” The death of a bull at a Wairarapa rodeo on Friday night will add fuel to the fire in the debate on whether the sport should be banned.
….rodeo-type activities would not be tolerated on a farm or when inflicted on a pet, but they are allowed “in the name of fun” for a cruel and outdated form of entertainment.
The difference with rodeo is that the events pit humans against distressed animals in an arena with the expectation that the human will come out on top. Is this really how we want to have fun in a supposedly civilised country in the 21st century?”
I remember going to a bull fight in Spain in the late 1960’s – it was supposedly the “done thing” if you went to Spain. In a way bullfighting is a more extreme form of rodeo – it goads and angers the bull by injuring it and the entire event was very distressing for me personally. Nothing sporting about it – rodeo is the same, nothing sporting about it, legging the animals when they haven’t a chance of escape, pissing the bulls and horses of with the aggravating strap around its belly – what chance is that for the animals.
Do away with it – its enough we kill thousands of the beasts each year just for our pleasure of eating them – give them respect at least until then.
I really hope Bill stays on as National ‘s leader.
“ ‘In the middle of a historic five-day stint at Waitangi, Prime Minister Jacinda
Ardern will lead a large contingent of Labour MPs at Monday’s official welcome.
National’s Steven Joyce will be among 11 National Party MPs at the powhiri with leader Bill English elsewhere in the country.”
Russell Brown lacks the energy to do his job any more. Time to give up?
past it(informal) too old to be of any use or any good at anything. synonyms: past one’s prime, not as young as one was, not as young as one used to be
After the death of Nelson Mandela in late 2013, Russell Brown suffered the indignity of having his blog hijacked by the cynical National Party provocateur Matthew Hooton, who had the effrontery to claim that Mandela was similar to Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. The thread naturally dissolved into chaos after that, and by the end of the day Brown was at the end of his tether. I satirized the imbroglio here…
Brown clearly has no stomach for robust discussions any more. After the recent attempt to smear Lorde, he wrote a thoughtful piece about the whole shameful affair, but then at the end, where the discussion should have been,we find this sad little note….
Hi folks. Normally, I’d welcome comments here, but I honestly don’t have the energy during the holiday period to oversee a discussion that would undoubtedly need pretty much constant watching. Sorry, but comments are off.
[I personally feel uncomfortable with you using The Standard comments section to smear another left wing blogger because of a long running grudge you hold towards him. I haven’t talked to the other authors about this, but given you have a history of posting misleading comments I am just going to put some boundaries in place.
If you want to reference a conversation at Public Address, you now need to link directly to the conversation *each time*. If the comments section is pages long, you need to link to the specific part of the conversation you are referring to. This is so that people reading your comment can make up their own mind by seeing the conversation itself and in context. *You need to do the work of linking.
Putting you into moderation until you supply a link for the above comment.
Others have dealt with your views on Brown’s suspending commenting – weka]
Shame on Russell Brown for wanting a little peace and quiet during the holiday period. Doesn’t he realise it’s his job, nay duty, to supervise frothing toddlers bickering on the internet 24/7? The audacity of the man!
When you set up and run a blog that lots of people find interesting and choose to spend time debating on, you too can spend your holiday time monitoring and moderating said blog.
Sorry, weka, but you have provided not one bit of evidence of my posting even one “misleading comment.”
[I count inaccurate transcripts that are presented as transcripts as ‘misleading’. And in that conversation I linked to, you appeared to accept that. – weka]
You are willfully misconstruing my rush transcripts—unlike my present ones, they weren’t always perfect, but they were far from “inaccurate”—as though I was deliberately misleading my readers. I did not do that; if I was of that cast of mind I’d be working for the National or Labour Party propaganda units, or for something even worse, like the three “news” team.
[sigh. read the links in the link. We’ve been over this ad nauseam, and the links show the inaccuracy because people went and linked to the actual audio and demonstrated the mistakes. I haven’t said it was intentional on your part, I’ve said you have a history of misleading comments – weka]
Morning Breakfast people its good that you are keeping the debate on weed going it was a good article you ran with MR Cameron that name is quite strong in
Te Taiwarhiti .
I had one quip with the article that is that know mention of all the people who get a criminal record because of the way these ancient laws are forced on us .
I will wait for the correct time for me to have more input on the subject of weed in Aotearoa there are some issues that I stay out of so as to not have a negative effect against the good cause I.E rally the neolibrals against it . I think Fair GO is a show that fights for the common peoples causes to be treated fairly Like the wealthy are one should not have to have heaps of money to expect to be treated humanly by our society but that’s the way it is .
May be I should approach Fair Go to help me fight the NZ justice system for the facial way they are treating a broke brown person/human like ECO MAORI .
Yeah Right the sandfly will shine there hypnotic object and spin anything to stop that.
You see people the follow me everywhere I go trying to break my WAIRUA but know I have to much MANA for that to ever happen. P.S ITs good to see you all Eco likes the good kiwi Karma you good people on Breakfast are displaying Ka pai.
Ka kite ano
He was a major fundraiser for the Democratic Party.
With the Republicans in the ascendancy he isn’t quite as popular anymore.
Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren, among others could probably tell you all about him although I expect they have probably developed very convenient selective amnesia.
Time to move on though. Nothing to see here. https://www.businessinsider.com.au/harvey-weinstein-political-donations-2017-10?r=US&IR=T
Like the time I ended pretending to be married in an attempt to put an end to the ongoing sexual harassment from my then employer. It worked due to his culture.
In reflection I should have spoken out as my actions did nada to prevent the same happening to any other women he may have employed after I eventually quit, I feel bad about that now, but young and naive I was.
Yeah, but unlike the RNC’s finance chief Steve Wynn, Weinstein wasn’t a party functionary.
And unlike the their call for Weinstein’s donations to be returned tout suite, the RNC hypocrites are touting due process before they even think about returning any of Wynn’s donations.
RNC chairwoman on Fox says RNC won’t yet return Wynn $: “Steve has denied these allegations. There is an investigation that is going to take place. He should be allowed due process. If he is found guilty of any wrongdoing, we will absolutely return 100% of the money."— Rebecca Ballhaus (@rebeccaballhaus) January 30, 2018
In an interview with CNN from October, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel praised Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Schumer for returning donations from Weinstein, but added: “The DNC should do the same thing. They’re keeping 90 percent of his donations. I don’t understand. If you stand for treating women well and you stand for the respect of women, you shouldn’t take money from somebody who treated women with the absolute highest level of disrespect.”
But in January 2018, the GOP is singing a very different tune after a Wall Street Journal investigation found that Steve Wynn, casino magnate and finance chair of the RNC, allegedly sexually harassed and assaulted dozens of women over the past two decades. The party accepted Wynn’s resignation as finance chair.
But it isn’t isn’t looking to return his donations anytime soon. “He should be allowed due process,” McDaniel said on Fox on Tuesday morning.
[…]
You don’t need “due process” or a criminal investigation to fire a private employee or return an alleged harasser’s political donations. Weinstein wasn’t investigated by the New York Police Department (at first) — he was investigated by Ronan Farrow at the New Yorker and by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey at the New York Times.
Former Today show host Matt Lauer was fired by NBC — without investigation by police. And, of course, conservatives — and the GOP — have long noted a number of allegations of harassment and sexual assault against former President Bill Clinton that never reached the courts.
That makes it alright then.
The Republican Party also has skeletons in its closet.
What is that phrase? We can ignore it. They did it too.
As I said. Nothing to see here. Time to move on.
It’s quite clear, liberals have acted decisively and removed harassers and conservative hypocrites have routinely labelled accusers liars, hidden behind due process and trotted out apologists like Sarah “Sen. Franken has admitted wrongdoing and the president hasn’t” Huckabooboo.
You know what’s so hard case Rock people it’s when I drive past a road work site the workers are looking at the ground or star gazeing. What was Jen talking about when she pulled her calf mussels that would be good to know now there is someone at a business I mowed when they are never there anther play by the sandflys Ka kite ano
The main reason workers pause when cars are going past or trains are going past, is because it’s good not to be run over and killed. So they step out of the way.
Note also: for every one person on the end of a shovel, you also have to have other people “standing around”:
– health and safety
– site engineers
– site supervisors
– client
– subcontractors waiting for another part of the job to complete
– traffic staff
– machine operators eg cranes, trucks, hi-ab, all of which wait for other epople to do their jobs
So before you do the usual thing again thinking: why is only one person working and the rest of them standing around, the simple answer is:
they are not your personal performing monkeys who jump up and down just because you and yours rolled up in a car.
Morning Jim how’s the new Moko there must be some in the water at The Rock radio station all those new mokos well all the best to you all.
Road workers what eco meant was the sandflys are going ahead of me and telling you people not to notice me they bull you people and say that they have a court order to stop any publicly for me you people on the ground work hard and all deserve a pay rise. Ka kite ano
Man can not even have a private conversations with his Whano and the sandflys spinn it up to use what I say in private as a weapon thatssssss right a poor Brown man has no rights I forgot that is accepterable in OUR society. Eco is not impressed with the talent and leadership of our Maori leaders over the last 50 years .
My problem is they let crown con them that the justice system is humane and fair mean while the jails are over flowing with Maori. They throw there hands up in the air and say we don’t know what’s wrong with the system. They have let MSM publish all the bad stories about Maori and say it ok it’s true what about all the positive thing Maori achieve .There are many things that the powerful Maori have just let happen they were just looking after there own.It’ got that bad that everyone looks down there noses look at US never give us the respect and trust . We are all tared with that same brush that is published on MSM that the neolibrels instergated ECO MAORI is going to change that disrespectful view of all MAORI like I’m doing NOW KA PAI
P.S. Many thanks for that positive article on Maori in KOREA Kimberly Downs.
ANA TO kai
Eco Maori is backing your show Hillary and Jeremy we just have to interactive a bit and your ratings will rise sharply Eco has been waiting patiently for this new show on TVNZ ON 1 at SEVEN Pm Ka kite ano
I not impressed with the Maori leaders we got now either . They know how this system works and chose to say nothing to WARN OUR Mokos It’s algood Eco Maori has told all the people about this corrupt justice systems of the western society. And crime is dropping 2 reasons 1 being informed about the bullshit systems 2 they have a swarm following me around all the time the sandflys don’t have the time to harass OUR Mokos Ka pai I can handle the sandflys heat.lol Ana to kai.
ECO MAORI has been reassing his views on Barack Obama he is m8 with shonky key who I know is a racist bigot who main goal was to destroy MAORI Mana and full his pockets and his m8 how many billions did he spend down South irragation schemes bailing out that finance company giving our money to people who are already rich WTF .
