Therefore I was hoping to stimulate discussion and encourage people to think about our need to move from eating meat to eating plant based food for the sake of our planet, our ethics and our health.
You probably love animals or at the very least, you’re against animal cruelty. Yet, on the other hand, you probably pay to have animals mutilated, tortured and killed. You probably think you need meat for protein and cow’s milk for calcium. You probably think animals are treated “humanely” before they become a neatly wrapped package on the supermarket shelf. You’ve probably never wondered what is cruel about eating eggs or dairy. You probably think vegans are extreme.
I was the same.
I want to talk to you about what we are doing to this planet, ourselves and our fellow Earthlings. I want to ask you some questions that might make you feel defensive but will also make you question things you’ve always considered to be ‘normal’. I want to ask you to listen to this speech and hear a new perspective. Perhaps it will change your life, perhaps it won’t, but I believe you deserve to know the truth. I know I’m very grateful to have learned it and now I want to share it with you. I think you’ll be grateful, too.
I do understand where meat, milk, eggs, fish etc comes from.
I don’t eat a lot of meat. Never liked milk though do have some yogurt and eggs.
Mostly eat fruit and veges. I think processed food can be as damaging to people and environment – and food chain, as anything else. Can’t get very excited about meat, vegan, vegetarian or not. The biggest issue is environmental sustainability, and health of the whole community located within it.
Paul, you really think the best way to reply to someone that’s just said “I prefer printed comments. I rarely watch linked or embedded videos. I find reading quicker, and enables more reflection.” is to link a 41 minute video?
Um. Well spotted, Andre. My response was based on the selected quote.
I also think propaganda is more effective using images, and sound plus images in video. They tend to impact more on the emotions, and often don’t encourage critical reflection the way print and discussion can.
That is one of the issues of the image-saturated digital age.
Of course, we can spend time critiquing the way videos impact on emotions, but that takes way more time than reading an explanation.
I’ve read several articles that say the way the brain processes video is very different to written material. Supposedly we become more suggestible when watching video (or live performance), but more analytical and skeptical when reading.
The paper below is what I found with a quick search, and doesn’t look the most reliable to me, but it has pretty much the same message as the papers I’d read previously.
Yes. I’ve studied, researched and taught film and media quite a lot – done quite a lot of analysis of visual media. I do like watching videos, movies, and TV dramas.
But when it comes to arguments and political discussions, I prefer print. I prefer print to documentaries. People tend to think documentaries show us reality, but they actually present reality from a perspective, and also, often work on the same level as screen fiction – can be misleading.
[No doubt there are some interesting things in what you are posting. But your comments, because of how you do them, are like Facebook spam. This is an issue of quantity, of frequency, and of the fact that you often don’t do anything other than drop a link or drop a link with virtually no information about what it is.
The link above is a good example of such a comment. It take up a large amount of space (think about people reading on a phone, and there is nothing to say what it is about. You know it’s about veganism, no-one else does. It’s spam.
It also concerns me that you’ve had moderators asking you to stop and you appear to not realise that, which makes me think you are just link dropping and not taking part in the debate because you don’t appear to go back to that conversation again. Again, this is like spam.
There is a certain degree of tolerance for link dropping, but if you look at what other people are doing, then you will see they usually make some attempt to let the readers know what the link is about. It’s good if some of that person’s comments are commentary as well. My suggestion is you post less links and take more time in explaining what they are. But please still pay attention to frequency and whether you are engaging discussion
edit, I need to see you acknowledge that you have read this moderator comment, thanks – weka]
I have read your moderator comment and will add comments at the top of thought provoking videos in future.
Sometimes I don’t go back because I am busy and unable to go back.
Sometimes it’s better to just post fewer comments, but spend more time on each one. I do.
And try to convey what it is that caught my interest about something and why I think it’s important. I spend time working out the key points at a linked site/article, and selecting representative quotes. And it does often mean going back to the article a few times, and checking/re-reading significant bits.
Well, Paul, for once you and I are on the same page. I’ve been vegan for more than 30 years and can assure people that there’s still plenty of variety and enjoyment in food, plus I feel good about environmental and animal welfare issues.
How did Peter Thiel manage to get NZ citizenship? I expect something like the following happened:
He had a little téte a téte with John Key. Word went down the line and reached Peter Dunne’s ears and hey presto, he’s granted citizenship. Unfortunately Peter Dunne has no recollection of it but he’s going to have a look at his files. Either he is also afflicted with a bad case of Amnesia like his former boss, or the system bypassed him. If it proves to be the latter then there should be an investigation.
No nice guy mpledger. Listen to this crap of a speech. He claims Donald Trump understands reality…
Hmmm… and remember Key’s amnesia over Kim Dotcom? Reckoned he’d never heard of him until after the raid. Always suspected there was something a bit odd about his demeanour at that time. It was as if he was trying to hide something.
I suspect there were quite a few filthy rich individuals during his term as PM who were quietly granted NZ citizenship by virtue of the fact they were filthy rich. In other words, the 1% PM looking after his fellow 1%ers.
yep – smelly and stinky these applications. It is easy to understand them letting in thiel – he is what they aspire to – what an ugly thinker that dude is.
When he announced he was resigning as PM my immediate thought was… there’s some shit about to hit the fan and he knows it. I wonder if this is the start of the shit?
Interesting idea.
Watching tonight that the Govt has told Wellington building owners to strengthen some buildings within 12 months or else!
The dairy farmers have been told to fix their polluting habits but have plenty of time to do so. Maybe next year or sometime in 10 years or so. None have been prosecuted so far. Don’t want to bother them.
The buildings that need strengthening provide the much needed floorspace for business to operate from to provide jobs.
Rivers and streams provide the water needed to drink.
Agriculture is a minnow on the backside of the tourism whale. The fallacy that agriculture is the backbone of NZ economy has continued to be peddaled despite its status as an alternative fact when convenient.
Streams and rivers should be protected and cleaned up. Right. Now. Failure to push any action on this front on the part of the government is nothing more than cowardice.
If NZ were able to get its act together and start focusing on wine tourism (high end tourists buying our shit wine to send over there) then the low value freedom campers that barely spend enough to pay for 0.5FTE will soon get the message, which is;
NZ is an expensive place. To live. To visit. To survive.
No wonder the stinking rich buy their residency here.
Easier to flash the cash and wow the masses on their diet of soma and talkies.
A global shift towards a vegan diet is vital to save the world from hunger, fuel poverty and the worst impacts of climate change, a UN report said today.
As the global population surges towards a predicted 9.1 billion people by 2050, western tastes for diets rich in meat and dairy products are unsustainable, says the report from United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) international panel of sustainable resource management.
It says: “Impacts from agriculture are expected to increase substantially due to population growth increasing consumption of animal products. Unlike fossil fuels, it is difficult to look for alternatives: people have to eat. A substantial reduction of impacts would only be possible with a substantial worldwide diet change, away from animal products.”
Professor Edgar Hertwich, the lead author of the report, said: “ Animal products cause more damage than [producing] construction minerals such as sand or cement, plastics or metals. Biomass and crops for animals are as damaging as [burning] fossil fuels.”
