Sarah Cooper again. Presumably this was prompted by the candycorn skidmark gassing the clergy from their church across the road so he could waddle across and have his photo taken in front of it holding an upside-down black book (alleged to be a bible).
So easy to laugh at the biggest dummy in the room, no real sport in that as far as I can see…..here is really funny and brave comedian Larry Wilmore exposing why Donald Trump is Obama's main legacy…to Obama's face and pretty much ending his mainstream career in the process..turns out Democrats have about as much ability to laugh at themselves as they have for self analysis…ie; none.
Oh sure, Obama and the Dems are totes responsible for putting the Mandarin Mugabe into the Oval Office. The brazenness of incrementally pushing a law for equality here, implementing a government body to rein in the worst predatory practices of the financial industry there … nek minnit, a (half) black man has the temerity to win the presidency, and what's more, win it twice because he was actually good at the job.
Fuck me, they even made sure tens of millions of poor people got access to healthcare which they previously couldn't afford. Can't have that, of course that's going to boost a muddled asshole yearning to scream free into the highest office in the land.
Of course, self-absorbed narcissists falsely painting the tiny-fingered fascist and Hillary as somehow equivalent, or loony lefties amplifying repackaged Repug smears, and all kinds of other undermining from loony lefties prancing around on purity ponies had nothing to do with it. Didn't affect the vote one tiny bit. No sirree.
I imagine those of us in the habit of coming up with nicknames for the failed mail-order mediocre steak salesman have a communist attitude toward the fruit of our labours. I certainly feel more honoured than annoyed when someone else uses one of my originals, rare as that occasion may be.
Actually, come to think of it, that was a bit harsh.
Would you like me to list all the things I've called him, and you can tell me which ones you find particularly distressing, and I'll try not to re-use them?
It's interesting they're having a pile on for calling the terrified tunneler names, rather than join discussion of the startling events we currently see. Diversionary tactics?
And why keep going back to past governance as a way of detracting the subject from the maniacal mole-person who, inadvertently, has just kicked off a global civil rights movement.
Whoopsies!
Should we not talk about that?
Should we only use a somber tone if we do talk about that?
Should we tremble in awe at authority, knowing our rightful place as servants, as right wing nuts would believe is the solution?
Should we burn it all to the ground as left wing nuts believe is the answer?
There is no humor in either of those camps.
Deep diving Don and the demolition men are on the run. America is in the midst of a pandemic and a revolution. This is the largest call for systemic change ever, the whole world is watching, taking notes and names, and people of color and their allies are not backing down.
Well those Muricans are just damned ungrateful aren't they. After Obama made life so so peachy for them all they have the gall to vote in the worst candidate the country could dredge up.
Why do you suppose the electorate felt so disenfranchised that they welcomed a sexists, racist, fascist moron for President?
For full marks your answer must not contain the following words:
For starters, the American electorate rejected the sexist, racist, fascist moron, by a margin of 65.9 million to 63.0 million. It was the Electoral College that barfed up the Douche ex Machina.
Then there's the uncomfortable demonstration that a sizable minority of the American electorate are themselves sexist, racist morons that aren't bothered enough by the prospect of fascism to vote against it. Which includes many that describe themselves as lefties that get their jollies prancing around on purity ponies trying to demonise non-fascist leftie candidates that actually have a chance of winning election but fail to meet their fantasies.
…. non-fascist leftie candidates that actually have a chance of winning election but fail to meet their fantasies.
Have you ever LISTENED to Biden and Clinton and Schumer talking? The hatefulness of these "non-fascist leftie candidates", unfortunately, is not a fantasy….
When my in-laws were alive, this often happened and we would have to just accommodate that. The truth is, while we sometimes had a disability card, with elderly friends their mobility was often variable, and sometimes it took a while to get to where they needed to go. I can understand that some without mobility for a while don't have the ability or time to get the card. (That's what I told myself anyway. It doesn't result in rage. Note: we never parked in the disability spots regardless. With two able bodied persons, most outings could be accommodated, just by using one of us for drop off and pick up. Left the carparks free for those without that option. )
I understand that his stress levels and frustration may be high, but the effect of releasing that energy in such a way would be detrimental not only to himself (and the car) but for his son that had to witness it.
He's such a fuckwit, and I hope progressives understand that some of us were pointing out his authoritarian tendancies when he was going hard out against anti-vaxxers. There are all sorts of ways to deal with the problem of misuse of mobility parks, but I suspect this isn't about that but about his personality and belief that he is always right.
And isn't he wanting to go into parliament under the Maori Party banner? Yet another doctor not happy with doing his job and joining a right wing party" Crikey – the woods are already full of them!
Not sure about that – I suspect the gNats or ACT would welcome him on board if they thought it would suit their purpose. Even NZ1 under hold-the-ladder-steady, cargo-cultist, exceptional Shane. He might have to watch a bit of porn though from time to time.
The Māori Party I think are currently "pivoting" like everybody else
I think he's already been turned down by the Nats, tho that was under Simon Bridges. He might be just the ticket considering the current conversations about their dominating paleness at the moment !
In our town, we just let the person in the shop etc know if someone without a card uses the disabled park. They they let the whole shop know through the loud speaker, it works a treat.
Arrogance and entitlitis was what I thought when I read the article. But not to fret, he has got himself some anger management.
We got the modern corporate apology too. Loaded with excuses and diversions.
My mum has one of the mobility permits and I know of a couple of times she has come back to the car and the permit was on the floor of the car. Inadvertantly swept it off the dashboard with handbag, scarf etc.
" My mum has one of the mobility permits and I know of a couple of times she has come back to the car and the permit was on the floor of the car. Inadvertantly swept it off the dashboard with handbag, scarf etc. "
For those in our public sector research and development communities, this volume of fresh funding is very, very rare over the years. Our Crown Research Institutes for example have pumped out massive horticultural innovations that have built whole new sectors of our economy.
And R&D loans are a nice untargeted way of giving businesses the opportunity to think harder and longer without doing the usual thing of mortgaging the house.
She's no one for oratory or large abstract nouns, but she delivers.
I hope she does very well in the next Cabinet placings.
I disagree Ad. Not only does she deliver, but she also makes sense when interviewed.
Labour needs to push her (and others) forward to counter National's oft-repeated (and erroneous) contention that this is a government with a cabinet of only 2 competent Labour people.
But Parker's binning of RMA scrutiny for infrastructure developments over the next 2 years is a little too close to ACT policy for me-the public needs the checks and balances provided by the RMA.
The council's head of three waters and waste, Helen Beaumont, said a home priced at $500,000 has an allocation of 800 to 900 litres, whereas a $1 million dollar home gets about 1700 litres.
As a manager of a couple of small water schemes I’d call it the path of least resistance…..
Residential water usage and perceived entitlement is pretty proportional to property value and you can waste a lot of time and have a lot of unproductive arguments trying to fight that.
The miscreants at the upper end will be gross abusers and this policy will deal with them without getting into fights with everyone
Plenty of times I've seen Watercare front up with live modelling to Auckland Council showing precisely how different communities with different-sized families get impacted across different pricing staircases.
I've seen them go through 10 models, each overlaying water pricing upon a proposed rates increase to show essentially a wealth-based cumulative impact.
Why the hell we don't have a single water price regulator yet is incomprehensible.
The arguments can be won, and often have.
If this kind of decision were from central government it would have a BORA rider on it. Failing that someone should have a sit-down with the Human Rights Commission.
I've seen them go through 10 models, each overlaying water pricing upon a proposed rates increase to show essentially a wealth-based cumulative impact.
The core problem with all water pricing models is the disconnect between the actual costs of delivering water, and any pricing model consumers would accept.
Cost of supply is at least 90% fixed capital and overheads that remain the same regardless of volume. Paradoxically as volumes go down the cost per unit to deliver goes up … strongly.
While at the same time consumers have a certain very inelastic minimum demand they must have regardless of price, they are only prepared to pay on usage basis. But then they resist the metering necessary to implement it.
It's all a complex mess that never makes anyone happy. The best you can hope for is a tolerable muddle.
What do you reckon that very inelastic minimum demand might be? I vaguely recall places in northern europe having per capita consumptions in the vicinity of 80 litres per day.
Personally I'm a bit under 50 litres per day at home, so my typical water bill is around $20/month fixed charge for the connection and $6/month for supplying the water I use and taking it away again.
So when Christchurch is talking about putting excess usage charges on households with usages of 900 litres/day or 1700 litres/day, that's a definite hmmm moment.
While a consumer’s baseline demand is inelasstic, the perception of many water users is that an allocation of water is infinitely elastic.
