” 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would not be tolerated on a farm or when inflicted on a pet, but they are allowed “in the name of fun” for a cruel and outdated form of entertainment.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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Caroline Shaw, Anja MizdrakE-bikes are everywhere. Sales are booming and predicted to overtake sales of new cars in a few years. There were three times as many e-bikes and e-scooters imported into NZ in 2019 alone as there are e-cars in the entire country. You can’t go out in ...
New Zealand First is facing a difficult struggle to get re-elected, but Josh Van Veen, who was once a researcher for Winston Peters, argues that there is still a very significant section of cultural conservatives who oppose mass immigration and political correctness and might yet be won back over to ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk Many Americans these days seem unable to avoid controversy on practically any topic, so why not embrace the discord and wade into the especially volatile arena of nuclear energy? Advocates claim it’s the only way to meet global climate goals, ...
Can we trust New Zealand’s military? There must now be serious doubt, given the landmark report released on Friday concluding the investigation into allegations made in the book Hit and Run by Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson about a 2010 SAS killing raid in Afghanistan. The most recent Colmar Brunton ...
In New Zealand, we've just had the report of the Hit and Run inquiry, which found that a New Zealand led raid had accidentally killed civilians, including a child. meanwhile, around the same time, the British SAS was conducting its own raids in Afghanistan, and theirs were a hell of ...
In addition to establishing a process for setting emissions reductions plans, the Zero Carbon Act established a process for managing the risks of climate change. The first part of this is the preparation of regular risk assessments, looking at the risks to our economy, society, environment, and ecology. The first ...
Over on The spinoff, Amnesty International's Meg de Ronde has a response to Friday's release of the Hit and Run report. And in response to Attorney-General David Parker's claim that the government was being "transparent" by releasing the report, its titled "we shouldn’t have to work this hard to get ...
Story of the Week... Opinion of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Rising Seas Could Menace Millions Beyond Shorelines, Study FindsAs climate change raises sea levels, storm surges and high tides will ...
There's an election next month, so you'd be expecting political parties to be telling us what they stand for and what they'd do if they'd win. But while the Greens have given us a detailed policy platform, and National has talked about roads and austerity, Labour, currently leading the polls ...
"Who's youse accusin' of innference?" Without the timely intervention of a team of top American political consultants and campaign experts, Boris Yeltsin would never have won his second term as President of the Russian Federation. The Russians waited 20 years to return the favour.WHEN IT COMES to the disinformation game, ...
As polling day in the American presidential election draws closer, things are looking bad for Donald Trump. The polls show that he is tracking well behind his Democrat rival. Most people assume that the President will be striving might and main to avoid what looks increasingly likely to be a ...
Our health professionals do an amazing job. Image credit: Wikipedia – Cardiac surgery. Finally, I have got back to these rankings. A long period in hospital and computer problems meant the June 2020 rankings were abandoned. Now, with a new personal defibrillator implanted in my chest and a new hard ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, July 26 through Sat, Aug 1, 2020Editor's ChoiceThe four types of climate denier, and why you should ignore them allThe shill, the grifter, the egomaniac and the ideological ...
Over the last few days, reports have emerged of people travelling from New Zealand and testing positive for Covid-19 upon arrival at their destination. First in South Korea and now in Australia. What might these positive tests mean?They’re false-positives As Toby Morris and I have explained before, there are ...
Former National Minister - Wayne MappYou could tell that the Hit and Run book by investigative journalists Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson was right on the money by the way former National Party Minister of Defence, Wayne Mapp, reacted to its now largely vindicated claims.Even though the recent inquiry into ...
So, the Hit and Run inquiry has reported back, and found some appalling shit at NZDF and NZSIS. And while they quibble a few of the details - the name of a dead child - they basicly uphold Hager and Stephenson's version of events. The SAS went to those villages. ...
We are failing to think though the interdependencies in an economy. We miss economist Bryan Philpott (1921-2000). I miss him personally – we used to have such great discussions – but this column is about how the nation misses his economic experience and wisdom. We tend to ...
Michelle Boag - LeakerThe Heron report (PDF) was released yesterday, and it was a bit disappointing to say the least. It correctly found that former National Party president Michelle Boag and National Party MP Hamish Walker were politically motivated in leaking peoples private medical information, but didn’t look further into ...
On different trajectories and from different ends of the political spectrum, last night’s One News/Colmar Brunton poll has the Green Party and ACT converging around the five percent mark. And, as odd as it may sound, they head into the election campaign with a lot in common.Putting the Greens and ...
Janet Stephenson, University of OtagoA proposed multibillion-dollar project to build a pumped hydro storage plant could make New Zealand’s electricity grid 100% renewable, but expensive new infrastructure may not be the best way to achieve this. New Zealand’s electricity generation is already around 80% renewable, with just over half ...
Truth In Advertising: Labour, it would seem, is the party that knows nothing about running the economy right up until the moment that it does. HOW DID LABOUR acquire its reputation for being a poor economic manager? As with most things political and historical, it’s a long story.In the beginning, the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Government rulemakers looking to decide how much money to spend to avoid adding more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere need a good estimate of what a warming climate will cost in social damages, for example through more extreme weather events. That point makes ...
Fact Check: New Zealand’s own relationship with China might, however, be salvageable if our own Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was willing to equip its minister, Winston Peters, with a few facts. Legislating for the protection of national security – the very action our Foreign Minister is decrying – ...
I hope we can all agree that charging only certain returning expats for isolation costs is the right call. Instead of a blanket fee, which may have resulted in a small number of Kiwis deciding not to return home because of financial reasons, the Government has chosen to implement a ...
Back at the beginning of this government, the Greens made a foolish decision to support the Electoral Integrity Act - demanded by Winston Peters to keep his own backbench in line as part of his coalition deal with Labour - as an act of good faith within the coalition. It ...
SATURDAY AUGUST 1Artefact (Prime, 7.30pm). The series presented by Dame Anne Salmond screened on Māori Television, but is totally worth revisiting if you saw it the first time. Dame Anne tells the stories of taonga that highlight the history of Aotearoa. Further reading: this 2013 interview with Dame Anne by the lovely ...
Have unions and the Government sold workers short with their attempt at fixing the so-called “Hobbit Law”? Unionist Ian Powell argues that the union movement has been outmanoeuvered, and the Government has agreed to a new piece of anti-worker legislation that retains the principles of the previous National Government’s hated ...
