb you down, distract you and misinform you.
Instead raise your IQ and listen to this intelligent, informed, brave and decent person.
Morans like Hosking, Garner, Richardson, Soper – disconnect from them.
And hear the pearls of wisdom from Noam Chomsky.
50 minutes you will not regret spending unlike all those hours where your brain and ears were bombarded by the hate speech of New Zealand’s extreme right media.
Thanks Ed, I willll give this a squizz when I get home later.
Chomsky has always impressed me with his calm reasoned approach.
He always skewers his subjects.
Not that one yet. I have watched others including the Netflix one – quite like a lot of what he says to be fair.
I am cautious in who i read and what I believe from them. Even people i love like russell brand I still am circumspect rather than just like all they say because i really like something they say.
I agree, be wary.
Yet to be shown were Chomsky goes wrong.
Bill Hicks for me is a voice I can rely on.
So often his cynical questioning approach seems relevant 20 years down the track.
What he would have made of the three towers, 17 years ago….
Richard Harman on Politik drew this conclusion in regard to the Curran saga: “lack of political management”. I did likewise in commenting on the shambles this week with regard to Mahuta’s announcement, and now TVNZ led tonight with a story about discord between Labour & NZF which the leaders of both seemed unworried by.
At best, a mixed message. At worst, perception may prevail over reality. It’s now a pattern. Nats are trying to get traction on it without noticeable success. Most journos seem not to have noticed yet.
The coalition needs to put someone in charge of their workload coordination, someone with sufficient authority to give direct advice to the leaders about how to organise solutions to process problems. Presenting as shambolic will start to lower their poll ratings so they need to get their act together fast.
Its wedge politics. The Nats have no other option but to try and fabricate the perception of a split in the coalition. The Nats think this strategy will win them back into govt in 2020. What will most likely sink that strategy is demographics and the resultant emerging age and gender voter patterns. Jacinda Ardern is an inclusive, compassionate and intelligent leader, relatively young and a woman.
As Winston implies just a bit of “tidying” up required for the coalition, perhaps.
Well said………the opposition is of course aided and abetted by a largy ‘ignorant’ media who continue to treat politics as a matter of so called ‘winners and losers’, rather than a contest of issues and ideas.
The ignorance displayed about the realities of coalition/confidence and supply government seems beyond so many supposed journalists these days.
I can’t see Peters taking direction from “someone with sufficient authority” on “how to organise solutions to process problems”.
If you have been following the events that have led to a “lack of political management” in the coalition you will have noticed that Peter’s deliberately waits until Labour believes it can go ahead with a particular policy and then at a time that causes maximum embarrassment pulls the rug out of from under Labour. Examples include refugee numbers, the Labour proposed Maori partnership body; employment law changes (opting out options for provincial businesses).
He does this to maximise NZ First’s political position – not the coalition’s.
He is not going to concede power to a third party to manage any process in the best interests of the coalition.
I imagine that Peters assumes that, so long as the government can make headway with some significant actual policy implementation, his high-profile differentiation of NZFirst from Labour will raise his party’s profile without meaningfully harming the government.
Fran O’Sullivan’s rerun of the coalition agreement in relation to the failure to achieve consensus on the refugee quota gives us helpful context:
” What the refugee affair does illustrate is that Labour cannot take for granted that what it believes are prime policies will be supported by NZ First outside of Coalition commitments. The preamble to their Coalition agreement states that the parties will work collaboratively and in good faith to reach agreement on particular policy and legislative initiatives.
“As provided for in the Cabinet Manual, the parties will ‘agree to disagree’ where negotiated between party leaders, and in such circumstances the parties will be free to express alternative views publicly and within Parliament …
“President Donald Trump has told Puerto Rico officials they should be “proud” they did not lose thousands of lives as in “a real catastrophe like Katrina”.
“In the Commons today, I said that – if there are reports of a chemical weapons attack in Idlib over the coming weeks – the government must ensure the reports are independently verified and that Parliament has given its approval, before escalating British involvement in the war.”
Speaking of pouring out the propaganda, why are you linking to 21st century wire, Ed? They’re a right wing fake news site with a sideline in climate change denial. They’re part of the problem, not the solution.
Er, no. Beeley is a right wing troll, with some pretty obvious links to the Putin regime. A bit of research might help you get a handle on how this stuff works. Or even better, read some Marx.
By the way, even if you can, that doesn’t mean she’s not a right wing troll. I rate Boris Johnson for the LOL’s. Doesn’t mean he’s not a Tory toff (something he has in common with Beeley).
I guess my point would be that you appear to have some good left wing instincts, but your critical faculty is lacking. You need to look at the class interests of the people you pluck quotes from. Beeley, the daughter of a diplomat, comes from the right, was in business for years and later in life got sponsored by the Russians to write bollocks. She’s your enemy, Ed, not your friend.
For example, here’s her own list of where her ‘work’ can be found. Ron Paul, FFS.
“My work is re-published at the Ron Paul Institute, Global Research, Dissident Voice, Sott., Greanville Post, The London Journal among others.
I have appeared on RT Cross Talk, RT News, Press TV, Ron Paul Liberty Report, Sunday Wire, Sputnik Radio”
Generally, your opinions are left wing, Ed. It’s just weird that you keep defaulting to right wing troll sites for cites, when there are so many good left wing ones to use. As I wrote earlier, read some Marx. That’ll clear that problem up quick smart.
But Russian sponsored bloggers are? There’s your problem right there. Lack of critical thinking.
Ask yourself why the right are saying things that sound believable to you. Things that resonate.
The answer is that the right invented and perfected political propaganda. And the best propaganda starts with a kernel of truth and then grinds that kernel to dust.
Or to put it another way, you appear to know the world is not geared for the interests of the majority, however you are taking the oppressor’s word for why that is. As ol’ Bob Zimmerman once sang, you know something is going on, you just don’t know what it is 😉
Start to think for yourself, Ed. Don’t rely on the other side’s spruikers. They’re lying to you and laughing at you while they do it.
Doesn’t make much sense if you think Beeley is a right wing troll. Right wingers wants Assad gone at any cost to Syria. Beeley is arguing from an opposite viewpoint.
Assad is right wing. Some other right wingers want him gone, but that doesn’t change Assad’s politics. Of course, some other rather prominent right wingers want him to stay in charge and that doesn’t change him either. He’s still right wing.
As is Beeley.
Is Assad an arsehole? Yes. Are people who are paid to promote him also arseholes? Yes. Are naive people on blogs who can’t work out what’s going on arseholes? No.
Assad’s politics and economic agenda were/are a mix of pan-Arab nationalism and statism. Not right wing – ie, liberal or neo-liberal or free market.
Beeley, who’s broader political perspective/analysis I disagree with, has nevertheless produced some very good reports from Syria.
Eva Bartlett (you mention Ch4’s discredited take-down of her above) has also provided very good reports from Syria. It kind of amuses how she was a hero to some when she reported from Palestine, but became a devil incarnate to many of those same people when she reported on Syria. Go figure.
21st Century Wire (and other sites) may be less than “sterling”, but when a person is reporting on stuff and no-one will pick them up because what they’re highlighting goes smack against accepted and unexamined “truths”, what are they meant to do? Take whatever outlet is on offer? Or shut themselves down?
We can agree that right wing propagandists use innuendo and just enough (twisted) truth to make their message appealing. (They also steal a fair amount of what would pass for left wing sensibility and mash it fit their agenda – ACT in NZ did the same “back when”) Some of them are very good at it. And when mainstream media are largely a busted flush who “no-one” believes any more, the audience is there for the taking, yes?
“As the families affected grieve the anniversary of the terrorist atrocity of #9/11 ponder this: #Britain and the #US are now at #war in #Syria in defence of #AlQaeda
Just think about that….”
And another fine entry, this time from Angelis Dania
“Assad: I’m close to victory. The US, UK, France, and now Germany have threatened to attack me if I use chemical weapons. A chemical attack won’t gain me any real strategic advantage, and I’ll lose support from my people. I’ll do it.
A clear and present danger.
Peter Hitchens is very concerned.
Not my political flavour, but he is certainly a thinker.
“Please write to your MP now without delay – War, terrible war, may be on the way again. WMD All Over Again: Our Government moves stealthily towards a new war of choice.
This week, the Middle East is in a state of grave and dangerous tension. The huge Sunni Muslim oil power, Saud Arabia, armed and/or backed diplomatically by Britain, France and the USA, is ever more hostile to Shia Muslim Iran, another oil power not as great but still as important, which is close and growing closer to Russia and China.
Bear in Mind as you consider this that Russia is also a European power, and engaged in a conflict with the EU and NATO in formerly non-aligned Ukraine, after the EU’s aggressive attempt to bring Ukraine into the Western orbit and NATO’s incessant eastward expansion into formerly neutral territory. There are several points at which Western troops are now remarkably close to Russian borders, for instance they are about 80 miles from St Petersburg (the distance from London to Coventry) , and the US Navy is building a new Black Sea base at Ochakov, 308 miles from the Russian naval station at Sevastopol. Just as the First World War (at root a conflict between Russia and Germany) spread like a great red stain over much of Europe and the Middle East , an Iran-Saudi war could easily spread into Europe itself.
The two powers, Saudi Arabia and Iran, are not yet in direct combat with each other, but fight through proxies in Yemen and Syria.
…….Our ally, Saudi Arabia, has used appalling methods in its attacks on Yemen and these have had appalling results. The moralistic bloviation of Western leaders about Syria, Russia and Iran’s parallel war against much the same sort of enemy as Assad and Russia face in Idlib is colossal hypocrisy and I am amazed that they can bring themselves to emit it, though I suspect that they are genuinely ignorant of the facts, not so much by wilfully avoiding them as by lacking the will to discover them. Even more infuriating is their ridiculous insistence, (simply not backed by reliably researched facts, obtained through secure custody chains, a standard set by the OPCW for itself) that the Assad state is guilty of previous chemical weapon use in Khan Sheikhoun and Douma.
…….There are many straws in the wind which suggest that we are being prepared for war. War is hell. At the very least, a decision which could have such far-reaching consequences, which could reach into every life and home, and embroil us for years, should be considered properly. The very fact that our government appears not to want us to consider it properly make sit all the more urgent that we insist on it.”
Galloway spot on, as ever.
‘An excellent piece of writing by the honourable @georgegalloway on #Skripal, #Russia and the illegal war in #Syria. A must read for anybody who wants to know the truth.’
“According to the Wall St Journal, the US has concluded that the Syrian regime of Bashar Assad is about to unleash a “chemical weapons attack” on the very last stronghold of Al-Qaeda and Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) fighters in Syria. We are asked to believe that having won the war Assad seeks to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by bringing the axis powers back full-scale into the Syrian war.
