On the idiocy of Nader, Stein and their voters, and why protest voting for a third party when the ballot choice really is a true binary just impedes making actual progress. With the corollary of how the likes of AOC and Bernie have showed that working within the binary is a much more successful way of achieving actual progress.
Yet again, thank whatever gods you will for MMP here, and the Labour government of the 80s for establishing the commission that recommended it, and the Bolger government of the 90s for the courage to put it a referendum, and the voters of the 90s for choosing MMP.
Nader's and Stein's campaigns have very likely delivered us the two worst presidents in our lifetimes.
This time around, Who?ie Who?kins is still polling in the range of 0.5 to 1 %, according to 270towin's averages. So if there's a massive polling error and it comes down to <1% margins in a few critical states, then it could be the difference. Again.
Got anything to say about the idiocy of voting third party in a binary election? Any arguments against the points made either in my comments or the linked article?
No, your quite right of course. If someone doesn't agree with your political choices calling them a bunch of idiots is clearly the best way to change their mind.
Affluent centrists are pretty much immune to the sort of harm that a Joe Biden causes. They rightly loathe Trump, but don't get why some people just can't bring themselves to vote for either. Chris Hedges can get boring because he says the same few things over and over – but here he itemizes Biden's scorecard (link starts from 3m47s). I disagree with his conclusion, but it's well-argued.
Yeah, harm like opening a pathway for them to get healthcare.
Harm like being part of the administration that created the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, and being likely to appoint a director that will do what the bureau is intended to do.
Harm like supporting measures to make it easier to vote.
Harm like increasing infrastructure spending and improving mass transit.
And so on and so on.
Frankly, I have trouble understanding how Chris Hedges is taken seriously by anyone. I s'pose he's just part of that convergence moonbat segment that spends their time nursing and inflating grievances and fabricating false equivalences while ignoring real and substantial differences on issues that really matter.
I've given you the current polling of green/left slow learners willing to waste their vote in a way that enables the re-election of the dayglo swampzilla diametrically opposed to their beliefs and values. In the states most likely to be critical, if that happens.
If that's not answering your question, then what you intended your question to be, and what you actually asked, appear to be different things.
So it was dangeorus for the Labour guy but not the National guy? or did the reluctance of the coppers have something to do with the complaint of the community 'we call the police but they don't do much, if they show up at all'.
Yes, i read the article, and frankly she should have shown up. Bishop is now in the opposition and he can do what he wants. And for what its worth, she could have shown up and she should have.
The threatened victims,went out and spoke up.They have had enough of the intimidation of gang violence,and the enslavement of their children by drug dealers,they have to live there.
Maybe Anderson should actually start working in her electorate,and start listening to the poor and threatened.
She did start working in her electorate. Organised a meeting on crime and community safety and alerted residents of that meeting just one week after the election.
Was advised against proceeding with the meeting at that time.
Did Bishop get the same advice from the police that Anderson got ? Or was something being played in the background. They turned out to Bishops meeting didn't they? Would they have gone to Andersons?
Ginny Andersen has been Hutt South Labour MP since 2017 so should have built up a relationship with police by now. So hasn't been hesitant to front up to residents because of being a newbie and feeling her way so to speak. She will have to be more upfront advocating for the locals and show herself committed to walk the walk and not just do the talk.
…Ginny studied Te Reo Maori at secondary school and university and previously taught night classes as part of Adult and Community Education. These days she donates her time to the local timebank and runs Te Reo classes at the local library when she can.
Over the past three years Ginny has combined her professional experience and her personal passions into being a strong advocate for the Hutt South electorate as well as in her roles on the Justice Select Committee and as Deputy-Chairperson of the Governance and Administration Select Committee. https://www.labour.org.nz/ginnyandersen
I got confused – it seemed as if Ginny Andersen had been MP for a while, but I see that Chris Bishop was actually Hutt South 2017-2020. So perhaps my suggestion that Andersen is a bit new in the post and didn't want to barge in was right. She could instead be talking to the local commander and looking at behind the scenes methods.
If Bishop wanted to have a meeting, good. Perhaps the good systems that he brought in during his reign can be continued? How effective has he been? I'll eat my pie if he has been good for advancing harmony and better conditions during his work period as MP.
If someone had shot up my neighborhood several nights in a row I'd be wanting officials etc to front and at least feign reassurance to the community under stress. Whatever color pin they wear.
