Prejudice against folks who get high to improve their mental health remains in the media. Media don't reflect grass-roots reality!
A couple years after California legalised cannabis for adult use in 2016, Danielle Simone Brand decided to try it. A journalist in the US Pacific Northwest, Brand, now 42, found cannabis left her feeling “better and more embodied, happier in my body and mind”. Looking at legal cannabis as a wellness tool, she quickly liked how using the substance herself bettered her ability to parent her two children, now 8 and 11.
“Cannabis helps me in certain transitional moments,” she says. “I can more easily set aside my workday to-do list, along with whatever challenges and frustrations I've experienced that day, and get into the kind of headspace where I can patiently help with homework or make dinner with my daughter.”
Brand, the author of Weed Mom: The Canna-Curious Woman's Guide to Healthier Relaxation, Happier Parenting, and Chilling TF Out, says cannabis helped her slow down enough to linger with her kids at bedtime. Because she was so often in a hurry to get them to bed at a reasonable hour – and buy some rest for herself – Brand says she was missing out on time when her kids were keen to connect. That meant she failed to hear important details about what they were learning, how they felt about school and their relationships with friends.
The first time researcher Heather McIlvaine-Newsad became aware of cannamoms was around 2018, due to the emergence of Facebook groups devoted to the new social movement. An anthropology professor and co-founder of Western Illinois University’s interdisciplinary minor in cannabis and culture, McIlvaine-Newsad noted some of the Facebook discussion groups had been running for several years. Today, she says there are more than two dozen such groups on Facebook, boasting several thousands of members.
53-year-old Barinder Rasode also felt her stress ratchet up during the pandemic. With three children, aged 28, 25 and 17, the Vancouver, British Columbia-based mother struggled to parent amid Covid-19, especially while trying to explain to her youngest child what was going on. “You’re dealing with a teenager whose world has got turned upside down, and you’re confined in a small space, all together, for more hours than anybody should,” says Rasode, a former municipal politician turned CEO of medical-cannabis business-incubator GrowTech Labs.
Many cannamoms, including Rasode, Thomas and Brand, all ‘microdose’ cannabis – using the plant or its extracts in small doses.
That's the key point for therapeutic usage. The homeopathic analogy applies. Just use enough to shift your state of mind. No more is necessary.
Why? The psyche is a complex system. Gestalt shifts result from tiny triggers. Neuroscience has documented the various ways different parts of the brain contribute their function to consciousness, and also has moved on to document how feelings produced throughout the body likewise affect our outlook, behaviour, and decision-making. Such practical holism informs our grasp of health nowadays.
Different strokes for different folks. Its a sorry description of those that have control that they should mandate that we only have access to the two most lethal.
A family member has the unerring ability to 'friend' the non functioning potheads. Some are truly sorry specimens particularly when the overuse is coupled with an innate lack of intelligence and the cannabis use started in the early teens. Some of them are not able to hold down a steady job and never will. I find it very sad.
I've been to the wards (note the plural) of non functioning people with fetal alcohol syndrome, truly disturbing individuals who never had a chance, never even had the choice, some not able to survive without assistance. I found that incredibly sad. No choice comes without repercussions. But that the government should dictate that alcohol is the only choice for an activity that seems to be intrinsic to mankind is truly heinous.
Its not about good and bad or protecting a population, if it was we would see regulation of sugar, its simply bad law and a rotten government unwilling to do the right thing.
Those days we got it via contacts as “Buddha Sticks” from off the ships at Port Taranaki. It was wrapped around matchstick-thin sticks of bamboo & came from SE Asia.
I rolled a cigar-sized doobie out of four cigarette papers for my mates at a party in Waitara. Got stoned as frack & it freaked me out – although it made the contemporary music we were playing on the stereo about 3 times as interesting – I found I could hone in on drums, bass, guitars, keyboards, vocals, BVs & hear them with pristine clarity like never before.
I was so stoned that when I stepped off my mate’s doorstep to leave for home (about a four inch height) it was like I was experiencing slow motion & the step seemed about a foot high. Not hallucinating as such, just felt very much in an altered state of consciousness. Thank goodness another, rather straight, mate who didn’t partake drove us home to New Plymouth.
When I got home at about 2 am I was freaking out that I might have damaged my brain. I was much too stoned to even talk to my older brother who saw my red eyes, guessed what was happening, & told me to go to bed before my parents saw me.
Woke up the next morning & I was fine. No after effects at all. Man, this is way better than booze, I concluded.
It didn’t become a regular feature of my life until my mid-20s. I never got it from gangs. I always seemed to be able to find non-gang sources (at work or when out socially) who just quietly grew their own & sometimes sold oz bags on the side. I also grew my own (in amongst carefully selected tall marigolds) for about 10 years.
It was never available at my school in my schooldays, though I believe it IS commonly available there nowdays.
I’m glad I never got onto it when at school. I had enuf trouble concentrating when bored as it was. If I’d being doing dope in my schooldays I’d have had no idea what we’d just been taught after every class.
You may have heard NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard warning the public that everybody should expect to get infected by the Omicron variant.
That’s pretty gloomy, but is he wrong?
I asked Hunter, Plank and Martiniuk about this.
“Basically he is correct,” Hunter replied. “Nothing in medicine is 100 per cent, but the large majority of people will get Omicron.”
Martiniuk said she did not know. “But wouldn’t you rather delay getting it until a few years from now? Wouldn’t you rather get it when there are better treatments and better vaccines?”
Plank certainly doesn’t agree with Hazzard’s messaging. He sees it as defeatist, but he acknowledges the minister probably has a point. The sheer speed at which the virus spreads, and the fact it evades vaccination, means that once it starts spreading it’s going to infect a lot of people – although maybe not everyone.