Whilst no-one but the least savvy of sheep is likely to believe that casus belli it is nonetheless all that the war-party has got to justify an expected new blizzard of cruise missiles and maybe more. Behind the Syrian Army stands of course the Russian Armed Forces, the very same Russia that has already ‘started chemical weapons warfare’ on the streets of Salisbury. ”
“Christchurch Progressive Network
12 September 2018
Media Release:
Protest tomorrow at Council Meeting – a travesty of democracy is in the making
Members of the Christchurch Progressive Network will attend tomorrow’s Christchurch City Council Meeting from 8.30am to protest the proposal to spend an extra $220 million on a rugby stadium ahead of rebuilding council rental housing destroyed in the earthquakes.
The extra $220 million would come from the $300 million allocated by the government for Christchurch priorities. This despite the housing crisis for low-income tenants and families exacerbated by the council’s failure to rebuild over 400 council rental units destroyed in the earthquakes.
It is a travesty of democracy when the Christchurch City Council refuses to allow public consultation on the spending of this $300 million after the Prime Minister told Christchurch voters during the election campaign “You and your city know exactly what your priorities are and that is why you will decide how that $300m is spent. It’s over to you.”
The mayor refused to answer earlier questions about the need for public consultation and then out of the blue has sprung this proposal on the city with just a few days’ notice. It’s a cynical attempt to override public opinion.
Christchurch residents have repeatedly said the stadium is a low priority compared to roads, footpaths and rebuilding council rental units but the Mayor and vested interests tell us the priority is a covered rugby stadium at a cost of $473 million.
This proposal is undemocratic, unprincipled and uncompassionate.
CPN supporters will be gathering at the council meeting from 8.30am, City Council Building, 53 Hereford Street.
John Minto
Convenor
Christchurch Progressive Network”
“In the Commons today, I said that – if there are reports of a chemical weapons attack in Idlib over the coming weeks – the government must ensure the reports are independently verified and that Parliament has given its approval, before escalating British involvement in the war.”
Craig Murray points out a dangerous development and a salient fact.
“China participating in giant Russian military exercise. Tells you all you need to know about the ham-fisted ineptitude of recent Western diplomacy. Far from isolating Russia, it has drawn much closer to the next dominant superpower.”
Challenge nothing
Change nothing
Tinker round the edges
Enable the status quo
Keep their position at the top of the political pile.
Stand for nothing.
Mean nothing.
Devoid of ideas
Devoid of solutions.”
Sounds like significant parts of the Labour Party in NZ as well.
ha ha – old vlad eh – just admitted that THERE WAS a poisoning. All of the people on here saying it was bullshit – Vlads just proven you all idiots!
“The two men accused by the UK of carrying out a nerve agent attack in Salisbury have been identified and are civilians, not criminals, Vladimir Putin has said.
“We know who they are, we have found them,” Putin said at an economic forum in the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, adding that the two men – named by the UK as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov – may soon make appearances in the media to protest their innocence.
“These are civilians,” Putin said in remarks reported by Russian news agencies. “There is nothing criminal here.”
… The Russian’s president’s words marked a departure from his country’s earlier position, which was to disregard the evidence released by Scotland Yard as a fabrication.”
Two Russian guys went to an iconic tourist attraction. Stonehenge is 15km from Salisbury.
Where does Putin say or imply they carried out any poisoning? And where are the ongoing and official Russian statements claiming that no poisoning had ever occurred?
And why, when the UK government has stated the investigation surrounding the affair is done and finished – that it was drawing a line under things with the naming of those two men – would the Russian government seek to open it up again, unless the two guys actually are innocent?
“The Russian’s president’s words marked a departure from his country’s earlier position, which was to disregard the evidence released by Scotland Yard as a fabrication.”
If Putin, or an official spokesperson has stated that Russia (ie – the Russian government) was “disregarding the evidence released by Scotland Yard as a fabrication“, (ie- all of the evidence) then there would be something to The Guardian’s claims.
But (as I suspect the case to be) the Guardian is attempting to build a mountainous picture from someone raising reasonable and understandable doubts because date stamps on video stills appeared to be from the same place and time, then nah.
Why would the Russian govt… ? Nationalism is popular in Russia. By defending ‘innocents’ victimized by a foreign state Putin’s popularity will only grow.
Innocence may not rate high among Putin’s motivations – didn’t stop him killing Nemtsov.
Well Stuart, obviously a visitor from Russia or elsewhere, who visited Britain but didn’t leave London (maybe most of anyone from anywhere?) wouldn’t be visiting Stonehenge or any other place outside of London – or getting up to deadly mischief outside of London.
Arkaim looks pretty cool. So is Skara Brae. But I doubt Orcadians would be all “seen it, done that” about Stonehenge “because Skara Brae”, or that any other person living near standing stones (lot’s of them in Britain) would either.
State murders and nationalism. Russia doesn’t have exclusive rights, you know?
Stonehenge should not be created out of whole cloth. It should be possible to determine whether the men concerned were in fact megalithic grave enthusiasts, or not. If so you have a sort of argument – if not you just made a Кра́сный herring.
No one is suggesting Russia has exclusivity on state sanctioned murder – but they certainly have plenty of form. In this instance however, the kind of political convenience that attended the demise of David Kelly is not in evidence.
If I was to put money on two men traveling to Salisbury from London by train to take in Stonehenge, against two men traveling to Salisbury from London by train to slap some goop on a door handle, I’d be putting my money on Stonehenge.
I mean. They might not have gone to Stonehenge. There are a multitude of imaginable reasons why two Russian nationals would fly to London and then travel on to a place like Salisbury. And yes, poisoning a father and daughter is part of the list. But the odds?
If it was me (on the poisoning scenario), I’d be hitting London by an indirect route. I’d be traveling on a dodgy and non-Russian passport (assuming I had the connections to get one), and I wouldn’t be traveling up the country using public transport.
If it was me (on the poisoning scenario), I’d be hitting London by an indirect route. I’d be traveling on a dodgy and non-Russian passport (assuming I had the connections to get one), and I wouldn’t be traveling up the country using public transport.
Personally and politically there’s no reason to use an indirect route to get in, and getting out needs to be as direct as possible because you’re only vulnerable when you’re arrestable or extraditable. Gotta be wary of a Neighbourhood Watch volunteer making notes…
There’s no need to use a fake or stolen or fraudulently obtained passport because you have access to a legitimate one in a name that is not your own. Indeed, getting picked up with a dodgy passport coming in would be a major liability for your operation, and the poison could even be discovered simply because you were arrested for the passport.
Public transport is convenient, uses cash, and doesn’t require ID of any sort. Heck, the French Rainbow Warrior operation support pair were caught while returning their rental car (bloody stupid move) – and their dodgy Swiss passports were no protection, either.
Note to self. Never engage in any dodgy illegal shit with McFlock unless the objective is to secure some years worth of three guaranteed meals a day. 🙂
Those two will only see a jail cell if Putin wishes it.
That’s the difference between committing a crime but you want to stay in the country, and committing a crime where if you leave immediately you will never be caught.
Seriously, what does private or rented transport give you that public transport doesn’t? Sure, maybe a bit more speed, but also another scene for the cops to examine, another identity check in the process to confirm it was you, and an increase in the statistical likelihood you’ll hit another car or something and jeapordize the operation.
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Regional Development Minister Shane Jones is the only Cabinet member in favour of putting it all on green. As Finance Minister Grant Robertson finds himself with an enormous $7.5 billion surplus, the Government has begun intense, at times contentious conversations about whether to put the money on red or black at ...
by Susanne Kemp At the start of September close to 100,000 school teachers went on strike in Jordan. They demanded a 50% pay rise. A pay rise actually agreed to by the regime back in 2014. In early October, however, in the face of government repression and threats, the teachers’ ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzWhy do people still think climate change isn’t real?David ...
Back in 2011, journalist Nicky Hager published Other People's Wars, an expose on NZDF's activities over the previous decade of the "war on terror". NZDF didn't like this, and especially didn't like the fact that it was base don leaks from their own. So, they had the SIS investigate him ...
The Zero Carbon Bill is due back from select committee in two weeks, and will likely pass its final stages in November. So naturally, farmers are planning a hate-march against it. But they're not just demanding lower methane targets so they can keep on destroying the planet; they're also demanding ...
Last year, California burned. This year, to stop it happening again (or rather, to stop themselves from being found liable if it happens again), Pacific Gas and Electric is cutting power to half the state for a week:Schools are closed. Traffic lights down. Tunnels dark. Businesses unopened. Hospitals running on ...
The Best Way: Missing from the on-line voting debate is any reference to the voting system that produces turn-out figures ranging from 77 to 93 percent of registered voters. The voting system used to collect and count the votes cast in our parliamentary elections. The system that involves citizens making ...
Among the great new bunch of political friends we have been making recently is the excellent Australian-based Marxist gender-critical site, Freer Lives. So we asked the comrade who set up that blog to write something for Redline on the blog, himself, his analysis of the rise of gender politics and ...
by Don Franks The Auckland City Mission is struggling with a 40 percent increase in demand for food parcels this year. A total of 23,020 were needed by June. Last month Missioner Chris Farrelly told the Herald the “cupboards are bare” and without an emergency food drive, he can’t see ...
by The Council of Disobedient Women Massey Wellington Student Association had a sit-in today. Imagine a sit-in. On a campus. Against a women’s rights meeting. Did the ’60s really happen or did we fucking dream it? They gathered in the student square, an echo chamber. Sitting on soft pillows ...
For some reasons, my post about the mystery message from inside the Downing Street bunker seemed to catch people's attention. Quite a lot of hits from NZ (unsurprisingly) and the USA (a bit more puzzlingly, but hi there, USAians!!) and 76 views from the Ukraine.I've celebrated my Ukrainian readers in ...
First, almost a score of Labour MPs seem to have sent a letter to the EU basically begging them to accept a deal - any deal - just so Britain can get the Heck on with Brexiting instead of being trapped in limbo:
by Phil Duncan In 2016 the National-led government suspended the Parent Visa Category, through which migrants were able to bring their parents into New Zealand. Since then over 5,700 people have been in immigration limbo, stuck on the visa wait list. Labour is now bringing back the scheme. Well, sort ...
The following was released yesterday (Tues, October 8) by the women’s liberation organisation Speak Up for Women. On 23 September Speak Up For Women announced that we would be holding an event at the Massey University Theaterette in Wellington. The event is called Feminism 2020. The intention of the event ...