Most of the claims made by anti-fluoride propagandists are simply wrong. Image source:Fluoridation and the ‘sciency’ facts of critics Anti-fluoride propagandists continually cite studies from areas of endemic fluorosis in their arguments against ...
An article in the EETimes suggests that advances in autonomous vehicles are not moving as quickly as expected because those working on them have confused complicated problems with complex ones. Engineering can only take you so far in complex worlds. Complicated systems tend to have fairly predictable inputs, processes and outputs. Complex systems (like ...
Last week, after Judith Collins announced that National would be cruel and vicious to kiwis caught overseas by the pandemic, and rob them at the border if they returned home, Labour looked like it was falling all over itself to cry "me too". But now, it looks like kindness has ...
If entry into New Zealand from abroad is safe, it should be allowed. People arriving from places that are Covid-free, or no more risky than New Zealand, and who get here on flights that do not intersect with risky places, should return to normal travel arrangements. Currently, the Cook ...
Liz SlootenScientists from the University of Otago, working with colleagues from around the world, have found that New Zealand right whales are doing much better than right whales in other parts of the world. The research was published as the feature article in the journal Marine Ecology Progress ...
Back in 2019, the government asked for a comprehensive, independent review of the Resource Management Act and associated legislation. That review has now reported back and recommended a complete repeal and re-enactment. Despite the headlines, this is not a "scrapping" - we're still going to have a resource management law, ...
By Associate Professor Mik Black, Department of Biochemistry, University of OtagoThe increased availability of complex biological data sets means that analysis and computation are becoming critically important skills for New Zealand’s future scientists. Because of this, we need to be doing everything we can to help our students develop ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzIs humanity doomed? If in 2030 we have not reduced ...
Britain's spy agencies are supposedly overseen by various watchdogs, including the investigatory powers tribunal. But it turns out that MI6 at least has contempt for those watchdogs, and attempted to interfere with the operations of the tribunal by concealing evidence from its judges: MI6 has been accused of “inappropriate interference” ...
Daphna Whitmore So far this year over 7.4 million people have died from preventable communicable diseases. There were 4.3 million children who died under the age of five. Nearly one million people have died of HIV/AIDS in the past six months. A similar number of people have died from malaria ...
Four weeks ago I wrote about the last time a sizable asteroid hit our planet – the ‘Tunguska Event’ of 1908, when an object about 50 metres across exploded above the Siberian taiga – but smaller cosmic rocks shoot close by Earth fairly frequently. In the past 42 hours ...
Last month, China imposed a new "national security law" on Hong Kong. The law imposes a penalty of life imprisonment for secession, subversion, and "colluding with foreign forces" - which basicly means peacefully advocating for democracy or independence. It has been used to crush peaceful protests and interpreted by the ...
Powerful Connection: Neoliberalism is the antithesis of everything that has traditionally been associated with the feminine aspects of human nature. Kindness and compassion, nurturance and inclusiveness: such qualities have no place in the neoliberal order. When Jacinda proclaimed her determination to practice the “politics of kindness”, she was, wittingly or ...
The bad news: Jacinda Ardern still wants to bill exiled kiwis for returning home. The good news: it would require a law change, which the Greens won't back, so she'll need to go grovelling to National. The other good news: she's running out of time to do it. This ...
. . For the mainstream media, today (22 July) was even a better day than yesterday. More Sex. More Politics. More Sex AND Politics. Yesterday, the msm dealt with Andrew Falloon. The obscure backbench MP had been found to have sent pornographic images to at least four women. The woman’s ...
If you want to understand what is happening in this year’s election campaign, it’s worth looking to the past for guidance. Colin James delves into recent contests and finds some interesting parallels. July 28 is 53 days before the 2020 election. Just 53 days before the 2017 election ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters Wildfires burned much less acreage in the U.S. than average during the first half of the year, but with hot and dry conditions expected over much of the nation in the coming months, fire activity is likely to ramp up. ...
Today a full bench of the High Court is hearing Andrew Borrowdale's challenge to the legality of the COVID-19 lockdown. That lockdown ended two months ago, so the point seems moot - but it was never about ending it. Instead, as Andrew Geddis points out, its about a key principle ...
So far, this has been a relatively policy-free election campaign. The government has been trying to keep a low profile, on the basis that anything they say will only piss someone off, so better to say as little as possible. When its not knifing its leader, National has promised roads, ...
I hardly ever comment on polls, because horse-race politics is superficial and boring and most changes are statistically meaningless and so unworthy of attention (let alone the excitement they provoke amongst mathematically illiterate political journalists desperate to fill airtime). But we've now had two polls in a row showing Labour ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on its inquiry into the operation of the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020. As you'd expect, they find that the law was "necessary and appropriate", but would like to see a permanent replacement providing for health emergency powers as the Health ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... John Cook in the News... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... Major new climate study rules out less severe global warming scenariosAn analysis finds the most ...
It hasn’t taken long for the advent of Judith Collins as National party leader to change the tone of the political debate. After several days of headlines and airwaves dominated by reports of a National MP sending pornographic images to young women, the National leader had had enough of that ...
Don Franks An already fired up general election looks like getting even edgier. When final votes have been counted, a rather unlikely coalition government now seems possible As National and Labour implode with sexual proclivities while New Zealand First fling their last toys from the cot, others show more maturity. ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, July 19 through Sat, July 25, 2020Editor's ChoiceThe Climate Expert Who Delivered News No One Wanted to Hear From 2009: How a scientist known as the “father of global ...
There’s ultimately two key narratives overall that are seeking to take front row in order to reshape the world as a whole going forward from the COVID pandemic. The first is a very desperate attempt to reimpose “a return” to what is perceived as “the old normal”, quite impossible. ...
Henry Anderson-Elliott, University of CambridgeOn the morning of August 31 2017, I didn’t meet a remarkable polar bear. It was my third week of fieldwork-based out of Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen, studying the conservation of the bears on the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. Having spent a few days transcribing interviews in ...
SUNDAY JULY 26Country Calendar (TVNZ 1, 7.00pm). Tonight, kiwifruit growing in the King Country. Crazy!Normal People (TVNZ 1, 10.30pm). Holy cow, if you thought it was slow on a binge-watch, imagine what it's like in weekly doses. Nevertheless, it's like Richard Linklater's Boyhood – you don't really see the scope of ...
