I don’t understand why when we destroy something created by man we call it vandalism, but when we destroy something created by nature we call it progress.
There have been some excellent BBC series on telly lately documenting this ongoing destruction and the human causes of climate change. In Tropic of Capricorn and Tropic of Cancer Simon Reeves travelled around meeting people from countries along those latitudes, discussing their political and social issues and their country’s interaction with nature and in what ways they exploit it.
I’ve heard that Paul and plan to watch it tonight, so will brace myself. I’ll have my “tv tissues” handy, which I have on standby for watching documentaries that feature humankind’s large scale destruction of our grand and majestic environment for our unnecessary short term gain.
Unnecessary because there are better ways of sustaining ourselves without destroying our environment.
If you enjoyed, were disturbed by, raged at and embraced Koyanniqatsi, here are the other two films by Godfrey Reggio & Phillip Glass which make up the Qatsi Trilogy:
Koyannisqatsi, Powaqqatsi & Naqoyqatsi http://www.criterion.com/boxsets/934-the-qatsi-trilogy
They have collaborated again, and teamed up with Steven Soderbergh for a new work called Visitors – http://visitorsfilm.com/ well worth a look 😉
Thanks for the links freedom. I would like to see the other two Qatsi films. I need to be in a centred space of mind to to take on films of that depth and magnitude.
This weekend, as well as Samsara, I’m viewing Citizenfour (produced by Steven Soderbergh)
As an aside I have been watching a trilogy starring BIll Nighy which started with Page 8, then turks and caicos and now the last one. Each time I see the PM in it making his decisions, benefitting financially, crossing his tie while issuing an edcts I am reminded that our PM seems to claim that he knows nothing and has power over nothing. The biggest lie of all.
I would add, overpopulation begins at home. How many people can each of our watershed’s support sustainably? We don’t even know. How many of the environments in those photos are degraded because we in NZ thought we needed something from those populations?
Agree weka. There is a whole online book that I didn’t link to because it may invite a kneejerk response to population growth, without addressing environmental degradation due to the need to sustain an economic model through population growth and increasing consumption. A model that NZ is very much depends on.
A raft of cultural, social and economic responses are necessary to address some complicated issues involved in enabling better, more sustainable living and the final pics in the book begin to address some of these (as does the text).
The crucial question is: How many people can the Earth sustain, at a reasonable standard of living, while leaving room for the diversity of life to flourish?
Holy shit, it’s a bold radical book. I’m trying to get my head around the idea that exponential population growth is relatively recent. Up until the industrial revolution population was either stable or increasing by fractions. If the big populations increases are happening in developping countries sine then, what is going on? Just got to the bit about how fossil fuels have enabled increases in aid and tech, and those keep population high 🙁
“Just got to the bit about how fossil fuels have enabled increases in aid and tech, and those keep population high”
Yeah – I do think aid and tech can be positives, it’s just the way that powerful people perceive how they should be used. In the wider context, the opposition of the Americans (improving under Obama?) and others to family planning initiatives, which have included abortion, that are run by the UN and others is almost criminal. It’s certainly a denial of human rights.
I thought the foreword by Musimbi Kanyori was a beautifully-written piece about too many babies, too many young girls forced to give birth, too little in the way of healthcare, and the desires of women to control fertility. Her words, to me, show the way forward in this regard.
A dude on some drug, I forget, once said that whilst on that drug, he saw the world for what it is. We are cancer on the surface of the earth. I couldn’t agree more. Sooner or later, earth will produce a cure.
On the heels of his previous video that explained the Queen had workers on zero hour contracts + expected them to perform certain tasks for free like showing paying visitors around (??!), here is Russell Brand on the Trews asking, “What’s better for you? Zero Hour Contracts, or Zero Royals?
Andrew Little expresses strong reservations whenever asked. Phil Goff leads the pro-TPPA faction but my guess is he’ll be leaving soon to pursue his mayoral ambitions. My feeling is that the anti TPPA MPs are in the ascendancy.
Following an email I sent to Cunliffe he passed it on to Goff (who signed off as spokesperson fro Defence) who replied as follows.
“Thank you for your email to Hon David Cunliffe concerning the Trans Pacific Partnership trade negotiations. Apologies for the delay in my reply.
There is genuine concern about what might be included in the final outcome of the negotiations, which the Government has not adequately addressed by making clear where it stands on important issues in the negotiation.
Labour demands more openness and transparency from the Government. As Minister of Trade negotiating the China and Asean Free Trade Agreements in 2008, I involved a cross-section of groups in the process including the Council of Trade Unions and Greenpeace as well as businesses and exporters. That helped ensure we got good input and it also won trust and confidence in what we were doing.
Those trade agreements hugely helped economic growth and jobs in New Zealand with New Zealand exports to China increasing from $2 billion to over $7 billion dollars in five years and closing the trade deficit with that country. It helped save us from suffering as badly as the US and Europe from the Global Financial Crisis.
Labour has also set bottom lines for support for a TPP agreement. It must result in a clear and significant net benefit to our country. It must be a high quality agreement allowing New Zealand to gain access for our major exports to countries like the US, Japan, Canada and Mexico, removing barriers like the current exorbitant tariff rates on dairy (200-300 per cent), tight quotas and behind the borders barriers. For our services and manufacturing industries we would also want access to government procurement contracts, a market in the US alone worth $334 billion from which we are currently excluded.
Labour recognises that the TPP is not just a trade agreement but deals with behind the borders issues and could impact on domestic policy settings. New Zealand must not sacrifice Pharmac or give up our sovereign right to regulate and legislate such areas as health, the environment and economic policy or in areas like gambling, tobacco and alcohol. The policy protections must be tight enough to prevent multinational companies from winning law suits against us when we regulate in these areas to their commercial disadvantage. We support intellectual property protection but not where it goes to extremes which would hinder innovation and create excess profits at the expense of the consumer. The Government needs to heed the concerns of smaller companies in New Zealand including those in the IT sector.
Labour supports trade deals which genuinely benefit our country. We need growth in exports so we can close the gap between the value of what we export and import. A trade deficit which has persisted over 40 years has meant New Zealand having to borrow to pay the difference. Growing debt has resulted in us increasingly losing ownership of our own country.
We need growth for jobs and higher incomes. We need growth to increase government revenue to pay for higher quality services in areas like health and education.
The Petri study from Brandeis University shows that a TPP would likely lead to export growth to New Zealand of over $5 billion a year. The Parliamentary Library, based on the Brandeis study, states that could lead to job growth of up to 22,000 jobs.
Half of our trade goes to the TPP countries. If we did not participate in a successful agreement our exporters would be disadvantaged by facing barriers in the key TPP markets that our competitors do not.
We continue to insist that the Government better inform parliament and civil society as to its negotiating objectives and its position on issues of concern. Only then can the public be involved in an informed and mature debate. Labour will support a deal only if it is genuinely in the interests of New Zealand.
My take is he started by making soothing comments about the dangers but half way through pinned support on a TPP leading to Growth in NZ and then the rest talked about how important growth is. I read him to be saying if TPP can be argued to create growth he and LP will support it.
And now Phil Goff Off adds LP Auckland Issues portfolio to his CV as he looks to sail off into the sunset and become the new Mayor of the City of Sails.
Bon voyage Phil happy sailing and please take the other failed leader David Shearer as your cabin boy. 🙂
I read him to be saying if TPP can be argued to create growth he and LP will support it.
