Have just got the book 33 revolutions a minute from the library, and we are using it to do a quick research project on one song a week. Music, history and social conscience – what more could you ask for in a lesson plan?
One of the points that was brought up during discussions, was that in those lynching photos you could very easily cut images out that indicated an entirely different occasion to what was going on.
Many people smiling, laughing and socialising while human beings were tortured.
We also discussed the importance of recognising this disconnect today, even if it presents in a less visceral way.
Plenty of people got burned to death in Indochina, but it’s apparently OK if the napalm is launched from a gun or from the air. It’s barbaric to do it up close and personal. This is the same attitude that the seppos had 150 years ago, where they said Mexicans were cowards who used knives. While they stood 20 yards apart and tried to hit each other with Colt Peacemakers. Except that apparently most victims got shot in the back. The American national myth allows them to keep killing, while our own myth of peaceful colonisation allows us to keep denying Maori.
“..Burning Victims to Death: Still a Common Practice..”
..The most immediate consequence of drone strikes is of course – death and injury to those targeted or near a strike.
The missiles fired from drones kill or injure in several ways – including through incineration[3] – shrapnel – and the release of powerful blast waves capable of crushing internal organs.
Those who do survive drone strikes often suffer disfiguring burns and shrapnel wounds – limb amputations – as well as vision and hearing loss. . . .
In addition – because the Hellfire missiles fired from drones often incinerate the victims’ bodies – and leave them in pieces and unidentifiable –
– traditional burial processes are rendered impossible.
‘..These missiles are very powerful.
They destroy human beings . . .
There is nobody left – and small pieces left behind.
Pieces.
Whatever is left is just little pieces of bodies and cloth’.
A doctor who has treated drone victims described how ‘[s]kin is burned so that you can’t tell cattle from human’..”
A UK court vindicated Edward Snowden’s whistleblowing on Friday by ruling that the secrecy surrounding one of the programs he exposed was, in fact, illegal. The decision is more evidence that not only were the Snowden revelations necessary and justified, but are also slowly forcing changes in both US and UK, even as both governments fiercely resist.
In a stunning ruling, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) – which oversees (and usually rubber stamps) Britain’s spy agencies – declared that the intelligence-sharing rules between the NSA and GCHQ (Britain’s NSA equivalent and partner-in-crime) governing their mass surveillance program violated UK human rights laws because they were kept secret for so long.
I have been wondering about Karol’s absence too, Rosie. I have only had time to skim TS most days recently, but her absence jumped out. It seems her last comment was on Jan 14.
She is having a timeout after some backend disagreements about some political points between some authors and probably exacerbated by author/commenting fatigue. The former is inevitable when we have strong-willed writing from different standpoints. The latter is just a fact of life, I’ve had several bouts of it over the last seven years myself.
I’m hoping it isn’t permanent but it could be.
It is a major effort for an author and even commenters to keep writing. Eventually you wind up saying all you have to say. You are also progressively naturally less able to tolerate the eternal repetitive disagreements that arise in comments or between authors (anyone who reads my comments is aware that I suffer from that a lot). That or work / family balances are the main reasons why authors drop out of writing.
It is a natural progression, and why we have so many ex-authors.
I try to keep the environment as friendly to authors as I can without making it too prescriptive and constraining the argument between different view points. Sometimes it doesn’t work, especially when I get busy at my paid employment.
Indeed. But I have learnt over the years that when authors decide to stop or go, then they seldom do it lightly. I don’t try to talk them out of it. I just accept that is what they feel they have to do. Usually the first I know about is when they write a post and I read it in draft or when it posts.
One of the things about putting in an authors discussion area is that they tend to do it there now.
Thanks for taking the time to let us know where karol is at, Lynn.
I always appreciated her on -the- ground – looking- upwards way of viewing things. She came across as community centred rather than pure politics, party and parliamentary.
I also appreciate that authors are taking precious time out of their private lives, and that sometimes author time could cross over into work time. Considerable thought and analysis seems to go into author posts. I don’t know where folks get the energy from, I battle with so much fatigue some days and can’t even think to write anything coherent let alone get involved in a tiring conversation.
It’s a real labour of love from TS authors and readers here and overseas benefit from such effort and service, so thank you all (graceful bow) for all you do. What would we do without you?
And keep up “the strong willed writing from different standpoints” 🙂 It helps keep readers alert to different ways of viewing an issue.
I hope Labour and Green politicians are listening to this morning’s “Media Watch” – in particular Ruth Harley’s view on NZoA/funding et al. It’s taken her 25 years to come to her senses but I’m glad she has, and she has the experience to state that view. Link not up atm/yet
Our whole PSB needs a fucking big shakeup, and something more ambitious than the CBB advocates (though don’t get me wrong – I support them)
I agree, and over the years I’ve become sick to death of the old excuse “we don’t have a big enough population….blah blah blah” ….. We do, and its just a question of how we choose to fund it. (CBB and its predecessor Save TVNZ7 provide SOME options – and VicUni’s Peter Thompson could give the pollies a quick primer).
We also don’t need huge overpaid bureaucracies to do it as though it needs to be a ‘commercial enterprise’. As I say, I’m glad Ruth H has come to her senses – I know people who’ve been telling her what she now preaches for 20 years – but she’s the perfect person to continue to advocate.
Disregard the cost, it’s essential given the bias owned nature of all MSM today if we want to be informed without spin or corporate influence.
Look at how Murdoch has Abbott attacking the ABC via budget cuts and appointing mates as ABC and SBS show up the rest for what they are, owned entities with agendas not aligned to the Aussie fair go battler ethos.
It quite cheap if you carve up TVNZ with TV2 taking the high rating commercial material and funding TV1 which goes into PBS mode, plenty of talent around to staff it once you purge the ego cult exemplified by rawdon, mikey and all the highly paid auto cue readers.
I don’t disagree @tc. But to the Natzis, there’s something fundamentally wrong with having a commercial arm ‘subsidising’ PSB – even tho’ they’re quite happy with PSB funded intellectual property subsidising private enterprise (the Sky monopoly….Heartland, etc., etc., etc.)
And as for RNZ … the problem there is pretty much the same thing that’s afflicting the BBC, AND the current Abbotabad gubbamint’s ABC/SBS intentions: ideological tory managerialism.
Oh btw …. don’t blame WallArse … despite the Fiji-colonial background, his romantic notions of a past, disabilities and hip pain, etc. [IS Frank REALLY that bad? …. etc. : yes he ekshully IS!] – as well as Esmeralda’s and Pete George beige-suited lookalikes in their twilight years semi-functioning on the Kepty Coast aside; OR the Christies (2 of – Damian and Rawdyrawdy) and Beckbenchas et al. They’ve done more good than bad. There’s a few others as well. It’s more to do with the environment they work in; the corporate culture they’re immersed in; the ‘in crowd’ they have to associate with – all that kaka. I’m happy to just let it all play out in some ways but for the fact I’m running out of life. In death tho’ I can see the inevitable and it ain’t pretty.
Part of the responsibility for the joke rests with us. It is alarmingly easy for us to get preoccupied with the latest events and sideshows while losing our critical faculties and our immediate memories where the media is concerned. An outstanding difference from the general fluff that passes for information was Wayne Brittenden’s Counterpoint . While it was on , many of us expressed our appreciation of his unflinching analyses that were a huge departure from the norm and often connected dots with a amazing clarity on an astonishing diversity of subjects. Two weeks ago I raised a concern that , unless he is unwell or on holiday, he has been quietly canned. I say ” quietly” because no one else appears to have noticed the Orwellian dissolve . There was no announcement last year that he would not be returning and nothing mentioned about his disappearance in his usual Sunday slot when the programme returned three Sundays ago.
+1
I’ve been wondering why the absence too. I was going to ask RNZ (via a back door) – he may just be doing other things, but nothing would surprise me given the ‘trend’
I have since called an RNZ insider of my acquaintance who confirmed that Brittenden has indeed been canned . It would seem that certain embassies were unhappy with his content even though they have never been able to challenge its well researched accuracy . His work on the TPPA apparently upset some in high places ….. Interesting that the NY Times earlier this month published a feature by Professor Stiglitz that brought out the very same points about the TPPA that Brittenden gave us very much earlier. How sad that our public broadcaster is more squeamish than the NY Times! My informant told me that Brittenden’s programme was rated highly by listeners , but not , it seems, by certain well-placed people who would rather see him silenced. Ditto for a lightweight presenter who often found himself out of his intellectual depth.
yep well – not surprising ….. se above: re ideological tory managerialism.
Cowards really when it comes down to it. But ….. swing low sweat chariot – the pendulum swings and the harder to the right – the more momentum it has when it reaches its limit and begins its swing left again.
Who to blame? Well those that wind up the mechanism. Lessons never seem to get ‘learned’ do they?! OR as they say (Bridges et al) …. “learnings” – which in itself is an attempt at manipulation.
People continue to tolerate, but only because they have mortgages to pay and lifestyles to maintain. Trouble is those lifestyles and mortgages are getting harder for the 99% (soon to become 99.9% plebians). I already smell the fear …. but tuff shit – I’ll waste my sympathy on the more deserving.
Hopefully you’ll get my meaning
Another pro Medpot blog post, this time about a woman with CRPS, (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) widely regarded as the worst pain disorder in existence. The R in CRPS for regional could be subtracted in her case….
Prime Minister John Key has set out his case for changing the flag at his annual Waitangi Day breakfast address this morning – and admitted to a touch of envy over the ease with which Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has made the same decision.” jeez i missed that one! http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11397526
“For that reason, it may serve Iraq better if the international community diverted its support into helping Abadi establish good governance. And in that holistic area, New Zealand has strengths. ”
Except that we don’t have strengths in that area any more. As shown by Dirty Politics, FJK’s lies, and the stone arachnid saga, our governance is incredibly weak.
“In a conflict that has absorbed 10 years and $250bn of US time and money I’m not sure what it is that we are expected to contribute,” – Labour’s Andrew Little.
It appears that Andrew Little needs to get better advisors:
FYI folks – here is a link to the ‘Open Letter /OIA request that i sent to the Local Government Commissioners on 4 February 2015, which should help TORPEDO their ‘Draft Wellington Reorganisation Proposal’, and help STOP the Wellington ‘Supercity’?
(This has already been sent to all Mayors and Councillors in the Greater Wellington Region, all MPs and most ‘mainstream’ media).
____________________________________________________________________________________
URGENT ‘Open Letter’ /OIA request to Local Government Commissioners re: Draft Greater Wellington Reorganisation Proposal.
Dear Local Government Commissioners,
Basil Morrison Chairman
Anne Carter Commissioner
Janie Annear Commissioner
Over the Christmas break, I have studied numerous documents pertaining to the Draft Wellington Reorganisation Proposal.
