Capitalists have claimed responsibility for America’s past economic success. Let’s begin by setting the record straight. American success had little to do with capitalism. This is not to say that the US would have had more success with something like Soviet central planning.
Prior to 1900 when the frontier was closed, America’s success was a multi-century long success based on the plunder of a pristine environment and abundant natural resources. Individuals and companies were capitalized simply by occupying the land and using the resources present.
As the population grew and resources were depleted, the per capita resource endowment declined.
America got a second wind from World War I, which devastated European powers and permitted the emergence of the US as a budding world power. World War II finished off Europe and put economic and financial supremacy in Washington’s hands. The US dollar seized the world reserve currency role from the British pound, enabling the US to pay its bills by printing money. The world currency role of the dollar, more than nuclear weapons, has been the source of American power. Russia has equal or greater nuclear weapons power, but it is the dollar not the ruble that is the currency in which international payments are settled.
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American success had little to do with capitalism. Then you contradict yourself: "World War II finished off Europe and put economic and financial supremacy in Washington’s hands. The US dollar seized the world reserve currency role from the British pound, enabling the US to pay its bills by printing money. The world currency role of the dollar, more than nuclear weapons, has been the source of American power."
Arguable that the nuclear threat empowers the superpower less than their capitalist system. I think the success of the USA post-WWII is due to both equally. Why did the rest of the world choose the US dollar as world currency? Tacit psychology. Trust that it works better as a medium of exchange than any other contender…
'For the men who would later be mythologised as the “Founding Fathers”, conquest – the right of white settlers to seize whatever land they wanted – was from the start inseparable from liberty. Freedom, in the American sense of the word, was unimaginable without the frontier, limitless land for the taking just beyond the boundaries of the known.'
Intriguing and good to see they are taking the initiative with the coalition. I'm hoping we'll get more than navel-gazing out of the conference. They failed to give me any reason to attend, so I figured I've got plenty of better things to do. Wish them well tho..
In corporate-speak, Human Resources. Struck me as a clever joke (unless it means something else). I was obliged to interact with one or two of the TVNZ HR drones in the '90s due to my somewhat-stroppy attitude. One needs to be able to finesse their attempts to file people into typical categories…
He's an Ed. But at least Ed did serve up some reason to post his links – this guy has so much contempt for readers of TS that he is incapable of conceiving such courtesy. I see it as a combination of Jungian projection with a variant of virtue-signalling. He assumes readers share his desire to promote whatever virtue he perceives in the links. Classic narcissism: the subject's interior world totally displaces the world we share…
Ah, thought it rang a bell in the back of my mind. I did watch that years ago & agree it was worth the time spent (even though I had long been familiar with the back story).
Google finds 22.3 million web pages if you search health effects of 5g. Bit of a groundswell, but ignore the rabble. You'll be ok.
“The radio wave band – used for mobile phone networks – is non-ionising, “which means it lacks sufficient energy to break apart DNA and cause cellular damage,” says David Robert Grimes, physicist and cancer researcher. Higher up the electromagnetic spectrum, well beyond those frequencies used by mobile phones, there are clear health risks from extended exposure.” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48616174
The report does suggest a serious risk to male rats, so some of the more rabid kiwibloggers may get eliminated…
"Google finds 22.3 million web pages if you search health effects of 5g"
Is that all? I tried "Trump is an alien" and got 328 million. Nearly 15 times as many. Surely that must be interpreted as meaning there aren't any health effects from 5g if hardly anyone seems to care?
How to use Google 101: if you include the quotation marks you’ll get about 113,000 results. This is because you search for this exact word or phrase. Have you ever used the Advanced Search settings? Very handy!
Sure. I read comments in the back-end and they are in reverse order without the context of the discussion thread. In fact, I read the all comments of all posts lumped together in reverse chronological order. In between, I write the odd comment myself, occasionally, but mostly I keep an eye on things as moderator – the two are almost mutually exclusive, to me at least.
Jesus! I am amazed that you can make any sense of anything. I certainly don't think I would be able to do it.
I now see, on the other hand, how you can respond to comments so quickly. I found it a real pain when I couldn't find, easily, my own recent comments so that I could see if a response should be given. Getting that back is wonderful. I only have to find my own comments though.
You put the finger on the pain point, which is that I cannot make much sense of anything unless I concentrate really hard and pay much attention – very tiring if not exhausting to combine with a demanding life outside or alongside TS. The back-end works well for moderation but not for commenting (the editor is different too). I find myself spending a lot of time and energy here and not nearly enjoying it as much as I used to when I was merely commenting and joining in the conversations. The technical aspect is only one factor; the other issue that it is almost impossible to disentangle oneself from being a ‘player’ in a ‘game’ to become the ‘referee/umpire’ and make fair and neutral decisions to protect the ‘game’. Maybe I’m taking it all too seriously; it wouldn’t be the first time. One thing that helps though is that I am anonymous and that lowers the personal involvement; I can turn off the device and walk away from it without a lingeringemotional connection, which is much harder to do in real life, for me at least.
You have to thank Lynn, of course, for the search function and the smooth running of the site. You know that you can click on Replies on the RH side to see whether anybody has replied to one of your comments, don’t you? It does not work when threads get too long because the nesting of comments only goes so deep before the reply button disappears.
A lot of starnge stuff around about 5G . Because the spectrum they will use in US is high frequency it wont provide much performance away from cell sites.
this part of the Niwa incorrect claim as the bands will be FR2. Im surprised they failed to check even wikipedia over this
I understand other countries will be using lower frequencies including this 2.5Ghz band in NZ. ( known in the jargon as FR1)
Im not sure of this but one of the reasons for 5G faster downloads is the 'broader bands' used for reception
.Perhaps it's time for the left to start investing in this strategy, too. Or we kill facebook.
The lobbying firm run by Boris Johnson’s close ally Sir Lynton Crosby has secretly built a network of unbranded “news” pages on Facebook for dozens of clients ranging from the Saudi government to major polluters, a Guardian investigation has found.
In the most complete account yet of CTF Partners’ outlook and strategy, current and former employees of the campaign consultancy have painted a picture of a business that appears to have professionalised online disinformation, taken on a series of controversial clients and faced incidents of misogynistic bullying in its headquarters.
Facebook said it shut down 265 fake accounts run by an Israeli social media company on Thursday for engaging in “coordinated inauthentic behavior” as it sought to affect politics in African, Latin American and Southeast Asian nations.
The move, while underscoring the increasingly global nature of social media disinformation campaigns, was unusual for singling out a company that appeared to profit from its publicized work to spread falsehoods online. Archimedes Group, the Israeli company, claims the ability to “use every tool and take every advantage available in order to change reality according to our client’s wishes.”
A pair of Toronto city councillors hired a scrappy political strategist to wage a multi-front PR campaign after CBC News ran stories examining their ties to local developers, with one of the councillors privately making threatening comments about a CBC reporter and compiling a "research" dossier on him and political foes, according to allegations in a lawsuit.
[…]
The PR campaign was to include complaints to CBC about its reporting, slipping "pertinent information" to competing media, arranging for letters to the editor to be signed by the councillors' friends and relatives, and the creation of "myriad" websites and social media accounts promoting the politicians and their message and attacking a past electoral rival.
Collins? Bennett? Mitchell? Luxton? Is the intersection of 'Bridges and his potential replacements' with 'people having a high level of personal integrity' an empty set?
This morning on Radionz (great piece on new discovery about treatment of one type of cancer) that the Malaghan Institute was founded by the owner of Tip Top (died 1967 of Hodgkin's disease).
The concept of a Wellington-based, independent medical research institute was first proposed in the early 1960s. At that time, relatively little medical research was carried out in New Zealand due to a lack of facilities and support by hospital boards.
Using funds from a trust established by the Wellington Medical Research Foundation and the Wellington Division of the Cancer Society, the Wellington Cancer and Medical Research Institute was opened on 26 July 1979, in rented premises in the Wellington School of Medicine.
In 1986, the name of the Institute was changed to the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research in recognition of the generous support by Len and Ann Malaghan. Two decades later, the Institute relocated to a purpose-built facility at Victoria University of Wellington.