The recommendation follows advice last year that a vegetarian diet was better for the planet from Lord Nicholas Stern, former adviser to the Labour government on the economics of climate change. Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has also urged people to observe one meat-free day a week to curb carbon emissions.
The panel of experts ranked products, resources, economic activities and transport according to their environmental impacts. Agriculture was on a par with fossil fuel consumption because both rise rapidly with increased economic growth, they said.
Hey… its peculiar when you come to think of it … they are calling Trump a sexist – and holding demonstrations over it …
But what about ” I did not have sexual relations with THAT woman ” Big Billy Boy Clinton ?!!? ( in reference to his being caught out with Monica Lewinsky ? )
There are obvious differences between sexual assault and sexual harassment, and consensual sex and rape. Clinton wasn’t a threat to Roe vs Wade either. Nor was he intent on bringing in an authoritarian state. For all the bad things that Clinton did, there are very real differences here that can’t be glossed over.
Like this interview between John Pilger and Julian Assange , for instance?…
You know… the one where the Clinton Foundation was being used as a channel for funding to procure arms from American arms manufacturers ,… which the govt’s of Saudi Arabia , Morocco and Qatar ,… then distributed those arms back to ISIS while telling us all how evil ISIS was and they must be stamped out?
Ever wonder why the USA was accused of dragging its feet over the ISIS issue while pointing the finger at Russia for lifting the heavy weight in fighting ISIS ?…
It might just have had something to do with the fat profits the American arms manufacturers were making and enjoying out of keeping ISIS going , perhaps?….
Bill Clinton does bad shit, it’s not news, but I have zero interest in talking about it. There doesn’t appear to be anything in your comment that relates to what I said about your previous comment, or my original comment about the incoming administration. There are important differences between sexual assault and sexual harassment, or consented sex and rape, please educate yourself. This isn’t about who the goodies and the baddies are, it’s very basic humans rights we are talking about.
We have had “alternative facts” from NZ Governments and MSM for the past 30-40 years according to Roger Douglas neoliberalism was meant to be the best thing since sliced bread?
mickysavage is among six nominations received to replace Cunliffe in New Lynn. If he wins he will have to stand down from The Standard because he’s regarded by some in Labour (read hierarchy) as “too outspoken”. What tripe! They actually don’t read TS do they. Instead they listen to his detractors who have an irrational disregard for members who dare to make comments on those awful things called blogs.
To me, micky’s posts are strong but diplomatic and often understated.
There is also concern in Labour about Presland’s outspoken – and sometimes critical – contributions to The Standard blog under the pseudonym Mickey Savage.
Who the heck has Trevett been talking to ? That’s just a nonsense statement about Presland’s “outspoken – sometimes critical- contributions to The Standard”.
I agree with you, Anne, Micky’s posts are good, interesting and “understated” and I don’t think I’ve ever read one that has been critical of Labour.
and for Weka (8.1) the selection process consists of a meeting where all the candidates speak, a “straw” vote is taken from the floor, and this is considered along with other criteria by the panellists. Depending on the number of members, the LEC can have anything from one person on the panel to a considerable number, and the NZ Council of NZLP (HO) has three. I see from the Trevett story, that the New Lynn LEC has three people on the panel, NZ Council will have three, plus they need to take account of the “straw” vote from the floor. By the way, there is a Q & A session with the candidates and members before the selection meeting.
The raising of the minimum wage debate gave me a moment to pause and recall the whole related issue of secondary tax. During the 2014 election Labour came out with a manifesto commitment to abolish secondary tax. A great policy announcement that I was pleased to hear. Secondary tax seems to just be a draconian measure to punish those the lowest incomes.
The national party response at the time (see link below) was to state they were already going ahead with the policy anyway and that the IRD Business Transformation plan will “address the PAYE system, including secondary tax and end-of-year square-ups.”
And here we are, three years on and nothing has changed. Secondary tax is still in place and causing as much trouble as ever for hard-working low income earners. Labour need to point out things like this next time National respond to their policy announcements with such blatant untruths
Dan FalkBritons who switched on their TVs to “Good Morning Britain” on the morning of Sept. 15, 2020, were greeted by news not from our own troubled world, but from neighboring Venus. Piers Morgan, one of the hosts, was talking about a major science story that had surfaced the ...
Sara LutermanGrowing up autistic in a non-autistic world can be very isolating. We are often strange and out of sync with peers, despite our best efforts. Autistic adults have, until very recently, been largely absent from media and the public sphere. Finding role models is difficult. Finding useful advice ...
Doug JohnsonThe alien-like blooms and putrid stench of Amorphophallus titanum, better known as the corpse flower, draw big crowds and media coverage to botanical gardens each year. In 2015, for instance, around 75,000 people visited the Chicago Botanic Garden to see one of their corpse flowers bloom. More than ...
Getting to Browser Tab Zero so I can reboot the computer is awfully hard when the one open tab is a Table of Contents for the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, and every issue has more stuff I want to read. A few highlights: Gugler et al demonstrating ...
Timothy Ford, University of Massachusetts Lowell and Charles M. Schweik, University of Massachusetts AmherstTo mitigate health inequities and promote social justice, coronavirus vaccines need to get to underserved populations and hard-to-reach communities. There are few places in the U.S. that are unreachable by road, but other factors – many ...
Israel chose to pay a bit over the odds for the Pfizer vaccine to get earlier access. Here’s The Times of Israel from 16 November. American government will be charged $39 for each two-shot dose, and the European bloc even less, but Jerusalem said to agree to pay $56. Israel ...
Orla is a gender critical Marxist in Ireland. She gave a presentation on 15 January 2021 on the connection between postmodern/transgender identity politics and the current attacks on democratic and free speech rights. Orla has been active previously in the Irish Socialist Workers Party and the People Before Profit electoral ...
. . America: The Empire Strikes Back (at itself) Further to my comments in the first part of 2020: The History That Was, the following should be considered regarding the current state of the US. They most likely will be by future historians pondering the critical decades of ...
Nathaniel ScharpingIn March, as the Covid-19 pandemic began to shut down major cities in the U.S., researchers were thinking about blood. In particular, they were worried about the U.S. blood supply — the millions of donations every year that help keep hospital patients alive when they need a transfusion. ...
Sarah L Caddy, University of CambridgeVaccines are a marvel of medicine. Few interventions can claim to have saved as many lives. But it may surprise you to know that not all vaccines provide the same level of protection. Some vaccines stop you getting symptomatic disease, but others stop you ...
Back in 2016, the Portuguese government announced plans to stop burning coal by 2030. But progress has come much quicker, and they're now scheduled to close their last coal plant by the end of this year: The Sines coal plant in Portugal went offline at midnight yesterday evening (14 ...
The Sincerest Form Of Flattery: As anybody with the intestinal fortitude to brave the commentary threads of local news-sites, large and small, will attest, the number of Trump-supporting New Zealanders is really quite astounding. IT’S SO DIFFICULT to resist the temptation to be smug. From the distant perspective of New Zealand, ...