So Big No to Obama coming to Aotearoa at OUR expense just to lift AMERICA IMAGE .Shonky key would get some positive publicity out of that visit to after what key has done to Aotearoa no fucken way .ANA TO KAI
Eco Maori knows that Hillary Barry and Jeremy wells won’t caste a subliminal message to all the people of Aotearoa that it’s OK to drive a million dollar car own a million dollar’ house talk about all the bags his wife has when they go on holiday to America and kiss shonky ass whenever he can and ridicule OUR poorest people who have slipped on there ladder of life. Then give his m8 dairy dack dune a pat on the back while his son m8 is poisoning OUR people for a profit heres a person form that party he likes on this link bellow ka pai Hillary & Jeremy
Ka kite ano
Heard her speak about problems for Māori, poverty and inequality, poor housing, rangatahi suicide rate and mental health. Major, major issues that the Government plays a large part in.
You have to wonder how many times Māori have heard a politician promising change, and many of these things won’t be able to be turned around quickly either. She appears genuine, but who knows if the rest of the Labour caucus is.
Yes Ad, a speech I’m proud to listen to. A P.M. we can be proud of.
Her call for the people of the Marae and else where to hold her and the government to account each year, with face to face meetings, to discuss progress during Waitangi Week.
We can do this. We can change lives working together.
I’m thinking back, and I can’t remember an occasion where the spouse/partner of a Prime Minister played such a central role at Waitangi as it seems the Current Incumbent’s is.
Even to picking up the wero…a task that should more appropriately gone to a male colleague rather than a partner.
That was Labour giving the PM’s spouse an honour – maybe so he wouldn’t be feeling “left out” of all the proceedings. Maybe it was as simple a gesture as that.
Get over it Rosemary. It was a nice thing for him to be able to do.
Researchers at Stanford University have developed a compound that when injected into a tumor destroys it along with all the other cancerous masses present in the body.
The combination of two agents that stimulate the immune system sparked a body-wide reaction in mice, destroying cancer cells both near and very far from the initial injection point. The success of the treatment, which worked for different types of cancer, means that human trials will be starting soon.
Geez Puckish, I thought your filter was better than that. The memo doesn’t stand scrutiny, let alone the wild allegations and conclusions being spouted about it.
Meanwhile here in New Zealand, you heard of a book called Dirty Politics by Nicky Hager? It’s got all sorts of interesting bits, including stuff about the office of the incumbent head of government misusing the nation’s spy services to smear the opposition.
What, you mean we don’t have the overseas mega-wealthy with possible foreign government connections paying visits to politicians in order to acquire favourable treatment?
Good to know.
On a different note, have they repealed the hobbit employment law yet?
I love the fact the Trump wing of the Republican party still think Obama is president and Clinton is some sort of shadow president pulling the strings. Or something – it’s hard to make sense of what the fuck they actually think or are trying to infer.
Well if true, and thats still a big if, it means Trump was spied on illegally and it was endorsed by the highest office in the land so they probably think its a big deal
It said nothing about Trump, it was about Carter Page. Even leading Republicans such as Trey Gowdy say it has nothing to do with the investigation into the Trump campaign.
If the name Trey Gowdy vaguely rings a bell, it was he who decided 8 investigations into Hillary and Benghazi weren’t enough and conducted a ninth. And came up with nothing that could even be spun as culpability on Hillary’s part.
edit: although, to give him his due, that investigation did highlight the issue of her server.
Just in case you’re interested, here’s a reminder of Nunes’ previous clusterfuck of an attempt to blow a smokescreen for Hair Fuhrer to hide behind and claim vindication. He’s got form for embarrassingly inept stunts like this.
Half a dozen close members of the Trump campaign have either been indicted or disclosed their own emails detailing activities they believed to be on behalf of the Russians. The nunes memo is an attempt to poison one of the initial warrants that exposed this poisonous tree, because the one commonality all of these people have is Trump.
I doubt they have enough to nuke the investigation via court appeals – the FISA warrants against page don’t cover Flynn, for example – but they’re looking for enough PR shielding to excuse interfering in the investigation.
fuck off. Claiming to know nothing aids and abets all of the world’s ills. Better to take a stand (and be wrong once in a while) than to exercise Cartesian doubt as a dodge from moral culpability.
Oh bullshit. You’re just too much of a coward to form a reasoned belief on the world around you. If you actually believed something, you might one day actually have to commit to it.
The other thing that pisses me off about the “oh no, it’s impossible to know anything” approach is that not only are you helping corruption run rampant, you try and pretend like you’re better than people who do actually engage with their surroundings. Fuck you. People like you are part of the reason people don’t vote, which favours tories and demogogues. You are actively trying to keep the corrupt in office.
It’s ironic that the only thing you pretend to have a firm opinion on is your intellectual superiority.
And yes, the proposition that sowing apathy and encouraging political disengagement does indeed provide fertaile soil for corruption is logical:
Corruption multiplies most when out of the public view;
Saying that we can never know the truth instead of looking for it and exposing it keeps the truth out of the public view;
therefore:
Saying that we can never know the truth instead of looking for it and exposing it provides the most ideal environment for corruption to multiply.
Logical enough for you, fucko?
One thing I don’t know is why you bother commenting here – surely your extreme epistemological skepticim means that you must have overwhelmig doubt that your computer even exists? Your desire for attention betrays your arguments as a fraud: if your doubt were genuinely that extreme, there could well be no attention to be gained and any effort commenting here would be wasted.
Your pretension creates a paradox that exposes itself. You’ve been hoist by your own canard.
That’s a handy excuse that no-one will understand for me to give out when I have come out with something off the wall – sorry didn’t want to waffle with Cartesian doubt so posited that.
McFlock I enjoyed that but will try to keep out of the way when you let fly.
I was thinking the other day about people who won’t have children because they don’t want to bring little ones into such a bad world. That seems cowardly too, though I think China was trying to do the right thing, limiting to two would be best.
Funnily enough, I don’t recall ever having been irked by your comments in the slightest, so you needn’t fear me going off the handle.
I think some people are overly pessimistic about the world – especially those people who are in a position to choose their fertility based on bets about what will happen in thirty years.
The kids who really suffer will be born to parents who had no choice because healthcare wasn’t available.
China was/is in a major demographic bind, but its solution has had some unforseen negatives, like a hefty gender imbalance.
“Morgan Stanley reports having 210 subsidiaries in offshore tax havens. ”
“Citigroup reported operating 427 tax haven subsidiaries in 2008 but disclosed only 41 in 2014. Over that time period, Citigroup nearly doubled the amount of cash it reported holding offshore. ”
“Bank of America reported operating 264 tax haven subsidiaries in 2013 but disclosed only 22 in 2014. ”
If the Russians did hack the U.s elections …. It was by calling all their diplomats home on the eve of the election …. giving the impression of a war footing preparation for a Clinton win.
Whether this induced any u.s voters, specifically those afraid of nuclear war with russia ….to give their vote to Trump instead of Clinton….. is unknown and unexplored to the best of my knowledge.
I’m not that invested in the continuation of criminality that both Trump and Clinton represent ….
I think it would be good if Trump was arrested over his profiteering from criminal russian money laundering …… criminal oligarchs stealing from the poor should be prosecuted … just like war criminals should….Convictions for either are like rocking horse shit.
I’d be very surprised if ‘creative’ business structures do not provide Trump with Wayne Mapp / Bill English standards of legal plausible deniability…. and then he could quote John Key ” We observe the law”….. ” every thing is above board ” ….. ” Its all a political smear”.
I can’t recognise Disaster Capitalism and pay attention to the FBI’s investigation at the same time, eh, because I’m inattentive and stupid, and don’t know how.
Well, he did hire someone intelligence services were interested in because of their connections to Russia, so he can’t really bleat about turning up in incidental collection.
NEW: I just found this video of Carter Page in Moscow, Russia speaking in support of Vladimir Putin, while working on the Trump campaign. He calls the American international affairs strategy "hostile," then goes on to talk about the "failure of US analysts & leaders" #TrumpRussiapic.twitter.com/LE2T6mMrcC— Scott Dworkin (@funder) February 5, 2018
Carter Page, the energy industry consultant who was linked last year to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, is the unnamed man identified in a federal complaint as having met with a Russian intelligence agent four years ago, Page himself revealed on Monday.
Page confirmed his role in the 2013 FBI investigation to NBC News after ABC News and Buzzfeed identified him as a subject called “Male 1” in a criminal complaint filed in 2015 against Evgeny Buryakov, an undercover agent posing as a Russian bank executive in New York.
The GOP supported a sexual predator, Trump. an accused child sex offender, Moore, and now with a former head of American Nazi Party, white supremacist and Holocaust denier running unopposed as nominee for Congress, dollars to donuts Republicans will go for the threefer and vote for him.
“Mr. Trump may have said some bad words, but Bill Clinton raped me, and Hillary Clinton threatened me,” Broaddrick added. “I don’t think there’s any comparison.”
What they don’t say though, is that part of the problem is that there are some very wealthy people who make a lot of money from ultra-processed products. These wealthy groups fund some very good lobbyists who actively oppose laws designed to reduce the impact these non-foods
It’s how we get op-ed pieces in our major media publications extolling the virtues of individual choice & downplaying the role of obesegenic environments. These pieces work to drowning out the actual research and minimise long-term health implications on population groups
It has been a subject of conjecture for a long time – the secretive Freemasons, who must be a body of conservatives that have had antipathy to lefties over centuries and interested in protecting the status quo when it rewards them satisfactorily. A very solid union or group of self-protecting business or professional people.
The disclosure that both political journalists and politicians are Freemasons comes after the outgoing chair of the Police Federation alleged that Freemasons were blocking reforms in policing and thwarting the progress of women and officers from black and minority ethnic communities.
After three years as the chair of the Police Federation, Steve White said: “I found that there were people who were fundamentally against any kind of change and any kind of progress, and they always happened to be Freemasons.”
The charge brought an angry denial from the UGLE. In a letter to the press, Staples said: “We are quietly proud that throughout history, when people have suffered discrimination both in public and social life, Freemasonry has welcomed them into our lodges as equals.” He added that many Freemasons chose to keep their membership secret in order to avoid being discriminated against.
Sorry tracey. I just saw that item about there being three different lodges in the Commons, I think. And then that other bit with the images but hadn’t got any further.
Then I wondered about the possibility of them forming a defensive circle when one of their number got into trouble (I see that it didn’t help Oscar Wilde). I wondered about such cases as the CTV in Christchurch where inexplicably it seemed, that no fault could be found and no atonement ordered. Anne Perry who likes Victorian crime themes has written of a powerful elite group exerting authority called the Inner Circle in her books and shows them prepared to wreck people’s reputations if thwarted. Fiction, but I think she has delved into the times fairly thoroughly.