History. In 1936 Albert Hayman and Len Malaghan opened their first ice cream parlour in Manners Street, Wellington, New Zealand followed in the same year by a second milk bar in Wellington, and one in Dunedin. Tip Top Ice Cream Company was registered as a manufacturing company in 1936…
In November 1962, Hayman and Malaghan opened the biggest and most technically advanced ice cream factory in the Southern Hemisphere, built at Mount Wellington, Auckland, New Zealand. The Tip Top factory included staff houses and 20 acres (81,000 m2) of farm land overlooking the Southern Motorway and cost NZ$700,000. Prime Minister Keith Holyoake attended the opening ceremony.
By 1964 the Company had expanded to such an extent that a parent company was formed, General Foods Corporation (NZ) Limited. It was rated as one of the soundest investments on the stock exchange and other companies were quick to note its potential.
In this link it shows how Tip Top changed hands six times from 1968 when Watties acquired control to the 2001 'mega-merger'.
June 2001 – The 'mega-merger' of Kiwi, NZ Co-op Dairy Co. and the NZ Dairy Board formed a huge new dairy company, Fonterra. Fonterra inherited the ice cream businesses and brands; Tip Top, New American and Peters (WA and NZ).
2019 Fonterra sold Tip Top to Froneri (the pureplay ice cream company.. I just love these terms that business invent.)
FRONERI is a global pureplay ice cream company. Froneri is widely diversified across the world, operating in 20 countries. Froneri offers the full suite of ice cream products, from dairy ice cream to water ice, sorbet and organic ice cream, and from tubs to sticks to cones to name a few.
We need to develop a co-operative system as they have in Spain – the Mondragon group. We are concentrating on making things for export and we have to pay world prices for things made or grown here. To strengthn the country we have to have a domestic market that prices for the domestic market and it seems to me the only way we will get that is starting a NZ co-operative belonging to NZs who look to buy product from the organisation, and possibly work in it. If we don't divorce ourselves from the wealthy and self-interested, we will continue to see our living standards decline – we will be forced to live simply because of a desire by the wealthy to refuse equality to the population inparticipating in the country's economy, and its jobs and wages, and distribution of the proceeds of trading and taxation in a fair manner.
Business has no long-term commitment to this country and growing our own strengths at all. The present system has enabled this white-anting of our enterprise and resources. Yet look at who are in the top wealth bracket in the world, the people who have worked as family, and kept hold of their stuff.
This morning Luxon of AirNZ commented on how costly it has been to get a presence in Argentina, an awareness of the country and the company. He mentioned being confused with shoe polish and some other product.
This is the result of a lack of prowess by NZ business leaders and politicians. When we lost our Kiwi name to the Kiwi polish we should have then bought it back and patented it, but no too timid and short-sighted. Perhaps we could wait for the crash and then leap out and buy our name for peanuts. Those who play the share market know you can get great leverage then.
From local Tip Top Ice Cream we have a valuable research institute looking into cancer, the Malaghan Institute. What of lasting benefit to the country's social infrastructure do we get from the baby boomers?
Corruption free government? Try that line with the householders ripped off by EQC and its subsidiaries. Look closely at any privatization of public assets and you'll find corruption, not service improvement is the driver. Prior to Rogergnomics we had low corruption, now the Panama Papers is the operating norm.
Yet you'd go to prison for many of the commonplaces of NZ corruption in some administrations – the insider trading Key performed with NZRail shares, the misappropriation of Hubbard's wealth, the theft of public assets like the electricity infrastructure and private ones like the fisheries quota management system. The revolving doors between former ministers and well paid sinecures, gross instances of graft like the appointment of unqualified directors like Jenny Shipley to the NZ funded Asian Infrastructure Bank, and the systematic and deliberate non-enforcement of immigration rules on unskilled labour and so forth.
NZ really has no cause to boast of its corruption status anymore, in fact it's due for a clean out.
Every one of your list is cracked Ad. They have been attempts to meet the standards of a modern first world society, yes. But there are huge numbers of people who are in poverty, no decent housing, no reliable jobs to look forward to with two days off in the weekend if they want them to be with family, join in community; this means that the benefits above arise from having reduced the benefits to those who have been designated unworthy. That is what the baby boomers have passed on to the young ones today, the degraded society that the early colonials sailed here to rise above, and the treatment that was meted out in the early 30's in Germany to those designated as unsuitable citizens.
Corruption-free government? You have to be joking. Ok, not as bad as many other countries but to say we are corruption free is ludicrous. I witnessed a few things during my many years in the Public Service and others will have too. For obvious reasons I cannot elaborate.
Well regulated and functioning society? It might have started off that way but in the past 30 years it has gone downhill.
Robertson and Ardern and company have yet to make their mark. Eighteen months in power is not long enough to produce anything concrete and permanent.
Corruption free compared to any other country on earth. Us and Denmark.
Boomers formed a well regulated society.
There's no pity in politics. Ardern and Robertson have got 8 more months before it all goes on the line again, and everyone can see they're dodging most of the hard stuff.
I vividly recall the Winebox years. By dint of a former association with a person who was close to the main culprits, I picked up on the nature of the dirty practices before it became generally known. I think I read every book and article written about the era and the level of corruption was mind boggling – at least for a country which had previously been free from such practices.
That the culprits (all filthy rich and powerful) were never prosecuted is an indictment on the establishment (including the police) of this country. Given the perpetrators stole millions of NZ taxpayers’ money that response in itself was worthy of an investigation.
And the huge irony… some of those involved were instrumental in setting up the "Association of Consumers and Tax Payers" – the ACT Party.
I consider that period set the scene for the introduction of the often corrupt practices that exist today (look at some of the antics of the previous Key government) and which are now accepted by many as normal.
As far as Ardern and Robertson are concerned… I agree they must have something solid to present to the public by the end of next year, but I'm optimistic it will happen even if their efforts are still in the process of being fully realised.
Rainy day, but a well spent hour watching The Great Hack on Netflix. Highly recommended.
It's quite clear from this outstanding doco that the deluge of anti-Hillary and pro-Brexit content sent out to groups of voters, based on the data mining (conducted primarily from Facebook) by Cambridge Analytica was the prime reason for the Trump and Brexit result. Not to mention the practise runs in a large number of other minor countries in the lead up.
Noam Chomksy et al would be correct in saying that any Russian 'meddling' would be inconsequential compared to that.
I've only watched the first 20 or so minutes. Did the Trump team hire in Google and FB staff to help them with that? There was a bit about where the Google/FB people sat in the room, but it wasn't explained in depth in that part.
The "Black lives matter" stuff was amazing, a way to divide the country. It made me think of the ChCh terror attack and how his intention was to divide and stir shit, it made me think Adern really did an amazing job of shutting that down compared to what went on in the U.S.
I don't think there was direct collusion between political candidates/parties but there was between parties and Cambridge Analytica (and it's parent company SCL*). It's well worth watching the full doco.
*SCL’s involvement in the political world has been primarily in the developing world where it has been used by the military and politicians to study and manipulate public opinion and political will. It uses what have been called “psy ops” to provide insight into the thinking of the target audience. SCL claimed to be able to help foment coups. According to its website, SCL has influenced elections in Italy, Latvia, Ukraine, Albania, Romania, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Mauritius, India, Indonesia, The Philippines,Thailand, Taiwan, Colombia, Antigua, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, St. Kitts & Nevis, and Trinidad & Tobago.vWhile the company initially got involved in elections in the United Kingdom, it ceased to do so after 1997 because staff members did not exhibit the same "aloof sensibility" as with projects abroad.SCL claims that its methodology has been approved or endorsed by agencies of the Government of the United Kingdom and the Federal government of the United States, among others.
The ‘black lives’ comments were interesting, but not really election related. The targeting of derogatory Clinton adverts to certain Facebook groups as a consequence of the data mining would rate as very directly affecting the election.
Condolences to Sir Brian Lachore whanau he was a awesome ambassador for Rugby and Aotearoa he was A True Kiwi humble but hard .
Its good for Wahine who want a abortion to get one without breaking the law that is stupid that being a criminal offense. Its Its their BODY Thanks to our Coalition Governments for putting up the new law to be voted on by our MPs .
A big heavy Snow Storm in the South Island of Aotearoa Te wai pounamu the tamariki and skiers will be happy the farmers not so happy .
12 new Radiation machines to help detect cancer earlier its good to detect cancer quickly to cure it and keep cancer at bay.
