Daily review 22/12/2020
Written By:
- Date published:
5:30 pm, December 22nd, 2020 - 2 comments
Categories: Daily review -
Tags:
Daily review is also your post.
This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.
The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).
Don’t forget to be kind to each other …
2 comments on “Daily review 22/12/2020 ”
- Comments are now closed
- Comments are now closed
Recent Comments
- Tolkien-Related Stress II: Scanning the Oath of Fëanor
I have just taken a stab at scanning Tolkien’s famous Ring Verse: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/01/17/tolkien-related-stress-scanning-the-ring-verse/ I noted that the problem with the Verse is that it is too loose in its accentual nature: it is sometimes unclear where the four stresses are supposed to fall on a given line. I ...4 hours ago - Tolkien-Related Stress: Scanning the Ring VerseYou know it as well as I, the famous Ring Verse from The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien: Three Rings for the Elven Kings under the sky Seven for the Dwarf Lords in their halls of stone Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die One ...13 hours ago
- Climate Change: A successful policy
The Herald has an annual roundup of electric vehicle stats this morning, and it shows us that the government's clean-car-discount - which sees buyers of dirty vehicles pay to subsidies purchases of clean ones - has been a hugely successful policy: New Zealand broke two records for electric vehicles ...14 hours ago - Westminster means hateWhen England was an empire, it used colonialism to spread bigotry and hate, leaving a legacy of homophobic legislation around the world. And now, they're using colonialism to force bigotry and hate on Scotland, by vetoing Scotland's gender recognition law: Rishi Sunak’s government has blocked legislation passed by the ...18 hours ago
- Is The Prime Minister “Evil”?
She’s Such A Scream! The Prime Minister’s enemies, those who want us to hate her, suffer from the not insubstantial handicap of being more than a little hateful themselves. Rendered nonsensical by their unwavering belief in the most absurd conspiracy theories, and dangerous by their relentless peddling of fake news ...19 hours ago - Political Roundup: 17 January 2023
Items of interest and importance today PARLIAMENT Gordon Campbell. On National’s fraught journey back to the centre Duncan Garner (TodayFM): Could National lose it from here? Simon Wilson (Herald): The 2023 election is a choice between the best Government yet, and the worst (paywalled) Peter Bale (North & South): Home, and Away Thomas Coughlan ...21 hours ago - New paper: Assessing ExxonMobil’s global warming projections
This is a quick summary about the newly published paper "Assessing ExxonMobil’s global warming projections" by Professor of Environmental Science and Policy Geoffrey Supran, Professor of Physics of the Oceans Stefan Rahmstorf and Professor of the History of Science Naomi Oreskes. It leverages a thread tweeted by Geoffrey Supran shortly after ...1 day ago - In Praise Of Individualism.Me, Myself, Eye: The great irony of individualism is that the nearer humanity comes to the point where every person can make their own life, the more doubtful many intellectuals become of its merit. But, before embracing the moral oblivion of collective identity; and the strictures of tribal tradition, they ...2 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on National’s fraught journey back to the centre
Ever since Christopher Luxon became leader, National has adopted a “small target” strategy. This consists of offering nothing to distract the media from its focus on the government’s shortcomings and the public’s discontent with its performance. In particular, the strategy involves releasing no policy alternatives whose own failings might then ...2 days ago - Geoffrey Miller: What Japan’s foreign policy shifts mean for New ZealandJapan is a country on the move. Since World War II, Tokyo has largely been happy to outsource its security needs to Washington. But this is now changing to a more equal partnership. On Friday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called his country’s alliance with the United States ‘stronger than ...2 days ago
- 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #2A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 8, 2023 thru Sat, Jan 14, 2023. Story of the Week Relentless Rise of Ocean Heat Content Drives Deadly Extremes The heat of global warming will keep penetrating deeper into the oceans ...3 days ago
- The Economy in 2023?
The two most comprehensive forecasts of the New Zealand economy are by the Reserve Bank and the Treasury. They are especially important because they inform monetary and fiscal policy. What do they say?Shortly after the Reserve Bank and Treasury published their end-of-year forecasts, Statistics New Zealand announced a 2.0 percent ...4 days ago - ANPR should require a warrantOn Tuesday, the Herald broke the news of a massive increase in ANPR surveillance by police, from mere dozens of uses in 2020 to thousands in 2022, and that police had lied in their internal documentation when they said the system was audited to ensure use was legal. And today ...5 days ago
- Political Roundup: 13 January 2023Items of interest and importance today HEALTH, COVID Rachel Thomas (Stuff): Move to police financial interests in healthcare desperately needed, radiologists say Rachel Maher (Herald): 90-year-old left bleeding on bathroom floor with head injury for two hours while waiting for ambulance Selah Hart (Herald): Empowering communities to effectively combat alcohol ...5 days ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #2 2023Open access notables The authors don't discuss it but folks who follow our GHG sources & sinks, flux, related geochemistry section will likely form some immediate connections from this paper and ask "what's this going to release?" Significant underestimation of peatland permafrost along the Labrador Sea coastline in northern Canada just published in The Cryosphere ...5 days ago
- Review: Lilith, by George MacDonald (1895)
There’s the joke that the difference between the Victorians and our current era is that the Victorians were obsessed with Death and acted as though Sex didn’t exist, whereas current modernity is the other way around. It’s not actually true, of course, but it’s still amusing. Today, I’m going ...6 days ago - Gordon Campbell on the cult of political boldnessThe next recession is shaping up as the most predicted event since the Second Coming. While we have to take it on faith that it will arrive someday, it is hard to say when it will happen, or how great/how bad it will be if and when it ever does. ...6 days ago
- Political Roundup: 12 January 2023Items of interest and importance today PARLIAMENT Henry Cooke: Who are Labour’s lost voters? Anna Whyte (Stuff): Green Party lay down priorities for 2023 – ‘more influence over the next government’ Anna Whyte (Stuff): Summer off politics: James Shaw wants to make it past chapter one Glenn McConnel (Stuff): Summer ...6 days ago
- Trump’s toxic tail.