The obvious solution of metering is not for the faint hearted, it will get very emotive very quickly. And that goes for small households that are actually really good with their usage through to large irrigators. Although with consent monitoring by regional councils the large users are really good now, most of my grief comes from larger residential blocks, especially when they’ve just moved down from Auckland.
New Zealand First and Labour have been negotiating a deal for nearly two months and Justice Minister Andrew Little said he regretted that for some landlords and tenants it would be too late.
…
While the prime minister, finance minister and Little have been pushing for a more compulsory arrangement, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters told RNZ last week he wouldn't play a part in breaking the sanctity of contracts.
Also a moving and unpredictable target. The way events have transpired it only needs to be about rent remission through levels 4 and maybe 3 over a couple of months.
Had things gone differently it could have been a very different situation requiring the unwinding of a lot of leases and other contracts. Which would have been something else altogether.
Prudent for government to wait and see what they were dealing with.
We’re affected and I think they’ve got it right with substance and timing. Time to bang some heads together, to use the commercial phrase.
The person parking without displaying a valid mobility card could, hypothetically, be charged with "behaviour likely to cause violence": a law more likely to be enforced in smaller towns such as Rotorua, or Kaitaia. So I suspect "The Trial of the Good Doctor" has a more, at this stage… whimsical… element to it.
Nothing changes in the States, even after having their first Black POTUS….just goes to show that the liberal ideology doesn't care what colour or sex you are as long as you are prepared to maintain their power structures and political status quo.
Those whining about liberals have had five years since Bernie burst on the scene to make the case for whatever flavour of illiberalism you want to impose. And failed. Utterly and miserably.
If you want to keep trying to attack those that really are trying to improve the world for the majority of people, ie those currently commonly called liberals, then go right ahead. But just don't be surprised when the reaction is "stick it up your ass right back where it came from".
Please explain: how does criticising the likes of Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Charles Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, the comically inept “Mayor Pete” and the hilarious (unintentionally) Jerry Nadler make one “illiberal”? And how was the "liberal" Joe Biden "trying to improve the world for the majority of people" on this occasion?
Biden is a long way from being my first choice. But he is the first choice of most of those that are bearing the brunt of the really nasty shit going down in the US. That choice deserves respect, if you are capable of any.
Your clip in lieu of an argument is from sometime last century. Things have evolved since then. Maybe that's why you didn't come up with something a bit more recent.
… he is the first choice of most of those that are bearing the brunt of the really nasty shit going down in the US.
No he's not. He's despised by black and Latino social activists, who rightly hold him accountable for the massive incarceration industry that flowed from his obscene and racist Crime Bill.
Your clip in lieu of an argument is from sometime last century. Things have evolved since then.
I have argued, often, that Biden is unfit for office of any kind. Sometimes, though, a few minutes of the man actually performing is enough to gauge his character.
Maybe that's why you didn't come up with something a bit more recent.
Yes, there have been revelations recently about his less publicized (at the time) behaviour back in 1993—the same year he was sneering at the very idea of social deprivation, and railing against black "predators"—"born out of wedlock"—threatening "my mother."
That Biden rooster in the above clip is a tad Trumpesque in his approach.
Complex issues are black and white, he doesn't care about extenuating circumstances and using emotive examples to get them 'off the streets and into jail'. And that is a Democrat!
To be fair it is more accurate to say Trump is Bidenesque as that clip predates Trump entering politics by about 25 yrs.
Yes, it's clear, Biden shouldn't be elected over Trump.
While Biden exposed his limitations and unfitness for office in 1993 Trump was in his golden bloom. That led all these years later to the inspirational leadership, the humanity and enlightened ways we've witnessed in recent years. Going into the 2020s Trump is the one.
The fact that Biden is despised by black and Latino social activists (you say further down) further accentuates the gap between the two. No activists or any groups despise Trump to any extant let alone to the level of Biden.
Some said the choice last time was for the lesser of two evils. At least this time there's only one evil and one who has made America great again.
In the link below civil rights veteran Bob Woodson touches on your point of having blacks in positions of power, stating black struggles are an issue of class.
Tucker Carlson is about the only person making much sense on this crisis.
I've held back from saying much on this tragic mess because while people are still protesting, looting and attacking the police emotions will rule. Facts will mean little.
But here are the crude numbers: black Americans consist of around 15% of the population, about 25- 30 % of police shootings, and perpetrate 52% of the homicides.
In recent years between 200 – 240 black are killed by the police, while at the same time some 6000 are killed by other blacks. An black man in the USA is at least 20 times more likely to be killed by another black man than a cop.
And it turns out adding diversity to the police makes little difference, black cops shoot blacks at very similar rates to white cops. There is in fact remarkably little evidence to show, that once all the variables are controlled for, that the police as a whole, are substantially biased against black citizens.
Watching even a few seconds of the video of George Floyd's death had us all united in one thing, that something went very, very wrong at that moment. And the cops involved have now been charged. Minnesota Police, the same people who brought us the death of Justine Damond , will come under even more scrutiny.
Nor can the obvious dangers of policing in a society where guns are routinely carried be neglected. Cops must treat every person they encounter as potentially armed and likely to try and kill them at any moment; this must have a deeply corrosive and brutalising effect on a person who must work in such an environment day in day out.
This is a very emotive and complex story, but I agree with Woodson, the real issues of race are being used as a ruse for something else here. Just a few months ago Andrew Yang was openly predicting exactly this kind of rioting if the USA failed to address the deepening economic inequality and insecurity across the whole of their society, regardless of ethnicity. There is the root cause, and it's especially sharp in the immediate aftermath of the COVID shutdown, most working families in the US are now broke or very close to it. This is the crisis that BLM, Antifa and other far left actors are exploiting for their own purposes.
What you can be also sure of is that the vast majority of ordinary Americans, are horrified and ashamed of the burning, the looting and the attacks on the police forces they all rely on.
There is in fact remarkably little evidence to show, that once all the variables are controlled for, that the police as a whole, are substantially biased against black citizens.
Ever had the experience of riding along with a black man driving when they've been pulled over for a DWB (driving while black)? I've had it happen, once in New Jersey once in Wisconsin, both times very presentable marketing managers driving, on our way to meetings where I was coming along for technical support. Both of them said afterwards that DWB stops go a whole lot better when there's a presentable white person in the car with them.
And the initial cop approach to the car was very different to all the traffic stops I had as a driver. So I've got some direct personal experiences that will need to be overcome with very good evidence before I'll buy in to the idea that there isn't a lot of racism in US police forces.
I couldn't even be fucking bothered. Just another case of "identity politics distracts from the real issue" bullshit, but this time spread lavishly between two extra thick pieces of white bread.
A whole bunch of Black American voices say otherwise, as well as Native Americans, Latinos and Asians, I'll listen to them, and believe them (quietly, the last thing they need is another know it all white guy telling them what's good for them), rather than someone who doesn't think white privilege exists.
There are also plenty of black voices with other points of view; they don't get much attention at moments like this, but they're not hard to find either. This of course is the fatal flaw of identity politics, the entirely racist notion that all people of the same ethnicity think the same.
Of course white privilege exists; it's exactly what you would expect in a society where the majority of people are white. All societies, regardless of ethnicity organise themselves to suit their own cultural preferences and values; and this innately privileges the in-group over others. It would be quite weird if it were otherwise.
All perfectly good logic in general and I've no particular quibble with that thread. But the context of police shootings is quite different; from the perspective of a cop any random black person they encounter in the daily course of their work … is 2 – 3 times more likely to be a dangerous than a random person of any other ethnicity.
The thread is quite right, ordinary people mostly mingle with other ordinary people and making assumptions about a whole group of people based on the behaviour of a tiny criminal minority of that group is by definition racism. But police by the very nature of their profession do not mingle with ordinary people, they have to deal with that tiny minority. Their experience is quite different, especially in a society where dangerous criminals are also very likely to be armed.
It is a brutal logic, but their daily lived experience all the same.
But the context of police shootings is quite different; from the perspective of a cop any random black person they encounter in the daily course of their work … is 2 – 3 times more likely to be a dangerous than a random person of any other ethnicity.
But that "2-3 times" is 99.9% vs 99.8% to not be a murderer. 94% vs 95% to not even need arresting that year. So "random" people being encountered should be treated equally. But they're not. They're ulled over at different rates, arrested at different rates, and shot at different rates.
Sure, listen to those POCs with other POVs, but there's literally 1000s right now, screaming their stories, of harassment and racism, and I won't ignore that. To deny there's institutionalised racism is delusional, juries often let white people off killing black Americans because like your reasoning (maybe wrong word, long day at work, tired), they think they are more likely to shoot than non blacks, ie: "they're scary".