Jamie Shaw is a awesome Green Party Co leader like Marama .Ka kite ano
There is a reason Im not commenting on Ihumatao WHY because the police will try and blame some of the issues with the larger numbers of Tangata whenua being there on Eco Maori. What are they touting guns there for its a peaceful protest are they trying to stir up tangata whenua emotion.
More Ports on Waihike Island we need to protect our sea shore and sea environments.
Ka pai to our tangata whenua contemporary Artist the theme is the effects of colonialism I agree about it being oppressive and bad for the native people. I our tamariki mana will get the changes needed for JUSTICE.
I ,,, Eco Maori will go to Anglican Church for prayer I love it that the Church includes tangata whenua cultural as part of its Cultural ka pai.
Herds Eco Maori tau toko Herbs Im just to distract to have time to scan good Aotearoa Music and Musicians it will be a awesome Movie I will definitely watch it
Ka kite ano
P.S they thought I was bluffing yesterday Yea right
Wellington has the fittest people in Aotearoa that's cool.
What did national do to improve the treatment of cancer not very much actually .Not a problem for them they would all get private treatment if they had signs of cancer of cancer or any other ailment.
I agree with Doctor Jackson strong central leadership like you say the DHB act as individuals and not a collective they worry about their budgets so they put off buying expensive equipment.
Duncan David doesn't have a magical tool to make changes to OUR Health system happen over night Papatuanuku was not built in a day.
Snow on the beach in down South Island it is cooler in Hawksbay to .This extreme shifting in the weather dosen't go against Global Warming these events confirme Our Scientists predictions of the effects of Human Caused Climate Change.
Lydia rise in the Golfing Papatuanuku helped lift the profile of Wahine golf Papatuanuku wide she lifted a lot of young Wahine golfers as well Kia kaha lydia.
The Greens should not team up with national became they would just stuff them up like they did to the Maori Party
Its quite cold here in Eskmount we had a light dusting of Snow this morning.
Its good making that statement about abortion but it will be better when the law is changed.
People are using the Christchurch disaster as a excuses for people in power playing the racist CARD to bolster their public RATINGS with out no though about the people WHO are affected by their BULLSHIT words
Its was not good behavior of a middle aged man who rammed the young guys cars .
Don't worry Jacinda will find a solution to Ihumatao Whanau.
Abortion should be treated as a health issue it would be a very hard situation to deal with for Wahine when they could have other issues around their pregnancy its their BODYs.
Tama Iti is correct heaps of there whenua was taken by the crown the art work will become very valuable ma te wa.
The largest tukutuku panel in Papatuanuku is being conducted they are Tangata whenua O Aotearoa Tai taiwhiti ka pai
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Over the years, we've published many rebuttals, blog posts and graphics which came about due to direct interactions with the scientists actually carrying out the underlying research or being knowledgable about a topic in general. We'll highlight some of these interactions in this blog post. We'll start with two memorable ...
Yesterday we had the unseemly sight of a landleech threatening to keep his houses empty in response to better tenancy laws. Meanwhile in Catalonia they have a solution for that: nationalisation: Barcelona is deploying a new weapon in its quest to increase the city’s available rental housing: the power ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters, PhD The 2020 global wildfire season brought extreme fire activity to the western U.S., Australia, the Arctic, and Brazil, making it the fifth most expensive year for wildfire losses on record. The year began with an unprecedented fire event ...
NOTE: This is an excerpt from a digital story – read the full story here.Tess TuxfordKo te Kauri Ko Au, Ko te Au ko Kauri I am the kauri, the kauri is me Te Roroa proverb In Waipoua Forest, at the top of the North Island, New ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Coming attraction: IPCC's upcoming major climate assessmentLook for more emphasis on 'solutions,' efforts by cities, climate equity ... and outlook for emissions cuts in ...
Ringing A Clear Historical Bell: The extraordinary images captured in and around the US Capitol Building on 6 January 2021 mirror some of the worst images of America's past.THERE IS A SCENE in the 1982 movie Missing which has remained with me for nearly 40 years. Directed by the Greek-French ...
To impact or not to impeach? I understand why some of those who are justifiably aghast at Trump’s behaviour over recent days might still counsel against impeaching him for a second time. To impeach him, they argue, would run the risk of making him a martyr in the eyes of ...
The Capitol Building, Washington DC, Wednesday, 6 January 2021. Oh come, my little one, come.The day is almost done.Be at my side, behold the sightOf evening on the land.The life, my love, is hardAnd heavy is my heart.How should I live if you should leaveAnd we should be apart?Come, let me ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 3, 2021 through Sat, Jan 9, 2021Editor's ChoiceAfter the Insurrection: Accountability, Reform, and the Science of Democracy The poisonous lies and enablers of sedition--including Senator Hawley, pictured ...
This article, guest authored by Prof. Angela Gallego-Sala & Dr. Julie Loisel, was originally published on the Carbon Brief website on Dec 21, 2020. It is reposted below in its entirety. Click here to access the original article and comments. Peatlands Peatlands are ecosystems unlike any other. Perpetually saturated, their ...
The assault on the US Capitol and constitutional crisis that it has caused was telegraphed, predictable and yet unexpected and confusing. There are several subplots involved: whether the occupation of the Michigan State House in May was a trial run for the attacks on Congress; whether people involved in the ...
On Christmas Eve, child number 1 spotted a crack in a window. It’s a double-glazed window, and inspection showed that the small, horizontal crack was in the outermost pane. It was perpendicular to the frame, about three-quarters of the way up one side. The origins are a mystery. It MIGHT ...
Anne-Marie Broudehoux, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Will the COVID-19 pandemic prompt a shift to healthier cities that focus on wellness rather than functional and economic concerns? This is a hypothesis that seems to be supported by several researchers around the world. In many ways, containment and physical distancing ...
Does the US need to strike a grand bargain with like-minded countries to pool their efforts? What does this tell us about today’s global politics? Perhaps the most remarkable editorial of last year was the cover leader of the London Economist on 19 November 2020. Shortly after Joe Biden was ...
Alexander Gillespie, University of Waikato and Valmaine Toki, University of WaikatoAotearoa New Zealand likes to think it punches above its weight internationally, but there is one area where we are conspicuously falling behind — the number of sites recognised by the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Globally, there are 1,121 ...
An event organised by the Auckland PhilippinesSolidarity group Have a three-course lunch at Nanam Eatery with us! Help support the organic farming of our Lumad communities through the Mindanao Community School Agricultural Foundation. Each ticket is $50. Food will be served on shared plates. To purchase, please email phsolidarity@gmail.com or ...
"Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here." Prisons are places of unceasing emotional and physical violence, unrelieved despair and unforgivable human waste.IT WAS NATIONAL’S Bill English who accurately described New Zealand’s prisons as “fiscal and moral failures”. On the same subject, Labour’s Dr Martyn Findlay memorably suggested that no prison ...
This is a re-post from Inside Climate News by Ilana Cohen. Inside Climate News is a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for the ICN newsletter here. Whether or not people accept the science on Covid-19 and climate change, both global crises will have lasting impacts on health and ...
. . American Burlesque As I write this (Wednesday evening, 6 January), the US Presidential election is all but resolved, confirming Joe Biden as the next President of the (Dis-)United State of America. Trump’s turbulent political career has lasted just four years – one of the few single-term US presidents ...
The session started off so well. Annalax – suitably chastised – spent a pleasant morning with his new girlfriend (he would say paramour, of course, but for our purposes, girlfriend is easier*). He told her about Waking World Drow, and their worship of Her Ladyship. And he started ...
In a recent column I wrote for local newspapers, I ventured to suggest that Donald Trump – in addition to being a liar and a cheat, and sexist and racist – was a fascist in the making and would probably try, if he were to lose the election, to defy ...
A growing public housing waiting list and continued increase of house prices must be urgently addressed by Government, Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson said today. ...
The Government has released its Public Housing Plan 2021-2024 which outlines the intention of where 8,000 additional public and transitional housing places announced in Budget 2020, will go. “The Government is committed to continuing its public house build programme at pace and scale. The extra 8,000 homes – 6000 public ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has congratulated President Joe Biden on his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States of America. “I look forward to building a close relationship with President Biden and working with him on issues that matter to both our countries,” Jacinda Ardern said. “New Zealand ...
A major investment to tackle wilding pines in Mt Richmond will create jobs and help protect the area’s unique ecosystems, Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor says. The Mt Richmond Forest Park has unique ecosystems developed on mineral-rich geology, including taonga plant species found nowhere else in the country. “These special plant ...
