Obama’s elf
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5:01 pm, February 18th, 2009 - 11 comments
Categories: interweb -
Tags: elf, obama
I’ve tried all day not to post this, now I’m giving in to get a good night’s sleep.
11 comments on “Obama’s elf ”
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- New Approaches to Economic Challenges: Confronting Planetary Emergencies: OECD 9 October 2020New Approaches to Economic Challenges: Confronting Planetary Emergencies: OECD 9 October 2020 Hon David Parkerâs response following Thomas Piketty and Esther Duflo. Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening, wherever in the world you might be. I first acknowledge the excellent thought provoking speeches of Thomas Piketty and Esther ...2 weeks ago
- Kaipara Moana restoration takes next stepA Memorandum of Understanding has been signed today at WaihÄua Marae between the Crown, local iwi and councils to protect, restore and enhance the mauri of Kaipara Moana in Northland. Environment Minister David Parker signed the document on behalf of the Crown along with representatives from NgÄ Maunga WhakahÄŤ, NgÄti ...2 weeks ago
- New Zealand and Uruguay unite on reducing livestock production emissionsAgriculture Minister Damien OâConnor and Uruguayan Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries Carlos MarĂa Uriarte have welcomed the launch of a three-year project that will underpin sustainable livestock production in Uruguay, Argentina, and Costa Rica. The project called âInnovation for pasture managementâ is led by Uruguayâs National Institute of Agricultural ...2 weeks ago
- 3100 jobs created through marae upgradesHundreds of marae throughout the country will be upgraded through investments from the Provincial Growth Fundâs refocused post COVID-19 funding to create jobs and put money into the pockets of local tradespeople and businesses, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and MÄori Development Minister Nanaia Mahuta have announced. âA total ...2 weeks ago
- Health volunteers recognised in annual awardsHealth Minister Chris Hipkins has announced 9 teams and 14 individuals are the recipients of this yearâs Minister of Health Volunteer Awards. âThe health volunteer awards celebrate and recognise the thousands of dedicated health sector volunteers who give many hours of their time to help other New Zealanders,â Mr Hipkins ...2 weeks ago
- Community COVID-19 Fund supports Pacific recoveryThe Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio says a total of 264 groups and individuals have successfully applied for the Pacific Aotearoa Community COVID-19 Recovery Fund, that will support Pacific communities drive their own COVID-19 recovery strategies, initiatives, and actions. âI am keen to see this Fund support Pacific ...2 weeks ago
- Community benefits from MÄori apprenticeshipsUp to 50 MÄori apprentices in Wellington will receive paid training to build houses for their local communities, thanks to a $2.75 million investment from the MÄori Trades and Training Fund, announced Employment Minister Willie Jackson today. âThis funding will enable NgÄti Toa Rangatira Incorporated to provide its NgÄ Kaimahi ...2 weeks ago
- Training fund supports MÄori jobseekersRapidly growing sectors will benefit from a $990,000 MÄori Trades and Training Fund investment which will see Wellington jobseekers supported into work, announced Employment Minister Willie Jackson today. âThis funding will enable Sapphire Consultants Ltd. to help up to 45 MÄori jobseekers into paid training initiatives over two years through ...2 weeks ago
- Ruakura Inland Port development vital infrastructure for WaikatoThe Government is investing $40 million to develop an inland port at Ruakura which will become a freight super-hub and a future business, research and residential development for the Waikato, Urban Development and Transport Minister Phil Twyford, and MÄori Development Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. The funding has been has ...2 weeks ago
- Appointments made to Defence Expert Review GroupDefence Minister Ron Mark announced today the establishment of an Expert Review Group to review a number of aspects of the New Zealand Defence Forceâs (NZDF) structure, information management and record-keeping processes. The Expert Review Groupâs work arises out of the first recommendation from the Report of the Governmentâs Inquiry ...2 weeks ago
- No active community cases of COVID-19There are no active community cases of COVID-19 remaining in the country after the last people from the recent outbreak have recovered from the virus, Health Minister Chris Hipkins said today. âThis is a big milestone. New Zealanders have once again through their collective actions squashed the virus. The systems ...2 weeks ago
- Clean energy upgrade for more public buildingsMore public buildings will be supported by the Government to upgrade to run on clean energy, the Minister for Climate Change James Shaw announced today. Minister Shaw announced that Lincoln and Auckland universities will receive support through the Clean-Powered Public Service Fund to replace fossil fuel boilers. Southern, Taranaki, and ...3 weeks ago
