Open mike 05/01/2023
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6:00 am, January 5th, 2023 - 28 comments
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- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #1 2023
Open access notables In Conservation Biology, snapshots of two books that will probably launch a lot of objections, one by Vaclav Smil and the other yet more Bill Gates. Two doses of carbon budget realism review author Vojtech Novotny sums them up: "Sober assessments of our options for reducing carbon emissions in ...11 hours ago - Bryce Edwards: The Big predictions for 2023
Pundits have been making their political forecasts for the year ahead. Here are some of their predictions about what we can expect in 2023. The Big issues of 2023: Economy and ethnicity There’s a consensus that the political year, and especially the election campaign, will centre around the economy, with ...2 days ago - My favourite details from Glass Onion, a comprehensive and incredibly spoiler heavy list
I watched this movie three times in two days so you wouldn’t have to (but should anyway, it’s exquisite). You should definitely watch it at least once before reading this even if you don’t care about spoilers because most of this doesn’t give much context. Note “Children ...2 days ago - State, local governments increasingly turn to zoning reformsThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah Wesseler Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gases in the United States, and passenger vehicles — the cars most Americans rely on to meet their daily needs — account for more than half of transportation emissions. Conversations about reducing these ...3 days ago
- 2022 General Reading: The List
Completed reads for 2022: On Providence, by Seneca the Younger On the Firmness of the Wise Man, by Seneca the Younger Kubla Khan, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge The Passions of Saint Perpetua and Felicity Murder is Easy, by Agatha Christie The Secret Adversary, by Agatha Christie The Bacchanals, ...3 days ago - New Dawn – destabilising social cohesion?
by Don Franks Stuff reports today: “Nationwide bookstore Whitcoulls is selling a magazine peddling a number of anti-vax conspiracies and insinuating the Christchurch mosque terror attack was a “false flag” operation. The Lambton Quay store in Wellington had copies of two issues of New Dawn magazine for sale this week. It was also spotted ...4 days ago - “We have to start drawing some lines in the sand”Redline interviews James Robb from Workers Now, a group standing candidates in the coming general election Redline: What prompted the Workers Now initiative? In the immediate sense, this was prompted by the comments by Adrian Orr, the governor of the Reserve Bank, in November, in which he frankly admitted that ...4 days ago
- Ukraine commemorates Nazi collaborators
Activists of various nationalist parties carry torches during a rally in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022. The rally was organized to mark the birth anniversary of Stepan Bandera, founder of a rebel army that collaborated with Nazi Germany and murdered thousands of Jews, Poles, Russians and Ukrainians (AP Photo/Efrem ...4 days ago - Society itself will inevitably shift, so even if some try to stop it… they actually can’t (hence...
Those of a more conservative bent seem even more hardened than ever against the shifts we are seeing taking place, because that’s the side whose pushing back against all this that has been most vocal, and the most outraged. Don’t pretend you can’t hear it every day on the ...4 days ago - 2022 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #52A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Dec 25, 2022 thru Sat, Dec 31, 2022. Story of the Week Overshooting climate targets could significantly increase risk for tipping cascades 12/22/2022 - Temporarily overshooting the climate targets of 1.5-2 degrees Celsius ...5 days ago
- 2022 – Blog views by countryAs per my blog tradition, here is where my blog viewers came from in 2022: United States United Kingdom Canada New Zealand Australia The Philippines Germany France Brazil Spain The top five remain as in 2021. The Philippines rose from #15 to #6, France from #12 to ...5 days ago
- 2022 General Reading: December (+ Old Phuul Update)Completed reads for December: Vulthoom, by Clark Ashton Smith The Haunted Chamber, by Clark Ashton Smith The Haunted Gong, by Clark Ashton Smith The Mahout, by Clark Ashton Smith The Malay Krise (2 versions), by Clark Ashton Smith The Mad God’s Amulet, by Michael Moorcock The Sword of ...5 days ago
- Happy New Year.
I have been pretty dormant as of late because the lead up to the end of 2022 involved household Covid, some work demands on me and stresses on my wife (she was caught up in that cluster-F of academic “reorganisation” at a certain NZ university) and the usual holiday preparations. ...6 days ago - Sifting the Good from the Bad: A Quick and Dirty Evaluation of Clark Ashton Smith Stories
As noted in October, I spent a fair amount of my reading time coming back to the Big Three of 1930s Pulp Fantasy and Horror: H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, and Robert E. Howard (https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2022/11/26/revisiting-the-big-three-of-weird-tales-h-p-lovecraft-c-a-smith-and-r-e-howard/). Well, in November and December, I have followed that up via reading all the ...7 days ago - Bryce Edwards: Labour’s terrible 2022 has been National’s opportunityPolitical commentators and journalists have nominated their politicians of the year, and it’s telling that the three main nominees are all from the political right: Christopher Luxon, Nicola Willis, and David Seymour. The brickbats, in contrast, are almost universally for Labour Government Ministers – especially Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, deputy ...7 days ago
- Annus Horribilis.