To further protect New Zealand from COVID-19, the Government is extending pre-departure testing to all passengers to New Zealand except from Australia, Antarctica and most Pacific Islands, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “The change will come into force for all flights arriving in New Zealand after 11:59pm (NZT) on Monday ...
Bay Conservation Cadets launched with first intake Supported with $3.5 million grant Part of $1.245b Jobs for Nature programme to accelerate recover from Covid Cadets will learn skills to protect and enhance environment Environment Minister David Parker today welcomed the first intake of cadets at the launch of the Bay ...
The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health. “Following confirmation of the Cook Islands’ COVID ...
Jobs for Nature funding is being made available to conservation groups and landowners to employ staff and contractors in a move aimed at boosting local biodiversity-focused projects, Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan has announced. It is estimated some 400-plus jobs will be created with employment opportunities in ecology, restoration, trapping, ...
The Government has approved an exception class for 1000 international tertiary students, degree level and above, who began their study in New Zealand but were caught offshore when border restrictions began. The exception will allow students to return to New Zealand in stages from April 2021. “Our top priority continues ...
Today’s deal between Meridian and Rio Tinto for the Tiwai smelter to remain open another four years provides time for a managed transition for Southland. “The deal provides welcome certainty to the Southland community by protecting jobs and incomes as the region plans for the future. The Government is committed ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appointed Anna Curzon to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). The leader of each APEC economy appoints three private sector representatives to ABAC. ABAC provides advice to leaders annually on business priorities. “ABAC helps ensure that APEC’s work programme is informed by business community perspectives ...
The Government’s prudent fiscal management and strong policy programme in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic have been acknowledged by the credit rating agency Fitch. Fitch has today affirmed New Zealand’s local currency rating at AA+ with a stable outlook and foreign currency rating at AA with a positive ...
The Government is putting in place a suite of additional actions to protect New Zealand from COVID-19, including new emerging variants, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “Given the high rates of infection in many countries and evidence of the global spread of more transmissible variants, it’s clear that ...
$36 million of Government funding alongside councils and others for 19 projects Investment will clean up and protect waterways and create local jobs Boots on the ground expected in Q2 of 2021 Funding part of the Jobs for Nature policy package A package of 19 projects will help clean up ...
The commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Ruapekapeka represents an opportunity for all New Zealanders to reflect on the role these conflicts have had in creating our modern nation, says Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Kiri Allan. “The Battle at Te Ruapekapeka Pā, which took ...
Babies born with tongue-tie will be assessed and treated consistently under new guidelines released by the Ministry of Health, Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Around 5% to 10% of babies are born with a tongue-tie, or ankyloglossia, in New Zealand each year. At least half can ...
The prisoner disorder event at Waikeria Prison is over, with all remaining prisoners now safely and securely detained, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says. The majority of those involved in the event are members of the Mongols and Comancheros. Five of the men are deportees from Australia, with three subject to ...
Travellers from the United Kingdom or the United States bound for New Zealand will be required to get a negative test result for COVID-19 before departing, and work is underway to extend the requirement to other long haul flights to New Zealand, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today. “The new PCR test requirement, foreshadowed last ...
With criticism from National piling on over the property market, the prime minister has detailed when the government will make housing announcements. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marco Rizzi, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Western Australia Some Australians could be receiving a COVID-19 vaccine within weeks. Amid the continued spread of the virus and emergence of highly contagious variants, the federal government has accelerated the start of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Euan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University Australia’s Threatened Species Strategy — a five-year plan for protecting our imperilled species and ecosystems — fizzled to an end last year. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Lecturer, General Dentist & PhD Candidate, The University of Queensland Baby teeth, or milk teeth, act like lighthouses to guide the adult ones to their correct destination. A baby tooth will become wobbly and fall out because the adult tooth ...
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he’s joined by Simon Coley, co-founder of All Good and Karma Drinks.Bananas are one of the ...
Tackling topics such as rugby and body image, Stuff’s latest podcast shines a much-needed light on Aotearoa’s complex relationship with masculinity, writes Trevor McKewen, author of the book Real Men Wear Black.I wasn’t sure what to think when two episodes of the new local podcast He’ll Be Right landed in ...
The Rainforest Alliance reveals that 68%* of Kiwis say the COVID-19 pandemic has made them more conscious about environmental and social sustainability issues. Seventy two percent* state that they have been trying to make more sustainable purchasing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tama Leaver, Professor of Internet Studies, Curtin University The inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, has raised concerns that Australia’s proposed News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code could fundamentally break the internet as we know it. His concerns ...
ANALYSIS:By Scott Lucas, University of Birmingham Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire destroying everything in its path Two weeks after the storming of the US Capitol by the followers of his predecessor, in the middle of an out-of-control pandemic that has killed more than 400,000 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Cantrell, Lecturer, Creative Writing & English Literature, University of Southern Queensland Described as “the world’s greatest storyteller”, Roald Dahl is frequently ranked as the best children’s author of all time by teachers, authors and librarians. However, the new film adaptation of ...
Peak housing body, Community Housing Aotearoa (CHA) welcomes the updated Public Housing Plan announced today by Minister Woods, and the commitment by this Government to fix New Zealand’s housing crisis. The 8,000 additional homes are a significant ...
Having recently walked much of the South Island stretch of Te Araroa, Kirsten O’Regan reflects on the magnificent landscapes and interesting characters she encountered along the way.On our 36th day of walking, we climb through the fire-blackened hills above Ohau, stopping to examine heat-disfigured trail markers. Fresh green shoots have ...
Miss Torta in central Auckland is putting the spotlight on a snack that’s commonplace in Mexico, but until now relatively unknown in New Zealand.You’ve heard of a torta, but what is it, exactly? Well, depending on the cuisine it can mean a flatbread, cake, tart, sweet pie, savoury pie or ...
Two of three ministerial statements from the Beehive have been released in the name of the PM over the past two days. The more important, insofar as it involves political action that will affect the wellbeing of significant numbers of Kiwis, was the release of the government’s Public Housing Plan ...
Jacinda Ardern has reminded Labour MPs "ongoing vigilance" will be required in 2021 to avoid another Covid outbreak, admitting she held her breath over the summer break. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zareh Ghazarian, Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, Monash University Despite many young Australians having a deep interest in political issues, most teenagers have a limited understanding about their nation’s democratic system. Results from the 2019 National Assessment Program – Civics and ...
Pinged $65 for overstaying 10 minutes in a parking block? Put away your hard-earned cash and read this first.Hopefully, by now, I’ve already established myself at The Spinoff as the resident tightarse, determined to avoid all unfair and unnecessary punishments (see: oversize baggage charges). Today, I’m focusing my attention on ...
Nuclear weapons states and their allies risk reputational ruin if they flout a new UN Treaty, Carolina Panico argues The United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will come into force this month, on January 22, 2021, turning nuclear weapons into illegal objects. It is an achievement that ...
How does one turn into a rabid extremist over the description of a children’s bike? Emily Writes looks at Facebook comments so you don’t have to.You’ve been there, I know it. You’re scrolling along, trying to avoid QAnon conspiracy theories and Trump apocalypse memes when a story catches your eye. ...
Joe Biden is now the President of the United States and many people across America and throughout the world will consequently be breathing more easily. But while the erratic, unpredictable and irresponsible years of the Trump Presidency may be over, ...
Tough border testing for New Zealand honey imports to Japan is re-igniting the conversation about the use of the weed killer glypohsate in New Zealand. ...
The Taxpayers Union should be aware of the law and of the history of ACC. The ACC is a legal system introduced in 1974 to replace the common law right of accident victims to sue for damages for personal injury sustained as a result of negligence ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, University of Melbourne Terrorism, political extremism, Donald Trump, social media and the phenomenon of “cancel culture” are confronting journalists with a range of agonising free-speech dilemmas to which there are no easy answers. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nial Wheate, Associate Professor of the Sydney Pharmacy School, University of Sydney You’ve just come from your monthly GP appointment with a new script for your ongoing medical condition. But your local pharmacy is out of stock of your usual medicine. Your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deanna D’Alessandro, Professor & ARC Future Fellow, University of Sydney On Wednesday this week, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was measured at at 415 parts per million (ppm). The level is the highest in human history, and is growing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Renwick, Professor, Physical Geography (climate science), Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington It might be summer in New Zealand but we’re in for some wild weather this week with forecasts of heavy wind and rain, and a plunge in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zareh Ghazarian, Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, Monash University Despite many young Australians having a deep interest in political issues, most teenagers have a limited understanding about their nation’s democratic system. Results from the 2019 National Assessment Program – Civics and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle O’Shea, Senior Lecturer, School of Business, Western Sydney University Last week, the McIver’s Ladies Baths in Sydney came under fire for their (since removed) policy stating “only transgender women who’ve undergone a gender reassignment surgery are allowed entry”. The policy was ...