Yep, I agree, he gets fudgy on “our sovereign right to regulate and legislate” and ” policy protections must be tight enough to prevent multinational companies from winning law suits against us when we regulate in these areas to their commercial disadvantage. We support intellectual property protection but not where it goes to extremes”.
Labour, NZF and The Greens need to be a united front on TPP – and yell it from the rooftops. Keep it simple, keep it clear. Rock solid.
The party members are much more staunch on the issue.
This is the official position from the party website:
“We are very concerned about the lack of transparency around the TPP.
Labour recognises that the TPP could impact on New Zealand’s freedom to determine our domestic policy settings, if it contains terms that are inappropriate.
It is impossible for us, or indeed anyone, to take a clear position on the agreement while there is so little transparency.
We will continue to push for a more open and transparent approach from the Government.
We will also back New Zealand First’s Members’ Bill that addresses investor-state dispute settlement to its first reading so that it can be considered and debated.
Labour is pro-trade and is proud of the FTA with China which has worked well for the benefit of New Zealanders.
Labour recognises that the TPP is not just a trade agreement and has investment provisions which could impact on New Zealand’s freedom to determine our domestic policy settings.
We will address the TPP on its merits or otherwise when we see the full text of the final agreement.
Labour is disappointed that our demands for more openness and transparency from the Government have not been heeded. The last Labour Government, when negotiating the China and Asean Free Trade Agreements in 2008, involved a cross-section of groups in the process including the Council of Trade Unions and Greenpeace as well as businesses and exporters. That helped ensure we received wise input and also won higher levels of trust and confidence, both in the negotiation process and in the eventual FTA with China.
In recent months, following a report by the European Union Ombudsman, the European Commission has promised more transparency in connection with the Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP), the European equivalent to the TPP.
It is proper for concerned New Zealanders to seek information about the effect of the TPP on New Zealand’s freedom to change our domestic policy settings. This is especially so if the dispute resolution procedures under the TPP allow overseas corporations to sue the New Zealand government for alleged losses.
New Zealand must not sacrifice Pharmac nor give up our sovereign freedom to regulate and legislate in such areas as health, the environment and economic policy or on more specific topics like controls on gambling, tobacco and alcohol.
The New Zealand Labour Party supports appropriate protection of intellectual property but not where extremes hinder innovation or enable excessive monopoly profits at the expense of the consumer by extending the scope or term of patents and copyright. The National Government should heed the concerns of New Zealanders, including those in the IT sector.”
It retains word for word some stuff out of Goff’s reply to me . BUT it removes his stuff about growth. , while leaving other language and vagueries in, makes me worry. EG ” benefit of New Zealanders”
if Labour outlined what benefit to NZers looks like, we could judge, but I suspect they would need to reintroduce that word “growth”.
Thanks for that Mickey, I have no doubts that Labour will look after our best interests, however it is the Tories that are in power and I would not think Dunne or the little lap dog from Epsom will oppose their intention to put ink on the TPPA contract on our behalf.
Just wondering how the TPPA would effect Labours local procurement policy?
This is such a meaningless statement. You can’t sell what you don’t have (okay, there is an exception or two).
Labour has put down some significant bottom-lines in agreeing to any TPPA. But if the significant other countries say “nah, get stuffed” what then? Let loose Cameron Slater to beat them silly?
Or, pull the plug like an Italian in a boat-race?
And should we decide to set sail in a leaky boat, who really is going to notice – apart from a few seagulls aiming poop all over a cargo-less deck.
Luna Ross gets a “Oh no, please don’t go.” We get “…valet?”
Goff-Off needs to stop the games and publicly declare his hand, he told a friend of mine he is running, sure he wouldn’t be the only one, and let’s face it his political career should have ended when he lost his election bid against Key three cycles ago.
You can see what the Tories are up to, setting up to contest local body elections around the Country. In preparation for when their thrown out of Central Government office. The legislative changes they are pushing thru to give more power to councils, super city/council’s concept. The Left need to start planning to get the numbers in office in these positions
like Mayoral & councillor contests.
“The legislative changes they are pushing thru to give more power to councils”
Heck no. The LGA changes (in conjunction with the RMA ones) are designed to shift the balance of power from councils towards the private sector. That way, it doesn’t matter who wins local elections, their hands will be tied until a future government unties them. Property developers, CCOs and construction contractors shall have whatever they wish..
Yes technically correct, and the poal reclamation scrap kind of illustrates this, however I still prefer the left getting into council positions so they are guardians/gatekeeper to counter, monitor the wool being pulled. Labour & Greens & possibly NZF can right the wrongs next election.
Plus, of course, the fact that Trevor claims to be a proud scion of Wainuiomata. That is part of Lower Hutt, not part of Wellington.
On the other hand you started the second sentence so well and then went badly wrong.
You should have said “I would take the positive approach, another deadbeat gone,” and then continued “in the shape of Celia Wade-Brown”.
That woman and her coven will bankrupt us.
Why can’t we have Mrs Trevor as our mayor? Mayor Jane Clifton has a certain ring to it.
Yes was in two minds about that after thought, can’t stand Wade-Brown comes across as a toff. Didn’t want to upset our Green friends. Obviously you know far more about Wellington’s local politics.
Haha careful brother being pc it’s would be Mayoress Jane Clifton.
I make a point of addressing our local lady at the throne of power as her worship the Mayoress and don’t she love it 🙂
It seems needlessly confrontational to continue this comment-strike when it might be better to have a conversation about issues arising from it. However, I will maintain this vigil while they feel it necessary to continue their inaction.
I never counted myself one of the; Rawshark #. As my position was that it was better to stay and draw attention to the issue of the; author-moderator/ commenter-moderated, power imbalance:
I quickly realised that my intention of; continuing commenting generally while avoiding a single author’s posts, was just trying to have my cake and eat it too. So I’ve confined myself to merely holding my daily placard and addressing as many replies to this as I’ve been able.
CR once gave me his work number to contact him if need be when we the; Dunedin Standard discussion group was still going. So I’ll give him a call tomorrow if he hasn’t replied to this comment by then. It’s a statutary holiday today, so he is unlikely to be in. I imagine that I can get in touch with PU through his whoar site, but again I’ll leave that till tomorrow.
@ TRP
It did not seem to be this at all TRP: “misogynist bullying of a significant contributor to the Standard.”
That just sounds like another version of Israelis saying that all critics are anti-semitic. When you can’t criticise, talk to people about problems because they have special status it results in an undemocratic situation and there is no reason why if female authors do get criticised, that they cannot respond in an interested, co-operative, adult manner. Women are logical andintelligent and not fragile, emotional basket cases.
It is actually about YOU pasupial – you took all this upon yourself without even asking the others you involved – that shows a lack of respect which I’m afraid is reinforced by this continued posting on this site where you are a guest. You need to look at what your issue actually is and post on that not smokescreen by bringing others into YOUR issues.
As soon as I became aware that; you, and one other, did not wish to be included upon the roll of the Rawsharks, then I removed you as soon as I could. It was difficult to get permission from those who; by definition, were refraining from commenting on this site.
TRP
Bullying is certainly at the core of this issue, whether it is; misogynistic, misandronic, or simply misanthropic. But I do not feel it is the whole of the issue, nor should it be up to one person to define what the issues are. That only post writers are seen as true “authors”, with commenters as mere scribblers in the margins (or “guests” as MM would have it), is to me a large part of the present conflict.