The government is currently consulting on plans to improve freshwater quality. So naturally, farmers oppose it:South Taranaki farmers are preparing to fight proposed national freshwater changes that some fear will bankrupt them. The Government's proposed National Environment Standard on Freshwater Management, released in September, rated the Waingongoro River as one ...
Yesterday was the last day for (reliably) posting your vote away in local body elections. Turnouts are mostly much lower than the equivalent time last year (Palmerston North is down 2.3%), and so naturally people are pushing their online-voting snake oil again. Because the online census worked so well, lets ...
This essay, on the political legacy of the eugenics movement, by Kenan Malik was originally published in the Observer on 6 October 2019, under the headline ‘The spirit of eugenics is still with us, as immigrants know to their cost’. Birth control. Intelligence tests. Town planning. Immigration controls. It’s striking how ...
Another year, and the government has announced another enormous government "surplus". And just like last year, its nothing of the sort. When we have people homeless and sick and hungry, when we have schools and hospitals still falling down, when we have underpaid public servants and infrastucture unmaintained or unbuilt, ...
James Forsyth at The Spectator (I know, I know) has tapped one of his contacts inside Number Ten for an insight into the Johnson administration's thinking and strategy.It is fascinating, unsettling and quite, quite mad. Some key points:Negotiations have stalled and the Johnson administration are keen to blame the EU: ...
Fatal Contact: With the arrival of captain James Cook in October 1769, the islands of what would become New Zealand ceased to be the preserve of Polynesian navigators and settlers and became a part of both the world’s map and the world’s history.THE MAORI NATIONALIST assault upon the historical meaning ...
Another round of tactical talks about forming a Government of National Unity have come to nothing with the Liberal Democrats still refusing countenance putting Jeremy Corbyn into Downing Street:Opposition talks on Monday made little headway over when to try and vote down Boris Johnson's government and who might succeed him as ...
by Nick Rogers The debate around the meaning of sex and gender made an appearance at this year’s British Labour Party conference in Brighton. Women’s Place UK – an organisation that questions the demand that biological males who self-identify as woman should have access to women’s spaces, to all-women shortlists, ...
Yesterday I went down to Wellington to participate in the Extinction Rebellion protest. Its part of the latest global wave of XR actions, with actions happening all over the world. Some of those protests are massively disruptive: in Canada, XR is blocking major bridges, stopping people from getting to work. ...
The Workshop is a charitable trust for public good. The Workshop undertake research to find ways of communicating that will build support for the solutions that work to solve complex social and environmental problems. See their Report on Talking about Poverty and Welfare Reform below. ...
What is language? We generally assume that it a facility unique to humans, allowing us to share what’s in and on our minds. We can tell of our plans, our past exploits, our knowledge. It also allows us to lie. And yet there are vast numbers of people we can’t ...
Being and Being Bought (Spinifex Press, 2013) by Kajsa Ekis Ekman A synopsis and commentary of Chapters 1-2 by Daphna Whitmore Ekman, a Swedish journalist and critic, brings together a Marxist and feminist analysis of prostitution and surrogacy in this groundbreaking book She opens the discussion with a definition of ...
I make no claims to having much legal knowledge, so I defer to those trained in this area.I am very much enjoying this twitter stream from m'learned friend in Edinburgh, deciphering the legal arguments around the Scottish court challenge to Boris Johnson, based on the charmingly obscure principle of Nobile ...
Ivory Folly? The University of Auckland’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stuart McCutcheon, upheld the right of the radical nationalist group, Action Zealandia to exercise their freedom of speech – not matter how distasteful that speech might be. A wiser community of students and scholars would have nodded their agreement and moved on. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is predicting a hard Brexit for the United Kingdom, as he believes British Prime Minister Boris Johnson won’t be able to negotiate terms before the October 30 deadline. The Minister, who was one of the first to publicly come out and predict British voters would leave ...
Speaking at the Council of Trade Unions' (CTU) biennial conference, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters told unionists that any future attacks on the Government won't work. "Now, we are being attacked by the union movement in this country. You can have your views but I'm here to say standing ...
We want every New Zealander to be happy, safe, and healthy. To do this, we need to support strong, safe communities, and a robust and efficient health system. ...
Defence Minister Ron Mark has used his powers to overrule a noise complaint ruling against Whenuapai airbase on the grounds of "national security". The Environment Court last month released a ruling in favour of a private developer, declaring the Auckland airbase had to comply with noise restrictions when it performs ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has opened fire against "unreconstructed morons" after NZ First MP Shane Jones was photographed on holiday holding an AR-15 rifle. Mr Peters is defending Mr Jones, telling Magic Talk host Peter Williams that his MP was just having fun "like most people do". "The ...
New Zealand First Deputy Leader and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau was in attendance during the morning blessing of the Rotorua Lakefront development project. Around 60 people gathered on the shores of Lake Rotorua, including city mayor Steve Chadwick and deputy Dave Donaldson. The Lakefront development is a ...
Forestry Minister Shane Jones is considering reining in on conversions of farmland to forestry, and also issued a warning to foreign-owned forestry companies that make up nearly 75 per cent of the industry. He said too many foreign companies had not provided enough access for domestic processors to get timber. ...
Speaking to Radio NZ, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said the tightening of the parental category visa is a direct result of the Party’s coalition negotiations with the Labour Party. He said the new changes switch the financial onus from the parent moving to New Zealand to the child ...
The Coalition Government is set to cut red tape in the building and construction sector in an effort to allow more houses to be built, including prefabricated houses. The changes will enable the mass factory production of "high quality" buildings, slash the likely number of building inspections for factory produced ...
Since coming into Government, we’ve worked hard to tackle homelessness and make sure everyone has a warm, dry home. And today, on World Homeless Day, we want to report back and update you on our progress so far. ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has hit back at National Party leader Simon Bridges who criticized the Coalition Government’s approach to crime, and said that the latter isn't credible in his attack on the Government over gang recruitment. "We've got as massive drug problem in this country. It is ...
New Zealand Mānuka honey exporters have welcomed an initiative by the Coalition Government to help secure the term “mānuka honey” to be used exclusively by Kiwi exporters, ensuring that our multimillion-dollar industry is protected. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones had recently announced that a Provincial Growth Funding of $5.7 ...
Political commentator Mike Hosking has labelled New Zealand First leader Winston Peters as “the voice of reason in a government soft on drugs”, for the Party’s stance on drug testing at music festivals. “If common sense is worth a vote, Winston Peters is quids in,” Mr Hosking said. The Labour ...
Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau has announced Provincial Growth Funding to ensure work opportunities in Turangi and Whanganui, through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi. A fund of $500,000 will go to Rafting NZ in Turangi for a 16-week river guide training course to train ...
Treasury has shown that the Coalition Government has a $7.5 billion surplus, which is $4 billion higher than what was expected in the 2019 Budget unveiled last May. It is also $2 billion higher than the actual surplus unveiled this time last year, and at a size that has not ...
Official Information Act figures released to NZME show there were 350 assaults on officers in the year to the end of June, 79 more than the year before. The increase in attacks have sparked calls for more legal protection for first responders to be enacted. The assaults included officers being ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
We're making progress on tackling the long-term challenges: from homelessness, to strengthening border security, to bringing banking back New Zealand's small towns. ...
Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones has backed the ambitious plan to move Auckland’s port to Northport, at Whangarei harbour, which he says will be the “King Kong of infrastructure”. The plan is part of the recommendations of a six-person independent working group, which has recommended the Ports of Auckland be ...
A six-member independent working group selected the option of moving Auckland’s port to Northport, in Whangarei, ahead of other options. In what could be New Zealand’s most ambitious infrastructure project yet, a major expansion of the Marsden Point port could happen within 15 years. The project, officially called the “Upper ...
The final Electricity Price Review recommended prohibiting prompt payment discounts but allowing “reasonable” late fees. The findings of this review was welcomed by the Coalition Government, but they hope companies will follow through with its recommendations without regulations needed to be passed. Meridian Energy had already stopped prompt payment discounts, ...
Fletcher Tabuteau, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF)through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi,will invest nearly $600,000 to ensure work opportunities for locals in Turangia and Whanganui, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “I’m pleased to announce the PGF ...
An export-led economy is one of New Zealand First’s key principles, and our commitment to achieving this is shown by the continuing skyrocketing demand for our beef and sheep meat exports. Beef + Lamb New Zealand's New Season Outlook 2019-20 report forecasts beef, lamb and mutton prices to lift from ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today in Gisborne an investment of $17.27m into bringing “world-leading” food-growing technology and the creation of more than 100 new jobs in the East Coast city. The funding comes from the Provincial Growth Fund, and included a $15 million loan to LeaderBrand, a ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development More than 100 people in Tairāwhiti’s Tolaga Bay will benefit from two employment initiatives supported by the Provincial Growth Fund, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Employment Minister Willie Jackson announced today. “Tolaga Bay is an incredibly tight-knit community, but one in ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is supporting Gisborne business Leaderbrand to produce salad vegetables year round and create more jobs in the Tairāwhiti region, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “Our support for Leaderbrand will help them build large greenhouses ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has praised the promise by New Zealand’s biggest banks not to close any provincial branches while the Coalition Government trials regional banking hubs across the country. The Minister said the announce was the “first sign of hope for regional communities”, many of which have ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First is proud to have delivered an upgrade of the SuperGold Card website and a new smartphone app, which will help unlock the full benefits of the SuperGold Card for 750,000 New Zealand seniors.Party Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters, ...
Delivering a key election campaign promise, New Zealand First is proud to have accomplished a long overdue upgrade of the SuperGold Card today. At an event in Auckland, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters joined Minister for Seniors Hon. Tracey Martin in unveiling the new website and smartphone app which ...
The Minister of Fisheries is calling for entries for a new public award to celebrate innovation in our seafood sector. “I have established the Seafood Sustainability Awards to recognise and celebrate those throughout industry, tangata whenua and communities who demonstrate outstanding dedication and innovation towards the sustainability of New Zealand’s ...
Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter welcomes leaders in the private sector taking action on closing their gender pay gaps to ensure a fairer workplace for all New Zealanders. Ms Genter today launched a new report, Addressing the gender pay gap and driving women’s representation in senior leadership, from the Champions for ...
Government Ministers today welcomed the release of a marine environment report highlighting the four key issues affecting our oceans, estuaries and coastlines. The release underlines the importance of government proposals to combat climate pollution, ensure clean freshwater, protect biodiversity, make land use more sustainable, and reduce waste and plastic. Environment ...