The following is my considered opinion:
1) There should be NO further amalgamations of Councils anywhere in New Zealand, until there is a full, thorough and independent audit of the Auckland ‘Supercity’, (based upon FACTS and EVIDENCE) which confirms how ‘cost-effective’ it has really been for the majority of Auckland Council citizens and ratepayers.
I note that in the ‘Application for Local Government Reorganisation – PROPOSAL FOR A UNITARY AUTHORITY WITH LOCAL BOARDS FOR THE WELLINGTON REGION’ – it is stated on page 47:
“The Auckland Council experience and overseas examples strongly suggest that there should be a reasonable expectation of efficiency savings from the creation of a combined Wellington Council.
Opportunities would likely come from the following areas:
* Common administrative and support functions (human resources, procurement, ICT, finance, property management, corporate and executive services)
* Common data management systems and processes
* Common regulatory functions, activities and processes (building consents, resource consents,liquor licensing, dog permits,
and other permits and licensing)
* Streamlined planning processes for resource management, transport planning as well as plans required under the Local
Government Act
* Single ownership of assets and a comprehensive asset management approach
* Services that are delivered at both a regional and local level (economic development and tourism marketing)
* Combined contract for services, for example rubbish collection and road management.
….”
______________________________________________________________________________________
OIA REQUEST 1:
PLEASE PROVIDE THE EVIDENCE UPON WHICH YOU LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSIONERS ARE RELYING / HAVE RELIED UPON IN ORDER TO BE ‘SATISFIED’ WITH THAT THIS ABOVE-MENTIONED STATEMENT IS FACTUALLY ACCURATE:
______________________________________________________________________________________
2) In my considered opinion, this ‘Draft Wellington Reorganisation Proposal’ is fundamentally flawed, and this process should cease forthwith, because the public are not being given detailed FACTS or INFORMATION showing exactly where Councils in the Greater Wellington region are currently spending citizens and ratepayers public monies on Council services and regulatory functions.
This information is needed in order to establish a factual datum, upon which to measure current or future ‘cost-effectiveness’ in the provision of Council services and regulatory functions. There is no information of this type in the Draft Wellington Reorganisation Proposal, so the public simply cannot make an ‘informed’ submission.
Please be reminded of your statutory duties arising from the Local Government Act 2002, regarding your ‘Draft Wellington Reorganisation Proposal’:
(Please note that the underlining of particular sections of this legislation is mine).
(a)to enable democratic local decision-making and action by, and on behalf of, communities; and
(b)to meet the current and future needs of communities for good-quality local infrastructure, local public services, and performance of regulatory functions in a way that is most cost-effective for households and businesses.
(2)In this Act, good-quality, in relation to local infrastructure, local public services, and performance of regulatory functions, means infrastructure, services, and performance that are—
(a)efficient; and
(b)effective; and
(c)appropriate to present and anticipated future circumstances.
There are some hours of (unpaid) work that have gone into this document, which contains research that, to my knowledge, no one else has done.
Having carefully checked the websites for each of the nine Councils which make up the Greater Wellington Region, I have compiled a total of 146 possible Council services and Regulatory Functions, and have provided a ‘Transparency Template’ so that a ‘snapshot’ can be taken of which are currently provided ‘in-house’, by Councils Controlled Organisations (CCOs), or have been ‘contracted out’ to the private sector.
Next, are a series of questions which are to confirm, on an individual Council service or Regulatory Function basis, how the current costs can be quantified, and compared across the Greater Wellington Region, comparing ‘apples with apples’ – as it were.
eg: How is the current Council service of ‘Dog Control’ being applied over the Greater Wellington Region?
How is ‘Dog Control’ carried out in the Kapiti District Council? Carterton District Council? Wellington City Council?
Who exactly is providing this service? How is it being provided? How much is it costing? What are the charges?
Given that the purported purpose of these Council ‘amalgamations’ is supposed to be to provide more ‘cost-effective’ solutions – how on earth can that be established if you don’t know exactly what the are the CURRENT costs for providing these Council services and Regulatory Functions?
These ‘Transparency Templates’ which I have provided, and full credit to my friend and fellow ‘anti-corruption whistle-blower’ colleague Grace Haden who helped with the formatting, will help citizens and ratepayers find out EXACTLY where rates monies are being spent.
The question is – why is it that that this information is not already available for public scrutiny – given the current legislative requirements for ‘open, transparent. and democratically accountable’ local government.
Some Sunday weeding for felix updated from the April 29 2011 undesirable plant catalogue.
2015 Political Weeds
Sabinus Sabine, or Northland Knockweed, came late to the government’s attention as a potential hazard to be eradicated. It is such a pest that even its home nursery disowns it, and the common garden slater eschews it. Signs of it are still to be seen in its northern habitat, and the blue-clad pest eradicators are yet to arrest its development though they are strongly rumoured to have advised the government of its errant proclivities which they are currently investigating.
Natio Diversionalis is at times planted by the PM and was last seen on Waitangi Day when it was flown (sorry,grown!) on the Marae. It resembles a Flag Iris when in full bloom and usually accompanies militaristic displays of nationalism. it is likely to replace the white feather given to shirkers such as those who oppose the transmission of troops overseas.
Smithus Smithus var Stuartus (to distinguish from the Nelson cultivar var. Nickus), known in the Kaikoura region as the Marlborough Doosy, is another new weed in the political landscape. It seeks to be a companion plant for grape vines but its pre-selection promises of removing costs to the wine industry have shown little value despite self-promoting displays and an outwardly pleasant appearance..
Smithus Smithus var. Nickus is a plant of florid appearance which has had a singularly poor performance in cleaning up New Zealand’s waterways. A recent outbreak of paralysis causing organisms in Tory Channel has Smithus Nickus in a twist.
Smithus var. Nickus has been responsible for the gradual degrading of a once popular and widespread plant, very useful in providing shelter. Domusdomesticus Socialis is now being progressively sold off by the government which hopes that 5000 kiwis currently sheltering under its canopy will move on to other habitat. These could include under bridges, bus shelters, and garages.
The government has a dualistic view of this 70,000 strong planting. It used to be grown in clumps, then was spread like grains from a pepperpot, and now is being offered to religious groups to tend, with donations of additional fertiliser from the government.
This government says on one hand that there is no problem with its growth and spread and on the other hand wishes to enact regulations to allow its selective spread only by known corporative propagators and friends.
Much of the Kiwis’ former habitat is now prized by invasive species such as Unus Percentus and similar free-loading off-shore varieties. Coastal, mountain, lake and artificial waterways and other locations of prime value are to be denied to native kiwis species by the newly changed RMA, or Render unto Mammon Act.
Instead, unus percents, banksia australis and refugees from the spread of overseas feared Climatus Morphusglobalis and its attendant Holocaustus species are to be allowed unfettered planting rights such as are available now in Hawaii and other Friendly Society Island groups.
Holocaustus species which arise in the ashes of nuclear, environmental or other largely man-made catastrophes are definitely on the upwards growth, powered by rising global temperatures and peculiar conditions such as are found in the Ukraine (holocaustus var. putiniensis), China (var. pollutionis which can reach densities of 650 plants per square metre and are easily seen in the air producing choking and breathing problems), and the Middle East (var. Isis Obamatremens which grows best under a crescent moon).
Unus Percentus, which itself caused a global catastrophe in 2008 and by cutbacks afterwards in other species, greatly fears a severe pruning, and even removal of excess nutrient-accumulation by leaf stripping as promised in Greece, Spain and other under-irrigated areas.
Examination of overseas-held seed banks and occupation of land by rogue unus percentus sub-species such as Mafia Muscova, Donus Sicilianus, red or yellow flowering three petalled Gangtze Chinensis, and tea-leafed Capitalis Americanus in New Zealand is also a possibility in the red-dawned future. However, current NZ government-encouraged growing conditions, abetted by local nutrient-robbing weeds, precludes this for at least two more summers of discontent.
Do the Jews in Germany have the Right to defend themselves?
Imagine a U.S. spokesperson, in 1938, asked to comment on the events of Kristallnacht, saying to a Jewish journalist: “There is violence and back and forth.” Something like that happened at the grotesque and surreal Theatre of the Absurd known as the White House Daily Press Briefing on July 8, 2014….
JEN PSAKI: Israel have the right to defend themselves. REPORTER: Do you think that the Palestinians in Gaza have the right to defend themselves? JEN PSAKI: Errrrr, I think—I— I’m not sure what you’re getting at, Said. REPORTER: I am asking you: Do they have the right to defend themselves against Israeli aggression? JEN PSAKI: What are you specifically referring to? Is there a specific event or a specific occurrence? REPORTER: Do they have the right to respond to Israeli rocketing and bombing their homes, their houses, their areas, their schools?”
“The strong difference between rocket attacks and Israel s air raids ” is that the rockets are sent buy the poor and dispossessed and the rockets come from the, to the palestinians eyes invaders.
Said needs an award for bravery.
I think it’s more the case that the other reporters, who carefully maintained blank expressions and left him isolated, need to be presented with an award for cowardice. A white feather perhaps?
Meanwhile, the lightweights of the American media continue to insult the intelligence of their viewers….
If you’d walked into scores and scores and scores of thousands of New Zealand homes in August 2014, the occasion of the last biennial shooting-fish-in-a-barrel exercise by NatziYahoo and the IDF against Gaza, you’d have seen this: hundreds of thousands of thick slobs and aresholes sitting on their tatty sofas, watching TVOne/TV3News reporting about the “militants” of Gaza. You watch……the picture will be no less gross in two years or less hence.
You’d have seen also these same thick slobs and arseholes sagely remarking through mouthsful of semi-masticated ‘pork’ sausage and mash, “Well, if they’d stop firing those rockets…….”.
That is what a vast number of New Zealanders have become…….unempathetic, reflexively cruel bastards. A Palestinian mother and father whose 4 children under 12 have just been wasted when their apartment exploded under fire from a US made fighter jet…….”well, if only they’d stop firing those rockets.”
Score in the August 2014 firing of rockets from Gaza – 6 civilians if that.
Score in the August 2014 biennial shooting-fish-in-a-barrel exercise by Zionist Israel – well over 1,500 civilians, 500 plus of them children.
Ask yourselves you ‘pork’ sausage waisted, minded, moralled, bastards ! For whom we can read White House spokesperson Jen Psaki. Whose employer the US of A pays to NatziYahoo an annual $US3,000,000,000 – three thousand million US dollars – in military aid. Hope you and Mr Obama are satisfied you’re getting good bang for your buck there Psaki…….
That is what a vast number of New Zealanders have become……. unempathetic, reflexively cruel bastards. A Palestinian mother and father whose 4 children under 12 have just been wasted when their apartment exploded under fire from a US made fighter jet…….”well, if only they’d stop firing those rockets.”
