OPCW Scandal.

Written By: - Date published: 11:14 am, January 3rd, 2020 - 40 comments
Categories: International, Propaganda, Syria, United Nations - Tags: , ,

No airborne chemical attack in Douma: that was the conclusion reached by Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) inspectors on the ground in Syria. And that’s the conclusion they passed on to their superiors within the supposedly independent UN organisation.

But the OPCW big wigs (it seems) weren’t interested in mere and somewhat pesky facts – they had a narrative to sell. So they published a fraudulent report that justified the US bombing of Syria.

So far, two experts from the OPCW have broken cover, and as whistle blowers, have probably killed any future prospects they may have had in their field of expertise.

Now, do you remember how Robert Fisk was on the ground in Douma, and how he got smeared and dismissed by ‘all and sundry’ when his reporting questioned the notion of there having been a chemical attack? 

Or the boy from the white helmet’s video footage in the hospital…you remember how he spoke at The Hague, and we were told to dismiss what he was saying because he’d obviously been subjected to coercion and it was all just Russian propaganda?

Maybe you were one of those people smeared for not showing appropriate fealty to whatever “truth” was being reported across all western pop media and not a few independent media outlets at the time. Or maybe you were one of those people who delighted in smearing those who displayed skepticism.

I don’t really care at this point which side of that divide you were on. What fucks me off is that we were wilfully ‘played’ in order to garner tacit approval for an illegal military operation that killed people.  It’s a repeating pattern I can only put down to the prevalence of a gullible notion that our elected officials and the various permanent state apparatus that sit behind them are essentially benevolent.

But I digress.

Of course the OPCW whistle blower’s revelations aren’t being reported in pop media because, of course, everything is meant to languish down the memory hole. Maybe you’re happy with that state of affairs. If so, the following links aren’t for you. They are extensive (which is why I haven’t attempted a summary) and result from the work of a frighteningly small number of journalists in the western world who still care about their craft, who seek out facts, and who have managed to find some platform to speak from.

This is the Jonathan Steele article referenced in the linked interview from The Grayzone.

 

 

 

40 comments on “OPCW Scandal. ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. JanM 1
    3 January 2020 at 11:33 am

    Off topic, I know, but can I just express my appreciation for your courtesy in writing your initialism in full at the beginning if your piece. I know it is standard practice in acadaemia but it surprises me how seldom it is honoured on this site.

  2. Poission 2
    3 January 2020 at 11:42 am

    Of course the OPCW whistle blower’s revelations aren’t being reported in pop media because, of course, everything is meant to languish down the memory hole.

    Max Abrahms has been discussing the problem.

    https://twitter.com/MaxAbrahms/status/1210592108568104962

  3. francesca 3
    3 January 2020 at 11:52 am

    Good on you Bill

    It's pretty clear that the OPCW leadership , made up of diplomats rather than scientists has been absolutely subverted by the foreign policy dictates of the major sponsors, US/UK/EU

    If John Bolton could swagger into the very first Sec. General's office and demand he step down, then lobby for his dismissal successfully, the chances of a truly independent body, faithful to science, were not looking good even back then

    Incidentally, NZ also voted for his removal .Cravenly obedient to the US even in Clark's time .After all who wants their economy to "scream"?

    And his removal was unprecedented for a UN official at his level before his term was out.

    So we find out that UN bodies can't be relied on for the truth , and our media for the most part can't be relied on to inform or question, or investigate , or , in this case even to report for godsake, on the scandalous shenanigans at the OPCW

  4. Incognito 4
    3 January 2020 at 11:58 am

    The OPCW should improve their vetting process for prospective inspectors and make sure they are ‘with the program’. Most journalists in the Western world are already on board; the best ones become PR consultants and smear agents spin-doctors for political parties and governments because, you know, they have mortgages to pay off and families to feed. The banality of it all.

  5. Stuart Munro 5
    3 January 2020 at 12:55 pm

    The November meeting of the OPCW considered the allegations.

    • Bill 5.1
      3 January 2020 at 1:55 pm

      No. You're link is quite clear in that France, the UK, the US and others blocked calls for a briefing that would have delved into the controversy around the OPCW report and fact finding mission in Douma. 🙄

      • Stuart Munro 5.1.1
        3 January 2020 at 2:39 pm

        They didn't really see it as a controversy; probably they view it as subversion of a handful of low-level staff. And relatively neutral participants like Canada aren't particularly interested in lending credence to the "controversy".