RNZ reports on continued arbitrariness on decisions at the border. British comedian Russell Howard is about to tour New Zealand and other acts allowed in through managed isolation this summer include drag queen RuPaul and musicians at Northern Bass in Mangawhai and the Bay Dreams festival. The vice-president of the ...
As families around the world mourn more than two million people dead from Covid-19, the Plan B academics and their PR industry collaborator continue to argue that the New Zealand government should stop focusing on our managed isolation and quarantine system and instead protect the elderly so that they can ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 10, 2021 through Sat, Jan 16, 2021Editor's ChoiceNASA says 2020 tied for hottest year on record — here’s what you can do to helpPhoto by Michael Held on Unsplash ...
Health authorities in Norway are reporting some concerns about deaths in frail elderly after receiving their COVID-19 vaccine. Is this causally related to the vaccine? Probably not but here are the things to consider. According to the news there have been 23 deaths in Norway shortly after vaccine administration and ...
Happy New Year! No, experts are not concerned that “…one of New Zealand’s COIVD-1( vaccines will fail to protect the country” Here is why. But first I wish to issue an expletive about this journalism (First in Australia and then in NZ). It exhibits utter failure to actually truly consult ...
All nations have shadows; some acknowledge them. For others they shape their image in uncomfortable ways.The staunch Labour supporter was in despair at what her Rogernomics Government was doing. But she finished ‘at least, we got rid of Muldoon’, a response which tells us that then, and today, one’s views ...
Grigori GuitchountsIn November, Springer Nature, one of the world’s largest publishers of scientific journals, made an attention-grabbing announcement: More than 30 of its most prestigious journals, including the flagship Nature, will now allow authors to pay a fee of US$11,390 to make their papers freely available for anyone to read ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gary Yohe, Henry Jacoby, Richard Richels, and Benjamin Santer Imagine a major climate change law passing the U.S. Congress unanimously? Don’t bother. It turns out that you don’t need to imagine it. Get this: The Global Change Research Act of 1990 was passed ...
“They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”WHO CAN FORGET the penultimate scene of the 1956 movie classic, Invasion of the Body Snatchers? The wild-eyed doctor, stumbling down the highway, trying desperately to warn his fellow citizens: “They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”Ostensibly science-fiction, the movie ...
TheOneRing.Net has got its paws on the official synopsis of the upcoming Amazon Tolkien TV series. It’s a development that brings to mind the line about Sauron deliberately releasing Gollum from the dungeons of Barad-dûr. Amazon knew exactly what they were doing here, in terms of drumming up publicity: ...
Since Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration in 1953, US presidents have joined an informal club intended to provide support - and occasionally rivalry - between those few who have been ‘leaders of the free world’. Donald Trump, elected on a promise to ‘drain the swamp’ and a constant mocker of his predecessors, ...
For over a decade commentators have noted the rise of a new brand of explicitly ideological politics throughout the world. By this they usually refer to the re-emergence of national populism and avowedly illiberal approaches to governance throughout the “advanced” democratic community, but they also extend the thought to the ...
The US House of Representatives has just impeached Donald Trump, giving him the dubious honour of being the only US President to be impeached twice. Ten Republicans voted for impeachement, making it the most bipartisan impeachment ever. The question now is whether the Senate will rise to the occasion, and ...
Kieren Mitchell; Alice Mouton, Université de Liège; Angela Perri, Durham University, and Laurent Frantz, Ludwig Maximilian University of MunichThanks to the hit television series Game of Thrones, the dire wolf has gained a near-mythical status. But it was a real animal that roamed the Americas for at least 250,000 ...
Tide of tidal data rises Having cast our own fate to include rising sea level, there's a degree of urgency in learning the history of mean sea level in any given spot, beyond idle curiosity. Sea level rise (SLR) isn't equal from one place to another and even at a particular ...
Well, some of those chickens sure came home bigly, didn’t they… and proceeded to shit all over the nice carpet in the Capitol. What we were seeing here are societal forces that have long had difficulty trying to reconcile people to the “idea” of America and the reality of ...
In the wake of Donald Trump's incitement of an assault on the US capitol, Twitter finally enforced its terms of service and suspended his account. They've since followed that up with action against prominent QAnon accounts and Trumpers, including in New Zealand. I'm not unhappy with this: Trump regularly violated ...
Peter S. Ross, University of British ColumbiaThe Arctic has long proven to be a barometer of the health of our planet. This remote part of the world faces unprecedented environmental assaults, as climate change and industrial chemicals threaten a way of life for Inuit and other Indigenous and northern ...
Susan St John makes the case for taxing a deemed rate of return on excessive real estate holdings (after a family home exemption), to redirect scarce housing resources to where they are needed most. Read the full article here ...
I’m less than convinced by arguments that platforms like Twitter should be subject to common carrier regulation preventing them from being able to decide who to keep on as clients of their free services, and who they would not like to serve. It’s much easier to create competition for the ...
The hypocritical actions of political leaders throughout the global Covid pandemic have damaged public faith in institutions and governance. Liam Hehir chronicles the way in which contemporary politicians have let down the public, and explains how real leadership means walking the talk. During the Blitz, when German bombs were ...
Over the years, we've published many rebuttals, blog posts and graphics which came about due to direct interactions with the scientists actually carrying out the underlying research or being knowledgable about a topic in general. We'll highlight some of these interactions in this blog post. We'll start with two memorable ...
Yesterday we had the unseemly sight of a landleech threatening to keep his houses empty in response to better tenancy laws. Meanwhile in Catalonia they have a solution for that: nationalisation: Barcelona is deploying a new weapon in its quest to increase the city’s available rental housing: the power ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters, PhD The 2020 global wildfire season brought extreme fire activity to the western U.S., Australia, the Arctic, and Brazil, making it the fifth most expensive year for wildfire losses on record. The year began with an unprecedented fire event ...
NOTE: This is an excerpt from a digital story – read the full story here.Tess TuxfordKo te Kauri Ko Au, Ko te Au ko Kauri I am the kauri, the kauri is me Te Roroa proverb In Waipoua Forest, at the top of the North Island, New ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Coming attraction: IPCC's upcoming major climate assessmentLook for more emphasis on 'solutions,' efforts by cities, climate equity ... and outlook for emissions cuts in ...
Ringing A Clear Historical Bell: The extraordinary images captured in and around the US Capitol Building on 6 January 2021 mirror some of the worst images of America's past.THERE IS A SCENE in the 1982 movie Missing which has remained with me for nearly 40 years. Directed by the Greek-French ...
To impact or not to impeach? I understand why some of those who are justifiably aghast at Trump’s behaviour over recent days might still counsel against impeaching him for a second time. To impeach him, they argue, would run the risk of making him a martyr in the eyes of ...