Actually, North, I don’t believe most people are that cruel. I have not met many people at all that endorse the mass slaughter that we all witnessed last July. Even politicians like Phil Goff, who feel compelled to say with a straight face that the aggressors and mass murderers “have the right to defend themselves” will not keep up that absurd line if they are challenged. That’s not the case, however, with the small gang of moral cowards, illiterates and nincompoops that dominate the media; on television, radio and in the Op-Ed pages of the major papers, morality is as non-existent as professionalism or fairness and balance.
And yes, any number of “thick slobs” do indeed reflexively repeat what they’ve heard the likes of Larry “Lackwit” Williams and his cast of grotesques on NewstalkZB saying—but that’s not serious thinking, and it disappears whenever a reasonable person is (politely and respectfully) challenged.
I’m not entirely convinced Morrissey. Have a look at Facebook during the ‘sport’ seen in August 2014. It hasn’t gone quite as far as death threats but I’ve had promises of GBH from total strangers via FB message. This from mullet-coiffed, ‘good-decent-tell-it-like-it-is-joker’ pork munchers. Oh yes one fascist disporting himself as an associate-professor-of-business as well. You’d be a goner Morrissey !
I know what you mean, my friend. Israel’s most rabid backers, from Dame Lesley Max to the unhinged Waikato professor Dov Bing, are ruthless in the extreme. But they are definitely a tiny rabid fringe. Most people are not like them, even if they are often too afraid to contradict them.
And please be careful out there North—it’s not worth endangering yourself in the face of someone who will not listen or think.
Overheard observation from a mature member of a group of people resident but not born in New Zealand – “Dat Mitta Gee……I tink heese a pit of a kirl……” – the reporting of which is completely silly of course and should raise hackles……but bloody funny to hear !
On TV the other night saw the dork mincing his way down a catwalk clad in Rugby World Cup volunteers’ gear from a few years ago. Well !
I cannot help but applaud the mature member of a group of people resident but not born in New Zealand for his powers of observation !
TheSodKey at BGO – “But we’ve turned that around. I voted for gay marriage”. Weird phrasing Johnny but that aside, isn’t he lying AGAIN…….or was it the so-called anti-smacking bill or civil union he semi-floated he’d not voted for, during the BBVG (BigBullshitVoteGrease) in South Auckland, accompanied by a rather embarrassed looking PesetaSamBoy ?
Whatever, the bastard can’t help himself ! Poor Bronagh…….limo’ drops him off in Parnell after a long week of telling lies down in Wellington……”Hello John Key, I’ve missed you so much !” – “WTF are you on about woman……my name’s Barack Churchill…….don’t touch me !”
Today my partner and I decided to go on a Sunday drive, walk the dog. My partner suggested taking a fishing rod as she was sick of the bait in the freezer. I checked the Maori fishing calander which said excellent day with bite time 3.30-5.30 pm. off we went to a place not too far only 10 minutes drive. There is a jetty close to the channel and the road is quiet to walk a excitable young King of toys dog. There were a 3 elderly folks fishing and a dozen kids jumping off the jetty swimming. Spoke to the people fishing who had caught one keeper early on before the kids had arrived. So we took the dog for a walk for an hour. About 3pm the kids buggered off so set up fishing. The fish were nibbling pretty much straight away, we all hooked up and landed a few just under the 30cm limit, sadly some released floated to the surface. Which seems such a waste. You would think you could keep them if they die, I would far rather have a size limit on big fish as their the breeding stock. My partner gave up bored and headed to the car, I said I’m nearly out of bait and wouldnt be long. With my last bit of squid I baited my 2 hooks and cast, bang got a good strike, reeling in I landed 2 pan size snapper measuring 42 and 50 cm. I bagged them walked to the car jumped in and said its never over till the baits gone. 🙂 baked snapper for dinner which is ready now.
Sorry it was a haste post as I was being eye balled about over cooking the fish, which since I’m the head cook was silly, it was baked to perfection.
It has a political theme, my point is the raising of legal size of fish you can keep, especially for land/surfcasting 30 cm is silly, I mean I saw 4 fish just under 30 cm and over the old size of 27cm die today. Boat fishing I can understand but land based no, its hard work and the fish get knocked about so its harder for them to survive.
I’m serious I feel the same way for plants the way you feel for animals. I worry for my plants on a really hot day knowing their wilting in the hot sun.
Plant have feelings too ya know.
That’s actually a question which rests on several assumptions.
I suppose the most relevant answer in this instance, temporarily granting as fact all the assumptions in your question, is “because it’s more fun than tofu”.
How I envy you Skinny both in the catching and the eating, two in the one cast. You must have a larger than usual size pans. Those are good sized schnapper !
Which makes what I’m about to ply you with pretty tasteless behaviour on my part but I’d already done the Right/Click/Copy exercise so might as well.
Sarah Palin re the “liberal” Pope and Sarah Palin re Christie’s waste line – wonder what the worked gargoyle would’ve said about FDR.
An American friend of mine and his Kiribati wife introduced me to the deliciousness of Kiribati style raw tuna fish marinated in salt and vinegar, then washed, squeezed and prepared with a few other choice ingredients. Amazing taste. This dish and its preparation is quite different from the raw fish dish of other pacific islands. The dish tastes and feels like the fish is well cooked! Actually, it is in a way, being chemically cooked in salt+vinegar! This works very well with some other firm fish too, including snapper.
If you are keen to know how exactly to do this, reply here and I will be happy to describe the recipe and method.
Ok, Here is the way my friends who are an American-Kiribati couple and I do raw fish. I describe it as chemically cooked fish (CC Fish; See See Fish) rather than raw for the squeamish!
A MUST try delicacy!
First, I will now name this highly recommended recipe….Ta da…
RAWKIRI-CLEMPIN-FISHDISH :
* Definitely Serves 5 to15 depending upon how much one serves on one’s plate!
* or usable for several little meals/snacks for a day or two or three, if refrigerated.
* Good for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or as a healthy mid-night or any time snack!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTE : The measurements are approximate and variable up or down as convenient.
* FISH : 2 kg
Preferably firm fish such as
Tuna, Snapper, Tarakihi, Kahawai, Kingfish,
Salmon, Groper, Gurnard, Halibut, Warehou, John Dory etc
[P.S : I have tried the first five only]
* SALT : About 1/4 Kg
Don’t panic! We will remove all or most of the salt later during preparation.
* WHITE VINEGAR : About 1/2 to 1 litre , enough to cover cut fish pieces in a bowl.
Again, Don’t panic! We will remove most of the vinegar later during preparation!
* COCONUT CREAM : 2 or 3 or may be even 4 cans or about 1 litre.
You’ll need to judge later by eyeballing/taste test in step 7 of procedure.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
INGREDIENTS LIST 2 :
NOTE :
The following items should all together make up ABOUT half or slightly less than half the quantity of fish. Max 750g or1 kg in this case as fish used here is about 2 Kgs. Do not avoid the first three items marked with two stars **
** CUCUMBER : 1/4 or more of (telegraph) cucumber or 1 cup,
cut in small 1/2 cm cubes. Judge quantity per taste later, but must have item!
** RIPE RED TOMATOES : 2 medium size or 1 cup
cut in small 1/2 cm cubes. May need 3 if small. Judge later.
** ONION : 1 medium size or 1 cup. Definitely red onion if possible.
Cut in small 1/2 cm cubes. Use 2 if small. Again, do taste test later.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
* CAPSICUM : (OPTIONAL), 1/2 to 1 cup, cut in small 1/2 cm cubes. Green and/or yellow adds colour to dish.
* CARROT : (OPTIONAL), 1/2 cup grated or cut tiny 1/4 or 1/2 cm.
* CHIVES or PARSLEY or LETTUCE : (Any one, but OPTIONAL), 2 TABLE spoons, cut small 1/4 or 1/2 cm.
* LIME ZEST (OPTIONAL), thin green outer layer of lime peel, 2 tea spoons, grated
* LIME or LEMON : 1 (You may or may not need this as per taste later)
~~~~~~~~~~~
PROCEDURE :
STEP 1 :
Wash your hands well in soap. Rinse the fish. Remove skin of fish and fish bones and cut into 1 cm sized cubes. While cutting, keep putting the pieces into a bowl. When a layer of fish forms in the bowl, scatter a handful of salt over it. Repeat this for several layers until the fish is finished. Mix the fish pieces and salt a little to ensure all pieces are well covered in salt. I use my hands for this. Leave it for 5 to 10 minutes. Have a cuppa or a beer or make love or whatever. (Optional)
STEP 2 :
Pour vinegar into the bowl to cover the fish pieces. Give it a mix with a spoon or your clean hands. Cover with a cloth and leave at room temperature for at least 2 hours. Good to leave it up to 5 hours to cook well chemically in salt and vinegar.
STEP 3 :
While the fish is marinading and getting mysteriously cooked, prepare the cleaning and cutting of the ingredients (those that you will be using) from list 2 above.
STEP 4 : [Important step]
(a) After the 2 to 5 hours, drain the liquid from the fish bowl. I do this either by using a colander or by simply covering the bowl with a plate and draining the liquid into the sink.
(b) Now WASH the fish pieces with your hands using cold running water from the tap.
(c) Drain the water again as before. Squeeze a handful of fish and place it in another bowl. Do this until you have squeezed handfuls and transferred all the
fish into this new bowl.
(d) REPEAT this washing, draining, squeezing (WDS, unlike the WMDs) routine at least THREE times. FIVE times will be better. The idea is to remove MOST of the salt and vinegar and also to make the fish nice and soft to eat. Do a taste test : Take a piece of fish and eat it. It should not be TOO salty or TOO sour. If it is, repeat the WDS routine 1 or 2 more times. If it is a little salty and sour, do not worry too much because when we add the other stuff, the taste and composition will come right.
STEP 5 :
Add a can or two of coconut cream into the bowl of fish to cover the pieces well.
STEP 6 :
Add all the cut ingredients of list 2 that you prepared in step 3, into the fish bowl.
STEP 7:
(a) Give it a good mix using a spoon.
(b) Add more coconut cream if it is not covering the contents in the bowl well.
(c) Make and add more of ingredients from list 3 (except lime) if you feel you must.
(d) Do a taste test and see if you think you may need to add more salt or lime juice. Do NOT add salt or lime just yet.
(e) Cover and keep the bowl in fridge for half an hour. 1 to 2 hours is better.
(f) Do another taste test. This time, if you fancy more salt or lime, feel free to add but very tiny amounts each time. Keep tasting and adding tiny amounts until the dish tastes yummy and you are happy.
STEP 8 :
Serve cold. Normally, as an special extra course or as a side dish.
STEP 9 :
Cover any left over with glad wrap and refrigerate. Will keep good for at least three days in the fridge.