Pointing to all the ordinary people who don't commit crimes is largely irrelevant in this context. The experience of police is different to you or I. They deal with criminals every day, we don't and as a result theirs is a highly selective view of ethnicity.
Racism is by definition an irrational prejudice against an ethnic group, but what if from an average American cop's perspective it was entirely rational?
Sticking the racist label on this is great if heaping guilt on white people is your goal, but you've been doing this for decades with little to show for it. The outcomes for minorities and people of colour remain stubbornly poor.
So excuse me if I'm inclined to peel back your label and peek under it.
Except it's not rational. It's disproportionate. They make more arrests of black people at traffic stops because they pull over black drivers as a fishing expedition, but only pull over white drivers for explicit cause. They are more likely to shoot unarmed black people than unarmed white people in similar circumstances. They are more likely to use force on black people than white people in similar circumstances.
From an actual, rational, comparative risk assessment, the differentiating factor between force levels is the ethnicity of the person facing the officer. That's why white women call the cops when they're asked to leash their dogs by a black man.
Peek under that fucking label all you want. Just take your blinkers off, first.
"Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to physical appearance and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism
Some beliefs formed early are like stubborn stains – hard to shift.
America Doesn’t Need Another Commission to Expose Its Racism
“There is evidence of lawless police action against whites and Negroes alike, but the dominant pattern is that of race prejudice,” the committee wrote. “Negroes have been shot, supposedly in self-defense, under circumstances indicating, at best, unsatisfactory police work in the handling of criminals, and, at worst, a callous willingness to kill.” The [1947] report changed nothing.
They are more likely to shoot unarmed black people than unarmed white people in similar circumstances. They are more likely to use force on black people than white people in similar circumstances.
The logical trap you are falling into is this; small differences at the mean become quite large ones at the extreme. In ordinary life there is no excuse to treat black and white people differently, but the police operate at the extremes.
The circumstances they are operating in are not similar to the ones you and I experience. Hence they treat whites and blacks differently and there are different outcomes. No-one is saying this is a good thing, no-one is defending it, no-one is saying there are not cops who revert to brutal, racist stereotypes. No-one is saying nothing can be done about it.
But police are ordinary people as well, doing a tough, shitty and essential job. If we want them to change their behaviour, understanding their experience from their perspective is the logical place to start.
I saw a girl similar to one of my kids ages on a BLM march, & I realised it's something I'll never need to do with my kid.
& I saw this woman addressing a crowd of mostly whites, and asking them to put up their hand if any of them would want to be black in the USA, there wasn't many takers.
It is emotional, and complicated, but it exists. Same as here, and in Aus.
Of course you and I have the remarkable privilege to live in two small countries that are very well governed comparatively, and we have the luxury of sneering down at the USA with it's well understood problems.
But most people in the world have a quite different view.
That's clever Joe90, it's interesting the more you arm the police, the more terrified they are. The cops were charged over Floyds death, would they have been without the protests? What does history say? (how many cops have been charged with murder, or accessory to murder, SFA).
It's very easy to condemn police from behind the safety of your keyboard. It's my view that most people here shitting on them wouldn't last 10 minutes in the job.
Red Logix There is a time for every purpose under heaven. ( From the Bible.)
This matter of the Floyd shooting is a time for reacting with shock and horror and not easy-peasy reasonableness. It is not reasonable and don't lose all your brownie points RL trying to say otherwise. Read the below that Gordon Campbell at Werewolf on Scoop has taken the time and trouble to write and illustrate why we should be upset and shaming the USA police in that State.
There's plenty giving the cops shit standing in front of them, and getting beaten for it. If cops can't handle being cops no one is forcing them. And their toxic masculinity macho bullshit is awful anyway. There are enquiries aplenty with cops turning off body cameras, thank goodness there's plenty of people with phones filming them. I also think it's my prerogative to criticise racist, violent, arsehole cops, so there.
I'm proud of our own cops, they've really shown themselves as a professional, calm, rational force. I don't want them armed, even though I'm not likely to ever be at risk.
You wouldn't last 10 mins at my job, like I wouldn't at yours, that's such a dumb argument, I know I wouldn't last 10 mins being a cop, coz I'd hate it. It does seem to attract some unsuitable people though huh? (More in US than here, though we've had some bad ones).
To condemn the rioting—which I believe to be a moral and political imperative—is not at all the same thing as opposing the protests. Many observers have been reluctant to do the former because they wish to avoid the latter. I maintain that this is a grave mistake. On the contrary, sympathy for the protesters’ reform agenda would seem to require condemning the nefarious deeds of looters and arsonists. For the rioting plays right into the hands of those political forces that are least sympathetic to the interests of poor communities of color. Mark my words: The violence from these protests will, if it persists, provoke a vicious backlash. It will discourage people from viewing the plight of the minority poor with compassion and understanding.
Actually, her crime is nothing more than infelicitous phrasing. If you want to look for people who actually, rather than clumsily and unintentionally, dehumanize black people, you need look no further than the United States President, or the Democratic Party candidate in 2016, or the presumptive Democratic nominee in 2020.
Her three hearts are an indication of how much she loves herself. She has used the tragedy to turn attention to how high her spirituality is, how kind she is, and preach lovely phrases to her admiring readers.
"Opportunists picking what they see as the winning side or shifting sands in the base?"
Both I reckon. But I am somewhat heartened that some conservatives seem to think Trump has gone too far. Not sure why, maybe it's the involvement of the military? They do actually fear a fascist state?
Well, here's The Lincoln Project's latest ad. Yes, old-skool Republicans really don't want a fascist state. But there's very few old-skool Republicans left after the impact of the orange asteroid that destroyed the party of dinosaurs.
When I joined the military, some 50 years ago, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens—much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside.
I'm really curious about what kinds of talks are going right now on in military settings about oaths to the constitution, obligations to follow orders from the Commander-in-Chief vs the obligation to not carry out an illegal order, and so on.
It's not just idle curiosity, it could really make a difference to how the next few months and years play out.
On the day Mattis called Trump a threat to the Constitution, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff reminds service people that their oath is to the Constitution.
Thanks for that. Wonder if this from Gallego from a couple of days ago had anything to do with it.
edit: Gonna be fascinating if it turns out to be the military that puts a lid on the Wrath of Con. That’s not their constitutional role. That responsibility belongs to the legislative branch (Congress) and the judicial branch (the courts), which have both run away from doing their job.
but it makes heartening reading .It is possible to feed ourselves locally without industrialised agro /chemical technology
Many urban Russians own or rent dachas where its customary to grow food, and the practise of growing one's own food has not died out as in many western countries
"By autumn 2017, Vladimir Putin had publicly set a goal for Russia to become the world’s top producer and exporter of organic agriculture. In the summer of 2018, the Russian president signed legislation creating official standards, labeling and certification procedures for organic products produced for commercial sale in Russia that went into effect in 2020. Government support will be available to organic farmers, and a public registry will be created listing certified producers."
That's genuinely interesting francesca. The whole aspect of the dacha and how central it is to ordinary Russian family life is often missed in the Western world.
Contrary to what you may have imagined from my comment on the other post around the crisis facing the Russian people, I'm not anti-Russian in the slightest. About 20 years ago I had the remarkable chance to live and work there for a period and I still have many powerful memories of the experience.
It's a bloody minefield trying to get a clear idea of what actually life is like for the ordinary Russians with so much noise and propagandistic static coming at you. I have always found Russian literature and culture and history fascinating, and so diverse!
Met a few, and really liked them
Actually Red I find you one of the most balanced and thoughtful commenters on here, always worth reading , even when we disagree you're never insulting or nasty or resort to cheap putdowns
That 1 remains an ongoing worry. I really hope the care and support bubble around them is kept strong, and that the authorities are really looking after those inside that bubble to give them every reason to keep that bubble secure.
Active doesn’t necessarily mean infectious. On average, a good 200 people per day arrive at our borders. Anyone of them could be another case. Our borders are ‘closed’ but they are not hermetically sealed. At present (as at 1 June), there are 2,760 people in quarantine and managed isolation.
Amazing stuff, loved reading all that. Reminded me about the NZ anti tour marches, the Hamilton, AK & Wellington ones of course, but I remember being absolutely fascinated about the one they had in Westport (or Hokitika? Somewhere smallville west coast) & there was about 3-5 people marching.
…Space scientists are concerned that defunct models could collide with active satellites or the International Space Station, which would then cause more debris, setting off a catastrophic chain reaction that could wipe out telecommunications systems – a phenomenon known as Kessler Syndrome….
And in that link is an example of how space technology wants to take over a Scottish bog and probably every available unused space, rather like British colonials claiming NZ land not being farmed by Maori, as 'waste land'.