I was going to write about something else to start off the KP year but current events have intruded in the form of the craziness surrounding the selection of US House Speaker and the storming of the Brazilian seats of power (Congress, the Supreme Court and Presidential Palace) by (so-called ...7 days ago - Climate Change: End pollution subsidies now!Stuff reports that Tasman Steel - the latest name for what used to be NZ Steel - made a $340 million profit last year. The kicker? $117 million of that was from government pollution subsidies: New Zealand Steel’s holding company Tasman Steel increased its profit by 153% to a ...7 days ago
- Political Roundup: 11 January 2023Items of interest and importance today PARLIAMENT Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Te Pāti Māori plans for a big 2023, but happy to stay cross bench Toby Manhire (Spinoff): In which we earnestly predict the date of the 2023 New Zealand general election Anna Whyte (Stuff): Summer off politics: Marama Davidson heads ...7 days ago
- More wind, rain, flooding ahead for storm-battered CaliforniaThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob Henson and Jeff Masters A series of Pacific storms that’s taken aim on California since late December is on track to continue into mid-January. Ferocious winds will slam much of the state on Wednesday and Thursday, accompanied by heavy rain likely ...1 week ago
- How woke anti-racism fuels anti-Semitism
In this article from the website Radicalism of Fools Daniel Ben-Ami looks at some of the limitations of the new anti-racism movement One of the key tasks I have set myself this year is to examine the arguments around anti-Semitism in more depth. That is both those used by anti-Semites ...1 week ago - Gordon Campbell on Fiji’s journey back to the futureFor wealthier New Zealanders and Australians, Fiji is just one option among many for their tourism resort experiences, poolside. Obviously, the country amounts to a lot more to the people who actually live there. It also happens to be the Pacific’s key diplomatic listening post, the home of the Pacific ...1 week ago
- Prince Harry’s Problem
What is it with Prince Harry?. Most of us would probably acknowledge that he has a legitimate cause for complaint at the way he and his wife have been treated by the British media. But there is more to it than that. Harry seems to harbour resentment against the media ...1 week ago - Bryce Edwards: MPs set for a big post-election pay increaseOne of the most popular moves Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ever made was the pay freeze her government imposed on politicians back in 2018. The freeze may have only been grudgingly agreed to by other MPs and parties, but it had universal public support. The pay freeze is due to ...1 week ago
- 2022 was a remarkable year for the climate. Here’s what to expect in 2023This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The past year was full of milestones in the worlds of climate science and policy. The year 2022 saw one of the strongest La Niña events in the past half-century, second only to that in 2011. La Niña events draw cold water up to the ...1 week ago
- This is what the right stands for nowTwo years ago, supporters of failed presidential candidate Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to overthrow America's democracy and overturn the results of an election they had lost. And today, just a few days after the anniversary of that event, supporters of Trump's ally Jair Bolsonaro did ...1 week ago
- Political Roundup: 9 January 2023Items of interest and importance today PARLIAMENT Claire Trevett and Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Predictions: The NZ Herald politics team predicts the next year in politics (paywalled) Thomas Manch (Stuff): Party to shore up its position for the 2023 election Sasha Borissenko (Herald): ‘Now that’s what I call legislation vol. 1′ (paywalled) ...1 week ago
- 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #1A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 1, 2023 thru Sat, Jan 7, 2023. Story of the Week Scientists Report a Dramatic Drop in the Extent of Antarctic Sea Ice Links between global warming and the decline of sea ...1 week ago
- Old Phuul: Draft FinishedAbout half an hour ago, I became a very happy writer. My long-running effort at writing a sequel to Wise Phuul has finally borne fruit. Specifically, the draft manuscript for Old Phuul – starring Teltö’s elder sister, Rhea Phuul – is now complete at 102,172 words. This ...2 weeks ago
- Bryce Edwards: Can the Greens keep it together in 2023?The Green Party has a habit of sabotaging their election-year campaigns, risking electoral oblivion. Could the same thing happen in 2023? The last two election campaigns were particularly painful for the party. In 2017 then co-leader Metiria Turei had her story about her past as a welfare beneficiary unravel during ...2 weeks ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #1 2023Open access notables In Conservation Biology, snapshots of two books that will probably launch a lot of objections, one by Vaclav Smil and the other yet more Bill Gates. Two doses of carbon budget realism review author Vojtech Novotny sums them up: "Sober assessments of our options for reducing carbon emissions in ...2 weeks ago
- Bryce Edwards: The Big predictions for 2023Pundits have been making their political forecasts for the year ahead. Here are some of their predictions about what we can expect in 2023. The Big issues of 2023: Economy and ethnicity There’s a consensus that the political year, and especially the election campaign, will centre around the economy, with ...2 weeks ago
- My favourite details from Glass Onion, a comprehensive and incredibly spoiler heavy list
I watched this movie three times in two days so you wouldn’t have to (but should anyway, it’s exquisite). You should definitely watch it at least once before reading this even if you don’t care about spoilers because most of this doesn’t give much context. Note “Children ...2 weeks ago - State, local governments increasingly turn to zoning reformsThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah Wesseler Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gases in the United States, and passenger vehicles — the cars most Americans rely on to meet their daily needs — account for more than half of transportation emissions. Conversations about reducing these ...2 weeks ago