Women were not allowed to be members till lately I think. There was supposed to be a group of blokes who were in good standing in the community, and who belonged to different work sectors and could keep secrets. As women were all, well women, what else to say about them, and everyone knew they couldn’t keep secrets, I think entry for the femmes would be fairly late in the piece.
Better put sarc/ for protection.
I wonder if the inability to get satisfactory action against the engineers involved with the CTV building collapse and deaths of 115 people in the Christchurch earthquake in 2011 could be as a result of a cover-up by the ‘old boys club’.
The failures of proper procedure compound as time went on with this building. This is one paragraph about it. In 1990, major design defects were first brought to light. Holmes Consulting conducted a review of the existing structural system for a potential tenant looking to evaluate the safety of the building. They found that there was inadequate strength in the connection between the floor slab and shear walls, especially the walls at the north shear wall core. When alerted to the issue, Reay took 21 months to implement a fix. During the retrofit process, however, permit applications were never filled and the local building council was not alerted to the structural renovation that was being done. The lack of disclosure to the council prevented their involvement in the consultation and review process (Macfie, 2014).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CTV_Building The Royal Commission of Inquiry heard evidence into why the CTV Building collapsed during the 2011 earthquake from 25 June 2012, and was scheduled to run for eight weeks.[35]
Witnesses before the Commission debated whether the building was code-compliant when it was built, and whether the engineers designing and approving the building had adequate experience. Consulting firm head Alan Reay stated that the building did not meet his own standards, and he thought the engineer he employed for the design, David Harding, had adequate experience.[36] Harding had not designed buildings of more than two floors before. He said he relied on Reay for guidance, and that the developers wanted a minimum-cost design to (just) meet the code; no extra reinforcing was to be added or you “got your hand smacked”.[37]
Witness Arthur O’Leary, a structural engineer, said that a “critical eye” should have been cast over the building design.[38] The “pioneering” structural design could have been beyond the experience of council staff to evaluate, though the “pioneering” design meant that non-compliant elements in the building columns were not obvious. Panel member Barry Davidson also disagreed with an “opportunistic and legalistic” interpretation of the code that found they were compliant.[39]
The commission’s findings were released on 10 December 2012. The report found the building’s design was deficient and should not have been approved. The building’s engineer, David Harding, of Alan Reay Consultants Ltd, was found to have no experience in designing multi-storey buildings and was “working beyond his competence.” His supervisor, Alan Reay, left Harding unsupervised then pressured city officials to approve the building design even though several members had reservations about the design.[40]
The police say that current law prevents them from prosecuting the designers after 1 year of the design being complete. Even the Consumer Guarantees Act is better than that.
Lobby the new Govt to bring in restrospective legislation and stop the buck passing between designers/contractors/council/police. Fuck sometimes the NZ number 8 wire approach is shit.
Underlying that is a deeper fear that dust swept under the carpet in an effort to tidy up the balance of sheets of financial institutions in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis could resurface……
…..Greene said the proportion of New Zealand shares that were foreign-owned had increased over the past few years, so if US investors did cash in equities and switch to bonds that might have more of an impact than it once would.”
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RNZ reports on continued arbitrariness on decisions at the border. British comedian Russell Howard is about to tour New Zealand and other acts allowed in through managed isolation this summer include drag queen RuPaul and musicians at Northern Bass in Mangawhai and the Bay Dreams festival. The vice-president of the ...
As families around the world mourn more than two million people dead from Covid-19, the Plan B academics and their PR industry collaborator continue to argue that the New Zealand government should stop focusing on our managed isolation and quarantine system and instead protect the elderly so that they can ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 10, 2021 through Sat, Jan 16, 2021Editor's ChoiceNASA says 2020 tied for hottest year on record — here’s what you can do to helpPhoto by Michael Held on Unsplash ...
Health authorities in Norway are reporting some concerns about deaths in frail elderly after receiving their COVID-19 vaccine. Is this causally related to the vaccine? Probably not but here are the things to consider. According to the news there have been 23 deaths in Norway shortly after vaccine administration and ...
Happy New Year! No, experts are not concerned that “…one of New Zealand’s COIVD-1( vaccines will fail to protect the country” Here is why. But first I wish to issue an expletive about this journalism (First in Australia and then in NZ). It exhibits utter failure to actually truly consult ...
All nations have shadows; some acknowledge them. For others they shape their image in uncomfortable ways.The staunch Labour supporter was in despair at what her Rogernomics Government was doing. But she finished ‘at least, we got rid of Muldoon’, a response which tells us that then, and today, one’s views ...
Grigori GuitchountsIn November, Springer Nature, one of the world’s largest publishers of scientific journals, made an attention-grabbing announcement: More than 30 of its most prestigious journals, including the flagship Nature, will now allow authors to pay a fee of US$11,390 to make their papers freely available for anyone to read ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gary Yohe, Henry Jacoby, Richard Richels, and Benjamin Santer Imagine a major climate change law passing the U.S. Congress unanimously? Don’t bother. It turns out that you don’t need to imagine it. Get this: The Global Change Research Act of 1990 was passed ...
“They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”WHO CAN FORGET the penultimate scene of the 1956 movie classic, Invasion of the Body Snatchers? The wild-eyed doctor, stumbling down the highway, trying desperately to warn his fellow citizens: “They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”Ostensibly science-fiction, the movie ...
TheOneRing.Net has got its paws on the official synopsis of the upcoming Amazon Tolkien TV series. It’s a development that brings to mind the line about Sauron deliberately releasing Gollum from the dungeons of Barad-dûr. Amazon knew exactly what they were doing here, in terms of drumming up publicity: ...
Since Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration in 1953, US presidents have joined an informal club intended to provide support - and occasionally rivalry - between those few who have been ‘leaders of the free world’. Donald Trump, elected on a promise to ‘drain the swamp’ and a constant mocker of his predecessors, ...
For over a decade commentators have noted the rise of a new brand of explicitly ideological politics throughout the world. By this they usually refer to the re-emergence of national populism and avowedly illiberal approaches to governance throughout the “advanced” democratic community, but they also extend the thought to the ...
The US House of Representatives has just impeached Donald Trump, giving him the dubious honour of being the only US President to be impeached twice. Ten Republicans voted for impeachement, making it the most bipartisan impeachment ever. The question now is whether the Senate will rise to the occasion, and ...
Kieren Mitchell; Alice Mouton, Université de Liège; Angela Perri, Durham University, and Laurent Frantz, Ludwig Maximilian University of MunichThanks to the hit television series Game of Thrones, the dire wolf has gained a near-mythical status. But it was a real animal that roamed the Americas for at least 250,000 ...
Tide of tidal data rises Having cast our own fate to include rising sea level, there's a degree of urgency in learning the history of mean sea level in any given spot, beyond idle curiosity. Sea level rise (SLR) isn't equal from one place to another and even at a particular ...
Well, some of those chickens sure came home bigly, didn’t they… and proceeded to shit all over the nice carpet in the Capitol. What we were seeing here are societal forces that have long had difficulty trying to reconcile people to the “idea” of America and the reality of ...
In the wake of Donald Trump's incitement of an assault on the US capitol, Twitter finally enforced its terms of service and suspended his account. They've since followed that up with action against prominent QAnon accounts and Trumpers, including in New Zealand. I'm not unhappy with this: Trump regularly violated ...
Peter S. Ross, University of British ColumbiaThe Arctic has long proven to be a barometer of the health of our planet. This remote part of the world faces unprecedented environmental assaults, as climate change and industrial chemicals threaten a way of life for Inuit and other Indigenous and northern ...
Susan St John makes the case for taxing a deemed rate of return on excessive real estate holdings (after a family home exemption), to redirect scarce housing resources to where they are needed most. Read the full article here ...
I’m less than convinced by arguments that platforms like Twitter should be subject to common carrier regulation preventing them from being able to decide who to keep on as clients of their free services, and who they would not like to serve. It’s much easier to create competition for the ...
The hypocritical actions of political leaders throughout the global Covid pandemic have damaged public faith in institutions and governance. Liam Hehir chronicles the way in which contemporary politicians have let down the public, and explains how real leadership means walking the talk. During the Blitz, when German bombs were ...
Over the years, we've published many rebuttals, blog posts and graphics which came about due to direct interactions with the scientists actually carrying out the underlying research or being knowledgable about a topic in general. We'll highlight some of these interactions in this blog post. We'll start with two memorable ...
Yesterday we had the unseemly sight of a landleech threatening to keep his houses empty in response to better tenancy laws. Meanwhile in Catalonia they have a solution for that: nationalisation: Barcelona is deploying a new weapon in its quest to increase the city’s available rental housing: the power ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters, PhD The 2020 global wildfire season brought extreme fire activity to the western U.S., Australia, the Arctic, and Brazil, making it the fifth most expensive year for wildfire losses on record. The year began with an unprecedented fire event ...
NOTE: This is an excerpt from a digital story – read the full story here.Tess TuxfordKo te Kauri Ko Au, Ko te Au ko Kauri I am the kauri, the kauri is me Te Roroa proverb In Waipoua Forest, at the top of the North Island, New ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Coming attraction: IPCC's upcoming major climate assessmentLook for more emphasis on 'solutions,' efforts by cities, climate equity ... and outlook for emissions cuts in ...
Ringing A Clear Historical Bell: The extraordinary images captured in and around the US Capitol Building on 6 January 2021 mirror some of the worst images of America's past.THERE IS A SCENE in the 1982 movie Missing which has remained with me for nearly 40 years. Directed by the Greek-French ...
To impact or not to impeach? I understand why some of those who are justifiably aghast at Trump’s behaviour over recent days might still counsel against impeaching him for a second time. To impeach him, they argue, would run the risk of making him a martyr in the eyes of ...
The Capitol Building, Washington DC, Wednesday, 6 January 2021. Oh come, my little one, come.The day is almost done.Be at my side, behold the sightOf evening on the land.The life, my love, is hardAnd heavy is my heart.How should I live if you should leaveAnd we should be apart?Come, let me ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 3, 2021 through Sat, Jan 9, 2021Editor's ChoiceAfter the Insurrection: Accountability, Reform, and the Science of Democracy The poisonous lies and enablers of sedition--including Senator Hawley, pictured ...
This article, guest authored by Prof. Angela Gallego-Sala & Dr. Julie Loisel, was originally published on the Carbon Brief website on Dec 21, 2020. It is reposted below in its entirety. Click here to access the original article and comments. Peatlands Peatlands are ecosystems unlike any other. Perpetually saturated, their ...
The assault on the US Capitol and constitutional crisis that it has caused was telegraphed, predictable and yet unexpected and confusing. There are several subplots involved: whether the occupation of the Michigan State House in May was a trial run for the attacks on Congress; whether people involved in the ...