. . “The Martians had no resistance to the bacteria in our atmosphere to which we have long since become immune. Once they had breathed our air, germs, which no longer affect us, began to kill them. The end came swiftly. All over the world, their machines began to stop ...
With the June 2020 quarter showing underemployment increasing, the Green Party is calling for a Guaranteed Minimum Income and an increase to the abatement threshold to ensure everyone has a dignified income. ...
We went hard and we went early in our health response to COVID-19, and we did everything we could to cushion the economic impact too. In fact, we can fill every letter of the alphabet with the steps we took to fight COVID-19 and ensure we were in a position ...
Investing in our people, backing businesses, and upgrading infrastructure and housing throughout the country - it's been another week of progress for New Zealanders as we deliver our plan to recover and rebuild. ...
July was another busy month, packed with key investments aimed at progressing our economic recovery as we rebuild New Zealand. We extended support for businesses, helped create jobs through local infrastructure projects, and kept working to clean up our waterways so Kiwis can access safe clean water. Check out the ...
The Green Party is calling for the Defence Force Chiefs in place between 2010-2017 to front up and explain how dishonesty, process and policy failures within the Defence Force led to ‘a series of incorrect statements in briefings to ministers and public releases’ regarding alleged breaches of international torture prevention ...
Thanks to our strong health response, New Zealand’s economy is more open than many other countries. But as COVID continues to surge around the world, the economic consequences of the virus will continue to be a challenge, which is why we have a detailed plan to help New Zealand bounce ...
Thanks to our strong health response, New Zealand’s economy is more open than many other countries. But as COVID continues to surge around the world, the economic consequences of the virus will continue to be a challenge, which is why we have a detailed plan to help New Zealand bounce ...
The Green Party are ensuring that New Zealanders who were overseas when COVID-19 hit will not be charged for the cost of isolation or quarantine if they return home to live. ...
It's been another week of creating jobs, supporting local businesses, and investing in infrastructure up and down the country - all of which are helping to keep our economy moving post-COVID-19. ...
Law changes to end tenure review and provide for better management of Crown pastoral lands in the South Island high country were considered by Parliament today with the first reading of the Crown Pastoral Land Reform Bill says Minister for Land Information, Eugenie Sage. ...
The Green Party have secured legislative amendments in a bill expected to pass third reading this week, to ensure better rules for school teachers and staff, so they can de-escalate children with diverse needs and cognitive differences, such as autism, rather than using unnecessary and often traumatising force. ...
New Zealand needs to be more aggressive in pursuing economic opportunities and resist the short-term thinking affecting some of its major industry, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says.Mr Peters told Wellington Chamber of Commerce members this morning that the planned closure of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter will have ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has ridiculed the National Party "circus", with the politician saying it was in "chaos" after the resignation of another MP.Rangitata MP Andrew Falloon announced on Monday he would retire from politics after he allegedly sent inappropriate pornographic images to a young woman. Following a ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters today outlined what he saw as the requirements to re-open New Zealand's borders for tourists and travellers. If New Zealand was dealing solely with an Australian state such as Tasmania, we wouldn't need a vaccine, said Mr Peters, but these moves were complicated by the ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters appears to have prompted last-minute alterations to proposed legislation for commercial landlords and their tenants. Mr Peters told reporters on Wednesday said that he was making sure the proposed bill was in step with what the parties had actually agreed to. He said he ...
Associate Minister for State Owned Enterprise and New Zealand First List MP Shane Jones attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the new NZ Post "super depot" in Wellington. The state-owned postal service, which got $280 million from the Coalition Government last month, is expanding its operations to handle surging parcel volumes. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First CHECK AGAINST DELIVERYIntroduction Good afternoon. Welcome to you all here today and party supporters watching from around the country. We appreciate your hard work keeping New Zealand First strong; thank you for keeping the faith. Sixty-three days out from Election Day, ...
The diversity of conservation boards around Aotearoa is increasing with 47 appointments to 14 of the 15 conservation boards across New Zealand announced today by the Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage. ...
The Green Party is honoured to be remembering former co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons today at a public memorial service in the heart of Wellington at the Cathedral of St. Paul’s. Following her passing in March, this celebration of her life brings together her friends, family and colleagues to honour her life ...
Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage has announced a $2.5 million boost for South Westland to help a regional alliance of local businesses and government agencies provide nature based jobs. ...
Investing in infrastructure is one major way we can create jobs, stimulate the economy, and keep New Zealand moving post COVID-19. That's why this week we rolled out a massive number of infrastructure announcements - in Tairāwhiti, Wairarapa, Otago, Southland and more! ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters says the National Party’s Auckland Transport announcement today is a breath-taking plan on the never never. While it is promising to see that National all of a sudden has rediscovered railways in Auckland, including trains ...
Landmark legislation passed today puts New Zealand on track to saving thousands of lives and having a smokefree generation sooner rather than later, Associate Health Minister, Jenny Salesa says. The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Bill regulates vaping products and heated tobacco devices. “There has long been concern ...
A discriminatory law that has been a symbol of frustration for many people needing and providing care and support, has been scrapped by the Government. “Part 4A of the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Amendment Bill (No 2) was introduced under urgency in 2013 by a National Government,” Associate ...
Kiwi motorists are set to reap the benefits of a more competitive fuel market following the passing of the Fuel Industry Bill tonight, Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods says. “This Act is where the rubber meets the road in terms of our response to the recommendations made in the ...
The Government has delivered on its promise to New Zealanders to modernise tenancy laws with the passing of the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill 2020 today, says Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing), Kris Faafoi. “The Residential Tenancies Act 1986 was out-dated and the reforms in the RTA modernise our ...
New rules to protect and restore New Zealand’s freshwater passed into law today. Environment Minister David Parker and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor welcomed the gazetting of the new national direction on freshwater management. “These regulations deliver on the Government’s commitment to stop further degradation, show material improvements within five years and ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced the appointment of Jeremy Clarke-Watson as New Zealand’s new Consul-General in Los Angeles. “New Zealand and the United States share a close and dynamic partnership, based on a long history of shared values and democratic traditions,” Mr Peters said. “Mr Clarke-Watson is a ...