Trauma: The catastrophic conclusion to the anti-vaccination mandate protest in Parliament Grounds on 2 March 2022 is seared in the minds of New Zealanders. Those dramatic scenes were, however, easily eclipsed by the planetary violence of Climate Change, the biological violence of Covid-19, the political violence of Three Waters, and ...1 week ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #52 2022Open access notables Author Guy Dagan appropriately doesn't make the connection but armchair enthusiasts can: if the climate becomes more twitchy when the atmosphere is loaded with aerosols, what happens if we try solar geoengineering via aerosols at scale? Maybe we should make sure we've modeled that thoroughly before ...1 week ago
- Political Roundup: 29 December 2022Items of interest and importance today PARLIAMENT, YEAR IN REVIEW Henry Cooke: 23 predictions for 2023 Morgan Godfery (Stuff): Top-performing minister, but you wouldn’t know it Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): The way the NZ Political Left must reframe the 2023 Election Russell Palmer (RNZ): A dozen quirky soon-to-be laws flying under ...1 week ago
- Victor Venema 1971 – 2022Victor Venema PhD was born in Groningen in the Netherlands. He attended Groningen University, where he was awarded his PhD in Physics for research on the measurement of cloud structure. Since joining the Meteorological Institute, University of Bonn, his main scientific interest was variability of data in complex systems. His ...1 week ago
- How to save on winter home heating costsThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Samantha Harrington Winter’s snow and cold temperatures often arrive alongside skyrocketing energy bills. Whether you rent or own your home, there are many ways to save money this winter — from increasing energy efficiency to applying for financial assistance. In addition, clean ...1 week ago
- Political Roundup: 28 December 2022Items of interest and importance today PARLIAMENT, POLITICS, 2022 IN REVIEW Damien Grant (Stuff): Even contrarians deserve a happy Christmas Jane Clifton (Listener/Herald): The political farces of 2022 (paywalled) Richard Prebble (Herald): Shuffling the deck chairs but ministers responsible for worst problems likely to stay put (paywalled) Phil Pennington (RNZ): What Amazon ...1 week ago
- What on Earth is a polar vortex? And what’s global warming got to do with it?This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Erika Street Hopman It’s that time again. An influx of Arctic air is blasting across the U.S., sending temperatures plunging, dropping snow, disrupting Christmas travel plans, and setting social media atwitter about the polar vortex. But what exactly is the polar vortex? ...1 week ago
- 2022 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #51A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Dec 18, 2022 thru Sat, Dec 24, 2022. Story of the Week Scientists say Arctic warming could be to blame for blasts of extreme cold Research suggests that climate change is altering the ...2 weeks ago
- Merry Christmas: 2022The clock has ticked over midnight here, so it is once again Christmas. Best wishes to all, wherever you might be. This year, I thought I would share another distinctly New Zealand carol, one I daresay is imbued with a degree of nostalgia for me. This was one of ...2 weeks ago
- TheHerald – A Joke
The Herald’s deliberate, sustained and orchestrated campaign to slant the news has gone beyond a joke – not that it was ever a joke. In virtually every issue of the Herald, the news selection, headlining, and commentary are specifically designed to show the government in a bad light or opposition ...2 weeks ago - A Song For Christmas: The Coventry Carol.The medieval Coventry Carol, based on Matthew 2:16-18, is performed here by the Choir of King's College, Cambridge.Video courtesy of YouTubeThis Christmas song was posted on Bowalley Road on Friday, 23 December 2022. ...2 weeks ago
- The Thirty-Third Child: A Christmas Story.2 weeks ago
- Political Roundup: 23 December 2022Items of interest and importance today PARLIAMENT AND GOVERNMENT Jo Moir (Newsroom): Co-governance plan kicked down the road to 2024 Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): RBNZ director hired, and then asked to give up another directorship to avoid being fired (paywalled) Danyl McLauchlan (Listener/Herald): Dollars and sense: Does social investment work?(paywalled) Glenn ...2 weeks ago
- The Return of The Last Libation: Another Re-PrintAs previously indicated, November and December have been truly excellent months for working on Old Phuul. Almost as if using a laptop that isn’t falling to pieces actually encourages writing, rather than procrastination. The Old Phuul manuscript now sits at 88,200 words, and at this point I ...2 weeks ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #51 2022Open accesss notables: Rabiya Ansari & Jennifer Landin survey climate pedagogy in 57 text books from a 49 year span and find a continuous if unsteady increase in coverage but with no sign of a systematic approach commensurate with the increasingly looming threat, in Coverage of climate change in introductory biology textbooks, 1970–2019. ...2 weeks ago