On Christmas Eve, child number 1 spotted a crack in a window. It’s a double-glazed window, and inspection showed that the small, horizontal crack was in the outermost pane. It was perpendicular to the frame, about three-quarters of the way up one side. The origins are a mystery. It MIGHT ...
Anne-Marie Broudehoux, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Will the COVID-19 pandemic prompt a shift to healthier cities that focus on wellness rather than functional and economic concerns? This is a hypothesis that seems to be supported by several researchers around the world. In many ways, containment and physical distancing ...
Does the US need to strike a grand bargain with like-minded countries to pool their efforts? What does this tell us about today’s global politics? Perhaps the most remarkable editorial of last year was the cover leader of the London Economist on 19 November 2020. Shortly after Joe Biden was ...
Alexander Gillespie, University of Waikato and Valmaine Toki, University of WaikatoAotearoa New Zealand likes to think it punches above its weight internationally, but there is one area where we are conspicuously falling behind — the number of sites recognised by the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Globally, there are 1,121 ...
An event organised by the Auckland PhilippinesSolidarity group Have a three-course lunch at Nanam Eatery with us! Help support the organic farming of our Lumad communities through the Mindanao Community School Agricultural Foundation. Each ticket is $50. Food will be served on shared plates. To purchase, please email phsolidarity@gmail.com or ...
"Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here." Prisons are places of unceasing emotional and physical violence, unrelieved despair and unforgivable human waste.IT WAS NATIONAL’S Bill English who accurately described New Zealand’s prisons as “fiscal and moral failures”. On the same subject, Labour’s Dr Martyn Findlay memorably suggested that no prison ...
This is a re-post from Inside Climate News by Ilana Cohen. Inside Climate News is a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for the ICN newsletter here. Whether or not people accept the science on Covid-19 and climate change, both global crises will have lasting impacts on health and ...
. . American Burlesque As I write this (Wednesday evening, 6 January), the US Presidential election is all but resolved, confirming Joe Biden as the next President of the (Dis-)United State of America. Trump’s turbulent political career has lasted just four years – one of the few single-term US presidents ...
The session started off so well. Annalax – suitably chastised – spent a pleasant morning with his new girlfriend (he would say paramour, of course, but for our purposes, girlfriend is easier*). He told her about Waking World Drow, and their worship of Her Ladyship. And he started ...
In a recent column I wrote for local newspapers, I ventured to suggest that Donald Trump – in addition to being a liar and a cheat, and sexist and racist – was a fascist in the making and would probably try, if he were to lose the election, to defy ...
When I was preparing for my School C English exam I knew I needed some quotes to splash through my essays. But remembering lines was never my strong point, so I tended to look for the low-hanging fruit. We’d studied Shakespeare’s King Lear that year and perhaps the lowest hanging ...
When I went to bed last night, I was expecting today to be eventful. A lot of pouting in Congress as last-ditch Trumpers staged bad-faith "objections" to a democratic election, maybe some rioting on the streets of Washington DC from angry Trump supporters. But I wasn't expecting anything like an ...
A growing public housing waiting list and continued increase of house prices must be urgently addressed by Government, Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson said today. ...
The Government has released its Public Housing Plan 2021-2024 which outlines the intention of where 8,000 additional public and transitional housing places announced in Budget 2020, will go. “The Government is committed to continuing its public house build programme at pace and scale. The extra 8,000 homes – 6000 public ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has congratulated President Joe Biden on his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States of America. “I look forward to building a close relationship with President Biden and working with him on issues that matter to both our countries,” Jacinda Ardern said. “New Zealand ...
A major investment to tackle wilding pines in Mt Richmond will create jobs and help protect the area’s unique ecosystems, Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor says. The Mt Richmond Forest Park has unique ecosystems developed on mineral-rich geology, including taonga plant species found nowhere else in the country. “These special plant ...
To further protect New Zealand from COVID-19, the Government is extending pre-departure testing to all passengers to New Zealand except from Australia, Antarctica and most Pacific Islands, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “The change will come into force for all flights arriving in New Zealand after 11:59pm (NZT) on Monday ...
Bay Conservation Cadets launched with first intake Supported with $3.5 million grant Part of $1.245b Jobs for Nature programme to accelerate recover from Covid Cadets will learn skills to protect and enhance environment Environment Minister David Parker today welcomed the first intake of cadets at the launch of the Bay ...
The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health. “Following confirmation of the Cook Islands’ COVID ...
Jobs for Nature funding is being made available to conservation groups and landowners to employ staff and contractors in a move aimed at boosting local biodiversity-focused projects, Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan has announced. It is estimated some 400-plus jobs will be created with employment opportunities in ecology, restoration, trapping, ...
The Government has approved an exception class for 1000 international tertiary students, degree level and above, who began their study in New Zealand but were caught offshore when border restrictions began. The exception will allow students to return to New Zealand in stages from April 2021. “Our top priority continues ...
Today’s deal between Meridian and Rio Tinto for the Tiwai smelter to remain open another four years provides time for a managed transition for Southland. “The deal provides welcome certainty to the Southland community by protecting jobs and incomes as the region plans for the future. The Government is committed ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appointed Anna Curzon to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). The leader of each APEC economy appoints three private sector representatives to ABAC. ABAC provides advice to leaders annually on business priorities. “ABAC helps ensure that APEC’s work programme is informed by business community perspectives ...
The Government’s prudent fiscal management and strong policy programme in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic have been acknowledged by the credit rating agency Fitch. Fitch has today affirmed New Zealand’s local currency rating at AA+ with a stable outlook and foreign currency rating at AA with a positive ...
The Government is putting in place a suite of additional actions to protect New Zealand from COVID-19, including new emerging variants, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “Given the high rates of infection in many countries and evidence of the global spread of more transmissible variants, it’s clear that ...
$36 million of Government funding alongside councils and others for 19 projects Investment will clean up and protect waterways and create local jobs Boots on the ground expected in Q2 of 2021 Funding part of the Jobs for Nature policy package A package of 19 projects will help clean up ...
The commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Ruapekapeka represents an opportunity for all New Zealanders to reflect on the role these conflicts have had in creating our modern nation, says Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Kiri Allan. “The Battle at Te Ruapekapeka Pā, which took ...
Babies born with tongue-tie will be assessed and treated consistently under new guidelines released by the Ministry of Health, Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Around 5% to 10% of babies are born with a tongue-tie, or ankyloglossia, in New Zealand each year. At least half can ...
The prisoner disorder event at Waikeria Prison is over, with all remaining prisoners now safely and securely detained, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says. The majority of those involved in the event are members of the Mongols and Comancheros. Five of the men are deportees from Australia, with three subject to ...
Travellers from the United Kingdom or the United States bound for New Zealand will be required to get a negative test result for COVID-19 before departing, and work is underway to extend the requirement to other long haul flights to New Zealand, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today. “The new PCR test requirement, foreshadowed last ...
Having recently walked much of the South Island stretch of Te Araroa, Kirsten O’Regan reflects on the magnificent landscapes and interesting characters she encountered along the way.On our 36th day of walking, we climb through the fire-blackened hills above Ohau, stopping to examine heat-disfigured trail markers. Fresh green shoots have ...
Miss Torta in central Auckland is putting the spotlight on a snack that’s commonplace in Mexico, but until now relatively unknown in New Zealand.You’ve heard of a torta, but what is it, exactly? Well, depending on the cuisine it can mean a flatbread, cake, tart, sweet pie, savoury pie or ...
Two of three ministerial statements from the Beehive have been released in the name of the PM over the past two days. The more important, insofar as it involves political action that will affect the wellbeing of significant numbers of Kiwis, was the release of the government’s Public Housing Plan ...
Jacinda Ardern has reminded Labour MPs "ongoing vigilance" will be required in 2021 to avoid another Covid outbreak, admitting she held her breath over the summer break. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zareh Ghazarian, Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, Monash University Despite many young Australians having a deep interest in political issues, most teenagers have a limited understanding about their nation’s democratic system. Results from the 2019 National Assessment Program – Civics and ...
Pinged $65 for overstaying 10 minutes in a parking block? Put away your hard-earned cash and read this first.Hopefully, by now, I’ve already established myself at The Spinoff as the resident tightarse, determined to avoid all unfair and unnecessary punishments (see: oversize baggage charges). Today, I’m focusing my attention on ...
Nuclear weapons states and their allies risk reputational ruin if they flout a new UN Treaty, Carolina Panico argues The United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will come into force this month, on January 22, 2021, turning nuclear weapons into illegal objects. It is an achievement that ...
How does one turn into a rabid extremist over the description of a children’s bike? Emily Writes looks at Facebook comments so you don’t have to.You’ve been there, I know it. You’re scrolling along, trying to avoid QAnon conspiracy theories and Trump apocalypse memes when a story catches your eye. ...
Joe Biden is now the President of the United States and many people across America and throughout the world will consequently be breathing more easily. But while the erratic, unpredictable and irresponsible years of the Trump Presidency may be over, ...
Tough border testing for New Zealand honey imports to Japan is re-igniting the conversation about the use of the weed killer glypohsate in New Zealand. ...
The Taxpayers Union should be aware of the law and of the history of ACC. The ACC is a legal system introduced in 1974 to replace the common law right of accident victims to sue for damages for personal injury sustained as a result of negligence ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, University of Melbourne Terrorism, political extremism, Donald Trump, social media and the phenomenon of “cancel culture” are confronting journalists with a range of agonising free-speech dilemmas to which there are no easy answers. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nial Wheate, Associate Professor of the Sydney Pharmacy School, University of Sydney You’ve just come from your monthly GP appointment with a new script for your ongoing medical condition. But your local pharmacy is out of stock of your usual medicine. Your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deanna D’Alessandro, Professor & ARC Future Fellow, University of Sydney On Wednesday this week, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was measured at at 415 parts per million (ppm). The level is the highest in human history, and is growing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Renwick, Professor, Physical Geography (climate science), Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington It might be summer in New Zealand but we’re in for some wild weather this week with forecasts of heavy wind and rain, and a plunge in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zareh Ghazarian, Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, Monash University Despite many young Australians having a deep interest in political issues, most teenagers have a limited understanding about their nation’s democratic system. Results from the 2019 National Assessment Program – Civics and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle O’Shea, Senior Lecturer, School of Business, Western Sydney University Last week, the McIver’s Ladies Baths in Sydney came under fire for their (since removed) policy stating “only transgender women who’ve undergone a gender reassignment surgery are allowed entry”. The policy was ...
There are good grounds for optimism after the guardrails of American democracy held firm through to Joe Biden's inauguration today as President, writes Stephen Hoadley Pessimism abounds about the perilous condition of American democracy. Commentators and headline writers proffer memes such as ‘broken and divided nation’, ‘the threat from within’. ...
*This article was originally appeared on RNZ and is republished with permission. Donald Trump will forever be remembered as the president who was impeached twice - and for his rhetoric that struck a chord so deep in America that it will take years to dissipate. Donald Trump leaves Washington with the lowest approval ...