The Government has approved funding for a new acute mental health facility for Waikato which will provide better care and support to people with mental health and addiction issues. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Health Minister Dr David Clark announced the $100 million project to replace the aging Henry Rongomau ...
The Government is making progress on its goal to integrate te reo Māori into education by 2025, with over 500 teachers and support staff already graduating from Te Ahu o te Reo Māori, Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. Kelvin Davis made the announcement at an awards ceremony in Waikanae today, for ...
Statistics Minister James Shaw has welcomed the first release of 2018 Census data. The first release of data today, 23 September, includes key data on population, regional growth, the number of homes and the size of different ethnic groups in New Zealand. Data from the 2018 Census will support the ...
Minister for Statistics James Shaw today announced a public consultation on a proposed algorithm charter for government agencies. The charter has been developed by the Government Chief Data Steward in response to growing calls for more transparency in government use of data. Computer algorithms – procedures or formulas for solving ...
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor, Climate Change Minister James Shaw and visiting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte co-hosted a business roundtable in Auckland this morning focused on working together to address climate change. “The Netherlands is an important partner for New Zealand. We share a strong agricultural history. Sustainable agribusiness and ...
The Government is taking action to build an inclusive economy where more of us receive our fair share at work and businesses can compete on great products and services, not undercutting wages and conditions, Immigration and Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. Two consultations launched today seek feedback ...
The future for New Zealand’s threatened indigenous freshwater fish looks brighter with the passing of the Conservation (Indigenous Freshwater Fish) Amendment Bill in Parliament today said Minister of Conservation, Eugenie Sage. “Until now, our freshwater fish legislation has been 20 years out of date. We have lacked effective tools to ...
At 1.30pm tomorrow, hundreds of thousands of Kiwis will join about 65 million people around the globe in ShakeOut, the world’s biggest earthquake drill. The annual drill is to remind people of the right action to take during an earthquake which is to Drop, Cover, Hold, and to practise their ...
Kiwis are benefiting from higher wage growth and low inflation under the Coalition Government. Stats NZ data out today shows the rise in the cost of living remains low, as annual Consumers Price Index (CPI) inflation fell to 1.5% in September from 1.7% in June. “The low inflation comes as ...
New Zealand’s economic strength and resilience has been recognised in a major update on the state of the global economy. The IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook released overnight shows a reduced global growth forecast over the next two years as issues like the US-China trade war and Brexit take hold. ...
Justice Minister Andrew Little has today introduced a new Bill to prevent terrorism and support the de-radicalisation of New Zealanders returning from overseas. The Terrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill gives the New Zealand Police the ability to apply to the High Court to impose control orders on New Zealanders who ...
A Bill that proposes targeted changes to simplify the processes for Māori land owners when engaging with the Māori Land Court has had its First Reading today. “The approach taken by the Government is to ensure that the protection of Māori land remains a priority as we seek to improve ...
Let me first thank all the new unionists and members in the room. There is nothing more important to improving people’s working lives than people making the decision to care, to get on board and help, to take up the reins and get involved. Congratulations to you. You bring the ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark has signed a certificate exempting the activity of engine testing at Whenuapai Airbase from the Resource Management Act 1991. The Act gives the Minister of Defence the power to exempt activities for the purposes of national security. The certificate will mean the recent Environment Court ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson has announced New Zealand will join the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action while attending APEC meetings in Chile. The objective of the 39 member Coalition is to share information and promote action to tackle climate change. It was formed in April this year, in ...
Ladies and gentlemen, NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff, members of respective unions – thank you for the invitation to speak to you today. This might be preaching to the choir, but the importance of trade unions in New Zealand’s historical arch is difficult to understate. And it is my belief that ...
"Let’s start by acknowledging that it has been a huge year. " Police Association Annual Conference James Cook Grand Chancellor Hotel Wellington Nau mai, haere mai. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, ka nui te mihi, ki a koutou katoa. President of the Police Association, Chris Cahill; Members of the Association and ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters and Minister of Defence Ron Mark have announced the New Zealand Government’s decision to again deploy a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 (P-3) maritime patrol aircraft to support the implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions imposing sanctions against North Korea. New ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand continues to have serious concerns for peace and stability in north-east Syria. “Recent reports that hundreds of ISIS-affiliated families have fled from a camp are deeply concerning from a humanitarian and security perspective”, Mr Peters says. “While we acknowledge Turkey’s domestic security ...
Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor is warning travelling Kiwis to be vigilant as the high-season for the crop-eating brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is under way. “We’re on high alert to stop BMSB arriving in NZ. The high season runs until April 30 and we’ve strengthened our measures to stop stink ...
The Government is moving swiftly to change the law to improve the welfare and pastoral care of students living in university halls of residence and other tertiary hostels. Cabinet has agreed to several changes, including creating a new mandatory Code of Practice that sets out the duty of pastoral care ...
The Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage has launched a new comprehensive trapping guide for community trappers to help them protect our native birds, plants and other wildlife, at Zealandia in Wellington today. ‘A practical guide to trapping’, has been developed by the Department of Conservation (DOC), and was launched during ...
Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter welcomes PHARMAC’s move to improve access to long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs). PHARMAC has today announced it will fund the full cost of Mirena and Jaydess for anyone seeking long term contraception, lifting previous restrictions on access to Mirena. “I welcome women having greater choices ...
The Government has approved the next stage of a major redevelopment of Taranaki Base Hospital, which will deliver new and improved facilities for patients. Health Minister Dr David Clark has announced details of a $300 million dollar project to build a new East Wing at the New Plymouth hospital. It ...
Extra funding will allow Rural Support Trusts to help farming families, says Minister for Rural Communities and Agriculture Damien O’Connor. “I know that rural families are worried about some of the challenges facing them, including the ongoing uncertainty created by the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak. “Those concerns sit alongside ongoing worries ...
Thank you for the opportunity to be here to present certificates to the 16 graduates who have completed a beekeeping course delivered by the Howard League. Let us start by acknowledging Auckland Prison’s Deputy Prison Director Tom Sherlock, and Acting Assistant Regional Commissioner of Corrections Northern Region Scott Walker - ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson leaves this weekend to attend the APEC Finance Ministers meeting in Santiago, Chile. Discussions between APEC Finance Ministers at the meeting will include the effects of the current global economic uncertainty, risks for APEC economies and sustainable development of the region. While at APEC Grant Robertson ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says for Pacific people, language can be a source of strength. It can help ground us and give us confidence. When we speak them, our languages provide us with an immediate and intimate access to our identity and our story - and ...
The Coalition Government has announced an action plan to improve the wellbeing of disabled New Zealanders by addressing inequalities in play, active recreation and sport. The initiative includes training to develop a workforce that understands the needs of children and young people with a range of impairments, advocacy for fit ...
The construction sector is being freed up to allow more homes to be built more quickly as the Government cuts through some of the red tape of the Building Act. “Every New Zealander deserves a warm, dry, safe home and old inefficiencies in the Building Act make building slow and ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has welcomed further details on the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall’s visit to New Zealand next month. Their Royal Highnesses will visit New Zealand from 17-23 November – their third joint visit to New Zealand and first in four years. They arrive in Auckland ...
Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth and Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, heads to Thailand today to attend the final Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Ministerial meeting, as negotiations enter their final stages. “The RCEP Agreement would anchor New Zealand in a regional agreement that covers 16 countries, ...
Pacific young people living in the Hawke’s Bay, Southland and Otago regions will have access to support services that have proved successful in helping young people find new earning and learning opportunities. “Tupu Aotearoa is about changing Pacific young peoples’ lives. Our young people are talented, they are smart, they ...
Introduction As the Minister for ACC I thank you all for the work that you do supporting New Zealanders in their literally most vulnerable moments. From those who hold people’s lives in their hands, to the people who research technique, technology and trends, your work is highly valued. A special ...
Notes prepared for speeches in Christchurch – Wednesday 9 October 2019 Today’s topic, “trends and opportunities for the New Zealand economy,” is certainly one getting a great deal of commentary at the moment. Looking across the media landscape lately you’ll notice we aren’t the only ones having this discussion. There ...
Minister of Health Dr David Clark and Associate Minister of Health Peeni Henare say this year’s World Mental Health Day theme is a reminder of why the Government’s work on mental health is so important. “This year the World Federation for Mental Health has made suicide prevention the main theme ...
Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni will represent the government at Australia’s Meeting of Cultural Ministers in Adelaide this week. “This year’s meeting is special because New Zealand is expected to become an International Member of the Meeting of Cultural Ministers at this Australian forum,” Carmel Sepuloni said. “The meeting is an opportunity to ...
Aotearoa Climate Emergency (ACE), a climate change network, will host a conference in Wellington on 11 November (Armistice Day) to promote holding a Citizens Assembly in 2020, as a way of breaking the current political deadlock on treating climate ...
MediaWorks’ owners have called time after years of losses from its TV division. Sources say the company will announce it is for sale – if no buyers emerge, it will close within months.Three is facing the biggest crisis in its three decade history today, as its ownership will soon announce ...
Sam Brooks reviews Amazon Prime’s Modern Love, an anthology series based on the New York Times column dedicated to ‘love in all its forms’. A first date that ends up in the emergency room. A flagging marriage that finds new energy through tennis. The founder of a dating app who doesn’t ...
If we want to grow support for New Zealand’s aid, we need to get better at partnering with the ‘unlike-minded’ as well as the ‘like-minded’, and much better at telling people what we do with the money they give, says Josie Pagani, Executive ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Orsola De Marco, Astrophysicist , Macquarie University If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au.How are stars made? –Zali, age 8, Karkoo, South Australia. How are stars made? Well, stars are not ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gita Mishra, Professor of Life Course Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland All women know to expect the time in life when their periods finish and they reach menopause. Many might even look forward to it. What many women don’t ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul McGreevy, Professor of Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare Science, University of Sydney Since ancient times, horse behaviour, and the bond between horses and humans, has been a source of intrigue and fascination. The horse-lore that has accumulated over the centuries is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachael Wallis, Lecturer and Honorary Research Fellow, University of Southern Queensland A move to the country is often presented in popular culture as an idyllic life, a place where you can escape the pressures of the city. It’s in television shows such ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW The just-announced inquiry into Australia’s retirement income system ought to be anything but run-of-the-mill. Taking place 25 years after the introduction of compulsory superannuation, it provides an opportunity to either fix a broken system, or discard ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Allan McCay, Law Lecturer, University of Sydney The rise of artificial intelligence has led to widespread concern about the role of humans in the workplaces of the future. Indeed, Israeli historian, futurist and publishing sensation Yuval Noah Harari warns in his most ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Saunders, Phd candidate, University of Wollongong Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains images and names of deceased people. You leave Sydney and head for holidays on the South Coast. You plan to catch a quick surf, ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Clayton Mitchell denies accusations around a night out, food insecurity on the rise, and UK PM Boris Johnson secures deal with dubious prospects.NZ First MP Clayton Mitchell has got himself in a spot of late night bother in a Tauranga ...