Others may not agree with my position, which is fine. We can then discuss it and make our respective cases. Keeping silent about about a problem (of blogging generally, not just TS), and letting ill-will fester does not seem to be a productive course of action.
“Keeping silent about about a problem (of blogging generally, not just TS), and letting ill-will fester does not seem to be a productive course of action.”
So, write a guest post, submit ti to the Administrator. Make your solid suggesting for how a blog site could be run as some kind of cooperative when it comes to moderating. Nuts and Bolts ideas and systems/process to make it work.
Before I was asked to Author I submitted a few guest posts. The idea that there is this glass ceiling or hierarchical barrier to moving between commenting and posting is a nonsense.
If you want to write a post to have a thread led discussion, write it. If it isn’t purely abusive or against other rules I bet it gets published.
I have no stake in this fight, I’ve read the posts and can see both sides i think. My observation: there is a microscopically small number of people who communicate exactly what they think/feel in any online forum, with no room for misunderstanding. We forget that 60% of our understanding in real world communication is through body language.
Obviously there’s a lot of commenting history (that I’m not aware of ) that is colouring these exchanges. There’s no resolution at present and maybe there doesn’t need to be one – there is always another time, another way.
I had a similar thought on reading Pasupial’s comment.
Scintilla, personally I’m finding the conversation still useful. It’s helping me get clearer about my own thinking, and understanding what other people are doing.
“That only post writers are seen as true “authors”, with commenters as mere scribblers in the margins (or “guests” as MM would have it), is to me a large part of the present conflict.”
Pasupial, I think I understand the ideal you are exporing here. The problem is that blogging by its very nature is heirarchical. I can’t see any way around the logisitics of that using this kind of platform. I have been in long term online communities that use different platforms eg forums where non-admin people can start conversations/threads/posts of their own. But you still have to have moderation, and that moderation will always be heirarchical because you can’t have a whole community moderating each other, it just doesn’t work, not on this scale anyway. I’m open to being shown existing examples to prove me wrong.
I also think you probably still fail to understand truly how much work what you are suggesting would entail.
@ marty mars
Why can’t Pasupial have a point of view which is rationally expressed? He has the courage of his convictions and thinks things can be better on TS and that it is valuable and worth trying to assist improvement. You have withdrawn early and he has acknowledged that, but Pasupial wants to go further.
It is easy to be a conformist and never achieve change, but that is how we have all acted since 1984. More definite action is required to help us in NZ to turn around our downward path. People with ideas need to be listened to, if those involve some criticism of present methods, a hearing and thinking about them working on a gradual improvement approach would be beneficial.
I haven’t withdrawn early – I never agreed with what pasupial was doing – I was making a SILENT protest not a jump up and down and make a fuss one. Murray has stated he doesn’t want people to stop commenting so there is no point in continuing to have a silent protest therefore I have taken up posting again. That imo is actually respectful to pretty much all concerned. The bottom line is if I don’t feel comfortable with a author – I won’t read or comment on their post. If I don’t feel comfortable with a commenter I ignore them. I’ve been coming here for a few years now and that approach seems to work for me – The Standard team can and will make changes that best suit them and what they are trying to do – I support them and whatever they may or may not do.
“As soon as I became aware that; you, and one other, did not wish to be included upon the roll of the Rawsharks, then I removed you as soon as I could.”
So you worked on an ‘opt out’ basis? Without the commentors realising there was this protest action to opt into? I see this as a breach of an implied trust.
If, on the off-chance, we may marginally agree on a topic in the future, let me opt out now from any protest action you or anyone else may ever think of staging. I’ll explicitly opt-in if I want to sign up for it.
………………….It’s being played right now on Radio Active. They were one of the two radio stations in the country that were actually playing it when Darren Watson released it.
The breakfast DJ has just done a spiel about the anger they felt at being censored at the time and given they criticise the Key Regime on a daily basis on that show they felt doubly aggrieved.
The song has just finished and RedBird Jnr has committed to playing the song every day on his show until John Key goes.
I know I can search for it but, save me some lazy Good Friday morning time, and can someone post an email contact for RedBirdJr? And an email contact for the appropriate person at Radio Active?
Ok, I looked up with one search and found RedBirdJr to follow:
Here’s there website for those outside of Wellington who want to listen to the Thursday morning Scoop.co.nz report with Alastair Thompson, and the link for their facebook page if you want to comment there:
And because we are technically into Weekend Social time here’s another little ditty about John Key’s deflection over the Dirty Politics saga, when questioned by Guyon Espiner. A great tune from Bassnectar
There was a very good interview last night with the musician/songwriter on RNZ. Apparently he has put the song online free to download. He also said he won’t be taking any action for loss of income. Be interesting listening to a new song about to be released. Pretty relaxed sounding chap, good on him, wish him well after that nice little number.
Appreciate that, freedom. I looked and looked for it and could not find it. That was because RNZ’s Late Edition did not index or specifically refer to it and, until now, I was not aware what time the interview was on.
Good on Darren Warren and he won’t be getting any hate mail but a polite one from me!
Fantastic strike by 6,000 Dunnes Stores workers in south of Ireland against, among other things, low hours. Here we have zero-hour contracts; Dunnes at least guarantees 15 hours work and then screws workers over with the hours they need above that to make ends meet.
“The group of countries known as “P5+1” – the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany – have been trying hammer out an accord with Iran to restrict the country’s nuclear program in return for a lifting the economic blockade imposed by the UN for nearly 18 months….
While Israel has never publicly admitted to having a nuclear arsenal, maintaining the policy of “nuclear ambiguity,” it is widely believed to be the only power possessing the atomic bomb in the Middle East.
International Law Professor at Georgetown University Daoud Khairallah believes that the deal engenders trust between Iran and the rest of the world and that it will help create an environment for rational peaceful problem solving in the Middle East.
Khairallah also criticized Israel for hypocrisy on the nuclear issue.
“They had made an environment of tension based on vilifying Iran and creating in Iran a scarecrow and a nuclear threat to the whole world. Whereas Israel sits on a huge pile of nuclear weapons.”
I’ve offered some interpretation of the mediocre coverage of the terrorist attack in Kenya today. It certainly says something about the erosion of the Fourth Estate into a corporate mouthpiece.
“For an attack on such a prominent institution of free speech, there seems to be deafening lack of it. There is, and never will be a “Mimi ni Garissa”.”
Thanks Brendan. When I read the news online this morning my reaction was: bet this gets nothing like the ‘shock and horror’ type of coverage we have come to expect when a handful are killed in a European/Western country. And so it comes to pass.
To put it bluntly but correctly:
Its a poor black country so they don’t count for much.
Google search for Kenya, interesting difference in headlines.
Kenya attack: 147 dead in Garissa University assault
BBC News – 1 hour ago
A Kenyan soldier escorts a woman after she was rescued All students have been accounted …
147 dead, Islamist gunmen killed after attack at Kenya college
CNN – 10 hours ago
Somali Militants Kill 147 at Kenyan University
New York Times – 5 hours ago
@weka
Short, terse and clinical. Can you imagine the wall to wall emotive coverage if it had happened in say… Belgium or France or England or Germany. My God, we’d have heard about nothing else for days/weeks and the mass candle-lit marches (100,000 plus apiece) would have spread far and wide. Calls for blood to be shed in revenge – no analysis as to “why” it might have happened.