- Schools back donations scheme for the second yearMore schools have opted in to the donations scheme for 2021, compared to 2020 when the scheme was introduced. âThe families of more than 447,000 students will be better off next year, with 94% of eligible schools and kura opting into the scheme,â Education Minister Chris Hipkins said. âThis is ...3 weeks ago
- NZ Markets, Business Welcome Labour's Election Victory
New Zealandâs financial markets and business leaders quickly welcomed the Labour Partyâs resounding victory in last Saturdayâs general election. Labour took 49.1 percent of the votes, up from 36.9 percent in 2017. The conservative opposition National ...2 hours ago - The price of union support for Biden â legislation to shift the balance in US industrial relations
We watched the last debate before the US presidential elections. President Donald Trump was better-behaved and the presence of mute microphones made for a more moderate evening. But apart from a few clashes on health coverage and law and order, the debate â and most of the campaign â has ...4 hours ago - Live updates, October 24: Will we have new Covid-19 cases?
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for October 23. All the latest New Zealand news, updated throughout the day. Reach us at info@thespinoff.co.nz12.30pm: Covid-19 numbers to be updated at 1pmThere’ll be an update from the Ministry of Health this afternoon via press release. Yesterday there were nine new cases announced ...4 hours ago - Recipe: Water kefirAn effervescent fermented beverage a bit like kombucha, water kefir is a refreshing drop for the warmer weather. Here’s how to make it.As I sit here typing, my kids are sitting at the table colouring in, sipping the glasses of water kefir I just photographed for this recipe. Our middle ...5 hours ago
- Investigators find evidence of military role in shooting of Papuan pastor
By Moch. Fiqih Prawira Adjie in Jakarta An Indonesian government-sanctioned joint fact-finding team has reported that it found indications that security forces were involved in the shooting of Papuan pastor Yeremia Zanambani after investigating a series of shootings in Intan Jaya regency, Papua. The team gave its findings to the ...6 hours ago - Emily Writes: Quibi was dumb but I loved it a lotJust six months after going live with much fanfare, streaming service Quibi is shutting down. Emily Writes provides a eulogy to the platform nobody liked.It’s almost shameful to admit it given the chorus of people bagging Quibi, but I tell you – I loved that thing.The criticism of Quibi started ...6 hours ago
- In a rare post-election Beehive announcement, we are encouraged to stay united and strongDo you need encouragement to remain united and strong, either because of the election result, the persistence of Covid-19, the decision that will restrict our ability to watch the America’s Cup – or whatever? The Honourable Aupito William Sio has delivered such encouragement with an announcement headed …Â Tokelau Language ...7 hours ago
- How Sophie Henderson got Baby Done doneThe writer of the acclaimed new Rose Matafeo comedy tells Sam Brooks how her own experiences as an expectant mother inspired the script.When writer-actress Sophie Henderson first started trying to become pregnant with her husband, director and actor Curtis Vowell, she didn’t expect it to happen so fast. She probably ...7 hours ago
- When it all stopped: measuring the impacts of the great lockdown experimentIn 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic prompted New Zealand and much of the world to undertake something few of us had ever contemplated: a near-total lockdown of society. In this Lockdown legacies series, James Dann explores the impacts of those extraordinary measures, intended and otherwise. Today, part one: the lockdown halt.This ...8 hours ago
- NgÄpuhi Challenge Proposed Method Of Distributing Surplus Funds By Te Ohu Kai Moana Trustee LtdStatement from Te RĹŤnanga-Ä-Iwi-Ĺ-NgÄpuhi (TRAION) Chair, Mere Mangu, and NgÄpuhi Asset Holding Company Limited (NAHC) Chair, Jason Witehira. The official position of the NgÄpuhi RĹŤnanga Group is as follows: A proposed amendment to the MÄori ...10 hours ago
- Short story: Enclosure, by Ruby Porter
"There are some things youâre never supposed to say: I donât like sex. I am afraid of my son": a short story by Auckland writer Ruby Porter The first incident was at the zoo. This was back when your husband still loved you, before you had to ...11 hours ago - Silver Ferns take up arms for war with Roses
LISTEN: This week's Extra Time podcast looks at where the Silver Ferns sit in their return to international netball. The Silver Ferns are finally back on court adjusting to life without retired legend of the game Laura Langman. But how are the world netball champions shaping up for their three-test series against ...12 hours ago - Wellington, words and nuns: meet Claire Mabey, festival makerUntil recently, it seemed the Verb literary festival was destined to go the same way as so many live events this Covid-cursed year. Now the festival is all go – and its director can finally breathe out, she tells Michelle Langstone.Claire Mabey did a tarot reading every day during New ...12 hours ago