- A grift for every reason and every season…
Society, take a seat, time for some real talk, because wouldn’t you know it we need to talk about something important: you need vastly new approaches against those who want to stop progress outright – and it needs to start now. Granted the fact that it seems more obvious ...2 weeks ago - Political Roundup: 22 December 2022Items of interest and importance today PARLIAMENT Morgan Godfery (Guardian): The dark side haunting New Zealand’s politics in 2022 must not hijack the next election Brent Edwards (NBR): Political debate could get more extreme in election year (paywalled) Ben Thomas (Stuff): Stock up on electoral hope, because the fear is coming ...2 weeks ago
- Making All Kinds Of Assumptions.Changing Assumptions: White supremacy, legitimated through the states’ racial segregation statutes, and enforced by the terror inspired by the Ku Klux Klan, constituted the “normal” state of affairs in the South, and most Southerners could not take seriously the idea of any other system muscling-in on the “Jim Crow” status ...2 weeks ago
- Climate Change: Grovelling harder
Back in October, Labour grovelled to the sacred cow, accepting a nightmarishly complicated system to pretend to price farm emissions while really shovelling money at farmers for bullshit "offsets". Today they've doubled down on that shit decision, committing to insulating farmers from the ETS carbon price and instead subsidising them ...2 weeks ago - Gordon Campbell On Becoming A Nation Of Political Paranoids
Reportedly, there’s a crime wave sweeping the nation, even though the vast majority of us are not experiencing it first hand. That’s partly because the crime rates in most categories – including youth crime, and crime committed by rangatahi Maori – have been dropping sharply in recent years. “This latest ...2 weeks ago - Democracy returns to Fiji?In December 2006 then-Commodore Frank Bainimarama overthrew Fiji's elected government in a military coup. While Fiji officially returned to democracy in 2014 with new elections, post-coup decrees on political parties, public meetings, and freedom of expression kept the opposition out. But now, its over: Fiji went to the polls last ...2 weeks ago
- Bryce Edwards: Threats to politicians and co-governance could be big themes of 2023It has been reported that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will not host her centrepiece Waitangi Day breakfast next year. According to reports by the Guardian and Australian Associated Press, the decision was due to increased fears for Ardern’s safety at the Upper Treaty Grounds. Although the Waitangi National Trust announcement ...2 weeks ago
- A New Government, But No Change, In 2023.A Distinction Without A Difference: Labour is likely to lose next year’s election because it has become little more than New Zealand’s alternate governing party. New Zealanders lucky enough to live in their nation’s comfort zones will turn to Labour when National appears to have exhausted itself, and to National ...2 weeks ago
- Thank you for 15 years as Yale Climate Connections editorThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections A lot can happen over the span of a decade and a half. And also not much, and certainly not enough. That’s a sound-bite snapshot of the past 15 years for climate change and for this site since it first went live online. ...2 weeks ago
- A judicial earthquakeIn 2015, racist Australia started dumping its problems here, deporting people who had lived in Australia for their entire lives to New Zealand on the grounds that they born here. The government panicked at the thought of having thousands of hardened criminals sent here, and so passed legislation under all-stages ...2 weeks ago
- Political Roundup: 20 December 2022Items of interest and importance today PARLIAMENT Spinoff: The champs and flops of NZ politics in 2022 Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): 2022 – A year of competing cults & wounds Anneke Smith (RNZ): David Seymour questions Christopher Luxon’s loyalty to conservatism ahead of election year Luke Malpass (Stuff): Christopher Luxon’s ...2 weeks ago
- Slouching towards Christmas in this Year of Covid
With the year drawing to a close and Christmas almost upon us the sounds that seem to sum up the season are less jingling bells and carols, more the cough of Covid and an enormous, exhausted sigh of relief.The conversations at Christmas gatherings are less about the pre-Christmas rush and ...2 weeks ago - 2022 climate-conscious gift guideThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Daisy Simmons ’Tis the season for conundrums — at least for the climate-conscious who find themselves torn between reducing carbon emissions and holiday gift giving. So take heart: It IS possible to indulge in your generous nature while keeping a lighter carbon ...2 weeks ago
- Gordon Campbell on Palestine’s Christmas and a holiday music playlistAt this time of year, nominally Christian nations are preparing to celebrate the birth of Christ in Bethlehem. Last week however, the UN Human Rights Commission issued a press release condemning “the rampant Israeli settler violence and excessive use of force by Israeli forces” this year against Palestinians living on ...3 weeks ago