As the rugby world wrestles with the new reality that players can, and will, be dismissed for accidental contact with an opponent’s head it's worth pondering the fate of three All Blacks not selected for the Ireland quarterfinal. ...
A new exhibition in Raetihi offers a rare opportunity to see early, colonialism-focused works by Wellington artist Barbara Strathdee, writes Pat Baskett. ...
Italy's Ambassador to New Zealand Fabrizio Marcelli responds to Newsroom stories - and The Detail podcasts - questioning the price of imported tinned tomatoes in light of reports of slave labour in the industry in his home country. ...
A measles outbreak in Samoa suspected to be responsible for the death of a one-year-old was “inevitable”, according to an expert who thinks NZ could have prevented it. ...
The big shock of the results in the weekend’s local elections was the unseating of Justin Lester as Wellington mayor. We invited him to pen a sort-of-valedictory.My three years as the mayor of Wellington ended on Sunday and I will forever remain grateful for the experience.I’m also acutely aware of ...
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, Alex Braae reviews a night spent on the Intercity overnight sleeper bus getting from Wellington to Auckland.The most important thing to understand about long haul bus travel is that it’s all about getting exactly ...
Britain and the EU have agreed new terms for divorce. But with the Conservatives’ Northern Irish support party unimpressed, can the British prime minister at last put an end to the interminable shitstorm?At last, a deal! A palpable deal! A path out of the endless brain-melt!“Where there is a will, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Government sources insist shock jock Alan Jones didn’t drive Thursday’s announcement of a cash payment to drought-striken farmers about to be turfed off their household support because they’d reached the four year time limit. They ...
The proposition that global warming driven by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is a risk that needs to be dealt with has achieved a large measure of agreement among policymakers. The proposition that it has to be dealt with right now and at great cost has no such consensus.One point ...
A bill to improve the pastoral care of students living in halls of residence has flown through its first reading in Parliament, thanks to cross-party support. ...
In this week's MediaRoom column: could MediaWorks close its TV operations altogether? And the Herald restructures its newsroom to remove a layer of management and shake up its investigative team. ...
Twenty-five young people who represent the future of the Asia-New Zealand relationship have been acknowledged as ‘ones to watch’, by the Asia New Zealand Foundation Te Whītau Tūhono. ...
The taboo that surrounds immigration and our refugee qouta, are two issues rising in New Zealand that need to start being given attention to challenge the fruit loops of the far left. ...
Winston Peters has been ordered to answer questions about whether he received a letter from MSD asking him to check details of his living arrangements, three years before discovering he'd been overpaid. ...
To celebrate 10 years since the start of New Zealand’s Next Top Model, our reality TV podcast The Real Pod is going to recap it week by week. Here are 10 of the most incredible revelations from the very first episode. 1) Colin Mathura-Jeffree was an emo kidThis was the moment ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Terrorism bill Lydia Lewis and Dan Satherley (Newshub): Security expert backs new terror law proposal ...
Occupiers of the disputed land at Ihumātao have been shut out of talks with the government about finding a resolution, saying they haven’t had any direct contact with ministers in more than a month, writes RNZ‘s Te Aniwa Hurihanganu and Meriana Johnsen.The Māori King announced in September mana whenua had ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bronwyn Fancourt, Adjunct Research Fellow, University of New England Feral cats are wreaking havoc on our native wildlife, eating more than a billion animals across Australia every year. But managing feral cats and reducing their impacts on our threatened species is challenging, ...
Later this month, the national commemoration of the New Zealand Wars, known as Te Pūtake o Te Riri, is to be held in Taranaki. Local community activist Vivian Hutchinson looks at how a history of conflict has shaped our sense of citizenship and describes how some people in Taranaki are ...
New Zealand First MP Clayton Mitchell is demanding an apology from security guards who booted him out of a Tauranga bar on Saturday night, describing them as politically-motivated "buffoons". ...
New Zealand First MP Clayton Mitchell is demanding an apology from security guards who booted him out of a Tauranga bar on Saturday night, describing them as politically-motivated "buffoons". ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jerry Zhou, Lecturer, School of Medicine, Western Sydney University If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au.Does chewing gum stay inside you for years? – Olivia, aged 12, Australia. Great question, Olivia! ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liam Elphick, Adjunct Research Fellow, Law School, University of Western Australia In March last year, Frances McDormand won the Academy Award for Best Actress. In her acceptance speech, she drew attention to the female nominees in the room and left them with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peggy Kern, Associate professor, University of Melbourne The Portal follows six individuals who undergo a personal transformation from trauma and struggle to calmness, self-acceptance, and compassion towards others. These personal changes are intertwined with contemplations about the broader struggles facing humanity and ...
Many hill country farmers could be locked into low-return agriculture by government policy, with little chance of breaking the cycle, according to the main meat producers' lobby, Beef + Lamb New Zealand. ...
The Southern DHB has apologised and pledged to change practices after a report into a young woman’s complaint about treatment which included being stripped naked and left unattended in seclusion for 12 hours. Here she tells her story.I’d forgotten the Health and Disability Commission was about to publish its report. ...
In the Chief Ombudsman’s latest Annual Report, contacts for advice increased 29 percent, while more use was being made of guidance material, including the 23 new or updated guides that were published in the 2018/19 year. ...
Fletcher's new offsite home manufacturing facility could be producing two homes a day within a couple of years. But for the moment this high-tech factory is underwhelming. ...
National's leader Simon Bridges says his party will pull its support for the new anti-terrorism legislation if the minister doesn't meet with them next week and start negotiating in good faith. ...
For the latest episode of On the Rag, notorious prude Alex Casey enlisted the help of sex toy expert and pleasure therapist Teddy Curle. It sounds a bit like ingredients for an avant-garde stir-fry recipe. Cauliflower. Kūmara. A jar of Vegemite. But what it actually is, sex toy expert Teddy Curle ...
It is deeply concerning that the state of our marine environment has not improved in the last three years. Resilient coasts and oceans are essential to New Zealanders' health and wealth, so urgent action is needed to address the decline. ...
Something’s crowning this Christmas, and it isn’t King Richard of Aldovia in his favourite tiara. Tara Ward looks at what Netflix’s new movie A Christmas Prince: A Royal Baby could mean for us all. Yesterday Netflix announced they’re about to give birth to the third instalment in the legendary series A Christmas ...
In a new initiative, Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga (NPM) New Zealand’s Māori Centre of Research Excellence is celebrating and recognising the careers of three Māori leaders and visionaries, who have a long history of bringing about major social change ...
The Environmental Defence Society (EDS) has welcomed the publication by the Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ of Our Marine Environment 2019 , the latest in the reports on the state of our environment. The report is available here . ...
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Campbell Brown, CEO of PredictHQ.This week we talk to Campbell Brown, the CEO ...
The Government has today released its discussion paper ‘ Designing a Fair Pay Agreements System ’ providing detail of what proposed law for Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs) could include. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leah Ruppanner, Associate Professor in Sociology and Co-Director of The Policy Lab, University of Melbourne The polls were wrong in the last US and Australian federal elections. Hillary Clinton was favoured to win at a margin of 85% to Donald Trump’s 15%. ...
Today is World Ecolabel Day and to mark the occasion New Zealand’s premier ecolabel has released a study showing the powerful environmental effect of ecolabelled products. ...
Family First's continued fight against attempts by the government's Charities Registration Board to deregister them is set to continue in the Court of Appeal in Wellington next week (Tues & Wed 22-23 Oct). In a significant development, the Charity Law ...
The actions of New Zealanders on land are increasingly harming the ocean’s ability to sustain life. Alex Braae looks at a worrying new government paper on the marine environment.What’s all this then?A new report from the Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ has sounded alarming warning about state of ...
Farmers for Positive Change (F4PC) congratulates environmental, recreation and public health groups for coming to a united position on the Government’s freshwater reform and finds significant areas of agreement with the Healthy Water, Healthy Future joint ...
In time for Auckland Artweek, Eloise Callister-Baker opens the door on a cluster of small Auckland art spaces, once off the beaten track and ephemeral, now finding cunning new ways to adapt and survive in the CBD property market. Auckland’s terrific documentor of art openings, Sait Akkirman of artdiary.co.nz, provides ...
Right to Life asks, why the Special Abortion Legislation Bill Committee is continuing to discriminate by refusing to hear the 2,740 submitters who have requested the right to make a ten minute oral submission on the highly contentious abortion Bill conceived ...
Winston Peters is calling on an old mate to give evidence in his landmark court case against government agencies over a leak of his personal superannuation details. ...
Government ministers are exulting over how the NZ economy is performing— and their own work in making it stronger. David Clark, standing in for Grant Robertson in Parliament on Tuesday, rejoiced at how solid the “underlying fundamentals of the NZ economy are”. He said the government accounts for the June ...
A campaign to ban the Forced Swim Test in New Zealand is in line with public opinion, according to a new survey commissioned by the New Zealand Anti-Vivisection Society (NZAVS) and SAFE. ...
Environment, health, recreation, and water infrastructure groups have come together to support four essential policies to save fresh water in Aotearoa New Zealand. The Public Health Association, Forest & Bird, Fish & Game New Zealand, Environmental ...
"So many of our children are being violently harmed. Their innocence stolen and their bodies used for the sexual gratification and financial gain of those involved in the dark world of paedophillia. These innocent children are voiceless; nobody ...