- 2022 General Reading: The ListCompleted reads for 2022: On Providence, by Seneca the Younger On the Firmness of the Wise Man, by Seneca the Younger Kubla Khan, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge The Passions of Saint Perpetua and Felicity Murder is Easy, by Agatha Christie The Secret Adversary, by Agatha Christie The Bacchanals, ...2 weeks ago
- New Dawn – destabilising social cohesion?by Don Franks Stuff reports today: “Nationwide bookstore Whitcoulls is selling a magazine peddling a number of anti-vax conspiracies and insinuating the Christchurch mosque terror attack was a “false flag” operation. The Lambton Quay store in Wellington had copies of two issues of New Dawn magazine for sale this week. It was also spotted ...2 weeks ago
- “We have to start drawing some lines in the sand”Redline interviews James Robb from Workers Now, a group standing candidates in the coming general election Redline: What prompted the Workers Now initiative? In the immediate sense, this was prompted by the comments by Adrian Orr, the governor of the Reserve Bank, in November, in which he frankly admitted that ...2 weeks ago
- Ukraine commemorates Nazi collaborators
Activists of various nationalist parties carry torches during a rally in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022. The rally was organized to mark the birth anniversary of Stepan Bandera, founder of a rebel army that collaborated with Nazi Germany and murdered thousands of Jews, Poles, Russians and Ukrainians (AP Photo/Efrem ...2 weeks ago - Society itself will inevitably shift, so even if some try to stop it… they actually can’t (hence...
Those of a more conservative bent seem even more hardened than ever against the shifts we are seeing taking place, because that’s the side whose pushing back against all this that has been most vocal, and the most outraged. Don’t pretend you can’t hear it every day on the ...2 weeks ago - 2022 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #52A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Dec 25, 2022 thru Sat, Dec 31, 2022. Story of the Week Overshooting climate targets could significantly increase risk for tipping cascades 12/22/2022 - Temporarily overshooting the climate targets of 1.5-2 degrees Celsius ...2 weeks ago
- 2022 – Blog views by countryAs per my blog tradition, here is where my blog viewers came from in 2022: United States United Kingdom Canada New Zealand Australia The Philippines Germany France Brazil Spain The top five remain as in 2021. The Philippines rose from #15 to #6, France from #12 to ...2 weeks ago
- 2022 General Reading: December (+ Old Phuul Update)Completed reads for December: Vulthoom, by Clark Ashton Smith The Haunted Chamber, by Clark Ashton Smith The Haunted Gong, by Clark Ashton Smith The Mahout, by Clark Ashton Smith The Malay Krise (2 versions), by Clark Ashton Smith The Mad God’s Amulet, by Michael Moorcock The Sword of ...2 weeks ago
- Happy New Year.I have been pretty dormant as of late because the lead up to the end of 2022 involved household Covid, some work demands on me and stresses on my wife (she was caught up in that cluster-F of academic “reorganisation” at a certain NZ university) and the usual holiday preparations. ...3 weeks ago
- Sifting the Good from the Bad: A Quick and Dirty Evaluation of Clark Ashton Smith Stories
As noted in October, I spent a fair amount of my reading time coming back to the Big Three of 1930s Pulp Fantasy and Horror: H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, and Robert E. Howard (https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2022/11/26/revisiting-the-big-three-of-weird-tales-h-p-lovecraft-c-a-smith-and-r-e-howard/). Well, in November and December, I have followed that up via reading all the ...3 weeks ago - Bryce Edwards: Labour’s terrible 2022 has been National’s opportunityPolitical commentators and journalists have nominated their politicians of the year, and it’s telling that the three main nominees are all from the political right: Christopher Luxon, Nicola Willis, and David Seymour. The brickbats, in contrast, are almost universally for Labour Government Ministers – especially Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, deputy ...3 weeks ago
- Annus Horribilis.Trauma: The catastrophic conclusion to the anti-vaccination mandate protest in Parliament Grounds on 2 March 2022 is seared in the minds of New Zealanders. Those dramatic scenes were, however, easily eclipsed by the planetary violence of Climate Change, the biological violence of Covid-19, the political violence of Three Waters, and ...3 weeks ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #52 2022Open access notables Author Guy Dagan appropriately doesn't make the connection but armchair enthusiasts can: if the climate becomes more twitchy when the atmosphere is loaded with aerosols, what happens if we try solar geoengineering via aerosols at scale? Maybe we should make sure we've modeled that thoroughly before ...3 weeks ago
- Political Roundup: 29 December 2022Items of interest and importance today PARLIAMENT, YEAR IN REVIEW Henry Cooke: 23 predictions for 2023 Morgan Godfery (Stuff): Top-performing minister, but you wouldn’t know it Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): The way the NZ Political Left must reframe the 2023 Election Russell Palmer (RNZ): A dozen quirky soon-to-be laws flying under ...3 weeks ago
- Green MPs write directly to Grand Ayatollah Khamenei of Iran
Members of Parliament for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand have today written to Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Khamenei to condemn the ongoing violence and killing of women’s rights and democracy protesters, and to call on him to intervene immediately. ...1 week ago
- Trade and Agriculture Minister to attend World Economic Forum and Global Forum for Food and Agricult...