STEP 10:
Enjoy and share or Share and enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~
‘Make and add more of ingredients from list 2 (except lime) if you feel you must’ [Not list 3 ]
————
And sorry, I could not post the recipe earlier in the evening as I was away and busy. Then it took me considerable time to write this recipe from scratch! It made me realise it isn’t as easy as it seems!
Please let me know if I have made any more errors or if my description is not clear.
I agree that it would be better to have an upper size limit, maybe something like 5kg. They start to be valuable breeders at about 2kg, as far as I know. They get more valuable as they get older. I’ve caught the best fish of the day a few times on the last bait.
I agree a 25+ year old fish is far better too be left as breeding stock, they are not as good to eat 20 pound upwards they become flakey.
Catching 2 on my last cast is a first for me, gave me a good buzz, as some wisecrack fellow watching said looks like its fish & chips for ya dinner on the way home as I said last go. Less then 60 seconds later I hauled in my catch. I winked at him walking off with my booty.
Going to go back on dusk during the week, the recent storm has stirred up the food chain and the swell is up too, and cloud cover is good.
Liar No. 46 Julia Gillard: “I have got a lot of respect for people who whistle-blow, ummm….” http://thestandard.org.nz/ope-mike-08022015/#comment-965394
Liar No. 45 Zara Potts: “Sir Bob Geldof has assembled the best of modern musicians for this year’s record, including Ed Sheeran and One Direction.” http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-11112014/#comment-924196
More liars HERE….
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-09102014/#comment-907232
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 ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Asia Pacific Report Following an open letter by Auckland University academics speaking out in support of their students’ right to protest against the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, a group of academics at Otago University have today also called on New Zealand academic institutions to “repair colonial violence” and end ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linda J. Graham, Professor and Director of the Centre for Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology Ryan Tauss/ Unsplash, CC BY Two male students have been expelled from a Melbourne private school for their involvement in a list ranking female students. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The Reserve Bank is now assuming Australians will see no interest rate cuts this year – and quite possibly none before the next federal election, due next May. That’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University The Victorian budget offered more of the same on Tuesday, with the only change being how the budget papers were packaged. The usual shrink wrap was gone, hinting at savings in the pages ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Coalition is demanding extensive amendments to the government’s legislation targeting non-citizens who refuse to co-operate with their removal. In a dissenting report to the senate inquiry into the legislation, the Coalition says it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanita Yadav, Senior Research Fellow, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Brett Boardman/Belvoir The complex and grappling issue of violence against women takes centre stage in the soul-stirring solo dance drama Nayika: A Dancing Girl. During a dinner conversation ...
Disruption to patient care from a nationwide junior doctors strike is bordering on unsafe, a senior doctor claims, despite what health officials say. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Ground Picture/Shutterstock The anti-cancer drug abemaciclib (also known as Vernezio) has this month been added to the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to treat certain ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic McAfee, Postdoctoral researcher, marine ecology, University of Adelaide Robbie Porter, OzFish Unlimited Around Australia, hundreds of people are coming together to help a once-prized, but decimated and largely forgotten marine ecosystem. They’re busy restoring Australia’s native oyster and mussel reefs. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Webb, Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology Austin Human/Unsplash How does Earth stop meteors from hitting Earth and hurting people? –Asher, 6 years 11 months, New South Wales Alright, let’s embark on a meteor ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rory Mulcahy, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of the Sunshine Coast Professional sports organisations regularly promote and develop initiatives to support diversity, equity and inclusion. While sport has the power to change attitudes by sparking conversations about political issues and social ...
Comment: The weekly Monday post-Cabinet press conference is a useful forum for observing Christopher Luxon and how he is developing into the job of Prime Minister. He attempts to convey the impression of a man of action, speaking fast, delivering memorised National Party strategies in a connect-the-slogans kind of way, ...
Double votes, missing ballot boxes, tired tech and stressed staff: how tick-tallying went astray at last year’s election. Cast your mind back to November 2023, that bleary-eyed post-election period duringwhichwewaited, andwaited, for a coalition deal to be hammered out. A distraction from the hotel-hopping of our ...
International audiences are starting to discover what New Zealand already knew about After the Party.When After the Party aired in New Zealand last year, the response was fast and furious. In his preview for Rec Room, Duncan Greive said it was a “gritty, wrenching and highly confronting” series. By ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shahram Akbarzadeh, Convenor of the Middle East Studies Forum (MESF), and Acting Director the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University Iran’s leadership has been a direct beneficiary of the months-long war in Gaza. With every missile that Israel fires ...
Claire Mabey reviews the haunting and sexy debut novel from Sinéad Gleeson, who is about to touch down in Aotearoa for a string of live events.When Irish writer Sinéad Gleeson was in Aotearoa in 2018 with her spectacular collection of essays, Constellations, she told me she was working on ...
PNG Post-Courier Bougainville Affairs Minister Manasseh Makiba has described the Post-Courier’s front page story yesterday regarding a meeting between Bougainville and national government leaders as “sensationalised” and without substance. The Autonomous Bougainville Government (AGB) had warned it might use “other avenues to gain its independence” should the PNG government “continue ...
Where some saw the worst press conference given by the government to date, Anna Rawhiti-Connell recognised girl maths game.Nicola Willis, recently exasperated by comparisons to Ruth Richardson, said she was “a bit sick of being compared with every female finance minister that’s ever been out there.”Some think that’s ...
The March results are reported against forecasts based on the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update 2023 (HYEFU 2023), published on 20 December 2023 and the results for the same period for the previous year. ...
Jamie Arbuckle, the district councillor who became an MP but decided to keep getting paid for both roles, will instead donate one salary to charity. ...
Adding gender to the Human Rights Act would simply make the implicit explicit. So why is it so controversial? Paul Thistoll explain. At present, Aotearoa’s 1993 Human Rights Act (HRA) includes sex, marital status, religious belief, ethical belief (meaning a lack of religious belief), colour, race, ethnicity or national origin, ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, an 18-year-old who’s studying and working in hospo shares their approach to spending and saving. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Transmasc Age: 18 Ethnicity: Pākehā/Māori Role: Student, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Kelsey, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Resources Minister Shane Jones has reportedly asked officials for advice on whether oil and gas companies could be offered “bonds” as compensation if drilling rights offered by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Gleeson, Associate Professor of Law, Macquarie University Shutterstock The Albanese government is weighing up the costs of delivering an election promise to protect religious people from discrimination in Commonwealth law. Such protections were relatively uncontroversial when included in state anti-discrimination ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yen Ying Lim, Associate Professor, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University Pexels/Andrea Piacquadio Dementia is often described as “the long goodbye”. Although the person is still alive, dementia slowly and irreversibly chips away at their memories and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Judy Bush, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, The University of Melbourne Adam Calaitzis/Shutterstock I met with a friend for a walk beside Merri Creek, in inner Melbourne. She had lived in the area for a few years, and as we walked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Throsby, Distinguished Professor of Economics, Macquarie University Arts companies and individual artists in Australia are supported by government arts agencies, philanthropists, industry bodies, private donors and patrons. However, it is frequently overlooked that a major source of support for the arts ...
Harm Reduction Coalition Aotearoa, a new incorporated society dedicated to ending harmful drug policies, officially launched today, seeks a new fit-for-purpose drug law for Aotearoa New Zealand, rooted in science, experience and evidence. ...
The Corrections Minister admits he "muddied the water" after he and the Prime Minister repeatedly provided incorrect information about a $1.9 billion prison spend-up. ...
It took a post-post-cabinet statement to confirm that 810 new beds will be built at Waikeria, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Lili Tokaduadua was only 15 when she left her family in Fiji to pursue her netball dream in New Zealand. She’d been playing the sport for 10 years and was offered a netball scholarship at Auckland’s Howick College. Now, in her first year out of high school, the 19-year-old defender ...
The beloved local grocers lost a legal challenge to stop a new cycleway outside their store. Joel MacManus reports. In the annals of New Zealand legal history, there are a few brave people who have dared to stand up to the powers that be, no matter how bleak the odds ...
How what we produce and what we eat connects us to the world beyond our shores, visualised. Walking around a supermarket or vege shop, it might be obvious that everything on the shelves came from somewhere. But you might ...
The following interview with auto electrician and former caver Stu Berendt, 68, of Charleston on the West Coast, came about because he was part of the caving team that found the rare and amazing fossil remains of the giant Haast eagle, the subject of one of the year’s best books, ...
A $1.8b funding boost for Pharmac still won’t enable it to buy more drugs, raising questions about the Government’s approach to the agency The post Can Pharmac do more with the same pot of money? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Professor Jemma Geoghegan, of the University of Otago, Otakou Whakaihu Waka, co-leads a Te Niwha project aimed at understanding how and where avian influenza could affect Aotearoa New Zealand, as the highly infectious H5N1 virus spreads globally. The virus has now spread to all continents except Oceania and was recently ...
Thirty years on from Rwanda’s genocide, is guilt over the atrocities is blinding the world to the true nature of its current leadership? The post The repressive underside of Rwanda’s regime appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: Last week, important recommendations for our criminal justice system were made by the international community. Every five years, each member of the United Nations has its human rights practices reviewed. This rolling event – the Universal Periodic Review – is the culmination of a government reporting on its human ...
Highly pathogenic avian influenza – H5N1, or bird flu – has been flying around the world since the late 1990s. New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands are so far free of it, but now it’s been discovered in mainland Antarctica and scientists say it’s only a matter of time ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 7 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eric Stokan, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Maryland, Baltimore County If you live in one of the most economically deprived neighborhoods in your city, you might think the government is directing a smaller share of public funds to your community. ...
Wansolwara The news media’s crucial role in climate change and environment journalism was the focus of The University of the South Pacific’s Journalism Programme 2024 World Press Freedom Day celebrations. The European Union Ambassador to the Pacific, Barbara Plinkert, and Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Henry Puna were the chief ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Adams, Professor of Corporate Law & Academic Director of UNE Sydney campus, University of New England Last August, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched legal proceedings against Qantas. The consumer watchdog accused the airline of selling thousands of tickets ...
This episode of A View From Afar was recorded LIVE on May 6, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, May 5, 2024 at 8:30pm (USEST). In an analytical essay titled ‘A moment of friction’ political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan wrote how we are living within a decisive moment ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Taylor, Assistant Professor, Bond University Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures At the crux of the critical response to Luca Guadagnino’s new movie Challengers is one word: “sexy”. The film charts a love triangle between three up-and-coming tennis players: Tashi (Zendaya), ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jenny Stewart, Professor of Public Policy, ADFA Canberra, UNSW Sydney For years, First Nations people have been telling governments they want to be listened to. In particular, they want more ownership of the programs and services that are supposed to help them. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Why do trees have bark? Julien, age 6, Melbourne. This is a great question, Julien. We are so familiar with bark on trees, that most of us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Nasser, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy, University of Technology Sydney PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is an important ligament in the knee. It runs from the thigh bone (femur) to the shin bone (tibia) and helps stabilise ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne I covered the May 2 United Kingdom local government elections for The Poll Bludger. The Blackpool South parliamentary byelection was also held, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deanna Grant-Smith, Professor of Management, University of the Sunshine Coast The federal government has announced a “Commonwealth Prac Payment” to support selected groups of students doing mandatory work placements. Those who are studying to be a teacher, nurse, midwife or social ...