There are good grounds for optimism after the guardrails of American democracy held firm through to Joe Biden's inauguration today as President, writes Stephen Hoadley Pessimism abounds about the perilous condition of American democracy. Commentators and headline writers proffer memes such as ‘broken and divided nation’, ‘the threat from within’. ...
*This article was originally appeared on RNZ and is republished with permission. Donald Trump will forever be remembered as the president who was impeached twice - and for his rhetoric that struck a chord so deep in America that it will take years to dissipate. Donald Trump leaves Washington with the lowest approval ...
A new plan shows how and where the Government will build 8,000 new state housing places it funded in Budget 2020, Marc Daalder reports Jacinda Ardern has kicked off the political year with a major announcement, promising hundreds of new state housing places in regional centres across the country. With ...
This is the full transcript of President Joe Biden's speech after being sworn in at his inauguration this morning in Washington DC Chief Justice Roberts, Vice President Harris, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, Vice President Pence, and my distinguished guests, my fellow Americans, this is America's day. This ...
Analysis: President Donald Trump has left the White House, and his deputy chief of staff confirms he is withdrawing his candidacy to lead the OECD. New Zealander Christopher Liddell withdrew his nomination to be Secretary-General of the powerful 37-member OECD and was one of the last members of the Trump Administration to depart ...
Kate Wills is facing stage four cancer with the same fierce approach she takes into her ocean swimming - never say can't. Even on the mornings Kate Wills feels wretched from her fortnightly chemotherapy treatment, she drags herself up at 5am and goes swimming. “I have to. It’s my job – to ...
Some costs associated with meetings speak for themselves, others are less conspicuous. Victoria University of Wellington's Val Hooper lays those costs out, making suggestions on where we can rein them in. Meetings – when last did we count the costs? And so it’s back to work and one of the ...
Andrew Paul Wood assesses the best-selling picture book by Grahame Sydney It's no great secret the commercially very successful Grahame Sydney has a long-standing beef that his work doesn’t receive more critical and institutional approval. I sympathise about the lack of critical attention, but I can understand why. The Discourse™ ...
This story was produced in collaboration with the Center for Public Integrity and Columbia Journalism Investigations. It was originally published by Public Integrity, Mother Jones, The Arizona Republic and Orlando Sentinel. It is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the ...
Analysis: It has been easy to ignore anyone daring to criticise or even question any aspect of the government’s Covid-19 response. Their voices have rarely been heard, and when they have been raised they have been quickly and decisively howled down by the favoured coterie of academics. ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s US presidential inauguration live blog: inauguration news, analysis and reaction, updated through Wednesday and Thursday. The inauguration ceremony begins at 5.15am Thursday, NZ time, and Joe Biden takes the oath of office around 6am. 7.25am: And what about Trump?In the early hours of this morning, NZ ...
In 10 x 100, we survey a group of 100 people via Stickybeak and ask them 10 questions. Last month we quizzed Wellingtonians. Today, we ask NZ drivers how they’ve found a holiday period without international tourists, and what they get up to while they’re on the road.Across Aotearoa roads ...
Emmanuel Macron's anti-separatist policies have garnered backlash from the international Muslim community. Now, a global coalition has complained to the UN. ...
Summer reissue: Join Michèle A’Court, Alex Casey and Leonie Hayden as they go on an odyssey of women’s rage, and find out how we can channel our anger into good. First published September 15, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by ...
By Lorraine Ecarma in Cebu City The University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) will continue to stand against any threats to human rights, chancellor Clement Camposano has declared in response to the termination of a long-standing accord preventing military incursion on campus. In a Facebook post, Camposano said the academic ...
ANALYSIS:By Jennifer S. Hunt, Australian National University Every four years on January 20, the US exercises a key tenant of democratic government: the peaceful transfer of power. This year, the scene looks a bit different. If the last US presidential inauguration in 2017 debuted the phrase “alternative facts”, the ...
By Lulu Mark in Port Moresby In spite of Papua New Guinea’s mandatory mask-wearing requirement under the National Pandemic Act 2020, many public servants attending a dedication service in Port Moresby have failed to wear one. They were issued masks before entering the Sir John Guise Indoor Complex but took ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Moro, Associate Professor of Science & Medicine, Bond University How do scabs form? — Talila, aged 8 Great question, Talila! Our skin has many different jobs. One is to act as a barrier, protecting us from harmful things in the ...
US President Donald Trump is pardoning former White House adviser Steve Bannon, who is accused of fraud in a case involving funds for the border wall. ...
Joel Little with Lorde, Dera Meelan with Church & AP, Josh Fountain with Maala and Randa and Benee – producers make good songs great. Now a new fund from NZ on Air is putting the focus on them.Six months ago it looked like the music industry was on the brink ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denise Buiten, Senior Lecturer in Social Justice and Sociology, University of Notre Dame Australia On average, one child is killed by a parent almost every fortnight in Australia. Last week, three children — Claire, 7, Anna, 5, and Matthew, 3 — were ...
This commendable and realistic decision again underlines that it is the police, not government, who are largely responsible for the reduction in cannabis prosecutions over the past 15 years, writes Russell Brown.The news that New Zealand police have discontinued the annual Helicopter Recovery Operation, which has, each summer for more ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ilan Noy, Professor and Chair in the Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington We will not be able to put the COVID-19 pandemic behind us until the world’s population is mostly immune through vaccination ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s US inauguration live blog: inauguration news, analysis and reaction, updated throughout Wednesday and Thursday, NZ time. Reach me at catherine@thespinoff.co.nz.4.00pm: What will Trump be doing tomorrow?It’s pretty well known by now that outgoing president Donald Trump intends to throw out the rulebook when it comes to ...
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance is calling out Mayor Phil Goff for his undignified comment that the claim made by Councillor Greg Sayers asking why Auckland Council is funding yoga classes is “bullshit.” Yesterday, Councillor Greg Sayers penned ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne At 4am Thursday AEDT, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be inaugurated as president and vice president of the United States, replacing Donald Trump and Mike Pence. What follows is ...
*This article was originally published on RNZ and is republished with permission. New Zealanders flocked to beaches and lakes this summer, but it wasn't enough to fill the gap left by international tourists in other regions. The tourism industry is struggling to fill a $6 billion hole left by international tourists ...
Summer reissue: Chef Monique Fiso joins us for a chat about Hiakai – her acclaimed Wellington restaurant, and the title of her stunning new book.First published November 3, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members – click here to learn ...
A new trough was brought to our attention this morning, although ethnicity will limit the numbers of eligible applicants. If you are non-Maori, it looks like you shouldn’t bother getting into the queue – but who knows?We learned of the trough from the Scoop website, where the Kapiti ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Britta Denise Hardesty, Principal Research Scientist, Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship, CSIRO Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing costs economies up to US$50 billion globally each year, and makes up to one-fifth of the global catch. It’s a huge problem not only for the ...
Police stopping major cannabis eradication operations has given the green light to drug dealers and gangs to expand operations, make more profit, and continue to wreak havoc on the most vulnerable in our society, says Sensible Sentencing Trust. ...
Varieties of merino wool footwear are emerging faster than Netflix series about British aristocracy. Michael Andrew takes a look at the rise of the shoe that almost everyone – including his 95-year-old grandma – is wearing.Some might say it all started with Allbirds. After all, to the average consumer, it ...
A new report from New Zealand’s Independent Monitoring Mechanism (IMM) highlights the realities and challenges disabled people faced during the COVID-19 emergency. The report, Making Disability Rights Real in a Pandemic, Te Whakatinana i ngā Tika ...
The Maritime Union is questioning the reasons provided for ongoing delays at the Ports of Auckland. Maritime Union of New Zealand National Secretary Craig Harrison says there is a need for an honest conversation about what has gone wrong at the ...