The Government is maintaining its strong trade focus in 2023 with Trade and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor visiting Europe this week to discuss the role of agricultural trade in climate change and food security, WTO reform and New Zealand agricultural innovation. Damien O’Connor will travel tomorrow to Switzerland to attend the ...2 days ago - Government funding relief for flood-affected Wairarapa farmers and growersThe Government has extended its medium-scale classification of Cyclone Hale to the Wairarapa after assessing storm damage to the eastern coastline of the region. “We’re making up to $80,000 available to the East Coast Rural Support Trust to help farmers and growers recover from the significant damage in the region,” ...2 days ago
- Government provides support to flooded Tairāwhiti communitiesThe Government is making an initial contribution of $150,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Tairāwhiti following ex-Tropical Cyclone Hale, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. “While Cyclone Hale has caused widespread heavy rain, flooding and high winds across many parts of the North Island, Tairāwhiti ...4 days ago
- Government support for flood-affected Gisborne Tairāwhiti farmers and growersRural Communities Minister Damien O’Connor has classified this week’s Cyclone Hale that caused significant flood damage across the Tairāwhiti/Gisborne District as a medium-scale adverse event, unlocking Government support for farmers and growers. “We’re making up to $100,000 available to help coordinate efforts as farmers and growers recover from the heavy ...5 days ago
- Monkeypox vaccination available to eligible people from next week A vaccine for people at risk of mpox (Monkeypox) will be available if prescribed by a medical practitioner to people who meet eligibility criteria from Monday 16 January, says Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall. 5,000 vials of the vaccine have been obtained, enough for up to 20,000 ...1 week ago
- Stronger measures proposed to tackle youth vapingThe Government is seeking feedback on measures to help reduce the number of young people vaping. “Youth vaping is becoming increasingly popular, with many choosing to vape despite never having smoked,” Associate Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall said. “Alongside our efforts to reduce tobacco smoking, we want to ensure vaping ...2 weeks ago
- Govt reminds international arrivals to test for CovidThe Government is reiterating its advice to all international travellers to do a Covid test if they become symptomatic after arrival, while also stepping up awareness of free RATs available at airports, Covid-19 Response Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall says. “This follows growing global concerns, including from the World Health Organisation ...2 weeks ago
- Frontline workers to receive COVID-19 Response AwardThe government has confirmed the groups of frontline workers to receive a COVID-19 Response Recognition Award, a specific acknowledgement of the service given by so many to New Zealand during the pandemic, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “All New Zealanders, at home and abroad, played a part in our ...3 weeks ago
- Pasifika celebrated in New Year HonoursA former Premier of Niue and a leading Pacific doctor in the fight against COVID-19 have been celebrated in this year’s New Year honours said Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio. Young Vivian who was the leader of Niue in the 1990’s and 2000’s led the response to Cyclone ...3 weeks ago
- Sports stars and administers honouredThe New Year Honours List includes an array of sporting stars and grassroots administrators who reflect the best of Aotearoa’s sporting and recreation community. The appointment of Farah Palmer as a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit acknowledges her enormous contribution to sport and rugby in particular. ...3 weeks ago
- Sports stars and administrators honouredThe New Year Honours List includes an array of sporting stars and grassroots administrators who reflect the best of Aotearoa’s sporting and recreation community. The appointment of Farah Palmer as a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit acknowledges her enormous contribution to sport and rugby in particular. ...3 weeks ago
- New Year honours recipients highlight what makes NZ uniqueThe 183 recipients of New Year honours represent the best of New Zealand and what makes us unique in the world, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. “The 2023 New Year honours list is full of leaders and pioneers whose contribution has enriched us a country and helped make us unique ...3 weeks ago
- Fiji military chief’s sharp criticism of ‘ambition, speed’ of changes sparks anxiety
Pacific Media Watch Fiji’s military commander stirred a wave of anxiety today with an extraordinary statement claiming concern over the “ambition and speed” of political changes since last month’s election that could have “fateful” security consequences. Major-General Ro Jone Kalouniwai, commander-in-chief of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF), said ...4 hours ago - Fears over China influence leads US to reopen Solomon Islands embassyRNZ Pacific Washington has announced plans to reopen the United States Embassy in Solomon Islands. Inside the Games reports that the move is a bid to counter China’s increasing assertiveness in the region, which has seen Beijing fund infrastructure for this year’s Pacific Games which take place later this year. ...9 hours ago
- Owen Wilkes, the intellect behind New Zealand’s anti-nuclear stanceA new book about one of New Zealand’s foremost peace activists offers insight into Owen Wilkes, the man described as the intellect behind New Zealand’s anti-nuclear stance. REVIEW: By Pat Baskett In the days before mobile phones and emails, there were telephone trees. They grew and spread messages like leaves, ...10 hours ago
- Owen Wilkes, the intellect behind New Zealand’s anti-nuclear stanceA new book about one of New Zealand’s foremost peace activists offers insight into Owen Wilkes, the man described as the intellect behind New Zealand’s anti-nuclear stance. REVIEW: By Pat Baskett In the days before mobile phones and emails, there were telephone trees. They grew and spread messages like leaves, ...10 hours ago
- Murray Valley encephalitis has been detected in mozzies in NSW and Victoria. Here’s what you need ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cameron Webb, Clinical Associate Professor and Principal Hospital Scientist, University of Sydney Where there’s water, you’ll find mosquitoes – including some that transmit viruses that can make us seriously ill. Authorities have been on alert after an outbreak of Japanese encephalitis ...11 hours ago
- Looking ahead to voters opting for a progressive government, a reactionary one – or maybe somethin...