And I read the other day the 200 odd school girls abducted in Nigeria have still not been found and nobody really cares.
” As I look through my social media feeds on what is possibly the most fervent of Christian feast days I see next to nothing regarding a terrorist attack at a university in Garissa, Kenya that has at the time of writing this claimed 147 lives (including 4 assailants). There are a few token headlines at the usual corporate media institutions, but alas, there is very little semblance of condemnation, sympathy, solidarity, criticism, or even the typical anti-Muslim sentiment (The New Zealand Herald’s top story is a championing of some wealthy narcissist putting the neo-colonial boot into local Māori because her profit trumps the exploitation of their land, while the Kenyan story falls faster than an anchor in water)[1]. To Western media, and the hegemony of European political consciousness, this is just as usual for Africa as flatulence in the wind. For an attack on such a prominent institution of free speech, there seems to be deafening lack of it. There is, and never will be a “Mimi ni Garissa”[2] for the 143 pinko student nobodies in some far flung corner of that homogeneous continent called Africa”
TV1 news at 6pm did not even have this horrible news as their main feature. Instead, it was about a yacht pulling out of America’s cup.
A very sad state of affairs reflecting (1) our poor societal values (2) the poor quality of our media.
I just inflicted over 2 hours of UK election debate on myself…resisting the temptation to make any Easter references here…
Anyway. With 7 party leaders, the after debate polls were interesting. Nicola Sturgeon of the SNP had the highest average across 3 UK wide post debate polls. (ICM/Guardian, ComRes and YouGov)
Sturgeon 21.7 %, Cameron 21% and Miliband 20.3 %.
Given that voters in neither Wales, England nor Northern Ireland can vote for the SNP, you might think her rating among those voters would be a wake up call to Miliband and UK Labour’s constant nonsense attacks on the SNP, their policies and motivations…
Been mulling over one on the whole dynamic of the potential Scottish vote on Westminster. My main problem is that there is so much dumb shit flying from the Lib/Dems, Labour and Cons that is flat stick contradicted and seen through in comments below any article on it all. Anyway, I kind of have to spend any days I read such articles picking myself up off the floor and stitching up my split sides.
The interesting thing though is that even in the UK with FPTP which is practically designed to favour the two party system, politics everywhere is fracturing.
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David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – 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 politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
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. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
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 ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
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 ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
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 ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
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. ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
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 ...
The protest outside the White House correspondents’ dinner hotel. Image: Anatolu video screenshot APR More than two dozen Palestinian journalists had called for a boycott of the dinner, writing an open letter urging their American colleagues not to attend. “You have a unique responsibility to speak truth to power and ...
“Our exporters should, therefore, be deeply concerned that the Fast-track Approvals Bill was not assessed for consistency with any of our free trade commitments prior to being introduced to the House,” says Gary Taylor, Chief Executive of the Environmental ...
NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff is calling on all political parties to support the new Member’s Bill from Labour’s workplace relations and safety spokesperson Camilla Belich MP that would ensure negligent companies are held accountable when their employees ...
A historian with an uncanny track record of predicting US election winners tells RNZ's Sunday Morning that President Biden looks to be on track for another term, but things could still go very wrong for him. ...
A historian with a track record of predicting US election winners tells RNZ's Sunday Morning that President Biden looks to be on track for another term, but things could still go wrong for him. ...
Ngaio Marsh House is one of Christchurch’s best kept secrets – and contains more than a few mysteries of its own.Trust Ngaio Marsh to leave more than a few mysteries scattered through her house long after her departure. For a start, there’s the curious concrete portal in the garden, ...
Appointment viewing has been lost to the mists of time, but memories of Montana Sunday Theatre can still be conjured by hitting play on a particular piece of classical music. “You’re not going to be able to sell it.” Over 30 years on, Karen Bieleski still recalls how the task ...
Performance Review King Luxon sat behind His massive polished oak desk. It is Performance Review time. There is a knock on the door. “Enter!” says the King. In steps Minister of Disabilities and Carer Pedicures, Penny Simmonds. “I can explain everything …” she begins. “Fine,” says King Luxon, pressing the ...
The pair opened their first fully collaborative exhibition, Nina for Flowers, last Saturday. Gabi Lardies visited their studio to find out who Nina is and what working together was like.‘It didn’t start out like, ‘This is a show about Nina,’” says Josephine Jelicich, gripping a thermos of peppermint tea. ...
Thank you, Dr Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner, for your brilliant invention. I’m another mid-20s Kiwi who had an OE last year. I hopped on my bicycle where France meets the Atlantic and cycled east. I pedalled through the Loire Valley, down rivers lined with willows and ancient wisteria-draped chateaus. I relished ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
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Watching as the US pushes for war
http://www.tfmetalsreport.com/podcast/6728/ukraine-update-batchelor-and-cohen
Ed Begley, Jr.
Over population, over consumption – in pictures
Those were very sobering images miravox. They reminded me of the movies Koyaanisqatsi:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PirH8PADDgQ (trailer)
Baraka:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIxawleLISM (trailer)
There was also Samsara, following on the theme of the devastating human exploitation of our environment. Haven’t seen that one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9WUTSWarEE (trailer)
There have been some excellent BBC series on telly lately documenting this ongoing destruction and the human causes of climate change. In Tropic of Capricorn and Tropic of Cancer Simon Reeves travelled around meeting people from countries along those latitudes, discussing their political and social issues and their country’s interaction with nature and in what ways they exploit it.
Fascinating and sad.
Samsara was amazing and downright depressing
I’ve heard that Paul and plan to watch it tonight, so will brace myself. I’ll have my “tv tissues” handy, which I have on standby for watching documentaries that feature humankind’s large scale destruction of our grand and majestic environment for our unnecessary short term gain.
Unnecessary because there are better ways of sustaining ourselves without destroying our environment.
If you enjoyed, were disturbed by, raged at and embraced Koyanniqatsi, here are the other two films by Godfrey Reggio & Phillip Glass which make up the Qatsi Trilogy:
Koyannisqatsi, Powaqqatsi & Naqoyqatsi
http://www.criterion.com/boxsets/934-the-qatsi-trilogy
They have collaborated again, and teamed up with Steven Soderbergh for a new work called Visitors – http://visitorsfilm.com/ well worth a look 😉
Here is a short bio and some quotes from Godfrey Reggio.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0716585/bio?ref_=nm_dyk_qt_sm#quotes
Thanks for the links freedom. I would like to see the other two Qatsi films. I need to be in a centred space of mind to to take on films of that depth and magnitude.
This weekend, as well as Samsara, I’m viewing Citizenfour (produced by Steven Soderbergh)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ADUs8iN7NE
and Inequality for All (Robert Reich)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCbAyk8aRxI
Agree, the Vistors looks very interesting 🙂
As an aside I have been watching a trilogy starring BIll Nighy which started with Page 8, then turks and caicos and now the last one. Each time I see the PM in it making his decisions, benefitting financially, crossing his tie while issuing an edcts I am reminded that our PM seems to claim that he knows nothing and has power over nothing. The biggest lie of all.
Thanks for the links Rosie – I’ll put them on my must watch list.
Thanks miravox, that’s a challenging photo essay.