Victims of family violence can end a tenancy with two days’ notice Landlords can terminate tenancies with 14 days’ notice if tenants assault them Timeframe brought forward for limiting rent increases to once every 12 months Extension of time Tenancy Tribunal can hear cases via phone/video conference Reform of New ...
Two employment schemes – one new and one expanded – going live today will help tens of thousands of people continue training on the job and support thousands more into work, the Government has announced. Apprenticeship Boost, a subsidy of up to $12,000 per annum for first year apprentices and ...
The Government is funding a significant infrastructure package at Omokoroa which will create 150 new jobs and help transform the Western Bay of Plenty peninsula, Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford announced today. Phil Twyford says the Government is investing $14 million towards the $28 million roading and water package. This ...
The Bill allowing the Government to recover some costs for managed isolation and quarantine passed its third reading today, with charges coming into force as soon as regulations are finalised. Putting regulations into force is the next step. “The COVID-19 Public Health Response Amendment Bill and its supporting regulations will ...
Today’s unemployment data shows the Government’s plan to protect jobs and cushion the blow for businesses and households against the economic impact of COVID-19 was the right decision, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. Stats NZ said today that New Zealand’s unemployment rate in the June quarter – which includes the ...
A new role of New Zealand Reading Ambassador for children and young people is being established, Prime Minister and Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Jacinda Ardern and Minister for Internal Affairs and for Children, Tracey Martin announced today. The Reading Ambassador, announced at a Celebration of Reading event at ...
Community Law Centres will receive a funding boost to meet the increased need for free legal services due to COVID-19, Justice Minister Andrew Little said. The $3.5m funding is for the next three financial years and is additional to the almost $8 million for Community Law Centres announced in Budget ...
New Zealand has joined Canada and Chile in a new trade initiative aimed at increasing women’s participation in global trade. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker, together with Canada’s Minister for Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade Mary Ng, Chile’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrés Allamand, and Chile’s Vice ...
Building owners around New Zealand have benefited from the latest round of Heritage EQUIP funding with grants totalling $2,230,166. “The Heritage EQUIP grants for seismic strengthening assist private building owners to get the professional advice they need to go ahead with their projects or support them to carry out the ...
• New paediatric facilities, including a Special Baby Care Unit • Up to 50 extra inpatient beds • New lab facilities Northland babies and their whānau will soon have access to improved hospital care when they need it with Health Minister Chris Hipkins today confirming new paediatric facilities and more ...
People walking and cycling between Featherston and Greytown, or along Wellington’s Eastern Bays will soon have a safe shared path, as part of a $220 million shovel-ready cycleways package announced by Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter. “During lockdown we saw many more families and kids out on their bikes, ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today extended New Zealand’s condolences following the death of Vanuatu’s High Commissioner to New Zealand, Johnson Naviti, who passed away yesterday afternoon in Wellington. “Our thoughts are with the High Commissioner’s family and colleagues during this difficult time. This is a terrible loss both to ...
The Government has today set out the regional allocations of the $761 million Three Waters stimulus and reform funding for councils announced by Prime Minister Hon Jacinda Ardern this month. "I want to thank Councils around the country for engaging with the Central Local Government Steering Group who have been ...
Students with high and complex learning needs, as well as their teachers and parents, will benefit from a substantial increase to Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) funding, Associate Education Minister Martin announced today. “Nearly $160 million will go towards helping these students by lifting their base support over the next four ...
Funding for innovative projects to connect Kiwis with affordable, safe and wholesome food, reduce food waste, and help our food producers recover from COVID-19 has been announced today by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. “COVID-19 has seen an increasing number of families facing unprecedented financial pressure. Foodbanks and community food service ...
Eight shovel-ready projects within Kāinga Ora large-scale developments, and the Unitec residential development in Auckland have been given the go-ahead, Minister for Housing Dr Megan Woods announced today. Megan Woods says these significant infrastructure upgrades will ensure that the provision of homes in Auckland can continue apace. “The funding announced ...
The Government is funding a new separated walking and cycleway path along Napier’s Chambers and Ellison streets to provide safer access for local students and residents across Marine Parade and State Highway 51, Transport Minister Phil Twyford and Police Minister Stuart Nash announced today. Funding of $2.7 million has been ...
More than 13,000 people have been employed so far thanks to the Coalition Government’s Provincial Growth Fund, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has today announced. The number of jobs created by Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) investments has outstripped the 10,000 jobs target that the Government and Provincial Development Unit ...
Scientists and innovative fishing operators from Stewart Island and Fiordland to Nelson, Marlborough and Wellington have been honoured in the first ever Seafood Sustainability Awards. Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash has congratulated the winners of the inaugural Seafood Sustainability Awards held at Parliament. “The awards night honours six winners, from a wide ...
The Government is providing an investment totalling more than $100 million for regions to protect against and mitigate the effects of climate change, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones have announced. Six regions will receive funding from the $3 billion allocated to infrastructure projects from the ...
Three major local projects at Te Kuiti and Otorohanga have been given the money to get moving after the impact of Covid 19, says the Minister of Māori Development Hon Nanaia Mahuta. The projects range from a Sports Centre for Te Kuiti, a redevelopment of the Otorohanga Kiwi House and ...
The Coalition Government has extended three New Zealand Defence Force deployments to the Middle East and Africa by two years, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Ron Mark announced today. “These deployments promote peace in the Middle East and Africa by protecting civilians and countering the spread of ...
The release of the National Climate Change Risk Assessment shows that the progress this Government has made to solve the climate crisis is essential to creating cleaner and safer communities across New Zealand. “Because of this report, we can see clearer than ever that the action our Government is taking ...
The second round of the Community Resilience Fund is now open for applications for sport and recreation organisations experiencing financial hardship between 1 July and 30 September 2020. “The fund opens today for five weeks – closing on September 6. The amount awarded will be decided on a case-by-case basis ...
Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage today declared Rakitū Island, off the coast of Aotea/Great Barrier Island, predator free. “I’m delighted to announce that with rats now gone, Rakitū is officially predator free. This is a major milestone because Rakitū is the last DOC administered island in the Hauraki Gulf Marine ...
The Provincial Growth Fund is investing $8.75 million to restore significant historic sites at Ōhaeawai in the Far North, upgrade marae and fund fencing and riparian planting. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones made the announcements following a service at the historic St Michael’s Anglican Church at Ōhaeawai today. Just ...