As New Zealand faces a dire shortage of veterinarians, a petition has been launched urging the Government to reclassify veterinarians as critical workers so we can Get Vets into NZ. “New Zealand desperately needs veterinarians from overseas to counter ...
New Zealand is fast developing a reputation as a South Pacific vandal, says Greenpeace, as the government continues to fight against increased ocean protection. At the upcoming meeting of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO), ...
The Department of Internal Affairs and Netsafe are urging parents and caregivers to be mindful of the online content their tamariki may be consuming in the lead up to the inauguration of president-elect of the United States of America Joe Biden ...
Care is at the centre of Auckland Zoo’s mandate, and it’s clear to see when you witness the staff doing their day-to-day jobs up close. Leonie Hayden went behind the scenes to talk to two people who would do anything for the animals they look after. “We were having this ...
The Game Animal Council (GAC) is applying its expertise in the use of firearms for hunting to work alongside Police, other agencies and stakeholder groups to improve the compliance provisions for hunters and other firearms users. The GAC has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Verica Rupar, Professor, Auckland University of Technology “The lie outlasts the liar,” writes historian Timothy Snyder, referring to outgoing president Donald Trump and his contribution to the “post-truth” era in the US. Indeed, the mass rejection of reason that erupted in a ...
The internet ain’t what it used to be, thanks to privacy issues, data leaks, censorship and hate speech. But a group of New Zealanders are working on a way to give power back to the people. A flood of headlines over the last week made it clear: the internet has become ...
https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2019/08/01/americas-collapse-2-in-a-series/
[Added quote marks. When quoting text verbatim you must include quote marks and a link and preferably an acknowledgment too. Similarly, when posting video clips you must include a reason and/or explanation what it is about and why they should watch it. You have warned before, e.g. https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-28-06-2019/#comment-1632321, and this is your final warning before you go the same way as another commenter here who used to do similar things and who continued to do so after repeated warnings. To spell it out for you: you are inching closer to a permanent ban – Incognito]
American success had little to do with capitalism. Then you contradict yourself: "World War II finished off Europe and put economic and financial supremacy in Washington’s hands. The US dollar seized the world reserve currency role from the British pound, enabling the US to pay its bills by printing money. The world currency role of the dollar, more than nuclear weapons, has been the source of American power."
Arguable that the nuclear threat empowers the superpower less than their capitalist system. I think the success of the USA post-WWII is due to both equally. Why did the rest of the world choose the US dollar as world currency? Tacit psychology. Trust that it works better as a medium of exchange than any other contender…
Why no quote marks? The text is a straight rip from the link.
See my Moderation note @ 7:10 AM.
This interesting book review from yesterday; standing further back from history can widen the field of vision. Of course the guy in the white house wants to go to Mars:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jul/31/the-end-of-the-myth-by-greg-grandin-review
'For the men who would later be mythologised as the “Founding Fathers”, conquest – the right of white settlers to seize whatever land they wanted – was from the start inseparable from liberty. Freedom, in the American sense of the word, was unimaginable without the frontier, limitless land for the taking just beyond the boundaries of the known.'
Climate Scientist Jason Box: “Our Economic System Is Crashing With Reality”
The Greens annual conference and AGM is being held this weekend. A Stuff reporter gets the gist from our co-leaders:
"The sinking of the Government's flagship KiwiBuild policy may also hold a silver lining for the Greens and its housing goal. The agreement lists a rent to own scheme or similar progressive ownership model to be developed and now KiwiBuild is being "reset" this could be a good opportunity. It is understood the Greens and Housing Minister Megan Woods are currently talking about this." https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/114721355/green-party-coleaders-set-to-tell-members-we-want-to-do-more-with-housing-inequality-and-climate-change
Intriguing and good to see they are taking the initiative with the coalition. I'm hoping we'll get more than navel-gazing out of the conference. They failed to give me any reason to attend, so I figured I've got plenty of better things to do. Wish them well tho..
I'm fairly sure the failure is on your part.
Could be. Expecting more from them than I'm getting. If you're going, how about giving us a report of your impressions, when you get back.
The whole ownership thing is dumb. Focus on decent rentals priced to undercut private landlords.
Four Horsemen – Feature Documentary – Official Version
That’s 1:38:53 long; what is it about and why is it worth watching?
That is a meaningless non-self-explanatory caption.
The third horseman was from HR.
https://www.biblica.com/bible/?osis=nasb:Revelation.6:5%E2%80%936:6
HR? Some people might not know.
In corporate-speak, Human Resources. Struck me as a clever joke (unless it means something else). I was obliged to interact with one or two of the TVNZ HR drones in the '90s due to my somewhat-stroppy attitude. One needs to be able to finesse their attempts to file people into typical categories…
He's an Ed. But at least Ed did serve up some reason to post his links – this guy has so much contempt for readers of TS that he is incapable of conceiving such courtesy. I see it as a combination of Jungian projection with a variant of virtue-signalling. He assumes readers share his desire to promote whatever virtue he perceives in the links. Classic narcissism: the subject's interior world totally displaces the world we share…
You might be interested to see my Moderation note I just left under the comment @ 1.
I am pleased to see that you didn’t bring up the sockpoppet allegation because my antibody titres against that are sky-high 😉
Great documentary movie.
Puts the banks, fractional reserve banking and politics under the microscope.
I thoroughly recommend it.
Ah, thought it rang a bell in the back of my mind. I did watch that years ago & agree it was worth the time spent (even though I had long been familiar with the back story).
NIWA wrong on 5G impact.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/08/niwa-apologises-for-5g-weather-confusion.html
Moving to Vodafone in anticipation.
Google finds 22.3 million web pages if you search health effects of 5g. Bit of a groundswell, but ignore the rabble. You'll be ok.
“The radio wave band – used for mobile phone networks – is non-ionising, “which means it lacks sufficient energy to break apart DNA and cause cellular damage,” says David Robert Grimes, physicist and cancer researcher. Higher up the electromagnetic spectrum, well beyond those frequencies used by mobile phones, there are clear health risks from extended exposure.” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48616174
The report does suggest a serious risk to male rats, so some of the more rabid kiwibloggers may get eliminated…
"Google finds 22.3 million web pages if you search health effects of 5g"
Is that all? I tried "Trump is an alien" and got 328 million. Nearly 15 times as many. Surely that must be interpreted as meaning there aren't any health effects from 5g if hardly anyone seems to care?
""Trump is an alien"
So little you know about Google searches Alwrong.
You can see from the first page of those 328 mill things like :
Alien hunters at Area 51
Vanity Fair 'Please let it be Aliens and not Trumps Space Force'
learn how to use google, when you search for exact phrase "trump is an Alien" you only get 112,000 results.
But I was using the exact method that Dennis Frank used. Why do you not tell him that he should have enclosed his phrase in quotation marks?
After all, if I search for "health effects of 5g" I only get 34,300 hits. That is of course much less than the 20+ million that he quoted.
I was using exactly the same method that he was. What is wrong with that?
How to use Google 101: if you include the quotation marks you’ll get about 113,000 results. This is because you search for this exact word or phrase. Have you ever used the Advanced Search settings? Very handy!
Note my reply to Dukeofurl just above.
Sure. I read comments in the back-end and they are in reverse order without the context of the discussion thread. In fact, I read the all comments of all posts lumped together in reverse chronological order. In between, I write the odd comment myself, occasionally, but mostly I keep an eye on things as moderator – the two are almost mutually exclusive, to me at least.
Jesus! I am amazed that you can make any sense of anything. I certainly don't think I would be able to do it.
I now see, on the other hand, how you can respond to comments so quickly. I found it a real pain when I couldn't find, easily, my own recent comments so that I could see if a response should be given. Getting that back is wonderful. I only have to find my own comments though.
You put the finger on the pain point, which is that I cannot make much sense of anything unless I concentrate really hard and pay much attention – very tiring if not exhausting to combine with a demanding life outside or alongside TS. The back-end works well for moderation but not for commenting (the editor is different too). I find myself spending a lot of time and energy here and not nearly enjoying it as much as I used to when I was merely commenting and joining in the conversations. The technical aspect is only one factor; the other issue that it is almost impossible to disentangle oneself from being a ‘player’ in a ‘game’ to become the ‘referee/umpire’ and make fair and neutral decisions to protect the ‘game’. Maybe I’m taking it all too seriously; it wouldn’t be the first time. One thing that helps though is that I am anonymous and that lowers the personal involvement; I can turn off the device and walk away from it without a lingering emotional connection, which is much harder to do in real life, for me at least.