We in NZ are feeling very smart at getting involved in rocket building and launching for space. Always doing the wrong thing. Twerps R'Us.
All the top sporting organisations in New Zealand have been beholden to their sponsors, and dictating if and when we can see them on television – all used to be free to air (Golf/Rugby/Netball/Tennis/Soccer/Yachting and others) and paying their top stars huge and inflated salaries – you could say almost pure capitalism in practice.
Suddenly a pandemic and these prima donnas salaries are under threat – and it seems their governing organisations have their hands out for some government relief. Top sports are a nice-to-have but in these times, a bit of a luxury.
I wonder how long it will be before the much heralded and wonderful "essential service" employees around the country, will be going cap in hand to the bargaining tables for a pay rise.
Tamati Coffey – and some other Labour MPs? – needs to learn the most basic rule of election campaigns. His job now is silence.
What Jacinda Ardern says matters very much. What ordinary MPs say does not matter at all – until they say something stupid. Then it's a headline.
Three months of self-discipline, and Labour win. National can't win, unless Labour start aiming gun at foot. Don't give free hits to the media or the opposition.
If you don't remember 2008-17, listen to somebody who does.
Agree. Coffey has to remember that our privately-owned media (including our 'state enterprises') will show him in the worst possible light if they can.
Interesting that Human Rights Commission expressed concern at Covid-19 public health response bill passed under urgency. The HRC points out on its website that the NZ Bill of Rights Act does not override any Act passed into law that infringes it. A reasonable question to ask therefore may be: what is the purpose of a Bill of Rights if not to clearly lay out the freedoms of an individual in a fair and open society? What effective purpose does the Bill of Rights serve? After all, given the lack of oversight to the “science” provided by the WHO, it seems that NZers rights are vulnerable to the edicts of global entities.
Good question about the Bill of Rights. Had a protest form offered to me today about the lockdown and infringing on freedoms. Put a note on it that I in precautionary measures at this time, and so would any citizen who was concerned about the community wellbeing where they live.
We have to remember that laws are brought in by people about people, and if they need to be overruled everyone should know why. I think all thinking people understand the whys of the lockdown, and how practical it has been; we feel the pain straight away and fix it rather than dragging it out, along with lots of bodies, over a longer period.
Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played.“Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I- Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
Today marks a tragic milestone for New Zealanders as the Coalition Government side with big tobacco to repeal the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins and Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
This year’s Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity and the contribution of Pacific communities to New Zealand culture, says Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti. Dr Reti announced dates for the 2024 Pacific Language Weeks during a visit to the Pasifika festival in Auckland today and says there’s so ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
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Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has hosted members of the Green Party Caucus at Tuurangawaewae Marae in Ngaaruawahia. The audience follows the King’s Hui-aa-Motu on 20 January, where more than 10,000 people gathered to discuss national ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dr Rachael Potter, Research Associate and Lecturer in Work and Organisational Psychology, University of South Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Pregnant women and workers with children are often unfairly treated by their bosses and colleagues, despite laws to protect against workplace discrimination ...
Reacting to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s refusal to rule out introducing new taxes at the budget, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said: “Today’s refusal to rule out new taxes suggests the Government is nothing more ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne Aila Images/Shutterstock Aged-care workers will receive a significant pay increase after the Fair Work Commission ruled they ...
He’s bringing ‘Sophie’ back, yeah. Goodshirt’s ‘Sophie’ music video is one of the most instantly recognisable New Zealand music videos of all time. Featuring a woman listening to the song on headphones while her entire house is burgled behind her, the video won the New Zealand music award for Best ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Blaxland, Professor, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University A year ago, the AUKUS agreement was formally announced between Australian and UK Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese and Rishi Sunak and US President Joe Biden. The agreement mapped out the “optimal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andreas Helwig, Associate Professor, Electro-Mechanical Engineering, University of Southern Queensland SmartS/Shutterstock Steam locomotives clattering along railway tracks. Paddle steamers churning down the Murray. Dreadnought battleships powered by steam engines. Many of us think the age of steam has ended. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carrie Leonetti, Associate Professor of Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Victims who experience family violence in Aotearoa New Zealand are treated differently, depending on which part of the justice system they turn to for help. But a new member’s bill ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Tesch, Visiting Fellow at the ANU Centre for European Studies, Australian National University In perhaps the least surprising news of the year, Vladimir Putin has triumphed at the Russian ballot box and been enthroned for the fifth time as president. He ...
The Papua New Guinea Supreme Court has stopped a byelection for the Madang Open seat being held until an appeal filed by former MP Bryan Kramer is concluded. Kramer had appealed to the Supreme Court over a National Court decision not to review his application of the Leadership Tribunal decision ...
By Miriam Zarriga in Port Moresby Despite a “historic” ceasefire agreement in Papua New Guinea between Enga authorities and tribal leaders after months of bitter warfare, a young woman has been found brutally killed near Kaekin village, Wapenamanda. Despite the peace agreement and signing concluded in Port Moresby last Thursday ...
The second season of Ryan Murphy’s Feud is a sadder and slower entry into his canon of true story-telling, leaning heavily on a verdict about the cost of a single work of art. Hollywood heavyweight Ryan Murphy has had a bit of “ick” about him in the last few years. ...
Sarah Cooper again. Presumably this was prompted by the candycorn skidmark gassing the clergy from their church across the road so he could waddle across and have his photo taken in front of it holding an upside-down black book (alleged to be a bible).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOCcThLYdEQ
So easy to laugh at the biggest dummy in the room, no real sport in that as far as I can see…..here is really funny and brave comedian Larry Wilmore exposing why Donald Trump is Obama's main legacy…to Obama's face and pretty much ending his mainstream career in the process..turns out Democrats have about as much ability to laugh at themselves as they have for self analysis…ie; none.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IDFt3BL7FA
.
Oh sure, Obama and the Dems are totes responsible for putting the Mandarin Mugabe into the Oval Office. The brazenness of incrementally pushing a law for equality here, implementing a government body to rein in the worst predatory practices of the financial industry there … nek minnit, a (half) black man has the temerity to win the presidency, and what's more, win it twice because he was actually good at the job.
Fuck me, they even made sure tens of millions of poor people got access to healthcare which they previously couldn't afford. Can't have that, of course that's going to boost a muddled asshole yearning to scream free into the highest office in the land.
Of course, self-absorbed narcissists falsely painting the tiny-fingered fascist and Hillary as somehow equivalent, or loony lefties amplifying repackaged Repug smears, and all kinds of other undermining from loony lefties prancing around on purity ponies had nothing to do with it. Didn't affect the vote one tiny bit. No sirree.
Idiot.
Can we just stick to Trump?
All the nicknames have been seen a million times and not really that funny any more.
Bite me.
I love seeing each new name from what appears to be a bottomless well of imagination. Keep up the food work.
Sadly most of them are either heavily inspired or outright stolen from others.
Steal from one, you're a plagiarist. Steal from everyone, you're an artiste (or a billionaire)
I imagine those of us in the habit of coming up with nicknames for the failed mail-order mediocre steak salesman have a communist attitude toward the fruit of our labours. I certainly feel more honoured than annoyed when someone else uses one of my originals, rare as that occasion may be.
The one that's tickled me the last couple of days is "bunkerbaby".
Be fair. He just happened to feel the need to give it an inspection at that particular moment.
Indeed. Fortunately it passed inspection, except for the widdle patch on the carpet where he'd
coweredconducted most of his examination.https://twitter.com/TropicaliJaye/status/1268289663594139649
To me he shall always be simply a PO
TUSActually, come to think of it, that was a bit harsh.
Would you like me to list all the things I've called him, and you can tell me which ones you find particularly distressing, and I'll try not to re-use them?
Nah.
I'll leave the peurile behaviour to you.
Thank you.
Agree, tiresome
Trumps is quite possibly the most unhinged President ever, but this carping on about physical qualities seems so beside the point
[Fixed error in user handle]
Unfunny nicknames are all that some people here have in their arsenal, sadly.
The nicknames I read on here for trump has made me laugh loudly more than once. I like laughter, laughter is good.
Okay, okay, I give in. Here's the map to the motherlode. Use it with caution.
https://www.reddit.com/r/TrumpNicknames/
Dang Andre !!!!! That's gold, thanking you very much.
I'll be using that material next time trump does a presser to troll the MAGA crowd when they leave the chat open on their youtube stream.
It's interesting they're having a pile on for calling the terrified tunneler names, rather than join discussion of the startling events we currently see. Diversionary tactics?
And why keep going back to past governance as a way of detracting the subject from the maniacal mole-person who, inadvertently, has just kicked off a global civil rights movement.
Whoopsies!