- Political Roundup: 19 December 2022Items of interest and importance today PARLIAMENT Andrea Vance (Stuff): Will Christopher Luxon write the final act of Winston Peters’ career? Marc Daalder (Newsroom): MP’s emails show pattern of personal attacks on ministry Guardian: New Zealand set to cancel Jacinda Ardern’s Waitangi Day BBQ amid security concerns Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): ...3 weeks ago
- Laura Norder Morons: On Prison Population Hysteria
The New Zealand Right thinks it is onto a winner with Criminal Justice issues. It may even be right to think so. Not because anything they say has the slightest connection to reality – their analysis of the problem is misguided, and their proposed solutions are worse. It’s just ...3 weeks ago - 2022 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #50A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Dec 11, 2022 thru Sat, Dec 17, 2022. Story of the Week 1.5 and 2°C: A Journey Through the Temperature Target That Haunts the World Seven years have passed since the Paris Agreement, ...3 weeks ago
- Investing in the health of New Zealanders
Every New Zealander deserves access to world-class healthcare, no matter where they live. We have a comprehensive plan to make sure this is a reality – and we’re making good progress. ...1 week ago - Green MPs sponsor Iranian protests at risk of execution
Green Party MPs have joined politicians from across Europe to sponsor political prisoners detained in Iran during the recent protests - and urges MPs from all political parties to do the same. ...2 weeks ago - Wage boost for school bus drivers welcomedThe Green Party is celebrating a win following the news that the Government will invest in boosting the wages of rural school bus drivers. ...2 weeks ago
- Five years of supporting whānauSince coming into Government, we’ve worked hard to lift family incomes and make New Zealand the best place in the world to be a child. While long term challenges like inequality and child poverty will take time to fix, we’ve made good progress over the past five years. ...2 weeks ago
- Urgent action needed at home following global deal for natureThe Green Party welcomes an historic new global agreement to protect 30% of the planet for nature by the end of the decade and calls on the Government to follow it with immediate action to protect native wildlife. ...2 weeks ago
- Supporting Kiwis through 2022Over the past year, our Government has worked hard to support families in the face of global cost of living challenges. At the same time, we’ve continued to tackle the long-standing issues facing New Zealand, like housing affordability, climate change and child poverty – and we’re making good progress. ...3 weeks ago
- Summer COVID plan neededThe Green Party has been left wondering if the Government signed off for the summer break before putting in place a COVID plan. ...3 weeks ago
- Stronger measures proposed to tackle youth vaping
The Government is seeking feedback on measures to help reduce the number of young people vaping. “Youth vaping is becoming increasingly popular, with many choosing to vape despite never having smoked,” Associate Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall said. “Alongside our efforts to reduce tobacco smoking, we want to ensure vaping ...2 days ago - Govt reminds international arrivals to test for CovidThe Government is reiterating its advice to all international travellers to do a Covid test if they become symptomatic after arrival, while also stepping up awareness of free RATs available at airports, Covid-19 Response Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall says. “This follows growing global concerns, including from the World Health Organisation ...2 days ago
- Frontline workers to receive COVID-19 Response AwardThe government has confirmed the groups of frontline workers to receive a COVID-19 Response Recognition Award, a specific acknowledgement of the service given by so many to New Zealand during the pandemic, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “All New Zealanders, at home and abroad, played a part in our ...6 days ago
- Pasifika celebrated in New Year HonoursA former Premier of Niue and a leading Pacific doctor in the fight against COVID-19 have been celebrated in this year’s New Year honours said Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio. Young Vivian who was the leader of Niue in the 1990’s and 2000’s led the response to Cyclone ...6 days ago
- Sports stars and administers honouredThe New Year Honours List includes an array of sporting stars and grassroots administrators who reflect the best of Aotearoa’s sporting and recreation community. The appointment of Farah Palmer as a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit acknowledges her enormous contribution to sport and rugby in particular. ...6 days ago
- New Year honours recipients highlight what makes NZ uniqueThe 183 recipients of New Year honours represent the best of New Zealand and what makes us unique in the world, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. “The 2023 New Year honours list is full of leaders and pioneers whose contribution has enriched us a country and helped make us unique ...6 days ago