Cabinet ministers obviously are enjoying the final days of their summer break while their desks back in Wellington are piled high with the problems of a country beset with raging inflation, labour shortages and a pandemic that refuses to go away. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has had her ...14 hours ago - Welcome to HomeGround: the building that changes lives
Sam Brooks reviews a remarkable book about a remarkable building – one that took 20 years to conceive and a community to build. I see HomeGround, the new home of the Auckland City Mission, every day. I’ve seen it go from the last stages of construction to being fully open. ...14 hours ago - Sky reveals price increase to sport packages – and a Sky Box updateIf you’re a Sky Sport customer, get ready: that subscription is about to increase. In a year when five world cups will be held, the local pay TV provider today told customers its prices would rise from March 1, with Sky Sport going up by $3 a month, and Sky ...14 hours ago
- How to be a rich boyA prolific property investor says being wealthy is simply a matter of the mind. Emily Writes has a few other suggestions for getting rich. This story was first published on the author’s newsletter, Emily Writes Weekly. Is being wealthy just a matter of mindset? That’s the headline that greeted Stuff readers a ...14 hours ago
- The Last of Us is as good as the reviews suggestI’ve never played The Last of Us games but I’ve heard a lot about them and so I was fairly dubious about HBO’s big budget adaptation that started airing this week. How wrong was I? Debuting with an almost perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes, the nine-episode post-apocalyptic drama is probably ...14 hours ago
- As heatwaves and floods hit cities worldwide, these places are pioneering solutionsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thami Croeser, Research Officer, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University Climate change is going just as badly for cities as we have been warned it would. Extreme weather is increasingly common and severe globally. Australian cities have endured a number of recent ...15 hours ago
- Can The Last of Us TV series finally break the bad video game adaptation curse?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacqueline Burgess, Associate Lecturer in International Business, University of the Sunshine Coast HBO Even if you’re not a video game player, you might have heard about the just released and highly anticipated television series based on beloved and acclaimed video ...15 hours ago
- Newsletter: January 17 2023 – Items of interest and importance todayNew Zealand Politics Daily is a collation of the most prominent issues being discussed in New Zealand. It is edited by Dr Bryce Edwards of The Democracy Project. Items of interest and importance today PARLIAMENT Gordon Campbell. On National’s fraught journey back to the centre Duncan Garner (TodayFM): Could National lose it from ...16 hours ago
- One million species face extinction, but saving the Māui dolphin still matters to meIt might be selfish to focus on one species when entire ecosystems are under threat. But I was worried about the Māui dolphin when I did a speech about them at intermediate school, and I’m still worried now. Extinction is all-consuming and eternal. When an animal, plant or fungi goes ...16 hours ago
- Businesses expecting economy to worsen in 2023A new survey from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research has revealed almost three quarters of business expect the economy to get worse across 2023. It’s the weakest result on record, with a net 73% of business expecting economic conditions to get tougher. National’s finance spokesperson Nicola Willis said ...16 hours ago
- Efeso Collins poised to join Green Party – reportFormer Auckland mayoral hopeful Efeso Collins could be joining the Green Party, the Herald has reported. Collins, who was endorsed by both Labour and the Greens at the 2022 local election, would have a good chance of getting a high list ranking, making his journey into parliament significantly easier. According ...16 hours ago
- The Last of Us is everything The Walking Dead wishes it could beIf you’re craving zombie carnage, look elsewhere – HBO’s excellent new apocalypse show isn’t really about the undead at all. This review was first published on The Spinoff’s weekly pop culture and entertainment newsletter Rec Room – sign up here. In the abandoned foyer of a five-star hotel, nature has ...16 hours ago
- Start planning your Laneway scheduleIt’s Tuesday, January 17 and welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates. I’m Stewart Sowman-Lund. You can get in touch with me at [email protected] ...16 hours ago
- Physicists have used entanglement to ‘stretch’ the uncertainty principle, improving quantum meas...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lorcan Conlon, PhD student, Quantum Science & Technology, Australian National University Shutterstock Almost a century ago, German physicist Werner Heisenberg realised the laws of quantum mechanics placed some fundamental limits on how accurately we can measure certain properties of microscopic ...16 hours ago
- Strep A cases are rising. We must remember our earliest hygiene lessons as vaccine trials continueSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Good, Professor and NHMRC Investigator Fellow, Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University Shutterstock Group A streptococci, also known as “strep A”, were the first organisms ever identified to be the cause of a disease. In the mid-1800s, Hungarian physician ...17 hours ago
- Plunging Business Confidence Sees NZ Job Ads In Freefall
Fears of a recession, rising interest rates and the increased cost of living alongside the inability to find skilled staff have the potential to see New Zealand’s employment landscape shift dramatically over the coming 12 months. RCSA’s latest Jobs Report ...17 hours ago - Reform of the WTO, food security and climate change are on the agenda as O’Connor heads for Europe
Buzz from the Beehive Just as soon as he was back on duty, Damien O’Connor was packing his bags for a journey to Europe. But first he announced a second dollop of dollars for flood-ravaged farmers, this time in the Wairarapa. Government funding relief for flood-affected Wairarapa farmers and growers ...18 hours ago - Fred Again or Haim? Laneway’s set times have landedYard Act or Fazerdaze? Slowthai or Fontaines DC? Mallrat or The Beths? And Phoebe Bridgers or Turnstile? These are some of the questions Laneway fans are being forced to answer today as the set times drop for summer’s biggest festival yet. This year’s Laneway, the first in three years and ...18 hours ago