Should we not talk about that?
Should we only use a somber tone if we do talk about that?
Should we tremble in awe at authority, knowing our rightful place as servants, as right wing nuts would believe is the solution?
Should we burn it all to the ground as left wing nuts believe is the answer?
There is no humor in either of those camps.
Deep diving Don and the demolition men are on the run. America is in the midst of a pandemic and a revolution. This is the largest call for systemic change ever, the whole world is watching, taking notes and names, and people of color and their allies are not backing down.
Get onboard or get out of the way.
But Hillary! Biden! Obama!
… pile on …
Looks like I'm only two or four short of collecting the complete set of TS's currently active useful idiots.
Don't want to make a mountain out of an orange mole-rat's enablers, huh?
+1
@Andre, as usual your answer exemplifies my point beautifully…thank you.
Well those Muricans are just damned ungrateful aren't they. After Obama made life so so peachy for them all they have the gall to vote in the worst candidate the country could dredge up.
Why do you suppose the electorate felt so disenfranchised that they welcomed a sexists, racist, fascist moron for President?
For full marks your answer must not contain the following words:
Russia
Russia
Russia
For starters, the American electorate rejected the sexist, racist, fascist moron, by a margin of 65.9 million to 63.0 million. It was the Electoral College that barfed up the Douche ex Machina.
Then there's the uncomfortable demonstration that a sizable minority of the American electorate are themselves sexist, racist morons that aren't bothered enough by the prospect of fascism to vote against it. Which includes many that describe themselves as lefties that get their jollies prancing around on purity ponies trying to demonise non-fascist leftie candidates that actually have a chance of winning election but fail to meet their fantasies.
…. non-fascist leftie candidates that actually have a chance of winning election but fail to meet their fantasies.
Have you ever LISTENED to Biden and Clinton and Schumer talking? The hatefulness of these "non-fascist leftie candidates", unfortunately, is not a fantasy….
http://normanfinkelstein.com/2018/07/01/senator-charles-schumer-architect-abettor-accomplice-of-and-accessory-to-gazas-martyrdom/
That old canard Vote for the lesser Evil has been driving away young voters for decades
Here's Jonathan Cook with a much better analysis than the knee jerk
Oh half the population are a basket of dumbarse moronic fascists
https://braveneweurope.com/jonathan-cook-why-the-lefts-case-for-lesser-evil-sounds-hollow
Sigh.
This is how you actually do it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkAK9QRe4ds
What was he thinking (again)?
Dr Lance Sullivan admits and excuses himself by Facebook post of using a brick to smash a window of a car parked in a disabled carpark.
When my in-laws were alive, this often happened and we would have to just accommodate that. The truth is, while we sometimes had a disability card, with elderly friends their mobility was often variable, and sometimes it took a while to get to where they needed to go. I can understand that some without mobility for a while don't have the ability or time to get the card. (That's what I told myself anyway. It doesn't result in rage. Note: we never parked in the disability spots regardless. With two able bodied persons, most outings could be accommodated, just by using one of us for drop off and pick up. Left the carparks free for those without that option. )
I understand that his stress levels and frustration may be high, but the effect of releasing that energy in such a way would be detrimental not only to himself (and the car) but for his son that had to witness it.
He's such a fuckwit, and I hope progressives understand that some of us were pointing out his authoritarian tendancies when he was going hard out against anti-vaxxers. There are all sorts of ways to deal with the problem of misuse of mobility parks, but I suspect this isn't about that but about his personality and belief that he is always right.
And isn't he wanting to go into parliament under the Maori Party banner? Yet another doctor not happy with doing his job and joining a right wing party" Crikey – the woods are already full of them!
Māori Party, National, or TOP apparently. The ones that will tolerate authoritarians, but I suspect he won't be getting into any of them now.
Hopefully not, but with the ‘front bum’ man the current leader of the Maori Party, I wouldn’t rule it out
"The ones that will tolerate authoritarians………."
Not sure about that – I suspect the gNats or ACT would welcome him on board if they thought it would suit their purpose. Even NZ1 under hold-the-ladder-steady, cargo-cultist, exceptional Shane. He might have to watch a bit of porn though from time to time.
The Māori Party I think are currently "pivoting" like everybody else
I think he's already been turned down by the Nats, tho that was under Simon Bridges. He might be just the ticket considering the current conversations about their dominating paleness at the moment !
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/102643128/lance-osullivan-joining-the-national-party-not-the-right-call–bridges
OwT Is Shane really that bad, with no balancing positives?
We're all God's children @grey. I just don't particularly like his racist attitudes towards people I regard as family, or the size of his ego
How can one post actually contain so much shit.
First, do no harm.
In our town, we just let the person in the shop etc know if someone without a card uses the disabled park. They they let the whole shop know through the loud speaker, it works a treat.
Sounds to me like the dr has anger issues.
haha, that's brilliant of the shop.
I used to have a stash of fliers saying something like "you've got my car park do you want my disability too?" that I would leave on the windscreen.
Arrogance and entitlitis was what I thought when I read the article. But not to fret, he has got himself some anger management.
We got the modern corporate apology too. Loaded with excuses and diversions.
My mum has one of the mobility permits and I know of a couple of times she has come back to the car and the permit was on the floor of the car. Inadvertantly swept it off the dashboard with handbag, scarf etc.
" My mum has one of the mobility permits and I know of a couple of times she has come back to the car and the permit was on the floor of the car. Inadvertantly swept it off the dashboard with handbag, scarf etc. "
That would be really easy to do, and do often.
Hang/peg it on the rear vision mirror. There are not enough disability parks with an aging population.
"But not to fret, he has got himself some anger management."
Do you know if that's with 'the Bish"'s ManUp programme? And are doctors visits to go up 10% to take account of the cost of tithing?
He'll be paying for it no doubt.
My vote for under-sell and over-perform Minister of this government is …
Megan Woods.
As well as rescuing the housing portfolio, yesterday she actually announced major funding for research and development:
· $196 million for Crown Research Institutes
· $150 million for R&D loan scheme
· $33 million for Māori research and development opportunities
· $12 million for the Nationally Significant Collections and Databases
· $10 million to help maintain in-house capability at Callaghan Innovation
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2006/S00027/govt-boosts-innovation-rd-for-economic-rebuild.htm
For those in our public sector research and development communities, this volume of fresh funding is very, very rare over the years. Our Crown Research Institutes for example have pumped out massive horticultural innovations that have built whole new sectors of our economy.
And R&D loans are a nice untargeted way of giving businesses the opportunity to think harder and longer without doing the usual thing of mortgaging the house.
She's no one for oratory or large abstract nouns, but she delivers.
I hope she does very well in the next Cabinet placings.
I disagree Ad. Not only does she deliver, but she also makes sense when interviewed.
Labour needs to push her (and others) forward to counter National's oft-repeated (and erroneous) contention that this is a government with a cabinet of only 2 competent Labour people.
"under-sell and over-perform" is a good thing.
It's what smart Ministers do.
+1 @BG
I think she is most certainly the "Miss Fixit" minister.
Its a pity that she has to sleep and Jacinda can't throw a few more portfolios from underperforming ministers at her.
Woods and Parker are the policy workhorses of this government.
Yes Woods and Parker both highly rated by me.
But Parker's binning of RMA scrutiny for infrastructure developments over the next 2 years is a little too close to ACT policy for me-the public needs the checks and balances provided by the RMA.
Chch council proposes charging for water usage based on property value – but not how you'd think: https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/121713503/excess-water-use-charges-to-impact-cheaper-suburbs-first
I wonder why CCH uses a formula for use based on property value rather than actual usage ?
On the face of it seems patently unfair and non-sensical.
As a manager of a couple of small water schemes I’d call it the path of least resistance…..
Residential water usage and perceived entitlement is pretty proportional to property value and you can waste a lot of time and have a lot of unproductive arguments trying to fight that.
The miscreants at the upper end will be gross abusers and this policy will deal with them without getting into fights with everyone
Entitlement and influence. Poor citizens are so much easier to ignore when a policy affects them.
Plenty of times I've seen Watercare front up with live modelling to Auckland Council showing precisely how different communities with different-sized families get impacted across different pricing staircases.
I've seen them go through 10 models, each overlaying water pricing upon a proposed rates increase to show essentially a wealth-based cumulative impact.
Why the hell we don't have a single water price regulator yet is incomprehensible.
The arguments can be won, and often have.
If this kind of decision were from central government it would have a BORA rider on it. Failing that someone should have a sit-down with the Human Rights Commission.
I've seen them go through 10 models, each overlaying water pricing upon a proposed rates increase to show essentially a wealth-based cumulative impact.