- Lifeguards and Coastguard well equipped to help Kiwis this summerThe Government’s critical support for the water safety sector through the pandemic means lifeguards are better equipped on our beaches and Coastguard is sailing new boats to the rescue. “Our $63 million package for water safety initiatives in Budget 2020 has been a game changer for our water safety sector, ...1 week ago
- Drug checking boost continues to keep New Zealanders safer this summerThe Government has made drug checking services more accessible to keep young people safe this summer, Health Minister Andrew Little says. Aotearoa now has four licenced organisations to perform drug checking services - KnowYourStuffNZ, New Zealand Drug Foundation, Needle Exchange Services Trust, and the Institute of Environmental Science and Research. ...1 week ago
- Stay of proceedings in High Court ‘501’ ruling welcomedJustice Minister Kiri Allan has welcomed the decision by the High Court to issue a stay of proceedings following the ‘501’ ruling. Crown Law, the Ministry of Justice - Te Tāhū o te Ture, Police and the Department of Corrections - Ara Poutama Aotearoa have been working closely to address ...2 weeks ago
- Emergencies can happen anytime, anywhere – make sure you’re summer readyPlanning on heading to the beach or bach this summer? Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty is reminding Aotearoa New Zealand to be prepared over the holiday break. “Emergencies can happen anytime, anywhere, so it’s a good idea to be ready wherever you are,” says Kieran McAnulty. “Before heading away, ...2 weeks ago
- Planning a stress and emissions free roadieSummer is a great time to do a few road trips and safely explore the country, while doing your bit for the environment, Transport Minister Michael Wood has reminded Kiwis. “The summer roadie is a great way to explore our beautiful country, accessing amazing beaches, bush and baches, and doing ...2 weeks ago
- Aotearoa New Zealand supports Tokelau response to COVID-19The Government has announced it is sending a shipment of medical supplies to Tokelau to help its response to the first cases of COVID-19 in quarantine. “Tokelau has done an outstanding job of building health resilience and keeping COVID-19 out of their nation so far. In preparation, around 96 percent ...2 weeks ago
- Govt and industry take next step on agriculture emissions reduction planThe Government has worked alongside farming leaders to adapt the proposed system for reducing agricultural emissions Five-year price pathway established from 2025, providing certainty out to 2030 Emissions levy to be set at lowest price possible to achieve outcomes Agriculture sector to help oversee the allocation of levy revenue raised ...2 weeks ago
- Peka Peka to Ōtaki Expressway ready to rollThe ribbon has been cut on the Peka Peka to Ōtaki expressway, in time for the holiday season and the start of a bumper summer for tourists in New Zealand. “Peka Peka to Ōtaki is the latest part of the Government’s investment into the lower North Island transport network,” Kieran ...2 weeks ago
- Government takes steps to further protect the rights of tamarikiMinister for Children Kelvin Davis has welcomed New Zealand’s accession to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communications Procedure (OPCP). Now in effect, the Protocol will allow claims to be made to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child if ...2 weeks ago
- Wage consistency for school bus drivers Additional funding will be available to make the wage rates of rural school bus drivers consistent with those who drive for comparable public transport services, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “For many students and families, assistance with transport to school is vital, and school bus drivers are essential to ...2 weeks ago
- Great Walks to see great numbers visiting this summerThe Department of Conservation expects a busy season this summer with the return of overseas visitors and high numbers of New Zealanders taking time out in nature, Minister of Conservation Poto Williams says. As the temperature rose, so did visitor numbers in October, as just under half (44%) of New ...2 weeks ago
- Open Government Fourth National Action Plan releasedNew Zealand’s Fourth National Action Plan under the Open Government Partnership was made public today. “Open government is about strengthening democracy, building trust and improving wellbeing. This Fourth Plan includes commitments that are designed to bring positive change for the people in New Zealand,” Chris Hipkins said. The plan contains ...2 weeks ago
- New Zealand welcomes new global deal for natureThe COP15 summit in Montréal brought together parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, who after four years of negotiations, have agreed a turning point for nature, committing to halt and reverse biodiversity loss Conservation Minister Poto Williams said today. "Biodiversity is being lost faster now than at any ...2 weeks ago
- Transport Minister appoints Waka Kotahi ChairThe Minister of Transport Michael Wood has today announced the appointment of Dr Paul Reynolds as the Chair of Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency. “Our Government’s commitment to infrastructure investment continues to play a critical part in securing New Zealand’s economy. Waka Kotahi is crucial to the delivery of many ...2 weeks ago