“But that doesn't mean you don’t do anything to try and slow it down or stop it,” Plank says, “And there are still vulnerable groups, and we really need to keep those groups in mind.”
Nothing wrong with slowing it down, applying the precautionary principle. However the unity stance is never going to work – particularly if directed against Gaia.
Problem with academics is lack of Gaian consciousness. Ivory-tower syndrome rules their thinking. Plank always seems sensible & I haven't disagreed with any of his views, but he's bound by his indoctrination like all the others. To grasp the evolutionary context, one must think outside the academic square.
There could already be people in the community with it that don't realise they have it. Remember many people don't know they have it until the test result comes back.
I already commented on that article on another thread, so won't repeat myself.
Instead, and in light of the official narrative crumbling (and not a moment too soon), I'll post these wee lines from a piece of Guardian reporting today –
The government said a further 154 people had died in England within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19.
Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have now been 174,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
Bit of a shift from the reporting of these past few years that would have read along the lines of – "another 154 Covid deaths" and "there have been a total of 174 000 Covid deaths"
While I welcome the change, I'd really quite like the bastards behind the ubiquitous "project fear" reporting of these past few years to be dragged into public view and dealt with appropriately.
We can take comfort in recent UK trends (30th Dec. 332 deaths, 31st Dec. 203 deaths, 1st Jan. 154 deaths – a year ago it was 592 deaths per day [7-day moving average] and rising), and in the roll-out of boosters and new treatments for COVID infections.
Should be a doddle for all but the seriously ill and/or dying from now on – 'cry freedums' trumps "project fear". However, we may not be out of the dense woods just yet – let's touch base in 3 – 4 weeks to re-examine the pandemic success story that is the UK. And keep an eye out for new variants of concern, why not.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA council chairman, has said it is “wholly erroneous to talk about the risk of the NHS becoming overwhelmed”, adding that the new year began with the NHS “already overwhelmed, in a parlous state, and with patient care suffering”.
He described staff as “exhausted”, and added: “A key priority for the government this year must be to properly invest in doctors’ wellbeing, recognising that the NHS cannot afford to lose any more of its workforce without dangerously jeopardising patient care.”
Well nothing will change until the people of the world somehow unite and create a World without money system. We are still in a primitive stage of evolution so a World without money system could be a long time in the waiting.
Has Biden succeeded in taxing the shit out of the wealthy, as he intended?
The only other way to control greed is by making it morally reprehensible to society, but even Christianity & Islam – which both try to do that – have spectacularly failed in that regard.
I dunno how practical a world without money is. Money has been around for so long because it’s just so practical.
But we could sure do with a major reform of the international currency markets that are still far too much controlled by the US & allow the US to strangle economies of countries they don’t like or whose leaders or policies are inconvenient to their government or the major corporations who fund their politicians.
If you really want to have a world without money you are going to have to come up with a simple way to trade your work for others..
If you, a maker of shoes, but who likes strawberries, wants to find a way of exchanging your shoes for someone else's strawberries how are you going to do it without having the intermediary of money? How do you find a seller of strawberries? What do you do if they don't want a new pair of shoes? What do you do if you really want some strawberries next month and not today? What if you only want a small amount of strawberries in comparison with a large pair of shoes?
etc, etc, etc. Money, in some form or other is perhaps the greatest invention of, and the most useful thing ever created by, the Human Race.
The experience of Hungary, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkey – to name just the best-known recent cases – show that a transition from some kind of power-sharing democracy to despotism can happen rapidly, in not much longer than a decade.
That was certainly the case in the 20th Century & nothing has changed. In fact it can happen even more quickly these days, imo. Look how many people in the US bought into the “Trump’s the solution” madness from the “get-go”!
Democracy loses credibility when it fails to deliver. Find a National or Labour voter & target the bugger. See if you can wake him up. From your source:
Despotisms in practice strive to learn the arts of nimble governance. They do more than repeat the mantra of “popular sovereignty”: their leaders harness public opinion polling agencies, think tanks, election campaigns, happiness forums, policy feedback groups, online hearings and other early warning detectors.
The rulers of the new despotisms are deception and seduction perfectionists. They do all they can to camouflage the violence they wield against those who refuse to conform.
Using a combination of slick means, including calibrated coercion masked by balaclavas, they manage to win the loyalty of sections of the middle classes, skilled and unskilled workers, and the poor. Despotisms are hard governments in soft velvet form. They work tirelessly to lure their subjects into subjection. Voluntary servitude is their thing.
Voluntary servitude is the ethos of your typical Nat/Lab voter. They are literally unable to think of what else to do with their lives.
So my point is our mainstreamer political duopoly is already operating to simulate democracy just like the despots. They just use a bit more of that velvet…
It's worth keeping in mind that whenever we tear down the achievements of liberal democracy – that you're also serving an despot's purpose knowingly or not.
A decent start to the test, a bit disappointing losing Blundell at the end but its still 258 runs in the bank with 5 wickets in hand
Minimum target from here would be at least 350 and then we'll see what the bowlers can do on this pitch.
A good start to Youngs career as opener but its a shame we can't seem to produce another opening partner for Latham (at least it means we can put him in the team)
Blundell hasn't been going too well of late but he deserves more of an extended run in the role (maybe swop with Ravindra in the batting order?) however hes not just replacing an all time NZ great, hes replacing one of the best wicketkeeper/batters of all time
Having said that Cleaver, Fletcher and Seifert are all doing well in FC cricket so a decent score in the 2nd innings would do him a world of good.
So a team, in the near future, of:
Latham
Young
Williamson
Conway
Nicholls
Ravindra
Blundell
Jamieson
Southee
Wagner
Boult
Isn't too shabby, maybe would like to see more of Patel and Jamieson maybe a position too high but still pretty good.