I would add, overpopulation begins at home. How many people can each of our watershed’s support sustainably? We don’t even know. How many of the environments in those photos are degraded because we in NZ thought we needed something from those populations?
Agree weka. There is a whole online book that I didn’t link to because it may invite a kneejerk response to population growth, without addressing environmental degradation due to the need to sustain an economic model through population growth and increasing consumption. A model that NZ is very much depends on.
A raft of cultural, social and economic responses are necessary to address some complicated issues involved in enabling better, more sustainable living and the final pics in the book begin to address some of these (as does the text).
Having a look at the book now.
The crucial question is: How many people can the Earth sustain, at a reasonable standard of living, while leaving room for the diversity of life to flourish?
Holy shit, it’s a bold radical book. I’m trying to get my head around the idea that exponential population growth is relatively recent. Up until the industrial revolution population was either stable or increasing by fractions. If the big populations increases are happening in developping countries sine then, what is going on? Just got to the bit about how fossil fuels have enabled increases in aid and tech, and those keep population high 🙁
“Just got to the bit about how fossil fuels have enabled increases in aid and tech, and those keep population high”
Yeah – I do think aid and tech can be positives, it’s just the way that powerful people perceive how they should be used. In the wider context, the opposition of the Americans (improving under Obama?) and others to family planning initiatives, which have included abortion, that are run by the UN and others is almost criminal. It’s certainly a denial of human rights.
I thought the foreword by Musimbi Kanyori was a beautifully-written piece about too many babies, too many young girls forced to give birth, too little in the way of healthcare, and the desires of women to control fertility. Her words, to me, show the way forward in this regard.
A dude on some drug, I forget, once said that whilst on that drug, he saw the world for what it is. We are cancer on the surface of the earth. I couldn’t agree more. Sooner or later, earth will produce a cure.
That was Agent Smith in the Matrix.
But no doubt it supports your right-wing, slash-n-burn, make-hay-while-the-sun-shines, nihilistic worldview.
lol
On the heels of his previous video that explained the Queen had workers on zero hour contracts + expected them to perform certain tasks for free like showing paying visitors around (??!), here is Russell Brand on the Trews asking, “What’s better for you? Zero Hour Contracts, or Zero Royals?
Got to admit. My daughter and I enjoy our morning coffees with a hit of Trews.
Does Labour have a definitive policy on the TPP?
This was their policy from the last election.
I haven’t seen any update to it as yet.
I guess broadly in favour with some reservations?
Andrew Little expresses strong reservations whenever asked. Phil Goff leads the pro-TPPA faction but my guess is he’ll be leaving soon to pursue his mayoral ambitions. My feeling is that the anti TPPA MPs are in the ascendancy.
17 December 2013
Following an email I sent to Cunliffe he passed it on to Goff (who signed off as spokesperson fro Defence) who replied as follows.
“Thank you for your email to Hon David Cunliffe concerning the Trans Pacific Partnership trade negotiations. Apologies for the delay in my reply.
There is genuine concern about what might be included in the final outcome of the negotiations, which the Government has not adequately addressed by making clear where it stands on important issues in the negotiation.
Labour demands more openness and transparency from the Government. As Minister of Trade negotiating the China and Asean Free Trade Agreements in 2008, I involved a cross-section of groups in the process including the Council of Trade Unions and Greenpeace as well as businesses and exporters. That helped ensure we got good input and it also won trust and confidence in what we were doing.
Those trade agreements hugely helped economic growth and jobs in New Zealand with New Zealand exports to China increasing from $2 billion to over $7 billion dollars in five years and closing the trade deficit with that country. It helped save us from suffering as badly as the US and Europe from the Global Financial Crisis.
Labour has also set bottom lines for support for a TPP agreement. It must result in a clear and significant net benefit to our country. It must be a high quality agreement allowing New Zealand to gain access for our major exports to countries like the US, Japan, Canada and Mexico, removing barriers like the current exorbitant tariff rates on dairy (200-300 per cent), tight quotas and behind the borders barriers. For our services and manufacturing industries we would also want access to government procurement contracts, a market in the US alone worth $334 billion from which we are currently excluded.
Labour recognises that the TPP is not just a trade agreement but deals with behind the borders issues and could impact on domestic policy settings. New Zealand must not sacrifice Pharmac or give up our sovereign right to regulate and legislate such areas as health, the environment and economic policy or in areas like gambling, tobacco and alcohol. The policy protections must be tight enough to prevent multinational companies from winning law suits against us when we regulate in these areas to their commercial disadvantage. We support intellectual property protection but not where it goes to extremes which would hinder innovation and create excess profits at the expense of the consumer. The Government needs to heed the concerns of smaller companies in New Zealand including those in the IT sector.
Labour supports trade deals which genuinely benefit our country. We need growth in exports so we can close the gap between the value of what we export and import. A trade deficit which has persisted over 40 years has meant New Zealand having to borrow to pay the difference. Growing debt has resulted in us increasingly losing ownership of our own country.
We need growth for jobs and higher incomes. We need growth to increase government revenue to pay for higher quality services in areas like health and education.
The Petri study from Brandeis University shows that a TPP would likely lead to export growth to New Zealand of over $5 billion a year. The Parliamentary Library, based on the Brandeis study, states that could lead to job growth of up to 22,000 jobs.
Half of our trade goes to the TPP countries. If we did not participate in a successful agreement our exporters would be disadvantaged by facing barriers in the key TPP markets that our competitors do not.
We continue to insist that the Government better inform parliament and civil society as to its negotiating objectives and its position on issues of concern. Only then can the public be involved in an informed and mature debate. Labour will support a deal only if it is genuinely in the interests of New Zealand.
Yours sincerely
Phil Goff
Hon Phil Goff
MP for Mt Roskill
Labour Spokesman on Defence
Trade, Ethnic Affairs, Veterans’ Affairs
Associate Foreign Affairs
Private Bag 18 888, Parliament Buildings
Wellington 6160, New Zealand
T: + 64 4 817 6775 | F: + 64 4 817 6461”
My take is he started by making soothing comments about the dangers but half way through pinned support on a TPP leading to Growth in NZ and then the rest talked about how important growth is. I read him to be saying if TPP can be argued to create growth he and LP will support it.
And now Phil Goff Off adds LP Auckland Issues portfolio to his CV as he looks to sail off into the sunset and become the new Mayor of the City of Sails.
Bon voyage Phil happy sailing and please take the other failed leader David Shearer as your cabin boy. 🙂
Yup and denies it is part of his unannounced tilt at Mayoralty, when Adern and Twyford have done a great job of speaking to Auckland issues…
Collins v Goff for Auckland, and we all lose.
Yep, I agree, he gets fudgy on “our sovereign right to regulate and legislate” and ” policy protections must be tight enough to prevent multinational companies from winning law suits against us when we regulate in these areas to their commercial disadvantage. We support intellectual property protection but not where it goes to extremes”.
Labour, NZF and The Greens need to be a united front on TPP – and yell it from the rooftops. Keep it simple, keep it clear. Rock solid.
I think the Greens are VERY clear. They are agin it.
I note Goff offers no alternative scenario, as in what might we do if we don’t sign up. Seriously no-one else to trade with?? Doubt that, Phil.
Our sovereignty is not for sale.
The party members are much more staunch on the issue.
This is the official position from the party website:
“We are very concerned about the lack of transparency around the TPP.