The core problem with all water pricing models is the disconnect between the actual costs of delivering water, and any pricing model consumers would accept.
Cost of supply is at least 90% fixed capital and overheads that remain the same regardless of volume. Paradoxically as volumes go down the cost per unit to deliver goes up … strongly.
While at the same time consumers have a certain very inelastic minimum demand they must have regardless of price, they are only prepared to pay on usage basis. But then they resist the metering necessary to implement it.
It's all a complex mess that never makes anyone happy. The best you can hope for is a tolerable muddle.
What do you reckon that very inelastic minimum demand might be? I vaguely recall places in northern europe having per capita consumptions in the vicinity of 80 litres per day.
Personally I'm a bit under 50 litres per day at home, so my typical water bill is around $20/month fixed charge for the connection and $6/month for supplying the water I use and taking it away again.
So when Christchurch is talking about putting excess usage charges on households with usages of 900 litres/day or 1700 litres/day, that's a definite hmmm moment.
Takes a particular kind of nerd to interrogate an Asset Management Plan.
Unfortunately it's what we now have to do to find business.
While a consumer’s baseline demand is inelasstic, the perception of many water users is that an allocation of water is infinitely elastic.
The obvious solution of metering is not for the faint hearted, it will get very emotive very quickly. And that goes for small households that are actually really good with their usage through to large irrigators. Although with consent monitoring by regional councils the large users are really good now, most of my grief comes from larger residential blocks, especially when they’ve just moved down from Auckland.
Sounds a bit cowardly.
If they are going to charge for water they should meter it. The technology has been around for ever.
Christchurch already has water meters fitted, just needs the political will to charge for residential use.
[Fixed error in e-mail address]
Winston First drags chain on Covid commercial tenancy relief: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/418207/govt-unveils-action-plan-on-small-business-rent-disputes
Urghhh … finding oneself in agreement with Winston at such an early hour of the day is not pleasant.
Two months is a long time.
Also a moving and unpredictable target. The way events have transpired it only needs to be about rent remission through levels 4 and maybe 3 over a couple of months.
Had things gone differently it could have been a very different situation requiring the unwinding of a lot of leases and other contracts. Which would have been something else altogether.
Prudent for government to wait and see what they were dealing with.
We’re affected and I think they’ve got it right with substance and timing. Time to bang some heads together, to use the commercial phrase.
The person parking without displaying a valid mobility card could, hypothetically, be charged with "behaviour likely to cause violence": a law more likely to be enforced in smaller towns such as Rotorua, or Kaitaia. So I suspect "The Trial of the Good Doctor" has a more, at this stage… whimsical… element to it.
(that should be attached to post #2)
You could call it the 'Jake the Muss' bylaw – "look at what you made me do".
"behaviour likely to cause violence" – is that even an offence?
Nothing changes in the States, even after having their first Black POTUS….just goes to show that the liberal ideology doesn't care what colour or sex you are as long as you are prepared to maintain their power structures and political status quo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_uYWDyYNUg
Those whining about liberals have had five years since Bernie burst on the scene to make the case for whatever flavour of illiberalism you want to impose. And failed. Utterly and miserably.
If you want to keep trying to attack those that really are trying to improve the world for the majority of people, ie those currently commonly called liberals, then go right ahead. But just don't be surprised when the reaction is "stick it up your ass right back where it came from".
Please explain: how does criticising the likes of Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Charles Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, the comically inept “Mayor Pete” and the hilarious (unintentionally) Jerry Nadler make one “illiberal”? And how was the "liberal" Joe Biden "trying to improve the world for the majority of people" on this occasion?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oDHSt-CKtc
Biden is a long way from being my first choice. But he is the first choice of most of those that are bearing the brunt of the really nasty shit going down in the US. That choice deserves respect, if you are capable of any.
Your clip in lieu of an argument is from sometime last century. Things have evolved since then. Maybe that's why you didn't come up with something a bit more recent.
… he is the first choice of most of those that are bearing the brunt of the really nasty shit going down in the US.
No he's not. He's despised by black and Latino social activists, who rightly hold him accountable for the massive incarceration industry that flowed from his obscene and racist Crime Bill.
Your clip in lieu of an argument is from sometime last century. Things have evolved since then.
I have argued, often, that Biden is unfit for office of any kind. Sometimes, though, a few minutes of the man actually performing is enough to gauge his character.
Maybe that's why you didn't come up with something a bit more recent.
Yes, there have been revelations recently about his less publicized (at the time) behaviour back in 1993—the same year he was sneering at the very idea of social deprivation, and railing against black "predators"—"born out of wedlock"—threatening "my mother."
That Biden rooster in the above clip is a tad Trumpesque in his approach.
Complex issues are black and white, he doesn't care about extenuating circumstances and using emotive examples to get them 'off the streets and into jail'. And that is a Democrat!
To be fair it is more accurate to say Trump is Bidenesque as that clip predates Trump entering politics by about 25 yrs.
Yes, it's clear, Biden shouldn't be elected over Trump.
While Biden exposed his limitations and unfitness for office in 1993 Trump was in his golden bloom. That led all these years later to the inspirational leadership, the humanity and enlightened ways we've witnessed in recent years. Going into the 2020s Trump is the one.
The fact that Biden is despised by black and Latino social activists (you say further down) further accentuates the gap between the two. No activists or any groups despise Trump to any extant let alone to the level of Biden.
Some said the choice last time was for the lesser of two evils. At least this time there's only one evil and one who has made America great again.
Okay, is that how you see it?
Okay, is that how you see it?
No. As usual, you have shown that you don't have a clue.
Other violent police forces, like the Gestapo, have been abolished. Now is the time to get rid of the NYPD, LAPD, and all the other ones in between.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMwUGGqTJFs&feature=emb_logo
@ Adrian
In the link below civil rights veteran Bob Woodson touches on your point of having blacks in positions of power, stating black struggles are an issue of class.
https://youtu.be/essyukA9wpM?t=1310
Tucker Carlson is about the only person making much sense on this crisis.
I've held back from saying much on this tragic mess because while people are still protesting, looting and attacking the police emotions will rule. Facts will mean little.
But here are the crude numbers: black Americans consist of around 15% of the population, about 25- 30 % of police shootings, and perpetrate 52% of the homicides.
In recent years between 200 – 240 black are killed by the police, while at the same time some 6000 are killed by other blacks. An black man in the USA is at least 20 times more likely to be killed by another black man than a cop.
And it turns out adding diversity to the police makes little difference, black cops shoot blacks at very similar rates to white cops. There is in fact remarkably little evidence to show, that once all the variables are controlled for, that the police as a whole, are substantially biased against black citizens.
https://www.pnas.org/content/116/32/15877
Watching even a few seconds of the video of George Floyd's death had us all united in one thing, that something went very, very wrong at that moment. And the cops involved have now been charged. Minnesota Police, the same people who brought us the death of Justine Damond , will come under even more scrutiny.
Nor can the obvious dangers of policing in a society where guns are routinely carried be neglected. Cops must treat every person they encounter as potentially armed and likely to try and kill them at any moment; this must have a deeply corrosive and brutalising effect on a person who must work in such an environment day in day out.
This is a very emotive and complex story, but I agree with Woodson, the real issues of race are being used as a ruse for something else here. Just a few months ago Andrew Yang was openly predicting exactly this kind of rioting if the USA failed to address the deepening economic inequality and insecurity across the whole of their society, regardless of ethnicity. There is the root cause, and it's especially sharp in the immediate aftermath of the COVID shutdown, most working families in the US are now broke or very close to it. This is the crisis that BLM, Antifa and other far left actors are exploiting for their own purposes.
What you can be also sure of is that the vast majority of ordinary Americans, are horrified and ashamed of the burning, the looting and the attacks on the police forces they all rely on.
There is in fact remarkably little evidence to show, that once all the variables are controlled for, that the police as a whole, are substantially biased against black citizens.
Ever had the experience of riding along with a black man driving when they've been pulled over for a DWB (driving while black)? I've had it happen, once in New Jersey once in Wisconsin, both times very presentable marketing managers driving, on our way to meetings where I was coming along for technical support. Both of them said afterwards that DWB stops go a whole lot better when there's a presentable white person in the car with them.
And the initial cop approach to the car was very different to all the traffic stops I had as a driver. So I've got some direct personal experiences that will need to be overcome with very good evidence before I'll buy in to the idea that there isn't a lot of racism in US police forces.
I couldn't even be fucking bothered. Just another case of "identity politics distracts from the real issue" bullshit, but this time spread lavishly between two extra thick pieces of white bread.
Tell that to Bob Woodson.