The Capitol Building, Washington DC, Wednesday, 6 January 2021. Oh come, my little one, come.The day is almost done.Be at my side, behold the sightOf evening on the land.The life, my love, is hardAnd heavy is my heart.How should I live if you should leaveAnd we should be apart?Come, let me ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 3, 2021 through Sat, Jan 9, 2021Editor's ChoiceAfter the Insurrection: Accountability, Reform, and the Science of Democracy The poisonous lies and enablers of sedition--including Senator Hawley, pictured ...
This article, guest authored by Prof. Angela Gallego-Sala & Dr. Julie Loisel, was originally published on the Carbon Brief website on Dec 21, 2020. It is reposted below in its entirety. Click here to access the original article and comments. Peatlands Peatlands are ecosystems unlike any other. Perpetually saturated, their ...
The assault on the US Capitol and constitutional crisis that it has caused was telegraphed, predictable and yet unexpected and confusing. There are several subplots involved: whether the occupation of the Michigan State House in May was a trial run for the attacks on Congress; whether people involved in the ...
On Christmas Eve, child number 1 spotted a crack in a window. It’s a double-glazed window, and inspection showed that the small, horizontal crack was in the outermost pane. It was perpendicular to the frame, about three-quarters of the way up one side. The origins are a mystery. It MIGHT ...
Anne-Marie Broudehoux, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Will the COVID-19 pandemic prompt a shift to healthier cities that focus on wellness rather than functional and economic concerns? This is a hypothesis that seems to be supported by several researchers around the world. In many ways, containment and physical distancing ...
Does the US need to strike a grand bargain with like-minded countries to pool their efforts? What does this tell us about today’s global politics? Perhaps the most remarkable editorial of last year was the cover leader of the London Economist on 19 November 2020. Shortly after Joe Biden was ...
Alexander Gillespie, University of Waikato and Valmaine Toki, University of WaikatoAotearoa New Zealand likes to think it punches above its weight internationally, but there is one area where we are conspicuously falling behind — the number of sites recognised by the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Globally, there are 1,121 ...
An event organised by the Auckland PhilippinesSolidarity group Have a three-course lunch at Nanam Eatery with us! Help support the organic farming of our Lumad communities through the Mindanao Community School Agricultural Foundation. Each ticket is $50. Food will be served on shared plates. To purchase, please email phsolidarity@gmail.com or ...
"Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here." Prisons are places of unceasing emotional and physical violence, unrelieved despair and unforgivable human waste.IT WAS NATIONAL’S Bill English who accurately described New Zealand’s prisons as “fiscal and moral failures”. On the same subject, Labour’s Dr Martyn Findlay memorably suggested that no prison ...
This is a re-post from Inside Climate News by Ilana Cohen. Inside Climate News is a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for the ICN newsletter here. Whether or not people accept the science on Covid-19 and climate change, both global crises will have lasting impacts on health and ...
. . American Burlesque As I write this (Wednesday evening, 6 January), the US Presidential election is all but resolved, confirming Joe Biden as the next President of the (Dis-)United State of America. Trump’s turbulent political career has lasted just four years – one of the few single-term US presidents ...
The session started off so well. Annalax – suitably chastised – spent a pleasant morning with his new girlfriend (he would say paramour, of course, but for our purposes, girlfriend is easier*). He told her about Waking World Drow, and their worship of Her Ladyship. And he started ...
In a recent column I wrote for local newspapers, I ventured to suggest that Donald Trump – in addition to being a liar and a cheat, and sexist and racist – was a fascist in the making and would probably try, if he were to lose the election, to defy ...
When I was preparing for my School C English exam I knew I needed some quotes to splash through my essays. But remembering lines was never my strong point, so I tended to look for the low-hanging fruit. We’d studied Shakespeare’s King Lear that year and perhaps the lowest hanging ...
When I went to bed last night, I was expecting today to be eventful. A lot of pouting in Congress as last-ditch Trumpers staged bad-faith "objections" to a democratic election, maybe some rioting on the streets of Washington DC from angry Trump supporters. But I wasn't expecting anything like an ...
Melted ice of the past answers question today? Kate Ashley and a large crew of coauthors wind back the clock to look at Antarctic sea ice behavior in times gone by, in Mid-Holocene Antarctic sea-ice increase driven by marine ice sheet retreat. For armchair scientists following the Antarctic sea ice situation, something jumps out in ...
Christina SzalinskiWhen Martha Field became pregnant in 2005, a singular fear weighed on her mind. Not long before, as a Cornell University graduate student researching how genes and nutrients interact to cause disease, she had seen images of unborn mouse pups smaller than her pinkie nail, some with ...
A growing public housing waiting list and continued increase of house prices must be urgently addressed by Government, Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson said today. ...
As we welcome in the new year, our focus is on continuing to keep New Zealanders safe and moving forward with our economic recovery. There’s a lot to get on with, but before we say a final goodbye to 2020, here’s a quick look back at some of the milestones ...
A major investment to tackle wilding pines in Mt Richmond will create jobs and help protect the area’s unique ecosystems, Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor says. The Mt Richmond Forest Park has unique ecosystems developed on mineral-rich geology, including taonga plant species found nowhere else in the country. “These special plant ...
To further protect New Zealand from COVID-19, the Government is extending pre-departure testing to all passengers to New Zealand except from Australia, Antarctica and most Pacific Islands, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “The change will come into force for all flights arriving in New Zealand after 11:59pm (NZT) on Monday ...
Bay Conservation Cadets launched with first intake Supported with $3.5 million grant Part of $1.245b Jobs for Nature programme to accelerate recover from Covid Cadets will learn skills to protect and enhance environment Environment Minister David Parker today welcomed the first intake of cadets at the launch of the Bay ...
The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health. “Following confirmation of the Cook Islands’ COVID ...
Jobs for Nature funding is being made available to conservation groups and landowners to employ staff and contractors in a move aimed at boosting local biodiversity-focused projects, Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan has announced. It is estimated some 400-plus jobs will be created with employment opportunities in ecology, restoration, trapping, ...
The Government has approved an exception class for 1000 international tertiary students, degree level and above, who began their study in New Zealand but were caught offshore when border restrictions began. The exception will allow students to return to New Zealand in stages from April 2021. “Our top priority continues ...
Today’s deal between Meridian and Rio Tinto for the Tiwai smelter to remain open another four years provides time for a managed transition for Southland. “The deal provides welcome certainty to the Southland community by protecting jobs and incomes as the region plans for the future. The Government is committed ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appointed Anna Curzon to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). The leader of each APEC economy appoints three private sector representatives to ABAC. ABAC provides advice to leaders annually on business priorities. “ABAC helps ensure that APEC’s work programme is informed by business community perspectives ...
The Government’s prudent fiscal management and strong policy programme in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic have been acknowledged by the credit rating agency Fitch. Fitch has today affirmed New Zealand’s local currency rating at AA+ with a stable outlook and foreign currency rating at AA with a positive ...
The Government is putting in place a suite of additional actions to protect New Zealand from COVID-19, including new emerging variants, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “Given the high rates of infection in many countries and evidence of the global spread of more transmissible variants, it’s clear that ...
$36 million of Government funding alongside councils and others for 19 projects Investment will clean up and protect waterways and create local jobs Boots on the ground expected in Q2 of 2021 Funding part of the Jobs for Nature policy package A package of 19 projects will help clean up ...
The commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Ruapekapeka represents an opportunity for all New Zealanders to reflect on the role these conflicts have had in creating our modern nation, says Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Kiri Allan. “The Battle at Te Ruapekapeka Pā, which took ...
Babies born with tongue-tie will be assessed and treated consistently under new guidelines released by the Ministry of Health, Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Around 5% to 10% of babies are born with a tongue-tie, or ankyloglossia, in New Zealand each year. At least half can ...
The prisoner disorder event at Waikeria Prison is over, with all remaining prisoners now safely and securely detained, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says. The majority of those involved in the event are members of the Mongols and Comancheros. Five of the men are deportees from Australia, with three subject to ...
Travellers from the United Kingdom or the United States bound for New Zealand will be required to get a negative test result for COVID-19 before departing, and work is underway to extend the requirement to other long haul flights to New Zealand, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today. “The new PCR test requirement, foreshadowed last ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Moro, Associate Professor of Science & Medicine, Bond University How do scabs form? — Talila, aged 8 Great question, Talila! Our skin has many different jobs. One is to act as a barrier, protecting us from harmful things in the ...
US President Donald Trump is pardoning former White House adviser Steve Bannon, who is accused of fraud in a case involving funds for the border wall. ...
Joel Little with Lorde, Dera Meelan with Church & AP, Josh Fountain with Maala and Randa and Benee – producers make good songs great. Now a new fund from NZ on Air is putting the focus on them.Six months ago it looked like the music industry was on the brink ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denise Buiten, Senior Lecturer in Social Justice and Sociology, University of Notre Dame Australia On average, one child is killed by a parent almost every fortnight in Australia. Last week, three children — Claire, 7, Anna, 5, and Matthew, 3 — were ...
This commendable and realistic decision again underlines that it is the police, not government, who are largely responsible for the reduction in cannabis prosecutions over the past 15 years, writes Russell Brown.The news that New Zealand police have discontinued the annual Helicopter Recovery Operation, which has, each summer for more ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ilan Noy, Professor and Chair in the Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington We will not be able to put the COVID-19 pandemic behind us until the world’s population is mostly immune through vaccination ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s US inauguration live blog: inauguration news, analysis and reaction, updated throughout Wednesday and Thursday, NZ time. Reach me at catherine@thespinoff.co.nz.4.00pm: What will Trump be doing tomorrow?It’s pretty well known by now that outgoing president Donald Trump intends to throw out the rulebook when it comes to ...
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance is calling out Mayor Phil Goff for his undignified comment that the claim made by Councillor Greg Sayers asking why Auckland Council is funding yoga classes is “bullshit.” Yesterday, Councillor Greg Sayers penned ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne At 4am Thursday AEDT, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be inaugurated as president and vice president of the United States, replacing Donald Trump and Mike Pence. What follows is ...
*This article was originally published on RNZ and is republished with permission. New Zealanders flocked to beaches and lakes this summer, but it wasn't enough to fill the gap left by international tourists in other regions. The tourism industry is struggling to fill a $6 billion hole left by international tourists ...
Summer reissue: Chef Monique Fiso joins us for a chat about Hiakai – her acclaimed Wellington restaurant, and the title of her stunning new book.First published November 3, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members – click here to learn ...
A new trough was brought to our attention this morning, although ethnicity will limit the numbers of eligible applicants. If you are non-Maori, it looks like you shouldn’t bother getting into the queue – but who knows?We learned of the trough from the Scoop website, where the Kapiti ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Britta Denise Hardesty, Principal Research Scientist, Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship, CSIRO Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing costs economies up to US$50 billion globally each year, and makes up to one-fifth of the global catch. It’s a huge problem not only for the ...
Police stopping major cannabis eradication operations has given the green light to drug dealers and gangs to expand operations, make more profit, and continue to wreak havoc on the most vulnerable in our society, says Sensible Sentencing Trust. ...
Varieties of merino wool footwear are emerging faster than Netflix series about British aristocracy. Michael Andrew takes a look at the rise of the shoe that almost everyone – including his 95-year-old grandma – is wearing.Some might say it all started with Allbirds. After all, to the average consumer, it ...
A new report from New Zealand’s Independent Monitoring Mechanism (IMM) highlights the realities and challenges disabled people faced during the COVID-19 emergency. The report, Making Disability Rights Real in a Pandemic, Te Whakatinana i ngā Tika ...
The Maritime Union is questioning the reasons provided for ongoing delays at the Ports of Auckland. Maritime Union of New Zealand National Secretary Craig Harrison says there is a need for an honest conversation about what has gone wrong at the ...
As New Zealand faces a dire shortage of veterinarians, a petition has been launched urging the Government to reclassify veterinarians as critical workers so we can Get Vets into NZ. “New Zealand desperately needs veterinarians from overseas to counter ...
New Zealand is fast developing a reputation as a South Pacific vandal, says Greenpeace, as the government continues to fight against increased ocean protection. At the upcoming meeting of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO), ...
The Department of Internal Affairs and Netsafe are urging parents and caregivers to be mindful of the online content their tamariki may be consuming in the lead up to the inauguration of president-elect of the United States of America Joe Biden ...
Care is at the centre of Auckland Zoo’s mandate, and it’s clear to see when you witness the staff doing their day-to-day jobs up close. Leonie Hayden went behind the scenes to talk to two people who would do anything for the animals they look after. “We were having this ...
The Game Animal Council (GAC) is applying its expertise in the use of firearms for hunting to work alongside Police, other agencies and stakeholder groups to improve the compliance provisions for hunters and other firearms users. The GAC has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Verica Rupar, Professor, Auckland University of Technology “The lie outlasts the liar,” writes historian Timothy Snyder, referring to outgoing president Donald Trump and his contribution to the “post-truth” era in the US. Indeed, the mass rejection of reason that erupted in a ...
The internet ain’t what it used to be, thanks to privacy issues, data leaks, censorship and hate speech. But a group of New Zealanders are working on a way to give power back to the people. A flood of headlines over the last week made it clear: the internet has become ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Brooks, Scientia Professor of Evolutionary Ecology; Academic Lead of UNSW’s Grand Challenges Program, UNSW The views of women and men can differ on important gendered issues such as abortion, gender equity and government spending priorities. Surprisingly, however, average differences in sex ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer S. Hunt, Lecturer in National Security, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Every four years on January 20, the US exercises a key tenant of democratic government: the peaceful transfer of power. This year, the scene looks a bit ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle In Australia and around the world, research is showing changes in body weight, cooking, eating and drinking patterns associated with COVID lockdowns. Some changes have been positive, such as people cooking ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hao Tan, Associate professor, University of Newcastle Australian coal exports to China plummeted last year. While this is due in part to recent trade tensions between Australia and China, our research suggests coal plant closures are a bigger threat to Australia’s export ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Asha Bowen, Head, Skin Health, Telethon Kids Institute A year ago, in late January 2020, Australia reported its first cases of COVID-19. Since then, we have seen almost 29,000 confirmed cases and 909 deaths. As cases climbed in Australian cities in 2020, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kevin Davis, Emeritus Professor of Finance, University of Melbourne Political pressure forced the federal government in 2017 – when Scott Morrison was treasurer – to call the royal commission into misconduct in the banking, superannuation and financial services sector. Commissioner Kenneth Hayne ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Justin Ellis, Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Newcastle, University of Newcastle The Rise and Fall of Saint George is a story about place, belonging and community that taps into universal tensions of identity and faith in multicultural societies. Playing for ...
