The block to comments this morning was due to the temp directory getting full. I’d left a bash shell tail the standard’s log, and it was spooling the log output into /tmp as history. I must set the bash to not be on an infinite scroll.
Oops. I think that I j have been talking to the kitten too much – it is catching. Not too dissimilar to moderating bad behaviour here (looks at comment 2). But here I am required to treat possible humans as being human until they display troll behaviours.
I will be restricting what is allowed on this over the weekend.
However, lets see what works (preferably with something relevant to the post or OpenMike) – just add the URL with things that you think we should have on the site. If they don’t have a oEmbed support, I can add it retrospectively if I find them relevant (or I get special pleadings from someone I somewhat respect).
Usual stupidity moderation will apply, in this case I’d add the type of link to my personal ‘probably remove the oEmbed’ and the author of the comment to ‘probably ruled by their genitals’ lists respectively.
If I eventually turn an oEmbed off for comments it will leave the link. So do the usual and explain why you think that other should click on the link.
Twitter:
Our baby, Peanut is having medical procedures done this week so won't be able to wear a costume on Halloween. I decided to have an early one so he could show off how handsome he looks. 😀 pic.twitter.com/0bKQJzlUCB
Pete George @ Your NZ:
“It’s hard to measure whether Kiwiblog is worse than The Standard – abuse at KB is generally worse but it is also more open, there’s a more subtle insidious approach often taken at TS – and it is aided by one sided moderation, and promoted by the master moderator, which arguably reflects more poorly on the blog.”
It’s a conspiracy, Robert. We master moderators have a solemn pact where we let PG comment here just to make his moaning about moderation at TS seem hypocritical. The rest of the commenters are subject to random, anarchic moderation decisions based on a throw of the I ching.
Watch out Pete’s probably writing another post on labour and Chinese names even as we speak…
‘At the Jacinda love blog the labour blackhats haters have once again ripped in again into immigrant and Chinese again as I predicted many time though a humble hobbyist and amiable amateur am I – I’m sure Mr or Mrs I ching is as deeply offended as I am at this and now I await my ban at that filthy jungle full of running dogs and sitting cats.’
Because in everyday life you don’t make a good thing if you put poor, even poisonous, ingredients in it.
And TRP the idea of letting anybody have a go as long as they don’t go against the basic rules supposedly is an example of free speech actually ignores why The Standard is important even vital in my opinion. It is an exchange of thinking peoples ideas
I’m not saying stop just make sure you’re getting what you want from it – imo you do good. Pete is Pete and that cat won’t change. But we also need to know the insidious lies he says to poison the well so if someone can stomach it well good on them.
I think I was bored, Marty. I should have instead, pursued my old habit of learning new words. Here’s a good one: grimalkin
“A grimalkin (also called a greymalkin) is an archaic term for a cat. The term stems from “grey” (the colour) plus “malkin”, an archaic term with several meanings (a cat, a low class woman, a weakling, a mop, or a name derived from a hypocoristic form of the female name Maud.”
Much more fun 🙂
Hey is that an obscure put-downm? Hah! Great word ‘grimalkin’. Thinking about cats – the Cheshire Cat might be a good concept that could indicate a paragraph of opinion within those three words. A sort of code.
Wikipedia says: “One of its distinguishing features is that from time to time its body disappears, the last thing visible being its iconic grin. ” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheshire_Cat
Just perfect for people who need a ban. Could say, this one deserves the Cheshire Cat treatment!
That would fit into PGs description of TS in 2 above. “It’s hard to measure whether Kiwiblog is worse than The Standard – abuse at KB is generally worse but it is also more open, there’s a more subtle insidious approach often taken at TS
Subtle, insidious, machiavellian. Just the way that the powers that be are working away manipulating our society, and people like PG are useful foot soldiers. Meet them with an understanding of their own methods I say. As long as we try to speak truth and be as open as possible except when facing the twisted.
Humans dislike being bored so much sometimes physical pain is preferable. Experiments around sensory deprivation have shown humans will even inflict pain like an electric shock on themselves (or they will even go to yawnNZ) in an effort to alleviate their boredom.
Some deadbeat subjects will even get so bored they will invent absurd fantasies like: ” I suppose that Marama Davidson is probably going to claim that Santa was a c**t though and claim him/her as being part of her taonga” to amuse themselves.
Take care Robert, stick to reading the dictionary rather than the ramblings of the deranged. 🙂
The difference between electric shocks and yawnNZ is that some people use electric shocks for fun. I can’t see PG’s work inspiring any sexual fetishists.
AND no I don’t suffer from a nail and claw disorder now that I have to have (give myself) very frequent Vitamin B12 injections to stay alive. Nails and claws are in top notch condition. LOL
veutoviper – re-claws (nails and hair too) I met a woman recently who needed to strengthen hers, so drank tea made from horsetail (equisetum) daily for a month and built strong, vigorously-growing locks and nails. She recommended it highly. Yesterday I met a bloke who recommends darkening hair with water in which un-hulled walnuts have been boiled. He too swore by the process.
Interesting, Robert. Good hair and nails are a small inconsequential tangent benefit of my injections, as my body cannot absorb B12 from food through the stomach/gastric system. Addison-Biemers Syndrome aka Pernicious Anaemia (PA) which is a bit of a misnomer as its symptoms/effects are body wide and not just haematological.
Vitamin B12 (In the case of PA – injections) are essential to make good red blood cells which can then transport oxygen around my body to keep my heart, lungs, brain and every other organ functioning and to try to stem the permanent muscular and neurological damage already done which means I can no longer walk far, or do a lot of other things in particular gardening. I have always been a very keen and active gardener (come from a long line of home and professional gardeners) and the inability to do so any more is devastating. Hence my silence to date on your posts on that subject.
(FYI the long line apparently includes three generations of Head Gardeners and gardeners at Kew Gardens London, including when Joseph Banks returned with his NZ plant collection.)
BUT a great benefit (double edged sword?) of the B12 injections is my brain function and memory have improved probably the most of all. IMO these functions are back to what they were probably in my late 30s (and the bloody brain will not stop churning in the middle of the night!)
I could write a thesis on all of this but won’t today – LOL (TG, they all say.)
Jeepers! You’ve got great Garden Cred, veutoviper!
The woman who recommended the horsetail treatment to me had also suffered from anaemia, though she didn’t say pernicious. She was from Baja California and looked Mexican. Great hair and nails!
As someone who canvasses for the Labour party I find the expression of such views useful and in particular the response to them. It gives me a greater understanding of the views out there. Unfortunately a lot of people are influenced by ridiculous anti union and anti labour views promoted by our media. It also takes me out of my bubble which is important when I want to help win elections. I do have a theory though that PG comes here to promote his blog and encourage people to click on it to see what the story is. Perhaps he comes here when his blog is quiet.
I came here recently to address false claims being made by Robert. he seems to feel aggrived that he should abide by reasonable standards of debate like everyone else (not here of course, he seems free to make things up).
Did you notice that it was Robert bringing it up here and linking to Your NZ, not me.
While some people here wonder why I and others bother to read PG’s and other blogs, I totally agree with what you have said re it being useful to know what is being said elsewhere and the reactions to it. As you say, this is needed to be able to put things in perspective and look at things from outside our own bubbles.
I also suspect your last sentence is very close to the truth as to why PG comes here. (see my last para below.)
I was actually adding to my tongue in cheek reply at 2.3.2 when I ran out of editing time, to say that I have been interested in seeing the road the comments have taken on my comment I filed on Open Mike on 1 Jan which lprent then put up as the post called “Discussion on Political Leader PR”.
After making one slightly snide reply (sorry) to someone who commented on that post, I decided to not comment further and just see where the conversation went of its own accord. It has been an interesting exercise, and I am putting together a short summary of my observations as a sort of close off comment.
While my comment started by replying to some assertions PG had made, very few people focused on what my actual comment morphed into as I wrote it which was the different treatment of PR by Ardern to that by Bridges, particularly in relation to their families – other than lprent and one or two others who actually read it in full (thanks Andre) and got the drift. I suspect most did not read it in full, but that’s life.
I may also include a short bit about my observations of the reactions to PG’s comments on his own blog re his discussions/reactions to the thread here – Hint; very few there have taken the bait and responded in detail. Focus there is also now on Kiwiblog where yesterday Farrar finally banned someone for a hideous comment re the PM’s baby. I refuse to say anymore about that but PF has done a post on the whole situation – but has also taken the opportunity to include comparisions of Ts to Kiwiblog.
But I also intended to include a comment similar to yours. That is, PG does put a lot of time and effort into his posts on his blogs and I give him credit for that. Sometimes, he gets a lot of on topic comments, but sometimes he gets very few. At times, it must be a bit soul destroying, and I have wondered more than once, whether he comes here for a different environment and different commenters when he is feeling a little disillusioned with his own blog. Fair enough, but also expect to be challenged.
I also totally agree with what mickysavage says at 2.5 – both in respect to PG and as a general principle in relation to all commenters including myself.
I have a soft spot for Pete. He has a deep respect for freedom of expression. He is tribal conservative but has reached a position where he thinks the centre provides the best result in a goldilocks sort of way.
As long as he does not infringe the basic tenets of the site he is welcome to comment.
“Hours after taking office, Brazil’s new president, Jair Bolsonaro, has launched an assault on environmental and Amazon protections with an executive order transferring the regulation and creation of new indigenous reserves to the agriculture ministry – which is controlled by the powerful agribusiness lobby.
The move sparked outcry from indigenous leaders, who said it threatened their reserves, which make up about 13% of Brazilian territory, and marked a symbolic concession to farming interests at a time when deforestation is rising again.”
Another step well into climate catastrophe IMO. We should have stomped on this type of shit back in the 1990s but the governments have been taken over by business and refused to listen to the science.
Now it’s going to end up being every country for themselves. The nations that won’t be too afflicted by the changing climate can’t afford the influx of refugees from those that will be.
Sounds like he Listens to Happy clappy born agains.
You know the ones who believe in the oncoming apocalypse.
“Silas Malafia, an influential televangelist and close friend of Bolsonaro, said developed countries who centuries ago cut down their own forests should pay if they wanted Brazil to preserve the Amazon.”
There is that interesting link thhat touches on Brazil’s surprisingly small haul from its oil sales. I think Brazil doesn’t have to be paid anything for doing what it should have done when the money was flowing like oi.
Glenn Greenwald shows how the Guardian has become a facade.
Five weeks ago, it published a fake news front page story. It was totally made up.
Its editor has been an ostrich and kept her head in the sand.
The Guardian now displays where its priorities lie – not with the truth and not with the public, . It has become a pillar of the deep state.
Thanks Ed
There have been comments about The Guardian for ages and I can see that there is something there. Pity because the G sounds good. I was thinking of putting payments into their pockets but hey?
What’s going on down in China? How do people think about their system there, how do foreigners get treated? A close look by foreigners who live/have lived there and who know. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwNPa8fSXzzAZuT9859GVhg
I don’t know DTB about this. I will have to check and come back with this after I have had some lunch and done some work! It’s really good so i will attend to it later.
Thanks fender.
Draco see link on fender’s comment. It’s about 19 minutes and worth seeing and listening to it all for chatty on site background. Even if you have to halt it and come back to it (hint note how many minutes have gone).
Yeah…disgustingly privileged white people fearing their loss of privileges, one of whom is an angst fulled white South African who thinks he was ‘discriminated’ against in South Africa.
From 9:04 to 10:16: Bemoaning the fact that the Chinese government does not accredit the diplomas of American international schools in China who follow their own curricula. He hates the fact that his kids should attend the local schools.
Can anyone imagine the uproar in NZ say, if there were Chinese established schools teaching entirely in Chinese, teaching Chinese cultural and political perspectives, and these schools expecting to be fully accredited under the NZQA system?
These people are pure FILTH (Failed in London Try Hong Kong) types. China would do well to be rid of such types.
Gardening question for our resident organic gardeners.
My brussel sprout plants are being overrun by aphids or might be cabbage butterfly larvae. The plants are looking really unwell. What is the peraculture solution to this please?