- The tale of Ian Swney: The spray-can-wielding wage subsidy avengerThe story of how a leisurely bike ride around Hawke’s Bay turned into a one-man rampage against perceived corporate privilege.In the early hours of October 10, in a motel in Napier South, Ian Swney, 62, was struggling to sleep.A semi-retired kindergarten teacher, he’d travelled to Napier from his home in ...12 hours ago
- ASIC chair James Shipton steps aside after adverse finding by Auditor-GeneralSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra James Shipton, chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Corporation, has stood aside after an adverse Audit Office report about $118,557 paid by ASIC on his behalf when he relocated from the US. The Audit ...22 hours ago
- PCF Thanks Vaovasamanaia Rt Hon Winston PetersThe Pacific Co-operation Foundation (PCF) is calling for the people of New Zealand and the Pacific to recognise the significant contribution, made by outgoing Minister for Foreign Affairs Vaovasamanaia Rt Hon Winston Peters, to New Zealandâs diplomatic ...23 hours ago
- Final debate likely changed few minds
It may have been far more civilised than the last one, but Trump vs Biden in today's US Presidential debate was a relatively low-impact event, writes Hayden Thorne The final Presidential debate before November 3âs US election saw a better structured, less personal and more policy-focused debate. Full credit is owed to ...1 day ago - Election 2020: Green Party Negotiation Team Sets Its Terms of ReferenceBy Selwyn Manning – Editor, EveningReport.nz Selwyn Manning, editor of EveningReport.nz. The Green Party has settled on its negotiation team, agreeing to who will represent the party’s members when considering the shape and outcome of talks with the incoming Labour-led Government. The negotiating team has a similar make up to ...1 day ago
- Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily â October 23 2020Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. Today’s content Labour government Peter Dunne (Newsroom):Â At the highwater mark with little wriggle room RNZ: Caucus:Â Explaining The Red Tide: Kiwis hug Jacinda back as Labour breaks records Chris ...1 day ago
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in NZ and he needs to meet Joe Biden the Island Bay octopusAmerican actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt has revealed he’s living and working in New Zealand. What brought him here, and what can he expect from his visit?Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars in Netflix’s new movie The Trial of the Chicago 7, but he could also be appearing in a suburb near you. Last week ...1 day ago
- Children may need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 too. Hereâs what we need to considerSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ketaki Sharma, PhD student, University of Sydney An ideal COVID-19 vaccine would not only protect people from becoming ill, it would also stop the virus spreading through the population. The best way to do this is to vaccinate as many people as ...1 day ago
- Prisons No Place For MaoriThe Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon is pushing for prisons to be run by Iwi. This is reckless and ill thought out. Iwi-run prisons will transfer the punitive functions of the state to MÄori. Running prisons is leveraging off the oppression ...1 day ago
- The Friday Poem: Crumbs between stones by Becky ManawatuA poem by Ockham Award-winning novelist Becky Manawatu.Crumbs between stonesTēnā koe XXXXI am writing to ask you some questions regarding a family harm incident which police responded to on Friday night. What time did the woman make the initial call? What time did police arrive at the scene? Was anyone ...1 day ago
- The Gabba Grand Final: how Queensland fell in love with Australian Rules football againSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steve Georgakis, Senior Lecturer of Pedagogy and Sports Studies, University of Sydney The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruptions to all major sports in Australia, but perhaps the most fascinating â and unlikely â change is the playing of the AFL grand ...1 day ago
- The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending October 23The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND 1 Aroha: Māori Wisdom for a Contented Life Lived in Harmony with our Planet by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin, ...1 day ago
- The strange hijacking of RNZâs US debate previewIt’s normal to feature two different perspectives discussing a major US political set piece. Yet this morning RNZ’s flagship Morning Report hosted two unabashed Trump acolytes ahead of the final debate.At 2pm New Zealand time, the final debate between president Donald Trump and his challenger, Joe Biden, takes place in ...1 day ago