- Take steps to stay COVID-19 safe this summerMake sure you’re prepared for if you get COVID-19 while on holiday so we can all enjoy a safe as summer, COVID-19 Response Minister Ayesha Verrall said. “New Zealand’s settings will remain unchanged following a final review for the year,” Ayesha Verrall said. “That includes the retention of 7-day mandatory ...3 weeks ago
- New measures will help shoppers make informed decisions at the checkoutThe Government is putting in place rules that will make it easier for consumers to compare the price of grocery products at the supermarket, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Dr David Clark announced today. “These new rules will require supermarkets, and other large grocery retailers, to clearly and consistently ...3 weeks ago
- Minister thanks SH6 repair crew for rapid reopeningState Highway 6 between Blenheim and Nelson reopened last night just in time for Christmas after a massive effort from Waka Kotahi and their team, Associate Minister of Transport Kieran McAnulty said. “It’s been a big job to fix the five major sites that were damaged in the August weather ...3 weeks ago
- Government action solves firefighter’s disputeMinister of Internal Affairs, Jan Tinetti is welcoming today’s announcement from the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union that union members have voted to accept the settlement for a new collective employment agreement. “The Government provided Fire and Emergency New Zealand with additional financial support so that a better offer could ...3 weeks ago
- Embracing the inbetween cultures of my Puerto Rican, Pākehā, Māori family
Summer read: Balancing the Puerto Rican culture she grew up with and the Māori and Pākehā cultures her kids also inherited has been a parenting challenge for Elisa Rivera – but she’s learning to find the beauty in that balance. First published November 2022 What’s more important for my ...3 hours ago - How GoldenEye on Nintendo 64 defied the odds and redefined gamingSummer read: It was expected to be another mediocre video game based on a movie. Instead it changed gaming forever. 25 years on, Sam Brooks remembers GoldenEye 007. First published August 25, 2022. If you grew up in the 90s and had access to a Nintendo 64, you almost certainly ...3 hours ago
- 31 infants in mass burial of unclaimed bodies in overcrowded PNG morgue
By Phoebe Gwangilo in Port Moresby The bodies of Papua New Guinean 31 infants who died between March and July last year at Port Moresby General Hospital were among 127 unclaimed bodies interred in a mass burial yesterday at the 9-Mile public cemetery. The infants had died soon after birth ...9 hours ago - FijiFirst seems to be ‘confused’ over role of Aiyaz, says NaiduBy Felix Chaudhary in Suva The opposition FijiFirst party still “seems to be confused” about the role of its general secretary Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, says prominent Suva lawyer Richard Naidu. “Mr Sayed-Khaiyum appears to have triggered his exit from Parliament by accepting a position on the Constitutional Offices Commission,” he said. ...9 hours ago
- Martyn Bradbury’s 17 editorial ‘no go’ zones for the NZ mediaCOMMENTARY: By Martyn Bradbury THE DAILY BLOG’S 2022 INFAMOUS MEDIA GONGS Last month The Daily Blog offered its New Year infamous news media gongs — and blasts — for 2022. In this extract, editor and publisher Martyn Bradbury names the mainstream media “blind spots”. Graham Adams over at The ...9 hours ago
- Tony Fala: Pelé – a tribute from Aotearoa and OceaniaANALYSIS: By Tony Fala Edson Arantes do Nascimento passed away at the age of 82 after a brave battle with colon cancer in Brazil on 20 December 2022. Known as “O Rei”, “The Black Pearl”, and “Pelé”, he was an ambassador, businessperson, community worker to the world, cultural force, leader, ...9 hours ago
- Government seeking feedback on proposed measures to crack down on youth vaping
The vaping rates for youth are too high, the government says, so new measures are being proposed. ...18 hours ago - Newsletter: January 05 2023 – Items of interest and importance todayNew Zealand Politics Daily is a collation of the most prominent issues being discussed in New Zealand. It is edited by Dr Bryce Edwards of The Democracy Project. Items of interest and importance today HEALTH, COVID Gianina Schwanecke (Stuff): Government proposes new measures to cut ‘too high’ youth vaping rates Kate Nicol-Williams ...20 hours ago
- Two hours with the secretive rich lister bankrolling Sean Plunket’s The PlatformSummer read: Sean Plunket seemed down and out of radio after an acrimonious ending with MediaWorks. Then a mysterious backer funded one of the most audacious new media startups in years. He explains his motives to Duncan Greive. First published August 20, 2022 Wayne Wright Jr enjoyed the first lockdown. ...24 hours ago
- Hair Now: Omnibus editionAll six episodes of Hair Now in one handy tab. Yasmine navigates which hair to keep and which hair to cover Yasmine likes looking at the hair on her arms. It reminds her that she’s a mammal. But as a Palestinian New Zealander, she also has to navigate complex ...24 hours ago