Excellent choices for the Black Caps PR. I will miss Taylor.
on another recreational note, West Side Story 2021 is definitely worth seeing. I am not going to make any judgements about which version is better. I love this musical and both movies are wonderful. One of the differences though is that I found the gangs quite scary, especially the Jets. There was a look of deprivation about them and the violence felt more authentic to who the characters were (rather than unfortunate accidents in the 1960’s version).
I couldn’t help but think of the gangs in NZ and how we hear about these scenarios in the news.
Whats good about this team is that we also have Mitchell in the reserves and hes shown to be more than able to make the step up to top order international batting.
We've got good pace bowling reserves, plenty of wicket keeping/batters floating about. If we could just sort out the spinning options we'd be a threat in all conditions.
Excellent choices for the Black Caps PR. I will miss Taylor.
on another recreational note, West Side Story 2021 is definitely worth seeing. I am not going to make any judgements about which version is better. I love this musical and both movies are wonderful. One of the differences though is that I found the gangs quite scary in the 2021 version, especially the Jets. There was a look of deprivation about them and the violence felt more authentic to who the characters were (rather than unfortunate accidents in the 1960’s version).
I couldn’t help but think of the gangs in NZ and how we hear about these scenarios in the news.
The "poster child" politicians for liberalism just can't help themselves. From Jacinda's "be kind" before openly guffawing at creating a divided NZ, to this corker from her "poster child" predecessor.
I think he was a black slave in a former life. He’s now a white 'waste of space' liberal who's conflicted. He now realises ''black faces don't matter.''
don't know who BLN are, but in this tweet, they are clearly misrepresenting what Trudeau is saying.
They claim that he said unvaccinated people are them unscientific, misogynists and racists, and that he was attacking unvaccinated people.
Whereas what he actually said is two things:
there are vaccine hesitant people, and they will keep trying to convince them
there are another group of people who are "ferociously against vaccination", and who tend to be anti-science, racist, misongynist. They are small group.
Here's a transcript,
Why BLN would want to conflate vax hesitant people with hard core anti-vaxxers connected to Qanon etc I don't know. Seems weird to me.
I don't believe Bull was being careless at all, quite the opposite in fact.
His "divided NZ" is just more billshit, some love to play the persecution up for whatever reasons."No papers" is another one used the other day . Ffs what's this country coming to when one has to travel 50 km , pass 6 supermarkets, 8 dairies, 3 bakeries just to find a bakery with a cafe attached to it in order to satisfy a need to feel persecuted!
Anyway. You want to talk to the 9 year olds who have been told they can't do any extracurricular activities next year unless they're injected and then come back and tell me how NZ isn't divided?
You want to talk about the kids whose heads are all fucked up because "unless injected" they don't get to hang out with their school pals? (Maybe you don't recall what a huge deal peer pressure and social acceptance was as a pre-teen kid)
Or maybe just tell me how the clip Rosemary put up doesn't mean that NZ's been deliberately divided?
20 odd km is the distance on public transport btw (not 50km) – to the bakery I've been buying my bread from these past two years or more because it's decent bread they bake.
You deliberately overlooking Trudeau's hypocrisy? (Blumenthal’s tweet’s arguably really quite pertinent and funny)
The guy who runs around in black face saying racists are not going to tolerated…
Anyway, hypocrisy aside, what do you think he means when he says those who resist the injections and who he considers to be anti-science and/or racist and/or misogynists may well not be tolerated?
You can the circularity of his argument, whereby anyone who refuses to submit to an injection in spite of government persuasion becomes almost by definition a person harbouring personal traits or beliefs that he reckons ought not to be tolerated, yes?
So what would the next step in this "othering" be? Open season on the deplorable un-injected?
Looks like the interview was from September, I'll hazard a guess that there is broader context, including what he said next.
BLN's website page on the piece is obviously manipulative and not journalism. There's no date or context for the video, and their headlines and brief content smack of sensationalism and trumpism (note they accuse Trudeau of being divisive while they are doing exactly that with their approach). This is the kind of shit I would expect to be passed around on FB without any attempt at fact checking.
BLN – "Shining a light on the science and data of Covid-19. Investigate and arrive at your own conclusions." BLN is also active on Telegram – the extremists' platform of choice.
The tweet was compiled by Max Blumenthal ffs. What earthly difference does it make what platform or outlet was carrying the original clip that he used in making his observation?
And….are you insinuating that "telegram" – 'the extremists' platform of choice' (in your words) is perhaps where misogynists, racists and anti-science types gather?
Perhaps you think, essentially in parallel with Trudeau, that Telegram, or anyone who uses Telegram is another indication (alongside people refusing injections?) of who ought not be tolerated?
Trudeau says, "But also, there are people who are ferociously against vaccination…" and it's those he lambasts, not the "vaccine hesitant” or the broader "unvaccinated".
The comment (above) "Prime Minister @Justin Trudeau launches into an unfounded and divisive tirade on unvaccinated people … " is a crock.
I call them 'malignant anti vaxxers' and they are a different breed from many who are hesitant or the broader unvaccinated. These are the ones who send out false letters to people about booster shots using MOH letterhead, damage vaccine centres, bully those turning up at centres so that the centres have to close.
They are the ones who featured in David Farrier's Loopy article
Looks like omicron is becoming likely to be viewed as similar to the flu.
A Belgian scientific research station in Antarctica is dealing with an outbreak of Covid-19, despite workers being fully vaccinated and based in one of the world's remotest regions. Since 14 December, at least 16 of the 25 workers at the Princess Elisabeth Polar Station have caught the virus. Officials say cases remain mild so far.
Joseph Cheek, a project manager for the International Polar Foundation, told the BBC: "All residents of the station were offered the opportunity to leave on a scheduled flight on 12 January. However, they all expressed their wish to stay and continue their work."