- NZNO Escalates Primary Health Care Strike ActionThe New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) has issued a strike notice today covering some 3200 Primary Health Care (PHC) nurses and receptionist/administration staff across more than 500 practices and accident/medical centres nationwide. The first ...1 day ago
- Live Export Report Is Tinkering Around The EdgesThe Ministry for Primary Industries has today released new requirements for the export of live animals by sea, following recommendations from a review into the animal welfare assurances MPI receives from exporters. The review was led by Mike Heron ...1 day ago
- It isnât hard cheese if the EU gets its way with GIs, chef insists â but dairy exporters are lik...
Kiwi cheese-makers will be wondering which advice they should take from chef Simon Gault. This week he was saying they should stop trying to imitate brie and gouda and focus on producing uniquely New Zealand styles. His advice was given to people watching a webinar arranged by the European Union ...1 day ago - Climate-protected citadels, virtual worlds only for the privileged: is this the future of inequality...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Finch, Adjunct Research Fellow, University of Southern Queensland Imagine visiting the Europe of 2048. The cities are strangely silent. Desperate communities in Paris, London and Berlin struggle in the shadow of hollowed-out buildings. The once-popular coastal resorts have also been abandoned, ...1 day ago
- Congratulations To Labour But There Is A Lot Of Work To Be DoneCongratulations to Labour on an outstanding result in the recent elections. They now have the political capital to make a real difference to New Zealand says Peter Malcolm spokesperson for Income Equality Aotearoa NZ Inc âClosing the Gapâ The ...1 day ago
- Vital Signs: Googleâs huge market share doesnât automatically make it a monopolySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW This week the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) filed a lawsuit accusing Google of using âanticompetitive tactics to maintain and extend its monopolies in the marketsâ for search and advertising. It is the most significant ...1 day ago
- Soft Plastics Get Second Life But More Education NeededNew research as part of New Zealand Recycling Week, has shown that just 1% of Kiwis feel confident about knowing which plastics can be recycled. 75% of those surveyed also thought this lack of knowledge was preventing them from recycling more. This ...1 day ago
- We found the miracle cure for imposter syndromeOn the Rag has been hard at work trying to come up with a foolproof method for overcoming imposter syndrome. This is what it’s come up with.In this month’s episode of of On the Rag, we decided to confront imposter syndrome, aka the horrible demon lurking in many of our ...1 day ago
- FRIDAY POLITICS: A Potentially Costly Hole In The Government's Carbon-auctioning PlanBy editor ADELIA HALLETT | Green Party co-leader James Shaw is still in the running to retain his role as the countryâs climate minister â but that might mean clearing up a bit of a mess of his own making. The Governmentâs surprising decision, reported ...1 day ago
- PNG landowners protest over deep sea tailings waste plan for K18b projectBy Jimmy Kalebe in Lae Landowners are unwavering in their opposition to the deep sea tailings placement (DSTP) method for waste from Papua New Guineaâs proposed K18 billion (NZ$7.7 billion) Wafi-Golpu mine project. They travelled to Lae yesterday from various areas of Morobe which will be affected by the project. ...1 day ago
- PakânâSave Whakatane Workers To Strike Over Lowest Supermarket Wages In Bay Of PlentyWorkers at PakânâSave in Whakatane are taking strike action today over fruitless negotiations with the store owner and low wage rates that fall below comparable industry standards and represent the lowest supermarket wages in Whakatane and the lowest-paid ...1 day ago
- The Fold: Melodie Robinson on bringing live sport back to free-to-airFrom winning two world cups with the Black Ferns to heading up TVNZ’s sports and events department, Melodie Robinson’s career has been one full of remarkable firsts. She joins host Duncan Greive to talk about it on this week’s episode of The Fold.When the Ministry of Education decided to start ...1 day ago
- How high-tech recycling could stop waste batteries becoming the next plastic crisisTo celebrate Recycling Week, Vanessa Young explains the essential role of nano-recycling in making the most of the tiny-scale but potentially harmful waste from batteries, circuit boards and more For most of us recycling means jars, bottles, tins (and the sprint to get the bin out as the truck comes ...1 day ago
- Agreement With Iwi A Milestone For Local GovernmentLocal Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is hailing the first Mana Whakahono Ä Rohe or Iwi Participation Arrangement, between the West Coast Regional Council and Poutini NgÄi Tahu, as a milestone for local government that will empower local kaitiaki. ...1 day ago