Daily Review 12/09/2018 
In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been busy preparing for our summer paper on Science Communication. Looking for something amusing about ‘risk’ in science, I came across this neat xkcd.com cartoon about why so many people come knocking on my door (or phoning me, or emailing me) desperately wanting ...2 hours ago
Jo Swinson is doing even worse at this Being Sensible lark that I'd thought. I've just become aware of the following utterance
Today's IPCA report of police criminality: a police officer unalwfully tasered a fleeing suspect who posed no threat to anyone:The police watchdog has found an officer unlawfully tasered an Auckland man who broke his ankle jumping off a balcony to escape arrest. [...] To avoid arrest, the man jumped over ...20 hours ago
Media Statement for Immediate Release 16th October 2019 “Fake News” from Auckland City Council CCOs Board Chairs re pay and performance bonuses for top managers Despite comments from Auckland City Council CCOs Board Chairs re pay and performance bonuses for top managers—Herald Newspaper Tuesday Oct 15th–there is very little evidence ...21 hours ago
Would You Buy A Used Propaganda Video From This Man? Bridges and the National Party’s strategists have discovered that the ideas and attitudes considered acceptable by today’s editors and journalists are no longer enforceable. The rise and rise of the Internet and the social media platforms it spawned means that ...22 hours ago
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nz There is a lot of discussion on the benefits of ...2 days ago
Thanks to a report from the Acting Inspector General of Intelligence and Security following a complaint by Nicky Hager, we have come to find out that the SIS illegally spied on Mr. Hager on behalf of the NZDF after publication of Hager’s 2011 book, Other People’s Wars. The NZDF justified ...3 days ago
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING MYTH 1: Global temperatures are rising at a rapid, unprecedented rate. FACT: The HadCRUT3 surface temperature index, produced by the Hadley Centre of the UK Met Office and the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia, shows warming to 1878, cooling to 1911, ...3 days ago
The Royal Commission on abuse in care is very significant for the disability community. For many decades last century, thousands of disabled children, and adults who managed to survive, were locked away from families and communities. This was not for anything they had done, but for the perceived threat their ...3 days ago
More than double the number of people who will vote in this year’s local body elections have tried marijuana or urinated somewhere they shouldn’t have. As local elections look set for the lowest turnout in decades, with many regions falling well short of 40%, the Government is exploring a number ...7 days ago
“There can be no such thing as kaupapa Māori political parties or politics in Aotearoa” (Willie Jackson, Labour Party (2017). Māori TV, General/List Election Special) I begin with that claim because at the time, I was confounded at first that it fell out of Willie Jackson’s mouth, and then ...1 week ago
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is predicting a hard Brexit for the United Kingdom, as he believes British Prime Minister Boris Johnson won’t be able to negotiate terms before the October 30 deadline. The Minister, who was one of the first to publicly come out and predict British voters would leave ...2 days ago
We want every New Zealander to be happy, safe, and healthy. To do this, we need to support strong, safe communities, and a robust and efficient health system. ...3 days ago
The Minister of Fisheries is calling for entries for a new public award to celebrate innovation in our seafood sector. “I have established the Seafood Sustainability Awards to recognise and celebrate those throughout industry, tangata whenua and communities who demonstrate outstanding dedication and innovation towards the sustainability of New Zealand’s ...1 hour ago
Aotearoa Climate Emergency (ACE), a climate change network, will host a conference in Wellington on 11 November (Armistice Day) to promote holding a Citizens Assembly in 2020, as a way of breaking the current political deadlock on treating climate ...34 mins ago
MediaWorks’ owners have called time after years of losses from its TV division. Sources say the company will announce it is for sale – if no buyers emerge, it will close within months.Three is facing the biggest crisis in its three decade history today, as its ownership will soon announce ...56 mins ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Orsola De Marco, Astrophysicist , Macquarie University If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au. How are stars made? –Zali, age 8, Karkoo, South Australia. How are stars made? Well, stars are not ...2 hours ago
As the rugby world wrestles with the new reality that players can, and will, be dismissed for accidental contact with an opponent’s head it's worth pondering the fate of three All Blacks not selected for the Ireland quarterfinal. ...5 hours ago
This week's biggest-selling NZ books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan NZ bestseller list and described by Steve Braunias. ...5 hours ago
A new exhibition in Raetihi offers a rare opportunity to see early, colonialism-focused works by Wellington artist Barbara Strathdee, writes Pat Baskett. ...5 hours ago
Italy's Ambassador to New Zealand Fabrizio Marcelli responds to Newsroom stories - and The Detail podcasts - questioning the price of imported tinned tomatoes in light of reports of slave labour in the industry in his home country. ...5 hours ago
A measles outbreak in Samoa suspected to be responsible for the death of a one-year-old was “inevitable”, according to an expert who thinks NZ could have prevented it. ...5 hours ago
Plans for Facebook’s proposed “stablecoin”, Libra, appear to be unraveling as awareness about its adverse effects grows. ...5 hours ago
Explosives were used to blast a millions-of-years-old rock overhang in a national park. ...5 hours ago
Medical issues, party leaks and a surprise resignation have taken their toll - but Winston Peters argues his party is as strong as ever. ...5 hours ago
What's different about what Donald Trump did this time to finally snap Democrats into action and launch an impeachment inquiry? ...5 hours ago
A bill to improve the pastoral care of students living in halls of residence has flown through its first reading in Parliament, thanks to cross-party support. ...13 hours ago
In this week's MediaRoom column: could MediaWorks close its TV operations altogether? And the Herald restructures its newsroom to remove a layer of management and shake up its investigative team. ...13 hours ago
Judith Collins is filling the blackhole that is National’s climate policy with social media posts appealing to science deniers. ...14 hours ago
A Tom Sainsbury snapchat celebrating the genius of Dan Brown. ...19 hours ago
Many hill country farmers could be locked into low-return agriculture by government policy, with little chance of breaking the cycle, according to the main meat producers' lobby, Beef + Lamb New Zealand. ...19 hours ago
Sky Television's shareholders have approved its deal to retain the Sanzaar rugby rights for an undisclosed sum, making it unconditional. ...20 hours ago
Fletcher's new offsite home manufacturing facility could be producing two homes a day within a couple of years. But for the moment this high-tech factory is underwhelming. ...20 hours ago
Good chat in the first part of this video (about 5 minutes) about they why and how of Hurricane Florence. Then it goes into more general stuff about climate change and some of the political problems. Total video time 20 min.
Good vid, Adam. I just saw Trump on the news and I swear he thinks that having the most brutal beating ever is something to look forward to. We have the best disasters! The bigliest!!! DEMS said it couldn’t be done. Sad!
And thanks for giving some time/content detail; too many folk just drop a link and expect the reader to wade through the waffle to get to the relevant bit.
Chocolate fish for whoever guesses the significance of this photo …
It’s Te Reo Maori week and McDonalds told a staff member to stop speaking in Te Reo to customers.
Never go.
Never will.
never have?
I was young….
wasn’t that long ago mate lol
I got caught out – ate some non meat ones 25 years ago then realised they put beef fucken fat in ice cream and everything – felt like puking for weeks.
Yes it would over 25 years ago since I had something from McDonalds.
I wasn’t a vegetarian then, obviously!
yes – could be worse – in the corporate world I worked in for years I got fed asparagus rolls as my vegetarian meal – grew quite fond of tinned asparagus I have to say.
hahahahahahahahahaha
Last time I looked most cream used in ice-cream comes from cows so it’s most definitely going to have cow fat in it.
And, no, they don’t put chicken fat in it either. What would be the point when it’s already got fat in it?
Sounds to me that you’ve been listening to too many lies.
lolz indeed – you really are as stupid as animal fat eh
“The whipped ice cream squirted out of a nozzle to make the cones which you buy from an ice cream van, used to contain pig fat or lard.”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-393432/The-chilling-truth-ice-cream.html
“When you became a vegetarian, you quickly learned it wasn’t just about skipping pepperoni on that pizza. You had to start scanning labels for ingredients like capric acid, tallow, rennet, glycerin, whey, suet, stereate, and emulsifiers—because eating animal fat by any other name would be just as carnivorous. What you may not know is that plenty of common foods widely considered to be vegetarian-friendly (or perhaps we should say veg-adjacent) actually contain animal fat, not just dairy fat. That means flesh. Read on to learn more.
1. Ice Cream
Ice cream is the one comfort food that temporarily heals all wounds. Unfortunately, you may be noshing on Bessie under all that chocolate sauce. Many brands of ice cream contain capric acid, a fatty acid that’s obtained from animal fats. Check the label.”
https://www.more.com/lifestyle/exercise-health/seven-common-foods-made-animal-fat
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/māori-language-week/366290/mcdonald-s-worker-told-to-stop-using-te-reo
Staff have to speak english at work
OK, now define english in a New Zealand context…
Aye. I can’t believe that someone would complain. At this time …
Good coverage from RNZ.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/māori-language-week/366290/mcdonald-s-worker-told-to-stop-using-te-reo
W for whitey.
Jimmy Dore is a breath of fresh air in a world where the msm (here, in the UK and in the US) spouts 24/7 corporate propaganda.
Learn today about Venezuela.
Something on the TV1 News tonight about Brownlee harassing a lawyer re steel mesh.
Anyone?
‘National’s Gerry Brownlee accused of ‘phone bullying’ after conversation with junior lawyer about steel mesh class action’
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/national-s-gerry-brownlee-accused-phone-bullying-after-conversation-junior-lawyer-steel-mesh-class-action
Brownlee’s behaviour is totally unacceptable.
BM, James, Chris73, Chris T, Pukish Rogue, Indiana, Grantoc, Alan and Alwyn must be outraged.
Daily Review will be busy tonight.
Now you list them, there are a lot of trolls.
There seems to be a pattern…..
‘ ‘What a pillock!’ Gerry Brownlee hammered for trying to play victim in front of frustrated Kaikoura locals.’
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/video-pillock-gerry-brownlee-hammered-trying-play-victim-in-front-frustrated-kaikoura-locals
This week.
Turn off the radio.
Turn off the TV.
Stop listening to and viewing the corporate media, designed to dumb you down, distract you and misinform you.
Instead raise your IQ and listen to this intelligent, informed, brave and decent person.
Morans like Hosking, Garner, Richardson, Soper – disconnect from them.
And hear the pearls of wisdom from Noam Chomsky.
50 minutes you will not regret spending unlike all those hours where your brain and ears were bombarded by the hate speech of New Zealand’s extreme right media.
Thanks Ed, I willll give this a squizz when I get home later.
Chomsky has always impressed me with his calm reasoned approach.
He always skewers his subjects.
Frankly I am surprised he hasn’t come to harm.
I really enjoyed listening to the talk.
what bits?
The history of close calls with nuclear weapons.
You’ve watched the Chomsky video Marty?
Not that one yet. I have watched others including the Netflix one – quite like a lot of what he says to be fair.
I am cautious in who i read and what I believe from them. Even people i love like russell brand I still am circumspect rather than just like all they say because i really like something they say.
I agree, be wary.
Yet to be shown were Chomsky goes wrong.
Bill Hicks for me is a voice I can rely on.
So often his cynical questioning approach seems relevant 20 years down the track.
What he would have made of the three towers, 17 years ago….
Richard Harman on Politik drew this conclusion in regard to the Curran saga: “lack of political management”. I did likewise in commenting on the shambles this week with regard to Mahuta’s announcement, and now TVNZ led tonight with a story about discord between Labour & NZF which the leaders of both seemed unworried by.