Not only is Eminem’s decision to allow the Biden campaign to use “Lose Yourself” a rare move for the typically ad-averse rapper, but it actually comes a few years after he successfully sued a New Zealand political party for using a “Lose Yourself” knockoff in a campaign ad. Back in 2014, National Party candidate Steven Joyce released an ad with an instrumental track that was very similar to “Lose Yourself,” to the point where the track even had the not-so-subtle name, “Eminem-esque.” In 2017, Eminem won the case and the National Party was forced to pay $415,000 to the rapper’s publisher.
Are these freemarket/neolib trade agreements we have signed preventing controlling the housing market in an effective way that aids the NZ citizens who want to become 'wealth creators', against the world's financial manipulators? We entered into the trade agreements to ensure that we can sell to the rest of the world without negative barriers so that we can grow the country's GDP and earn overseas so that we can import their machinery and such.
But it appears that we have given more than we can ever get back, and it is an ongoing drain of our resources from our hands to others, or from here to other countries and econonomies. Just recently, another concern has been raised about water and its misuse – Omihi Creek in Hurunui which has a permit that could enable water bottling. https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgxwKjKlNRMJPBTJZMHLvhkjzxjfr
Some of us marched in the streets to ensure that our government knew we were watching treaty negotiations and didn't want what they offered. Our local Gnat MP Nick Smith used to sneer at marchers quoting the usual put-down of Rent-a-Crowd. We obviously didn't have sufficient money to buy the size of crowd that would be listened to. Perhaps just one or two men like Peter Talley could make a difference if on the side of the people.
MFAT leads New Zealand's free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations. FTAs open up market opportunities, streamline processes, reduce costs, and create more certainty and security for companies doing business overseas. They help New Zealand businesses become and remain more competitive in overseas markets.
We have successfully completed ten free trade agreements.
We remember this one: The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is a free trade agreement involving 11 countries in the Pacific region.
New Zealand is in negotiations to conclude five free trade agreements, with another process towards negotiations underway.
Free Trade Agreements concluded but not in force – Six.
Are we left with any wiggle room to make and enforce decisions to benefit little us? Or are we like the tiger? worms in my compost heap, reacting, moving, twisting, looking for suitable food and vulnerable to changes of temperature and moisture? I'm a bit more complex than my worms which, I'm wondering, might have a better life than a human, knowing much but having no or little agency in the world.
When you're senator for a picturesque western state like Colorado, facing a tough re-election, it's natural to try to capitalise on the dramatic natural beauty in-state. Like this:
But I guess if you're a Repug, screwing up just comes effortlessly.
The best bit is watching Cleavon Little desperately trying to hold a straight face and there's just the tiniest quirks around his mouth and eyes to show what a battle he's having to not crack up too early.
Well I see covid has escaped from the fisher people into the community just as they are about to release some of them. Given the time line did the staff member catch it at about day 10 and if it is infectious early on how did it get passed around in isolation? Why do we assume it is safe to let anybody go.
And are the fishing companies going to meet all the extra costs of testing cleaning supermarkets and schools etc etc.
And one other thing – given that the passage time for say a car carrier is about 21 days to japan – why did the the fishing companies not send the deep sea trawlers up to Russia to collect these crews -apart from the few needed to steer the thing – do the fishing bit – keeping the crews entirely offshore the whole time – drop them off when finished and then unload the cargo here – I assume. They would have had to get themselves organised of course.
"• The number of places available for managed isolation for Christmas are dwindling and the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment has issued a warning to any overseas New Zealanders wanting to get home for the festive period.
MBIE announced yesterday its new system was now "becoming fully booked" in the lead-up to the big day."
Something I noticed once again was the mention of sharing of rooms by the fishers which is thought to have contributed to the community infection that has emerged. It was said again too that it had probably been to save costs. Surely the government is in charge of the way that people are held in isolation. There is no way that they would be under-mining their system of single isolation to save costs, surely. Therefore it has been decided by the shipping company/ies. And no way should they be allowed to make decisions that interfere with the protocols set by the government. This is really bad and the government should ensure that this does not happen again. The fishing companies should have to pay for the costs resulting from the community case that has arisen.
I see that the professionals are saying that hotels are not satisfactory for the job and that better housing for those in isolation should be provided. And as it is constantly in the news about the continuing rampage that the virus is on, it would be a good idea for some smart pre-fab building designers be brought in to find a suitable version from what is available and something go in toot sweet at a suitable location. It has to be well made and be expected to last say 20 years, and will pay for itself in that time if not for Covid then useful for some other purpose in our fraught times.