- Some School Anti-bullying Programs May Do More Harm Than GoodNew QIMR Berghofer analysis of research on school anti-bullying programs has concluded that programs that encourage student bystanders to intervene may inadvertently harm the children they are aimed at protecting. Lead author and psychologist Dr Karyn ...1 day ago
- The reward for good pandemic leadership: Lessons from Jacinda Ardernâs New Zealand reelectionSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suze Wilson, Senior Lecturer, Executive Development, Massey University The recent reelection of the Jacinda Ardern-led Labour government in New Zealand offers leaders elsewhere a potent lesson about how best to respond to COVID-19. Saving lives is, not surprisingly, a real vote-winner. Ardernâs ...1 day ago
- Asian countries do aged care differently. Hereâs what we can learn from themSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Angelique Chan, Executive Director of the Centre for Ageing Research & Education, Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore This article is part of our series on aged care. You can read the other articles in the series here. Unlike in ...1 day ago
- Set ground rules and keep it intimate: 10 tips for hosting a COVID-safe weddingSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Philip Russo, Associate Professor, Director Cabrini Monash University Department of Nursing Research, Monash University Spring and summer in Australia and the gradual easing of restrictions means we can expect weddings, with more guests, back on the calendar. However, any wedding you plan ...1 day ago
- Why equal health access and outcomes should be a priority for Ardernâs new governmentSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Derrett, Professor, University of Otago New Zealandâs public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic may be the envy of the world, but as the new government looks ahead, potentially with a more progressive lens, it will have to face several challenges ...1 day ago
- Japan plans to dump a million tonnes of radioactive water into the Pacific. But Australia has nuclea...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tilman Ruff, Associate Professor, Education and Learning Unit, Nossal Institute for Global Health, School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne The Japanese government recently announced plans to release into the sea more than 1 million tonnes of radioactive water from ...1 day ago
- Googleâs huge market share doesnât automatically make it a monopolySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW This week the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) filed a lawsuit accusing Google of using âanticompetitive tactics to maintain and extend its monopolies in the marketsâ for search and advertising. It is the most significant ...1 day ago
- A fad, not a solution: âcity dealsâ are pushing universities into high-rise buildingsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Geoff Hanmer, Adjunct Professor of Architecture, University of Adelaide Letâs talk about âcity dealsâ. The Australian government is. Its department of infrastructure website describes them as âa genuine partnership between the three levels of government and the community to work towards a ...1 day ago
- Friday essay: why we need childrenâs life stories like I Am GretaSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Douglas, Professor, Flinders University When a young celebrity writes a memoir or has a biography written about them, a common response is: they are too young. This child or adolescent cannot possibly have lived enough of a life, or have a ...1 day ago
- Andrew Little to prioritise NgÄpuhi if retained as Minister
Labour's Andrew Little wants to give the Treaty Negotiations portfolio another crack, saying his priority will be to reach a settlement with the country's largest iwi NgÄpuhi if he's retained as Minister. ...1 day ago - Live updates, October 23: How representative is our new parliament?Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for October 23. All the latest New Zealand news, updated throughout the day. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz7.45am: How representative is our new parliament?A report this morning from Massey University sociology professor Paul Spoonley explains that while our new parliament is far more representative than ...1 day ago
- The Bulletin: Covidâs back in the community â but has it spread any further?Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: What we know – and what we don’t – about the Covid-19 community cases; an America’s Cup spat threatens how Aucklanders can watch; and late election donations are revealed.It’s now been five days since we learnt that Covid-19 was back in the ...1 day ago
- Business & Investing: Second cannabis firm debuts on NZX
Medicinal cannabis shares start on a high, plus SEEK's job report shows the best month since the pandemic began ...1 day ago - Brexit ho â is a deal in sight?