Labour recognises that the TPP could impact on New Zealand’s freedom to determine our domestic policy settings, if it contains terms that are inappropriate.
It is impossible for us, or indeed anyone, to take a clear position on the agreement while there is so little transparency.
We will continue to push for a more open and transparent approach from the Government.
We will also back New Zealand First’s Members’ Bill that addresses investor-state dispute settlement to its first reading so that it can be considered and debated.
Labour is pro-trade and is proud of the FTA with China which has worked well for the benefit of New Zealanders.
Labour recognises that the TPP is not just a trade agreement and has investment provisions which could impact on New Zealand’s freedom to determine our domestic policy settings.
We will address the TPP on its merits or otherwise when we see the full text of the final agreement.
Labour is disappointed that our demands for more openness and transparency from the Government have not been heeded. The last Labour Government, when negotiating the China and Asean Free Trade Agreements in 2008, involved a cross-section of groups in the process including the Council of Trade Unions and Greenpeace as well as businesses and exporters. That helped ensure we received wise input and also won higher levels of trust and confidence, both in the negotiation process and in the eventual FTA with China.
In recent months, following a report by the European Union Ombudsman, the European Commission has promised more transparency in connection with the Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP), the European equivalent to the TPP.
It is proper for concerned New Zealanders to seek information about the effect of the TPP on New Zealand’s freedom to change our domestic policy settings. This is especially so if the dispute resolution procedures under the TPP allow overseas corporations to sue the New Zealand government for alleged losses.
New Zealand must not sacrifice Pharmac nor give up our sovereign freedom to regulate and legislate in such areas as health, the environment and economic policy or on more specific topics like controls on gambling, tobacco and alcohol.
The New Zealand Labour Party supports appropriate protection of intellectual property but not where extremes hinder innovation or enable excessive monopoly profits at the expense of the consumer by extending the scope or term of patents and copyright. The National Government should heed the concerns of New Zealanders, including those in the IT sector.”
http://campaign.labour.org.nz/our_position_on_the_tpp
Mickey
It retains word for word some stuff out of Goff’s reply to me . BUT it removes his stuff about growth. , while leaving other language and vagueries in, makes me worry. EG ” benefit of New Zealanders”
if Labour outlined what benefit to NZers looks like, we could judge, but I suspect they would need to reintroduce that word “growth”.
Thanks for that Mickey, I have no doubts that Labour will look after our best interests, however it is the Tories that are in power and I would not think Dunne or the little lap dog from Epsom will oppose their intention to put ink on the TPPA contract on our behalf.
Just wondering how the TPPA would effect Labours local procurement policy?
Kiaora Scintilla
“Our sovereignty is not for sale.”
This is such a meaningless statement. You can’t sell what you don’t have (okay, there is an exception or two).
Labour has put down some significant bottom-lines in agreeing to any TPPA. But if the significant other countries say “nah, get stuffed” what then? Let loose Cameron Slater to beat them silly?
Or, pull the plug like an Italian in a boat-race?
And should we decide to set sail in a leaky boat, who really is going to notice – apart from a few seagulls aiming poop all over a cargo-less deck.
Luna Ross gets a “Oh no, please don’t go.” We get “…valet?”
Goff-Off needs to stop the games and publicly declare his hand, he told a friend of mine he is running, sure he wouldn’t be the only one, and let’s face it his political career should have ended when he lost his election bid against Key three cycles ago.
You can see what the Tories are up to, setting up to contest local body elections around the Country. In preparation for when their thrown out of Central Government office. The legislative changes they are pushing thru to give more power to councils, super city/council’s concept. The Left need to start planning to get the numbers in office in these positions
like Mayoral & councillor contests.
“The legislative changes they are pushing thru to give more power to councils”
Heck no. The LGA changes (in conjunction with the RMA ones) are designed to shift the balance of power from councils towards the private sector. That way, it doesn’t matter who wins local elections, their hands will be tied until a future government unties them. Property developers, CCOs and construction contractors shall have whatever they wish..
Yes technically correct, and the poal reclamation scrap kind of illustrates this, however I still prefer the left getting into council positions so they are guardians/gatekeeper to counter, monitor the wool being pulled. Labour & Greens & possibly NZF can right the wrongs next election.
It slows the wrecking, for sure.
I’d indulge in some anti-jafa schadenfreude until thinking of the prospect of Mallard or Robertson as Wellington’s mayor (shudder). 🙂
His worship Mallard would suit him, of course nothing would get achieved at council meetings. Trevor being such a stickler for process and all.
I would take the positive approach, another deadbeat gone, besides no guarantee he would beat Wade-Brown 🙂
Plus, of course, the fact that Trevor claims to be a proud scion of Wainuiomata. That is part of Lower Hutt, not part of Wellington.
On the other hand you started the second sentence so well and then went badly wrong.
You should have said “I would take the positive approach, another deadbeat gone,” and then continued “in the shape of Celia Wade-Brown”.
That woman and her coven will bankrupt us.
Why can’t we have Mrs Trevor as our mayor? Mayor Jane Clifton has a certain ring to it.
Yes was in two minds about that after thought, can’t stand Wade-Brown comes across as a toff. Didn’t want to upset our Green friends. Obviously you know far more about Wellington’s local politics.
Haha careful brother being pc it’s would be Mayoress Jane Clifton.
I make a point of addressing our local lady at the throne of power as her worship the Mayoress and don’t she love it 🙂
9 days remaining until the scheduled return of the Rawshark 3:
phillip ure
Colonial Rawshark
Macro
However, they may wish to read this comment from Murray Rawshark [& lprent], before deciding on whether they wish to continue their voluntary absence:
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-31032015/#comment-994013
Macro seems to be back commenting yesterday (as does greywarshark):
http://thestandard.org.nz/fast-followers-not/#comment-994638
(http://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review/#comment-995143)
It seems needlessly confrontational to continue this comment-strike when it might be better to have a conversation about issues arising from it. However, I will maintain this vigil while they feel it necessary to continue their inaction.
Meh. Down to two and pasupial crossing the line every day.
TRP
I never counted myself one of the; Rawshark #. As my position was that it was better to stay and draw attention to the issue of the; author-moderator/ commenter-moderated, power imbalance:
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-30032015/#comment-993741
I quickly realised that my intention of; continuing commenting generally while avoiding a single author’s posts, was just trying to have my cake and eat it too. So I’ve confined myself to merely holding my daily placard and addressing as many replies to this as I’ve been able.
CR once gave me his work number to contact him if need be when we the; Dunedin Standard discussion group was still going. So I’ll give him a call tomorrow if he hasn’t replied to this comment by then. It’s a statutary holiday today, so he is unlikely to be in. I imagine that I can get in touch with PU through his whoar site, but again I’ll leave that till tomorrow.
Would have been better if you’d concentrated on the real issue; misogynist bullying of a significant contributor to the Standard.
@ TRP
It did not seem to be this at all TRP: “misogynist bullying of a significant contributor to the Standard.”
That just sounds like another version of Israelis saying that all critics are anti-semitic. When you can’t criticise, talk to people about problems because they have special status it results in an undemocratic situation and there is no reason why if female authors do get criticised, that they cannot respond in an interested, co-operative, adult manner. Women are logical andintelligent and not fragile, emotional basket cases.