Dr Nick Wilson and others are the voice of reason and the government must listen and act on their suggestions. No time to rest on our laurels or any other plant of comfort!
"This is an area that needs an urgent review. It's not adequate that workers are being placed at risk. "We've had a nurse infected, a maintenance worker, a port worker. These are system failures because we should be stopping all cases at the border."
Wilson repeated his suggestion for purpose-built quarantine facilities, at sites like Ohakea airbase, where staff could live on the base for two-to-three week periods at a time so infections are contained.
New Zealand also needs to reduce the number of infected people coming into the country from areas where the pandemic is out of control with measures like pre-flight testing, and move facilities out of Auckland, he said.
"Basically we're having border control failures every two weeks and we could end up with another Auckland August outbreak if we don't improve."
'Sealord chief executive Doug Paulin said while his company is losing money daily, getting the boats out with a delay is better than not getting the boats out at all.
"We are willing to wait until there is no risk to the community of New Zealand to bring our crew out of managed isolation."'
The food ought to be better at least. Mind, Ukrainian cooks kick ass – I've had chicken gizzard stew that was absolutely fabulous. The bread's always good too – but the rule for observers used to be, on former soviet vessels, to bring soy sauce & wasabi – there was always jack mackeral for sashimi – second only to tuna. On some ships there was tuna too.
And Labour sends its first group of supporters down the river. Would it really hurt, even if it is confined at first to only larger workplaces and for the opt in period to last for a only a specified period of time to actually have an opt in period so unions can have a discussion with prospective members at least? How on earth will we ever get to a modern workplace with more worker input right up to board level if we don't start somewhere. And he obviously has no idea just how much pressure is put onto anyone who wants to be in a union to desist.
RBCV Why not write and say that to Michael Wood. If we want things to happen in the next three years we will have to be proactive and questioning, and follow up again. And if nothing changes express displeasure publicly.
I think I heard that Auckland Water person has just stepped down – was receiving $800,000 pa salary. MPs don't get that but it seems that the belief of Treasury and business that workers were getting complacent and being paid too much which apparently prompted neolib introduction, has remained with the upper levels of management.
We need MPs to work their butts off for us, not say airily that the peeps can manage on their own while they lord it over all. That reminds me of Lord of the Rings; perhaps some politicians think that the beltway is a giant ring encircling them and giving them magical properties over us hobbits with bad habits!
It's getting to the stage where tourists are wise not to come to NZ. Travel all the way here and find that there is a mickey mouse attitude to caring for the customer! We have had one father from Scotland I think, criticising us roundly some years back. Justified too I thought. Then there has been the hands-off attitude to the White Island tourism venture, and I think very poor reporting from scientific checks, with not enough advice as to possible eruption.
The driver, who cannot be named for legal reasons, could not get the bus into gear nor brake effectively, Francis said. Other passengers started to scream and panic, and Francis later learned a passenger opened the back door and jumped out. "It became clear to me that within half a minute to a minute that we were going to crash, and the only question was how bad it was going to be," Francis said
I've followed plenty of the old RAL buses down the Ohakune Mountain Road.
Some of the drivers knew how to use the engine for most of the braking, others … did not. The ones that didn't engine brake well would have seriously smoking brakes several kilometres before the crash site, to the point I'm a little surprised I never saw any of them crash because of cooked brakes.
I'm guessing this case was the one where the luck ran out, and the brakes totally cooked with the linings overheating and/or boiling the brake fluid so the brake fluid couldn't transfer pressure.
People must be stupid , if you choose to go on to an active volcano then what do you fucking expect, they don't erupt to a timetable. And in the unfortunate case of the young woman from Scotland , she was jumping out of a plane over mountains, what could possibly go wrong. Well the plane could crash on take-off, but that's what they do sometimes.
It's not the country's fault that shit happens. We could cure the problem by making sure nobody leaves home ever, and nobody comes here to do stuff. Problem solved.
Or is it, 90% of people die in their own home, well thats us fucked then..
I'm just stupid Adrian. I know that you are volatile and great at recriminations sprayed around like a hippotomus' rear end, yet I stopped and read some of your comment. I think it's really 'off'. Well I've only got myself to blame! Shit happens.
Chris Hipkins was fronting in his new ministerial capacity at today's Covid briefing alongside Dr Bloomfield.
He was asked several questions which he appeared to front-foot quite assuredly.