A new plan shows how and where the Government will build 8,000 new state housing places it funded in Budget 2020, Marc Daalder reports Jacinda Ardern has kicked off the political year with a major announcement, promising hundreds of new state housing places in regional centres across the country. With ...
This is the full transcript of President Joe Biden's speech after being sworn in at his inauguration this morning in Washington DC Chief Justice Roberts, Vice President Harris, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, Vice President Pence, and my distinguished guests, my fellow Americans, this is America's day. This ...
Analysis: President Donald Trump has left the White House, and his deputy chief of staff confirms he is withdrawing his candidacy to lead the OECD. New Zealander Christopher Liddell withdrew his nomination to be Secretary-General of the powerful 37-member OECD and was one of the last members of the Trump Administration to depart ...
Andrew Paul Wood assesses the best-selling picture book by Grahame Sydney It's no great secret the commercially very successful Grahame Sydney has a long-standing beef that his work doesn’t receive more critical and institutional approval. I sympathise about the lack of critical attention, but I can understand why. The Discourse™ ...
This story was produced in collaboration with the Center for Public Integrity and Columbia Journalism Investigations. It was originally published by Public Integrity, Mother Jones, The Arizona Republic and Orlando Sentinel. It is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the ...
Kate Wills is facing stage four cancer with the same fierce approach she takes into her ocean swimming - never say can't. Even on the mornings Kate Wills feels wretched from her fortnightly chemotherapy treatment, she drags herself up at 5am and goes swimming. “I have to. It’s my job – to ...
Some costs associated with meetings speak for themselves, others are less conspicuous. Victoria University of Wellington's Val Hooper lays those costs out, making suggestions on where we can rein them in. Meetings – when last did we count the costs? And so it’s back to work and one of the ...
Analysis: It has been easy to ignore anyone daring to criticise or even question any aspect of the government’s Covid-19 response. Their voices have rarely been heard, and when they have been raised they have been quickly and decisively howled down by the favoured coterie of academics. ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s US presidential inauguration live blog: inauguration news, analysis and reaction, updated through Wednesday and Thursday. The inauguration ceremony begins at 5.15am Thursday, NZ time, and Joe Biden takes the oath of office around 6am. 7.25am: And what about Trump?In the early hours of this morning, NZ ...
In 10 x 100, we survey a group of 100 people via Stickybeak and ask them 10 questions. Last month we quizzed Wellingtonians. Today, we ask NZ drivers how they’ve found a holiday period without international tourists, and what they get up to while they’re on the road.Across Aotearoa roads ...
Emmanuel Macron's anti-separatist policies have garnered backlash from the international Muslim community. Now, a global coalition has complained to the UN. ...
Summer reissue: Join Michèle A’Court, Alex Casey and Leonie Hayden as they go on an odyssey of women’s rage, and find out how we can channel our anger into good. First published September 15, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by ...
By Lorraine Ecarma in Cebu City The University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) will continue to stand against any threats to human rights, chancellor Clement Camposano has declared in response to the termination of a long-standing accord preventing military incursion on campus. In a Facebook post, Camposano said the academic ...
ANALYSIS:By Jennifer S. Hunt, Australian National University Every four years on January 20, the US exercises a key tenant of democratic government: the peaceful transfer of power. This year, the scene looks a bit different. If the last US presidential inauguration in 2017 debuted the phrase “alternative facts”, the ...
By Lulu Mark in Port Moresby In spite of Papua New Guinea’s mandatory mask-wearing requirement under the National Pandemic Act 2020, many public servants attending a dedication service in Port Moresby have failed to wear one. They were issued masks before entering the Sir John Guise Indoor Complex but took ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Moro, Associate Professor of Science & Medicine, Bond University How do scabs form? — Talila, aged 8 Great question, Talila! Our skin has many different jobs. One is to act as a barrier, protecting us from harmful things in the ...
US President Donald Trump is pardoning former White House adviser Steve Bannon, who is accused of fraud in a case involving funds for the border wall. ...
Joel Little with Lorde, Dera Meelan with Church & AP, Josh Fountain with Maala and Randa and Benee – producers make good songs great. Now a new fund from NZ on Air is putting the focus on them.Six months ago it looked like the music industry was on the brink ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denise Buiten, Senior Lecturer in Social Justice and Sociology, University of Notre Dame Australia On average, one child is killed by a parent almost every fortnight in Australia. Last week, three children — Claire, 7, Anna, 5, and Matthew, 3 — were ...
This commendable and realistic decision again underlines that it is the police, not government, who are largely responsible for the reduction in cannabis prosecutions over the past 15 years, writes Russell Brown.The news that New Zealand police have discontinued the annual Helicopter Recovery Operation, which has, each summer for more ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ilan Noy, Professor and Chair in the Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington We will not be able to put the COVID-19 pandemic behind us until the world’s population is mostly immune through vaccination ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s US inauguration live blog: inauguration news, analysis and reaction, updated throughout Wednesday and Thursday, NZ time. Reach me at catherine@thespinoff.co.nz.4.00pm: What will Trump be doing tomorrow?It’s pretty well known by now that outgoing president Donald Trump intends to throw out the rulebook when it comes to ...
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance is calling out Mayor Phil Goff for his undignified comment that the claim made by Councillor Greg Sayers asking why Auckland Council is funding yoga classes is “bullshit.” Yesterday, Councillor Greg Sayers penned ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne At 4am Thursday AEDT, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be inaugurated as president and vice president of the United States, replacing Donald Trump and Mike Pence. What follows is ...
*This article was originally published on RNZ and is republished with permission. New Zealanders flocked to beaches and lakes this summer, but it wasn't enough to fill the gap left by international tourists in other regions. The tourism industry is struggling to fill a $6 billion hole left by international tourists ...
Summer reissue: Chef Monique Fiso joins us for a chat about Hiakai – her acclaimed Wellington restaurant, and the title of her stunning new book.First published November 3, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members – click here to learn ...
A new trough was brought to our attention this morning, although ethnicity will limit the numbers of eligible applicants. If you are non-Maori, it looks like you shouldn’t bother getting into the queue – but who knows?We learned of the trough from the Scoop website, where the Kapiti ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Britta Denise Hardesty, Principal Research Scientist, Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship, CSIRO Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing costs economies up to US$50 billion globally each year, and makes up to one-fifth of the global catch. It’s a huge problem not only for the ...
Police stopping major cannabis eradication operations has given the green light to drug dealers and gangs to expand operations, make more profit, and continue to wreak havoc on the most vulnerable in our society, says Sensible Sentencing Trust. ...
Varieties of merino wool footwear are emerging faster than Netflix series about British aristocracy. Michael Andrew takes a look at the rise of the shoe that almost everyone – including his 95-year-old grandma – is wearing.Some might say it all started with Allbirds. After all, to the average consumer, it ...
A new report from New Zealand’s Independent Monitoring Mechanism (IMM) highlights the realities and challenges disabled people faced during the COVID-19 emergency. The report, Making Disability Rights Real in a Pandemic, Te Whakatinana i ngā Tika ...
The Maritime Union is questioning the reasons provided for ongoing delays at the Ports of Auckland. Maritime Union of New Zealand National Secretary Craig Harrison says there is a need for an honest conversation about what has gone wrong at the ...
As New Zealand faces a dire shortage of veterinarians, a petition has been launched urging the Government to reclassify veterinarians as critical workers so we can Get Vets into NZ. “New Zealand desperately needs veterinarians from overseas to counter ...
New Zealand is fast developing a reputation as a South Pacific vandal, says Greenpeace, as the government continues to fight against increased ocean protection. At the upcoming meeting of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO), ...
The Department of Internal Affairs and Netsafe are urging parents and caregivers to be mindful of the online content their tamariki may be consuming in the lead up to the inauguration of president-elect of the United States of America Joe Biden ...
Care is at the centre of Auckland Zoo’s mandate, and it’s clear to see when you witness the staff doing their day-to-day jobs up close. Leonie Hayden went behind the scenes to talk to two people who would do anything for the animals they look after. “We were having this ...
The Game Animal Council (GAC) is applying its expertise in the use of firearms for hunting to work alongside Police, other agencies and stakeholder groups to improve the compliance provisions for hunters and other firearms users. The GAC has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Verica Rupar, Professor, Auckland University of Technology “The lie outlasts the liar,” writes historian Timothy Snyder, referring to outgoing president Donald Trump and his contribution to the “post-truth” era in the US. Indeed, the mass rejection of reason that erupted in a ...
The internet ain’t what it used to be, thanks to privacy issues, data leaks, censorship and hate speech. But a group of New Zealanders are working on a way to give power back to the people. A flood of headlines over the last week made it clear: the internet has become ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Brooks, Scientia Professor of Evolutionary Ecology; Academic Lead of UNSW’s Grand Challenges Program, UNSW The views of women and men can differ on important gendered issues such as abortion, gender equity and government spending priorities. Surprisingly, however, average differences in sex ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer S. Hunt, Lecturer in National Security, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Every four years on January 20, the US exercises a key tenant of democratic government: the peaceful transfer of power. This year, the scene looks a bit ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle In Australia and around the world, research is showing changes in body weight, cooking, eating and drinking patterns associated with COVID lockdowns. Some changes have been positive, such as people cooking ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hao Tan, Associate professor, University of Newcastle Australian coal exports to China plummeted last year. While this is due in part to recent trade tensions between Australia and China, our research suggests coal plant closures are a bigger threat to Australia’s export ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Asha Bowen, Head, Skin Health, Telethon Kids Institute A year ago, in late January 2020, Australia reported its first cases of COVID-19. Since then, we have seen almost 29,000 confirmed cases and 909 deaths. As cases climbed in Australian cities in 2020, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kevin Davis, Emeritus Professor of Finance, University of Melbourne Political pressure forced the federal government in 2017 – when Scott Morrison was treasurer – to call the royal commission into misconduct in the banking, superannuation and financial services sector. Commissioner Kenneth Hayne ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Justin Ellis, Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Newcastle, University of Newcastle The Rise and Fall of Saint George is a story about place, belonging and community that taps into universal tensions of identity and faith in multicultural societies. Playing for ...
An in-depth analysis of media coverage of the euthanasia and cannabis referendums has found that while both sides of the euthanasia referendum were given reasonably fair and balanced coverage, the YES position in the cannabis debate received a heavily ...
*This article was originally published on RNZ and is republished with permission Auckland has no plans to hand over the ownership of it assets under the government's planned water reforms, with Auckland Mayor Phil Goff saying his top priority is to ensure it stacks up for the city. Despite ...