A garlic spray can deter aphids, mites and white butterflies. Try crushing several cloves of garlic, add 1 litre of boiling water, leave to cool, then strain through a sieve. Add 1 teaspoon of soap or detergents to help the spray stick to the leaves.
I am going to try to put this up as a totally neutral comment (with one exception*).
FYI, yesterday David Farrar finally banned someone on his Kiwiblog General Debate post for an absolutely noxious* comment wishing violence to the PM’s daughter.
I am not going to link to that comment or Kiwiblog, or give any more detail.
Today, no General Debate post has been put up on Kiwiblog.
h/t to a commenter on Pete George’s YourNZ blog. (I have checked and there is no GD for today on KB.)
Pete George has done a detailed post on his blog on this banning and his views on comments on Kiwiblog and Farrar’s approach to moderation.
This post and the comments on it can be viewed here.
There are no mentions of The Standard in the post itself but there are some in the comments, primarily by Pete George, with one or two small related replies from others.
FYI, yesterday David Farrar finally banned someone on his Kiwiblog General Debate post for an absolutely noxious* comment wishing violence to the PM’s daughter.
They egg each other on and lose their sense of perspective. Seen fresh from the outside it all looks sick but the players know the nuances and histories of who’s saying what and see it all very differently. I think it suits Farrar to have those things said on his blog; he simply claims he can’t moderate them and thus allowing the harmful claims to see the light of day where a lot of “silent watchers” will see them. It’s an ugly strategy, imo.
Bryan Bruce reflects on knighthoods, questions the hardworking ethic of the new rich and lament the loss of egalitarianism in this country.
As ever, he is spot on.
“While I think it is important to acknowledge people for their contribution to our communities and our country, I do think it’s time we had the discussion again about what Knighthoods and Damehoods signify.
Do we still want to cling to these vestiges of the British Empire or is it time to replace them with our own honours that reflect our now diverse multi-cultural country ?
Your answer to that question, I suspect ,reflects what you think it means to be a New Zealander.
A few days ago I was talking with Liz Gunn on her Drive show on Radio Live when I found myself remembering out loud that one of the things that once marked our National character is that we were an egalitarian country – that we believed “Jack was as good as his master” and that we called no man “Sir”
It’s a charactistic, I regret to say, that is in grave risk of disappearing from the New Zealand psyche.”
I don’t mind giving homage to a man or woman that I deeply respect. Some deserve it. It is who receives this homage that bothers me. I think it should be up to the people to vote.
MEMO: greywarshark
FROM: The Knights of the British Empire
It has been brought to our attention that you have had the gall and temerity to write: “Some deserve it. It is who receives this homage that bothers me. I think it should be up to the people to vote..”
We would like to point out that a Knighthood is the culmination of a lifetime of careful groveling to the powerful and assiduously keeping an eye out for “the main chance.” This process is what the “great unwashed”, i.e., such oiks as yourself, are obliged to call “public service”.
We strongly contest your implication that some Knights and Dames do not deserve their honours.
Respectfully,
Sir Paul Holmes
Sir Thomas Eichelbaum
Sir Jimmy Savile
Dame Denise L’Estrange-Corbet
Sir Peter Leitch
Sir Jeremiah Mateparae
Sir John Key
Sir William “Double Dipper” English
Sir William Gallagher
Dame Lesley Max
Sir Clive Woodward
Sir Robert Jones
Well Morry i can see some obvious ones in the list that bring to mind that old circular saying that someone is famous for being famous (although having some position in the community and/or wealth would be a requirement.)
Perhaps we should retrospectively duck them in a pond and see if they come up to see who is one of the truly chosen.
And to be really boring I’ll repeat Bad Sir Brian Botany which I guess not everyone has come across, I hope.
Here is a reading from Chris Blue who is a NZr, He also does another one about knights.
“Today, on the 60th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution, don’t forget that for years the ENTIRE WORLD has voted at the UN to call for an end to the illegal, crippling US embargo on Cuba.
In 2018, the vote was 189 nations to 2 (USA and Israel).
189. To. 2.”
I would add the words of Morgan Artyukhina that Cuba is “a model for socialism & decolonization in innumerable ways. Real grassroots democracy ensures popular participation in politics everyday-not 1 day every 2-4 years like in capitalist democracies. Its medical system is the envy of the world, based on the local polyclinic.”
Happy 60th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution! ¡Hasta la victoria siempre!.
Day and night, the screams of tormented women in panic and desperation who cry for God’s mercy fall upon the deaf ears of prison authorities. They are confined to narrow cells with no sunlight called “drawers” that have cement beds, a hole on the ground for their bodily needs, and are infested with a multitude of rodents, roaches, and other insects.
These female prisoners lack all sort of necessary personal possessions and almost always have no water, even for bathing, often drinking this precious liquid full of insects. The food distributed to them is terrible, smells rotten, and is stored in receptacles lacking in hygiene. Even prison officials have complained of the small quantities served.
In these “drawers” the women remain weeks and months. When they scream in terror due to the darkness (blackouts are common) and the heat, they are injected sedatives that keep them half-drugged.
They are supervised by men who personally administer the feminine products they need and who so often open these “drawers” without respecting their privacy.
One female prisoner cried out, “get me out!”, “get me out, I’m suffocating!”, and an official called Marino replied: “stick your nose out through a hole and shut up!”
If anyone in the penitentiary protests out loud, they are taken to assigned punishment cells where they must abide by a ruthless discipline.
That is horrible joe90. I was wondering if Amnesty International has been trying to put pressure on them. I haven’t heard them referred to in the years I have been coming to TS. Does anyone write with them? Perhaps Cuba would be a good place to start.
One of the only nations where the Red Cross is banned fron visiting prisons. Under there rules all of us would get about 17 years in prison for our anti National or anti Labour comments. So hardly a free country.
The health system as commented by ED is free but it’s also not free. Treatment is compulsory with no right of complaint. If the doctor wants to cut your arm off, your arm gets cut off. Some of the high profile political prisoners are Doctors and without free speech we actually have no way of knowing how good the system actually is. We very rarely hear about its errors or failings. Life expectancy figures shows it’s pretty good. Born today 78.8 years male: 76.5 years female. Not sure why women die younger. Maybe with less economic pressure etc on men unlike our society things are better for men. Plus they have regulated shared care so don’t have the ridiculous male suicide rate we get from our fault divorce, gynocentric family court scam.
Okay Cuba isn’t paradise. I’ll write it off my list of drawcards for my next overseas holiday, though if they are poor they might welcome me. Howecver I had better have super health insurance by the sounds of it. Probably a picture for much of the world.
I read many reviews on climate change. After spending an afternoon in the garden, whilst in the bathroom spotting a few exposed areas that missed out on suntan lotion, gave thought to how strong the sun is and the absence of comment regarding the ozone. NZ may “benefit” from a change in climate, yet we face hash consequences from the loss in ozone. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/06/ozone-layer-not-recovering-over-populated-areas-scientists-warn
Hitchens jumped, suddenly and inexplicably, on to the doomed ship of neocon fools after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. Even more foolish than that mad choice was his crazed attack shortly after on, of all people, Noam Chomsky. Interviewed by Kim Hill on National Radio in early 2002, Chomsky memorably wrote Hitchens off as “incoherent.”
In October 2014, this writer, i.e. moi, wrote that Hitchens was:
a supremely gifted writer, who ended up being regarded by most people as a courtier, a crawler and a callous, unapologetic liar. In his risible final book, he spends several pages enviously detailing how wonderfully urbane his friend Martin Amis was in the company of the young women at a Manhattan brothel they were visiting. He also indulges in a ridiculous attack on Noam Chomsky, and calls the democratically elected Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez a “dictator”.
George Galloway, who memorably humiliated him in 2005 in New York City, was dead right when he said that Hitchens had transformed himself from a butterfly into a slug.
I never could fathom why he turned from the brightest of lights to a slavish defender of the neocon wars of conquest.
That debate between Galloway and Hitchens is memorable.
In it George said of Hitchens,”What you have witnessed is something unique in natural history – the first ever metamorphosis of a butterfly back into a slug.”
If that didn’t quite signal the full animosity he meant to convey, he extended the image: “The one thing a slug leaves behind it is a trail of slime.”
This could result in a few murders or even a war. OK there’s been a few murders already but the dreaded, often predicted water wars.
Egyptians population growth is out of control with population set to double over the next 50 years. They are already facing an immediate fresh water crisis, power crisis so unless they get there act together things will get nasty.
Then there is this bold move by Ethiopia. Yes Ethiopia.
Explian how that worthless comment matters to the dam? The article is News far more than opinion so deal with it.
I’ll quote who I like. Most if not all your fixations on media is irrational. All of us realise that media, no matter who it is, are pushing one eyed wheelbarrows.
The recent comments by the former female editor of the NY Times is a good example of bias. The NY Times being blatantly anti Trump, driven by click bait and graduates out of the lefty indoctrinated universities. Same in NZ.
The ability of the do-it-yourselfer with or without No.8 wire, this guy uses duct tape and lots of it, is the subject of this next serious skill-building video.
@Lprent – for your notes, auto-embed worked and then it disappeared when I edited the text. Oh, and now it’s back even though the edit window is still open.
Ed
She does have the right to consider Corbyn unsatisfactory. Why don’t you think of some things to ask your next local government candidates as on Matthew’s post?
She does not have the right to recycle vicious lies, however.
Yes, yes, she’s made a career out of penning fantasies, but she’s foolishly signed up to repeat the sad and stupid fantasies of Yenta Hodge, Rudolf Giuliani, Alan Shredowitz, Binyamin Netanyahoo, et al.
As we see every day with that loon in the White House, money can’t undo the stupid.
Rowling; influenced by socialist writer Mitford, a well heeled supporter of multiple causes including ending child poverty, single parents, the welfare of child mental health patients, Médecins Sans Frontières, human rights, refugees, and a long time supporter and donor to UK Labour.
Ed, an ahistoric, poe-faced malcontent with a boner for war criminals and corrupt, authoritarian thugs.
Your really don’t get it do you.
Your source Norman? Links to Twitter, that longs further into Twitter. Why not direct to the Rowling comment.
A Rowling comment.
“I chose to remain a domiciled taxpayer for a couple of reasons. The main one was that I wanted my children to grow up where I grew up, to have proper roots in a culture as old and magnificent as Britain’s; to be citizens, with everything that implies, of a real country, not free-floating ex-pats, living in the limbo of some tax haven and associating only with the children of similarly greedy tax exiles.
A second reason, however, was that I am indebted to the British welfare state; the very one that Mr Cameron would like to replace with charity handouts. When my life hit rock bottom, that safety net, threadbare though it had become under John Major’s Government, was there to break the fall. I cannot help feeling, therefore, that it would have been contemptible to scarper for the West Indies at the first sniff of a seven-figure royalty cheque. This, if you like, is my notion of patriotism. On the available evidence, I suspect that it is Lord Ashcroft’s idea of being a mug”
The top tax rate is 45% and she has earnt at least 650million pounds. You want her to pay more? Other people’s money eh.
You’re such a little cheer germ aren’t you Ed. Always something overseas, or here, to pass judgment on. Find us one good piece of news a day will you, and not about kittens please. Lprent is covering that.
Just curious, has Mort been verbed yet? As in, “What happened to my sandals?” “Oh, they just got Morted.” or “Where’s the kitten?” “He’s busy Morting your cables.”
You should read her repulsive tweets about Corbyn.
Yeah, how dare a woman draw attention to his spinless incompetence and refusal to listen to his party’s members that’s giving the Tories licence to pursue their Brexit plan with no political opposition.
/
Three-quarters of Labour party members want a second EU referendum, according to a new poll.
Research by YouGov on behalf of Queen Mary University and Sussex University found that 72% want another poll to be carried out, compared to just 18% who do not.
The poll of 1,034 Labour members also showed that 88% of them would vote to stay in the EU if another referendum took place.
‘A former All Blacks manager and national rugby president has claimed a Polynesian star was robbed of a match appearance because the tour bosses couldn’t spell his name.