- Astronomers reveal the most detailed radio image yet of the Milky Way’s galactic planeSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hopkins, Professor of Astronomy, Macquarie University Combined images from the ASKAP and Parkes radio telescopes. R. Kothes (NRC) and the PEGASUS team, Author provided Two major astronomy research programs, called EMU and PEGASUS, have joined forces to resolve one of the ...18 hours ago
- The enduring legacy of the tino rangatiratanga flagSummer read: The last surviving kaitiaki of the tino rangatiratanga flag, Linda Munn (Ngāi Pōtiki, Ngāpuhi) wants people to ask first before capitalising on its symbolic imagery. First published February 6, 2022 With the striking red and black background and bold white koru in the centre, the tino rangatiratanga ...19 hours ago
- Jeremy Clarkson’s career on the line after Meghan Markle columnThere’s that saying… actions have consequences. Former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson has found himself in very hot and increasingly deep water over an incendiary column he wrote about Meghan Markle. In the column, published in the Sun before Christmas, Clarkson suggested the Duchess of Sussex be made to “parade ...19 hours ago
- The Bulletin: Will the He Waka Eke Noa legislation get through before the election?Farmer’s Weekly reports that speculation is growing about whether the government will have enough time to pass the legislative framework required to price agricultural emissions before the government’s legislative programme wraps up ahead of the election. Just before everyone headed off on holiday, the government outlined several changes to the proposed emissions pricing ...19 hours ago
- Hello Fresh accused of charging customers for cancelled food boxesConsumer NZ has come to the rescue after receiving numerous complaints about food box service Hello Fresh. The watchdog says it has been made aware of Hello Fresh customers being charged for boxes they opted not to receive, though the food delivery company claims not to be in the wrong. ...19 hours ago
- What is New Zealand’s brand?How do you go from being a local comedian to becoming CEO of the government agency charged with growing the country’s global brand? Hear from David Downs, business leader, cancer survivor and CEO of The NZ Story Group. ...19 hours ago
- Definitely not a sideshow, but could it be a sidecar election?It’s an election year and consistent polling numbers from Act and the Greens creates a potentially interesting dynamic, while next week could provide a roaring start to the political year, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday morning, sign up here. ...19 hours ago
- Where does Australia’s relationship with PNG go next? Less talk about China, more about our neighb...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland Prime Minister’s Office/PR Handout Image Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to Papua New Guinea last week put the media spotlight on one of Australia’s most important ...21 hours ago
- The last 5 kilos really are the hardest to lose. Here’s why, and what you can do about itSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Fuller, Charles Perkins Centre Research Program Leader, University of Sydney farhad ibrahimzade/unsplash, CC BY-SA Anyone who has tried to lose weight will be familiar with these nine frustrating words: the last five kilos are the hardest to lose. You’re ...21 hours ago
- At Fitzroy Crossing and around Australia, community radio empowers local responses to climate impact...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bridget Backhaus, Senior Lecturer in Journalism and Media Studies, Griffith University As rain poured down and rivers rose, the radio buzzed with static where you’d usually find Fitzroy Crossing’s community radio station, Wangki Yupurnanupurru Radio. The station was off air, but not ...21 hours ago
- Why is Austin Butler still speaking in his Elvis voice? It could be a case of ‘role spill’Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luzita Fereday, Lecturer in Voice at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts., Edith Cowan University Warner Bros. Pictures If you’ve seen any of the videos or interviews with Austin Butler at the recent Golden Globes you may have noticed ...21 hours ago
- The new Ashley Bloomfield is heaps less fun than the old Ashley BloomfieldAdrian Orr is the new Ashley Bloomfield, whether you like it or not, says Duncan Greive. On December 30, in one of the last set-piece news stories of the year, we learned Ashley Bloomfield was to be knighted. The former director general of health rose from anonymity to become an ...22 hours ago
- Toasted buns: A first-timer on why you should go naked this summerEver been curious about nudism? Maisie Nhao braves the beach naked for the first time, and explains why you should, too. First published January 12, 2022 I like being naked. Who doesn’t? From the relief of taking your bra off after a long day, to the feeling of warm water ...22 hours ago
- NZ aid worker remains missing in Ukraine – the tragedy of helpers in war zonesANALYSIS: By Alexander Gillespie, University of Waikato The humanitarian aid worker Andrew Bagshaw, who has dual New Zealand and British citizenship, has been missing in Ukraine for more than 10 days. Bagshaw and his British colleague Christopher Parry worked as part of a team of Ukrainian and international volunteers delivering ...1 day ago
- Rabuka clarifies on retirement savings in bid to stem Fiji’s ‘brain drain’By Felix Chaudhary in Suva The retirement age in Fiji is now 60 but people can withdraw their superannuation savings when they turn 55, says Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka. He said this in response to queries from the media in Suva. People who were leaning towards retiring at 55 posted ...1 day ago
- US to boost aid to Micronesia in exchange for broader military roleBy Mar-Vic Cagurangan, editor-in-chief of the Pacific Island Times The Federated States of Micronesia will receive more US economic assistance under the Compact of Free Association in exchange for the Pacific nation’s broader role in regional security that entails expanded military use of its land, water and air. “Of paramount ...1 day ago
- John Mitchell: Media freedom, public interest and The Fiji TimesBy John Mitchell in Suva In any true democracy, the role of journalists and the media outlets they represent is to inform the people so that they can make educated and well-informed choices. The role of politicians is to represent those who elected them. They are to make decisions that ...1 day ago