At best, a mixed message. At worst, perception may prevail over reality. It’s now a pattern. Nats are trying to get traction on it without noticeable success. Most journos seem not to have noticed yet.
The coalition needs to put someone in charge of their workload coordination, someone with sufficient authority to give direct advice to the leaders about how to organise solutions to process problems. Presenting as shambolic will start to lower their poll ratings so they need to get their act together fast.
Its wedge politics. The Nats have no other option but to try and fabricate the perception of a split in the coalition. The Nats think this strategy will win them back into govt in 2020. What will most likely sink that strategy is demographics and the resultant emerging age and gender voter patterns. Jacinda Ardern is an inclusive, compassionate and intelligent leader, relatively young and a woman.
As Winston implies just a bit of “tidying” up required for the coalition, perhaps.
Well said………the opposition is of course aided and abetted by a largy ‘ignorant’ media who continue to treat politics as a matter of so called ‘winners and losers’, rather than a contest of issues and ideas.
The ignorance displayed about the realities of coalition/confidence and supply government seems beyond so many supposed journalists these days.
Dennis
That’s not going to happen
I can’t see Peters taking direction from “someone with sufficient authority” on “how to organise solutions to process problems”.
If you have been following the events that have led to a “lack of political management” in the coalition you will have noticed that Peter’s deliberately waits until Labour believes it can go ahead with a particular policy and then at a time that causes maximum embarrassment pulls the rug out of from under Labour. Examples include refugee numbers, the Labour proposed Maori partnership body; employment law changes (opting out options for provincial businesses).
He does this to maximise NZ First’s political position – not the coalition’s.
He is not going to concede power to a third party to manage any process in the best interests of the coalition.
I imagine that Peters assumes that, so long as the government can make headway with some significant actual policy implementation, his high-profile differentiation of NZFirst from Labour will raise his party’s profile without meaningfully harming the government.
Parasites are often not great at judging how much to harm their host without killing it.
Comments relying on snappy metaphors are often not that great at making a point.
The sun rises in the East.
Hmmm…. Did i see you on the above list …. @ 4.1.1 ?
Fran O’Sullivan’s rerun of the coalition agreement in relation to the failure to achieve consensus on the refugee quota gives us helpful context:
” What the refugee affair does illustrate is that Labour cannot take for granted that what it believes are prime policies will be supported by NZ First outside of Coalition commitments. The preamble to their Coalition agreement states that the parties will work collaboratively and in good faith to reach agreement on particular policy and legislative initiatives.
“As provided for in the Cabinet Manual, the parties will ‘agree to disagree’ where negotiated between party leaders, and in such circumstances the parties will be free to express alternative views publicly and within Parliament …
“The Labour and New Zealand First parties agree to identify policies and roles in a way that maintains and promotes the distinct identity of each party.”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=12121255
Its gonna be tremendous folks. I’m gonna stay up all night to watch it. The biggest and the most tremendous ever.
Jesus wept!
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/11/florence-trump-latest-government-prepared-storm
“President Donald Trump has told Puerto Rico officials they should be “proud” they did not lose thousands of lives as in “a real catastrophe like Katrina”.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/world/340809/trump-compares-hurricane-death-tolls
YET ….
“Hurricane Maria killed more than 4600 people in Puerto Rico, 70 times the official toll, according to estimates in a Harvard University study.”
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/world/358521/hurricane-killed-4600-in-puerto-rico-70x-offical-toll-study
Somewhere today… heard the Orange meme wanking on about “how it was … “an ncredible success” …
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/11/trump-hurricane-maria-puerto-rico-success
Looks like things are brewing in Idlib.
The fake chemical attack is being foreshadowed.
Just after the rehash of the novochok story.
Problem, Reaction, Solution: US Bait Arrived in Idlib, ISIS Now in Position
https://21stcenturywire.com/2018/09/12/problem-reaction-solution-us-bait-arrived-in-idlib-isis-now-in-position/
Good on Emily Thornberry.
“In the Commons today, I said that – if there are reports of a chemical weapons attack in Idlib over the coming weeks – the government must ensure the reports are independently verified and that Parliament has given its approval, before escalating British involvement in the war.”
Meanwhile CNN keep pumping out the propaganda…….
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/10/middleeast/syria-idlib-white-helmets-intl/index.html
Speaking of pouring out the propaganda, why are you linking to 21st century wire, Ed? They’re a right wing fake news site with a sideline in climate change denial. They’re part of the problem, not the solution.
Vanessa Beasley is a brilliant and fearless reporter.
It is her account I linked to.
Er, no. Beeley is a right wing troll, with some pretty obvious links to the Putin regime. A bit of research might help you get a handle on how this stuff works. Or even better, read some Marx.
Er, no.
Many left wing commentators rate Beeley.
Name them.
By the way, even if you can, that doesn’t mean she’s not a right wing troll. I rate Boris Johnson for the LOL’s. Doesn’t mean he’s not a Tory toff (something he has in common with Beeley).
I guess my point would be that you appear to have some good left wing instincts, but your critical faculty is lacking. You need to look at the class interests of the people you pluck quotes from. Beeley, the daughter of a diplomat, comes from the right, was in business for years and later in life got sponsored by the Russians to write bollocks. She’s your enemy, Ed, not your friend.
For example, here’s her own list of where her ‘work’ can be found. Ron Paul, FFS.
“My work is re-published at the Ron Paul Institute, Global Research, Dissident Voice, Sott., Greanville Post, The London Journal among others.
I have appeared on RT Cross Talk, RT News, Press TV, Ron Paul Liberty Report, Sunday Wire, Sputnik Radio”
You’re a long time advocate of the establishments version of events TRP…
Numerous articles and countless comments…same same…
Don’t be scared…it stunts personal development…
Projecting onto Ed…nuff said eh…
Thanks one two.
I definitely feel in debates on this site my opinions are way to the left than trp.
Generally, your opinions are left wing, Ed. It’s just weird that you keep defaulting to right wing troll sites for cites, when there are so many good left wing ones to use. As I wrote earlier, read some Marx. That’ll clear that problem up quick smart.
Hi Ed…
As I’ve previously said…don’t take my comment as endorsement for your ‘debating style’…that’s your choice…
Pointing out the rank hypocrisy of TRP…was the comments purpose…
Hi one two
I still appreciate your entry into the discussion.
It stops the bullies.
Your view on Eva Bartlett?
Russian asset.
https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-eva-bartletts-claims-about-syrian-children
Channel 4 is not reliable.
But Russian sponsored bloggers are? There’s your problem right there. Lack of critical thinking.
Ask yourself why the right are saying things that sound believable to you. Things that resonate.
The answer is that the right invented and perfected political propaganda. And the best propaganda starts with a kernel of truth and then grinds that kernel to dust.
Or to put it another way, you appear to know the world is not geared for the interests of the majority, however you are taking the oppressor’s word for why that is. As ol’ Bob Zimmerman once sang, you know something is going on, you just don’t know what it is 😉
Start to think for yourself, Ed. Don’t rely on the other side’s spruikers. They’re lying to you and laughing at you while they do it.
Works both ways trp.
You trust the corporate media way too much.
I rely on independent sources.
George Galloway is superb.
Great. I hope you start quoting independent sources in your comments too. Never too late to start.
btw, is that Rupert Murdoch owned George Galloway you reckon is superb? Never buy the Sun, son. They’re Maccas for the mind.
Galloway is independent.
Nah, he’s not. He used to make serious money working for RT and later Press TV, but now works exclusively for Murdoch.
Doesn’t make much sense if you think Beeley is a right wing troll. Right wingers wants Assad gone at any cost to Syria. Beeley is arguing from an opposite viewpoint.
Assad is right wing. Some other right wingers want him gone, but that doesn’t change Assad’s politics. Of course, some other rather prominent right wingers want him to stay in charge and that doesn’t change him either. He’s still right wing.
As is Beeley.
Is Assad an arsehole? Yes. Are people who are paid to promote him also arseholes? Yes. Are naive people on blogs who can’t work out what’s going on arseholes? No.
Assad’s politics and economic agenda were/are a mix of pan-Arab nationalism and statism. Not right wing – ie, liberal or neo-liberal or free market.
Beeley, who’s broader political perspective/analysis I disagree with, has nevertheless produced some very good reports from Syria.
Eva Bartlett (you mention Ch4’s discredited take-down of her above) has also provided very good reports from Syria. It kind of amuses how she was a hero to some when she reported from Palestine, but became a devil incarnate to many of those same people when she reported on Syria. Go figure.
21st Century Wire (and other sites) may be less than “sterling”, but when a person is reporting on stuff and no-one will pick them up because what they’re highlighting goes smack against accepted and unexamined “truths”, what are they meant to do? Take whatever outlet is on offer? Or shut themselves down?
We can agree that right wing propagandists use innuendo and just enough (twisted) truth to make their message appealing. (They also steal a fair amount of what would pass for left wing sensibility and mash it fit their agenda – ACT in NZ did the same “back when”) Some of them are very good at it. And when mainstream media are largely a busted flush who “no-one” believes any more, the audience is there for the taking, yes?
George Galloway nails it on Twitter.
“As the families affected grieve the anniversary of the terrorist atrocity of #9/11 ponder this: #Britain and the #US are now at #war in #Syria in defence of #AlQaeda
Just think about that….”
And another fine entry, this time from Angelis Dania
“Assad: I’m close to victory. The US, UK, France, and now Germany have threatened to attack me if I use chemical weapons. A chemical attack won’t gain me any real strategic advantage, and I’ll lose support from my people. I’ll do it.
Yes. They really do think you’re that stupid.”
A clear and present danger.
Peter Hitchens is very concerned.
Not my political flavour, but he is certainly a thinker.
“Please write to your MP now without delay – War, terrible war, may be on the way again. WMD All Over Again: Our Government moves stealthily towards a new war of choice.
This week, the Middle East is in a state of grave and dangerous tension. The huge Sunni Muslim oil power, Saud Arabia, armed and/or backed diplomatically by Britain, France and the USA, is ever more hostile to Shia Muslim Iran, another oil power not as great but still as important, which is close and growing closer to Russia and China.
Bear in Mind as you consider this that Russia is also a European power, and engaged in a conflict with the EU and NATO in formerly non-aligned Ukraine, after the EU’s aggressive attempt to bring Ukraine into the Western orbit and NATO’s incessant eastward expansion into formerly neutral territory. There are several points at which Western troops are now remarkably close to Russian borders, for instance they are about 80 miles from St Petersburg (the distance from London to Coventry) , and the US Navy is building a new Black Sea base at Ochakov, 308 miles from the Russian naval station at Sevastopol. Just as the First World War (at root a conflict between Russia and Germany) spread like a great red stain over much of Europe and the Middle East , an Iran-Saudi war could easily spread into Europe itself.