The outrageous revelation was made by West Coast rugby identity John Sturgeon, and brought howls of laughter from a Greymouth audience.’
It was a superb example of ineffective management though. What a dumbie, and couldn’t the office workers get their information correct? Was there a legal side, where you are expected to have names correct? It’s not necessarily racism, it’s slackism.
Does anyone know why Music 101 and Alex Behan have been dropped from Radionz?
And going back why did Simon Mercep get put off? He’d hardly got started.
Everyone is having trouble fronting up to the waste problem. The authorities don’t take control – in this case the workers are losing out as well as those trying to run a difficult business. This in Scotland.
But Indians are generating more waste than ever as processed food takes over kitchens, cheap electronics fly off the rack, and home delivery apps fill up phones. And a deep-rooted sense of thrift (the same one that has fuelled India’s famous “jugaad” or cheap innovation)
Interesting 2019 predictions from Bomber Bradbury.
I agree with someof them…. I don’t see the establishment being shaken out of its complacency to climate change, I am hopeful Jeremy Corbyn will lead a Lexit.
Interesting thoughts from Martin.
Thought provoking.
The Western Australia has got there future on the correct path renewable enery is going to power our future ka pai
Renewable energy
New lithium hydroxide factory in Western Australia wins federal approval
Plant set to boost local jobs and supply growing global demand for lithium, which is used in renewable energy storage Earthworks for a new lithium hydroxide factory in Western Australia are expected to begin this month after the $1bn project received federal environmental approval.
The plant owned by the world’s largest lithium producer, the US chemical company Albemarle, was approved by the WA government in October and is estimated to create up to 500 jobs in construction, with another 100 to 500 operational jobs once it is operational.
Australia’s trade minister, Simon Birmingham, said the plant would provide a much-needed local jobs boost and supply a growing global demand for lithium, which is used in renewable energy storage.The company has been ordered to identify a new breeding and foraging habitat for WA’s three threatened black cockatoo species – Carnaby’s cockatoo, Forest red-tailed cockatoo, and Baudin’s black cockatoo – to offset habitat lost by clearing the 89ha plant site, including 54ha of coastal plain vegetation that is home to a number of threatened native orchids.
The director of the Conservation Council of Western Australia, Piers Verstegen, said the environmental impacts of the project were “manageable” Ka kite ano links below P.S I know wild whenua will be ruined but its will counter by limiting carbon being burnt
‘Momentum is growing’: reasons to be hopeful about the environment in 2019
As we reflect on a year of extreme weather and ominous climate talks, Guardian environment writer Fiona Harvey explains why 2019 could see some much-needed breakthroughs E
xtreme weather hit the headlines throughout 2018, from the heatwave across much of the northern hemisphere, which saw unprecedented wildfires in Sweden, drought in the UK and devastating wildfires in the US, to floods in India and typhoons in south-east Asia.
According to the World Meteorological Organisation, last year was the fourth hottest on record and confirms a trend of rising temperatures that is a clear signal that we are having an effect on the climate. Droughts, floods, fiercer storms and heatwaves, as well as sea level rises, are all expected to increase markedly as a result.
Late in the year there was also the starkest warning yet from scientists of what our future will be if we allow climate change to take hold. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the global body of the world’s leading climate scientists, which has been producing regular reports on the state of climate science since 1988, produced its latest comprehensive overview examining what the future will look like if we undergo 1.5C (2.7F) of warming. That does not sound like a lot – most people would be hard put to notice a temperature difference of 1.5C – but in climate terms, 1.5C above pre-industrial levels is enough to take us into the danger zone. It would see the mass die-off of coral reefs, the extinction of some species, rising sea levels, wet areas of the world becoming wetter and dry areas drier, and the decline of agricultural productivity across swaths of the globe Ka kite ano links below.
Its cheaper and more intelligent to prevent making a mess of our lakes and awa rivers. Change to organic farming the tourist boom was predicted by national so why was there no intro structure money invested in the places were they new the tourist booms would take place well ask simon. We need to get the toilets and sewage systems up to a standard to handle the tourist.
The end is nigh for our lakes
Queenstown and Wanaka are New Zealand’s poster children, Instagram worthy and renowned around the world – always with our ostensibly ‘pristine’ lakes in the foreground.
The appearance belies the reality – our Southern-Lakes waterways are in danger and no-one is talking loudly enough about it. It’s not bad all the time, and for some, that’s enough leeway to ignore the problem.
There’s a map, on the Ministry of the Environment’s webpage that shows the real-time, most recently recorded water quality for every large lake and river in the country. The colour coding goes from red being ‘poor’ to blue being ‘excellent’.
If you look closely enough, there’s a trend, the red dots are creeping their way upstream, multiplying, coming ever-closer to the source. Our waterways are dying.
Water quality is a weathervane, it signals changes on the horizon. Those changes are occurring at a rapid rate. The Southern-Lakes is home to New Zealand’s fastest growing population, increasing annually at around 8 percent – a lot when compared with Auckland’s 2 percent.
We have over 3 million visitors a year, and that number is multiplying with airport expansions and draft tourism strategies tabled that forecast five million visitors in the not too distant future. Our water quality is in danger across the district – not only big bodies of water under regional council control but also drinking water and stormwater under local district council control. The infrastructure is under too much pressure – from development runoff, stormwater provisions, sewage treatment
E. Coli, cyanobacteria, Lake Snot, these are all terms that have become part of our everyday vocabulary. We have begun to expect days in summer where the quality is so bad as to be unswimmable rather than being shocked by it. That desensitisation leads to a slippery slope of acceptance.
The only response to anything less than pristine and excellent condition of our waterways should be outrage. Foot-stamping, loud, vocal, in-your-face outrage. There’s a crisis afoot, not just brewing, and we need our authorities to recognise it.
Just because water looks clear doesn’t mean it isn’t contaminated. So where’s the problem? What is causing it? And most importantly, what can we do about it?
Ka kite ano
Kia ora Te kaea one has to keep a eye on the weather when diving there are a few people drowning While diving.
Ngati porou pa wars is going strong I seen a couple of faces I know.
Feed the need is a good idear feeding the children with no lunches at school.
Ka pai Te whano apunui has a wakama team for there tamariki.
It’s cool to see way wine boxing getting some media coverage.
Ka kite ano
Kia ora Newshub some people need to learn how to forgive the American hip-hop 2 different groups from the USA fight in Aotearoa no way to be a role model for the tamariki.
I wonder if he knows that he has bitten off more than he can chew trump that is .
Let’s hope there is not any lives lost or to much damage in the Tasmanian Bush fires.
Ka pai to all the new Democrats members of the American Representative of The House.
It was a sad loss the Rugby league Fai drowning trying to save a m8.
Congratulations to China for landing a spacecraft’s on the far side of the Marama.
I seen a show were a lady could detect some dease just buy smell to .
It will be a great way to diagnose cancers from someone’s breath that will save a lot of lives. Ka kite ano
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• New funding for four beds at Napier’s Springhill Residential Addiction Centre • A new managed withdrawal home and community service, and peer support before and after residential care at Tairāwhiti DHB • A co-ordinated network of withdrawal management services throughout the South Island • Peer support in Rotorua and ...
Introduction, seafarers and POAL Good morning everyone, I am delighted to be online with you all today. Before I begin, I have to acknowledge that COVID-19 has disrupted the maritime sector on an unprecedented scale. The work of seafarers and the maritime industry is keeping many economies around the world ...
A $13 million investment from Government will create jobs and improve the resilience of the rail connection between Christchurch and the West Coast, Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones and Regional Economic Development Under-Secretary Fletcher Tabuteau say. The funding comes from the tagged contingency set aside in Budget 2020 for infrastructure projects ...
The Government is investing $761 million to assist local government upgrade under-pressure water services across the country, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. The announcement was made at the site of the water bore that was found to be the source of the fatal ...
Recognised Seasonal Employers and migrant seasonal workers stranded in New Zealand will be able to continue working and supporting themselves with more flexible hours and roles, says Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. The time-limited visa changes are: Stranded RSE workers will be able to work part-time (a minimum of 15 hours ...
The Government is making immediate short-term changes to visa settings to support temporary migrants already onshore in New Zealand and their employers, while also ensuring New Zealanders needing work are prioritised, Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. We are: Extending temporary work visas due to expire by the end of 2020 ...
Professor Peter Skelton CNZM has been appointed as Chief Freshwater Commissioner and Alternate Environment Court Judge Craig James Thompson as Deputy Chief Freshwater Commissioner for the newly established Freshwater Planning Process (FPP). Environment Minister David Parker today also announced the appointment of Chief Environment Court Judge Laurie Newhook as the ...
Auckland Queen’s Counsel Neil Campbell has been appointed a Judge of the High Court, Attorney‑General David Parker announced today. Justice Campbell graduated with a BCom and LLB (Hons) from the University of Auckland in 1992. He spent two years with Bell Gully Buddle Weir in Auckland before travelling to the United ...
The Associate Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Poto Williams, is seeking feedback on a proposal to better enable the development and operation of commercial film and video facilities in Christchurch. The Proposal, developed by Regenerate Christchurch in response to a request from Christchurch City Council, asks that powers under section ...
The Government has launched a bold plan to boost primary sector export earnings by $44 billion over the next decade, while protecting the environment and growing jobs. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today released Fit for a Better World – Accelerating our Economic Potential, a 10-year roadmap to unlock greater value ...
A new approach to prevent family harm that encourages greater collaboration across government and community groups is being celebrated at the opening of a new facility in Auckland. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today opened the Multi-Disciplinary Family Harm Prevention Hub Te Taanga Manawa in Lambie Road in Manukau. The facility ...
The Government has released a major new report on the options for relocating the Port of Auckland’s freight operations while deferring any decision on the issue. “That decision needs to be informed by policy analysis that is still to be completed. As a result it will be up to a ...
The history of Rāpaki is being restored through the inclusion of te reo in thirteen official place names on Te Pātaka-o-Rākaihautū / Banks Peninsula and around Lyttelton Harbour/Whakaraupō, the Minister for Land Information, Eugenie Sage, announced today. “I am pleased to approve the proposals from Te Hapū o Ngāti ...
Bookings for seats on Air New Zealand flights into New Zealand will be managed in the short term to ensure the Government is able to safely place New Zealanders arriving home into a managed isolation or quarantine facility, says Housing Minister Megan Woods. “Last week Air Commodore Darryn Webb and I ...
Grant Robertson has today announced the first major release of funding from the $265 million Sport Recovery Package announced at Budget 2020. “Today we’re setting out how $80 million will be invested, with $54 million of that over the 2020/2021 financial year for organisations from community level through to elite ...
The Government is maintaining current levy rates for the next 2 years, as part of a set of changes to help ease the financial pressures of COVID-19 providing certainty for businesses and New Zealanders, ACC Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. “New Zealanders and businesses are facing unprecedented financial pressures as a ...
Small businesses are getting greater certainty about access to finance with an extension to the interest-free cashflow loan scheme to the end of the year. The Small Business Cashflow Loan Scheme has already been extended once, to 24 July. Revenue and Small Business Minister Stuart Nash says it will be ...
A package of 23 projects across the country will clean up waterways and deliver over 2000 jobs Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Environment Minister David Parker announced today. The $162 million dollar package will see 22 water clean-up projects put forward by local councils receiving $62 million and the Kaipara ...
Tena koutou katoa Nga tangata whenua o tenei rohe o Pōneke, tena koutou Nau mai, haere mai ki te hui a tau mo te roopu reipa Ko tatou! Ko to tatou mana! Ko to tatou kaupapa kei te kokiri whakamua Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena tatou katoa Welcome. I ...
The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $1.5 million to ensure QE Health in Rotorua can proceed with its world class health service and save 75 existing jobs, Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development, Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. The PGF funding announced today is in addition to the $8 million ...
A new programme, which sets a firm course for the Building and Construction sector to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, has been announced by the Minister for Building and Construction Jenny Salesa. “A significant amount of New Zealand’s carbon emissions come from the building and construction sector. If we’re serious ...