Auckland Transport is putting nine new electric buses on the roads today, as it dramatically accelerates its plans to get rid of all its diesel buses – in a funding challenge to the council. Public transport operators are being told to not buy any more diesel buses or risk losing their council ...
Summer reissue: Join Michèle A’Court, Alex Casey and Leonie Hayden as they find out exactly what we’re voting on in the cannabis referendum, and discover how legalising weed is a women’s issue.First published August 4, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is ...
Rodeo has no place in a civilised country.
” The death of a bull at a Wairarapa rodeo on Friday night will add fuel to the fire in the debate on whether the sport should be banned.
….rodeo-type activities would not be tolerated on a farm or when inflicted on a pet, but they are allowed “in the name of fun” for a cruel and outdated form of entertainment.
The difference with rodeo is that the events pit humans against distressed animals in an arena with the expectation that the human will come out on top. Is this really how we want to have fun in a supposedly civilised country in the 21st century?”
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/101161365/rodeo-pitting-humans-versus-animals-belongs-to-the-past
I remember going to a bull fight in Spain in the late 1960’s – it was supposedly the “done thing” if you went to Spain. In a way bullfighting is a more extreme form of rodeo – it goads and angers the bull by injuring it and the entire event was very distressing for me personally. Nothing sporting about it – rodeo is the same, nothing sporting about it, legging the animals when they haven’t a chance of escape, pissing the bulls and horses of with the aggravating strap around its belly – what chance is that for the animals.
Do away with it – its enough we kill thousands of the beasts each year just for our pleasure of eating them – give them respect at least until then.
I remember going to a bull fight in Spain in the late 1960’s – it was supposedly the “done thing” if you went to Spain.
Been there done that – lasted less than 15 minutes. Wholeheartedly concur with your sentiments.
Jacinda 5 days at Waitangi
Bill. ‘elsewhere in the country.’
One historic
One elsewhere
Bomber writes well on this on the Daily Blog.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2018/02/05/waitangi-day-2018-the-joy-of-a-leader-who-understands-the-treaty-maori-will-vote-jacinda-forever-how-iwi-leaders-have-to-acknowledge-the-political-rise-of-urban-maori/
I really hope Bill stays on as National ‘s leader.
“ ‘In the middle of a historic five-day stint at Waitangi, Prime Minister Jacinda
Ardern will lead a large contingent of Labour MPs at Monday’s official welcome.
National’s Steven Joyce will be among 11 National Party MPs at the powhiri with leader Bill English elsewhere in the country.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11988199
Russell Brown lacks the energy to do his job any more. Time to give up?
past it (informal) too old to be of any use or any good at anything.
synonyms: past one’s prime, not as young as one was, not as young as one used to be
After the death of Nelson Mandela in late 2013, Russell Brown suffered the indignity of having his blog hijacked by the cynical National Party provocateur Matthew Hooton, who had the effrontery to claim that Mandela was similar to Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. The thread naturally dissolved into chaos after that, and by the end of the day Brown was at the end of his tether. I satirized the imbroglio here…
Brown clearly has no stomach for robust discussions any more. After the recent attempt to smear Lorde, he wrote a thoughtful piece about the whole shameful affair, but then at the end, where the discussion should have been,we find this sad little note….
https://publicaddress.net/hardnews/lordes-call/
[I personally feel uncomfortable with you using The Standard comments section to smear another left wing blogger because of a long running grudge you hold towards him. I haven’t talked to the other authors about this, but given you have a history of posting misleading comments I am just going to put some boundaries in place.
If you want to reference a conversation at Public Address, you now need to link directly to the conversation *each time*. If the comments section is pages long, you need to link to the specific part of the conversation you are referring to. This is so that people reading your comment can make up their own mind by seeing the conversation itself and in context. *You need to do the work of linking.
Putting you into moderation until you supply a link for the above comment.
Others have dealt with your views on Brown’s suspending commenting – weka]
Russel Brown is an excellent commentator.
Note it was a public holiday.
Which is where people are entitled by law not to work.
Shame on Russell Brown for wanting a little peace and quiet during the holiday period. Doesn’t he realise it’s his job, nay duty, to supervise frothing toddlers bickering on the internet 24/7? The audacity of the man!
When you set up and run a blog that lots of people find interesting and choose to spend time debating on, you too can spend your holiday time monitoring and moderating said blog.
Or not.
+1
+2.
It should be noted Russell Brown was a close friend of musician Grant Fell, who died last week.
The post that had its comments closed was from Jan 3rd.
I know, I was just noting he might have other things on his mind than posting new stuff right now.
oh right, that makes sense.
weka, the direct link to the conversation is here….
https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/hard-news-mandela/?i=200#replies
…you have a history of posting misleading comments…
Really? Could you support that claim with at least one example, please?
[thanks. And sure, try this https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-14112017/#comment-1414280 (which funnily enough also involves your beef with Russell Brown) – weka
Sorry, weka, but you have provided not one bit of evidence of my posting even one “misleading comment.”
[I count inaccurate transcripts that are presented as transcripts as ‘misleading’. And in that conversation I linked to, you appeared to accept that. – weka]
You are willfully misconstruing my rush transcripts—unlike my present ones, they weren’t always perfect, but they were far from “inaccurate”—as though I was deliberately misleading my readers. I did not do that; if I was of that cast of mind I’d be working for the National or Labour Party propaganda units, or for something even worse, like the three “news” team.
[sigh. read the links in the link. We’ve been over this ad nauseam, and the links show the inaccuracy because people went and linked to the actual audio and demonstrated the mistakes. I haven’t said it was intentional on your part, I’ve said you have a history of misleading comments – weka]
Morning Breakfast people its good that you are keeping the debate on weed going it was a good article you ran with MR Cameron that name is quite strong in
Te Taiwarhiti .
I had one quip with the article that is that know mention of all the people who get a criminal record because of the way these ancient laws are forced on us .
I will wait for the correct time for me to have more input on the subject of weed in Aotearoa there are some issues that I stay out of so as to not have a negative effect against the good cause I.E rally the neolibrals against it . I think Fair GO is a show that fights for the common peoples causes to be treated fairly Like the wealthy are one should not have to have heaps of money to expect to be treated humanly by our society but that’s the way it is .
May be I should approach Fair Go to help me fight the NZ justice system for the facial way they are treating a broke brown person/human like ECO MAORI .
Yeah Right the sandfly will shine there hypnotic object and spin anything to stop that.
You see people the follow me everywhere I go trying to break my WAIRUA but know I have to much MANA for that to ever happen. P.S ITs good to see you all Eco likes the good kiwi Karma you good people on Breakfast are displaying Ka pai.
Ka kite ano
Morning Rock radio people give us a sore face please Ka pai
Who is this Harvey Weinstein everyone keeps talking about ?
He was a major fundraiser for the Democratic Party.
With the Republicans in the ascendancy he isn’t quite as popular anymore.
Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren, among others could probably tell you all about him although I expect they have probably developed very convenient selective amnesia.
Time to move on though. Nothing to see here.
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/harvey-weinstein-political-donations-2017-10?r=US&IR=T
Heard of METO alwyn?
Many Democrats are now giving their ‘harvey’ donations to charities since the sexual harassment stories broke. At least they are trying to right a wrong.
METO?
Like the time I ended pretending to be married in an attempt to put an end to the ongoing sexual harassment from my then employer. It worked due to his culture.
In reflection I should have spoken out as my actions did nada to prevent the same happening to any other women he may have employed after I eventually quit, I feel bad about that now, but young and naive I was.
And Cinny, not supported by the “mores” of the day.
You were fighting back on the only terms they would respond to. Very understandable … don’t beat yourself.
🙂
Yeah, but unlike the RNC’s finance chief Steve Wynn, Weinstein wasn’t a party functionary.
And unlike the their call for Weinstein’s donations to be returned tout suite, the RNC hypocrites are touting due process before they even think about returning any of Wynn’s donations.
In an interview with CNN from October, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel praised Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Schumer for returning donations from Weinstein, but added: “The DNC should do the same thing. They’re keeping 90 percent of his donations. I don’t understand. If you stand for treating women well and you stand for the respect of women, you shouldn’t take money from somebody who treated women with the absolute highest level of disrespect.”
But in January 2018, the GOP is singing a very different tune after a Wall Street Journal investigation found that Steve Wynn, casino magnate and finance chair of the RNC, allegedly sexually harassed and assaulted dozens of women over the past two decades. The party accepted Wynn’s resignation as finance chair.
But it isn’t isn’t looking to return his donations anytime soon. “He should be allowed due process,” McDaniel said on Fox on Tuesday morning.
[…]
You don’t need “due process” or a criminal investigation to fire a private employee or return an alleged harasser’s political donations. Weinstein wasn’t investigated by the New York Police Department (at first) — he was investigated by Ronan Farrow at the New Yorker and by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey at the New York Times.
Former Today show host Matt Lauer was fired by NBC — without investigation by police. And, of course, conservatives — and the GOP — have long noted a number of allegations of harassment and sexual assault against former President Bill Clinton that never reached the courts.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/1/30/16950296/rnc-steve-wynn-donations
That makes it alright then.
The Republican Party also has skeletons in its closet.
What is that phrase? We can ignore it. They did it too.
As I said. Nothing to see here. Time to move on.
It’s quite clear, liberals have acted decisively and removed harassers and conservative hypocrites have routinely labelled accusers liars, hidden behind due process and trotted out apologists like Sarah “Sen. Franken has admitted wrongdoing and the president hasn’t” Huckabooboo.
Cheers for the links and info Joe
How does it go…. want to know what people are really like, wait until money is involved.
Alwyn re 6.1.2.1 Well said, Alwyn, well said.
You know what’s so hard case Rock people it’s when I drive past a road work site the workers are looking at the ground or star gazeing. What was Jen talking about when she pulled her calf mussels that would be good to know now there is someone at a business I mowed when they are never there anther play by the sandflys Ka kite ano
The main reason workers pause when cars are going past or trains are going past, is because it’s good not to be run over and killed. So they step out of the way.
Note also: for every one person on the end of a shovel, you also have to have other people “standing around”:
– health and safety
– site engineers
– site supervisors
– client
– subcontractors waiting for another part of the job to complete
– traffic staff
– machine operators eg cranes, trucks, hi-ab, all of which wait for other epople to do their jobs
So before you do the usual thing again thinking: why is only one person working and the rest of them standing around, the simple answer is:
they are not your personal performing monkeys who jump up and down just because you and yours rolled up in a car.
They are a team.
Morning Jim how’s the new Moko there must be some in the water at The Rock radio station all those new mokos well all the best to you all.
Road workers what eco meant was the sandflys are going ahead of me and telling you people not to notice me they bull you people and say that they have a court order to stop any publicly for me you people on the ground work hard and all deserve a pay rise. Ka kite ano
Man can not even have a private conversations with his Whano and the sandflys spinn it up to use what I say in private as a weapon thatssssss right a poor Brown man has no rights I forgot that is accepterable in OUR society. Eco is not impressed with the talent and leadership of our Maori leaders over the last 50 years .