        Of the many possible stories to be told about Syria, it is significant that those stemming from the populace – the source of any legitimate mandate – are eclipsed by superpower jostling.

        • Bill 5.1.1.1
          3 January 2020 at 3:12 pm

          Two OPCW inspectors, experts in their fields, who were responsible for gathering facts on the ground in Douma and ruling various possibilities in or out, have exhausted all internal avenues for concern/complaint available to them in the OPCW and ended their own careers by going to available media because their analyses and findings were suppressed by management of the OPCW who wrote up and released a fraudulent report.

          Now I fully accept (given the evidence thus far) that the OPCW do not want to acknowledge jack-shit. What I don't accept is that you can put this down to "superpower" jostling – information is coming from the OPCW's own inspectors and what they alledge strikes to the heart of the UN in terms of integrity and impartiality.

          And that's before we look at the apparent complicity of a now utterly silent media that waved it's arms night and day spinning narratives in support of military intervention and regime change while more or less completely blanking any counter narrative from the airwaves. (Fisk was far from the only journalist smeared, derided and marginalised for their on the ground reporting from Syria)

          • Stuart Munro 5.1.1.1.1
            3 January 2020 at 3:22 pm

            Oh please – a bloke as cynical as you are of the NED ought to treat these "independent news sources" with a little care.News is not a self-funding enterprise, and news that favours Putin does not surface coincidentally.

            The human stories in the wake of regime bombings or shellings are not being reported. So why stories positing scandals in the OPCW? They haven't had such problems historically – only since they found against Russia.

            [Again with the gas lighting! 🙄 You strike me as an irredeemable idiot who really needs to fuck the fuck off back to the petri dish of thoughtless slime and kool aid from whence you came. And if you need a little helping hand on that front, then I’ll be happy enough to oblige. Any further comment by you on this post will be read as you requiring that helping hand.]

  6. Bazza64 6
    3 January 2020 at 1:44 pm

    Thanks for the post Bill. Some people don't consider Robert Fisk is entirely independent in his reporting of the Syrian conflict https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/syria-dispatches-robert-fisks-independence/

    Also Robert Fisk's truthfulness in reporting has been questioned in the past http://hurryupharry.org/2012/03/23/robert-fisk-makes-things-up/

    I agree that the Syrian conflict is a complex mess, so I am always unsure who to believe when it comes to this.

    • Bill 6.1
      3 January 2020 at 2:09 pm

      Like I wrote in the post, Fisk was smeared 'by all and sundry' for his reporting from Douma (btw – there were other western reporters in the area reporting the same thing as Fisk).

      It's down to you to make a judgement call on the veracity of the sources you linked (Y'know, like do a simple google search on authors and take any possible bias on their part into account)

      • Bazza64 6.1.1
        3 January 2020 at 2:59 pm

        I agree the authors may have bias, but Robert Fisk has been accused of bias towards Bashar Al-Assad & being in that regimes pocket.

        Hard to know who could be considered totally untainted in this matter.

        • Bill 6.1.1.1
          3 January 2020 at 3:22 pm

          lol – anyone who questioned the dominant pop narrative on Syria was accused of being an Assadist (myself included). So I struggle to see how much of any store can be put in such accusations.

          • Bazza64 6.1.1.1.1
            3 January 2020 at 4:26 pm

            Of course anyone you disagree with is biased. Anyone who disagrees with you has just "smeared all & sundry" as you put it. Like I have said my links may have bias, but of course yours are impeccable.

            I don't know how you can accept what Fisk reports without accepting that he too may be biased & may not be lilly white in this reporting. But of course your posts can't be subject to any criticism.

            • Bill 6.1.1.1.1.1
              3 January 2020 at 4:36 pm

              Anyone who disagrees with me may be right or may be wrong. Same goes for anyone who agrees with me. The main link I provided is from a source that's proven itself to be consistent over time in terms of integrity and honesty (the grayzone).

              And as I pointed out before, Fisk was far from the only person smeared for "inconvenient" reporting from Syria.

              But, y'know, like a few others, you seem to be missing the point that the post, although compiled by me, isn't about me. It's about OPCW inspectors turned whistleblowers, a fraudulent report that was used to justify illegal bombing and media complicity in peddling a false narrative and cover up (amongst other things).

              When people commenting begin to focus in on me, then I just reasonably assume they have nothing of worth to say about the matter at hand.