From RNZ Mediawatch New Zealand children use a lot less Kiwi media than they used to. New research shows its Netflix, YouTube and TikTok engaging their eyeballs big time these days. If our kids screen out our local media, what does the future hold for them? The news media seized ...
The Tahr Foundation has released a short video that shows just what Himalayan tahr mean to Kiwis and why so many people are fighting so hard to maintain them in New Zealand. The video is a powerful reminder of the extent that tahr are now woven into ...
Introduction Thank you very much. Elections in New Zealand – like everywhere - are a very special tradition, because they are driven by you. They’re an opportunity to change your future. If you think about it, the Government doesn’t do much. It ...
“This election and Covid-19 present New Zealanders with an opportunity to change their future and create a fair, modern employment insurance scheme,” says ACT’s Employment Spokesperson, and third-ranked candidate, Nicole McKee. “Covid-19 has ...
“A new approach to mental health and addiction will reduce bureaucracy, improve patient choice, and empower New Zealanders,” says ACT’s Deputy Leader and Health Spokesperson Brooke van Velden. “Each year, the government spends about $2 billion ...
"Working people have signaled their commitment to do more to address the most pressing issue of our time; climate change. The energy policies that the Green Party have launched today provide a meaningful contribution to addressing climate change," ...
Climate justice organisation 350 Aotearoa welcomes the Greens' plan to transform Aotearoa’s energy system and set Aotearoa on course towards a fossil-fuel free future in which workers are supported into new jobs, and communities have the power ...
The Old Guard, new to Netflix, is a resounding success because it doesn’t focus on what makes these heroes great, it focuses on what makes them human, writes Sam Brooks.The climax of Netflix’s new movie The Old Guard shouldn’t be anything new, but it feels exhilarating. The titular old guard, ...
A new Green Party announcement heralds a fast-exit out of fossil fuels through a massive state housing solar panel installation programme, a ban on new coal boilers, and the shifting of a target for renewable energy Solar panels and batteries would be installed in 30,000 State homes to create a "virtual power plant" if ...
As yet more male-led festival lineups are announced, Shaquille Wasasala, aka halfqueen, writes an open letter to the industry.To those whose career it is booking talent for music festivals, punters, and people who listen to music.As a DJ and artist who exists at many intersections that directly inform my lens ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level one – read about what that means here. For official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. To support this ...
Dunedin writer Victor Billot pens topical verse every Sunday. This week: disgraced MP Hamish Walker.Showing promise The MP for Clutha-Southland did, it is true, post on Facebook that he had been door knocking in Mataura when he hadn’t. He lied. The MP for Clutha-Southland did, it is ...
It’s one of the most commonly used weedkillers in the world, but pressure to phase out use of the herbicide glyphosate could force us to come up with alternatives quickly. Listen to the full episode of Two Cents Worth below. Subscribe to Two Cents' Worth for free on Apple ...
The Covid-19 crisis has exposed gaps in the funding of early education that we should be bold in responding to, writes Sue Cherrington of Victoria University of Wellington Early childhood education has been in the media a great deal over recent weeks, initially with positive but increasingly with negative news reports. ...
It’s an economic theory that advocates tout as a solution to governments’ debt crises, but critics warn is a recipe for hyperinflation. Either way, modern monetary theory is getting a lot more attention in the era of Covid-19.Two big economic ideas have captured the popular imagination during the Covid-19 pandemic: ...
For one hour a week the supermarket lights are dimmed and the music stops. And it’s a kind of triumph, writes Michelle Langstone.I thought there’d been a power cut. The lights were out at the entrance, so you arrived into a kind of gloom. There was no music, and no ...
It’s no secret that New Zealand’s Covid-19 response was one of the world’s most effective. But to get an idea of how eagerly parts of our economy have rebounded post lockdown, take a look at our electricity demand data.Despite an impending wave of unemployment and looming fiscal challenges down the ...
In the second in the Spnioff’s Last on the list series, Dave King explains what inspired him to stand for the Act Party in Manurewa. At 20th spot on the list, if David Seymour’s party can win around 16% of the party vote, King is parliament bound.It wasn’t that long ...
Basketball is growing massively in popularity around the country, led by thousands of youngsters picking up the game every day. To The Line looks at what it’s like for New Zealand high school kids with hoop dreams.If there’s been a narrative rumbling away in the sports pages, it’s that of ...
Unbelievable. A first-rank world leader picks a needless fight with blameless allies, thus imperiling their unity. But that’s General de Gaulle for you.Impressive work, even by his standards. In 1967, Canada was to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge (their Gallipoli – except that they ...
From RNZ Saturday Morning Described by a Guardian reviewer as “superb hate-reading”, writer and columnist Anand Giridharadas‘s latest book Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World investigates the hypocrisy of billionaire “do-gooders”. He questions how and why we have become reliant on the philanthropy of the super-rich ...
The Professional Hunting Guides Association is welcoming the High Court decision on DoC’s controversial tahr campaign. The High Court in Wellington was asked on Wednesday by the Tahr Foundation for a judicial review of DoC’s plan to kill thousands ...
With the 2020 general election nearly three months away, a new campaign is asking voters to vote in line with the future. Vote Climate 2020 aims to highlight the opportunity to build momentum behind climate change, ensuring climate justice is a key election ...
“ACT will target the gangs by hitting them where it hurts – their pockets,” according to ACT Leader David Seymour and Firearms Spokesperson Nicole McKee. “New Zealanders deserve to be safe and secure, but violent gangs are a scourge on our ...
Waffles don’t need to be sweet – these cheese and onion numbers make an excellent savoury breakfast with an egg, or an equally tasty dinner with leftover mince.It’s easy to default to sweet breakfasts without thinking. At least that’s the case in our household, as porridge or bircher muesli is ...
The government is revitalising the wool sector, splashing out on freshwater restoration projects, relieving student stress and showing kindness to Muslims by extending the border exception criteria. It is also increasing its support (in announcements from two separate Green Party Ministers) for women and for wildlife institutions. And it is ...
People have called it for it be pulled from the service, but the escapist fantasy of 365 Days is nothing new, writes Alie Benge.To every generation, a bullish alpha-male psychopath is born, and is for someone reason considered a romantic hero. We’ve been through a lot this year, and instead ...
As Aucklanders reluctantly adjust to the inconvenient practice of water conservation, a drought-savvy Northlander shares the tips and temperament needed to get through the dry times.Auckland’s water shortage was recently reported on The Project, and viewers were earnestly exhorted to fill their dishwashers completely before turning them on. My husband ...
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk A request by the Philippines’ biggest radio and TV network for a new franchise has been rejected by a congressional committee in a vote that will go down in history as a flagrant violation of the country’s constitution, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The Paris-based media ...
Hamish Walker's privacy leak debacle dominated the news this week, but it's not the first time a southern MP has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons, writes Daisy Hudson. ...
Let’s not allow the focus on big-budget infrastructure projects to detract from the vital role public transport will play in revitalising our cities in a post-Covid world, says Greg Pollock.The recent match between the Blues and the Hurricanes was one of the world’s first major post-lockdown sporting fixtures. It was ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level one – read about what that means here. For official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. To support this ...
In the heart of Christchurch is a Designated Character high school. What makes it unique? And should there be more like it? Frank Film visits Hagley College Paddy Grant was a 27-year-old truck driver when he rocked up to Christchurch’s Hagley High School, as it was then known. It was ...
"After he calms down we share the pie and talk about how hard the years since the show have been for him": a short story by Wellington writer Jordan Hamel. Every morning it’s the same. Cling wrap on the toilet seat, a pop up snake in my can of breakfast ...
Childcare centre closures have left families and staff out in the cold. In some cases, they were given just three days’ notice, Laura Walters reports Staff and families of Auckland’s Discoveries Educare branches feel blindsided by the sudden closure of the early childhood education centres. The Ministry of Education has ...
Controversy and the America's Cup go hand-in-hand and the latest edition is no different with Emirates Team New Zealand at the centre of financial mismanagement allegations. Extra Time unpicks the debate and ponders what does the latest Cup drama mean? And should we care? A study has revealed racial bias ...
Over the decades, Mike Fox has witnessed the housing market progressively tilt towards larger, more expensive homes. Without a major overhaul of the current regulatory processes, he says, things will never change.It’s one of the biggest problems our country faces – we cannot produce the affordable housing that’s so desperately ...
So-called dirty deals have been roundly denounced over the years. Hayden Donnell argues that they need to be normalised, and even embraced, in September’s election.Just before the 2011 general election, Patrick Gower was confronted with a political act so stomach-churning, it forced him to abandon his trademark reserve. John Key ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Esterman, Professor of Biostatistics, University of South Australia Victoria has recorded 288 new COVID-19 cases since yesterday, the largest daily increase we’ve seen so far. This big jump must have the Victorian government and health authorities very concerned, especially since nearly ...
The controversial 101 East episode Locked Up in Malaysia’s Lockdown on 3 July 2020. Video: Al JazeeraPacific Media Watch Newsdesk Malaysian police summoned six Al Jazeera media workers today for questioning relating to an investigation for defamation and violation of Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA), reports IFJ Asia-Pacific. ...
Analysis - A National MP destroys his career, the government explains how someone with Covid-19 could walk around a supermarket and the closure of Tiwai Point aluminium smelter is announced. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Abrar Ahmad Chughtai, Epidemiologist, UNSW Australia’s chief medical officer Paul Kelly today recommended people in Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire wear masks when leaving the house: […] If people have symptoms and they need to go for a test, for example, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rochelle Wynne, Director, Western Sydney Nursing & Midwifery Research Centre, Western Sydney University Over the past week, we’ve seen a spike in the number of COVID-19 infections among health-care workers in Victoria. This includes a doctor at Melbourne’s St Vincent’s Hospital, one ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Paddy Nixon and Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan discuss the week in politics including the return to lockdown in Victoria, National Cabinet setting to slow the flow of Australian’s ...
We prefer our heroes untarnished. And few match the heroism of Winston Churchill. But a recent report in the Times reminds us of the inevitability of human frailty and the consequences of keeping it under wraps.During the second world war, Britain’s greatest single loss of life at sea was the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ou Yang, Research Fellow, University of Melbourne Donald Trump has ordered US federal agencies to bypass environmental protection laws and fast-track pipeline, highway and other infrastructure projects. Signing the executive order last month, the US president declared regulatory delays would hinder “our ...
SAFE CEO Debra Ashton says "The NZDIA has done the right thing, and we’re glad to see Bertram has been held to account over his actions. He should take this as an opportunity to right his wrongs and show that he takes animal welfare seriously." ...
Takuta Ferris, Te Tai Tonga candidate for the Māori Party, is urging government to place whānau first in the wake of announcements around Tiwai Point. “The declaration that one of the region's major employers the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter is closing ...
Dietary Requirements is The Spinoff’s monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms. This month, we’re joined by The Spinoff’s managing editor, mall rat and self-confessed food philistine Duncan Greive.On this month’s Dietary Requirements, the gang’s back in the studio, and ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Chart 1: United States and Australia rising. Chart by Keith Rankin. These charts look at Covid19 incidence in China (the most important first-wave country, with a limited second wave), Italy (the lead second-wave country), and USA and Australia (second-wave countries – drawing their caseload from Europe ...
The Government must listen to the Muslim community to rectify its failure to act in the past, says the Human Rights Commission. The Islamic Women’s Council of New Zealand (IWCNZ) submission to the Royal Commission of Inquiry was released this week. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, President, Australian Association for Professional & Applied Ethics. Senior Research Fellow, Moral philosophy, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Law Futures Centre., Griffith University Earlier this week, 150 high-profile authors, commentators and scholars signed an open letter in Harper’s magazine ...