“..The Fiery Cage and the Lynching Tree – Brutality’s Never Far Away..
‘..there it was: the charred corpse of a young black man –
– tied to a blistered tree in the heart of the Texas Bible Belt.
Next to the burned body young white men can be seen smiling and grinning –
– seemingly jubilant at their front-row seats in a carnival of death.
One of them sent a picture postcard home:
‘This is the barbeque we had last night’.
Here is the photograph.
Take a good look at Jesse Washington’s stiffened body tied to the tree.
He had been sentenced to death for the murder of a white woman.
No witnesses saw the crime; he allegedly confessed but the truth of the allegations would never be tested.
The grand jury took just four minutes to return a guilty verdict – but there was no appeal – no review – no prison time.
Instead – a courtroom mob dragged him outside – pinned him to the ground – and cut off his testicles.
A bonfire was quickly built and lit.
For two hours Jesse Washington — alive — was raised and lowered over the flames.
Again and again and again.
City officials and police stood by – approvingly.
According to some estimates – the crowd grew to as many as 15,000.
There were taunts – cheers – and laughter.
Reporters described hearing ‘shouts of delight’.
When the flames died away – Washington’s body was torn apart – and the pieces were sold as souvenirs.
The party was over..”
(cont..)
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article40914.htm
.. strikes a coincidental chime for me, phil…
Have just got the book 33 revolutions a minute from the library, and we are using it to do a quick research project on one song a week. Music, history and social conscience – what more could you ask for in a lesson plan?
This week it was Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday.
One of the points that was brought up during discussions, was that in those lynching photos you could very easily cut images out that indicated an entirely different occasion to what was going on.
Many people smiling, laughing and socialising while human beings were tortured.
We also discussed the importance of recognising this disconnect today, even if it presents in a less visceral way.
Plenty of people got burned to death in Indochina, but it’s apparently OK if the napalm is launched from a gun or from the air. It’s barbaric to do it up close and personal. This is the same attitude that the seppos had 150 years ago, where they said Mexicans were cowards who used knives. While they stood 20 yards apart and tried to hit each other with Colt Peacemakers. Except that apparently most victims got shot in the back. The American national myth allows them to keep killing, while our own myth of peaceful colonisation allows us to keep denying Maori.
“..Burning Victims to Death: Still a Common Practice..”
..The most immediate consequence of drone strikes is of course – death and injury to those targeted or near a strike.
The missiles fired from drones kill or injure in several ways – including through incineration[3] – shrapnel – and the release of powerful blast waves capable of crushing internal organs.
Those who do survive drone strikes often suffer disfiguring burns and shrapnel wounds – limb amputations – as well as vision and hearing loss. . . .
In addition – because the Hellfire missiles fired from drones often incinerate the victims’ bodies – and leave them in pieces and unidentifiable –
– traditional burial processes are rendered impossible.
‘..These missiles are very powerful.
They destroy human beings . . .
There is nobody left – and small pieces left behind.
Pieces.
Whatever is left is just little pieces of bodies and cloth’.
A doctor who has treated drone victims described how ‘[s]kin is burned so that you can’t tell cattle from human’..”
(cont..)
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article40895.htm
(n.b..john key has admitted that we ‘help target’ these drones strikes..
..this is what is being done in our names…
..to some of the poorest/most desperate people on the planet..
..and now he wants boots on the ground..
..he wants to throw our soldiers into this hellhole..
..um..!..aren’t we already doing ‘more than enough’..?..)
A UK court vindicated Edward Snowden’s whistleblowing on Friday by ruling that the secrecy surrounding one of the programs he exposed was, in fact, illegal. The decision is more evidence that not only were the Snowden revelations necessary and justified, but are also slowly forcing changes in both US and UK, even as both governments fiercely resist.
In a stunning ruling, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) – which oversees (and usually rubber stamps) Britain’s spy agencies – declared that the intelligence-sharing rules between the NSA and GCHQ (Britain’s NSA equivalent and partner-in-crime) governing their mass surveillance program violated UK human rights laws because they were kept secret for so long.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/feb/07/gchq-court-surveillance-ruling-complicit-press-tell-the-truth
So Sad, How These International Gangsters Get Away with One Crime after Another
http://normanfinkelstein.com/2015/02/03/so-sad-how-these-international-gangsters-get-away-with-one-crime-after-another/
Is karol still around?
I have been wondering about Karol’s absence too, Rosie. I have only had time to skim TS most days recently, but her absence jumped out. It seems her last comment was on Jan 14.
Hope everything is OK with her, but she is still tweeting https://twitter.com/KarolScribe
Hi VV. Thanks for that. I hope she’s ok too. Good to see she is still tweeting though 🙂
She is having a timeout after some backend disagreements about some political points between some authors and probably exacerbated by author/commenting fatigue. The former is inevitable when we have strong-willed writing from different standpoints. The latter is just a fact of life, I’ve had several bouts of it over the last seven years myself.
I’m hoping it isn’t permanent but it could be.
It is a major effort for an author and even commenters to keep writing. Eventually you wind up saying all you have to say. You are also progressively naturally less able to tolerate the eternal repetitive disagreements that arise in comments or between authors (anyone who reads my comments is aware that I suffer from that a lot). That or work / family balances are the main reasons why authors drop out of writing.
It is a natural progression, and why we have so many ex-authors.
I try to keep the environment as friendly to authors as I can without making it too prescriptive and constraining the argument between different view points. Sometimes it doesn’t work, especially when I get busy at my paid employment.
I hope it isn’t permanent too. The clarity of her vision was always refreshing to read.
Indeed. But I have learnt over the years that when authors decide to stop or go, then they seldom do it lightly. I don’t try to talk them out of it. I just accept that is what they feel they have to do. Usually the first I know about is when they write a post and I read it in draft or when it posts.
One of the things about putting in an authors discussion area is that they tend to do it there now.
Karol seems to be commenting to On the Left.
Thanks for taking the time to let us know where karol is at, Lynn.
I always appreciated her on -the- ground – looking- upwards way of viewing things. She came across as community centred rather than pure politics, party and parliamentary.
I also appreciate that authors are taking precious time out of their private lives, and that sometimes author time could cross over into work time. Considerable thought and analysis seems to go into author posts. I don’t know where folks get the energy from, I battle with so much fatigue some days and can’t even think to write anything coherent let alone get involved in a tiring conversation.
It’s a real labour of love from TS authors and readers here and overseas benefit from such effort and service, so thank you all (graceful bow) for all you do. What would we do without you?
And keep up “the strong willed writing from different standpoints” 🙂 It helps keep readers alert to different ways of viewing an issue.
plus 100% rosie … and Karol ? hope you will return sometime please …
I hope Labour and Green politicians are listening to this morning’s “Media Watch” – in particular Ruth Harley’s view on NZoA/funding et al. It’s taken her 25 years to come to her senses but I’m glad she has, and she has the experience to state that view. Link not up atm/yet
Our whole PSB needs a fucking big shakeup, and something more ambitious than the CBB advocates (though don’t get me wrong – I support them)
We need one based on the oz model where acts enshrine the funding and independance so any tinkering has to go through parliament.
There is no public broadcasting in nz, RNZ is a joke, TVNZ an even bigger one.
I agree, and over the years I’ve become sick to death of the old excuse “we don’t have a big enough population….blah blah blah” ….. We do, and its just a question of how we choose to fund it. (CBB and its predecessor Save TVNZ7 provide SOME options – and VicUni’s Peter Thompson could give the pollies a quick primer).
We also don’t need huge overpaid bureaucracies to do it as though it needs to be a ‘commercial enterprise’. As I say, I’m glad Ruth H has come to her senses – I know people who’ve been telling her what she now preaches for 20 years – but she’s the perfect person to continue to advocate.
Disregard the cost, it’s essential given the bias owned nature of all MSM today if we want to be informed without spin or corporate influence.
Look at how Murdoch has Abbott attacking the ABC via budget cuts and appointing mates as ABC and SBS show up the rest for what they are, owned entities with agendas not aligned to the Aussie fair go battler ethos.
It quite cheap if you carve up TVNZ with TV2 taking the high rating commercial material and funding TV1 which goes into PBS mode, plenty of talent around to staff it once you purge the ego cult exemplified by rawdon, mikey and all the highly paid auto cue readers.
I don’t disagree @tc. But to the Natzis, there’s something fundamentally wrong with having a commercial arm ‘subsidising’ PSB – even tho’ they’re quite happy with PSB funded intellectual property subsidising private enterprise (the Sky monopoly….Heartland, etc., etc., etc.)
And as for RNZ … the problem there is pretty much the same thing that’s afflicting the BBC, AND the current Abbotabad gubbamint’s ABC/SBS intentions: ideological tory managerialism.
Oh btw …. don’t blame WallArse … despite the Fiji-colonial background, his romantic notions of a past, disabilities and hip pain, etc. [IS Frank REALLY that bad? …. etc. : yes he ekshully IS!] – as well as Esmeralda’s and Pete George beige-suited lookalikes in their twilight years semi-functioning on the Kepty Coast aside; OR the Christies (2 of – Damian and Rawdyrawdy) and Beckbenchas et al. They’ve done more good than bad. There’s a few others as well. It’s more to do with the environment they work in; the corporate culture they’re immersed in; the ‘in crowd’ they have to associate with – all that kaka. I’m happy to just let it all play out in some ways but for the fact I’m running out of life. In death tho’ I can see the inevitable and it ain’t pretty.
Part of the responsibility for the joke rests with us. It is alarmingly easy for us to get preoccupied with the latest events and sideshows while losing our critical faculties and our immediate memories where the media is concerned. An outstanding difference from the general fluff that passes for information was Wayne Brittenden’s Counterpoint . While it was on , many of us expressed our appreciation of his unflinching analyses that were a huge departure from the norm and often connected dots with a amazing clarity on an astonishing diversity of subjects. Two weeks ago I raised a concern that , unless he is unwell or on holiday, he has been quietly canned. I say ” quietly” because no one else appears to have noticed the Orwellian dissolve . There was no announcement last year that he would not be returning and nothing mentioned about his disappearance in his usual Sunday slot when the programme returned three Sundays ago.