Govts have trained people to see a 64% pandemic infection rate as a calamity. Having this team of scientists treat it as no problem could cause a wave of cognitive dissonance to spread around the world with this news…
So we've gone from it being official govt figures, to a youtuber not even bothering linking to a news article I can't read.
[RL: Bill provided a time reference: At about 10 minutes in, the NHS figures are presented. I tested all the links and encountered no problem or paywalls. Moderation has been working to encourage cites and your initial sneering response, lacking any argument or detail, was not needed. Personally I do not do Twitter and you seem to have a thing against YT, but both are frequently used and that isn’t going to change.]
"About 10 minutes in", NHS figures for admissions are presented, but then factored down with the "20%" figure from the telegraph (a link only visible as far as I can see at the bottom of the paper in the video, and had to be hand-transposed into the browser to find I wasn't allowed to read the article).
There appears to be a fundamental citation gap in that argument, let alone from anything based on official figures for the 20% claim.
[RL: Your carping about paywalls is easily addressed in a few seconds work with a search engine. I’m not going to do that for you. In the meantime you have failed to acknowledge my original moderation warning and are now heading into ‘wasting my time’ territory.]
Didn't realise it was a warning, and still can't find the telegraph source from the video in the links you reckoned worked fine. But now I know, so I'll leave it.
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Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...
Come and join myself and CTU Chief Economist for a pop-up ‘Hoon’ webinar on the Government’s Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) with paying subscribers to The Kākā for 30 minutes at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream to watch our chat. Don’t worry if ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...
Hi,“What I love about New Zealanders is that sometimes you use these expressions that as Americans we have no idea what those things mean!"I am watching a 30-something year old American ramble on about how different New Zealanders are to Americans. It’s his podcast, and this man is doing a ...
What Chris Penk has granted holocaust-denier and equal-opportunity-bigot Candace Owens is not “freedom of speech”. It’s not even really freedom of movement, though that technically is the right she has been granted. What he has given her is permission to perform. Freedom of SpeechIn New Zealand, the right to freedom ...
All those tears on your cheeksJust like deja vu flow nowWhen grandmother speaksSo tell me a story (I'll tell you a story)Spell it out, I can't hear (What do you want to hear?)Why you wear black in the morning?Why there's smoke in the air? Songwriter: Greg Johnson.Mōrena all ☀️Something a ...
2024 is now officially my best-ever year for short stories. My 1,850-word dark fantasy piece, As Our Power Lessens, has been accepted for the upcoming solstice edition of Eternal Haunted Summer (https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/), thereby making that six published short stories for the calendar year. As always, see the Bibliography page for ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation. The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care ...
The Government‘s Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to create a new regulatory regime that will enable firms to construct offshore wind generation has passed its first reading in Parliament, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand currently does not have a regulatory regime for offshore renewable energy as the previous government failed ...
Legislation to enable new water service delivery models that will drive critical investment in infrastructure has passed its first reading in Parliament, marking a significant step towards the delivery of Local Water Done Well, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly say.“Councils and voters ...
New Zealand is one step closer to reaping the benefits of gene technology with the passing of the first reading of the Gene Technology Bill, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins says. "This legislation will end New Zealand's near 30-year ban on gene technology outside the lab and is ...
Cosmic CatastropheThe year draws to a close.King Luxon has grown tired of the long eveningsListening to the dreary squabbling of his Triumvirate.He strolls up to the top floor of the PalaceTo consult with his Astronomer Royal.The Royal Telescope scans the skies,And King Luxon stares up into the heavensFrom the terrestrial ...
Spinoff editor Mad Chapman and books editor Claire Mabey debate Carl Shuker’s new novel about… an editor. Claire: Hello Mad, you just finished The Royal Free – overall impressions? Mad: Hi Claire, I literally just put the book down and I would have to say my immediate impression is ...
Christmas and its buildup are often lonely, hard and full of unreasonable expectations. Here’s how to make it to Jesus’s birthday and find the little bit of joy we all deserve. Have you found this year relentless? Has the latest Apple update “fucked up your life”? Have you lost two ...
Despite overwhelming public and corporate support, the government has stalled progress on a modern day slavery law. That puts us behind other countries – and makes Christmas a time of tragedy rather than joy, argues Shanti Mathias. Picture the scene on Christmas Day. Everyone replete with nice things to eat, ...
Asia Pacific Report “It looks like Hiroshima. It looks like Germany at the end of World War Two,” says an Israeli-American historian and professor of holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University about the horrifying reality of Gaza. Professor Omer Bartov, has described Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza as an ...
The New Zealand government coalition is tweaking university regulations to curb what it says is an increasingly “risk-averse approach” to free speech. The proposed changes will set clear expectations on how universities should approach freedom of speech issues. Each university will then have to adopt a “freedom of speech statement” ...
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone New York prosecutors have charged Luigi Mangione with “murder as an act of terrorism” in his alleged shooting of health insurance CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month. This news comes out at the same time as ...
Pacific Media Watch The union for Australian journalists has welcomed the delivery by the federal government of more than $150 million to support the sustainability of public interest journalism over the next four years. Combined with the announcement of the revamped News Bargaining Initiative, this could result in up to ...
MONDAY“Merry Xmas, and praise the Lord,” said Sheriff Luxon, and smiled for the camera. There was a flash of smoke when the shutter pressed down on the magnesium powder. The sheriff had arranged for a photographer from the Dodge Gazette to attend a ceremony where he handed out food parcels to ...
It’s a little under two months since the White Ferns shocked the cricketing world, deservedly taking home the T20 World Cup. Since then the trophy has had a tour around the country, five of the squad have played in the WBBL in Australia while most others have returned to domestic ...
Comment: If we say the word ‘dementia’, many will picture an older person struggling to remember the names of their loved ones, maybe a grandparent living out their final years in an aged care facility. Dementia can also occur in people younger than 65, but it can take time before ...