You can’t keep a good woman down and Helen Clark is no exception. Her new appointment, as co-chair of a review of how the World Health Organisation handled the coronavirus pandemic, will test her formidable political skills. Sitting with her is Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former Liberian president, who handled the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Connor, Lecturer, James Cook University While many people may enjoy a game of backyard cricket, only a few go on to become elite professional batsmen in Australia. Cricket batting is example of what human skills can achieve. The fastest bowling delivery ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee Baumgartner, Professor of Fisheries and River Management, Institute for Land, Water, and Society, Charles Sturt University This article is a preview of Flora, Fauna, Fire, a multimedia project launching on Monday July 13. The project tracks the recovery of Australia’s native ...
CEAC review of pre-election National’s “outline plan” just sent to us by Todd Muller 9/7/20 was actually his speech about his plan and was described as ‘an outline’. So in our review of National Party response to A Greener, Smarter Future; climate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Podger, Honorary Professor of Public Policy, Australian National University In Hidden Hand, China scholars Clive Hamilton and Marieke Ohlberg examine the Chinese Communist Party’s influence in Europe and North America in a similar way to how Hamilton dissected the CCP’s influence ...
“I can see why people are fed up, many are wondering how to clothe and feed their kids, or how they are going to pay their rent next week and still others are wondering what has happened to our beautiful Kiwi Way of Life. Well no party in parliament ...
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk Sixty press freedom groups and civil society organisations, journalism institutions, filmmakers, and other supporters have formed a coalition in support of Maria Ressa and independent media in the Philippines, united around the call to #HoldTheLine. Today the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Center for ...
National MP Michael Woodhouse also received Covid-19 patient emails from Michelle Boag, and deleted them when he realised she was implicated in a separate email scandal. National Party leader Todd Muller says no further MPs in his party received confidential information from Michelle Boag, after revelations today that Michael Woodhouse also ...
The government is extending border exceptions to allow overseas victims of the Christchurch mosque attacks and their support people to attend the shooter's sentencing. ...
Ever wanted to be Iron Man? Sam Brooks prefers Pepper Potts, but he had a great time stepping into the iron suit anyway.The first few moments of Iron Man VR are where it plays its hand, confidently and assuredly. You hold your palms out in front of you, and Iron ...
SAP has released to the public a policy paper, “Helping Kiwis get back to work: How data and technology can drive a bigger, better, faster economic recovery.” ...
A new poem by Jordan Hamel.Mermaids When you lose grip and start to drift.The first thing you’re supposed to do issteer into it or steer away? Not all mermaids are royaltysomeone needs to audit the oceanprovide cashflow projectionssome mermaids are actuallymiddle-aged accountants named Stephendreaming of a land-view holiday home. I saw a ...
Want to work for The Spinoff? We’re looking for someone to fill an exciting new role based in our Auckland office. We’re looking for a video and podcast content manager: an experienced writer or sub-editor with a strong understanding of social media to manage our video and podcast content across various channels. ...
National Party leader Todd Muller says no further MPs in his party received confidential information from Michelle Boag, after revelations today that Michael Woodhouse also received four unsolicited emails. ...
By RNZ News Opposition National list MP Dr Jian Yang has announced his retirement from New Zealand politics and says he will not stand in the 2020 general election after three terms in the party caucus. He said politics was “demanding” and he wanted to spend more time with his ...
Open Mike 03/01/2019 
National has a problem. And it’s time they said it out loud. It can’t be dismissed as a one-off anymore or excused because ‘everyone does it’. No, it cuts deeper than that. National has an ethics problem. Especially when it comes to privacy and using ordinary people as pawns in ...11 hours ago
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, July 5 through Sat, July 11, 2020 Editor's Choice Think Covid-19 Disrupted the Food Chain? Wait and See What Climate Change Will Do The pandemic has revealed deep flaws in the ...19 hours ago
The Council of Disobedient Women There is a regular segment in the Speak Up For Women podcasts called “Absolutely Blasted Mad Moment of the Week”. Each podcast the speaker and the host discuss a recent event that is the most insane thing they have seen in the gender critical space ...1 day ago
Todd Muller - Dishonest National Party leaderIt seems that dishonest Todd Muller is, like many right-wing politicians, entirely morally bankrupt. I mean just look at the National Party’s leaking omni-shambles over the last week or so. They’ve imploded in a spectacular display of backfiring dirty politics, the likes of which ...2 days ago
TUESDAY JULY 14Yorkshire Airport (Prime, 7.30pm). Bloomin’ ’eck, behind the scenes at Leeds Bradford Airport. Apparently, there is plenty of “northern charm”, although reaction in the UK ranged from “brilliant” to “patronising”. It is narrated by Hugh Dennis, whose middle name might be “Arch”.WEDNESDAY JULY 15Queen: Live at Wembley (Prime, ...2 days ago
Simon Bridges must be the unluckiest person in New Zealand politics. When he was elected as leader of the National party, he also became Leader of the Opposition – a position, he was entitled to assume, that would require him to “oppose”. But the government he set out to oppose ...2 days ago
Check out Speak Up For Women’s new podcasts: Episode 3 In this episode Speak Up For Women spokeswoman Ani O’Brien (@aniobrien) is joined by Beth Johnson (@beth_nosnhoj) to discuss the proposal from Statistics NZ to change standard data collection policy to “gender by default” rather than sex. They discuss why the ...2 days ago
Everyone is paying attention today to the Supreme Court ruling that the President is not above the law and that Trump's tax returns can be given to a New York grand jury investigating him. But the Supreme Court decided another, far more important case yesterday, and effectively restored Native American ...3 days ago
Transcript: National Party policy announcement on roads – 8 July, 2020 Muller: Good afternoon everybody. Thank you for coming. Reporter 1: Is Hamish Walker a racist? Muller: Hang on… you haven’t even said good afternoon to me yet. Reporter 1: Good afternoon Mr Muller. Is Hamish Walker a racist? ...3 days ago
Today’s content Tiwai Point to close Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Government subsidising practically everything plays hardball with Rio Tinto (paywalled) Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Sudden closure of aluminium smelter worst outcome for jobs, consumers and the environment Brian Fallow (Herald): Tiwai closure sad news – and an opportunity for the environment (paywalled) Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Rio ...3 days ago
Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Anja Mizdrak, Dr Jennifer Summers, Prof Michael Baker The pandemic-related lockdown is possibly the most dramatic public health intervention in NZ history. It helped achieve the elimination of community transmission of the COVID-19 virus in NZ. But it was also associated with 548 fewer total ...3 days ago
Reprehensible: There is much that could be said about Michael Woodhouse, but what would be the point? Any man who willingly involves himself in a situation as reprehensible as the one depicted in the above photograph has already vouchsafed all that decent people need to know about his character. That there have ...3 days ago
Some are surprised at this sudden brain implosion on the part of both Michelle Boag, former National Party President, and the National Party in general, in exposing the private, confidential details of COVID patients. Others…? Let’s be blunt: not so much. Too many of that Party have long operated with ...5 days ago
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Unfortunately, due to a medical emergency, I have landed in hospital so am not able to do a current update on the NZ blog statistics. Let’s hope I can get back to this in good time. ...2 weeks ago
The Green Party is today unveiling part one of its plan for a fossil-fuel free Aotearoa, including an immediate ban on new industrial coal boilers. ...16 hours ago
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industry New Zealand First is supporting calls by hunters and the New Zealand Tahr Foundation (NZTF) to halt a large scale cull of Himalayan Tahr by the Department of Conservation in National Parks. The calls are supported by a 40,000 strong petition and the ...5 days ago
New Zealanders deserve healthy rivers and lakes that are safe to swim in - but they have been getting worse for decades. That's why, with our latest announcement, we're investing in projects that will help clean up our rivers and lakes and restore them to health, within a generation. ...1 week ago
The Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio is pleased to announce the inaugural launch of Kiribati Language Week as part of the 2020 Pacific language Weeks programme. “I am so pleased that this year we are able to provide resourcing support to the Kiribati community in Aotearoa which will ...2 days ago
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The ACT Party is promising its biggest campaign in 15 years, as it fights for more seats in Parliament after September's election. ...10 hours ago
The Old Guard, new to Netflix, is a resounding success because it doesn’t focus on what makes these heroes great, it focuses on what makes them human, writes Sam Brooks.The climax of Netflix’s new movie The Old Guard shouldn’t be anything new, but it feels exhilarating. The titular old guard, ...13 hours ago
A new Green Party announcement heralds a fast-exit out of fossil fuels through a massive state housing solar panel installation programme, a ban on new coal boilers, and the shifting of a target for renewable energy Solar panels and batteries would be installed in 30,000 State homes to create a "virtual power plant" if ...16 hours ago
Dunedin writer Victor Billot pens topical verse every Sunday. This week: disgraced MP Hamish Walker. Showing promise The MP for Clutha-Southland did, it is true, post on Facebook that he had been door knocking in Mataura when he hadn’t. He lied. The MP for Clutha-Southland did, it is ...21 hours ago
It’s one of the most commonly used weedkillers in the world, but pressure to phase out use of the herbicide glyphosate could force us to come up with alternatives quickly. Listen to the full episode of Two Cents Worth below. Subscribe to Two Cents' Worth for free on Apple ...21 hours ago
The Covid-19 crisis has exposed gaps in the funding of early education that we should be bold in responding to, writes Sue Cherrington of Victoria University of Wellington Early childhood education has been in the media a great deal over recent weeks, initially with positive but increasingly with negative news reports. ...22 hours ago
Unbelievable. A first-rank world leader picks a needless fight with blameless allies, thus imperiling their unity. But that’s General de Gaulle for you. Impressive work, even by his standards. In 1967, Canada was to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge (their Gallipoli – except that they ...1 day ago
The government is revitalising the wool sector, splashing out on freshwater restoration projects, relieving student stress and showing kindness to Muslims by extending the border exception criteria. It is also increasing its support (in announcements from two separate Green Party Ministers) for women and for wildlife institutions. And it is ...2 days ago
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk A request by the Philippines’ biggest radio and TV network for a new franchise has been rejected by a congressional committee in a vote that will go down in history as a flagrant violation of the country’s constitution, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The Paris-based media ...2 days ago
In the heart of Christchurch is a Designated Character high school. What makes it unique? And should there be more like it? Frank Film visits Hagley College Paddy Grant was a 27-year-old truck driver when he rocked up to Christchurch’s Hagley High School, as it was then known. It was ...2 days ago
"After he calms down we share the pie and talk about how hard the years since the show have been for him": a short story by Wellington writer Jordan Hamel. Every morning it’s the same. Cling wrap on the toilet seat, a pop up snake in my can of breakfast ...2 days ago
Childcare centre closures have left families and staff out in the cold. In some cases, they were given just three days’ notice, Laura Walters reports Staff and families of Auckland’s Discoveries Educare branches feel blindsided by the sudden closure of the early childhood education centres. The Ministry of Education has ...2 days ago
Controversy and the America's Cup go hand-in-hand and the latest edition is no different with Emirates Team New Zealand at the centre of financial mismanagement allegations. Extra Time unpicks the debate and ponders what does the latest Cup drama mean? And should we care? A study has revealed racial bias ...2 days ago
You can’t keep a good woman down and Helen Clark is no exception. Her new appointment, as co-chair of a review of how the World Health Organisation handled the coronavirus pandemic, will test her formidable political skills. Sitting with her is Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former Liberian president, who handled the ...2 days ago
National MP Michael Woodhouse also received Covid-19 patient emails from Michelle Boag, and deleted them when he realised she was implicated in a separate email scandal. National Party leader Todd Muller says no further MPs in his party received confidential information from Michelle Boag, after revelations today that Michael Woodhouse also ...3 days ago
The block to comments this morning was due to the temp directory getting full. I’d left a bash shell tail the standard’s log, and it was spooling the log output into /tmp as history. I must set the bash to not be on an infinite scroll.
Thanks again. Lynn.
I was the culprit that caused the problem 🙁
Naughty Lynn…
Oops. I think that I j have been talking to the kitten too much – it is catching. Not too dissimilar to moderating bad behaviour here (looks at comment 2). But here I am required to treat possible humans as being human until they display troll behaviours.
Test facebook links. Got it with an amusing cat video from facebook… Mort trying to destroy my shoes.
Facebook;
I will be restricting what is allowed on this over the weekend.