However there were questions that required Dr Woods to take, because Hipkins said that he is in the process of discussing/handing over from Dr Woods and should be able to answer in a couple of days. Might I suggest that Dr Woods should have fronted today's session as part of the handover and at least portrayed an image that the government is on top of the issues raised in the questions.
I wonder what affect a presidential change might have on poor Julian Assange? How is he? Guess.
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/10/20/qa-assanges-lawyer-jennifer-robinson Al Jazeera: What would a typical day during the trial look like for Assange? Robinson: During Assange’s confinement in the high-security Belmarsh prison in London, he was strip-searched whenever he arrived at court. He was driven back and forth from Old Bailey court at the back of the prison van. After a day in court, he would be driven “home” to Belmarsh and then strip-searched again. During the trial, he would spend his days between the cells downstairs in the court building and the courtroom upstairs.
He still spends 23 hours a day in his cell. Although he has not formally been placed in solitary confinement, the conditions of his detention effectively amount to solitary confinement.
Al Jazeera: When was the last time Assange saw his family? Assange has had no visitors for six months. He had no meetings with family since all visits were cancelled. We, his lawyers, could also not do videoconferencing with him. The medical advice was that he should not do videoconferencing.
Because of his pre-existing healthcare concerns, he could only get phone calls. I am not in a position to comment on his health. But in his visits to psychiatric facilities, he has made clear that he is determined to [take his own life] if he gets extradited.
.
I thought it was very relevant about the sort of goings on that the USA is deep into. Still I know that Julian A is regarded as irrelevant to some here.
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
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Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
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Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
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Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
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What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
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Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
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You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists who report on environmental issues are encountering growing difficulties in many parts of the world, reports Reporters Without Borders. According to the tally kept by RSF, 200 journalists have been subjected to threats and physical violence, including murder, in the past 10 years because they were ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
ACT's Rural Communities and Veterans spokesman Mark Cameron responds to cancellations and protests of ANZAC Day commemorations in Wellington. He says, "These pitiful attempts to detract from ANZAC Day are not at all indicative of the feelings of mainstream ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Pōneke based peace activists staged a silent protest at the ANZAC day service to highlight New Zealand’s complicity in war and genocide, and urge the government to take concrete steps to stop the genocide in Palestine. ...
On the idiocy of Nader, Stein and their voters, and why protest voting for a third party when the ballot choice really is a true binary just impedes making actual progress. With the corollary of how the likes of AOC and Bernie have showed that working within the binary is a much more successful way of achieving actual progress.
https://www.salon.com/2020/11/02/dear-fellow-progressives-the-lesson-of-history-is-clear–vote-for-joe-biden/
Yet again, thank whatever gods you will for MMP here, and the Labour government of the 80s for establishing the commission that recommended it, and the Bolger government of the 90s for the courage to put it a referendum, and the voters of the 90s for choosing MMP.
how much difference does it make? Of the people not voting Biden, how many are in states where Trump may or may not win?
Nader's and Stein's campaigns have very likely delivered us the two worst presidents in our lifetimes.
This time around, Who?ie Who?kins is still polling in the range of 0.5 to 1 %, according to 270towin's averages. So if there's a massive polling error and it comes down to <1% margins in a few critical states, then it could be the difference. Again.
https://www.270towin.com/2020-polls-biden-trump/north-carolina/
https://www.270towin.com/2020-polls-biden-trump/florida/
https://www.270towin.com/2020-polls-biden-trump/pennsylvania/
Getting all your best excuses in early?
Got anything to say about the idiocy of voting third party in a binary election? Any arguments against the points made either in my comments or the linked article?
No, your quite right of course. If someone doesn't agree with your political choices calling them a bunch of idiots is clearly the best way to change their mind.
If they're genuinely not going to vote against the current buffoon, any insult will likely go over their heads.
Affluent centrists are pretty much immune to the sort of harm that a Joe Biden causes. They rightly loathe Trump, but don't get why some people just can't bring themselves to vote for either. Chris Hedges can get boring because he says the same few things over and over – but here he itemizes Biden's scorecard (link starts from 3m47s). I disagree with his conclusion, but it's well-argued.
Yeah, harm like opening a pathway for them to get healthcare.
Harm like being part of the administration that created the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, and being likely to appoint a director that will do what the bureau is intended to do.
Harm like supporting measures to make it easier to vote.
Harm like increasing infrastructure spending and improving mass transit.