        • francesca 6.1.1.2
          3 January 2020 at 3:47 pm

          Peter Hitchens has also drawn attention to the whistleblowing scandal at the OPCW, and he cannot be considered a fan of Assad

          Jonathan Steele, now working for Middle East Eye, and previously a senior writer for the Guardian has also come out to highlight this story of OPCW malfeasance

          Most recently, this new article by Robert Fisk in the Independent

          Some editor has given it a thoroughly ambiguous heading , and Fisk is skating pretty close to the ice as far as continuing publication goes

          Robert Fisk Chemical warfare bodies, be wary of Syrian war propaganda

          "The most recent information – published on WikiLeaks, in a report from Hitchens again and from Jonathan Steele, a former senior foreign correspondent for The Guardian – suggests that the OPCW suppressed or failed to publish, or simply preferred to ignore, the conclusions of up to 20 other members of its staff who became so upset at what they regarded as the misleading conclusions of the final report that they officially sought to have it changed in order to represent the truth."

          This 20 team members is a little more than an individual "outlier" or a handful of dissidents

          Its pretty much the whole team, toxicologists, ballistic experts and engineers included.

          I dont think it can be brushed off as a minor squabble

          Too bad if it suits Putin, sometimes the truth has unintended consequences

  7. Siobhan 7
    3 January 2020 at 2:20 pm

    " It’s a repeating pattern I can only put down to the prevalence of a gullible notion that our elected officials and the various permanent state apparatus that sit behind them are essentially benevolent.

    But I digress."

    I confess, I have next to no real understanding on the Syrian conflict. However thats no digression Bill..thats a core truth that could be put up on an almost daily basis on pretty much each and every issue that gets worked over on TS.

    The following link…"Pushback with Aaron Maté Journalist Tareq Haddad explains his decision to resign from Newsweek over its refusal to cover the OPCW's unfolding Syria scandal. According to whistleblower testimony and leaked documents, OPCW officials raised alarm about the suppression of critical findings that undermine the allegation that the Syrian government committed a chemical weapons attack in the city of Douma in April 2018. Haddad's editors at Newsweek rejected his attempts to cover the story. "If I don’t find another position in journalism because of this, I’m perfectly happy to accept that consequence," Haddad says. "It’s not desirable. But there is no way I could have continued in that job knowing that I couldn’t report something like this."

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o6RA6C2WDM

  8. Adrian Thornton 8
    3 January 2020 at 2:45 pm

    Thanks Bill, on mark as usual.

    A deafening silence from the usual suspects on this site speaks volumes…enough said.

    • gsays 8.1
      3 January 2020 at 3:02 pm

      I am not sure which is the most worrying.. the lies, smearing and cover-up from the PTB, or the attitude of folk here in TS.

      When something like the 'chemical attack', the poisoning of a double spy, (heaven forbid) 9/11 etc, sides are drawn up and the truth goes out the window. It's an almost coordinated effort to harangue, undermine and bully the 'others'.

    • McFlock 8.2
      3 January 2020 at 3:19 pm

      Speaking for this usual suspect, it says loudly that I'm not going to get into an eternal and even-more-pointless-than-usual-debate with Bill on his own damned post.

      He has his reckons and interpretations, I have mine.

      • Bill 8.2.1
        3 January 2020 at 3:38 pm

        That's good (not wanting eternal debate). If you read and watch the links provided in the post you'll be availing yourself of hitherto unknown facts to pin (or re-pin)any "reckons and interpretations" to. And I fully accept you might rather not do that. Hope your day's jollying along nicely.

        • McFlock 8.2.1.1
          3 January 2020 at 3:56 pm

          As far as I can see going through the text links, there's no new contribution to the discussion.

      • Brigid 8.2.2
        3 January 2020 at 3:50 pm

        "He has his reckons and interpretations"

        No

        Bill has integrity, honesty and cares about writing the truth. Is there anything that he's written that can be proved false?

        On this issue it must not be relegated to a mere debate. It's about the OPCW Douma scandal.

        It's more important than your or anyone's ego.

        • McFlock 8.2.2.1
          3 January 2020 at 4:10 pm

          Proving a falsehood is a joke.

          What it comes down to is how much weight each person puts on each piece of the evidence, and the interpretations of that evidence.

          The only common point of agreement that I can see is that someone has sowed liberal amounts of bullshit into the global discussion on the incident, and presented that bullshit as fact.