However, lets see what works (preferably with something relevant to the post or OpenMike) – just add the URL with things that you think we should have on the site. If they don’t have a oEmbed support, I can add it retrospectively if I find them relevant (or I get special pleadings from someone I somewhat respect).
Usual stupidity moderation will apply, in this case I’d add the type of link to my personal ‘probably remove the oEmbed’ and the author of the comment to ‘probably ruled by their genitals’ lists respectively.
If I eventually turn an oEmbed off for comments it will leave the link. So do the usual and explain why you think that other should click on the link.
Twitter:
Vimeo:
Youtube:
Quora:
https://www.quora.com/As-a-software-developer-what-is-the-most-obnoxious-request-you-ve-ever-received-during-your-career
Instagram:
NZ Herald:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12185292
Stuff:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/109723967/the-queen-was-not-amused-when-australia-tried-a-government-shutdown-in-1975
Pete George @ Your NZ:
“It’s hard to measure whether Kiwiblog is worse than The Standard – abuse at KB is generally worse but it is also more open, there’s a more subtle insidious approach often taken at TS – and it is aided by one sided moderation, and promoted by the master moderator, which arguably reflects more poorly on the blog.”
https://yournz.org/2019/01/03/farrar-acts-on-ongoing-attacks-on-ardern/#comment-336562
Why do we allow George to comment here?
His views seem poisonous.
It’s a conspiracy, Robert. We master moderators have a solemn pact where we let PG comment here just to make his moaning about moderation at TS seem hypocritical. The rest of the commenters are subject to random, anarchic moderation decisions based on a throw of the I ching.
Ah! Now I understand how it all works, TRP! The I Ching! Suddenly, it all makes sense!
That’s a relief!
Watch out Pete’s probably writing another post on labour and Chinese names even as we speak…
‘At the Jacinda love blog the labour blackhats haters have once again ripped in again into immigrant and Chinese again as I predicted many time though a humble hobbyist and amiable amateur am I – I’m sure Mr or Mrs I ching is as deeply offended as I am at this and now I await my ban at that filthy jungle full of running dogs and sitting cats.’
🙂
mm Risible +100
The I ching, my goodness get with the times. Toss a D20 dice or shake up a custom made 8 ball filled with moderation decisions to spice things up.
Why do you care so much Robert?
Because in everyday life you don’t make a good thing if you put poor, even poisonous, ingredients in it.
And TRP the idea of letting anybody have a go as long as they don’t go against the basic rules supposedly is an example of free speech actually ignores why The Standard is important even vital in my opinion. It is an exchange of thinking peoples ideas
Good question, marty mars – I have no reasonable answer to offer and thanks to you, I’m abandoning all interest in his waffling.
I’m not saying stop just make sure you’re getting what you want from it – imo you do good. Pete is Pete and that cat won’t change. But we also need to know the insidious lies he says to poison the well so if someone can stomach it well good on them.
I think I was bored, Marty. I should have instead, pursued my old habit of learning new words. Here’s a good one: grimalkin
“A grimalkin (also called a greymalkin) is an archaic term for a cat. The term stems from “grey” (the colour) plus “malkin”, an archaic term with several meanings (a cat, a low class woman, a weakling, a mop, or a name derived from a hypocoristic form of the female name Maud.”
Much more fun 🙂
Hey is that an obscure put-downm? Hah! Great word ‘grimalkin’. Thinking about cats – the Cheshire Cat might be a good concept that could indicate a paragraph of opinion within those three words. A sort of code.
Wikipedia says: “One of its distinguishing features is that from time to time its body disappears, the last thing visible being its iconic grin. ”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheshire_Cat
Just perfect for people who need a ban. Could say, this one deserves the Cheshire Cat treatment!
That would fit into PGs description of TS in 2 above.
“It’s hard to measure whether Kiwiblog is worse than The Standard – abuse at KB is generally worse but it is also more open, there’s a more subtle insidious approach often taken at TS
Subtle, insidious, machiavellian. Just the way that the powers that be are working away manipulating our society, and people like PG are useful foot soldiers. Meet them with an understanding of their own methods I say. As long as we try to speak truth and be as open as possible except when facing the twisted.
“I think I was bored…”
Humans dislike being bored so much sometimes physical pain is preferable. Experiments around sensory deprivation have shown humans will even inflict pain like an electric shock on themselves (or they will even go to yawnNZ) in an effort to alleviate their boredom.
Some deadbeat subjects will even get so bored they will invent absurd fantasies like: ” I suppose that Marama Davidson is probably going to claim that Santa was a c**t though and claim him/her as being part of her taonga” to amuse themselves.
Take care Robert, stick to reading the dictionary rather than the ramblings of the deranged. 🙂
Thanks, fender – it’s nice to know someone cares 🙂
The difference between electric shocks and yawnNZ is that some people use electric shocks for fun. I can’t see PG’s work inspiring any sexual fetishists.
That’s just a reflection of your lack of imagination.
Mine too.
Ha. Fair point. It takes a village…
That sounds vaguely provocative and challenging.
“But we also need to know the insidious lies he says”
That is more of an insidious lie than your vague unsubstantiated assertion.
https://www.petfinder.com/cats/cat-care/senior-cat/
Hardly vague Pete.
You and Pete got a bit of bro love going on Robert The mutual infatuation is sweet 😊
You’re right, Bewildered. Pete won’t admit to it though 🙂
You jealous bewildered?
Robert, thanks for keeping an eye on Your NZ and passing on some of the waffle – sorry to read you won’t be doing this anymore.
Pete George’s catty assessment of The Standard’s moderation (and “master moderator”) arguably reflects more poorly on Pete George, and is weak poison.
Petey is getting on in years and may be suffering from a nail and claw disorder:
https://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/skin/c_ct_nail_nailbed_disorders
Well, Drowsy, if Pete’s suffering from onychomycosis, which might explain his caterwauling (https://www.catster.com/cat-behavior/caterwauling-what-is-it-and-why-do-cats-do-it), then he deserves our sympathy, or at least mine, and I’m happy to offer it.
That’s OK – I probably will!
BUT a warning – I am probably older than PG …
AND no I don’t suffer from a nail and claw disorder now that I have to have (give myself) very frequent Vitamin B12 injections to stay alive. Nails and claws are in top notch condition. LOL
veutoviper – re-claws (nails and hair too) I met a woman recently who needed to strengthen hers, so drank tea made from horsetail (equisetum) daily for a month and built strong, vigorously-growing locks and nails. She recommended it highly. Yesterday I met a bloke who recommends darkening hair with water in which un-hulled walnuts have been boiled. He too swore by the process.
Interesting, Robert. Good hair and nails are a small inconsequential tangent benefit of my injections, as my body cannot absorb B12 from food through the stomach/gastric system. Addison-Biemers Syndrome aka Pernicious Anaemia (PA) which is a bit of a misnomer as its symptoms/effects are body wide and not just haematological.
Vitamin B12 (In the case of PA – injections) are essential to make good red blood cells which can then transport oxygen around my body to keep my heart, lungs, brain and every other organ functioning and to try to stem the permanent muscular and neurological damage already done which means I can no longer walk far, or do a lot of other things in particular gardening. I have always been a very keen and active gardener (come from a long line of home and professional gardeners) and the inability to do so any more is devastating. Hence my silence to date on your posts on that subject.
(FYI the long line apparently includes three generations of Head Gardeners and gardeners at Kew Gardens London, including when Joseph Banks returned with his NZ plant collection.)
BUT a great benefit (double edged sword?) of the B12 injections is my brain function and memory have improved probably the most of all. IMO these functions are back to what they were probably in my late 30s (and the bloody brain will not stop churning in the middle of the night!)
I could write a thesis on all of this but won’t today – LOL (TG, they all say.)
Jeepers! You’ve got great Garden Cred, veutoviper!
The woman who recommended the horsetail treatment to me had also suffered from anaemia, though she didn’t say pernicious. She was from Baja California and looked Mexican. Great hair and nails!
Suffering from nail and claw problems? Or perhaps foot-and-mouth – though different animal? That could come from trying to beef up his arguments!
As someone who canvasses for the Labour party I find the expression of such views useful and in particular the response to them. It gives me a greater understanding of the views out there. Unfortunately a lot of people are influenced by ridiculous anti union and anti labour views promoted by our media. It also takes me out of my bubble which is important when I want to help win elections. I do have a theory though that PG comes here to promote his blog and encourage people to click on it to see what the story is. Perhaps he comes here when his blog is quiet.
I came here recently to address false claims being made by Robert. he seems to feel aggrived that he should abide by reasonable standards of debate like everyone else (not here of course, he seems free to make things up).
Did you notice that it was Robert bringing it up here and linking to Your NZ, not me.
https://www.catster.com/cat-behavior/stop-cats-fighting
I can see the truth of your opinions TFG. That was helpful explanation.
While some people here wonder why I and others bother to read PG’s and other blogs, I totally agree with what you have said re it being useful to know what is being said elsewhere and the reactions to it. As you say, this is needed to be able to put things in perspective and look at things from outside our own bubbles.
I also suspect your last sentence is very close to the truth as to why PG comes here. (see my last para below.)
I was actually adding to my tongue in cheek reply at 2.3.2 when I ran out of editing time, to say that I have been interested in seeing the road the comments have taken on my comment I filed on Open Mike on 1 Jan which lprent then put up as the post called “Discussion on Political Leader PR”.
After making one slightly snide reply (sorry) to someone who commented on that post, I decided to not comment further and just see where the conversation went of its own accord. It has been an interesting exercise, and I am putting together a short summary of my observations as a sort of close off comment.
While my comment started by replying to some assertions PG had made, very few people focused on what my actual comment morphed into as I wrote it which was the different treatment of PR by Ardern to that by Bridges, particularly in relation to their families – other than lprent and one or two others who actually read it in full (thanks Andre) and got the drift. I suspect most did not read it in full, but that’s life.
I may also include a short bit about my observations of the reactions to PG’s comments on his own blog re his discussions/reactions to the thread here – Hint; very few there have taken the bait and responded in detail. Focus there is also now on Kiwiblog where yesterday Farrar finally banned someone for a hideous comment re the PM’s baby. I refuse to say anymore about that but PF has done a post on the whole situation – but has also taken the opportunity to include comparisions of Ts to Kiwiblog.
But I also intended to include a comment similar to yours. That is, PG does put a lot of time and effort into his posts on his blogs and I give him credit for that. Sometimes, he gets a lot of on topic comments, but sometimes he gets very few. At times, it must be a bit soul destroying, and I have wondered more than once, whether he comes here for a different environment and different commenters when he is feeling a little disillusioned with his own blog. Fair enough, but also expect to be challenged.
I also totally agree with what mickysavage says at 2.5 – both in respect to PG and as a general principle in relation to all commenters including myself.
I have a soft spot for Pete. He has a deep respect for freedom of expression. He is tribal conservative but has reached a position where he thinks the centre provides the best result in a goldilocks sort of way.
As long as he does not infringe the basic tenets of the site he is welcome to comment.
Cat-lover, huh!
I’m sorry, mickysavage. I’ll stop now.
Haha
Happy new year Robert!
One of the reasons I have a degree of respect for Pete …
https://yournz.org/2018/11/03/nottingham-fails-again-in-court-of-appeal-judicial-system-faltering/
Yeah, I saw all that; he sure can dig in, badger-like, when he feels aggrieved!
Happy new year to you, mickeysavage 🙂
“Hours after taking office, Brazil’s new president, Jair Bolsonaro, has launched an assault on environmental and Amazon protections with an executive order transferring the regulation and creation of new indigenous reserves to the agriculture ministry – which is controlled by the powerful agribusiness lobby.
The move sparked outcry from indigenous leaders, who said it threatened their reserves, which make up about 13% of Brazilian territory, and marked a symbolic concession to farming interests at a time when deforestation is rising again.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/02/brazil-jair-bolsonaro-amazon-rainforest-protections
The war has just gone up a few notches.
And we get another step closer to climate catastrophe.