And so on and so on.
Frankly, I have trouble understanding how Chris Hedges is taken seriously by anyone. I s'pose he's just part of that convergence moonbat segment that spends their time nursing and inflating grievances and fabricating false equivalences while ignoring real and substantial differences on issues that really matter.
you didn't answer my question Andre.
I've given you the current polling of green/left slow learners willing to waste their vote in a way that enables the re-election of the dayglo swampzilla diametrically opposed to their beliefs and values. In the states most likely to be critical, if that happens.
If that's not answering your question, then what you intended your question to be, and what you actually asked, appear to be different things.
I had not realised that verbosity and complexity could create such a smokescreen of righteousness.
Chris Bishop, eh? Hasn't learned a thing. The loss of his electorate seat must be hurting.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/123268596/rising-youth-crime-gang-violence-tackled-at-public-meeting-in-wainuiomata
Did you actually read the article? Sounds like one MP actually doing something and the other just all talk.
Did you read the article? The electorate MP had proposed a meeting on crime and safety for that date but was advised against it by Police.
Bishop can't help himself.
So it was dangeorus for the Labour guy but not the National guy? or did the reluctance of the coppers have something to do with the complaint of the community 'we call the police but they don't do much, if they show up at all'.
Yes, i read the article, and frankly she should have shown up. Bishop is now in the opposition and he can do what he wants. And for what its worth, she could have shown up and she should have.
And by doing so would have gone against the advice of Police and community leaders.
Perhaps you're right and the Police don't want to be exposed but it's also clear Bishop is already campaigning for 2023.
Also, these issues don’t develop overnight. Perhaps black-ops Bishop should ask himself where such advocacy was in the years he held the seat.
If that encourages Labour to get on top of the issues, well then fine.
It's interesting that while Andersen takes the advice of officials she has met with, Bishop does not.
This adds to the maverick nature of the man, he who was responsible for hacking the budget last year.
Who would trust him? Not Hutt South, clearly.
The threatened victims,went out and spoke up.They have had enough of the intimidation of gang violence,and the enslavement of their children by drug dealers,they have to live there.
Maybe Anderson should actually start working in her electorate,and start listening to the poor and threatened.
She did start working in her electorate. Organised a meeting on crime and community safety and alerted residents of that meeting just one week after the election.
Was advised against proceeding with the meeting at that time.
Read the article.
Did Bishop get the same advice from the police that Anderson got ? Or was something being played in the background. They turned out to Bishops meeting didn't they? Would they have gone to Andersons?
Unknown from the information in the article. There was at least one sergeant at the meeting but it's not known if it was sanctioned by Police.
I doubt Bishop would have bothered seeking advice from Police or community leaders about the meting. He does his own thing for political purposes.
This was a chance for Bishop to kick Anderson for having the temerity to win his seat.
Bishop behaving badly while telling others to behave better
Ginny Andersen has been Hutt South Labour MP since 2017 so should have built up a relationship with police by now. So hasn't been hesitant to front up to residents because of being a newbie and feeling her way so to speak. She will have to be more upfront advocating for the locals and show herself committed to walk the walk and not just do the talk.
…Ginny studied Te Reo Maori at secondary school and university and previously taught night classes as part of Adult and Community Education. These days she donates her time to the local timebank and runs Te Reo classes at the local library when she can.
Over the past three years Ginny has combined her professional experience and her personal passions into being a strong advocate for the Hutt South electorate as well as in her roles on the Justice Select Committee and as Deputy-Chairperson of the Governance and Administration Select Committee. https://www.labour.org.nz/ginnyandersen
I got confused – it seemed as if Ginny Andersen had been MP for a while, but I see that Chris Bishop was actually Hutt South 2017-2020. So perhaps my suggestion that Andersen is a bit new in the post and didn't want to barge in was right. She could instead be talking to the local commander and looking at behind the scenes methods.
If Bishop wanted to have a meeting, good. Perhaps the good systems that he brought in during his reign can be continued? How effective has he been? I'll eat my pie if he has been good for advancing harmony and better conditions during his work period as MP.
I wonder what the basis for that advice was. Mind yerown bidniss?
If someone had shot up my neighborhood several nights in a row I'd be wanting officials etc to front and at least feign reassurance to the community under stress. Whatever color pin they wear.
Sounds like there needs to be some restructuring in the police to sort out issues which occur like in Wainuiomata. This area is in a deep basin.