          You call it a "scandal". We can see where you judge the weight of evidence. I, on the other hand, am put in mind of a colleague who wanted to put off release of a report purely on a semantic point that nobody else thought was particularly important. In the OPCW case, the final report was amended to lessen those concerns.

          Both sides had form for chemical attacks. People died from something other than bullets and other bang-bangs. One side in particular has form for building, stockpiling, and using chemical weapons, and their key ally has form for bullshitting about such events. If they happen to be innocent of this one attack (which I am inclined to think they did, for the above reasons), then the fairytale "the murderer who cried wolf" has a handy lesson for them.

          • Bill 8.2.2.1.1
            3 January 2020 at 4:21 pm

            In the OPCW case, the final report was amended to incorporate those concerns.

            McFlock. You jumped onto this thread claiming you didn't want to debate. You then claimed you'd explored the links. But if you had, then you simply couldn't have written what you just did – unless black is white, up is down and in is out…

            The OPCW report isn't contested because of semantics, but because the inspectors technical and scientific findings were variously altered or omitted and a fraudulent report released.

            • McFlock 8.2.2.1.1.1
              3 January 2020 at 4:32 pm

              Yeah, I had difficulty finding the right wording, edited/settled on "lessened". In previous discussions, it was pointed out that the wording was changed from a categorical certainty down to a likelihood. Which is routine when one author responsible for a narrow part of a report has concerns about how their part is interpreted, but doesn't necessarily know what other evidence is available.

              As for your second paragraph, that interpretive hyperbole ("fraudulent") is why I didn't want to get involved. But then Adrian took silence as validation. So damned if I do, damned if I don't.

              • Bill …
                3 January 2020 at 4:46 pm

                The term "fraud" is employed in both links, and in the text link by none other than the second whistleblower – Most of the Douma team felt the two reports on the incident, the Interim Report and the Final Report, were scientifically impoverished, procedurally irregular and possibly fraudulent”, he said.

                The video link is more assertive on that front.

                Regardless, you'll note he refers to "most of the Douma team", yes? (So not "one author" as you suggest). And the expertise of other the whistleblower whose findings were suppressed was ballistics, not chemicals. The findings from those two inspectors dove tail with one another, and their findings are at direct odds with the reports released by the OPCW – reports that are meant to be based on the findings of its inspectors.

                • McFlock …
                  3 January 2020 at 4:59 pm

                  sigh.

                  Nice illustration – you put so much weight on the "fraudulent" the "possibly" disappeared. And whistleblower is singular – what that person reports the rest of their team feels is still based on that single person's say-so. One member of that team = one author.

                  This really isn't going to get us anywhere.

                  • Bill …
                    3 January 2020 at 5:17 pm

                    Number of whistle blowers? Two. When documents claiming to be based on facts are based on deliberately curated fictions, that's fraud. (Not just according to me)

                    And you seem to be suggesting that unless the entire team of inspectors step out as whistleblowers, then the two that have stepped forward with hard evidence should be treated with caution and suspicion.

                    I know you want to hang on to your "reckons and interpretations", and you know as well as I, that involves denying there's anything of substance coming to the surface vis a vis the OPCW reports.

                    That's your prerogative.

                    • McFlock …
                      3 January 2020 at 5:36 pm

                      Why shouldn't two members of a team be treated with any less caution than the board that released the final document?

                      The trouble is that concerns get inflated in the retelling, and "deliberately curated fiction" is another inflation from "scientifically impoverished, procedurally irregular and possibly fraudulent”. Which in itself might be an inflation.

                      And yes, I would have been more persuaded months ago if everyone in the team with concerns had come forward – or maybe they have, and the 2nd whistleblower is inflating the concerns within the team.

                      There's nothing that hasn't been rehashed for months. All that's happened lately is the report went to committee and the committee received it, with most of the international players following their scripted path, and everyone here following a fresh round their own dance.

                    • In Vino …
                      3 January 2020 at 7:43 pm

                      But just one question, McFlock. Do you apply to stories emanating from the proven liars in the Western, Capitalist Media the same devastating standards you apply to any news you consider to be pro-Russian in origin?

                      In 1964 I drank in innocently the full story of the Tonkin Gulf Incident. I have learnt quite a lot about the pernicious duplicity of Western news media since. (Weapons of Mass Destruction just the easiest example..) I cannot quite figure why you seem to accept the western version of things in Syria, and apply your cynicism only to people like Robert Fisk, whom I see as probably blowing a justified whistle.