+1
I’ve been wondering why the absence too. I was going to ask RNZ (via a back door) – he may just be doing other things, but nothing would surprise me given the ‘trend’
I have since called an RNZ insider of my acquaintance who confirmed that Brittenden has indeed been canned . It would seem that certain embassies were unhappy with his content even though they have never been able to challenge its well researched accuracy . His work on the TPPA apparently upset some in high places ….. Interesting that the NY Times earlier this month published a feature by Professor Stiglitz that brought out the very same points about the TPPA that Brittenden gave us very much earlier. How sad that our public broadcaster is more squeamish than the NY Times! My informant told me that Brittenden’s programme was rated highly by listeners , but not , it seems, by certain well-placed people who would rather see him silenced. Ditto for a lightweight presenter who often found himself out of his intellectual depth.
yep well – not surprising ….. se above: re ideological tory managerialism.
Cowards really when it comes down to it. But ….. swing low sweat chariot – the pendulum swings and the harder to the right – the more momentum it has when it reaches its limit and begins its swing left again.
Who to blame? Well those that wind up the mechanism. Lessons never seem to get ‘learned’ do they?! OR as they say (Bridges et al) …. “learnings” – which in itself is an attempt at manipulation.
People continue to tolerate, but only because they have mortgages to pay and lifestyles to maintain. Trouble is those lifestyles and mortgages are getting harder for the 99% (soon to become 99.9% plebians). I already smell the fear …. but tuff shit – I’ll waste my sympathy on the more deserving.
Hopefully you’ll get my meaning
They aren’t squeamish they are controlled indirectly based on CT advice through Nat ministers then onto griffin etc.
It’s how gluon gets the gig, Bradbury gets turfed and hooten, farrar etc all get to plug their agenda without critique.
Another pro Medpot blog post, this time about a woman with CRPS, (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) widely regarded as the worst pain disorder in existence. The R in CRPS for regional could be subtracted in her case….
http://yournz.org/2015/02/08/complex-regional-pain-syndrome-another-case-for-medicinal-cannabis/
Alternate address
https://mmj4chronicpain.wordpress.com/2015/02/08/complex-regional-pain-syndrome-another-case-for-medicinal-cannabis/
hi shane – thanks for the alt link 🙂
“John Key restates case for flag change
Prime Minister John Key has set out his case for changing the flag at his annual Waitangi Day breakfast address this morning – and admitted to a touch of envy over the ease with which Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has made the same decision.” jeez i missed that one! http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11397526
& also rodney hyde is critical of john key from a right wing libertarian viewpoint & seemingly blaming everyone but some short clear points. comments are especially anti-nats. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11398277
Three cheers for Andrea Vance and this bright and brave, unexpected opinion …. even challenging Key that it was not debated prior to the election …
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/65916914/andrea-vance-think-twice-before-joining-new-iraq-war
meant to add she also gives serious gravitas to Andrew Little’s opinions on the issues.
(lprent .. would not let me edit even within one minute of posting ?)
“For that reason, it may serve Iraq better if the international community diverted its support into helping Abadi establish good governance. And in that holistic area, New Zealand has strengths. ”
Except that we don’t have strengths in that area any more. As shown by Dirty Politics, FJK’s lies, and the stone arachnid saga, our governance is incredibly weak.
It appears that Andrew Little needs to get better advisors:
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/the-iraq-war-by-numbers-2014-6
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/14/us-iraq-war-anniversary-idUSBRE92D0PG20130314
Apparently, the US/Iraq war has already cost 1.7 trillion.
FYI folks – here is a link to the ‘Open Letter /OIA request that i sent to the Local Government Commissioners on 4 February 2015, which should help TORPEDO their ‘Draft Wellington Reorganisation Proposal’, and help STOP the Wellington ‘Supercity’?
(This has already been sent to all Mayors and Councillors in the Greater Wellington Region, all MPs and most ‘mainstream’ media).
____________________________________________________________________________________
http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz/open-letteroia-to-local-government-commissioners-stop-the-wellington-supercity/
4 February 2015
URGENT ‘Open Letter’ /OIA request to Local Government Commissioners re: Draft Greater Wellington Reorganisation Proposal.
Dear Local Government Commissioners,
Basil Morrison Chairman
Anne Carter Commissioner
Janie Annear Commissioner
Over the Christmas break, I have studied numerous documents pertaining to the Draft Wellington Reorganisation Proposal.
The following is my considered opinion:
1) There should be NO further amalgamations of Councils anywhere in New Zealand, until there is a full, thorough and independent audit of the Auckland ‘Supercity’, (based upon FACTS and EVIDENCE) which confirms how ‘cost-effective’ it has really been for the majority of Auckland Council citizens and ratepayers.
I note that in the ‘Application for Local Government Reorganisation – PROPOSAL FOR A UNITARY AUTHORITY WITH LOCAL BOARDS FOR THE WELLINGTON REGION’ – it is stated on page 47:
“The Auckland Council experience and overseas examples strongly suggest that there should be a reasonable expectation of efficiency savings from the creation of a combined Wellington Council.
Opportunities would likely come from the following areas:
* Common administrative and support functions (human resources, procurement, ICT, finance, property management, corporate and executive services)
* Common data management systems and processes
* Common regulatory functions, activities and processes (building consents, resource consents,liquor licensing, dog permits,
and other permits and licensing)
* Streamlined planning processes for resource management, transport planning as well as plans required under the Local
Government Act
* Single ownership of assets and a comprehensive asset management approach
* Services that are delivered at both a regional and local level (economic development and tourism marketing)
* Combined contract for services, for example rubbish collection and road management.
….”
______________________________________________________________________________________
OIA REQUEST 1:
PLEASE PROVIDE THE EVIDENCE UPON WHICH YOU LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSIONERS ARE RELYING / HAVE RELIED UPON IN ORDER TO BE ‘SATISFIED’ WITH THAT THIS ABOVE-MENTIONED STATEMENT IS FACTUALLY ACCURATE:
______________________________________________________________________________________
2) In my considered opinion, this ‘Draft Wellington Reorganisation Proposal’ is fundamentally flawed, and this process should cease forthwith, because the public are not being given detailed FACTS or INFORMATION showing exactly where Councils in the Greater Wellington region are currently spending citizens and ratepayers public monies on Council services and regulatory functions.
This information is needed in order to establish a factual datum, upon which to measure current or future ‘cost-effectiveness’ in the provision of Council services and regulatory functions. There is no information of this type in the Draft Wellington Reorganisation Proposal, so the public simply cannot make an ‘informed’ submission.
Please be reminded of your statutory duties arising from the Local Government Act 2002, regarding your ‘Draft Wellington Reorganisation Proposal’:
(Please note that the underlining of particular sections of this legislation is mine).
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2002/0084/latest/DLM171803.html
Subpart 1—Purpose of local government
10Purpose of local government
(1)The purpose of local government is—
(a)to enable democratic local decision-making and action by, and on behalf of, communities; and
(b)to meet the current and future needs of communities for good-quality local infrastructure, local public services, and performance of regulatory functions in a way that is most cost-effective for households and businesses.
(2)In this Act, good-quality, in relation to local infrastructure, local public services, and performance of regulatory functions, means infrastructure, services, and performance that are—
(a)efficient; and
(b)effective; and
(c)appropriate to present and anticipated future circumstances.
………………………..
______________________________________________________________________________________
(That’s just the start ……… )
There are some hours of (unpaid) work that have gone into this document, which contains research that, to my knowledge, no one else has done.
Having carefully checked the websites for each of the nine Councils which make up the Greater Wellington Region, I have compiled a total of 146 possible Council services and Regulatory Functions, and have provided a ‘Transparency Template’ so that a ‘snapshot’ can be taken of which are currently provided ‘in-house’, by Councils Controlled Organisations (CCOs), or have been ‘contracted out’ to the private sector.
Next, are a series of questions which are to confirm, on an individual Council service or Regulatory Function basis, how the current costs can be quantified, and compared across the Greater Wellington Region, comparing ‘apples with apples’ – as it were.
eg: How is the current Council service of ‘Dog Control’ being applied over the Greater Wellington Region?
How is ‘Dog Control’ carried out in the Kapiti District Council? Carterton District Council? Wellington City Council?
Who exactly is providing this service? How is it being provided? How much is it costing? What are the charges?
Given that the purported purpose of these Council ‘amalgamations’ is supposed to be to provide more ‘cost-effective’ solutions – how on earth can that be established if you don’t know exactly what the are the CURRENT costs for providing these Council services and Regulatory Functions?
These ‘Transparency Templates’ which I have provided, and full credit to my friend and fellow ‘anti-corruption whistle-blower’ colleague Grace Haden who helped with the formatting, will help citizens and ratepayers find out EXACTLY where rates monies are being spent.
The question is – why is it that that this information is not already available for public scrutiny – given the current legislative requirements for ‘open, transparent. and democratically accountable’ local government.
Be interested in your feedback.
Kind regards,
Penny Bright
http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz
Some Sunday weeding for felix updated from the April 29 2011 undesirable plant catalogue.
2015 Political Weeds
Sabinus Sabine, or Northland Knockweed, came late to the government’s attention as a potential hazard to be eradicated. It is such a pest that even its home nursery disowns it, and the common garden slater eschews it. Signs of it are still to be seen in its northern habitat, and the blue-clad pest eradicators are yet to arrest its development though they are strongly rumoured to have advised the government of its errant proclivities which they are currently investigating.
Natio Diversionalis is at times planted by the PM and was last seen on Waitangi Day when it was flown (sorry,grown!) on the Marae. It resembles a Flag Iris when in full bloom and usually accompanies militaristic displays of nationalism. it is likely to replace the white feather given to shirkers such as those who oppose the transmission of troops overseas.
Smithus Smithus var Stuartus (to distinguish from the Nelson cultivar var. Nickus), known in the Kaikoura region as the Marlborough Doosy, is another new weed in the political landscape. It seeks to be a companion plant for grape vines but its pre-selection promises of removing costs to the wine industry have shown little value despite self-promoting displays and an outwardly pleasant appearance..
Smithus Smithus var. Nickus is a plant of florid appearance which has had a singularly poor performance in cleaning up New Zealand’s waterways. A recent outbreak of paralysis causing organisms in Tory Channel has Smithus Nickus in a twist.
Smithus var. Nickus has been responsible for the gradual degrading of a once popular and widespread plant, very useful in providing shelter. Domusdomesticus Socialis is now being progressively sold off by the government which hopes that 5000 kiwis currently sheltering under its canopy will move on to other habitat. These could include under bridges, bus shelters, and garages.
The government has a dualistic view of this 70,000 strong planting. It used to be grown in clumps, then was spread like grains from a pepperpot, and now is being offered to religious groups to tend, with donations of additional fertiliser from the government.
This government says on one hand that there is no problem with its growth and spread and on the other hand wishes to enact regulations to allow its selective spread only by known corporative propagators and friends.