An in-depth analysis of media coverage of the euthanasia and cannabis referendums has found that while both sides of the euthanasia referendum were given reasonably fair and balanced coverage, the YES position in the cannabis debate received a heavily ...
*This article was originally published on RNZ and is republished with permission Auckland has no plans to hand over the ownership of it assets under the government's planned water reforms, with Auckland Mayor Phil Goff saying his top priority is to ensure it stacks up for the city. Despite ...
Auckland Transport is putting nine new electric buses on the roads today, as it dramatically accelerates its plans to get rid of all its diesel buses – in a funding challenge to the council. Public transport operators are being told to not buy any more diesel buses or risk losing their council ...
Summer reissue: Join Michèle A’Court, Alex Casey and Leonie Hayden as they find out exactly what we’re voting on in the cannabis referendum, and discover how legalising weed is a women’s issue.First published August 4, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is ...
A principal analyst for the Climate Change Commission says more needs to be done to reduce agricultural emissions or the country will miss its methane targets. ...
Concerts and some sports look likely to be on the move in Auckland after a big win for Eden Park – and politicians and officials may now want to win the public some control over the independent stadium. The advent of big concerts at Eden Park will, in all likelihood, mean ...
Despite promises of improvement, questions remain about colonoscopy services in Otago and Southland.David Williams reports The apology, when it came, was fulsome. “On behalf of the Southern DHB, I offer a sincere apology for lapses and inadequacies in colonoscopy services over the past several years,” district health board chair ...
New Zealand needs to be bold in making developers enhance the environment - not just limit its degradation, writes Stephen Knight-Lenihan All human activity should help restore the natural world. This is a concept that may resonate following the upheavals of 2020 and one which is beginning to appear in law. Imagine ...
Derek Challis, son of the legendary author Robin Hyde, died last Thursday. Michelle Leggott pays tribute He opens a suitcase and there they are, the precious manuscript notebooks written by his poet mother Iris Wilkinson aka Robin Hyde. We are in Dunedin for a Hyde conference. Yes, says Derek Arden ...
Former New Zealand gymnast Katya Nosova is now a champion bodybuilder, who was prepared to spend Christmas alone in quarantine to compete in the 'Olympics' of her sport. Katya Nosova was willing to do everything she could to pose on the world stage in her third Ms Olympia. Despite a ...
The issues political editor Justin Giovannetti will be keeping an eye on in 2021 (that have nothing to do with Covid-19).New Zealand will be busy in 2021. The border will remain closed to nearly all travellers and Covid-19 will continue to lead the news, but the country has a packed ...
A former case manager says that his experience working with beneficiaries suggests claims of a ‘complete shift’ in the service’s approach are laughable.A former Work and Income case manager who now works with beneficiaries engaging with the service has spoken out on a “toxic” culture which he says denies beneficiaries ...
ACC Minister Carmel Sepuloni must confirm whether the Government supports ACC’s apparent policy to make payouts for illegal overstayers , says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union . Union spokesman Jordan Williams says, “Since when was it ACC policy to ...
By RNZ News An independent panel says Chinese officials could have applied public health measures more forcefully in January to curb the initial covid-19 outbreak, and criticised the World Health Organisation (WHO) for not declaring an international emergency until 30 January. The experts reviewing the global handling of the pandemic, ...
Pacific Media Watch newsdesk Fiji’s NGO Coalition on Human Rights has called for stronger accountability and commitment to human rights at home in response to the country taking the world stage as the head of a UN body. The UN Human Rights Council (UNHCR) elected Fiji’s ambassador Nazhat Shameem as ...
Danyl McLauchlan reviews Stuart Ritchie’s Science Fictions, which outlines the staggering systemic flaws in the funding and publication of scientific papers. Back in August of 2006 a number of New Zealand scientists were caught up in a media controversy about whether Māori had a genetic predisposition towards violent crime. It kicked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert G. Patman, Professor of International Relations, University of Otago America is currently experiencing its worst political and constitutional crisis since the civil war when the very survival of Abraham Lincoln’s government “of, by and for the people” was at stake. On ...
Manaaki Rangatahi report that young people experiencing homelessness are being further traumatized within the emergency accommodation where they have sought safety. Often these environments are unsafe, and unsuitable for young people to live in, and rangatahi ...
Can you figure out which of the above is the real Jacinda Ardern? Probably! But one day, that might not be true.There are many reasons to believe the internet shouldn’t exist. Social media empires exerting, intentionally or not, their control over sovereign governments. Baby Shark. Your aunt on Facebook.It pains ...
The Point of Order Ministers on a Mission Monitor has flickered only fleetingly for much of the month. More than once, the minister to trigger it has been David Parker, who set it off again yesterday with an announcement that shows how he has been spending our money. He welcomed ...
Ban Bomb Day event at the New Brighton Pier, 9am, on January 22nd, 2021 January 22nd, 2021, marks the first day the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) Enters into Force and becomes international law. Aotearoa NZ is one of the ...
Why are New Zealand’s 2 Minute Noodles called 3 Minute Noodles in the UK? It’s a puzzle that has taken hold of Dylan Reeve and refuses to let go.I’m a child of the 80s and 90s. I watched a lot of TV and was a big fan of aggressively marketed ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonatan A Lassa, Senior Lecturer, Humanitarian Emergency and Disaster Management, College of Indigenous Futures, Arts and Society, Charles Darwin University News of storms battering parts of Queensland and the threat posed by Cyclone Kimi reminded me of a recent experience I’d had. ...
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that the use of force to effect the arrest of a wanted offender in Auckland was justified and proportionate to the risk he posed. A man, who was well known to Police, was wanted by Police for an aggravated ...
A distinctly colonial institution, banking has long ignored te ao Māori. Teaho Pihama believes investment in tikanga Māori at Kiwibank can have significant, positive outcomes for Māori.In early 90s Tāmaki Makaurau, when Teahooterangi (Teaho) Pihama was growing up riding his bike around the streets of Kingsland until the streetlights came ...
Donald Trump’s awful presidency expires at midday on Wednesday [US time] when Air Force One will have deposited him in Florida. He retreats to his Mar-a-Lago resort and Joseph R Biden Junior takes command of the White House. Trump’s has been an unpleasant presidency, brought about largely by his own ...
The New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA) has elected its National President for 2021. The election took place last Friday at an NZUSA Special General Meeting (SGM) in Wellington. Andrew Lessells, 22, was elected to serve as the National ...