Another step well into climate catastrophe IMO. We should have stomped on this type of shit back in the 1990s but the governments have been taken over by business and refused to listen to the science.
Now it’s going to end up being every country for themselves. The nations that won’t be too afflicted by the changing climate can’t afford the influx of refugees from those that will be.
Sounds like he Listens to Happy clappy born agains.
You know the ones who believe in the oncoming apocalypse.
“Silas Malafia, an influential televangelist and close friend of Bolsonaro, said developed countries who centuries ago cut down their own forests should pay if they wanted Brazil to preserve the Amazon.”
There is that interesting link thhat touches on Brazil’s surprisingly small haul from its oil sales. I think Brazil doesn’t have to be paid anything for doing what it should have done when the money was flowing like oi.
Hence the fevered support from Netanyahu, Pence and Haley.
Another order removed the concerns of the LGBT community from consideration by the new human rights ministry.
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2019-01-02/brazils-bolsonaro-hinders-demarcation-of-indigenous-lands
Glenn Greenwald shows how the Guardian has become a facade.
Five weeks ago, it published a fake news front page story. It was totally made up.
Its editor has been an ostrich and kept her head in the sand.
The Guardian now displays where its priorities lie – not with the truth and not with the public, . It has become a pillar of the deep state.
https://t.co/PvHYD56DYv?amp=1
Thanks Ed
There have been comments about The Guardian for ages and I can see that there is something there. Pity because the G sounds good. I was thinking of putting payments into their pockets but hey?
What’s going on down in China? How do people think about their system there, how do foreigners get treated? A close look by foreigners who live/have lived there and who know.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwNPa8fSXzzAZuT9859GVhg
You linked to the person’s subscriber channel. Which particular video are you talking about?
I don’t know DTB about this. I will have to check and come back with this after I have had some lunch and done some work! It’s really good so i will attend to it later.
Could be the one titled The Mass Exodus of Foreigners from China
Thanks fender.
Draco see link on fender’s comment. It’s about 19 minutes and worth seeing and listening to it all for chatty on site background. Even if you have to halt it and come back to it (hint note how many minutes have gone).
Righto
Yeah…disgustingly privileged white people fearing their loss of privileges, one of whom is an angst fulled white South African who thinks he was ‘discriminated’ against in South Africa.
From 9:04 to 10:16: Bemoaning the fact that the Chinese government does not accredit the diplomas of American international schools in China who follow their own curricula. He hates the fact that his kids should attend the local schools.
Can anyone imagine the uproar in NZ say, if there were Chinese established schools teaching entirely in Chinese, teaching Chinese cultural and political perspectives, and these schools expecting to be fully accredited under the NZQA system?
These people are pure FILTH (Failed in London Try Hong Kong) types. China would do well to be rid of such types.
Gardening question for our resident organic gardeners.
My brussel sprout plants are being overrun by aphids or might be cabbage butterfly larvae. The plants are looking really unwell. What is the peraculture solution to this please?
Kia ora Maui,
This might help.
A garlic spray can deter aphids, mites and white butterflies. Try crushing several cloves of garlic, add 1 litre of boiling water, leave to cool, then strain through a sieve. Add 1 teaspoon of soap or detergents to help the spray stick to the leaves.
Cool, thanks for that Fran. Worth a go.
yes and using a baby hair brush to knock them down helps. Put small pots of cornstarch out for the ants. They actually put the aphids to work Cheers’
Thanks Patricia. ideally I’m looking for a solution that is part of the garden design and doesn’t involve human interaction if possible.
prob gd to have the brassica doing most of their growing in a cooler time of the year maui ditto peas etc
I am going to try to put this up as a totally neutral comment (with one exception*).
FYI, yesterday David Farrar finally banned someone on his Kiwiblog General Debate post for an absolutely noxious* comment wishing violence to the PM’s daughter.
I am not going to link to that comment or Kiwiblog, or give any more detail.
Today, no General Debate post has been put up on Kiwiblog.
h/t to a commenter on Pete George’s YourNZ blog. (I have checked and there is no GD for today on KB.)
Pete George has done a detailed post on his blog on this banning and his views on comments on Kiwiblog and Farrar’s approach to moderation.
This post and the comments on it can be viewed here.
https://yournz.org/2019/01/03/farrar-acts-on-ongoing-attacks-on-ardern/
There are no mentions of The Standard in the post itself but there are some in the comments, primarily by Pete George, with one or two small related replies from others.
The most important word being finally.
A High five for you!
They egg each other on and lose their sense of perspective. Seen fresh from the outside it all looks sick but the players know the nuances and histories of who’s saying what and see it all very differently. I think it suits Farrar to have those things said on his blog; he simply claims he can’t moderate them and thus allowing the harmful claims to see the light of day where a lot of “silent watchers” will see them. It’s an ugly strategy, imo.
Spot on, Robert…
That is precisely what DF is doing…
I’ve been to KB once many years ago…read the comments sections…never went back…
I’ve also seen well known and highly placed business people link and quote from KB…
DF takes his orders from somewhere…ugly indeed…
Bryan Bruce reflects on knighthoods, questions the hardworking ethic of the new rich and lament the loss of egalitarianism in this country.
As ever, he is spot on.
“While I think it is important to acknowledge people for their contribution to our communities and our country, I do think it’s time we had the discussion again about what Knighthoods and Damehoods signify.
Do we still want to cling to these vestiges of the British Empire or is it time to replace them with our own honours that reflect our now diverse multi-cultural country ?
Your answer to that question, I suspect ,reflects what you think it means to be a New Zealander.
A few days ago I was talking with Liz Gunn on her Drive show on Radio Live when I found myself remembering out loud that one of the things that once marked our National character is that we were an egalitarian country – that we believed “Jack was as good as his master” and that we called no man “Sir”
It’s a charactistic, I regret to say, that is in grave risk of disappearing from the New Zealand psyche.”
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/01/03/guest-blog-bryan-bruce-call-no-man-sir/
I don’t mind giving homage to a man or woman that I deeply respect. Some deserve it. It is who receives this homage that bothers me. I think it should be up to the people to vote.
MEMO: greywarshark
FROM: The Knights of the British Empire
It has been brought to our attention that you have had the gall and temerity to write: “Some deserve it. It is who receives this homage that bothers me. I think it should be up to the people to vote..”
We would like to point out that a Knighthood is the culmination of a lifetime of careful groveling to the powerful and assiduously keeping an eye out for “the main chance.” This process is what the “great unwashed”, i.e., such oiks as yourself, are obliged to call “public service”.
We strongly contest your implication that some Knights and Dames do not deserve their honours.
Respectfully,
Sir Paul Holmes
Sir Thomas Eichelbaum
Sir Jimmy Savile
Dame Denise L’Estrange-Corbet
Sir Peter Leitch
Sir Jeremiah Mateparae
Sir John Key
Sir William “Double Dipper” English
Sir William Gallagher
Dame Lesley Max
Sir Clive Woodward
Sir Robert Jones
We?
Well Morry i can see some obvious ones in the list that bring to mind that old circular saying that someone is famous for being famous (although having some position in the community and/or wealth would be a requirement.)
Perhaps we should retrospectively duck them in a pond and see if they come up to see who is one of the truly chosen.
And to be really boring I’ll repeat Bad Sir Brian Botany which I guess not everyone has come across, I hope.
Here is a reading from Chris Blue who is a NZr, He also does another one about knights.
Brilliant! Thanks, Mr Shark!
Talley is a notorious knight.
Ben Norton nails it.
“Today, on the 60th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution, don’t forget that for years the ENTIRE WORLD has voted at the UN to call for an end to the illegal, crippling US embargo on Cuba.
In 2018, the vote was 189 nations to 2 (USA and Israel).
189. To. 2.”
I would add the words of Morgan Artyukhina that Cuba is “a model for socialism & decolonization in innumerable ways. Real grassroots democracy ensures popular participation in politics everyday-not 1 day every 2-4 years like in capitalist democracies. Its medical system is the envy of the world, based on the local polyclinic.”
Happy 60th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution! ¡Hasta la victoria siempre!.
Amazing numbers there. Cross your heart that’s totally factual?
Good on Cuba, anyway. They have been through the mill. What about Puerto Rico?
Your kinda place, eh, Ed.
/
https://web.archive.org/web/20090331143515/http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y03/nov03/10e8.htm
That is horrible joe90. I was wondering if Amnesty International has been trying to put pressure on them. I haven’t heard them referred to in the years I have been coming to TS. Does anyone write with them? Perhaps Cuba would be a good place to start.
This is what Amnesty say about Cuba:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/04/cuba-change-of-leadership-must-herald-a-new-era-for-human-rights/
One of the only nations where the Red Cross is banned fron visiting prisons. Under there rules all of us would get about 17 years in prison for our anti National or anti Labour comments. So hardly a free country.
The health system as commented by ED is free but it’s also not free. Treatment is compulsory with no right of complaint. If the doctor wants to cut your arm off, your arm gets cut off. Some of the high profile political prisoners are Doctors and without free speech we actually have no way of knowing how good the system actually is. We very rarely hear about its errors or failings. Life expectancy figures shows it’s pretty good. Born today 78.8 years male: 76.5 years female. Not sure why women die younger. Maybe with less economic pressure etc on men unlike our society things are better for men. Plus they have regulated shared care so don’t have the ridiculous male suicide rate we get from our fault divorce, gynocentric family court scam.
Okay Cuba isn’t paradise. I’ll write it off my list of drawcards for my next overseas holiday, though if they are poor they might welcome me. Howecver I had better have super health insurance by the sounds of it. Probably a picture for much of the world.
A fast talking punchy USA comedian Hasan Minhaj. Looking at Amazon and the behaviour of behemoths.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5maXvZ5fyQY
I read many reviews on climate change. After spending an afternoon in the garden, whilst in the bathroom spotting a few exposed areas that missed out on suntan lotion, gave thought to how strong the sun is and the absence of comment regarding the ozone. NZ may “benefit” from a change in climate, yet we face hash consequences from the loss in ozone.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/06/ozone-layer-not-recovering-over-populated-areas-scientists-warn
Christopher Hitchens at his best
Try to forget the memory of the sad fellow he became in the 2000s. He used to be great once….
Poor Hitchens must have been in despair in those years, knowing how low he’d fallen in morrissey’s esteem.
Hitchens jumped, suddenly and inexplicably, on to the doomed ship of neocon fools after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. Even more foolish than that mad choice was his crazed attack shortly after on, of all people, Noam Chomsky. Interviewed by Kim Hill on National Radio in early 2002, Chomsky memorably wrote Hitchens off as “incoherent.”
In October 2014, this writer, i.e. moi, wrote that Hitchens was:
Still, thanks to the wonders of YouTube and the library, we can now appreciate Hitchens as he used to be, before he became unhinged.
I never could fathom why he turned from the brightest of lights to a slavish defender of the neocon wars of conquest.
That debate between Galloway and Hitchens is memorable.
In it George said of Hitchens,”What you have witnessed is something unique in natural history – the first ever metamorphosis of a butterfly back into a slug.”
If that didn’t quite signal the full animosity he meant to convey, he extended the image: “The one thing a slug leaves behind it is a trail of slime.”
Contrarianism, pure and simple. He just didn’t care.
This could result in a few murders or even a war. OK there’s been a few murders already but the dreaded, often predicted water wars.
Egyptians population growth is out of control with population set to double over the next 50 years. They are already facing an immediate fresh water crisis, power crisis so unless they get there act together things will get nasty.
Then there is this bold move by Ethiopia. Yes Ethiopia.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jan/2/egypt-water-anxiety-grows-over-ethiopia-dam-nile/
You fool, you’ve quoted a Moonie paper.
Explian how that worthless comment matters to the dam? The article is News far more than opinion so deal with it.
I’ll quote who I like. Most if not all your fixations on media is irrational. All of us realise that media, no matter who it is, are pushing one eyed wheelbarrows.
The recent comments by the former female editor of the NY Times is a good example of bias. The NY Times being blatantly anti Trump, driven by click bait and graduates out of the lefty indoctrinated universities. Same in NZ.