My problem is they let crown con them that the justice system is humane and fair mean while the jails are over flowing with Maori. They throw there hands up in the air and say we don’t know what’s wrong with the system. They have let MSM publish all the bad stories about Maori and say it ok it’s true what about all the positive thing Maori achieve .There are many things that the powerful Maori have just let happen they were just looking after there own.It’ got that bad that everyone looks down there noses look at US never give us the respect and trust . We are all tared with that same brush that is published on MSM that the neolibrels instergated ECO MAORI is going to change that disrespectful view of all MAORI like I’m doing NOW KA PAI
P.S. Many thanks for that positive article on Maori in KOREA Kimberly Downs.
ANA TO kai
Eco Maori is backing your show Hillary and Jeremy we just have to interactive a bit and your ratings will rise sharply Eco has been waiting patiently for this new show on TVNZ ON 1 at SEVEN Pm Ka kite ano
I not impressed with the Maori leaders we got now either . They know how this system works and chose to say nothing to WARN OUR Mokos It’s algood Eco Maori has told all the people about this corrupt justice systems of the western society. And crime is dropping 2 reasons 1 being informed about the bullshit systems 2 they have a swarm following me around all the time the sandflys don’t have the time to harass OUR Mokos Ka pai I can handle the sandflys heat.lol Ana to kai.
ECO MAORI has been reassing his views on Barack Obama he is m8 with shonky key who I know is a racist bigot who main goal was to destroy MAORI Mana and full his pockets and his m8 how many billions did he spend down South irragation schemes bailing out that finance company giving our money to people who are already rich WTF .
So Big No to Obama coming to Aotearoa at OUR expense just to lift AMERICA IMAGE .Shonky key would get some positive publicity out of that visit to after what key has done to Aotearoa no fucken way .ANA TO KAI
Eco Maori knows that Hillary Barry and Jeremy wells won’t caste a subliminal message to all the people of Aotearoa that it’s OK to drive a million dollar car own a million dollar’ house talk about all the bags his wife has when they go on holiday to America and kiss shonky ass whenever he can and ridicule OUR poorest people who have slipped on there ladder of life. Then give his m8 dairy dack dune a pat on the back while his son m8 is poisoning OUR people for a profit heres a person form that party he likes on this link bellow ka pai Hillary & Jeremy
Ka kite ano
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/04/paul-ryan-tweet-school-secretary-tax-bill
Seriously outstanding coverage for Prime Minister Ardern coming through TV1 news from Waitangi:
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news
Great to see her rise to this – a real Big Norm moment.
Heard her speak about problems for Māori, poverty and inequality, poor housing, rangatahi suicide rate and mental health. Major, major issues that the Government plays a large part in.
You have to wonder how many times Māori have heard a politician promising change, and many of these things won’t be able to be turned around quickly either. She appears genuine, but who knows if the rest of the Labour caucus is.
Well at Waitangi just now she told them to hold her to account when she comes back next year. You can bet they will do just that.
Yes Ad, a speech I’m proud to listen to. A P.M. we can be proud of.
Her call for the people of the Marae and else where to hold her and the government to account each year, with face to face meetings, to discuss progress during Waitangi Week.
We can do this. We can change lives working together.
I’m thinking back, and I can’t remember an occasion where the spouse/partner of a Prime Minister played such a central role at Waitangi as it seems the Current Incumbent’s is.
Even to picking up the wero…a task that should more appropriately gone to a male colleague rather than a partner.
Do you know something we don’t? You are obviously exercised about this because it is the second time you have mentioned it!
That was Labour giving the PM’s spouse an honour – maybe so he wouldn’t be feeling “left out” of all the proceedings. Maybe it was as simple a gesture as that.
Get over it Rosemary. It was a nice thing for him to be able to do.
Cancer “Vaccine” That Wipes out Tumors Ready for Human Trial
Sounds promising.
Here is hoping for this to be a breakthrough, and it is priced right!!
Thanks; interesting. Fingers crossed.
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03410901
Makes me glad i live in NZ however whether its true or not its damn interesting…as long as it happens in someone elses country
https://www.truthrevolt.org/commentary/greenfield-memo-reveals-coup-against-america
Geez Puckish, I thought your filter was better than that. The memo doesn’t stand scrutiny, let alone the wild allegations and conclusions being spouted about it.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/02/02/the-nunes-memo-makes-no-sense-216928
Meanwhile here in New Zealand, you heard of a book called Dirty Politics by Nicky Hager? It’s got all sorts of interesting bits, including stuff about the office of the incumbent head of government misusing the nation’s spy services to smear the opposition.
My take on it is that both sides are probably right in some respects and both sides are probably wrong in others
Its more I’m glad we don;t have anything like that going on here and we’re all the better for it
What, you mean we don’t have the overseas mega-wealthy with possible foreign government connections paying visits to politicians in order to acquire favourable treatment?
Good to know.
On a different note, have they repealed the hobbit employment law yet?
We don’t have anything like that, to the degree that the USA has 🙂
I agree it’s to a lesser degree here: the National Party just doesn’t cost that much.
Rick Blaine: I don’t mind a parasite. I object to a cut-rate one.
I love the fact the Trump wing of the Republican party still think Obama is president and Clinton is some sort of shadow president pulling the strings. Or something – it’s hard to make sense of what the fuck they actually think or are trying to infer.
Well if true, and thats still a big if, it means Trump was spied on illegally and it was endorsed by the highest office in the land so they probably think its a big deal
It said nothing about Trump, it was about Carter Page. Even leading Republicans such as Trey Gowdy say it has nothing to do with the investigation into the Trump campaign.
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/03/trey-gowdy-nunes-memo-russia-probe-389083
If the name Trey Gowdy vaguely rings a bell, it was he who decided 8 investigations into Hillary and Benghazi weren’t enough and conducted a ninth. And came up with nothing that could even be spun as culpability on Hillary’s part.
edit: although, to give him his due, that investigation did highlight the issue of her server.
The issue has been that muddied that I don’t think anyone can honestly (or truthfully) state what did or didn’t happen
🙄
Wouldn’t that be convenient for your white supremacist leader.
Hes as much your leader as he is mine
…and yet you’re the one trying (and failing) to make excuses for him.
Nope sorry you’re wrong
Just in case you’re interested, here’s a reminder of Nunes’ previous clusterfuck of an attempt to blow a smokescreen for Hair Fuhrer to hide behind and claim vindication. He’s got form for embarrassingly inept stunts like this.
https://www.wired.com/2017/04/devin-nunes-white-house-trump-surveillance/
Bullshit.
It’s not muddy at all.
Half a dozen close members of the Trump campaign have either been indicted or disclosed their own emails detailing activities they believed to be on behalf of the Russians. The nunes memo is an attempt to poison one of the initial warrants that exposed this poisonous tree, because the one commonality all of these people have is Trump.
I doubt they have enough to nuke the investigation via court appeals – the FISA warrants against page don’t cover Flynn, for example – but they’re looking for enough PR shielding to excuse interfering in the investigation.
“Not muddy at all”
None of those who comment on this have a clue what’s actually going on or why…
The propaganda behind ‘russiagate’ is outrageously blatant…trying to decifer it is a waste of time…
Claiming to understand what’s going on or taking a position….Schoolboy mistake…
fuck off. Claiming to know nothing aids and abets all of the world’s ills. Better to take a stand (and be wrong once in a while) than to exercise Cartesian doubt as a dodge from moral culpability.
Taking a stand…
Against what, exactly…
Wrong once and a while = 100% of the time with the volume of propaganda and deceit involved
I get that folks like to feel they have some understanding of what’s going on…they need to feel involved…empowered…
But that’s not realistic…
Oh bullshit. You’re just too much of a coward to form a reasoned belief on the world around you. If you actually believed something, you might one day actually have to commit to it.
The other thing that pisses me off about the “oh no, it’s impossible to know anything” approach is that not only are you helping corruption run rampant, you try and pretend like you’re better than people who do actually engage with their surroundings. Fuck you. People like you are part of the reason people don’t vote, which favours tories and demogogues. You are actively trying to keep the corrupt in office.
That you can’t read my ‘opinions’ in my comments is your limitation…
So you reach for the abusive comments…how very base…
Picking ‘a side’ by believing your opinion is somehow ‘preventing/fighting’ corruption is the purest form of illogical and irrational…
Your opinions, energy and position are part of the problem…you can’t be part of the solution…
Not with that primitive level of ‘thinking’…
It’s ironic that the only thing you pretend to have a firm opinion on is your intellectual superiority.
And yes, the proposition that sowing apathy and encouraging political disengagement does indeed provide fertaile soil for corruption is logical:
Corruption multiplies most when out of the public view;
Saying that we can never know the truth instead of looking for it and exposing it keeps the truth out of the public view;
therefore:
Saying that we can never know the truth instead of looking for it and exposing it provides the most ideal environment for corruption to multiply.
Logical enough for you, fucko?
One thing I don’t know is why you bother commenting here – surely your extreme epistemological skepticim means that you must have overwhelmig doubt that your computer even exists? Your desire for attention betrays your arguments as a fraud: if your doubt were genuinely that extreme, there could well be no attention to be gained and any effort commenting here would be wasted.
Your pretension creates a paradox that exposes itself. You’ve been hoist by your own canard.
That’s a handy excuse that no-one will understand for me to give out when I have come out with something off the wall – sorry didn’t want to waffle with Cartesian doubt so posited that.
McFlock I enjoyed that but will try to keep out of the way when you let fly.
I was thinking the other day about people who won’t have children because they don’t want to bring little ones into such a bad world. That seems cowardly too, though I think China was trying to do the right thing, limiting to two would be best.
Funnily enough, I don’t recall ever having been irked by your comments in the slightest, so you needn’t fear me going off the handle.
I think some people are overly pessimistic about the world – especially those people who are in a position to choose their fertility based on bets about what will happen in thirty years.
The kids who really suffer will be born to parents who had no choice because healthcare wasn’t available.
China was/is in a major demographic bind, but its solution has had some unforseen negatives, like a hefty gender imbalance.
I doubt they will go after Trump on dodgy Russian money flows …. Given the extent of involvement by u.s.a firms in the world wide laundry business ….https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-probe-of-malaysian-fund-looks-at-rap-stars-political-donations-1511951401
Glass houses every where …..