On again, off again. Then, after British PM Boris Johnsonâs statement that there was no point in continuing negotiations without movement from the EU, there are signals that a trade and economic deal might be possible in the next few weeks. We shall see. But itâs a good moment ...1 day ago - Review: Borat Sagdiyev is back, but is it as funny now we know the punchline?Sacha Baron-Cohen’s most successful character returns to a pandemic-stricken middle America. The formula is the same, but its impact has radically changed, says Duncan Greive.In Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, more commonly known as Borat 2, the ...1 day ago
- The best-selling books at Labour Weekend
This week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by Steve Braunias FICTION 1 Remote Sympathy by Catherine Chidgey (Victoria University Press, $35) The author, not backwards in coming forwards on the Twitter machine: "My new novel Remote Sympathy has gone ...1 day ago - We need to learn from Korea, fast
Beyond the Covid economic shock, New Zealand must focus on long term productivity - and for the best example, we should look to our free trade partner South Korea, writes Dr Murat Ungor. Itâs time for New Zealand to think about long-term growth We could learn important lessons about productivity ...1 day ago - Time to take health inequities seriously
The lack of action on preventing and treating Type 2 diabetes and other conditions that badly affect MÄori and Pasifika must be addressed - for the sake of all, writes Dr Collin Tukuitonga For the money New Zealand spends on health care, the country has a world-class health system. In the ...1 day ago - Softball great leads White Sox into new innings
Roman Gabriel admits he often turns to his wife for advice in his new role as coach of the White Sox softball side, as they begin on their long road to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. They were only 10 years old when they first met. One played softball for Marist ...1 day ago - New Privacy Act designed for data innovation
A new privacy law comes into effect in New Zealand in a matter of weeks and businesses need to consider a privacy check-up to see if they are ready, writes Andrew Patterson If we think back to what we meant by privacy just two decades ago it largely focused on ...1 day ago - Will NZ back Chris Liddell for OECD's top job?
NZ's 'man in the White House' could become our man at the OECD. ...1 day ago - Second outbreak disrupted plans to push app
Health officials asked Cabinet to require businesses to display NZ COVID Tracer QR codes in July, but it took a second outbreak for the display of the codes to become mandatory. ...1 day ago - Is new-look National really more socially conservative?