Piracy is a reality of modern life – but copyright law has struggled to play catch-up for as long as the entertainment industry has existed. As far back as 1988, the House of Lords criticised copyright law’s conflict with the reality of human behaviour in the context of burning cassette ...
As he makes a surprise return to Shortland Street, actor Craig Parker takes us through his life in television. Craig Parker has been a fixture on television in Aotearoa for nearly four decades. He had starring roles in iconic local series like Gloss, Mercy Peak and Diplomatic Immunity, featured in ...
The Ōtautahi musician shares the 10 tracks he loves to spin, including the folk classic that cured him of a ‘case of the give-ups’. When singer-songwriter Adam McGrath returns to Kumeu’s Auckland Folk Festival from January 24-27, he’s not planning on simply idling his way through – he wants the late ...
Alex Casey spends an afternoon on the job with River, the rescue dog on a mission to spread joy to Ōtautahi rest homes.Almost everyone says it is never enough time. But River the rescue dog, a jet black huntaway border collie cross, has to keep a tight pace to ...
Asia Pacific Report Fiji activists have recreated the nativity scene at a solidarity for Palestine gathering in Fiji’s capital Suva just days before Christmas. The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre and Fijians for Palestine Solidarity Network recreated the scene at the FWCC compound — a baby Jesus figurine lies amidst the ...
By 1News Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver and 1News reporters A number of Kiwis have been successfully evacuated from Vanuatu after a devastating earthquake shook the Pacific island nation earlier this week. The death toll was still unclear, though at least 14 people were killed according to an earlier statement from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Scully, Professor in Modern History, University of New England Bunker.Image courtesy of Michael Leunig, CC BY-NC-SA Michael Leunig – who died in the early hours of Thursday December 19, surrounded by “his children, loved ones, and sunflowers” – was the ...
The House - On Parliament's last day of the year, there was the rare occurrence of a personal (conscience) vote on selling booze over the Easter weekend. While it didn't have the numbers to pass, it was a chance to get a rare glimpse of the fact ...
A new poem by Holly Fletcher. bejeweled log i was dreaming about wasps / wee darlings that followed me / ducking under objects / that i was fated to pickup / my fingers seeking / and meeting with tiny proboscis’s / but instead / i wake up / roll sideways ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Flora Hui, Research Fellow, Centre for Eye Research Australia and Honorary Fellow, Department of Surgery (Ophthalmology), The University of Melbourne Versta/Shutterstock Australians are exposed to some of the highest levels of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the world. While we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Terry, Professor of Business Regulation, University of Sydney Michael von Aichberger/Shutterstock Even if you’ve no idea how the business model underpinning franchises works, there’s a good chance you’ve spent money at one. Franchising is essentially a strategy for cloning ...
If something big is going to happen in Ferndale, it’s going to happen at Christmas. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If there’s one episode of Shortland Street you should watch each year, it’s the annual Christmas cliffhanger. The final episode of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By William A. Stoltz, Lecturer and expert Associate, National Security College, Australian National University US President-elect Donald Trump has named most of the members of his proposed cabinet. However, he’s yet to reveal key appointees to America’s powerful cyber warfare and intelligence institutions. ...
Announcing the top 10 books of the the year at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Intermezzo by Sally Rooney (Faber & Faber, $37) The phenomenal Irish writer is the unsurprising chart topper for 2024 with her fourth novel that, much like her first ...
The government has confirmed its plan to break up Te Pūkenga / New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology and re-establish independent polytechnics. ...
Prejudice against folks who get high to improve their mental health remains in the media. Media don't reflect grass-roots reality!
That's the key point for therapeutic usage. The homeopathic analogy applies. Just use enough to shift your state of mind. No more is necessary.
Why? The psyche is a complex system. Gestalt shifts result from tiny triggers. Neuroscience has documented the various ways different parts of the brain contribute their function to consciousness, and also has moved on to document how feelings produced throughout the body likewise affect our outlook, behaviour, and decision-making. Such practical holism informs our grasp of health nowadays.
Wondering if these cannamoms ,start off….'cannakids'….I hope not,although it is hard to imagine…they won't.
I hope so. They'd be likely to become the ones that rescue humanity from mainstreamer-driven cultural toxic sludge.
I've seen it affect people in different ways…functioning potheads,psychotics and schizophrenia….
Me too, in 1972. It became obvious that some users just don't do moderation. The concept of self-discipline is too alien..
Different strokes for different folks. Its a sorry description of those that have control that they should mandate that we only have access to the two most lethal.
A family member has the unerring ability to 'friend' the non functioning potheads. Some are truly sorry specimens particularly when the overuse is coupled with an innate lack of intelligence and the cannabis use started in the early teens. Some of them are not able to hold down a steady job and never will. I find it very sad.
I've been to the wards (note the plural) of non functioning people with fetal alcohol syndrome, truly disturbing individuals who never had a chance, never even had the choice, some not able to survive without assistance. I found that incredibly sad. No choice comes without repercussions. But that the government should dictate that alcohol is the only choice for an activity that seems to be intrinsic to mankind is truly heinous.
Its not about good and bad or protecting a population, if it was we would see regulation of sugar, its simply bad law and a rotten government unwilling to do the right thing.
I was 16 when I first tried it in 1973.
Those days we got it via contacts as “Buddha Sticks” from off the ships at Port Taranaki. It was wrapped around matchstick-thin sticks of bamboo & came from SE Asia.
I rolled a cigar-sized doobie out of four cigarette papers for my mates at a party in Waitara. Got stoned as frack & it freaked me out – although it made the contemporary music we were playing on the stereo about 3 times as interesting – I found I could hone in on drums, bass, guitars, keyboards, vocals, BVs & hear them with pristine clarity like never before.