The two powers, Saudi Arabia and Iran, are not yet in direct combat with each other, but fight through proxies in Yemen and Syria.
…….Our ally, Saudi Arabia, has used appalling methods in its attacks on Yemen and these have had appalling results. The moralistic bloviation of Western leaders about Syria, Russia and Iran’s parallel war against much the same sort of enemy as Assad and Russia face in Idlib is colossal hypocrisy and I am amazed that they can bring themselves to emit it, though I suspect that they are genuinely ignorant of the facts, not so much by wilfully avoiding them as by lacking the will to discover them. Even more infuriating is their ridiculous insistence, (simply not backed by reliably researched facts, obtained through secure custody chains, a standard set by the OPCW for itself) that the Assad state is guilty of previous chemical weapon use in Khan Sheikhoun and Douma.
…….There are many straws in the wind which suggest that we are being prepared for war. War is hell. At the very least, a decision which could have such far-reaching consequences, which could reach into every life and home, and embroil us for years, should be considered properly. The very fact that our government appears not to want us to consider it properly make sit all the more urgent that we insist on it.”
https://t.co/weyCP0XmAT?amp=1
Galloway spot on, as ever.
‘An excellent piece of writing by the honourable @georgegalloway on #Skripal, #Russia and the illegal war in #Syria. A must read for anybody who wants to know the truth.’
“According to the Wall St Journal, the US has concluded that the Syrian regime of Bashar Assad is about to unleash a “chemical weapons attack” on the very last stronghold of Al-Qaeda and Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) fighters in Syria. We are asked to believe that having won the war Assad seeks to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by bringing the axis powers back full-scale into the Syrian war.
Whilst no-one but the least savvy of sheep is likely to believe that casus belli it is nonetheless all that the war-party has got to justify an expected new blizzard of cruise missiles and maybe more. Behind the Syrian Army stands of course the Russian Armed Forces, the very same Russia that has already ‘started chemical weapons warfare’ on the streets of Salisbury. ”
https://t.co/m7CyVoIMb6?amp=1
Good stuff
“Christchurch Progressive Network
12 September 2018
Media Release:
Protest tomorrow at Council Meeting – a travesty of democracy is in the making
Members of the Christchurch Progressive Network will attend tomorrow’s Christchurch City Council Meeting from 8.30am to protest the proposal to spend an extra $220 million on a rugby stadium ahead of rebuilding council rental housing destroyed in the earthquakes.
The extra $220 million would come from the $300 million allocated by the government for Christchurch priorities. This despite the housing crisis for low-income tenants and families exacerbated by the council’s failure to rebuild over 400 council rental units destroyed in the earthquakes.
It is a travesty of democracy when the Christchurch City Council refuses to allow public consultation on the spending of this $300 million after the Prime Minister told Christchurch voters during the election campaign “You and your city know exactly what your priorities are and that is why you will decide how that $300m is spent. It’s over to you.”
The mayor refused to answer earlier questions about the need for public consultation and then out of the blue has sprung this proposal on the city with just a few days’ notice. It’s a cynical attempt to override public opinion.
Christchurch residents have repeatedly said the stadium is a low priority compared to roads, footpaths and rebuilding council rental units but the Mayor and vested interests tell us the priority is a covered rugby stadium at a cost of $473 million.
This proposal is undemocratic, unprincipled and uncompassionate.
CPN supporters will be gathering at the council meeting from 8.30am, City Council Building, 53 Hereford Street.
John Minto
Convenor
Christchurch Progressive Network”
Great work by John and the team.
Why don’t you do something like that ed?
Emily Thornberry is a courageous woman.
“In the Commons today, I said that – if there are reports of a chemical weapons attack in Idlib over the coming weeks – the government must ensure the reports are independently verified and that Parliament has given its approval, before escalating British involvement in the war.”
https://mobile.twitter.com/EmilyThornberry
where is the link?
Craig Murray points out a dangerous development and a salient fact.
“China participating in giant Russian military exercise. Tells you all you need to know about the ham-fisted ineptitude of recent Western diplomacy. Far from isolating Russia, it has drawn much closer to the next dominant superpower.”
https://mobile.twitter.com/CraigMurrayOrg
forgot the link
Are you stalking me?
just wanted to read the link you forgot to post – are you stalking me?
No
Hey, Bill, here’s one for you!
https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/holyrood-honour-for-scots-workers-who-grounded-general-pinochet-s-fighter-jets-1-4798391
Did a post on that a while back. 😉
duncanpoundcake OnTwitter.
“The simplistic worldview of all Blairites:
Challenge nothing
Change nothing
Tinker round the edges
Enable the status quo
Keep their position at the top of the political pile.
Stand for nothing.
Mean nothing.
Devoid of ideas
Devoid of solutions.”
Sounds like significant parts of the Labour Party in NZ as well.
ha ha – old vlad eh – just admitted that THERE WAS a poisoning. All of the people on here saying it was bullshit – Vlads just proven you all idiots!
“The two men accused by the UK of carrying out a nerve agent attack in Salisbury have been identified and are civilians, not criminals, Vladimir Putin has said.
“We know who they are, we have found them,” Putin said at an economic forum in the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, adding that the two men – named by the UK as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov – may soon make appearances in the media to protest their innocence.
“These are civilians,” Putin said in remarks reported by Russian news agencies. “There is nothing criminal here.”
… The Russian’s president’s words marked a departure from his country’s earlier position, which was to disregard the evidence released by Scotland Yard as a fabrication.”
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/sep/12/skripal-poisoning-suspects-are-civilians-not-criminals-says-putin-novichok
big mistake Vlad – it won’t end well for you.
The Guardian is a rag. It runs daily propaganda.
At the moment they’re pimping for war in Idlib.
I’d really be wary of trusting it on much nowadays.
Vlad said it not me. You cannot be trusted.
Just innocent travelling perfume spruikers, guv.
Two Russian guys went to an iconic tourist attraction. Stonehenge is 15km from Salisbury.
Where does Putin say or imply they carried out any poisoning? And where are the ongoing and official Russian statements claiming that no poisoning had ever occurred?
And why, when the UK government has stated the investigation surrounding the affair is done and finished – that it was drawing a line under things with the naming of those two men – would the Russian government seek to open it up again, unless the two guys actually are innocent?
“The Russian’s president’s words marked a departure from his country’s earlier position, which was to disregard the evidence released by Scotland Yard as a fabrication.”
Not fabricated. Seems some got it all wrong.
So…how does “a country” adopt a position?
If Putin, or an official spokesperson has stated that Russia (ie – the Russian government) was “disregarding the evidence released by Scotland Yard as a fabrication“, (ie- all of the evidence) then there would be something to The Guardian’s claims.
But (as I suspect the case to be) the Guardian is attempting to build a mountainous picture from someone raising reasonable and understandable doubts because date stamps on video stills appeared to be from the same place and time, then nah.
Ha I doubt you’d believe anything which doesn’t fit your preconceived ideas bill.
What are these preconceived ideas you speak of marty?
Not sure Stonehenge is especially likely – It doesn’t rate highly among Russian visitors, most of whom go no further than London.
https://www.visitbritain.org/markets/russia
And of course the geeks have Arkaim: https://mysteriousearth.net/2016/05/23/arkaim-the-most-enigmatic-archaeological-site-within-the-territory-of-russia/
Why would the Russian govt… ? Nationalism is popular in Russia. By defending ‘innocents’ victimized by a foreign state Putin’s popularity will only grow.
Innocence may not rate high among Putin’s motivations – didn’t stop him killing Nemtsov.
Well Stuart, obviously a visitor from Russia or elsewhere, who visited Britain but didn’t leave London (maybe most of anyone from anywhere?) wouldn’t be visiting Stonehenge or any other place outside of London – or getting up to deadly mischief outside of London.
Arkaim looks pretty cool. So is Skara Brae. But I doubt Orcadians would be all “seen it, done that” about Stonehenge “because Skara Brae”, or that any other person living near standing stones (lot’s of them in Britain) would either.
State murders and nationalism. Russia doesn’t have exclusive rights, you know?
Stonehenge should not be created out of whole cloth. It should be possible to determine whether the men concerned were in fact megalithic grave enthusiasts, or not. If so you have a sort of argument – if not you just made a Кра́сный herring.
No one is suggesting Russia has exclusivity on state sanctioned murder – but they certainly have plenty of form. In this instance however, the kind of political convenience that attended the demise of David Kelly is not in evidence.
And then there’s this: https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/107049033/pussy-riot-activist-treated-for-possible-poisoning
Must be something in the water.
If I was to put money on two men traveling to Salisbury from London by train to take in Stonehenge, against two men traveling to Salisbury from London by train to slap some goop on a door handle, I’d be putting my money on Stonehenge.
I mean. They might not have gone to Stonehenge. There are a multitude of imaginable reasons why two Russian nationals would fly to London and then travel on to a place like Salisbury. And yes, poisoning a father and daughter is part of the list. But the odds?
If it was me (on the poisoning scenario), I’d be hitting London by an indirect route. I’d be traveling on a dodgy and non-Russian passport (assuming I had the connections to get one), and I wouldn’t be traveling up the country using public transport.
Personally and politically there’s no reason to use an indirect route to get in, and getting out needs to be as direct as possible because you’re only vulnerable when you’re arrestable or extraditable. Gotta be wary of a Neighbourhood Watch volunteer making notes…
There’s no need to use a fake or stolen or fraudulently obtained passport because you have access to a legitimate one in a name that is not your own. Indeed, getting picked up with a dodgy passport coming in would be a major liability for your operation, and the poison could even be discovered simply because you were arrested for the passport.
Public transport is convenient, uses cash, and doesn’t require ID of any sort. Heck, the French Rainbow Warrior operation support pair were caught while returning their rental car (bloody stupid move) – and their dodgy Swiss passports were no protection, either.
.
Note to self. Never engage in any dodgy illegal shit with McFlock unless the objective is to secure some years worth of three guaranteed meals a day. 🙂
Those two will only see a jail cell if Putin wishes it.
That’s the difference between committing a crime but you want to stay in the country, and committing a crime where if you leave immediately you will never be caught.
Seriously, what does private or rented transport give you that public transport doesn’t? Sure, maybe a bit more speed, but also another scene for the cops to examine, another identity check in the process to confirm it was you, and an increase in the statistical likelihood you’ll hit another car or something and jeapordize the operation.
Brazen insouciance is how you get away with dodgy illegal shit, Bill.