                    • McFlock …
                      3 January 2020 at 10:47 pm

                      Depends on which actor in the "Western, Capitalist Media" we're talking about, and which issue they're discussing. Some seem sober on many issues, others excitable, some are just as bullshitty as RT.

                      And then there's the distinction between the headline and content…

                    • In Vino …
                      3 January 2020 at 11:09 pm

                      "some seem sober"..

                      Don't really trust them that much myself. Maybe you have more youthful optimism? A Capitalist system is pretty good at eradicating any non-capitalist element anywhere at all, and the thin veneer of objectivity that is feigned does not convince me. Can you give any convincing proof of our Western media being more honest than other media? I fear that we gave up that thin pretence long ago.

                      I have decided that I prefer to distrust our media instinctively because they constantly prove themselves worthy of that distrust.

                    • McFlock …
                      3 January 2020 at 11:22 pm

                      Oh, I'm pretty sure the size of the Auusie fires is generally accurately reported. I quite like Fisk, and the fact that his latest article uses stronger language than previously is interesting, but it's not the same level of conviction that commenters here seem to have.

    • Psycho Milt 8.3
      3 January 2020 at 4:16 pm

      A deafening silence from the usual suspects on this site speaks volumes…

      Bollocks. I don't bother disputing anything Bill writes these days, for reasons made obvious in comment 5.1.1.1.1 above.

  9. Brigid 9
    3 January 2020 at 3:35 pm

    Thanks Bill

    What is tragic but rarely referred to, is, what did the so called victims die of?

    When photos of these dead people were shown to Douma locals they said they were not known locally. (Cant find the link atm) So who were they?

    The OPCW obviously has no interest in finding out.

    It's all quite disgusting.

    • Bill 9.1
      3 January 2020 at 3:45 pm

      Yeah. The victims thing is disturbing. The OPCW inspectors determined that the video footage of victims didn't fit with chlorine poisoning. That aside, there was footage (unrelated to Douma) of civilian bodies being strategically laid out on a floor, presumably for yet another white helmet's propaganda video. One was still alive and shot where they lay – a spreading blood stain coming through the blanket that covered them.

  10. Sacha 10
    3 January 2020 at 9:04 pm

    There was no chemical attack in Douma.

    So what changes?

    And how does it compare with the impact of Soleimani's killing?

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    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • DAVID FARRAR: Hysterical bullshit
    Radio NZ reports: Te Pāti Māori’s co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has accused the new government of “deliberate .. systemic genocide” over its policies to roll back the smokefree policy and the Māori Health Authority. The left love hysterical language. If you oppose racial quotas in laws, you are a racist. And now if you sack ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #48 2023
    Open access notables From this week's government/NGO section, longitudinal data is gold and Leisorowitz, Maibachi et al. continue to mine ore from the US public with Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, Fall 2023: Drawing on a representative sample of the U.S. adult population, the authors describe how registered ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • ELE LUDEMANN: It wasn’t just $55 million
    Ele Ludemann writes –  Winston Peters reckons media outlets were bribed by the $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund. He is not the first to make such an accusation. Last year, the Platform outlined conditions media signed up to in return for funds from the PJIF: . . . ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Weekly Roundup 1-December-2023
    Wow, it’s December already, and it’s a Friday. So here are few things that caught our attention recently. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt covered the new government’s coalition agreements and what they mean for transport. On Tuesday Matt looked at AT’s plans for fare increases ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago

  • Shane MacGowan Is Gone.
    Late 1996, The Dogs Bollix, Tamaki Makaurau.I’m at the front of the bar yelling my order to the bartender, jostling with other thirsty punters on a Friday night, keen to piss their wages up against a wall letting loose. The black stuff, long luscious pints of creamy goodness. Back down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 1
    Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop and other National, ACT and NZ First MPs applaud the signing of the coalition agreements, which included the reversal of anti-smoking measures while accelerating tax cuts for landlords. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • 2023 More Reading: November (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for November: A Modern Utopia, by H.G. Wells The Vampire (poem), by Heinrich August Ossenfelder The Corpus Hermeticum The Corpus Hermeticum is Mead’s translation. Now, this is indeed a very quiet month for reading. But there is a reason for that… You see, ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    4 days ago

  • Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies.The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. They also describe the processes of the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    5 days ago