- Churches grateful for ‘miracle’ on anniversary of Tonga eruptionRNZ Pacific Churches across Tonga have commemorated the victims and the struggles endured as a result of the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano on 15 January 2022. The eruption, the largest atmospheric explosion recorded during modern history, was estimated to be hundreds of times more powerful than the ...1 day ago
- Why does Nepal’s aviation industry have safety issues? An expert explainsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chrystal Zhang, Associate professor, RMIT University A Yeti Airlines ATR 72-500 aircraft crashed in Pokhara in central Nepal on January 15 2023, killing at least 68 passengers on board. The aircraft was en route from Nepal’s capital Kathmandu to Pokhara, the country’s ...1 day ago
- Act Party goes hundies on summer releasesIf there were a prize for the most indefatigable of New Zealand’s political parties, Act would win by a landslide. The fastest and most prolific press-release slingers of all the parties in parliament kept it up through the summer break, sending out a staggering 27 of the things between Saturday ...2 days ago
- Meet the New Zealand girl behind the creepy viral M3GAN danceThe most talked-about movie in the world right now is about a murderous dancing doll. Alex Casey talks to the Auckland girl who helped M3GAN find her groove. Amie Donald is just a regular 12-year-old girl. She loves building things with Lego, collecting Funko Pop Vinyl figurines and hanging ...2 days ago
- Stuff answers a crucial question about tea towelsI spent what felt like an unfair amount of time over the summer washing clothes and a question that often came into my mind was whether or not it was acceptable to just chuck everything in the same wash. Specifically, tea towels at the same time as clothes. Stuff has come to the ...2 days ago
- Disastrous floods in WA – why were we not prepared?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Toni Hay, Expert in Indigenous climate adaptation, Indigenous Knowledge The devastating floods sweeping through the Kimberley region of Western Australia have caused unimaginable destruction, leaving remote Indigenous communities stranded in its aftermath. Heartbreaking reports detail community members desperately seeking assistance from ...2 days ago
- Disastrous floods in W.A – why were we not prepared?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Toni Hay, Expert in Indigenous climate adaptation, Indigenous Knowledge The devastating floods sweeping through the Kimberley region of Western Australia have caused unimaginable destruction, leaving remote Indigenous communities stranded in its aftermath. Heartbreaking reports detail community members desperately seeking assistance from ...2 days ago
- Why combatting climate change means embracing degrowth‘Green’ electricity isn’t enough to turn the tide. All of us need to consume less energy, argues Dr Catherine Knight – and that means consuming less of everything. We are all aware of the ambitious changes we need to make if we are to avert catastrophic and irreversible climate ...2 days ago
- Covid-19 update: Drop in average cases with 19,215 over past weekIn case you somehow put Covid-19 out of your mind over the summer break, fear not, the Ministry of Health has continued with its weekly updates. Over the past week, 19,215 new cases of Covid-19 have been reported, which includes 7,795 reinfections. The daily average number of new cases now ...2 days ago
- EDS Calls For Minister Nash To Rethink An Inquiry Into Plantation ForestryThe Environmental Defence Society is calling on the Minister of Forestry, Hon Stuart Nash, to think again about the merits of an independent Inquiry into exotic forest planting and harvest methods. “On Morning Report today, Minister Nash said there ...2 days ago
- Ministry Of Education Needs To Take Responsibility For Empty Building DebacleThe Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the Ministry of Education to take responsibility for the predicament it finds itself in with its now empty office continuing to rack up millions in taxpayer dollars. Back in May last year, the Ministry of Education ...2 days ago
- How to treat scars at home – and hopefully make them disappearSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Freeman, Associate Professor of Dermatology, Bond University Shutterstock Maybe you’ve had a skin cancer removed from your face or body. Perhaps you had an injury or accident and needed stitches. However you came by a cut on your skin, ...2 days ago
- How to treat scars at home – and hopefully make them disappearSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Freeman, Associate Professor of Dermatology, Bond University Shutterstock Maybe you’ve had a skin cancer removed from your face or body. Perhaps you had an injury or accident and needed stitches. However you came by a cut on your skin, ...2 days ago
- NZ aid worker remains missing in Ukraine: the tragedy of people motivated to help in war zones becom...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato Ximena Borrazas/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images The humanitarian aid worker Andrew Bagshaw, who has dual New Zealand and British citizenship, has been missing in Ukraine for more than ten days. Bagshaw and ...2 days ago
- NZ aid worker remains missing in Ukraine: the tragedy of people motivated to help in war zones becom...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato Ximena Borrazas/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images The humanitarian aid worker Andrew Bagshaw, who has dual New Zealand and British citizenship, has been missing in Ukraine for more than ten days. Bagshaw and ...2 days ago
- Isaac Carlson Appointed As Crown Response DirectorA strong Māori leader in the public service, Isaac Carlson, has been appointed Director of the Crown Response to the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry, Iona Holsted said today. “I am delighted that Isaac has taken up this ...2 days ago
- Political Roundup: What Japan’s foreign policy shifts mean for New Zealand
Geoffrey Miller writes: Japan is a country on the move. Since World War II, Tokyo has largely been happy to outsource its security needs to Washington. But this is now changing to a more equal partnership. On Friday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called his country’s alliance with ...2 days ago - The ultimate instant noodle guide for the end of the worldSummer read: With supply chain shortages potentially set to hit our instant noodle shelves, you’d be wise to stock up on these top-tier recommendations from Charlotte Muru-Lanning and Naomii Seah. First published April 6, 2022 Instant noodles are cheap, easy, fast, and most importantly, they always taste good. Well, they ...2 days ago