The Chatham Islands will receive close to $40 million for projects that will improve its infrastructure, add to its attraction as a visitor destination, and create jobs through a planned aquaculture venture, Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has announced. “The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the islands, first ...
The Government is delivering more initiatives to reduce energy hardship and to give small electricity consumers a voice, Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods said today. “In addition to the initiatives we have already delivered to support New Zealand families, we are responding to the Electricity Price Review with further ...
Government, iwi, NGOs and rehabilitation groups are working together to turn around the fortunes of the nationally endangered hoiho/yellow-eyed penguin following a series of terrible breeding seasons. The Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage helped launch the Five Year Action Plan at the annual Yellow-Eyed Penguin symposium in Dunedin today. “I ...
The membership of the Tourism Futures Taskforce has now been confirmed, Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis announced at an event at Whakarewarewa in Rotorua today. “The main purpose of the independent Tourism Futures Taskforce is to lead the thinking on the future of tourism in New Zealand,” Kelvin Davis said. Joining ...
More than $300 million in funding has been approved to protect strategic tourism businesses, drive domestic tourism through regional events and lift digital capability in the tourism industry, Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. A $400 million Tourism Recovery Package was announced at Budget 2020, and with today’s announcements is ...
From 2021 permits will be required for New Zealanders wanting to export hard-to-recycle plastic waste. The Associate Minister for the Environment, Eugenie Sage, today announced the requirements as part of New Zealand’s commitments to the Basel Convention, an international agreement of more than 180 countries which was amended in May ...
The building and construction sector is still showing strong growth, with the number of new dwellings consented up more than 8 per cent compared to last year, reflecting a welcome confidence in the Government’s COVID-19 response package, Minister for Building and Construction Jenny Salesa says. “While it is still too ...
Government investment of $23 million for Bay of Plenty flood protection will allow local communities to address long-standing flood risks and provide jobs, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced in Rotorua today. These projects are being funded by the Infrastructure Reference Group’s (IRG) shovel ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison will unveil on Thursday a cyber security package to give greater protection to critical Australian infrastructure and bolster the powers of the Australian Federal Police to pursue criminal networks on the dark web. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra A rumour that Victoria’s high profile chief health officer Brett Sutton was quitting caused a flurry in state government circles on Wednesday afternoon. Sutton has been one of the medical hardliners during the pandemic, at ...
Parliament has just passed a new law that will leave renters with a sense of relief. But many landlords aren’t too pleased. What’s all this then?The Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill passed under urgency this evening. It amends existing law around renting to increase rights for tenants. According to associate housing minister ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Noble, Education Policy Fellow, Mitchell Institute, Victoria University From tomorrow (Thursday, August 6) only children of permitted workers will be able to attend childcare in Melbourne, which is under stage 4 restrictions. Parents and providers have been waiting to understand what ...
Gone By Lunchtime’s Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas denounce new poll results that very slightly contradict their opinions.The height of the summit for the National Party? A poll came out last week with Labour at 53%, and that was considered good news for Judith Collins and the Strong ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Melatos, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Sydney Virgin Australia’s plan to sack about 3,000 of its 9,000 staff, axe its budget brand Tigerair, streamline its fleet to only Boeing 737s and suspend long-haul international flying indefinitely should come as no ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Reilly, Professor, University of Western Australia In international affairs, words are bullets, according to an old diplomatic saying. If so, Australia in recent years has begun firing new ammunition. In his address to the Aspen Security Forum today, Prime Minister Scott ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aisling Rayne, PhD candidate, University of Canterbury Whakapapa [genealogy] binds tākata whenua [people of the land] to the mountains, rivers, coasts and other landscapes, linking the health of the people with that of the environment. Like humans, species have whakapapa that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gabriel da Silva, Senior Lecturer in Chemical Engineering, University of Melbourne The Lebanese capital Beirut was rocked on Tuesday evening local time by an explosion that has killed at least 78 people and injured thousands more. The country’s prime minister Hassan Diab ...
The MacDiarmid Institute DiscoveryCamp gives Māori and Pasefika high school students a taste of life as a scientist. Teuila Fuatai finds the experience often leads to much more. Eden Skipper loves eeling. “It is a family tradition,” he says proudly. The 22-year-old of Ngāi Tahu descent grew up on the east ...
Te Tari Taiwhenua, Department of Internal Affairs, has announced Allot Limited as the new service provider for the Digital Child Exploitation Filter (DCEF) from 1 August 2020. The filter operates as a service provided to most New Zealand Internet ...
In the wake of National’s leadership woes, The Spinoff sat down with the party’s most popular face in recent history to talk Covid-19, Judith Collins – and why he thinks our border should be more ‘flexible’.John Key is confident about our country’s future.In part, that’s because he tunes in each ...
The new National Policy Statement and National Environmental Standard for Freshwater, gazetted by the Government today, is a significant step forward in reducing pollution in our rural and urban waterways caused by intensive farming and through regional ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David McCooey, Professor of Writing and Literature, Deakin University In our series Art for Trying Times, authors nominate a work they turn to for solace or perspective during this pandemic. One day in 1984, a friend and I went to have lunch ...
Data released by Stats NZ today shows the impact of Covid-19 on New Zealand jobs during the June quarter was disproportionately felt by women. Mary Jo Vergara from KiwiEconomics breaks down what it all means.Women have historically fared well in times of war and crisis. During the Second World War, ...
The Sir Julius Vogel Awards last Thursday were meant to be a celebration of some of our best genre writers. It didn’t turn out that way, as Casey Lucas, one of the winners, explains. This is the story of how the nominees and recipients of the 2020 Sir Julius Vogel ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Craig Jeffrey, Director and CEO of the Australia India Institute; Professor of Development Geography, University of Melbourne In recent days, the Indian government approved a new education policy — the first for 34 years. The policy comes after an expert group produced ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julian Elliott, Executive Director, National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce, and Associate Professor, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University With cases of COVID-19 on the rise, many Australians are asking: what happens if I test positive? With no known cure ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Professor Marcia Langton, Foundation Chair in Australian Indigenous Studies, University of Melbourne This is an edited transcript of the 2020 Thea Astley Address delivered by Marcia Langton at the Byron Writers Festival. It’s a longer read at 4,500 words. You can listen ...