I was so stoned that when I stepped off my mate’s doorstep to leave for home (about a four inch height) it was like I was experiencing slow motion & the step seemed about a foot high. Not hallucinating as such, just felt very much in an altered state of consciousness. Thank goodness another, rather straight, mate who didn’t partake drove us home to New Plymouth.
When I got home at about 2 am I was freaking out that I might have damaged my brain. I was much too stoned to even talk to my older brother who saw my red eyes, guessed what was happening, & told me to go to bed before my parents saw me.
Woke up the next morning & I was fine. No after effects at all. Man, this is way better than booze, I concluded.
It didn’t become a regular feature of my life until my mid-20s. I never got it from gangs. I always seemed to be able to find non-gang sources (at work or when out socially) who just quietly grew their own & sometimes sold oz bags on the side. I also grew my own (in amongst carefully selected tall marigolds) for about 10 years.
It was never available at my school in my schooldays, though I believe it IS commonly available there nowdays.
I’m glad I never got onto it when at school. I had enuf trouble concentrating when bored as it was. If I’d being doing dope in my schooldays I’d have had no idea what we’d just been taught after every class.
https://imgur.com/u8Fo1wf
Should Team Kiwi keep trying to slow it down, or just let 'er rip? I'd prefer to err on the side of caution, but ‘we’ may not have much choice.
Unite against
COVID-19
https://covid19.govt.nz
Nothing wrong with slowing it down, applying the precautionary principle. However the unity stance is never going to work – particularly if directed against Gaia.
Problem with academics is lack of Gaian consciousness. Ivory-tower syndrome rules their thinking. Plank always seems sensible & I haven't disagreed with any of his views, but he's bound by his indoctrination like all the others. To grasp the evolutionary context, one must think outside the academic square.
Your humble giants must be quite lumbered by Frank farsightedness
There could already be people in the community with it that don't realise they have it. Remember many people don't know they have it until the test result comes back.
Good point, Jester, there certainly could be – guess we'll find out soon enough.
I already commented on that article on another thread, so won't repeat myself.
Instead, and in light of the official narrative crumbling (and not a moment too soon), I'll post these wee lines from a piece of Guardian reporting today –
The government said a further 154 people had died in England within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19.
Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have now been 174,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
Bit of a shift from the reporting of these past few years that would have read along the lines of – "another 154 Covid deaths" and "there have been a total of 174 000 Covid deaths"
While I welcome the change, I'd really quite like the bastards behind the ubiquitous "project fear" reporting of these past few years to be dragged into public view and dealt with appropriately.
We can take comfort in recent UK trends (30th Dec. 332 deaths, 31st Dec. 203 deaths, 1st Jan. 154 deaths – a year ago it was 592 deaths per day [7-day moving average] and rising), and in the roll-out of boosters and new treatments for COVID infections.
Should be a doddle for all but the seriously ill and/or dying from now on – 'cry freedums' trumps "project fear". However, we may not be out of the dense woods just yet – let's touch base in 3 – 4 weeks to re-examine the pandemic success story that is the UK. And keep an eye out for new variants of concern, why not.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic#Misinformation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_misinformation
Just something else to fret about.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/despotic-regimes-a-new-global-competitor-to-be-reckoned-with?utm_source=Friends+of+the+Newsroom&utm_campaign=9668ee764f-Summer+Newsroom+02.01.2022&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_71de5c4b35-9668ee764f-47886425
ISTM inequality is the driving force. Even in Aotearoa.
Well nothing will change until the people of the world somehow unite and create a World without money system. We are still in a primitive stage of evolution so a World without money system could be a long time in the waiting.
The BIG question is how do you control greed?
Regulation. And taxation.
Has Biden succeeded in taxing the shit out of the wealthy, as he intended?
The only other way to control greed is by making it morally reprehensible to society, but even Christianity & Islam – which both try to do that – have spectacularly failed in that regard.
Speaking of…morals…arise Sir Tony Blair…what rogues gallery would be complete without his admission.
A man who ignored 1million people protesting in London,and went ahead with a war of death and destruction in Iraq,based on a litany of…lies.
Wonderful world…beautiful ..people.
Well said Blazer
I dunno how practical a world without money is. Money has been around for so long because it’s just so practical.
But we could sure do with a major reform of the international currency markets that are still far too much controlled by the US & allow the US to strangle economies of countries they don’t like or whose leaders or policies are inconvenient to their government or the major corporations who fund their politicians.
Well I have an opinion piece on that,too big for here but can be read as a free download at: http://byd0nz.com
If you really want to have a world without money you are going to have to come up with a simple way to trade your work for others..
If you, a maker of shoes, but who likes strawberries, wants to find a way of exchanging your shoes for someone else's strawberries how are you going to do it without having the intermediary of money? How do you find a seller of strawberries? What do you do if they don't want a new pair of shoes? What do you do if you really want some strawberries next month and not today? What if you only want a small amount of strawberries in comparison with a large pair of shoes?
etc, etc, etc. Money, in some form or other is perhaps the greatest invention of, and the most useful thing ever created by, the Human Race.
The experience of Hungary, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkey – to name just the best-known recent cases – show that a transition from some kind of power-sharing democracy to despotism can happen rapidly, in not much longer than a decade.
That was certainly the case in the 20th Century & nothing has changed. In fact it can happen even more quickly these days, imo. Look how many people in the US bought into the “Trump’s the solution” madness from the “get-go”!
Thanks for that. A good read & well-made points.
Democracy loses credibility when it fails to deliver. Find a National or Labour voter & target the bugger. See if you can wake him up. From your source:
Voluntary servitude is the ethos of your typical Nat/Lab voter. They are literally unable to think of what else to do with their lives.
So my point is our mainstreamer political duopoly is already operating to simulate democracy just like the despots. They just use a bit more of that velvet…
Excellent article.