A whole bunch of Black American voices say otherwise, as well as Native Americans, Latinos and Asians, I'll listen to them, and believe them (quietly, the last thing they need is another know it all white guy telling them what's good for them), rather than someone who doesn't think white privilege exists.
There are also plenty of black voices with other points of view; they don't get much attention at moments like this, but they're not hard to find either. This of course is the fatal flaw of identity politics, the entirely racist notion that all people of the same ethnicity think the same.
Of course white privilege exists; it's exactly what you would expect in a society where the majority of people are white. All societies, regardless of ethnicity organise themselves to suit their own cultural preferences and values; and this innately privileges the in-group over others. It would be quite weird if it were otherwise.
Here's a twitter thread that responds with more patience than I ever could.
All perfectly good logic in general and I've no particular quibble with that thread. But the context of police shootings is quite different; from the perspective of a cop any random black person they encounter in the daily course of their work … is 2 – 3 times more likely to be a dangerous than a random person of any other ethnicity.
The thread is quite right, ordinary people mostly mingle with other ordinary people and making assumptions about a whole group of people based on the behaviour of a tiny criminal minority of that group is by definition racism. But police by the very nature of their profession do not mingle with ordinary people, they have to deal with that tiny minority. Their experience is quite different, especially in a society where dangerous criminals are also very likely to be armed.
It is a brutal logic, but their daily lived experience all the same.
But that "2-3 times" is 99.9% vs 99.8% to not be a murderer. 94% vs 95% to not even need arresting that year. So "random" people being encountered should be treated equally. But they're not. They're ulled over at different rates, arrested at different rates, and shot at different rates.
Sure, listen to those POCs with other POVs, but there's literally 1000s right now, screaming their stories, of harassment and racism, and I won't ignore that. To deny there's institutionalised racism is delusional, juries often let white people off killing black Americans because like your reasoning (maybe wrong word, long day at work, tired), they think they are more likely to shoot than non blacks, ie: "they're scary".
Pointing to all the ordinary people who don't commit crimes is largely irrelevant in this context. The experience of police is different to you or I. They deal with criminals every day, we don't and as a result theirs is a highly selective view of ethnicity.
The cops indeed
are racisthave "a highly selective view of ethnicity". In many ways it seems to be the main determinant on how they treat the people they come into contact with.Racism is by definition an irrational prejudice against an ethnic group, but what if from an average American cop's perspective it was entirely rational?
Sticking the racist label on this is great if heaping guilt on white people is your goal, but you've been doing this for decades with little to show for it. The outcomes for minorities and people of colour remain stubbornly poor.
So excuse me if I'm inclined to peel back your label and peek under it.
Except it's not rational. It's disproportionate. They make more arrests of black people at traffic stops because they pull over black drivers as a fishing expedition, but only pull over white drivers for explicit cause. They are more likely to shoot unarmed black people than unarmed white people in similar circumstances. They are more likely to use force on black people than white people in similar circumstances.
From an actual, rational, comparative risk assessment, the differentiating factor between force levels is the ethnicity of the person facing the officer. That's why white women call the cops when they're asked to leash their dogs by a black man.
Peek under that fucking label all you want. Just take your blinkers off, first.
"Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to physical appearance and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism
Some beliefs formed early are like stubborn stains – hard to shift.
They are more likely to shoot unarmed black people than unarmed white people in similar circumstances. They are more likely to use force on black people than white people in similar circumstances.
The logical trap you are falling into is this; small differences at the mean become quite large ones at the extreme. In ordinary life there is no excuse to treat black and white people differently, but the police operate at the extremes.
The circumstances they are operating in are not similar to the ones you and I experience. Hence they treat whites and blacks differently and there are different outcomes. No-one is saying this is a good thing, no-one is defending it, no-one is saying there are not cops who revert to brutal, racist stereotypes. No-one is saying nothing can be done about it.
But police are ordinary people as well, doing a tough, shitty and essential job. If we want them to change their behaviour, understanding their experience from their perspective is the logical place to start.
Oh, I think most people understand.
As for who the cops mingle with determining who they shoot, that's sort of the point.
Great link Mcflock.
I saw a girl similar to one of my kids ages on a BLM march, & I realised it's something I'll never need to do with my kid.
& I saw this woman addressing a crowd of mostly whites, and asking them to put up their hand if any of them would want to be black in the USA, there wasn't many takers.
It is emotional, and complicated, but it exists. Same as here, and in Aus.
It always sucks to some degree to be an ethnic or cultural minority. Anywhere and everywhere you go.
Probably less so in the USA than many places.
Always an apologist for the USA you are.
Always an apologist for the USA you are.
A USA so terrible that according to a fairly recent Gallop poll some 10% of the human race would migrate if it could, many of them to the USA.
Of course you and I have the remarkable privilege to live in two small countries that are very well governed comparatively, and we have the luxury of sneering down at the USA with it's well understood problems.
But most people in the world have a quite different view.
Dude fixed it.
/
https://twitter.com/JohnnyHeatWave/status/1268274240253550597
That's clever Joe90, it's interesting the more you arm the police, the more terrified they are. The cops were charged over Floyds death, would they have been without the protests? What does history say? (how many cops have been charged with murder, or accessory to murder, SFA).
It's very easy to condemn police from behind the safety of your keyboard. It's my view that most people here shitting on them wouldn't last 10 minutes in the job.
Red Logix There is a time for every purpose under heaven. ( From the Bible.)
This matter of the Floyd shooting is a time for reacting with shock and horror and not easy-peasy reasonableness. It is not reasonable and don't lose all your brownie points RL trying to say otherwise. Read the below that Gordon Campbell at Werewolf on Scoop has taken the time and trouble to write and illustrate why we should be upset and shaming the USA police in that State.
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL2006/S00005/gordon-campbell-on-the-george-floyd-protests.htm?6
There's plenty giving the cops shit standing in front of them, and getting beaten for it. If cops can't handle being cops no one is forcing them. And their toxic masculinity macho bullshit is awful anyway. There are enquiries aplenty with cops turning off body cameras, thank goodness there's plenty of people with phones filming them. I also think it's my prerogative to criticise racist, violent, arsehole cops, so there.
I'm proud of our own cops, they've really shown themselves as a professional, calm, rational force. I don't want them armed, even though I'm not likely to ever be at risk.
You wouldn't last 10 mins at my job, like I wouldn't at yours, that's such a dumb argument, I know I wouldn't last 10 mins being a cop, coz I'd hate it. It does seem to attract some unsuitable people though huh? (More in US than here, though we've had some bad ones).
At no point did I say the murder of George Floyd was reasonable. It clearly wasn't, it was grotesquely wrong and on this we are all united.
What I am saying is that the easy-peasy answers everyone has jumped to are not as clear cut as people are making out. Worse still they are being used as cover for rioting, looting and arsons that are entirely counterproductive.
This is the dude potificating on violent thuggery.
https://web.archive.org/web/20171107231656/http://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/03/us/harvard-teacher-faces-drug-charges-in-boston.html
I know how to find reverse in my car.
Opportunists picking what they see as the winning side or shifting sands in the base?
https://twitter.com/alissamarie/status/1267979132538929154
https://twitter.com/GuthrieGF/status/1267977937300516865
Veggie fuckwit equates Black people to animals.
https://twitter.com/laurenluvsveg/status/1267651282724171777
Actually, her crime is nothing more than infelicitous phrasing. If you want to look for people who actually, rather than clumsily and unintentionally, dehumanize black people, you need look no further than the United States President, or the Democratic Party candidate in 2016, or the presumptive Democratic nominee in 2020.
Her three hearts are an indication of how much she loves herself. She has used the tragedy to turn attention to how high her spirituality is, how kind she is, and preach lovely phrases to her admiring readers.
She's a brown snowflake.
sixteen and a half thousand replies 😆
Really going after the big fish, they are.
Yeah, they should be trying to catch whoppers like sports jocks and radio news panel hosts/guests 😆
Ouch. That really hurt, man.
http://www.radicallychristian.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/mean-christians.jpg
"Opportunists picking what they see as the winning side or shifting sands in the base?"
Both I reckon. But I am somewhat heartened that some conservatives seem to think Trump has gone too far. Not sure why, maybe it's the involvement of the military? They do actually fear a fascist state?
Well, here's The Lincoln Project's latest ad. Yes, old-skool Republicans really don't want a fascist state. But there's very few old-skool Republicans left after the impact of the orange asteroid that destroyed the party of dinosaurs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5FvBtu3gB4
Have you seen the Meidas touch? If you haven't, I think you will like their work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wenq2ESet4
Maybe they can do more damage outside the party.