Think twice before you accept that surprise school reunion invite, writes Chris Schulz.It started with a Facebook notification. A school reunion was being organised. It sounded fun, with a fancy dress party set to be held in the city where I grew up, Whanganui. I hadn’t seen some of my ...
Unlike the US, there is very little NZ precedent for politicians to issue discretionary pardons – creating a challenge for those like Prof Sean Davison who might have a humanitarian claim to mercy. ...
Schools have told the Education Review Office that some children lost 10 weeks of learning in last year's lockdowns, but the overall impact of the pandemic is still unclear. In a report based on surveys of thousand of students, teachers and principals during and after last year's national and Auckland ...
The government seems to still be in holiday mode when in the past two weeks alone we have had six homicides, countless firearms incidents, and police needing to arm themselves against gangs almost every second day," says Sensible Sentencing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Crawford, Associate Professor in Construction and Environmental Assessment, University of Melbourne Over the past few years, Australians have embraced online food delivery services such as UberEats, Deliveroo and Menulog. But home-delivered food comes with a climate cost, and single-use packaging is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland When the coronavirus pandemic hit Australia in March 2020, the Morrison government took bold and imaginative action. The most notable examples were its income support programs – JobKeeper, paying a A$750 weekly ...
Ocean Ute, which arrived at Port Taranaki yesterday, is the second live export ship to arrive in New Zealand this year. Taranaki Animal Rights Group has two demonstrations planned for today. A protest at midday and a vigil at 6.30pm tonight . The number ...
The Department of Corrections is well within its rights to refuse Jared Savage’s “Gangland” book from being read by inmates and it is outrageous that resources and time are now potentially going to be wasted in court about it, says Sensible ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Cowling, Associate Professor – Information & Communication Technology (ICT), CQUniversity Australia We’ve probably all been there. We buy some new smart gadget and when we plug it in for the first time it requires an update to work. So we end ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Walker, Vice-chancellor’s fellow, La Trobe University The new trade minister, Dan Tehan, has been handed one of the Morrison government’s most demanding roles. Despite a lot of chest-thumping in government circles about the need to stand up to “Chinese bullying”, Tehan’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Philip Weinstein, Professorial Research Fellow, University of Adelaide There’s no question the rising rate of unemployment is one of the worst consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of Australians seeking work is heading towards 10%, almost double the pre-pandemic Australian average ...
Gary Yourofsky – The Most Important Speech You Will Ever Hear
Paul, please respond to this moderation request,
Thought this was ‘Open Mike.’
Therefore I was hoping to stimulate discussion and encourage people to think about our need to move from eating meat to eating plant based food for the sake of our planet, our ethics and our health.
Actually, I prefer printed comments. I rarely watch linked or embedded videos.
I find reading quicker, and enables more reflection.
I found this guy quite inspirational.
-James Aspey
I do understand where meat, milk, eggs, fish etc comes from.
I don’t eat a lot of meat. Never liked milk though do have some yogurt and eggs.
Mostly eat fruit and veges. I think processed food can be as damaging to people and environment – and food chain, as anything else. Can’t get very excited about meat, vegan, vegetarian or not. The biggest issue is environmental sustainability, and health of the whole community located within it.
Paul, you really think the best way to reply to someone that’s just said “I prefer printed comments. I rarely watch linked or embedded videos. I find reading quicker, and enables more reflection.” is to link a 41 minute video?
Um. Well spotted, Andre. My response was based on the selected quote.
I also think propaganda is more effective using images, and sound plus images in video. They tend to impact more on the emotions, and often don’t encourage critical reflection the way print and discussion can.
That is one of the issues of the image-saturated digital age.
Of course, we can spend time critiquing the way videos impact on emotions, but that takes way more time than reading an explanation.
I’ve read several articles that say the way the brain processes video is very different to written material. Supposedly we become more suggestible when watching video (or live performance), but more analytical and skeptical when reading.
The paper below is what I found with a quick search, and doesn’t look the most reliable to me, but it has pretty much the same message as the papers I’d read previously.
http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/5jcl/5JCL59.htm
Yes. I’ve studied, researched and taught film and media quite a lot – done quite a lot of analysis of visual media. I do like watching videos, movies, and TV dramas.
But when it comes to arguments and political discussions, I prefer print. I prefer print to documentaries. People tend to think documentaries show us reality, but they actually present reality from a perspective, and also, often work on the same level as screen fiction – can be misleading.
[No doubt there are some interesting things in what you are posting. But your comments, because of how you do them, are like Facebook spam. This is an issue of quantity, of frequency, and of the fact that you often don’t do anything other than drop a link or drop a link with virtually no information about what it is.
The link above is a good example of such a comment. It take up a large amount of space (think about people reading on a phone, and there is nothing to say what it is about. You know it’s about veganism, no-one else does. It’s spam.
It also concerns me that you’ve had moderators asking you to stop and you appear to not realise that, which makes me think you are just link dropping and not taking part in the debate because you don’t appear to go back to that conversation again. Again, this is like spam.
There is a certain degree of tolerance for link dropping, but if you look at what other people are doing, then you will see they usually make some attempt to let the readers know what the link is about. It’s good if some of that person’s comments are commentary as well. My suggestion is you post less links and take more time in explaining what they are. But please still pay attention to frequency and whether you are engaging discussion
edit, I need to see you acknowledge that you have read this moderator comment, thanks – weka]
I have read your moderator comment and will add comments at the top of thought provoking videos in future.
Sometimes I don’t go back because I am busy and unable to go back.
Thanks Paul.
Sorry to cause you trouble.
Sometimes it’s better to just post fewer comments, but spend more time on each one. I do.
And try to convey what it is that caught my interest about something and why I think it’s important. I spend time working out the key points at a linked site/article, and selecting representative quotes. And it does often mean going back to the article a few times, and checking/re-reading significant bits.
I am increasingly convinced that the biggest thing we can do to lower our carbon footprint is to stop eating meat.
Well, Paul, for once you and I are on the same page. I’ve been vegan for more than 30 years and can assure people that there’s still plenty of variety and enjoyment in food, plus I feel good about environmental and animal welfare issues.
Hi red-blooded it is good to see we share some ideas!
What was the main reason you became vegan?
Was it.?
a. health
b. animal cruelty
c. the environment
d. other?
When I heard on the news that Peter Theil had got NZ citizenship, if left me wondering about how did he managed it. It seems like other people have got their before me
http://thespinoff.co.nz/society/25-01-2017/new-zealand-citizen-peter-thiel-5-awkward-questions-and-10-peculiar-facts/
Even if he is a nice guy (and there is some degree of doubt), it sounds a very dodgy granting of citizenship.
How did Peter Thiel manage to get NZ citizenship? I expect something like the following happened:
He had a little téte a téte with John Key. Word went down the line and reached Peter Dunne’s ears and hey presto, he’s granted citizenship. Unfortunately Peter Dunne has no recollection of it but he’s going to have a look at his files. Either he is also afflicted with a bad case of Amnesia like his former boss, or the system bypassed him. If it proves to be the latter then there should be an investigation.