  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Finally
    Henry Kissinger is finally dead. Good fucking riddance. While Americans loved him, he was a war criminal, responsible for most of the atrocities of the final quarter of the twentieth century. Cambodia. Bangladesh. Chile. East Timor. All Kissinger. Because of these crimes, Americans revere him as a "statesman" (which says ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • Government in a hurry – Luxon lists 49 priorities in 100-day plan while Peters pledges to strength...
    Buzz from the Beehive Yes, ministers in the new government are delivering speeches and releasing press statements. But the message on the government’s official website was the same as it has been for the past several days, when Point of Order went looking for news from the Beehive that had ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • DAVID FARRAR: Luxon is absolutely right
    David Farrar writes  –  1 News reports: Christopher Luxon says he was told by some Kiwis on the campaign trail they “didn’t know” the difference between Waka Kotahi, Te Pūkenga and Te Whatu Ora. Speaking to Breakfast, the incoming prime minister said having English first on government agencies will “make sure” ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Top 10 at 10 am for Thursday, Nov 30
    There are fears that mooted changes to building consent liability could end up driving the building industry into an uninsured hole. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Thursday, November 30, including:The new Government’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on how climate change threatens cricket‘s future
    Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, M Christopher Luxon has started blaming everyone else, and complaining that he has inherited “economic vandalism on an unprecedented scale” – which is how most of us are ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    5 days ago

  • We need to talk about Tory.
    The first I knew of the news about Tory Whanau was when a tweet came up in my feed.The sort of tweet that makes you question humanity, or at least why you bother with Twitter. Which is increasingly a cesspit of vile inhabitants who lurk spreading negativity, hate, and every ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Dangling Transport Solutions
    Cable Cars, Gondolas, Ropeways and Aerial Trams are all names for essentially the same technology and the world’s biggest maker of them are here to sell them as an public transport solution. Stuff reports: Austrian cable car company Doppelmayr has launched its case for adding aerial cable cars to New ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    5 days ago

  • November AMA
    Hi,It’s been awhile since I’ve done an Ask-Me-Anything on here, so today’s the day. Ask anything you like in the comments section, and I’ll be checking in today and tomorrow to answer.Leave a commentNext week I’ll be giving away a bunch of these Mister Organ blu-rays for readers in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago

  • National’s early moves adding to cost of living pressure
    The cost of living grind continues, and the economic and inflation honeymoon is over before it began. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: PM Christopher Luxon unveiled his 100 day plan yesterday with an avowed focus of reducing cost-of-living pressures, but his Government’s initial moves and promises are actually elevating ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Backwards to the future
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has confirmed that it will be back to the future on planning legislation. This will be just one of a number of moves which will see the new government go backwards as it repeals and cost-cuts its way into power. They will completely repeal one ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • New initiatives in science and technology could point the way ahead for Luxon government
    As the new government settles into the Beehive, expectations are high that it can sort out some  of  the  economic issues  confronting  New Zealand. It may take time for some new  ministers to get to grips with the range of their portfolio work and responsibilities before they can launch the  changes that  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    6 days ago

  • Treaty pledge to secure funding is contentious – but is Peters being pursued by a lynch mob after ...
    TV3 political editor Jenna Lynch was among the corps of political reporters who bridled, when Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told them what he thinks of them (which is not much). She was unabashed about letting her audience know she had bridled. More usefully, she drew attention to something which ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • How long does this last?
    I have a clear memory of every election since 1969 in this plucky little nation of ours. I swear I cannot recall a single one where the question being asked repeatedly in the first week of the new government was: how long do you reckon they’ll last? And that includes all ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • National’s giveaway politics
    We already know that national plans to boost smoking rates to collect more tobacco tax so they can give huge tax-cuts to mega-landlords. But this morning that policy got even more obscene - because it turns out that the tax cut is retrospective: Residential landlords will be able to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: Who’s driving the right-wing bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In 2023, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • GRAHAM ADAMS:  Media knives flashing for Luxon’s government
    The fear and loathing among legacy journalists is astonishing Graham Adams writes – No one is going to die wondering how some of the nation’s most influential journalists personally view the new National-led government. It has become abundantly clear within a few days of the coalition agreements ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    6 days ago