Is the police station there operational 24 hrs a day or do police need to come from the Hutt Valley?
Stuff powered by microbes. Using plants as switches, just touch and you power up light and sound. How cool is that?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbsen7kce1Y
Hey Joe. How do you put a tweet up here?
Cut and trim the url back to the question mark and paste.
Someone asked to use the music
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1323320216038776832?
Stephen Joyce will be pissed 🙂
But it was pretty legal..
Not only is Eminem’s decision to allow the Biden campaign to use “Lose Yourself” a rare move for the typically ad-averse rapper, but it actually comes a few years after he successfully sued a New Zealand political party for using a “Lose Yourself” knockoff in a campaign ad. Back in 2014, National Party candidate Steven Joyce released an ad with an instrumental track that was very similar to “Lose Yourself,” to the point where the track even had the not-so-subtle name, “Eminem-esque.” In 2017, Eminem won the case and the National Party was forced to pay $415,000 to the rapper’s publisher.
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/eminem-lose-yourself-joe-biden-campaign-ad-1084887/
And thank you for the tip.
Are these freemarket/neolib trade agreements we have signed preventing controlling the housing market in an effective way that aids the NZ citizens who want to become 'wealth creators', against the world's financial manipulators? We entered into the trade agreements to ensure that we can sell to the rest of the world without negative barriers so that we can grow the country's GDP and earn overseas so that we can import their machinery and such.
But it appears that we have given more than we can ever get back, and it is an ongoing drain of our resources from our hands to others, or from here to other countries and econonomies. Just recently, another concern has been raised about water and its misuse – Omihi Creek in Hurunui which has a permit that could enable water bottling. https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgxwKjKlNRMJPBTJZMHLvhkjzxjfr
Some of us marched in the streets to ensure that our government knew we were watching treaty negotiations and didn't want what they offered. Our local Gnat MP Nick Smith used to sneer at marchers quoting the usual put-down of Rent-a-Crowd. We obviously didn't have sufficient money to buy the size of crowd that would be listened to. Perhaps just one or two men like Peter Talley could make a difference if on the side of the people.
Some snappy info on trade agreements and the WTO and MFAT –
https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/free-trade-agreements/ (Can't find any mention of date on this page so don't know what status the information has.)
MFAT leads New Zealand's free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations. FTAs open up market opportunities, streamline processes, reduce costs, and create more certainty and security for companies doing business overseas. They help New Zealand businesses become and remain more competitive in overseas markets.
We have successfully completed ten free trade agreements.
We remember this one: The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is a free trade agreement involving 11 countries in the Pacific region.
New Zealand is in negotiations to conclude five free trade agreements, with another process towards negotiations underway.
Free Trade Agreements concluded but not in force – Six.
and
https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/our-work-with-the-wto/
Are we left with any wiggle room to make and enforce decisions to benefit little us? Or are we like the tiger? worms in my compost heap, reacting, moving, twisting, looking for suitable food and vulnerable to changes of temperature and moisture? I'm a bit more complex than my worms which, I'm wondering, might have a better life than a human, knowing much but having no or little agency in the world.
When you're senator for a picturesque western state like Colorado, facing a tough re-election, it's natural to try to capitalise on the dramatic natural beauty in-state. Like this:
But I guess if you're a Repug, screwing up just comes effortlessly.
https://twitter.com/JamesDakinOwens/status/1318186639592771587
(The Grand Canyon is entirely in Arizona, a long way away from Colorado)
People of the Land… : )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYTQ7__NNDI
That clip never gets old.
The best bit is watching Cleavon Little desperately trying to hold a straight face and there's just the tiniest quirks around his mouth and eyes to show what a battle he's having to not crack up too early.
Well I see covid has escaped from the fisher people into the community just as they are about to release some of them. Given the time line did the staff member catch it at about day 10 and if it is infectious early on how did it get passed around in isolation? Why do we assume it is safe to let anybody go.
And are the fishing companies going to meet all the extra costs of testing cleaning supermarkets and schools etc etc.
And one other thing – given that the passage time for say a car carrier is about 21 days to japan – why did the the fishing companies not send the deep sea trawlers up to Russia to collect these crews -apart from the few needed to steer the thing – do the fishing bit – keeping the crews entirely offshore the whole time – drop them off when finished and then unload the cargo here – I assume. They would have had to get themselves organised of course.
In the not only, but also…….
"• The number of places available for managed isolation for Christmas are dwindling and the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment has issued a warning to any overseas New Zealanders wanting to get home for the festive period.