As Auckland business leaders and the city’s economic development agency hold a day-long summit to thrash out a Covid-19 economic recovery plan, Finance Minister Grant Robertson is singing from a different song- book. He reckons NZ’s economy is doing well and “ … as we look ahead, there are ...
The National Party says it would create a new Auckland Transport-like authority and green-light a second Terrace tunnel National Party leader Judith Collins has announced National would give greater government funding for the Wellington region's existing transport plan and for a new agency to end the region's transport bickering. Collins made ...
Latest from the Beehive – The public debt is among the victims of the Covid-19 epidemic. According to the 2020 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update, in the current year and the next two fiscal years, operating deficits (operating balance before gains and losses) average around $28 billion while net core ...
The latest round of economic data won’t carry Judith Collins and the National Party into the promised land, and she’ll need to come up with something else to save her chances, writes political commentator Ben Thomas.The government has delivered an economic miracle! How else to describe today’s labour market statistics ...
Source: Council on Hemispheric Affairs – Analysis-Reportage John PerryFrom Masaya, Nicaragua An extraordinary leaked document gives a glimpse of the breadth and complexity of the US government’s plan to interfere in Nicaragua’s internal affairs up to and after its presidential election in 2021. The plan,[1] a 14-page extract from a ...
The Cook Islands language video.Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk The Cook Islands episode in AUT’s Pacific language video series – “Adapting to a changing world, shaping resilient futures” – is out now. The video is narrated in Cook Islands Māori (with English subtitles) to acknowledge the language being celebrated in ...
Community Law Centres welcome the additional Government funding announced to help address increased demand for free legal services due to COVID-19. Minister of Justice Andrew Little today announced an additional $3.47m over three years for Community ...
New Zealand’s unemployment rate has just fallen, defying experts and flying in the face of everything we expected. But according to Stats NZ, the devil is in the detail.What’s all this then?In a bizarre turn of events, New Zealand’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has actually fallen from 4.2% to 4% ...
The outgoing immigration minister, Iain Lees-Galloway, has told MPs income criteria imposed on residents who want their parents to join them are "far too high". ...
Auckland Action Against Poverty is calling on the Government to increase abatement thresholds and lift benefits to liveable levels to support people affected by the growth of unemployment due to COVID-19. “Unemployment numbers do not tell us whether ...
A national survey of public drinking fountains around Aotearoa, recently undertaken by RefillNZ , has shown that, on average, there is only one drinking fountain for every 3,303 people and as few as one fountain for every 17,000 people in the worst-affected ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andreas Ortmann, Professor, UNSW Sweden has become something of a cautionary tale for what happens when you attempt to tackle coronavirus without lockdowns. In The Conversation last week The Grattan Institute’s Stephen Duckett and Will Mackey said its freer approach caused almost ...
In the June 2020 quarter, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 4.0 percent, down from 4.2 percent last quarter, while underutilisation rose, Stats NZ said today. ...
A conference on Auckland and the Covid-19 crisis hears calls for flexibility from the Government, including a loan to fund big projects and allowing foreign students into university quarantine Former Prime Minister John Key is urging the Government to throw out the rulebook and give Auckland Council a big, interest-free ...
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk The safe reopening of entry points into six Pacific Islands countries amid the covid-19 pandemic is being discussed at a meeting in Fiji this week. The virtual roundtable is being convened by the United Nations and the Asian Development Bank with representatives from Solomon Islands, Kiribati, ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers' Union is welcoming confirmation from the National Party that income tax bracket indexation remains party policy. However, suggestions that the National Party has no plans to cut income taxes will come as a major disappointment ...
The Executive Director of the New Zealand Maori Council, Matthew Tukaki, has said unemployment in New Zealand will rise significantly over the next quarter and the figures out today are just the tip of a very fast-moving iceberg. Tukaki has said ...
Aggrieved members of the Firearms Community - from all over Canterbury and beyond - will once again take to the streets of Ashburton in good numbers this Saturday, 8th August. They continue to protest against the government’s Firearms Law Firearms ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Hazel, Senior Lecturer, School of Animal and Veterinary Science, University of Adelaide What does a pandemic smell like? If dogs could talk, they might be able to tell us. We’re part of an international research team, led by Dominique Grandjean at ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Smith, Senior Lecturer in American Politics and Foreign Policy, US Studies Centre, University of Sydney Americans were alarmed last week when their president suggested on Twitter that the November 3 presidential election should be delayed because mail-in ballots would be fraudulent. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Judy Mullan, Associate Professor, School of Medicine, University of Wollongong According to 2016 Census data, 3.5% of Australians have limited English proficiency. When they’re receiving health care, it’s essential these Australians have access to interpreters. Research has shown professional interpreters facilitate effective ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aliza Werner-Seidler, Senior Research Fellow in Mental Health & Clinical Psychologist, UNSW Access to mental health support has never been more important, as Melburnians are hit with a stage 4 lockdown and much of the rest of Australia braces for a potential ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Osman, Scientist, Energy Efficiency & Renewables, CSIRO Yesterday, Australia’s eastern states felt a vicious cold snap, and these wintry blasts make hunkering down in isolation at home a little easier. But as the temperature rises at home, so does our carbon ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Brent, Professor and Chair in Sustainable Energy Systems, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington CC BY-NDClimate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Prestridge, Senior Lecturer, Griffith University In early July, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced government school students in prep to Year 10 — in Metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire —would learn from home for term three. Students in Years 11 and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Georgia Cervin, Honorary Research Fellow, University of Western Australia The new Netflix documentary Athlete A details how Larry Nassar, the US women’s gymnastics team doctor, was brought to justice after sexually abusing hundreds of gymnasts. Since its release, gymnasts around the world ...
Welcome to Election Live for August 5, bringing you the latest on election 2020 and other breaking news. For key dates in the election season click here. For all you need to know about the cannabis referendum click here. For the assisted dying referendum click here. Get in touch at ...
The Social Services and Community Committee is calling for public submissions on the Oranga Tamariki (Youth Justice Demerit Points) Amendment Bill, which was referred to the committee on 21 July 2020. This Member’s Bill would introduce a youth demerit ...
Ryman Healthcare's plans in Australia's Covid-19 hit state of Victoria prompt a note of caution, plus the Super Fund buys New Zealand's major lab testing company ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: IPCA and police at odds over decision not to charge officer, Canterbury DHB in crisis, and Shane Jones job creation claims disputed.The Independent Police Conduct Authority has issued a call for charges for an officer who used excessive force in ...