It's worth keeping in mind that whenever we tear down the achievements of liberal democracy – that you're also serving an despot's purpose knowingly or not.
Isn't he saying that liberal democracy=despotism?
Cricket, cricket, cricket!
A decent start to the test, a bit disappointing losing Blundell at the end but its still 258 runs in the bank with 5 wickets in hand
Minimum target from here would be at least 350 and then we'll see what the bowlers can do on this pitch.
A good start to Youngs career as opener but its a shame we can't seem to produce another opening partner for Latham (at least it means we can put him in the team)
Blundell hasn't been going too well of late but he deserves more of an extended run in the role (maybe swop with Ravindra in the batting order?) however hes not just replacing an all time NZ great, hes replacing one of the best wicketkeeper/batters of all time
Having said that Cleaver, Fletcher and Seifert are all doing well in FC cricket so a decent score in the 2nd innings would do him a world of good.
So a team, in the near future, of:
Latham
Young
Williamson
Conway
Nicholls
Ravindra
Blundell
Jamieson
Southee
Wagner
Boult
Isn't too shabby, maybe would like to see more of Patel and Jamieson maybe a position too high but still pretty good.
Heartening to see this: https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/cricket/black-caps/300489169/devon-conway-plays-leading-hand-for-black-caps-on-return-from-injury-with-ton
Some good comments in there
Time ticks on. Southee 33 years old, Wagner 35, Boult 32.
Incredible effort by Bangladesh today to lose only 2 wickets. Hats off to this young side.
Indeed, they're doing very well. The Black Caps maybe a little complacent..?
on another recreational note, West Side Story 2021 is definitely worth seeing. I am not going to make any judgements about which version is better. I love this musical and both movies are wonderful. One of the differences though is that I found the gangs quite scary, especially the Jets. There was a look of deprivation about them and the violence felt more authentic to who the characters were (rather than unfortunate accidents in the 1960’s version).
I couldn’t help but think of the gangs in NZ and how we hear about these scenarios in the news.
Whats good about this team is that we also have Mitchell in the reserves and hes shown to be more than able to make the step up to top order international batting.
We've got good pace bowling reserves, plenty of wicket keeping/batters floating about. If we could just sort out the spinning options we'd be a threat in all conditions.
on another recreational note, West Side Story 2021 is definitely worth seeing. I am not going to make any judgements about which version is better. I love this musical and both movies are wonderful. One of the differences though is that I found the gangs quite scary in the 2021 version, especially the Jets. There was a look of deprivation about them and the violence felt more authentic to who the characters were (rather than unfortunate accidents in the 1960’s version).
I couldn’t help but think of the gangs in NZ and how we hear about these scenarios in the news.
Santners no good at test level (very good white ball player though)
Disappointed with Patel not playing and I think we're a batter or all rounder short
The "poster child" politicians for liberalism just can't help themselves. From Jacinda's "be kind" before openly guffawing at creating a divided NZ, to this corker from her "poster child" predecessor.
https://twitter.com/MaxBlumenthal/status/1477360402338095113?s=20
I think he was a black slave in a former life. He’s now a white 'waste of space' liberal who's conflicted. He now realises ''black faces don't matter.''
lol yes he makes your skin crawl doesnt he haha
don't know who BLN are, but in this tweet, they are clearly misrepresenting what Trudeau is saying.
They claim that he said unvaccinated people are them unscientific, misogynists and racists, and that he was attacking unvaccinated people.
Whereas what he actually said is two things:
Here's a transcript,
Why BLN would want to conflate vax hesitant people with hard core anti-vaxxers connected to Qanon etc I don't know. Seems weird to me.
just seen Robert has made the same point below.
Was Bill careless in posting this, or did he intend to smear Trudeau?
It's a poor attempt, either way. It only required reading and a little thought to expose the bullsh*t.
taking a crack at liberals, while smearing Trudeau and Ardern, in one short comment. And yep, the tweet had obvious red flags.
…smearing…Ardern…
She needs no help with that.
I'm not sure what she covered herself with here…but it won't go down in history as "glory".
You’re in premod. Please respond here https://thestandard.org.nz/new-zealand-2-covid-0-so-far/#comment-1847239
I don't believe Bull was being careless at all, quite the opposite in fact.
His "divided NZ" is just more billshit, some love to play the persecution up for whatever reasons."No papers" is another one used the other day . Ffs what's this country coming to when one has to travel 50 km , pass 6 supermarkets, 8 dairies, 3 bakeries just to find a bakery with a cafe attached to it in order to satisfy a need to feel persecuted!
You're correct. I wasn't being careless.
Anyway. You want to talk to the 9 year olds who have been told they can't do any extracurricular activities next year unless they're injected and then come back and tell me how NZ isn't divided?
You want to talk about the kids whose heads are all fucked up because "unless injected" they don't get to hang out with their school pals? (Maybe you don't recall what a huge deal peer pressure and social acceptance was as a pre-teen kid)
Or maybe just tell me how the clip Rosemary put up doesn't mean that NZ's been deliberately divided?
20 odd km is the distance on public transport btw (not 50km) – to the bakery I've been buying my bread from these past two years or more because it's decent bread they bake.
You deliberately overlooking Trudeau's hypocrisy? (Blumenthal’s tweet’s arguably really quite pertinent and funny)
The guy who runs around in black face saying racists are not going to tolerated…
Anyway, hypocrisy aside, what do you think he means when he says those who resist the injections and who he considers to be anti-science and/or racist and/or misogynists may well not be tolerated?
You can the circularity of his argument, whereby anyone who refuses to submit to an injection in spite of government persuasion becomes almost by definition a person harbouring personal traits or beliefs that he reckons ought not to be tolerated, yes?
So what would the next step in this "othering" be? Open season on the deplorable un-injected?