MBIE announced yesterday its new system was now "becoming fully booked" in the lead-up to the big day."
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/christchurch-quarantine-worker-has-covid
And yea got to wonder at sealord et al. Slave ships still exist. (But I bet the Russ/Ukrainians pretty happy at the Accommodation level…..)
Something I noticed once again was the mention of sharing of rooms by the fishers which is thought to have contributed to the community infection that has emerged. It was said again too that it had probably been to save costs. Surely the government is in charge of the way that people are held in isolation. There is no way that they would be under-mining their system of single isolation to save costs, surely. Therefore it has been decided by the shipping company/ies. And no way should they be allowed to make decisions that interfere with the protocols set by the government. This is really bad and the government should ensure that this does not happen again. The fishing companies should have to pay for the costs resulting from the community case that has arisen.
I see that the professionals are saying that hotels are not satisfactory for the job and that better housing for those in isolation should be provided. And as it is constantly in the news about the continuing rampage that the virus is on, it would be a good idea for some smart pre-fab building designers be brought in to find a suitable version from what is available and something go in toot sweet at a suitable location. It has to be well made and be expected to last say 20 years, and will pay for itself in that time if not for Covid then useful for some other purpose in our fraught times.
Dr Nick Wilson and others are the voice of reason and the government must listen and act on their suggestions. No time to rest on our laurels or any other plant of comfort!
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/429729/covid-19-community-case-border-system-needs-urgent-review
Wilson said people in isolation at Sudima were sharing rooms which was a breach of normal quarantine practice. Even when this was not occurring, hotels are not designed for quarantine, with "shared airspace" and unsuitable ventilation systems.
"This is an area that needs an urgent review. It's not adequate that workers are being placed at risk.
"We've had a nurse infected, a maintenance worker, a port worker. These are system failures because we should be stopping all cases at the border."
Wilson repeated his suggestion for purpose-built quarantine facilities, at sites like Ohakea airbase, where staff could live on the base for two-to-three week periods at a time so infections are contained.
New Zealand also needs to reduce the number of infected people coming into the country from areas where the pandemic is out of control with measures like pre-flight testing, and move facilities out of Auckland, he said.
"Basically we're having border control failures every two weeks and we could end up with another Auckland August outbreak if we don't improve."
"Sealord, Independent Fisheries and Maruha Nichiro are covering the flights, managed isolation and other costs. "
https://www.odt.co.nz/star-news/star-christchurch/cashmere-high-student-close-contact-community-case-principal-says
'Sealord chief executive Doug Paulin said while his company is losing money daily, getting the boats out with a delay is better than not getting the boats out at all.
"We are willing to wait until there is no risk to the community of New Zealand to bring our crew out of managed isolation."'
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/sealord-boss-happy-delay-operations-until-no-covid-19-risk-community
Gotta wonder how all this passed the test? The Reality Test
The food ought to be better at least. Mind, Ukrainian cooks kick ass – I've had chicken gizzard stew that was absolutely fabulous. The bread's always good too – but the rule for observers used to be, on former soviet vessels, to bring soy sauce & wasabi – there was always jack mackeral for sashimi – second only to tuna. On some ships there was tuna too.
And Labour sends its first group of supporters down the river. Would it really hurt, even if it is confined at first to only larger workplaces and for the opt in period to last for a only a specified period of time to actually have an opt in period so unions can have a discussion with prospective members at least? How on earth will we ever get to a modern workplace with more worker input right up to board level if we don't start somewhere. And he obviously has no idea just how much pressure is put onto anyone who wants to be in a union to desist.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300148639/new-workplace-minister-michael-wood-says-unions-need-to-attract-new-members-themselves
RBCV Why not write and say that to Michael Wood. If we want things to happen in the next three years we will have to be proactive and questioning, and follow up again. And if nothing changes express displeasure publicly.
I think I heard that Auckland Water person has just stepped down – was receiving $800,000 pa salary. MPs don't get that but it seems that the belief of Treasury and business that workers were getting complacent and being paid too much which apparently prompted neolib introduction, has remained with the upper levels of management.
We need MPs to work their butts off for us, not say airily that the peeps can manage on their own while they lord it over all. That reminds me of Lord of the Rings; perhaps some politicians think that the beltway is a giant ring encircling them and giving them magical properties over us hobbits with bad habits!