No nice guy mpledger. Listen to this crap of a speech. He claims Donald Trump understands reality…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11788452
Matt Nippert (author of above linked NZH article) tweeted this arvo that:
Out of curiosity I did a google search to see when Kim Dotcom got residency – it was November 2010.
A lot happening around 2010 & 2011.
Hmmm… and remember Key’s amnesia over Kim Dotcom? Reckoned he’d never heard of him until after the raid. Always suspected there was something a bit odd about his demeanour at that time. It was as if he was trying to hide something.
I suspect there were quite a few filthy rich individuals during his term as PM who were quietly granted NZ citizenship by virtue of the fact they were filthy rich. In other words, the 1% PM looking after his fellow 1%ers.
yep – smelly and stinky these applications. It is easy to understand them letting in thiel – he is what they aspire to – what an ugly thinker that dude is.
Donghua Liu…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11218598
Yep. There’s a pattern here…
When he announced he was resigning as PM my immediate thought was… there’s some shit about to hit the fan and he knows it. I wonder if this is the start of the shit?
Doesn’t look like enough to stir him out of a relaxed state. He’s brazened out far worse.
So he was given NZ citizenship in 2010. DIA recommended the application be declined, but Nathan Guy ignored that.
I think we will find all 61 were filthy rich… being the dominant criteria for citizenship by the Key government.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/88540744/water-cutting-out-the-middle-cow
55 billion to be made and cut back the number of cows, win win
Interesting idea.
Watching tonight that the Govt has told Wellington building owners to strengthen some buildings within 12 months or else!
The dairy farmers have been told to fix their polluting habits but have plenty of time to do so. Maybe next year or sometime in 10 years or so. None have been prosecuted so far. Don’t want to bother them.
The meat and dairy industry are protected.
probably because the bring in dollars and provide jobs
The buildings that need strengthening provide the much needed floorspace for business to operate from to provide jobs.
Rivers and streams provide the water needed to drink.
Agriculture is a minnow on the backside of the tourism whale. The fallacy that agriculture is the backbone of NZ economy has continued to be peddaled despite its status as an alternative fact when convenient.
Streams and rivers should be protected and cleaned up. Right. Now. Failure to push any action on this front on the part of the government is nothing more than cowardice.
If NZ were able to get its act together and start focusing on wine tourism (high end tourists buying our shit wine to send over there) then the low value freedom campers that barely spend enough to pay for 0.5FTE will soon get the message, which is;
NZ is an expensive place. To live. To visit. To survive.
No wonder the stinking rich buy their residency here.
Easier to flash the cash and wow the masses on their diet of soma and talkies.
So stop polluting NZ and pollute somewhere else instead, and still steal water? Yeah nah.
UN urges global move to meat and dairy-free diet
I agree.
New Zealand least corrupt country in the world-New Zealand Herald?
So our Foreign Trust Industry and the allegations in the Panama Papers were all humbug?
Or the rest of the world is going to hell.
Linda Tirado on twitter,
Hey… its peculiar when you come to think of it … they are calling Trump a sexist – and holding demonstrations over it …
But what about ” I did not have sexual relations with THAT woman ” Big Billy Boy Clinton ?!!? ( in reference to his being caught out with Monica Lewinsky ? )
http://fmshooter.com/hypocrisy-weekends-protests-stunning-not-surprising/
And the original footage of denial ?
Funny old world we live in , in’nit ….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiIP_KDQmXs
Never went round talking about grabbin’ pussy though. Not like some arse hole I keep seeing lately in the news.
There are obvious differences between sexual assault and sexual harassment, and consensual sex and rape. Clinton wasn’t a threat to Roe vs Wade either. Nor was he intent on bringing in an authoritarian state. For all the bad things that Clinton did, there are very real differences here that can’t be glossed over.
Like this interview between John Pilger and Julian Assange , for instance?…
You know… the one where the Clinton Foundation was being used as a channel for funding to procure arms from American arms manufacturers ,… which the govt’s of Saudi Arabia , Morocco and Qatar ,… then distributed those arms back to ISIS while telling us all how evil ISIS was and they must be stamped out?
Ever wonder why the USA was accused of dragging its feet over the ISIS issue while pointing the finger at Russia for lifting the heavy weight in fighting ISIS ?…
It might just have had something to do with the fat profits the American arms manufacturers were making and enjoying out of keeping ISIS going , perhaps?….
No wonder they all loved Hillary …
Bill Clinton does bad shit, it’s not news, but I have zero interest in talking about it. There doesn’t appear to be anything in your comment that relates to what I said about your previous comment, or my original comment about the incoming administration. There are important differences between sexual assault and sexual harassment, or consented sex and rape, please educate yourself. This isn’t about who the goodies and the baddies are, it’s very basic humans rights we are talking about.
We have had “alternative facts” from NZ Governments and MSM for the past 30-40 years according to Roger Douglas neoliberalism was meant to be the best thing since sliced bread?
mickysavage is among six nominations received to replace Cunliffe in New Lynn. If he wins he will have to stand down from The Standard because he’s regarded by some in Labour (read hierarchy) as “too outspoken”. What tripe! They actually don’t read TS do they. Instead they listen to his detractors who have an irrational disregard for members who dare to make comments on those awful things called blogs.
To me, micky’s posts are strong but diplomatic and often understated.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11788733
Mind you this is coming from Claire Trevett.
Very interesting. I don’t suppose you or someone could explain that selection process a bit better?
Who the heck has Trevett been talking to ? That’s just a nonsense statement about Presland’s “outspoken – sometimes critical- contributions to The Standard”.
I agree with you, Anne, Micky’s posts are good, interesting and “understated” and I don’t think I’ve ever read one that has been critical of Labour.
and for Weka (8.1) the selection process consists of a meeting where all the candidates speak, a “straw” vote is taken from the floor, and this is considered along with other criteria by the panellists. Depending on the number of members, the LEC can have anything from one person on the panel to a considerable number, and the NZ Council of NZLP (HO) has three. I see from the Trevett story, that the New Lynn LEC has three people on the panel, NZ Council will have three, plus they need to take account of the “straw” vote from the floor. By the way, there is a Q & A session with the candidates and members before the selection meeting.
Move on, nothing to see….
https://mic.com/articles/162657/republicans-in-congress-close-yearlong-flint-water-crisis-inquiry-with-no-new-findings
The raising of the minimum wage debate gave me a moment to pause and recall the whole related issue of secondary tax. During the 2014 election Labour came out with a manifesto commitment to abolish secondary tax. A great policy announcement that I was pleased to hear. Secondary tax seems to just be a draconian measure to punish those the lowest incomes.
The national party response at the time (see link below) was to state they were already going ahead with the policy anyway and that the IRD Business Transformation plan will “address the PAYE system, including secondary tax and end-of-year square-ups.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/policies/10416636/Labour-to-axe-secondary-tax
And here we are, three years on and nothing has changed. Secondary tax is still in place and causing as much trouble as ever for hard-working low income earners. Labour need to point out things like this next time National respond to their policy announcements with such blatant untruths