- High, Supreme, Federal, Family, County – what do all our different courts actually do?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Heilpern, Associate Professor and Chair of Discipline (Law), Southern Cross University One way to understand how the courts in Australia are ranked is to imagine a pyramid and an umbrella. Let’s start with the pyramid. Imagine three lines horizontally across ...1 day ago
- What happens to your body on a long-haul flight?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Schiemer, Commercial Pilot | Aerospace Medicine Specialist | Clinical Lecturer, University of Adelaide Shutterstock If crowded airports are a sign, Australians are keen to get back into the skies. And if you’re flying long haul, in a few years ...1 day ago
- More than 100,000 tourists will head to Antarctica this summer. Should we worry about damage to the ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Leane, Professor of English and Associate Dean, Research Performance, University of Tasmania Author provided As the summer sun finally arrives for people in the Southern Hemisphere, more than 100,000 tourists will head for the ice. Travelling on one of more ...1 day ago
- How to feed your garden birds if you want to attract and support native speciesSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daria Erastova, Doctoral researcher, University of Auckland Shutterstock/KingRobert As vegetation is removed to make way for urban development, wild species experience a dramatic loss of habitat, making it more difficult for city dwellers to interact with wildlife. Studies show ...1 day ago
- Should I loosen up on the kids’ bedtime these holidays – or stick to the schedule? Tips from a c...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Blunden, Professor and Head of Paediatric Sleep Research, CQUniversity Australia Shutterstock Summer holidays often mean sunshine, beach trips, mountain hikes, relaxation, catching up with family and friends, and the chance to sleep in. For many parents, the temptation is ...1 day ago
- ‘Boys will be boys’: why consumers don’t punish big polluters for greenwashing liesSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Austen Kay, Lecturer, School of Business, The University of Queensland Shutterstock Stigma is an awful burden for business. But what if – for some companies – stigma is an asset? That’s what I and an international team of ...1 day ago
- 5 tips to take the best care of your voice for everyone who sings, from a speech pathologistSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sandra Rojas, Speech pathologist, Voice specialist, Researcher, Federation University Australia Shutterstock The care of your singing voice is crucial to maintain a healthy and long-life voice. Professional singers often have teams of people keeping their voices healthy, and they ...1 day ago
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Does the same apply to anti-vaxxers, et al?
anti-vaxxer and incel are terms that now get applied broadly beyond their technical meaning. Not all of those people act like abusers. It's not so much about being kind to the people in the groups we attach those labels to, it's about being able to differentiate based on what individuals are doing and then respond appropriately.
Ostracising whole classes of people based on internet generated ideas about major social problems destroys community. It's easy to do on twitter, but in real life, we still have to live with people who hold these views. It's possible to hold people to account for their behaviour and not push them all into more radical positions by treating them like shit.
Not everyone of course, some people are do far gone they need serious boundaries put in place. But too much of the response atm treats all the people perceived in a certain way as haters and wreckers as if we can hate them into changing. Ostracisation is a heavy duty social tool that needs to be used more wisely.
In the tweet the idea is that abusive people need to learn empathy and that focusing on their feelings inhibits this. It doesn't however present solutions. It's one of the failings of left and liberal politics currently. We think about what 'should' be happening, often in the negative, rather than imagining and creating the change we prefer.
How is empathising with Covid denialists and suchlike going for us?
I do not mind what words we use to describe those who are unconcerned about harming others. The people who are harmed need their feelings amplified instead, is the point I took. Old-fashioned left solidarity with the disadvantaged, in other words. And heeding Karl Popper about not tolerating the intolerant.
Very little public coverage of what life is like for people who are no longer free to leave their homes because some angry snowflakes resent wearing a mask, for instance.
What empathy? I've seen nearly three years of ostracisation and ridicule. Be specific with some examples please.
Neither do I so long as we are using the language accurately. My point wasn't the words are wrong, but that those two words are now used much less discriminately.