You have to thank Lynn, of course, for the search function and the smooth running of the site. You know that you can click on Replies on the RH side to see whether anybody has replied to one of your comments, don’t you? It does not work when threads get too long because the nesting of comments only goes so deep before the reply button disappears.
A lot of starnge stuff around about 5G . Because the spectrum they will use in US is high frequency it wont provide much performance away from cell sites.
this part of the Niwa incorrect claim as the bands will be FR2. Im surprised they failed to check even wikipedia over this
I understand other countries will be using lower frequencies including this 2.5Ghz band in NZ. ( known in the jargon as FR1)
Im not sure of this but one of the reasons for 5G faster downloads is the 'broader bands' used for reception
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5G_NR_frequency_bands
.Perhaps it's time for the left to start investing in this strategy, too. Or we kill facebook.
The lobbying firm run by Boris Johnson’s close ally Sir Lynton Crosby has secretly built a network of unbranded “news” pages on Facebook for dozens of clients ranging from the Saudi government to major polluters, a Guardian investigation has found.
In the most complete account yet of CTF Partners’ outlook and strategy, current and former employees of the campaign consultancy have painted a picture of a business that appears to have professionalised online disinformation, taken on a series of controversial clients and faced incidents of misogynistic bullying in its headquarters.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/aug/01/revealed-johnson-allys-firm-secretly-ran-facebook-propaganda-network
Facebook said it shut down 265 fake accounts run by an Israeli social media company on Thursday for engaging in “coordinated inauthentic behavior” as it sought to affect politics in African, Latin American and Southeast Asian nations.
The move, while underscoring the increasingly global nature of social media disinformation campaigns, was unusual for singling out a company that appeared to profit from its publicized work to spread falsehoods online. Archimedes Group, the Israeli company, claims the ability to “use every tool and take every advantage available in order to change reality according to our client’s wishes.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/05/16/facebook-shuts-down-israel-based-disinformation-campaigns-election-manipulation-increasingly-goes-global/
A pair of Toronto city councillors hired a scrappy political strategist to wage a multi-front PR campaign after CBC News ran stories examining their ties to local developers, with one of the councillors privately making threatening comments about a CBC reporter and compiling a "research" dossier on him and political foes, according to allegations in a lawsuit.
[…]
The PR campaign was to include complaints to CBC about its reporting, slipping "pertinent information" to competing media, arranging for letters to the editor to be signed by the councillors' friends and relatives, and the creation of "myriad" websites and social media accounts promoting the politicians and their message and attacking a past electoral rival.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/di-ciano-grimes-kinsella-lawsuit-allegations-1.5183813
Or drag linty crobby and his ilk by their tails and drag them up onto the surface where people can watch them squirm.
I'd rather it by their heels on a gibbet, Gabs.
A healthy contrast to the pussyfooting so common in contemporary politics:
'Is working with National after the election next year off the table?'
James Shaw: "Yes, absolutely. I would never empower someone with as little personal integrity as Simon Bridges to become Prime Minister."
Delivered without the slightest hesitation, too. I guess it does not rule out working with a party head who has more integrity than Bridges.
Collins? Bennett? Mitchell? Luxton? Is the intersection of 'Bridges and his potential replacements' with 'people having a high level of personal integrity' an empty set?
Certainly can't include Collins. 🙂
This morning on Radionz (great piece on new discovery about treatment of one type of cancer) that the Malaghan Institute was founded by the owner of Tip Top (died 1967 of Hodgkin's disease).
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/2018707063/breakthrough-cancer-treatment-coming-to-new-zealand
Malaghan Institute: https://www.malaghan.org.nz/our-history/
The concept of a Wellington-based, independent medical research institute was first proposed in the early 1960s. At that time, relatively little medical research was carried out in New Zealand due to a lack of facilities and support by hospital boards.
Using funds from a trust established by the Wellington Medical Research Foundation and the Wellington Division of the Cancer Society, the Wellington Cancer and Medical Research Institute was opened on 26 July 1979, in rented premises in the Wellington School of Medicine.
In 1986, the name of the Institute was changed to the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research in recognition of the generous support by Len and Ann Malaghan. Two decades later, the Institute relocated to a purpose-built facility at Victoria University of Wellington.
The philanthropy of the Malaghan family has continued to benefit others over the years. https://www.malaghan.org.nz/news/celebrating-three-generations-of-philanthropy/
And the connection with cancer and the Malaghan Institute is Tip-Top Icecream. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_Top_(ice_cream)
History. In 1936 Albert Hayman and Len Malaghan opened their first ice cream parlour in Manners Street, Wellington, New Zealand followed in the same year by a second milk bar in Wellington, and one in Dunedin. Tip Top Ice Cream Company was registered as a manufacturing company in 1936…
In November 1962, Hayman and Malaghan opened the biggest and most technically advanced ice cream factory in the Southern Hemisphere, built at Mount Wellington, Auckland, New Zealand. The Tip Top factory included staff houses and 20 acres (81,000 m2) of farm land overlooking the Southern Motorway and cost NZ$700,000. Prime Minister Keith Holyoake attended the opening ceremony.
By 1964 the Company had expanded to such an extent that a parent company was formed, General Foods Corporation (NZ) Limited. It was rated as one of the soundest investments on the stock exchange and other companies were quick to note its potential.
https://www.nzicecream.org.nz/history-nz-trans-tasman.htm
In this link it shows how Tip Top changed hands six times from 1968 when Watties acquired control to the 2001 'mega-merger'.
June 2001 – The 'mega-merger' of Kiwi, NZ Co-op Dairy Co. and the NZ Dairy Board formed a huge new dairy company, Fonterra. Fonterra inherited the ice cream businesses and brands; Tip Top, New American and Peters (WA and NZ).
2019 Fonterra sold Tip Top to Froneri (the pureplay ice cream company.. I just love these terms that business invent.)
FRONERI is a global pureplay ice cream company. Froneri is widely diversified across the world, operating in 20 countries. Froneri offers the full suite of ice cream products, from dairy ice cream to water ice, sorbet and organic ice cream, and from tubs to sticks to cones to name a few.
We need to develop a co-operative system as they have in Spain – the Mondragon group. We are concentrating on making things for export and we have to pay world prices for things made or grown here. To strengthn the country we have to have a domestic market that prices for the domestic market and it seems to me the only way we will get that is starting a NZ co-operative belonging to NZs who look to buy product from the organisation, and possibly work in it. If we don't divorce ourselves from the wealthy and self-interested, we will continue to see our living standards decline – we will be forced to live simply because of a desire by the wealthy to refuse equality to the population inparticipating in the country's economy, and its jobs and wages, and distribution of the proceeds of trading and taxation in a fair manner.
Business has no long-term commitment to this country and growing our own strengths at all. The present system has enabled this white-anting of our enterprise and resources. Yet look at who are in the top wealth bracket in the world, the people who have worked as family, and kept hold of their stuff.
This morning Luxon of AirNZ commented on how costly it has been to get a presence in Argentina, an awareness of the country and the company. He mentioned being confused with shoe polish and some other product.
This is the result of a lack of prowess by NZ business leaders and politicians. When we lost our Kiwi name to the Kiwi polish we should have then bought it back and patented it, but no too timid and short-sighted. Perhaps we could wait for the crash and then leap out and buy our name for peanuts. Those who play the share market know you can get great leverage then.
From local Tip Top Ice Cream we have a valuable research institute looking into cancer, the Malaghan Institute. What of lasting benefit to the country's social infrastructure do we get from the baby boomers?
"What of lasting benefit to the country's social infrastructure do we get from the baby boomers?"
– Air New Zealand
– Kiwisaver
– Kiwibank
– Massive motorway system
– ACC, Pharmac
– Most electricity generators
– Fibre optic cable to most houses
– Modern health system
– Corruption-free government
– MMP
– Some earthquake rebuilds over 60 years
– Most national parks
– Well regulated and functioning society
Ask the same question about millenials, and you're getting to Robertson and Ardern and Shaw: different answer.