+100 greywarshark
It is actually about YOU pasupial – you took all this upon yourself without even asking the others you involved – that shows a lack of respect which I’m afraid is reinforced by this continued posting on this site where you are a guest. You need to look at what your issue actually is and post on that not smokescreen by bringing others into YOUR issues.
MM
As soon as I became aware that; you, and one other, did not wish to be included upon the roll of the Rawsharks, then I removed you as soon as I could. It was difficult to get permission from those who; by definition, were refraining from commenting on this site.
TRP
Bullying is certainly at the core of this issue, whether it is; misogynistic, misandronic, or simply misanthropic. But I do not feel it is the whole of the issue, nor should it be up to one person to define what the issues are. That only post writers are seen as true “authors”, with commenters as mere scribblers in the margins (or “guests” as MM would have it), is to me a large part of the present conflict.
Others may not agree with my position, which is fine. We can then discuss it and make our respective cases. Keeping silent about about a problem (of blogging generally, not just TS), and letting ill-will fester does not seem to be a productive course of action.
“Keeping silent about about a problem (of blogging generally, not just TS), and letting ill-will fester does not seem to be a productive course of action.”
Irony alert!
So, write a guest post, submit ti to the Administrator. Make your solid suggesting for how a blog site could be run as some kind of cooperative when it comes to moderating. Nuts and Bolts ideas and systems/process to make it work.
Before I was asked to Author I submitted a few guest posts. The idea that there is this glass ceiling or hierarchical barrier to moving between commenting and posting is a nonsense.
If you want to write a post to have a thread led discussion, write it. If it isn’t purely abusive or against other rules I bet it gets published.
I have no stake in this fight, I’ve read the posts and can see both sides i think. My observation: there is a microscopically small number of people who communicate exactly what they think/feel in any online forum, with no room for misunderstanding. We forget that 60% of our understanding in real world communication is through body language.
Obviously there’s a lot of commenting history (that I’m not aware of ) that is colouring these exchanges. There’s no resolution at present and maybe there doesn’t need to be one – there is always another time, another way.
It’s Easter. Let’s have a truce.
My suggestion was intended to be a movement toward such a truce by pointing out to Pasupial that we have a Guest Post feature at TS.
I had a similar thought on reading Pasupial’s comment.
Scintilla, personally I’m finding the conversation still useful. It’s helping me get clearer about my own thinking, and understanding what other people are doing.
“That only post writers are seen as true “authors”, with commenters as mere scribblers in the margins (or “guests” as MM would have it), is to me a large part of the present conflict.”
Pasupial, I think I understand the ideal you are exporing here. The problem is that blogging by its very nature is heirarchical. I can’t see any way around the logisitics of that using this kind of platform. I have been in long term online communities that use different platforms eg forums where non-admin people can start conversations/threads/posts of their own. But you still have to have moderation, and that moderation will always be heirarchical because you can’t have a whole community moderating each other, it just doesn’t work, not on this scale anyway. I’m open to being shown existing examples to prove me wrong.
I also think you probably still fail to understand truly how much work what you are suggesting would entail.
@ marty mars
Why can’t Pasupial have a point of view which is rationally expressed? He has the courage of his convictions and thinks things can be better on TS and that it is valuable and worth trying to assist improvement. You have withdrawn early and he has acknowledged that, but Pasupial wants to go further.
It is easy to be a conformist and never achieve change, but that is how we have all acted since 1984. More definite action is required to help us in NZ to turn around our downward path. People with ideas need to be listened to, if those involve some criticism of present methods, a hearing and thinking about them working on a gradual improvement approach would be beneficial.
sure – I look forward to his guestpost.
I haven’t withdrawn early – I never agreed with what pasupial was doing – I was making a SILENT protest not a jump up and down and make a fuss one. Murray has stated he doesn’t want people to stop commenting so there is no point in continuing to have a silent protest therefore I have taken up posting again. That imo is actually respectful to pretty much all concerned. The bottom line is if I don’t feel comfortable with a author – I won’t read or comment on their post. If I don’t feel comfortable with a commenter I ignore them. I’ve been coming here for a few years now and that approach seems to work for me – The Standard team can and will make changes that best suit them and what they are trying to do – I support them and whatever they may or may not do.
+100 Parsupial…you make a lot of sense…i myself would support another Left blog site should one eventuate
“As soon as I became aware that; you, and one other, did not wish to be included upon the roll of the Rawsharks, then I removed you as soon as I could.”
So you worked on an ‘opt out’ basis? Without the commentors realising there was this protest action to opt into? I see this as a breach of an implied trust.
If, on the off-chance, we may marginally agree on a topic in the future, let me opt out now from any protest action you or anyone else may ever think of staging. I’ll explicitly opt-in if I want to sign up for it.
Or will I need a disclaimer on each comment?
Find me on FB if you like.
+100 Parsupial…am with you whatever you decide….think it has been valuable for a while
Most ineffective protest evah.
I’m quite looking forward to the day it ends, simply because it deserves to be put out of its misery.
Copied from the Planet Key post:
………………….It’s being played right now on Radio Active. They were one of the two radio stations in the country that were actually playing it when Darren Watson released it.
The breakfast DJ has just done a spiel about the anger they felt at being censored at the time and given they criticise the Key Regime on a daily basis on that show they felt doubly aggrieved.
The song has just finished and RedBird Jnr has committed to playing the song every day on his show until John Key goes.
Fantastic!!!
I know I can search for it but, save me some lazy Good Friday morning time, and can someone post an email contact for RedBirdJr? And an email contact for the appropriate person at Radio Active?
Ok, I looked up with one search and found RedBirdJr to follow:
https://www.mixcloud.com/paul-redbird-jnr-shelley/
I’d use that address Kiwiri.
If you want to make a general comment, the studio address is:
studiolive@radioactive.fm
Here’s there website for those outside of Wellington who want to listen to the Thursday morning Scoop.co.nz report with Alastair Thompson, and the link for their facebook page if you want to comment there:
http://www.radioactive.co.nz/
And because we are technically into Weekend Social time here’s another little ditty about John Key’s deflection over the Dirty Politics saga, when questioned by Guyon Espiner. A great tune from Bassnectar
https://soundcloud.com/dj-pups/at-the-end-of-the-day-bassnectar-version
Nice track. Love this one too:
http://tourettesone.bandcamp.com/album/spoken-word
“…a backwater twilight zone where Nikki Kaye’s a feminist, Cameron Slater’s a journalist, and John Key’s son’s a DJ…”
GREAT stuff
Yes, I know that one and a mighty fine one it is too 🙂 Long, lyrical and insightful.
That one gets a lot of air play on Active too.
There was a very good interview last night with the musician/songwriter on RNZ. Apparently he has put the song online free to download. He also said he won’t be taking any action for loss of income. Be interesting listening to a new song about to be released. Pretty relaxed sounding chap, good on him, wish him well after that nice little number.
Cheers.
I’ve just found the page for the free download he has offered if you are ok with providing your email address:
http://www.nzmusician.co.nz/index.php/ps_pagename/newsitem/pi_newsitemid/6196
Looks like there is the option of putting ‘0’ for free, or to make a donation there.
Will look for the interview.
Anyone found the interview?
Skinny, what time did you hear it?
Between 10pm & 10.45pm I never caught the start however what I heard was very good.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/20173531
the Darren Watson interview is first up
and here is a link to the judgement
https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1699927/watson-and-jones-vs-electoral-commission.pdf
First five minutes of the RNZ clip.