“Morgan Stanley reports having 210 subsidiaries in offshore tax havens. ”
“Citigroup reported operating 427 tax haven subsidiaries in 2008 but disclosed only 41 in 2014. Over that time period, Citigroup nearly doubled the amount of cash it reported holding offshore. ”
“Bank of America reported operating 264 tax haven subsidiaries in 2013 but disclosed only 22 in 2014. ”
If the Russians did hack the U.s elections …. It was by calling all their diplomats home on the eve of the election …. giving the impression of a war footing preparation for a Clinton win.
Whether this induced any u.s voters, specifically those afraid of nuclear war with russia ….to give their vote to Trump instead of Clinton….. is unknown and unexplored to the best of my knowledge.
There are more obvious reasons she lost …
The Trump investigation has nothing to do with But But But Hillary. Nor Morgan Stanley, nor Citigroup, nor anyone else who might have “done it too”.
And if money laundering isn’t an issue, why have formal charges of money laundering been laid?
Please try and live up to your handle.
I’m not that invested in the continuation of criminality that both Trump and Clinton represent ….
I think it would be good if Trump was arrested over his profiteering from criminal russian money laundering …… criminal oligarchs stealing from the poor should be prosecuted … just like war criminals should….Convictions for either are like rocking horse shit.
I’d be very surprised if ‘creative’ business structures do not provide Trump with Wayne Mapp / Bill English standards of legal plausible deniability…. and then he could quote John Key ” We observe the law”….. ” every thing is above board ” ….. ” Its all a political smear”.
When watching an American circus you’d be silly to spend all your time on the russian clowns …. you’ll miss the main events https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w44lApffH30
you’ll miss the main events
I can’t recognise Disaster Capitalism and pay attention to the FBI’s investigation at the same time, eh, because I’m inattentive and stupid, and don’t know how.
Thanks for clearing that up.
Good for you OAB …..
You’ll no doubt be aware of the NZ shell company connections to the russian laundromat …. if not just ask cathy odgers … https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2014/08/new-zealand-companies-offices-612mn-money-laundering-snooze.html
Given that your up with the play …… what fraction of influence over u.s politics do you think the russians wield …..compared to Israel ??
Israel own u.s politics ….. Hacked it with money.
Well, he did hire someone intelligence services were interested in because of their connections to Russia, so he can’t really bleat about turning up in incidental collection.
Carter Page, the energy industry consultant who was linked last year to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, is the unnamed man identified in a federal complaint as having met with a Russian intelligence agent four years ago, Page himself revealed on Monday.
Page confirmed his role in the 2013 FBI investigation to NBC News after ABC News and Buzzfeed identified him as a subject called “Male 1” in a criminal complaint filed in 2015 against Evgeny Buryakov, an undercover agent posing as a Russian bank executive in New York.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-campaign-associate-carter-page-revealed-target-russian-spies-n742356
I s’pose calling yourself an adviser to the Kremlin might spark a wee bit of curiosity from intelligence agencies.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/02/carter-page-reportedly-bragged-about-being-an-informal-adviser-to-the-kremlin-in-2013.html
The GOP supported a sexual predator, Trump. an accused child sex offender, Moore, and now with a former head of American Nazi Party, white supremacist and Holocaust denier running unopposed as nominee for Congress, dollars to donuts Republicans will go for the threefer and vote for him.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/holocaust-denier-arthur-jones-republican-3rd-congressional-district-lipinski-newman/#.Wnd7_R4X1CI.twitter
Just for a bit of balance:
http://www.newsweek.com/did-hillary-clinton-help-bill-clinton-intimidate-and-discredit-his-accusers-714636
“Mr. Trump may have said some bad words, but Bill Clinton raped me, and Hillary Clinton threatened me,” Broaddrick added. “I don’t think there’s any comparison.”
Appalling behaviour which only makes me ask again…
Why oh why didnt the Dems nominate bernie sanders
Interesting Twitter thread by @BexGraham:
It has been a subject of conjecture for a long time – the secretive Freemasons, who must be a body of conservatives that have had antipathy to lefties over centuries and interested in protecting the status quo when it rewards them satisfactorily. A very solid union or group of self-protecting business or professional people.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/feb/04/two-freemasons-lodges-operating-secretly-at-westminster
The disclosure that both political journalists and politicians are Freemasons comes after the outgoing chair of the Police Federation alleged that Freemasons were blocking reforms in policing and thwarting the progress of women and officers from black and minority ethnic communities.
After three years as the chair of the Police Federation, Steve White said: “I found that there were people who were fundamentally against any kind of change and any kind of progress, and they always happened to be Freemasons.”
The charge brought an angry denial from the UGLE. In a letter to the press, Staples said: “We are quietly proud that throughout history, when people have suffered discrimination both in public and social life, Freemasonry has welcomed them into our lodges as equals.” He added that many Freemasons chose to keep their membership secret in order to avoid being discriminated against.
This Mirror article below is interesting as it lists many famous men and has photo portraits of those who have been just names in history books.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/how-secret-group-freemasons-kept-6886802
” when people have suffered discrimination both in public and social life, Freemasonry has welcomed them into our lodges as equals.”
Grey do you know when they began admitting women to their lodges?
Sorry tracey. I just saw that item about there being three different lodges in the Commons, I think. And then that other bit with the images but hadn’t got any further.
Then I wondered about the possibility of them forming a defensive circle when one of their number got into trouble (I see that it didn’t help Oscar Wilde). I wondered about such cases as the CTV in Christchurch where inexplicably it seemed, that no fault could be found and no atonement ordered. Anne Perry who likes Victorian crime themes has written of a powerful elite group exerting authority called the Inner Circle in her books and shows them prepared to wreck people’s reputations if thwarted. Fiction, but I think she has delved into the times fairly thoroughly.
Women were not allowed to be members till lately I think. There was supposed to be a group of blokes who were in good standing in the community, and who belonged to different work sectors and could keep secrets. As women were all, well women, what else to say about them, and everyone knew they couldn’t keep secrets, I think entry for the femmes would be fairly late in the piece.
Better put sarc/ for protection.
tracey
I think you saw something ironic in that quote hah!
Yeah. Finally the Eagles won the Superbowl. Can’t wait to hear what Adolf Twitler has to say about his buds Tom Brady and Bill Belichick being losers.
I am sure this information is interesting to many around the world.
However you appear to be posting the information in the wrong place.
This is New Zealand.
This not a sports blog.
Don’t be so rude.
This is Open Mike, we even get veganism fanatics trying to convert others posting here!
Climate change is the number 1 political issue facing the world.
Sports isn’t even a political issue.
There is quite a difference.
Oh OK Ed, I missed the announcement from LPrent that this is now Climate Mike.
Obviously you haven’t a clue how obnoxious many of your comments are.
yeah dude, sport isn’t political. Go “take a knee” while Ed arbitrates what other topics are worthy enough to discuss 😉
LOL
“Adolf Twitler” 😂
Cracker fumble by wee Tommy.
Maybe if his diet included a bit more easily digestible protein, iron and B12, he might have been able to hang on to the ball.
This expert doctor disagrees with you.
A vegan doctor believes a vegan diet is all good. In any other context you’d be decrying his “Big Pharma” conflict of interest.
I suggest you watch the documentary “Alphago”.
I wonder if the inability to get satisfactory action against the engineers involved with the CTV building collapse and deaths of 115 people in the Christchurch earthquake in 2011 could be as a result of a cover-up by the ‘old boys club’.
This article is very thorough and contains information on the CTV building that appears more solid than the structure itself for those who are interested in the background!
https://failures.wikispaces.com/CTV+Building+Collapse+%E2%80%93+Christchurch+NZ+Earthquake
The failures of proper procedure compound as time went on with this building. This is one paragraph about it.
In 1990, major design defects were first brought to light. Holmes Consulting conducted a review of the existing structural system for a potential tenant looking to evaluate the safety of the building. They found that there was inadequate strength in the connection between the floor slab and shear walls, especially the walls at the north shear wall core. When alerted to the issue, Reay took 21 months to implement a fix. During the retrofit process, however, permit applications were never filled and the local building council was not alerted to the structural renovation that was being done. The lack of disclosure to the council prevented their involvement in the consultation and review process (Macfie, 2014).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CTV_Building
The Royal Commission of Inquiry heard evidence into why the CTV Building collapsed during the 2011 earthquake from 25 June 2012, and was scheduled to run for eight weeks.[35]
Witnesses before the Commission debated whether the building was code-compliant when it was built, and whether the engineers designing and approving the building had adequate experience. Consulting firm head Alan Reay stated that the building did not meet his own standards, and he thought the engineer he employed for the design, David Harding, had adequate experience.[36] Harding had not designed buildings of more than two floors before. He said he relied on Reay for guidance, and that the developers wanted a minimum-cost design to (just) meet the code; no extra reinforcing was to be added or you “got your hand smacked”.[37]
Witness Arthur O’Leary, a structural engineer, said that a “critical eye” should have been cast over the building design.[38] The “pioneering” structural design could have been beyond the experience of council staff to evaluate, though the “pioneering” design meant that non-compliant elements in the building columns were not obvious. Panel member Barry Davidson also disagreed with an “opportunistic and legalistic” interpretation of the code that found they were compliant.[39]
The commission’s findings were released on 10 December 2012. The report found the building’s design was deficient and should not have been approved. The building’s engineer, David Harding, of Alan Reay Consultants Ltd, was found to have no experience in designing multi-storey buildings and was “working beyond his competence.” His supervisor, Alan Reay, left Harding unsupervised then pressured city officials to approve the building design even though several members had reservations about the design.[40]
We are a cowboy country without laws to protect us and without regulators with decent teeth
Alan Reay and his litigious arse should be nailed to the wall. http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/9590396/Stigma-behind-CTV-firms-rebrand-father
The police say that current law prevents them from prosecuting the designers after 1 year of the design being complete. Even the Consumer Guarantees Act is better than that.
Lobby the new Govt to bring in restrospective legislation and stop the buck passing between designers/contractors/council/police. Fuck sometimes the NZ number 8 wire approach is shit.
Add your voice to those opposed to the CP-TPP before its too late:
https://our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/open-letter-to-jacinda-ardern-put-people-before-planet-in-tppa11?bucket
Global economic crisis on its way.
“Sharemarket declines in sympathy with US nerves.
Underlying that is a deeper fear that dust swept under the carpet in an effort to tidy up the balance of sheets of financial institutions in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis could resurface……
…..Greene said the proportion of New Zealand shares that were foreign-owned had increased over the past few years, so if US investors did cash in equities and switch to bonds that might have more of an impact than it once would.”
https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/101171629/sharemarket-declines-in-sympathy-with-us-nerves
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/101064349/crash-warnings-intensify-heres-what-you-should-do-when-it-happens
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/world/100831022/it-is-frankly-scary-world-financial-system-as-stretched-as-before-2008-crash
Here is what trumps getting up to
http://www.euronews.com/2018/02/03/how-the-us-plans-make-nuclear-weapons-easier-to-use