It's getting to the stage where tourists are wise not to come to NZ. Travel all the way here and find that there is a mickey mouse attitude to caring for the customer! We have had one father from Scotland I think, criticising us roundly some years back. Justified too I thought. Then there has been the hands-off attitude to the White Island tourism venture, and I think very poor reporting from scientific checks, with not enough advice as to possible eruption.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/429760/inquest-into-fatal-mt-ruapehu-ski-bus-crash-begins-hears-from-bereaved-father
The inquest into Hannah Francis' death, held before Coroner Brigitte Windley, began this morning in Auckland.
Hannah died on 28 July, 2018 after a shuttle bus operated by Ruapehu Alpine Lifts crashed into a bank and rolled on to its side during its descent from the Tūroa skifield…
The driver, who cannot be named for legal reasons, could not get the bus into gear nor brake effectively, Francis said. Other passengers started to scream and panic, and Francis later learned a passenger opened the back door and jumped out.
"It became clear to me that within half a minute to a minute that we were going to crash, and the only question was how bad it was going to be," Francis said
The 24-year-old bus was later revealed to have failed its Certificate of Fitness nine times.
The fleet was subsequently retired by Ruapehu Alpine Lifts.
I've followed plenty of the old RAL buses down the Ohakune Mountain Road.
Some of the drivers knew how to use the engine for most of the braking, others … did not. The ones that didn't engine brake well would have seriously smoking brakes several kilometres before the crash site, to the point I'm a little surprised I never saw any of them crash because of cooked brakes.
I'm guessing this case was the one where the luck ran out, and the brakes totally cooked with the linings overheating and/or boiling the brake fluid so the brake fluid couldn't transfer pressure.
People must be stupid , if you choose to go on to an active volcano then what do you fucking expect, they don't erupt to a timetable. And in the unfortunate case of the young woman from Scotland , she was jumping out of a plane over mountains, what could possibly go wrong. Well the plane could crash on take-off, but that's what they do sometimes.
It's not the country's fault that shit happens. We could cure the problem by making sure nobody leaves home ever, and nobody comes here to do stuff. Problem solved.
Or is it, 90% of people die in their own home, well thats us fucked then..
I'm just stupid Adrian. I know that you are volatile and great at recriminations sprayed around like a hippotomus' rear end, yet I stopped and read some of your comment. I think it's really 'off'. Well I've only got myself to blame! Shit happens.
Chris Hipkins was fronting in his new ministerial capacity at today's Covid briefing alongside Dr Bloomfield.
He was asked several questions which he appeared to front-foot quite assuredly.
However there were questions that required Dr Woods to take, because Hipkins said that he is in the process of discussing/handing over from Dr Woods and should be able to answer in a couple of days. Might I suggest that Dr Woods should have fronted today's session as part of the handover and at least portrayed an image that the government is on top of the issues raised in the questions.
Not a good look in my opinion.
I wonder what affect a presidential change might have on poor Julian Assange? How is he? Guess.
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/10/20/qa-assanges-lawyer-jennifer-robinson
Al Jazeera: What would a typical day during the trial look like for Assange?
Robinson: During Assange’s confinement in the high-security Belmarsh prison in London, he was strip-searched whenever he arrived at court. He was driven back and forth from Old Bailey court at the back of the prison van. After a day in court, he would be driven “home” to Belmarsh and then strip-searched again. During the trial, he would spend his days between the cells downstairs in the court building and the courtroom upstairs.
He still spends 23 hours a day in his cell. Although he has not formally been placed in solitary confinement, the conditions of his detention effectively amount to solitary confinement.
Al Jazeera: When was the last time Assange saw his family?
Assange has had no visitors for six months. He had no meetings with family since all visits were cancelled. We, his lawyers, could also not do videoconferencing with him. The medical advice was that he should not do videoconferencing.
Because of his pre-existing healthcare concerns, he could only get phone calls. I am not in a position to comment on his health. But in his visits to psychiatric facilities, he has made clear that he is determined to [take his own life] if he gets extradited.
.
Aljazeeras graphics for info on USA politics.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/2/infographic-all-you-need-to-about-us-elections
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
I thought it was very relevant about the sort of goings on that the USA is deep into. Still I know that Julian A is regarded as irrelevant to some here.
From Tim Watkin – I don't know if this has been up already but it sounds balanced and realistic on the Labour lineup of Ministers and portfolios.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/429682/analysis-ardern-s-new-cabinet-in-safe-hands-but-nothing-flashy