  • Top 10 news links for Wednesday, Nov 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere for Wednesday November 29, including:The early return of interest deductibility for landlords could see rebates paid on previous taxes and the cost increase to $3 billion from National’s initial estimate of $2.1 billion, CTU Economist Craig Renney estimated here last ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Smokefree Fallout and a High Profile Resignation.
    The day after being sworn in the new cabinet met yesterday, to enjoy their honeymoon phase. You remember, that period after a new government takes power where the country, and the media, are optimistic about them, because they haven’t had a chance to stuff anything about yet.Sadly the nuptials complete ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • As Cabinet revs up, building plans go on hold
    Wellington Council hoardings proclaim its preparations for population growth, but around the country councils are putting things on hold in the absence of clear funding pathways for infrastructure, and despite exploding migrant numbers. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Cabinet meets in earnest today to consider the new Government’s 100-day ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • National takes over infrastructure
    Though New Zealand First may have had ambitions to run the infrastructure portfolios, National would seem to have ended up firmly in control of them.  POLITIK has obtained a private memo to members of Infrastructure NZ yesterday, which shows that the peak organisation for infrastructure sees  National MPs Chris ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • At a glance – Evidence for global warming
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    7 days ago

  • Who’s Driving The Right-Wing Bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago

  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • National’s murderous smoking policy
    One of the big underlying problems in our political system is the prevalence of short-term thinking, most usually seen in the periodic massive infrastructure failures at a local government level caused by them skimping on maintenance to Keep Rates Low. But the new government has given us a new example, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago

  • NZ has a chance to rise again as our new government gets spending under control
    New Zealand has  a chance  to  rise  again. Under the  previous  government, the  number of New Zealanders below the poverty line was increasing  year by year. The Luxon-led government  must reverse that trend – and set about stabilising  the  pillars  of the economy. After the  mismanagement  of the outgoing government created   huge ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    7 days ago

  • KARL DU FRESNE: Media and the new government
    Two articles by Karl du Fresne bring media coverage of the new government into considerations.  He writes –    Tuesday, November 28, 2023 The left-wing media needed a line of attack, and they found one The left-wing media pack wasted no time identifying the new government’s weakest point. Seething over ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago

  • PHILIP CRUMP:  Team of rivals – a CEO approach to government leadership
    The work begins Philip Crump wrote this article ahead of the new government being sworn in yesterday – Later today the new National-led coalition government will be sworn in, and the hard work begins. At the core of government will be three men – each a leader ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago

  • Black Friday
    As everyone who watches television or is on the mailing list for any of our major stores will confirm, “Black Friday” has become the longest running commercial extravaganza and celebration in our history. Although its origins are obscure (presumably dreamt up by American salesmen a few years ago), it has ...
    Bryan GouldBy Bryan Gould
    7 days ago

  • In Defense of the Media.
    Yesterday the Ministers in the next government were sworn in by our Governor General. A day of tradition and ceremony, of decorum and respect. Usually.But yesterday Winston Peters, the incoming Deputy Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister, of our nation used it, as he did with the signing of the coalition ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago

  • Top 10 news links at 10 am for Tuesday, Nov 28
    Nicola Willis’ first move was ‘spilling the tea’ on what she called the ‘sobering’ state of the nation’s books, but she had better be able to back that up in the HYEFU. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago

  • PT use up but fare increases coming
    Yesterday Auckland Transport were celebrating, as the most recent Sunday was the busiest Sunday they’ve ever had. That’s a great outcome and I’m sure the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    1 week ago

  • The very opposite of social investment
    Nicola Willis (in blue) at the signing of the coalition agreement, before being sworn in as both Finance Minister and Social Investment Minister. National’s plan to unwind anti-smoking measures will benefit her in the first role, but how does it stack up from a social investment viewpoint? Photo: Lynn Grieveson ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Giving Tuesday
    For the first time "in history" we decided to jump on the "Giving Tuesday" bandwagon in order to make you aware of the options you have to contribute to our work! Projects supported by Skeptical Science Inc. Skeptical Science Skeptical Science is an all-volunteer organization but ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Let's open the books with Nicotine Willis
    Let’s say it’s 1984,and there's a dreary little nation at the bottom of the Pacific whose name rhymes with New Zealand,and they've just had an election.Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, will you look at the state of these books we’ve opened,cries the incoming government, will you look at all this mountain ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • Climate Change: Stopping oil
    National is promising to bring back offshore oil and gas drilling. Naturally, the Greens have organised a petition campaign to try and stop them. You should sign it - every little bit helps, and as the struggle over mining conservation land showed, even National can be deterred if enough people ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Further humanitarian support for Gaza, the West Bank and Israel
    The Government is contributing a further $5 million to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, bringing New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response so far to $10 million. “New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

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