Corruption free government? Try that line with the householders ripped off by EQC and its subsidiaries. Look closely at any privatization of public assets and you'll find corruption, not service improvement is the driver. Prior to Rogergnomics we had low corruption, now the Panama Papers is the operating norm.
Us and Denmark: most corruption-free countries in the world, and have been for a while.
Boomers formed all the structures, and they broke some of them. We're still a well regulated and functioning society anyway.
It's a spurious statistic with no objective backing, hence the title CPI. https://www.transparency.org.nz/corruption-perceptions-index/
Yet you'd go to prison for many of the commonplaces of NZ corruption in some administrations – the insider trading Key performed with NZRail shares, the misappropriation of Hubbard's wealth, the theft of public assets like the electricity infrastructure and private ones like the fisheries quota management system. The revolving doors between former ministers and well paid sinecures, gross instances of graft like the appointment of unqualified directors like Jenny Shipley to the NZ funded Asian Infrastructure Bank, and the systematic and deliberate non-enforcement of immigration rules on unskilled labour and so forth.
NZ really has no cause to boast of its corruption status anymore, in fact it's due for a clean out.
Every one of your list is cracked Ad. They have been attempts to meet the standards of a modern first world society, yes. But there are huge numbers of people who are in poverty, no decent housing, no reliable jobs to look forward to with two days off in the weekend if they want them to be with family, join in community; this means that the benefits above arise from having reduced the benefits to those who have been designated unworthy. That is what the baby boomers have passed on to the young ones today, the degraded society that the early colonials sailed here to rise above, and the treatment that was meted out in the early 30's in Germany to those designated as unsuitable citizens.
Oh sure. Bad things as well. But that wasn't the question that was asked.
Corruption-free government? You have to be joking. Ok, not as bad as many other countries but to say we are corruption free is ludicrous. I witnessed a few things during my many years in the Public Service and others will have too. For obvious reasons I cannot elaborate.
Well regulated and functioning society? It might have started off that way but in the past 30 years it has gone downhill.
Robertson and Ardern and company have yet to make their mark. Eighteen months in power is not long enough to produce anything concrete and permanent.
For pity’s sake give them time!
Corruption free compared to any other country on earth. Us and Denmark.
Boomers formed a well regulated society.
There's no pity in politics. Ardern and Robertson have got 8 more months before it all goes on the line again, and everyone can see they're dodging most of the hard stuff.
I vividly recall the Winebox years. By dint of a former association with a person who was close to the main culprits, I picked up on the nature of the dirty practices before it became generally known. I think I read every book and article written about the era and the level of corruption was mind boggling – at least for a country which had previously been free from such practices.
That the culprits (all filthy rich and powerful) were never prosecuted is an indictment on the establishment (including the police) of this country. Given the perpetrators stole millions of NZ taxpayers’ money that response in itself was worthy of an investigation.
And the huge irony… some of those involved were instrumental in setting up the "Association of Consumers and Tax Payers" – the ACT Party.
I consider that period set the scene for the introduction of the often corrupt practices that exist today (look at some of the antics of the previous Key government) and which are now accepted by many as normal.
As far as Ardern and Robertson are concerned… I agree they must have something solid to present to the public by the end of next year, but I'm optimistic it will happen even if their efforts are still in the process of being fully realised.
yeah the National Parks just fell out of the air fully formed with no one in them yay thanks baby boomers lol
Ain't no new national parks generated by millennials. You can check thee years they were legislated.
I suspect marty is referring to people who predate the Boomers by quite a long time.
ad is just being his annoyingly ignorant self – part of his poke with a stick game – I'm sure he isn't as thick as he portrays but you never know
Some of those things were built by the previous generation, not the boomers who inherited them.
Which ones?
Rainy day, but a well spent hour watching The Great Hack on Netflix. Highly recommended.
It's quite clear from this outstanding doco that the deluge of anti-Hillary and pro-Brexit content sent out to groups of voters, based on the data mining (conducted primarily from Facebook) by Cambridge Analytica was the prime reason for the Trump and Brexit result. Not to mention the practise runs in a large number of other minor countries in the lead up.
Noam Chomksy et al would be correct in saying that any Russian 'meddling' would be inconsequential compared to that.
I've only watched the first 20 or so minutes. Did the Trump team hire in Google and FB staff to help them with that? There was a bit about where the Google/FB people sat in the room, but it wasn't explained in depth in that part.
The "Black lives matter" stuff was amazing, a way to divide the country. It made me think of the ChCh terror attack and how his intention was to divide and stir shit, it made me think Adern really did an amazing job of shutting that down compared to what went on in the U.S.
I don't think there was direct collusion between political candidates/parties but there was between parties and Cambridge Analytica (and it's parent company SCL*). It's well worth watching the full doco.
The ‘black lives’ comments were interesting, but not really election related. The targeting of derogatory Clinton adverts to certain Facebook groups as a consequence of the data mining would rate as very directly affecting the election.
Kia Ora Newshub.
Condolences to Sir Brian Lachore whanau he was a awesome ambassador for Rugby and Aotearoa he was A True Kiwi humble but hard .
Its good for Wahine who want a abortion to get one without breaking the law that is stupid that being a criminal offense. Its Its their BODY Thanks to our Coalition Governments for putting up the new law to be voted on by our MPs .
A big heavy Snow Storm in the South Island of Aotearoa Te wai pounamu the tamariki and skiers will be happy the farmers not so happy .
12 new Radiation machines to help detect cancer earlier its good to detect cancer quickly to cure it and keep cancer at bay.
Jamie Shaw is a awesome Green Party Co leader like Marama .Ka kite ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
There is a reason Im not commenting on Ihumatao WHY because the police will try and blame some of the issues with the larger numbers of Tangata whenua being there on Eco Maori. What are they touting guns there for its a peaceful protest are they trying to stir up tangata whenua emotion.
More Ports on Waihike Island we need to protect our sea shore and sea environments.
Ka pai to our tangata whenua contemporary Artist the theme is the effects of colonialism I agree about it being oppressive and bad for the native people. I our tamariki mana will get the changes needed for JUSTICE.
I ,,, Eco Maori will go to Anglican Church for prayer I love it that the Church includes tangata whenua cultural as part of its Cultural ka pai.
Herds Eco Maori tau toko Herbs Im just to distract to have time to scan good Aotearoa Music and Musicians it will be a awesome Movie I will definitely watch it
Ka kite ano
P.S they thought I was bluffing yesterday Yea right
Kia ora The Am Show
Wellington has the fittest people in Aotearoa that's cool.
What did national do to improve the treatment of cancer not very much actually .Not a problem for them they would all get private treatment if they had signs of cancer of cancer or any other ailment.
I agree with Doctor Jackson strong central leadership like you say the DHB act as individuals and not a collective they worry about their budgets so they put off buying expensive equipment.
Duncan David doesn't have a magical tool to make changes to OUR Health system happen over night Papatuanuku was not built in a day.
Snow on the beach in down South Island it is cooler in Hawksbay to .This extreme shifting in the weather dosen't go against Global Warming these events confirme Our Scientists predictions of the effects of Human Caused Climate Change.
Lydia rise in the Golfing Papatuanuku helped lift the profile of Wahine golf Papatuanuku wide she lifted a lot of young Wahine golfers as well Kia kaha lydia.
The Greens should not team up with national became they would just stuff them up like they did to the Maori Party
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute.
The Movie is being released soon for Herbs the Band in Aotearoa
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute.
Kia Ora Newshub.
Its quite cold here in Eskmount we had a light dusting of Snow this morning.
Its good making that statement about abortion but it will be better when the law is changed.
People are using the Christchurch disaster as a excuses for people in power playing the racist CARD to bolster their public RATINGS with out no though about the people WHO are affected by their BULLSHIT words
Its was not good behavior of a middle aged man who rammed the young guys cars .
Ka kite ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
Everyone knows my opinion on Ihumatao.
I agree with Tama Iti kia kaha .
Don't worry Jacinda will find a solution to Ihumatao Whanau.
Abortion should be treated as a health issue it would be a very hard situation to deal with for Wahine when they could have other issues around their pregnancy its their BODYs.
Tama Iti is correct heaps of there whenua was taken by the crown the art work will become very valuable ma te wa.
The largest tukutuku panel in Papatuanuku is being conducted they are Tangata whenua O Aotearoa Tai taiwhiti ka pai
Ka kite ano