Much of the Kiwis’ former habitat is now prized by invasive species such as Unus Percentus and similar free-loading off-shore varieties. Coastal, mountain, lake and artificial waterways and other locations of prime value are to be denied to native kiwis species by the newly changed RMA, or Render unto Mammon Act.
Instead, unus percents, banksia australis and refugees from the spread of overseas feared Climatus Morphusglobalis and its attendant Holocaustus species are to be allowed unfettered planting rights such as are available now in Hawaii and other Friendly Society Island groups.
Holocaustus species which arise in the ashes of nuclear, environmental or other largely man-made catastrophes are definitely on the upwards growth, powered by rising global temperatures and peculiar conditions such as are found in the Ukraine (holocaustus var. putiniensis), China (var. pollutionis which can reach densities of 650 plants per square metre and are easily seen in the air producing choking and breathing problems), and the Middle East (var. Isis Obamatremens which grows best under a crescent moon).
Unus Percentus, which itself caused a global catastrophe in 2008 and by cutbacks afterwards in other species, greatly fears a severe pruning, and even removal of excess nutrient-accumulation by leaf stripping as promised in Greece, Spain and other under-irrigated areas.
Examination of overseas-held seed banks and occupation of land by rogue unus percentus sub-species such as Mafia Muscova, Donus Sicilianus, red or yellow flowering three petalled Gangtze Chinensis, and tea-leafed Capitalis Americanus in New Zealand is also a possibility in the red-dawned future. However, current NZ government-encouraged growing conditions, abetted by local nutrient-robbing weeds, precludes this for at least two more summers of discontent.
Excellent, Macrophage-1
Great analysis Mac1!
Do the Jews in Germany have the Right to defend themselves?
Imagine a U.S. spokesperson, in 1938, asked to comment on the events of Kristallnacht, saying to a Jewish journalist: “There is violence and back and forth.” Something like that happened at the grotesque and surreal Theatre of the Absurd known as the White House Daily Press Briefing on July 8, 2014….
JEN PSAKI: Israel have the right to defend themselves.
REPORTER: Do you think that the Palestinians in Gaza have the right to defend themselves?
JEN PSAKI: Errrrr, I think—I— I’m not sure what you’re getting at, Said.
REPORTER: I am asking you: Do they have the right to defend themselves against Israeli aggression?
JEN PSAKI: What are you specifically referring to? Is there a specific event or a specific occurrence?
REPORTER: Do they have the right to respond to Israeli rocketing and bombing their homes, their houses, their areas, their schools?”
……..
“The strong difference between rocket attacks and Israel s air raids ” is that the rockets are sent buy the poor and dispossessed and the rockets come from the, to the palestinians eyes invaders.
Said needs an award for bravery.
Said needs an award for bravery.
I think it’s more the case that the other reporters, who carefully maintained blank expressions and left him isolated, need to be presented with an award for cowardice. A white feather perhaps?
Meanwhile, the lightweights of the American media continue to insult the intelligence of their viewers….
If you’d walked into scores and scores and scores of thousands of New Zealand homes in August 2014, the occasion of the last biennial shooting-fish-in-a-barrel exercise by NatziYahoo and the IDF against Gaza, you’d have seen this: hundreds of thousands of thick slobs and aresholes sitting on their tatty sofas, watching TVOne/TV3News reporting about the “militants” of Gaza. You watch……the picture will be no less gross in two years or less hence.
You’d have seen also these same thick slobs and arseholes sagely remarking through mouthsful of semi-masticated ‘pork’ sausage and mash, “Well, if they’d stop firing those rockets…….”.
That is what a vast number of New Zealanders have become…….unempathetic, reflexively cruel bastards. A Palestinian mother and father whose 4 children under 12 have just been wasted when their apartment exploded under fire from a US made fighter jet…….”well, if only they’d stop firing those rockets.”
Score in the August 2014 firing of rockets from Gaza – 6 civilians if that.
Score in the August 2014 biennial shooting-fish-in-a-barrel exercise by Zionist Israel – well over 1,500 civilians, 500 plus of them children.
Ask yourselves you ‘pork’ sausage waisted, minded, moralled, bastards ! For whom we can read White House spokesperson Jen Psaki. Whose employer the US of A pays to NatziYahoo an annual $US3,000,000,000 – three thousand million US dollars – in military aid. Hope you and Mr Obama are satisfied you’re getting good bang for your buck there Psaki…….
That is what a vast number of New Zealanders have become……. unempathetic, reflexively cruel bastards. A Palestinian mother and father whose 4 children under 12 have just been wasted when their apartment exploded under fire from a US made fighter jet…….”well, if only they’d stop firing those rockets.”
Actually, North, I don’t believe most people are that cruel. I have not met many people at all that endorse the mass slaughter that we all witnessed last July. Even politicians like Phil Goff, who feel compelled to say with a straight face that the aggressors and mass murderers “have the right to defend themselves” will not keep up that absurd line if they are challenged. That’s not the case, however, with the small gang of moral cowards, illiterates and nincompoops that dominate the media; on television, radio and in the Op-Ed pages of the major papers, morality is as non-existent as professionalism or fairness and balance.
And yes, any number of “thick slobs” do indeed reflexively repeat what they’ve heard the likes of Larry “Lackwit” Williams and his cast of grotesques on NewstalkZB saying—but that’s not serious thinking, and it disappears whenever a reasonable person is (politely and respectfully) challenged.
I’m not entirely convinced Morrissey. Have a look at Facebook during the ‘sport’ seen in August 2014. It hasn’t gone quite as far as death threats but I’ve had promises of GBH from total strangers via FB message. This from mullet-coiffed, ‘good-decent-tell-it-like-it-is-joker’ pork munchers. Oh yes one fascist disporting himself as an associate-professor-of-business as well. You’d be a goner Morrissey !
I know what you mean, my friend. Israel’s most rabid backers, from Dame Lesley Max to the unhinged Waikato professor Dov Bing, are ruthless in the extreme. But they are definitely a tiny rabid fringe. Most people are not like them, even if they are often too afraid to contradict them.
And please be careful out there North—it’s not worth endangering yourself in the face of someone who will not listen or think.
John Key booed at the Big Gay Out. Good!
http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/65921438/mixed-reception-for-prime-minister-john-key-at-aucklands-big-gay-out
awwww.
poor widdle tory needed an MC to defend him.
Overheard observation from a mature member of a group of people resident but not born in New Zealand – “Dat Mitta Gee……I tink heese a pit of a kirl……” – the reporting of which is completely silly of course and should raise hackles……but bloody funny to hear !
On TV the other night saw the dork mincing his way down a catwalk clad in Rugby World Cup volunteers’ gear from a few years ago. Well !
I cannot help but applaud the mature member of a group of people resident but not born in New Zealand for his powers of observation !
TheSodKey at BGO – “But we’ve turned that around. I voted for gay marriage”. Weird phrasing Johnny but that aside, isn’t he lying AGAIN…….or was it the so-called anti-smacking bill or civil union he semi-floated he’d not voted for, during the BBVG (BigBullshitVoteGrease) in South Auckland, accompanied by a rather embarrassed looking PesetaSamBoy ?
Whatever, the bastard can’t help himself ! Poor Bronagh…….limo’ drops him off in Parnell after a long week of telling lies down in Wellington……”Hello John Key, I’ve missed you so much !” – “WTF are you on about woman……my name’s Barack Churchill…….don’t touch me !”
And in the I didn’t think National could get any more creepy department, the striking difference between National and Labour at the BGO.
https://twitter.com/CraigTRobertson/status/564267037363810305
Very revealing. They are actually in love with the creep.
Would love to see some FJK badges.
Today my partner and I decided to go on a Sunday drive, walk the dog. My partner suggested taking a fishing rod as she was sick of the bait in the freezer. I checked the Maori fishing calander which said excellent day with bite time 3.30-5.30 pm. off we went to a place not too far only 10 minutes drive. There is a jetty close to the channel and the road is quiet to walk a excitable young King of toys dog. There were a 3 elderly folks fishing and a dozen kids jumping off the jetty swimming. Spoke to the people fishing who had caught one keeper early on before the kids had arrived. So we took the dog for a walk for an hour. About 3pm the kids buggered off so set up fishing. The fish were nibbling pretty much straight away, we all hooked up and landed a few just under the 30cm limit, sadly some released floated to the surface. Which seems such a waste. You would think you could keep them if they die, I would far rather have a size limit on big fish as their the breeding stock. My partner gave up bored and headed to the car, I said I’m nearly out of bait and wouldnt be long. With my last bit of squid I baited my 2 hooks and cast, bang got a good strike, reeling in I landed 2 pan size snapper measuring 42 and 50 cm. I bagged them walked to the car jumped in and said its never over till the baits gone. 🙂 baked snapper for dinner which is ready now.
Nice to read story Skinny but should have been on Weekend Social. 🙂
Sorry it was a haste post as I was being eye balled about over cooking the fish, which since I’m the head cook was silly, it was baked to perfection.
It has a political theme, my point is the raising of legal size of fish you can keep, especially for land/surfcasting 30 cm is silly, I mean I saw 4 fish just under 30 cm and over the old size of 27cm die today. Boat fishing I can understand but land based no, its hard work and the fish get knocked about so its harder for them to survive.
interesting fact is that fish have central nervous systems very similar to humans..
..so if you can imagine a hook going thru yr cheek..
..and then being dragged by that hook..thru the water..
..then to be dragged out of the water..to either suffocate..
..or to have yr skull bashed in..
..you’ll get/have some idea of the amount of pain the fish suffer..
..but i guess meat/fish-eaters know how much pain/suffering they cause..
..just to get that ‘tastes good’..eh..?
..so i guess it just doesn’t bother them in the slightest…
..and it is such a nice day out..isn’t it..?..
..(except for the fish..of course..eh..?..)
It’s never pleasant having to do the hunter gatherer thing Phil. I feel guilty taking a knife to garden veggies, you can almost here them scream.
really..?
..the screaming-vegetables carnivore-cliche/excuse is all you’ve got..?
..it is pretty defenceless tho..eh..?
..if you think about it for more than a nano-second..
..and of course with pigs and the like..
..they really do scream..eh..?
..not just pretend-vegetable scream..eh..?
..and i guess if fish could scream..
..you wd definitely hear that as you pulled them out of their world..
..eh..?
..wot with that hook in/thru their mouth..and all..eh..?
..lucky they only gasp..eh..?
..screams wd mar that ‘nice day out’ so..eh..?
I’m serious I feel the same way for plants the way you feel for animals. I worry for my plants on a really hot day knowing their wilting in the hot sun.
Plant have feelings too ya know.
“..having to do the hunter gatherer thing..’
..what a pile of fresh steaming hose-shit that is..eh..?
no wonder they flap about a bit..eh..?
..the fish…
..i guess you wd too..
..if that was done to you..
..eh..?