Covid-19 has underscored that the Government cannot address issues of magnitude alone. Dawn Freshwater looks at where universities fit into our country's recovery. University researchers have shown remarkable agility in their response to the Covid-19 pandemic. They have conducted research in new fields, collaborated across traditional disciplinary boundaries and joined forces ...
Fonterra’s proposed wastewater plant near Cambridge has drawn opposition from locals who say it should take place on industrial-zoned land, not in the middle of farms, lifestyle blocks and retirement homes Residents in a rural area of Cambridge are unhappy about Fonterra’s proposal to put a wastewater treatment plant on ...
Our first world weightlifting gold medallist, Kanah Andrews-Nahu, has struggled coming out of lockdown. But it’s helped her realise that to be great, she must be committed. Not only in sport, but a medical career too. This year’s North and South Island Olympic weightlifting championships were, understandably, like no other. Instead ...
It's time to end to the manipulation of newsfeeds, demand fact-checking and smash our echo chambers, writes Gehan Gunasekara Data privacy has now become a mainstream election issue on par with the likes of health or education. People care deeply how their personal information is managed. This is evidenced by the ...
The market failure imposed by the use of Tiwai Point as an aluminium smelter does not mean that there are no other good options. Nicola Gaston gives explores five of them. So it’s happened. Rio Tinto has announced it is pulling the plug on the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter, due to crashing prices ...
An essay by Ruby Solly about whakapapa, resistance, and the markers of history that often go unseen In my dark hair, there is a red fleck. Like Tiger's Eye stone, you see it run when the light hits it. The red fleck of totoweka, the blood in the stone. My ...
The first episode of our new podcast series tackles equality and equity and the role of our education system as a solution. Subscribe now to Conversations that Count – Ngā Kōrero Whai Take, for essential insight into the future of Aotearoa. The idea that all New Zealanders should have access to ...
When does advance voting open, when do the results get announced, and when are the TV debates? The essential election calendar.To read our bumper Q&A on the cannabis legalisation referendum see here, on the assisted dying referendum, see here. For all The Spinoff’s Election 2020 coverage go here.This post will ...
Alongside the general election of 2020, New Zealanders will be asked to vote on the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill, which legalises restricted access to cannabis. Here’s our bumper question-and-answer special on what it involves.Click here for everything you need to know about the assisted dying referendum. Read more from the ...
Here’s what we have planned for the weeks to come.A month from today, on Saturday September 5, voting begins in the general election of 2020. Election day itself isn’t for another fortnight, on September 19, but if the trends of recent times is a guide, more than half of all ...
Alongside the general election of 2020, New Zealanders will be asked to vote on the End of Life Choice bill, which allows voluntary euthanasia for those suffering terminal illnesses. Here’s our bumper question-and-answer special on what it involves.Click here for everything you need to know about the cannabis referendum. Read ...
After China's succession of food scares, and post-Covid wariness, consumer demands there are changing. New Zealand can take advantage of that, or be left behind Covid-19 has heightened Chinese consumer concerns about food safety, and industry players are warning New Zealand businesses to keep up. Today The Detail looks ...
Our banks are charging retailers hundreds of millions of dollars every year, for electronic payments. While credit card companies cut some fees this week, small Kiwi retailers are still paying too much. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison says the COVID-19 crisis has created new opportunities for “like-minded economies” to work together – but warned against “solely transactional” trade approaches undermining these relationships. In a Wednesday keynote speech to the US ...
A new Twilight book launches today. Its author talked to Catherine Woulfe about gender politics, anxiety, and the challenges of telling the Twilight story from Edward Cullen’s perspective. Midnight Sun is the original Twilight story, except instead of Bella Swan narrating it’s her vampire love, Edward Cullen.It’s a book that ...
Papua New Guinea has one new case of the novel coronavirus covid-19 reported yesterday bringing total cases to 111, reports EMTV News. National Pandemic Response Controller David Manning in a statement late yesterday said the new case was a 27-year-old male of the National Department of Health and was in ...
Open Mike 05/02/2018 
After I noticed that my name had been taken yet again in vain by my friendly antagonist Tom Hunter over at No Minister, I went over to see what the fuss was about. Nothing much, but then I discovered a post about the Operation Burnham Inquiry by Psycho Milt. I ...12 hours ago
The COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020 was extended today, until December 1st or the tenth sitting day following the resumption of Parliament after the election. It seems like a necessary extension. While we currently have eradicated the virus in New Zealand, it is still banging at the door, and ...12 hours ago
Judy Kavanagh I’m OK with wearing a CovidCard. But are you? There’s no point me doing it alone.