- On a tiny Australian island, snakes feasting on seabirds evolved huge jaws in a surprisingly short t...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alessandro Palci, Research Associate in Evolutionary Biology, University of Adelaide Benjamint444/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA When we think of evolution, we tend to picture slow changes occurring over very long periods of time, typically millions of years. However, evolution can actually ...2 days ago
- While O’Connor and McAnulty bring succour to flood victims, ACT unleashes a stream of warnings to ...Buzz from the Beehive The government is still in holiday mode if the Beehive website serves as a guide. ACT politicians, in contrast, are busy beating the law-and-order drum. The Minister for Emergency Management, Kieran McAnulty, has announced Government help for communities in Tairāwhiti that were battered by Cyclone Hale. ...2 days ago
- Geoffrey Miller’s Political Roundup: What Japan’s foreign policy shifts mean for New ZealandPolitical Roundup: What Japan’s foreign policy shifts mean for New Zealand By Geoffrey Miller Japan is a country on the move. Since World War II, Tokyo has largely been happy to outsource its security needs to Washington. But this is now changing to a more equal partnership. On Friday, Japanese ...2 days ago
- Calls for increased focus on diagnosing dyspraxia in children
An advocate for children with dyspraxia says more needs to be done to increase access to diagnostic pathways and funding in New Zealand. ...2 days ago - Up or down? Where we’ll see the most dramatic price movements in 2023This will be a year of volatile prices for everything from consumer electronics to fresh veges. Aimee Shaw reports on the prices that are set to move most. This article was first published on Stuff. While the global outlook for the cost of goods remains cloudy, experts say some light ...2 days ago
- Cost of living crisis expected to continue throughout 2023As we all return to our regular post-holiday lives, there’s been an unwelcome reminder that 2023 is likely to present similar challenges to last year. According to economists like Infometrics’ Brad Olsen, who was speaking to RNZ, we’re likely to see a continuation of the cost of living crisis across ...2 days ago
- Are you returning to work in an office that looks like this?An intimate tour of New Zealand’s most holistic work space, where staff can forage for food and meditate amongst aromatherapy diffusers. “Watch this,” says Ben Blakemore. With a cream shirt tucked tightly into his pants, the building manager points to a digital display mounted to the wall. It’s showing a ...2 days ago
- The Bulletin: A year on from the eruption of Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apaiNewshub’s Isobel Ewing is in Tonga at the moment, where the Newshub crew is the first news crew in the world to visit the tip of the submarine volcano since it erupted. The eruption of Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai was the most violent explosion on earth in 140 years. Ewing has spoken ...2 days ago
- Tonga eruption: ‘The tsunami came, taking down electric poles, trees’SPECIAL REPORT: By Finau Fonua, RNZ Pacific journalist On the first anniversary of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption two men share how they survived when they were unable to escape the tsunami that followed. On 15 January 2022, the usually quiet seaside village of Kanokupolu was thrown into chaos. ...2 days ago
- NZ Immigration Insufficient For Functional CapacityTrend analysis indicates that New Zealand current economic and social development over the mid-term remains unsustainable. Moreover, critical functional capacity including infrastructure development, health care advancement, and commercial growth are no ...2 days ago
- More Consequences For Youth Offenders? We Hear Ya!“ACT has heard the cries from New Zealanders about of control crime, we would introduce ankle bracelets for serious youth offenders,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson and former Youth Aid Police officer Chris Baillie. “Tackling serious youth offending ...2 days ago
- Unity Credit Union Appoints Kevin Hughes As New Chief ExecutiveUnity Credit Union (Unity) has appointed senior executive Kevin Hughes as its new Chief Executive. Kevin joins with over 30 years’ experience in the financial services sector and is currently Executive General Manager Programmes and Planning at IAG ...2 days ago
- The first 100 days of Auckland’s mayorI went to the Auckland Art Gallery yesterday to check out the Frida Kahlo exhibition in its final days and was met with a 30-minute queue to get in the door. That was something of a surprise to me because the city’s mayor, Wayne Brown, was embroiled in a bit ...2 days ago
- And we’re back: live updates return for 2023Welcome back to The Spinoff’s live updates, I hope you all had a lovely summer break (as much as possible in the rain, anyway). We’re back to regular news business at The Spinoff as of today, which means the return of both our live updates and The Bulletin. And it’s ...2 days ago
- A dollar each way: the economy in 2023A major bank has tempered its view on how high they think the Reserve Bank may need to push the OCR as we wait for the year’s first indicator of whether inflation is easing, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each ...2 days ago
- They say we know more about the Moon than about the deep sea. They’re wrongSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Prema Arasu, Postdoctoral research fellow, The University of Western Australia Alan Jamieson We know more about the Moon than the deep sea. This idea has been repeated for decades by scientists and science communicators, including Sir David Attenborough ...2 days ago
- The 2023 Australian Open pauses a year of profound political tensions in tennisSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney James Ross, Alberto Pezzali and Dave Hunt via AAP Over the past 12 months, significant challenges by way of policy and politics have impacted professional tennis. Chief among them ...2 days ago
So very pleased about this
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/433430/mediaworks-fined-3000-over-iwi-interview-about-roadblocks
They always had the mandate to do this just not the confidence that Govt would back them! It seems perhaps the BSA feels they might just be allowed to do their job now.
Yes and they (Mediaworks)are still in denial.