I agree with this. Is the left/liberal people amplifying the realities of those people? I haven't seen that, but there's a lot I miss. Obviously the government is shit at it. What are the MSM doing?
I don't know what it's like where you live, but as a person with a disability who lives in a small community with anti-vaxers and vax hesitant people, and people completely down the rabbit hole, the idea that we can just ostracise those people into 'right behaviour' puts me at risk. I'm still dependent on those people for a range of things. Many disabled people are.
It's a shit situation, but reiterating, that it's not about tolerating the intolerant, it's about not turning them *all into radicals who hate the government and will act much worse against society if pushed hard against the wall.
Along with Nact, who doesn't give a shit, and Labour, who don't know what to do, and NZ voters, including many on the left, who refuse to vote for parties that will actually try and shift us out the neoliberal hell hole we're descending into. This isn't solely on some anti-vaxers. Hardly anyone where I live wears a mask. This is about NZ as a whole.
Watching the goings on with the Republican Party and the election of the Speaker of the House reminds me of the old saying about organising a piss up in a brewery.
The GOP family comes together to put the stamp on the thousands of times in recent years utterances have come from them about 'unity' and 'division.'
It's sort of like the All Blacks playing the All Blacks in a match and the All Blacks failing to win.
Apparently the last time that the speaker wasn't elected on the first ballot was 1923
Digging it out now 🙂
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives#Notable_elections
I’d bet that there are currently bets on the record being exceeded.
Thanks for the link.. put up a post.
As some of us have been saying, new misogyny same as the old misogyny. Gender identity activists, come and get your people.
in case you think this is an aberration rather than a regular occurrence,
https://terfisaslur.com/
And then, of course they have to make up claims about how much violence they are subjected to. There is even a new word for that – "transperbole". The most basic of research shows that there is nothing like the "Trans Genocide" they are claiming.
https://4w.pub/breaking-down-claims-of-a-trans-genocide/?fbclid=IwAR3-JUkokpORSE16BEYGJ4ec6E6JBRZMMqfT6w3srn3A-bc0xJthNM6Q-g0
I didn't know what TERF stood for, had to look it up! (I must lead a sheltered life!) – but this saddens me.
Hell, there are some woefully inadequate males out there!
If you follow Guy McPherson and think it's all going to be over by 2026, believe me, the earth will not miss some of the apologies for human species that live on it!
the problem with GMcP's position it that is basically says give up (and 2026 is just a daft date to predict). What that means in this context is that women will be increasingly harmed as societies shift to chaos and authoritarian positions rather than regenerative, life affirming ones.
No-one knows which way this will roll, but it's easy to make a case for not giving up and continuing to do the right things, with our full imaginations geared towards things changing but working out.
I agree, weka, re McPherson's predictions. I continue to do what I can to mitigate my impact on the climate . . . but
when I read a comment like the above one in the tweet, I despair for the human race.
The foolish and pointless protests at Parliament last year likewise left a hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach.
If we are somehow to get through the on-coming climate melt-down it will because we begin behaving like bees or ants – putting the collective needs of all society above our own greed. Sadly, I can't see that happening.
Still, one lives in hope!
what do you think stops you from imagining a better future?
twitter replies,
My fav columnist:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/130897996/however-fast-time-is-going-for-you-history-will-be-made-in-the-year-ahead
Not to gloat but I doubt the possibility of a mild winter featured in Poots' plan to freeze Europe into submission.
/
Natural gas prices in Europe fell back to pre-war levels, as a bout of mild weather reduced demand and eased fears of a prolonged supply crunch.
Benchmark futures fell as much as 11% as a warm spell curbs heating demand and blustery conditions cut use of gas in power generation. Mild weather has spread across the region, with temperatures breaking monthly records in several locations at the start of January.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-04/europe-gas-slumps-to-lowest-since-2021-as-mild-weather-cuts-use
It gets better.
Oh! No! How is he going to impress Greta now?
Inadvertently
Hehehe
Regretful-as.
Now that is a "Gotcha!!"
A fitting humiliation visited on Andrew Tate would have been if the prison van had been an EV.
I, (and possibly the whole world), would have wryly savored a satisfying guilt free sense of schadenfreude to start us off in a good mood for the year.
Just the thing to carry this piece of cargo to where it needs to be.
hahaha.
Ford Transit designed for comfort?!
Excuse me while I laugh.
It was a rolls compared to it's 400e predecessor.
With the way rental properties and their prices are, a long wheelbase Ford Transit with high panels are a major improvement.