As many good things come in threes (as the saying goes), we are happy to announce a third partnership between Skeptical Science and other websites. Fakebook.eco in Brazil is joining Klimafakten.de in Germany and Nauka o Klimacie in Poland to leverage translated rebuttal material and to make the information readily available in other ...1 day ago
This interview on RNZ with Ross Tucker, the scientist who headed a review of transgender athletes playing in women’s rugby, discusses the findings of the review and what it means for women in sports. The review that World Rugby undertook had a broad range of independent experts and included a ...2 days ago
Let's Do This Again: What else can Jacinda do in a political environment so bereft of imagination and courage but seek a continuance? If she trades upon the extraordinary personal qualities that she has, miraculously, carried with her into the office of Prime Minister, then I, for one, will offer ...2 days ago
New Zealand First is facing a difficult struggle to get re-elected, but Josh Van Veen, who was once a researcher for Winston Peters, argues that there is still a very significant section of cultural conservatives who oppose mass immigration and political correctness and might yet be won back over to ...2 days ago
As polling day in the American presidential election draws closer, things are looking bad for Donald Trump. The polls show that he is tracking well behind his Democrat rival. Most people assume that the President will be striving might and main to avoid what looks increasingly likely to be a ...3 days ago
Our health professionals do an amazing job. Image credit: Wikipedia – Cardiac surgery. Finally, I have got back to these rankings. A long period in hospital and computer problems meant the June 2020 rankings were abandoned. Now, with a new personal defibrillator implanted in my chest and a new hard ...4 days ago
Former National Minister - Wayne MappYou could tell that the Hit and Run book by investigative journalists Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson was right on the money by the way former National Party Minister of Defence, Wayne Mapp, reacted to its now largely vindicated claims.Even though the recent inquiry into ...5 days ago
We are failing to think though the interdependencies in an economy. We miss economist Bryan Philpott (1921-2000). I miss him personally – we used to have such great discussions – but this column is about how the nation misses his economic experience and wisdom. We tend to ...5 days ago
TUESDAY AUGUST 4Grand Designs UK (Three, 7.30pm). ...7 days ago
Most of the claims made by anti-fluoride propagandists are simply wrong. Image source: Fluoridation and the ‘sciency’ facts of critics Anti-fluoride propagandists continually cite studies from areas of endemic fluorosis in their arguments against ... 1 week ago
. . For the mainstream media, today (22 July) was even a better day than yesterday. More Sex. More Politics. More Sex AND Politics. Yesterday, the msm dealt with Andrew Falloon. The obscure backbench MP had been found to have sent pornographic images to at least four women. The woman’s ...1 week ago
There’s ultimately two key narratives overall that are seeking to take front row in order to reshape the world as a whole going forward from the COVID pandemic. The first is a very desperate attempt to reimpose “a return” to what is perceived as “the old normal”, quite impossible. ...2 weeks ago
The Green Party is celebrating the passing of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill, calling it a win for people who rent. ...8 hours ago
We went hard and we went early in our health response to COVID-19, and we did everything we could to cushion the economic impact too. In fact, we can fill every letter of the alphabet with the steps we took to fight COVID-19 and ensure we were in a position ...2 days ago
New Zealand needs to be more aggressive in pursuing economic opportunities and resist the short-term thinking affecting some of its major industry, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says. Mr Peters told Wellington Chamber of Commerce members this morning that the planned closure of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter will have ...2 weeks ago
Landmark legislation passed today puts New Zealand on track to saving thousands of lives and having a smokefree generation sooner rather than later, Associate Health Minister, Jenny Salesa says. The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Bill regulates vaping products and heated tobacco devices. “There has long been concern ...5 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison will unveil on Thursday a cyber security package to give greater protection to critical Australian infrastructure and bolster the powers of the Australian Federal Police to pursue criminal networks on the dark web. ...3 hours ago
A bill that increases security and stability for tenants has passed its final reading in Parliament. ...7 hours ago
Parliament has just passed a new law that will leave renters with a sense of relief. But many landlords aren’t too pleased. What’s all this then?The Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill passed under urgency this evening. It amends existing law around renting to increase rights for tenants. According to associate housing minister ...8 hours ago
Te Tari Taiwhenua, Department of Internal Affairs, has announced Allot Limited as the new service provider for the Digital Child Exploitation Filter (DCEF) from 1 August 2020. The filter operates as a service provided to most New Zealand Internet ...12 hours ago
New Zealand First and the Greens are facing the reality of the 'support partner' curse ...13 hours ago
As Auckland business leaders and the city’s economic development agency hold a day-long summit to thrash out a Covid-19 economic recovery plan, Finance Minister Grant Robertson is singing from a different song- book. He reckons NZ’s economy is doing well and “ … as we look ahead, there are ...14 hours ago
The National Party says it would create a new Auckland Transport-like authority and green-light a second Terrace tunnel National Party leader Judith Collins has announced National would give greater government funding for the Wellington region's existing transport plan and for a new agency to end the region's transport bickering. Collins made ...14 hours ago
Latest from the Beehive – The public debt is among the victims of the Covid-19 epidemic. According to the 2020 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update, in the current year and the next two fiscal years, operating deficits (operating balance before gains and losses) average around $28 billion while net core ...14 hours ago
A conference on Auckland and the Covid-19 crisis hears calls for flexibility from the Government, including a loan to fund big projects and allowing foreign students into university quarantine Former Prime Minister John Key is urging the Government to throw out the rulebook and give Auckland Council a big, interest-free ...17 hours ago
Ryman Healthcare's plans in Australia's Covid-19 hit state of Victoria prompt a note of caution, plus the Super Fund buys New Zealand's major lab testing company ...21 hours ago
The Government is claiming that National will have to drastically cut public services to meet its strict debt reduction target. Is that accurate? ...23 hours ago
Covid-19 has underscored that the Government cannot address issues of magnitude alone. Dawn Freshwater looks at where universities fit into our country's recovery. University researchers have shown remarkable agility in their response to the Covid-19 pandemic. They have conducted research in new fields, collaborated across traditional disciplinary boundaries and joined forces ...23 hours ago
Fonterra’s proposed wastewater plant near Cambridge has drawn opposition from locals who say it should take place on industrial-zoned land, not in the middle of farms, lifestyle blocks and retirement homes Residents in a rural area of Cambridge are unhappy about Fonterra’s proposal to put a wastewater treatment plant on ...23 hours ago
Our first world weightlifting gold medallist, Kanah Andrews-Nahu, has struggled coming out of lockdown. But it’s helped her realise that to be great, she must be committed. Not only in sport, but a medical career too. This year’s North and South Island Olympic weightlifting championships were, understandably, like no other. Instead ...23 hours ago
It's time to end to the manipulation of newsfeeds, demand fact-checking and smash our echo chambers, writes Gehan Gunasekara Data privacy has now become a mainstream election issue on par with the likes of health or education. People care deeply how their personal information is managed. This is evidenced by the ...23 hours ago
The market failure imposed by the use of Tiwai Point as an aluminium smelter does not mean that there are no other good options. Nicola Gaston gives explores five of them. So it’s happened. Rio Tinto has announced it is pulling the plug on the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter, due to crashing prices ...23 hours ago
An essay by Ruby Solly about whakapapa, resistance, and the markers of history that often go unseen In my dark hair, there is a red fleck. Like Tiger's Eye stone, you see it run when the light hits it. The red fleck of totoweka, the blood in the stone. My ...23 hours ago
After China's succession of food scares, and post-Covid wariness, consumer demands there are changing. New Zealand can take advantage of that, or be left behind Covid-19 has heightened Chinese consumer concerns about food safety, and industry players are warning New Zealand businesses to keep up. Today The Detail looks ...23 hours ago
Our banks are charging retailers hundreds of millions of dollars every year, for electronic payments. While credit card companies cut some fees this week, small Kiwi retailers are still paying too much. ...23 hours ago
Are people in politics interested in giving women what they need to live their lives fully? ...23 hours ago
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