Appreciate that, freedom. I looked and looked for it and could not find it. That was because RNZ’s Late Edition did not index or specifically refer to it and, until now, I was not aware what time the interview was on.
Good on Darren Warren and he won’t be getting any hate mail but a polite one from me!
Fantastic strike by 6,000 Dunnes Stores workers in south of Ireland against, among other things, low hours. Here we have zero-hour contracts; Dunnes at least guarantees 15 hours work and then screws workers over with the hours they need above that to make ends meet.
full at: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/04/03/6000-dunnes-stores-workers-strike-in-south-of-ireland/
Please feel free to circulate the url and/or advertise the story.
In solidarity,
Philip
Another inspiring strike – fruitpickers in Mexico are taking on some of the world’s largest and richest companies:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/04/01/mexican-farm-workers-strike/
And an inspiring little victory at Cotton On:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/04/02/workers-at-cotton-on-win-pay-and-teabreak-victory/
We have their leader…
A great step forwards towards Middle East peace ?
‘Tehran and world powers reach solutions on Iran nuclear program’
http://rt.com/news/246297-iran-nuclear-talks-lausanne/
“The group of countries known as “P5+1” – the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany – have been trying hammer out an accord with Iran to restrict the country’s nuclear program in return for a lifting the economic blockade imposed by the UN for nearly 18 months….
While Israel has never publicly admitted to having a nuclear arsenal, maintaining the policy of “nuclear ambiguity,” it is widely believed to be the only power possessing the atomic bomb in the Middle East.
International Law Professor at Georgetown University Daoud Khairallah believes that the deal engenders trust between Iran and the rest of the world and that it will help create an environment for rational peaceful problem solving in the Middle East.
Khairallah also criticized Israel for hypocrisy on the nuclear issue.
“They had made an environment of tension based on vilifying Iran and creating in Iran a scarecrow and a nuclear threat to the whole world. Whereas Israel sits on a huge pile of nuclear weapons.”
John Kerry gives peace a chance
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CBnMOwPUgAAailR.jpg
No daily review tonight. Will be back next Tuesday unless something unusual happens …
Isn’t the resurrection of Christ happening over the weekend? Not to mention the arrival of the Easter Bunny!
I’ve offered some interpretation of the mediocre coverage of the terrorist attack in Kenya today. It certainly says something about the erosion of the Fourth Estate into a corporate mouthpiece.
“For an attack on such a prominent institution of free speech, there seems to be deafening lack of it. There is, and never will be a “Mimi ni Garissa”.”
http://potentialhumanist.blogspot.co.nz/2015/04/terrorism-free-speech-and-hypocrisy-of.html
Thanks Brendan. When I read the news online this morning my reaction was: bet this gets nothing like the ‘shock and horror’ type of coverage we have come to expect when a handful are killed in a European/Western country. And so it comes to pass.
To put it bluntly but correctly:
Its a poor black country so they don’t count for much.
Google search for Kenya, interesting difference in headlines.
Kenya attack: 147 dead in Garissa University assault
BBC News – 1 hour ago
A Kenyan soldier escorts a woman after she was rescued All students have been accounted …
147 dead, Islamist gunmen killed after attack at Kenya college
CNN – 10 hours ago
Somali Militants Kill 147 at Kenyan University
New York Times – 5 hours ago
@weka
Short, terse and clinical. Can you imagine the wall to wall emotive coverage if it had happened in say… Belgium or France or England or Germany. My God, we’d have heard about nothing else for days/weeks and the mass candle-lit marches (100,000 plus apiece) would have spread far and wide. Calls for blood to be shed in revenge – no analysis as to “why” it might have happened.
And I read the other day the 200 odd school girls abducted in Nigeria have still not been found and nobody really cares.
A thought provoking great article :
” As I look through my social media feeds on what is possibly the most fervent of Christian feast days I see next to nothing regarding a terrorist attack at a university in Garissa, Kenya that has at the time of writing this claimed 147 lives (including 4 assailants). There are a few token headlines at the usual corporate media institutions, but alas, there is very little semblance of condemnation, sympathy, solidarity, criticism, or even the typical anti-Muslim sentiment (The New Zealand Herald’s top story is a championing of some wealthy narcissist putting the neo-colonial boot into local Māori because her profit trumps the exploitation of their land, while the Kenyan story falls faster than an anchor in water)[1]. To Western media, and the hegemony of European political consciousness, this is just as usual for Africa as flatulence in the wind. For an attack on such a prominent institution of free speech, there seems to be deafening lack of it. There is, and never will be a “Mimi ni Garissa”[2] for the 143 pinko student nobodies in some far flung corner of that homogeneous continent called Africa”
TV1 news at 6pm did not even have this horrible news as their main feature. Instead, it was about a yacht pulling out of America’s cup.
A very sad state of affairs reflecting (1) our poor societal values (2) the poor quality of our media.
http://potentialhumanist.blogspot.co.nz/2015/04/terrorism-free-speech-and-hypocrisy-of.html
I just inflicted over 2 hours of UK election debate on myself…resisting the temptation to make any Easter references here…
Anyway. With 7 party leaders, the after debate polls were interesting. Nicola Sturgeon of the SNP had the highest average across 3 UK wide post debate polls. (ICM/Guardian, ComRes and YouGov)
Sturgeon 21.7 %, Cameron 21% and Miliband 20.3 %.
Given that voters in neither Wales, England nor Northern Ireland can vote for the SNP, you might think her rating among those voters would be a wake up call to Miliband and UK Labour’s constant nonsense attacks on the SNP, their policies and motivations…
I’m writing a post on it and I agree Sturgeon was really impressive.
Been mulling over one on the whole dynamic of the potential Scottish vote on Westminster. My main problem is that there is so much dumb shit flying from the Lib/Dems, Labour and Cons that is flat stick contradicted and seen through in comments below any article on it all. Anyway, I kind of have to spend any days I read such articles picking myself up off the floor and stitching up my split sides.
I’ll get around to a post on it some time.
Yep the SNP, Sinn Fein and Plaid Cymru could hold the balance of power. Imagine that …
I think Sinn Fein currently and historically boycotts Westminster. But if the Greens pick up a seat or two….
Yep Sinn Fein do although it may be time to rethink that. The Guardian thinks the greens will win only one seat which would be an injustice.
I agree Sturgeon was really impressive.
Can you point out a link or more to a video clip online where you watched an impressive speech, etc of Sturgeon please?
(I know I can google for that but would prefer seeing what you have seen.)
You really expect British media to shed Sturgeon in a favourable light?!
Here’s the entire debate (it begins about 12 min in)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc6YH4-IHME
Easy enough to scroll through to her contributions….
Sturgeon, Natalie Bennett and Leanne Wood are outstanding as I am quickly zipping through the video.
Some good coverage on the Beeb, including this short video:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32172929
I watched the second hour. Miliband came over Ok, Cameron looked underdone. Sturgeon was pretty impressive.
Thanks, Bill and TRP.
Am starting to view them.
Appreciate these … on Good Friday evening!
addendum: ok, I clicked on the 2-min stuff and I think my blood pressure shot up. let’s do the dishes first …
The interesting thing though is that even in the UK with FPTP which is practically designed to favour the two party system, politics everywhere is fracturing.