Blatantly anti-Trump. Perhaps she is just trying to find that elusive balance. Are you a Trump supporter?
The ability of the do-it-yourselfer with or without No.8 wire, this guy uses duct tape and lots of it, is the subject of this next serious skill-building video.
Stoked to see the top-notch material that talented NZ musicians and film-makers can produce these days:
@Lprent – for your notes, auto-embed worked and then it disappeared when I edited the text. Oh, and now it’s back even though the edit window is still open.
J.K. Rowling writes amusing children’s fantasy,
but that’s as far as her talent goes, unfortunately.
http://normanfinkelstein.com/2018/12/30/nouveau-riche-j-k-rowling-doesnt-want-to-share-her-bundle-of-swag-so-naturally-she-cries-antisemitism/
She is a notorious anti-lefty on Twitter.
Spends hours going after Corbyn.
She has forgotten the days she was penniless writing in an Edinburgh cafe.
Ed
She does have the right to consider Corbyn unsatisfactory. Why don’t you think of some things to ask your next local government candidates as on Matthew’s post?
She does not have the right to recycle vicious lies, however.
Yes, yes, she’s made a career out of penning fantasies, but she’s foolishly signed up to repeat the sad and stupid fantasies of Yenta Hodge, Rudolf Giuliani, Alan Shredowitz, Binyamin Netanyahoo, et al.
As we see every day with that loon in the White House, money can’t undo the stupid.
Rowling; influenced by socialist writer Mitford, a well heeled supporter of multiple causes including ending child poverty, single parents, the welfare of child mental health patients, Médecins Sans Frontières, human rights, refugees, and a long time supporter and donor to UK Labour.
Ed, an ahistoric, poe-faced malcontent with a boner for war criminals and corrupt, authoritarian thugs.
Ed, an ahistoric, poe-faced [sic] malcontent with a boner for war criminals and corrupt, authoritarian thugs.
You’re trying too hard, joe. Lying like you’re doing never helps. Not for long.
Your really don’t get it do you.
Your source Norman? Links to Twitter, that longs further into Twitter. Why not direct to the Rowling comment.
A Rowling comment.
“I chose to remain a domiciled taxpayer for a couple of reasons. The main one was that I wanted my children to grow up where I grew up, to have proper roots in a culture as old and magnificent as Britain’s; to be citizens, with everything that implies, of a real country, not free-floating ex-pats, living in the limbo of some tax haven and associating only with the children of similarly greedy tax exiles.
A second reason, however, was that I am indebted to the British welfare state; the very one that Mr Cameron would like to replace with charity handouts. When my life hit rock bottom, that safety net, threadbare though it had become under John Major’s Government, was there to break the fall. I cannot help feeling, therefore, that it would have been contemptible to scarper for the West Indies at the first sniff of a seven-figure royalty cheque. This, if you like, is my notion of patriotism. On the available evidence, I suspect that it is Lord Ashcroft’s idea of being a mug”
The top tax rate is 45% and she has earnt at least 650million pounds. You want her to pay more? Other people’s money eh.
You should read her repulsive tweets about Corbyn.
You’re such a little cheer germ aren’t you Ed. Always something overseas, or here, to pass judgment on. Find us one good piece of news a day will you, and not about kittens please. Lprent is covering that.
Obsessed parent. All I ever hear is kitten, kitten… Oh well it makes a change from engineers. Back to work Monday.
But morrissey appears to just be emulating his namesakes.
Just curious, has Mort been verbed yet? As in, “What happened to my sandals?” “Oh, they just got Morted.” or “Where’s the kitten?” “He’s busy Morting your cables.”
Yeah, how dare a woman draw attention to his spinless incompetence and refusal to listen to his party’s members that’s giving the Tories licence to pursue their Brexit plan with no political opposition.
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Three-quarters of Labour party members want a second EU referendum, according to a new poll.
Research by YouGov on behalf of Queen Mary University and Sussex University found that 72% want another poll to be carried out, compared to just 18% who do not.
The poll of 1,034 Labour members also showed that 88% of them would vote to stay in the EU if another referendum took place.
https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/labour-party/jeremy-corbyn/news/100810/three-quarters-labour-members-want
https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/labour-party/jeremy-corbyn/news/100810/three-quarters-labour-members-want
‘A former All Blacks manager and national rugby president has claimed a Polynesian star was robbed of a match appearance because the tour bosses couldn’t spell his name.
The outrageous revelation was made by West Coast rugby identity John Sturgeon, and brought howls of laughter from a Greymouth audience.’
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12184488&fbclid=IwAR0FbcCoWyy4ujfsG2f6YuY8qRhoX_n6gkW8S9j2EwB4WUt7ApiVc56cPC0
So, not only was Va’aiga Tuigamala’s career adversely affected, Sturgeon and his audience think racism is hilarious.
But, hey no racism in Newzild, eh.
It was a superb example of ineffective management though. What a dumbie, and couldn’t the office workers get their information correct? Was there a legal side, where you are expected to have names correct? It’s not necessarily racism, it’s slackism.
Does anyone know why Music 101 and Alex Behan have been dropped from Radionz?
And going back why did Simon Mercep get put off? He’d hardly got started.
Everyone is having trouble fronting up to the waste problem. The authorities don’t take control – in this case the workers are losing out as well as those trying to run a difficult business. This in Scotland.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-46741497
And in India, two poor brothers run an efficient scrap business and just make a living. Is this what the west really want?
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-46616372
But Indians are generating more waste than ever as processed food takes over kitchens, cheap electronics fly off the rack, and home delivery apps fill up phones. And a deep-rooted sense of thrift (the same one that has fuelled India’s famous “jugaad” or cheap innovation)
So what’s this ‘jugaad’?
Interesting 2019 predictions from Bomber Bradbury.
I agree with someof them…. I don’t see the establishment being shaken out of its complacency to climate change, I am hopeful Jeremy Corbyn will lead a Lexit.
Interesting thoughts from Martin.
Thought provoking.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/01/03/pessimistic-predictions-for-2019/
The Western Australia has got there future on the correct path renewable enery is going to power our future ka pai
Renewable energy
New lithium hydroxide factory in Western Australia wins federal approval
Plant set to boost local jobs and supply growing global demand for lithium, which is used in renewable energy storage Earthworks for a new lithium hydroxide factory in Western Australia are expected to begin this month after the $1bn project received federal environmental approval.
The plant owned by the world’s largest lithium producer, the US chemical company Albemarle, was approved by the WA government in October and is estimated to create up to 500 jobs in construction, with another 100 to 500 operational jobs once it is operational.
Australia’s trade minister, Simon Birmingham, said the plant would provide a much-needed local jobs boost and supply a growing global demand for lithium, which is used in renewable energy storage.The company has been ordered to identify a new breeding and foraging habitat for WA’s three threatened black cockatoo species – Carnaby’s cockatoo, Forest red-tailed cockatoo, and Baudin’s black cockatoo – to offset habitat lost by clearing the 89ha plant site, including 54ha of coastal plain vegetation that is home to a number of threatened native orchids.
The director of the Conservation Council of Western Australia, Piers Verstegen, said the environmental impacts of the project were “manageable” Ka kite ano links below P.S I know wild whenua will be ruined but its will counter by limiting carbon being burnt
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/03/new-lithium-hydroxide-factory-in-western-australia-wins-federal-approval
‘Momentum is growing’: reasons to be hopeful about the environment in 2019
As we reflect on a year of extreme weather and ominous climate talks, Guardian environment writer Fiona Harvey explains why 2019 could see some much-needed breakthroughs E
xtreme weather hit the headlines throughout 2018, from the heatwave across much of the northern hemisphere, which saw unprecedented wildfires in Sweden, drought in the UK and devastating wildfires in the US, to floods in India and typhoons in south-east Asia.
According to the World Meteorological Organisation, last year was the fourth hottest on record and confirms a trend of rising temperatures that is a clear signal that we are having an effect on the climate. Droughts, floods, fiercer storms and heatwaves, as well as sea level rises, are all expected to increase markedly as a result.
Late in the year there was also the starkest warning yet from scientists of what our future will be if we allow climate change to take hold. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the global body of the world’s leading climate scientists, which has been producing regular reports on the state of climate science since 1988, produced its latest comprehensive overview examining what the future will look like if we undergo 1.5C (2.7F) of warming. That does not sound like a lot – most people would be hard put to notice a temperature difference of 1.5C – but in climate terms, 1.5C above pre-industrial levels is enough to take us into the danger zone. It would see the mass die-off of coral reefs, the extinction of some species, rising sea levels, wet areas of the world becoming wetter and dry areas drier, and the decline of agricultural productivity across swaths of the globe Ka kite ano links below.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/02/climate-change-environment-2019-future-reasons-hope
Its cheaper and more intelligent to prevent making a mess of our lakes and awa rivers. Change to organic farming the tourist boom was predicted by national so why was there no intro structure money invested in the places were they new the tourist booms would take place well ask simon. We need to get the toilets and sewage systems up to a standard to handle the tourist.
The end is nigh for our lakes
Queenstown and Wanaka are New Zealand’s poster children, Instagram worthy and renowned around the world – always with our ostensibly ‘pristine’ lakes in the foreground.
The appearance belies the reality – our Southern-Lakes waterways are in danger and no-one is talking loudly enough about it. It’s not bad all the time, and for some, that’s enough leeway to ignore the problem.
There’s a map, on the Ministry of the Environment’s webpage that shows the real-time, most recently recorded water quality for every large lake and river in the country. The colour coding goes from red being ‘poor’ to blue being ‘excellent’.
If you look closely enough, there’s a trend, the red dots are creeping their way upstream, multiplying, coming ever-closer to the source. Our waterways are dying.
Water quality is a weathervane, it signals changes on the horizon. Those changes are occurring at a rapid rate. The Southern-Lakes is home to New Zealand’s fastest growing population, increasing annually at around 8 percent – a lot when compared with Auckland’s 2 percent.
We have over 3 million visitors a year, and that number is multiplying with airport expansions and draft tourism strategies tabled that forecast five million visitors in the not too distant future. Our water quality is in danger across the district – not only big bodies of water under regional council control but also drinking water and stormwater under local district council control. The infrastructure is under too much pressure – from development runoff, stormwater provisions, sewage treatment
E. Coli, cyanobacteria, Lake Snot, these are all terms that have become part of our everyday vocabulary. We have begun to expect days in summer where the quality is so bad as to be unswimmable rather than being shocked by it. That desensitisation leads to a slippery slope of acceptance.
The only response to anything less than pristine and excellent condition of our waterways should be outrage. Foot-stamping, loud, vocal, in-your-face outrage. There’s a crisis afoot, not just brewing, and we need our authorities to recognise it.
Just because water looks clear doesn’t mean it isn’t contaminated. So where’s the problem? What is causing it? And most importantly, what can we do about it?
Ka kite ano
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/01/03/377614/the-end-is-nigh-for-our-lakes
No need for Eco Maori words this mana wahine say’s it all for me.
No need for Eco Maori words Tama Iti say it all.
Kia ora Te kaea one has to keep a eye on the weather when diving there are a few people drowning While diving.
Ngati porou pa wars is going strong I seen a couple of faces I know.
Feed the need is a good idear feeding the children with no lunches at school.
Ka pai Te whano apunui has a wakama team for there tamariki.
It’s cool to see way wine boxing getting some media coverage.
Ka kite ano
Kia ora Newshub some people need to learn how to forgive the American hip-hop 2 different groups from the USA fight in Aotearoa no way to be a role model for the tamariki.
I wonder if he knows that he has bitten off more than he can chew trump that is .
Let’s hope there is not any lives lost or to much damage in the Tasmanian Bush fires.
Ka pai to all the new Democrats members of the American Representative of The House.
It was a sad loss the Rugby league Fai drowning trying to save a m8.
Congratulations to China for landing a spacecraft’s on the far side of the Marama.
I seen a show were a lady could detect some dease just buy smell to .
It will be a great way to diagnose cancers from someone’s breath that will save a lot of lives. Ka kite ano