Scratch a liberal…. 😉
That's as may be, but the comment+tweet you put up is a crock.
Looks like the interview was from September, I'll hazard a guess that there is broader context, including what he said next.
BLN's website page on the piece is obviously manipulative and not journalism. There's no date or context for the video, and their headlines and brief content smack of sensationalism and trumpism (note they accuse Trudeau of being divisive while they are doing exactly that with their approach). This is the kind of shit I would expect to be passed around on FB without any attempt at fact checking.
https://brightlightnews.com/trudeau-launches-divisive-hate-rhetoric-against-unvaccinated/
BLN – "Shining a light on the science and data of Covid-19. Investigate and arrive at your own conclusions." BLN is also active on Telegram – the extremists' platform of choice.
The tweet was compiled by Max Blumenthal ffs. What earthly difference does it make what platform or outlet was carrying the original clip that he used in making his observation?
And….are you insinuating that "telegram" – 'the extremists' platform of choice' (in your words) is perhaps where misogynists, racists and anti-science types gather?
Perhaps you think, essentially in parallel with Trudeau, that Telegram, or anyone who uses Telegram is another indication (alongside people refusing injections?) of who ought not be tolerated?
Scratch a liberal…
Trudeau says, "But also, there are people who are ferociously against vaccination…" and it's those he lambasts, not the "vaccine hesitant” or the broader "unvaccinated".
The comment (above) "Prime Minister @Justin Trudeau launches into an unfounded and divisive tirade on unvaccinated people … " is a crock.
I call them 'malignant anti vaxxers' and they are a different breed from many who are hesitant or the broader unvaccinated. These are the ones who send out false letters to people about booster shots using MOH letterhead, damage vaccine centres, bully those turning up at centres so that the centres have to close.
They are the ones who featured in David Farrier's Loopy article
https://www.webworm.co/p/loopy
and form part of the dirty dozen anti vaxxers
https://www.counterhate.com/disinformationdozen
I am hoping that some of the genuine unvaccinated who have concerns about mRNA will take the opportunity to access the AstraZeneca vaccine
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300452571/covid19-nz-government-says-anyone-will-be-able-to-get-astrazeneca-vaccine
Just for something different (we all know who won)
That was quite stupid.
Didn't think it funny or not like the subject?
When the Rabbi Yeshua shot a couple of Corinthians…
https://twitter.com/HillReporter/status/1473635317806632962
Looks like omicron is becoming likely to be viewed as similar to the flu.
Joseph Cheek, a project manager for the International Polar Foundation, told the BBC: "All residents of the station were offered the opportunity to leave on a scheduled flight on 12 January. However, they all expressed their wish to stay and continue their work."
Govts have trained people to see a 64% pandemic infection rate as a calamity. Having this team of scientists treat it as no problem could cause a wave of cognitive dissonance to spread around the world with this news…
Maybe.
https://twitter.com/math_rachel/status/1477154650939813891
Has the strain been identified as Omicron?…..the article dosnt say.
Once bitten, twice shy.
https://twitter.com/PasiRayala/status/1476834923831087108
https://twitter.com/PasiRayala/status/1476578294845915139
https://twitter.com/PasiRayala/status/1477291787509284869
test
edit: weird. Got a wordfence 403 error in another post.
comment doesn't work sans links, either. Supposed to be in the "Good News" post, but no messages banning me from it as far as I've seen.
I'll try posting it here, to see if the 403repeats
attempt 1 -fail
removing bullets – fail
half length with links in -pass
If someone wants to provide evidence via youtube, they have a couple of options:
they can either link to the source document directly and "tip their hat" to the youtube video; or
they can link directly to the timestamp of the relevant source being mentioned; or
they can do either of the above and
If someone wants to waste other people's time instead of actually providing evidence, they can provide a 20minute video.
As it was, the source for his 80% figure seems to be an article from the Telegraph – not included below his video with all the other links. Funny how the basis for his assumption isn't listed with the rest of his source data. The Telegraph article also seems to be paywalled. I'm sure it's just unfortunate.
So we've gone from it being official govt figures, to a youtuber not even bothering linking to a news article I can't read.
[RL: Bill provided a time reference: At about 10 minutes in, the NHS figures are presented. I tested all the links and encountered no problem or paywalls. Moderation has been working to encourage cites and your initial sneering response, lacking any argument or detail, was not needed. Personally I do not do Twitter and you seem to have a thing against YT, but both are frequently used and that isn’t going to change.]
other half test – fail
other half bullets removed -fail
no colons – pass
Now, I can offer a way that the two positions are conflicting with the same data-
20% might be the primary diagnosis with no secondary diagnoses. Covid, nothing else. Nothing, not even a sixth finger or scabies.
47% have a primary diagnosis of covid, with other secondary diagnoses of varying complexity
33% have covid as a secondary diagnoses, with their primary ailment as primary dx, or they caught it in hospital.
But then that would rely on lazy, unfamiliar, or outright misleading analyses on the part of the newspaper's source.
Mod note for you.
You tested all the links. Was the telegraph link in the section below the video?
because I'm still getting
"About 10 minutes in", NHS figures for admissions are presented, but then factored down with the "20%" figure from the telegraph (a link only visible as far as I can see at the bottom of the paper in the video, and had to be hand-transposed into the browser to find I wasn't allowed to read the article).
There appears to be a fundamental citation gap in that argument, let alone from anything based on official figures for the 20% claim.
[RL: Your carping about paywalls is easily addressed in a few seconds work with a search engine. I’m not going to do that for you. In the meantime you have failed to acknowledge my original moderation warning and are now heading into ‘wasting my time’ territory.]
Mod note
Didn't realise it was a warning, and still can't find the telegraph source from the video in the links you reckoned worked fine. But now I know, so I'll leave it.