Yeah, but I’m sure that, when eaten, both Skinny and the fish would produce less bile and indigestion than you.
got anything else..?
..or is that it..?
..wd b nice if it made some sense..eh..?
..more just an inarticulate-snarl..eh..?
stop flapping.
so no real countering-arguments or anything..eh..?
..well..there aren’t any really..are there..
..so i guess ad-homs r all you’ve got..eh..?
..what’s next..?
..are we gonna escalate to nyah..!..nyah..!..?
countering-argument surely implies an argument to respond to?
here’s the argument..
..why do you hurt animals..?
..when you don’t need to..
..(i’ll leave you with that thought..)
That’s actually a question which rests on several assumptions.
I suppose the most relevant answer in this instance, temporarily granting as fact all the assumptions in your question, is “because it’s more fun than tofu”.
Look what you have done to me now! I just finished writing and posting a raw fish recipe! You have made me think a lot now! Oh, dear!
“..You have made me think a lot now! Oh, dear!..”
..that’s good..that’s what i am trying to do…
..many reading that wd still believe the myth that ‘fish don’t feel pain’..
..and the thing is with knowledge/awareness..
..once you have it..you may ignore it..
..but it still sits there..nagging away..
..(a bit like me..really..)
How I envy you Skinny both in the catching and the eating, two in the one cast. You must have a larger than usual size pans. Those are good sized schnapper !
Which makes what I’m about to ply you with pretty tasteless behaviour on my part but I’d already done the Right/Click/Copy exercise so might as well.
Sarah Palin re the “liberal” Pope and Sarah Palin re Christie’s waste line – wonder what the worked gargoyle would’ve said about FDR.
Poor Amerika !
http://live.huffingtonpost.com/#r/archive/segment/52839899fe34444ea5000206?cps=gravity_3831_-1162663177255025467
Good life!
An American friend of mine and his Kiribati wife introduced me to the deliciousness of Kiribati style raw tuna fish marinated in salt and vinegar, then washed, squeezed and prepared with a few other choice ingredients. Amazing taste. This dish and its preparation is quite different from the raw fish dish of other pacific islands. The dish tastes and feels like the fish is well cooked! Actually, it is in a way, being chemically cooked in salt+vinegar! This works very well with some other firm fish too, including snapper.
If you are keen to know how exactly to do this, reply here and I will be happy to describe the recipe and method.
Yes please Clem you have my taste buds going, quiet day on open mike anyways lol.
My as well talk food.
Ok, Here is the way my friends who are an American-Kiribati couple and I do raw fish. I describe it as chemically cooked fish (CC Fish; See See Fish) rather than raw for the squeamish!
A MUST try delicacy!
First, I will now name this highly recommended recipe….Ta da…
RAWKIRI-CLEMPIN-FISHDISH :
* Definitely Serves 5 to15 depending upon how much one serves on one’s plate!
* or usable for several little meals/snacks for a day or two or three, if refrigerated.
* Good for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or as a healthy mid-night or any time snack!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
YOU WILL NEED:
Fish, Coconut cream, Salt, White vinegar, Cucumber, Tomatoes, Onion -mainly.
Optional : Capsicum, Carrrot, Chives/Parsley/Lettuce, Lime/Lemon.
INGREDIENTS LIST 1 :
NOTE : The measurements are approximate and variable up or down as convenient.
* FISH : 2 kg
Preferably firm fish such as
Tuna, Snapper, Tarakihi, Kahawai, Kingfish,
Salmon, Groper, Gurnard, Halibut, Warehou, John Dory etc
[P.S : I have tried the first five only]
* SALT : About 1/4 Kg
Don’t panic! We will remove all or most of the salt later during preparation.
* WHITE VINEGAR : About 1/2 to 1 litre , enough to cover cut fish pieces in a bowl.
Again, Don’t panic! We will remove most of the vinegar later during preparation!
* COCONUT CREAM : 2 or 3 or may be even 4 cans or about 1 litre.
You’ll need to judge later by eyeballing/taste test in step 7 of procedure.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
INGREDIENTS LIST 2 :
NOTE :
The following items should all together make up ABOUT half or slightly less than half the quantity of fish. Max 750g or1 kg in this case as fish used here is about 2 Kgs. Do not avoid the first three items marked with two stars **
** CUCUMBER : 1/4 or more of (telegraph) cucumber or 1 cup,
cut in small 1/2 cm cubes. Judge quantity per taste later, but must have item!
** RIPE RED TOMATOES : 2 medium size or 1 cup
cut in small 1/2 cm cubes. May need 3 if small. Judge later.
** ONION : 1 medium size or 1 cup. Definitely red onion if possible.
Cut in small 1/2 cm cubes. Use 2 if small. Again, do taste test later.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
* CAPSICUM : (OPTIONAL), 1/2 to 1 cup, cut in small 1/2 cm cubes. Green and/or yellow adds colour to dish.
* CARROT : (OPTIONAL), 1/2 cup grated or cut tiny 1/4 or 1/2 cm.
* CHIVES or PARSLEY or LETTUCE : (Any one, but OPTIONAL), 2 TABLE spoons, cut small 1/4 or 1/2 cm.
* LIME ZEST (OPTIONAL), thin green outer layer of lime peel, 2 tea spoons, grated
* LIME or LEMON : 1 (You may or may not need this as per taste later)
~~~~~~~~~~~
PROCEDURE :
STEP 1 :
Wash your hands well in soap. Rinse the fish. Remove skin of fish and fish bones and cut into 1 cm sized cubes. While cutting, keep putting the pieces into a bowl. When a layer of fish forms in the bowl, scatter a handful of salt over it. Repeat this for several layers until the fish is finished. Mix the fish pieces and salt a little to ensure all pieces are well covered in salt. I use my hands for this. Leave it for 5 to 10 minutes. Have a cuppa or a beer or make love or whatever. (Optional)
STEP 2 :
Pour vinegar into the bowl to cover the fish pieces. Give it a mix with a spoon or your clean hands. Cover with a cloth and leave at room temperature for at least 2 hours. Good to leave it up to 5 hours to cook well chemically in salt and vinegar.
STEP 3 :
While the fish is marinading and getting mysteriously cooked, prepare the cleaning and cutting of the ingredients (those that you will be using) from list 2 above.
STEP 4 : [Important step]
(a) After the 2 to 5 hours, drain the liquid from the fish bowl. I do this either by using a colander or by simply covering the bowl with a plate and draining the liquid into the sink.
(b) Now WASH the fish pieces with your hands using cold running water from the tap.
(c) Drain the water again as before. Squeeze a handful of fish and place it in another bowl. Do this until you have squeezed handfuls and transferred all the
fish into this new bowl.
(d) REPEAT this washing, draining, squeezing (WDS, unlike the WMDs) routine at least THREE times. FIVE times will be better. The idea is to remove MOST of the salt and vinegar and also to make the fish nice and soft to eat. Do a taste test : Take a piece of fish and eat it. It should not be TOO salty or TOO sour. If it is, repeat the WDS routine 1 or 2 more times. If it is a little salty and sour, do not worry too much because when we add the other stuff, the taste and composition will come right.
STEP 5 :
Add a can or two of coconut cream into the bowl of fish to cover the pieces well.
STEP 6 :
Add all the cut ingredients of list 2 that you prepared in step 3, into the fish bowl.
STEP 7:
(a) Give it a good mix using a spoon.
(b) Add more coconut cream if it is not covering the contents in the bowl well.
(c) Make and add more of ingredients from list 3 (except lime) if you feel you must.
(d) Do a taste test and see if you think you may need to add more salt or lime juice. Do NOT add salt or lime just yet.
(e) Cover and keep the bowl in fridge for half an hour. 1 to 2 hours is better.
(f) Do another taste test. This time, if you fancy more salt or lime, feel free to add but very tiny amounts each time. Keep tasting and adding tiny amounts until the dish tastes yummy and you are happy.
STEP 8 :
Serve cold. Normally, as an special extra course or as a side dish.
STEP 9 :
Cover any left over with glad wrap and refrigerate. Will keep good for at least three days in the fridge.
STEP 10:
Enjoy and share or Share and enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~
CORRECTION :
7 (c) should read,
‘Make and add more of ingredients from list 2 (except lime) if you feel you must’ [Not list 3 ]
————
And sorry, I could not post the recipe earlier in the evening as I was away and busy. Then it took me considerable time to write this recipe from scratch! It made me realise it isn’t as easy as it seems!
Please let me know if I have made any more errors or if my description is not clear.
Cheers Clem looks delicious have saved recipe thanks cobbah much apreiated dude!
I agree that it would be better to have an upper size limit, maybe something like 5kg. They start to be valuable breeders at about 2kg, as far as I know. They get more valuable as they get older. I’ve caught the best fish of the day a few times on the last bait.
I agree a 25+ year old fish is far better too be left as breeding stock, they are not as good to eat 20 pound upwards they become flakey.
Catching 2 on my last cast is a first for me, gave me a good buzz, as some wisecrack fellow watching said looks like its fish & chips for ya dinner on the way home as I said last go. Less then 60 seconds later I hauled in my catch. I winked at him walking off with my booty.
Going to go back on dusk during the week, the recent storm has stirred up the food chain and the swell is up too, and cloud cover is good.
Don’t the corporate and rich dude created callous river pollution contaminate the fish?
Liars of Our Time
No. 46: JULIA GILLARD
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“I have got a lot of respect for people who whistle-blow, ummm….”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
—JULIA GILLARD, straight-faced, vile on ABC Television, 14 March 2011
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1q9eqhT5UM
Liar No. 45 Zara Potts: “Sir Bob Geldof has assembled the best of modern musicians for this year’s record, including Ed Sheeran and One Direction.”
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-11112014/#comment-924196
More liars HERE….
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-09102014/#comment-907232
Liars of Our Time
No. 48: JIM MORA
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The studio fills with the sound of Tony Doe singing his new single “How Do You Embrace the Earth?”
JIM MORA: Well DONE.
TONY DOE: [modestly] So yeah. Pleased to be able to get it out to a wider audience.
JIM MORA: Fantastic! I’ll have a listen to the full version after The Panel.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
—JIM MORA, The Panel, Radio NZ National, 3:35 p.m., Wednesday 18 February 2015
Liar No.47 Simon Mercep: ““Coming up in a few minutes, The Panel. …. Whoever they are, quality broadcasting will ensue.”
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-18022015/#comment-970927
Liar No. 46 Julia Gillard: “I have got a lot of respect for people who whistle-blow, ummm….” http://thestandard.org.nz/ope-mike-08022015/#comment-965394
Liar No. 45 Zara Potts: “Sir Bob Geldof has assembled the best of modern musicians for this year’s record, including Ed Sheeran and One Direction.” http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-11112014/#comment-924196
More liars HERE….
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-09102014/#comment-907232