Analysis: As the vote looked set to swing to the left, National was expected to present a more socially conservative caucus. But thatâs not quite what happened, writes Laura Walters Nationalâs caucus has rebalanced to again represent the âbroad churchâ of opinions on social issues, even if it is a ...1 day ago - My life as a human guinea pig on the Oxford Covid vaccine trialAt the forefront of the race for a coronavirus vaccine are researchers at Oxford University, who are working ‘with great care and due haste’. Six months ago, several hundred volunteers began participation in a clinical trial of the vaccine. Among them was UK-based NZ journalist Richard Adams.I can’t talk now, I ...1 day ago
- For National, umpteen tough questions â and one small ray of lightWhere to next for the National Party? Ben Thomas reviews the post-election wreckage.The National Party is undertaking a review of its campaign. Presumably this will not be to determine the cause of its historic defeat.The cause is well known. The cause screams out from the pages of The New York ...1 day ago
- Kevin Hague: Labour and the Greens must work together. Nature canât waitThe crises of climate, biodiversity and Covid are urgent enough that politicians in both parties need to overcome their reservations and make it happen, writes former Green MP and Forest & Board CEO Kevin Hague.Forest & Bird is strictly politically independent. It’s not our role to say what is best ...2 days ago
- Brave politics for a better future
Jacinda Ardern is a skilled politician who has won a historic victory, but now she needs to shows us a new use for political capital ...2 days ago - SMEs to Ardern: give us more certainty
Newsroom talked to small business owners to find out what they want from the new Government. They want certainty, they want decisiveness - and they (pretty much all) donât want a wealth tax. Cecilia Robinson knows plenty about running small and medium sized enterprises - with or without a pandemic. ...2 days ago - How a climate-concerned Government might act
How a new Government can show itâs serious about tackling climate change, this generationâs nuclear-free moment. David Williams reports Analysis: The Labour Party has swept to power, primarily because of its science-based approach to a global pandemic and its level-headed economic response. The ruling coalition told the so-called team of ...2 days ago - West Papuans will not âbow downâ to Indonesia over independence wishBy RNZ Pacific The United Liberation Movement for West Papua says it is adopting a provisional constitution for a democratic state. The organisation is seeking a referendum in West Papua on independence from Indonesia. The movementâs Legislative Council had been holding its third annual session in Jayapura. It decided that ...2 days ago
- Grattan on Friday: Morrisonâs promised integrity commission canât hide behind COVID much longer ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The government can act super-fast on integrity issues when it wants. On Thursday a Senate estimates committee was told the government-owned Australia Post bought Cartier watches worth $3,000 each for four senior employees as rewards. ...2 days ago
- Does the new Parliament look like us?Analysis - After the election, Parliament will be much more representative than it has been - but it still doesn't fully represent NZ's population, writes Paul Spoonley. ...2 days ago
- Misinformation, complacency to blame for low Waiariki turnout – Labour electorate committee ch...Preliminary election results show only 71 percent of East Coast and 54 percent of Waiariki enrolled voters turned out to vote. The nationwide average was 82.5 percent. ...2 days ago
- Skegg warns against âcomplacency, slacknessâ over Auckland covid fearsBy RNZ News Epidemiologist Sir David Skegg is concerned at the level of complacency the public and government is showing towards covid-19 since the country reverted to alert level 1. It comes following the revelations that an unknowingly infectious person visited an Auckland pub on Friday 16 October, as well ...2 days ago
- Gaming the board: Crown Resorts shows you just canât bet on âindependentâ directorsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natalie Elms, Lecturer, Queensland University of Technology Whatâs the difference between an independent and non-independent director? This question lies at the heart of the scandal embroiling Crown Resorts, Australiaâs largest gaming company, which owns casinos in Melbourne and Perth, and is seeking ...2 days ago
LOL!
The elf thing is always good for silliness. Cf. this digital mock-up of a poster my mate Hemi doctored in 1996 or so: http://feayn.org/~lewis/elf.jpg
L
Ha
that is the best ever thing on the interwebs.
this is also pretty damn funny http://www.mspaintadventures.com/
I don’t often laugh out loud – my wife thinks I’m doing something strange and nasty – thank you
Poor Eric Carmen. First they give a South Park character a name so close to his, and now this. “Boats Against the Current” still nestles somewhere in my vinyl collection.
Lew: That’s gold. Finally something to hurl at pretentious Nirvana fans!!
Captcha: line-item smaller. It’s channelling John Key!!!
Too damn funny. At least you can sleep now…
heh.. I enjoyed that.
That song’s never going to be the same!
NX: That song’s never going to be the same!
Yep, it’s going to be infinitely more enjoyable from today on. Nice one ayb.
Glad you enjoyed it đ
heh – good, but not as good as the Karl Rove animated rap.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0JasZkxCkk&feature=related