Better late than never, I guess……
When I joined the military, some 50 years ago, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens—much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/06/james-mattis-denounces-trump-protests-militarization/612640/
I'm really curious about what kinds of talks are going right now on in military settings about oaths to the constitution, obligations to follow orders from the Commander-in-Chief vs the obligation to not carry out an illegal order, and so on.
It's not just idle curiosity, it could really make a difference to how the next few months and years play out.
On the day Mattis called Trump a threat to the Constitution, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff reminds service people that their oath is to the Constitution.
https://twitter.com/DavidAFrench/status/1268330909213888514
Thanks for that. Wonder if this from Gallego from a couple of days ago had anything to do with it.
edit: Gonna be fascinating if it turns out to be the military that puts a lid on the Wrath of Con. That’s not their constitutional role. That responsibility belongs to the legislative branch (Congress) and the judicial branch (the courts), which have both run away from doing their job.
https://twitter.com/RepRubenGallego/status/1267625790969122816
They have a duty to disobey illegal orders.
He's down to prison goon squads.
https://twitter.com/chiefngb/status/1268335177484419073
https://twitter.com/garretthaake/status/1268361997097320454
Some might hate this because ..Russsssia!
but it makes heartening reading .It is possible to feed ourselves locally without industrialised agro /chemical technology
Many urban Russians own or rent dachas where its customary to grow food, and the practise of growing one's own food has not died out as in many western countries
https://www.growveg.com.au/guides/growing-your-own-food-russian-style/
http://reclaimgrowsustain.com/content/russians-proving-small-scale-organic-gardening-can-feed-world
"By autumn 2017, Vladimir Putin had publicly set a goal for Russia to become the world’s top producer and exporter of organic agriculture. In the summer of 2018, the Russian president signed legislation creating official standards, labeling and certification procedures for organic products produced for commercial sale in Russia that went into effect in 2020. Government support will be available to organic farmers, and a public registry will be created listing certified producers."
https://consortiumnews.com/2020/06/03/foiling-predictions-russians-did-not-go-hungry-after-2014/
That's genuinely interesting francesca. The whole aspect of the dacha and how central it is to ordinary Russian family life is often missed in the Western world.
Contrary to what you may have imagined from my comment on the other post around the crisis facing the Russian people, I'm not anti-Russian in the slightest. About 20 years ago I had the remarkable chance to live and work there for a period and I still have many powerful memories of the experience.
Cheers
It's a bloody minefield trying to get a clear idea of what actually life is like for the ordinary Russians with so much noise and propagandistic static coming at you. I have always found Russian literature and culture and history fascinating, and so diverse!
Met a few, and really liked them
Actually Red I find you one of the most balanced and thoughtful commenters on here, always worth reading , even when we disagree you're never insulting or nasty or resort to cheap putdowns
Perhaps a new form of post covid protest. https://pixelhelper.org/en/ Effective messagaing without crowds or contact.
0
13
+1
That 1 remains an ongoing worry. I really hope the care and support bubble around them is kept strong, and that the authorities are really looking after those inside that bubble to give them every reason to keep that bubble secure.
Active doesn’t necessarily mean infectious. On average, a good 200 people per day arrive at our borders. Anyone of them could be another case. Our borders are ‘closed’ but they are not hermetically sealed. At present (as at 1 June), there are 2,760 people in quarantine and managed isolation.
Todd-Watch update:
He thinks the Prime Minister should "get out more".
National also criticise her for having photo-ops, and being seen near people. So, they're recommending long, lonely walks?
Mood of a nation.
https://twitter.com/annehelen/status/1268381163413893122
https://twitter.com/annehelen/status/1267636249122058240
https://twitter.com/annehelen/status/1268377711468097537
https://twitter.com/annehelen/status/1267643104766525441
Amazing stuff, loved reading all that. Reminded me about the NZ anti tour marches, the Hamilton, AK & Wellington ones of course, but I remember being absolutely fascinated about the one they had in Westport (or Hokitika? Somewhere smallville west coast) & there was about 3-5 people marching.
So much going on. Technology has set out to disrupt the pattern of our lives, and create multi-Frankensteins.
This was from a link on TDB. November 2019. Needs thought. https://www.stuff.co.nz/science/117787200/defunct-satellites-threaten-human-race-space-agency-chief-warns
…Space scientists are concerned that defunct models could collide with active satellites or the International Space Station, which would then cause more debris, setting off a catastrophic chain reaction that could wipe out telecommunications systems – a phenomenon known as Kessler Syndrome….
And in that link is an example of how space technology wants to take over a Scottish bog and probably every available unused space, rather like British colonials claiming NZ land not being farmed by Maori, as 'waste land'.
We in NZ are feeling very smart at getting involved in rocket building and launching for space. Always doing the wrong thing. Twerps R'Us.
2017 https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/91818991/thousands-of-tiny-satellites-are-about-to-go-into-space-and-possibly-ruin-it-forever?rm=a
Rebuttal of Obama address.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szDpU1R-d4c
Lovely bit of analysis of an obscure appendix released on the freshwater reforms, and how they will greatly assist our goals to reduce carbon use:
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2020/06/04/1216012/freshwater-reforms-to-lead-to-massive-emissions-reductions
Just an observation.
All the top sporting organisations in New Zealand have been beholden to their sponsors, and dictating if and when we can see them on television – all used to be free to air (Golf/Rugby/Netball/Tennis/Soccer/Yachting and others) and paying their top stars huge and inflated salaries – you could say almost pure capitalism in practice.
Suddenly a pandemic and these prima donnas salaries are under threat – and it seems their governing organisations have their hands out for some government relief. Top sports are a nice-to-have but in these times, a bit of a luxury.
I wonder how long it will be before the much heralded and wonderful "essential service" employees around the country, will be going cap in hand to the bargaining tables for a pay rise.
Bread and circuses.
Tamati Coffey – and some other Labour MPs? – needs to learn the most basic rule of election campaigns. His job now is silence.
What Jacinda Ardern says matters very much. What ordinary MPs say does not matter at all – until they say something stupid. Then it's a headline.
Three months of self-discipline, and Labour win. National can't win, unless Labour start aiming gun at foot. Don't give free hits to the media or the opposition.
If you don't remember 2008-17, listen to somebody who does.
Agree. Coffey has to remember that our privately-owned media (including our 'state enterprises') will show him in the worst possible light if they can.
Cons do the darndest things.
https://twitter.com/ava/status/1267652412052959232
https://heavy.com/news/2020/06/fiona-moriarty-mclaughlin-instagram-viral-video/
Interesting that Human Rights Commission expressed concern at Covid-19 public health response bill passed under urgency. The HRC points out on its website that the NZ Bill of Rights Act does not override any Act passed into law that infringes it. A reasonable question to ask therefore may be: what is the purpose of a Bill of Rights if not to clearly lay out the freedoms of an individual in a fair and open society? What effective purpose does the Bill of Rights serve? After all, given the lack of oversight to the “science” provided by the WHO, it seems that NZers rights are vulnerable to the edicts of global entities.
[Please stick to one user handle, thanks]
Please stick to one user handle, thanks.
Good question about the Bill of Rights. Had a protest form offered to me today about the lockdown and infringing on freedoms. Put a note on it that I in precautionary measures at this time, and so would any citizen who was concerned about the community wellbeing where they live.
We have to remember that laws are brought in by people about people, and if they need to be overruled everyone should know why. I think all thinking people understand the whys of the lockdown, and how practical it has been; we feel the pain straight away and fix it rather than dragging it out, along with lots of bodies, over a longer period.
I had only one user handle, why did you change it? The email address provided is my sons…
Apologies, I will change it back. This is the problem when people share e-mail address and device when posting here and others cannot tell who is who.
Kia Ora.
Newshub.
Snowing down south cool.
That's is a long trip going to pick up 15 Kiwis.
Ka kite Ano.
https://youtu.be/qQfetkoGrpU
Kia Ora
Newshub.
That's the Ion Age.
Equality.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora.
The Am Show.
The Green party is doing good mahi with their wins on environment friendly policies and equality policies.
Its good to see our exports doing OK.
If you find yourself with A problem you have to look outside your square to solve it.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora.
Newshub.
There you go that was not to long.
Condolences to the whanau who lost 3 loved one in the farm accident.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora.
Te Ao Maori Marama.
Mana Wahine.
I,, Whanau back to A near normal life in our beautiful country Aotearoa that didn't take to long.
Te Matatini will be great.
A lot of parents are still weary of the virus but their are no cases in Aotearoa now for the tamariki best futures they should go back to school.
That is not on racism.
That's a great idea teaching the Rangatahi the skills to process meat.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora.
The Am Show.
One has to remember that close to half of tourist are New Zealanders.
That is good news.
Ka kite Ano.