Iran sends around 200 missiles into Israel, all aimed at military targets. One civilian, a Palestinian, dies from shrapnel from an intercepted missile. Israel responds with devastating strikes on apartment blocks in Beirut. Hundreds of ordinary people join the deaths of the thousands in Gaza. In all likelihood, this is only the beginning for Beirut.
Dr Marandi and his Lebanese host take a walk around the devastation in Beirut. This is what the height of western civilization is. A colonial invading force that demands subjegation and cares not a wit about human decency.
Whatever one thinks of the Israeli military actions in Gaza, or Lebanon (and there are critics within Israel), it would be inaccurate to say the more recent actions in Lebanon are the response to Iran firing missiles into Israel.
Whatever one thinks of the Israeli military actions in Gaza, or Lebanon…
Campbell reckons recent Israeli military actions aren't much chop in humanitarian terms – that could apply to almost any military conflict, depending on one's PoV.
On The Perils Of Israel’s War Fever [3 Oct 2024]
Retaliation, however, seems to be a right the West feels only Israel is entitled to exercise.
…
In the usual media calculus that we have seen in Gaza, non-Israeli lives are cheap.
…
To repeat: Israel has no diplomatic end game. That’s one reason why getting bogged down in southern Lebanon as winter approaches must be far less attractive to Netanyahu than leap-frogging Lebanon, and triggering a head-on conflict with Iran.
Three great forces rule the world: stupidity, fear and greed. – Einstein
Head-on conflict with Iran could be the end of the beginning, and the US+allies would jump in boots and all. Imho, living on spaceship Earth doesn't get any easier from here on out – we don't know how lucky we are, and were – but don't mind me.
1.a demonstration of strength though their New Year, Oct anniversary and the following religious holiday period (to end of the month)
2.getting away with an action now, before they are required to be more circumspect by Biden over the winter (when there is a focus on aid) and the arrival of a new POTUS in January.
All we can do is hope against hope (and evidence?) that "Israel's war fever" will respond to future US urgings/requirements for greater circumspection.
He believes this will continue during a "lame duck session," in the period before the new president takes office, when Israel will "continue to step up their attacks, to get all they can."
There is still risk as to other action on Iran before Nov 5. Biden might not prevent that, but probably would try and discourage it – maybe by tying it to Israeli commitments.
A Dunedin man has made his submission against the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill while wading through flood-waters in the city and playing Kora's "Politician" over a loud speaker.
Nevell stands in a suburban street flooded with water wearing headphones and reads his submission over Zoom.
Cars parked on the road have water up to their tyres, and frontyards are flooded with water nearly up to letterboxes.
"As politicians, I ask you to consider why is short-term economic benefit of further oil and gas exploration more important than long-term protection from ecological and societal collapse?"
"Who are you benefiting in the political choices you are making?" he asked, "not me and my neighbours here in Dunedin where we are currently experiencing flood caused by the continued problems of climate change".
Nevell called for a transition away from greenhouse gases, "the longer we leave it the worse for everyone".
"The positive economic impact of oil and gas exploration quickly evaporates when the economy and peoples lives are destroyed by these ever more frequent events such as that we are experiencing right now in Dunedin."
CCN World, gives the most in depth report on the sabotage of the Gold Apollo pagers that I have read yet. And well worth a look.
But there was one snippet that particularly caught my eye.
….Customs records in Taiwan, cited by the officials, showed that Gold Apollo shipped more than 20,000 pagers from Taiwan to the United States in the first eight months of 2024. More than 5,000 pagers were shipped to Hong Kong, while more than 3,000 pagers were shipped to Australia….
Did any of the 3,000 pagers shipped to Australia, reach New Zealand?
Why was there no international recall of these pagers to check for tampering?
Were the US and Australia and Hong Kong authorities in communication with Mossad, and given an assurance by Mossad that the Gold Appollo pagers they received were guaranteed safe?
These pagers may present a public health risk.
These handy compact and relatively cheap and rugged devices are commonly used by On-Call femergency Drs, and other first responders, like volunteer fire fighters and ambulance drivers, especialy in rural New Zealand.
Did any Gold Appollo pagers enter New Zealand?
Have our intellingence agencies received an assurance from Mossad that these pagers are safe?
And was this safety assurance passed on to the pager users?
Might be well worth an OIA request to the government.
The OIA enables citizens, permanent residents, visitors to New Zealand, and body corporates registered or with a place of business in New Zealand to make a request for official information held by government agencies, including Toitū Te Whenua.
Jenny, while it makes for a good conspiracy theory, the reality is different.
People that are “on call”, ie doctors, firemen, IT technicians etc, all stopped using pagers with the advent of mobile phones. I briefly had a pager in the mid ‘80’s, but from about ’87 we started using mobile phones. I haven’t seen a pager used in NZ since the’90’s.
Mossad is not out to get you, unless you’re a member of Hamas living in New Zealand and they know you’re part of the leadership of that organisation. So I think you’re safe from the Jews.
Being "safe from the Jews" is not the problem. The problem is being safe from the Zionists. Much as you would like to equate them, they are not the same. Zionists include many fundamentalist Christians and as with all fundamentalists they embrace violence. Netanyahu invoking the Amalekites is a prime example. Zionism is a rascist settler colonial movement that seeks to displace the local population by any means including mass murder, as has been amply demonstrated in Gaza and the West Bank
Zionism is a rascist settler colonial movement, based on wanting a national homeland in an area where there is also another people (different language and religion).
The separatist component can make it like apartheid, but the difference here is not race.
The users of the 3,000 pagers shipped to Australia might beg to differ.
Pagers: Small; discrete and more durable, and last longer between charges.
They are also cheaper and the screen is not likely crack. For one-way urgent emergency messaging pagers are the perfect device.
Smart phones: fragile, bulky and need to be charged every day. Not to mention, expensive.
I take it you are not a manual worker?
Say instead that you are a volunteer firefighter working at your day job doing a physical task, and a fire breaks out in your community. You don't have the room in your work clothes for a mobile phone, and you know you may get called to go to the local volunteer fire station at a moment's notice. then a pager is the device for you.
Even burner phones are not as well suited to this task as a pager.
From everything that I've read, the explosives were inserted into a specific consignment of pagers/walkie talkies, which were ordered by Hezbollah. Not into random ones on the production line.
Unless Mossad is targeting you, deliberately, I don't expect that pagers, etc. imported into NZ are any greater risk than they ever have been.
…..the tiny electronic devices remain a vital means of communication in some areas – such as healthcare and emergency services – thanks to their durability and long battery life.
"It's the cheapest and most efficient way to communicate to a large number of people about messages that don't need responses," said a senior surgeon at a major UK hospital, adding that pagers are commonly used by doctors and nurses across the country's National Health Service (NHS).
"It's used to tell people where to go, when, and what for."
P.S. I too like other commenters here, find your effort to conflate Jews with Zionists offensive.
Not all Jews are Zionists and not all Zionists are Jews.
At almost every Pro-Palestinian protest in Auckland that I have attended there is a huge banner held by 'Jewish Voices For Peace' calling an end to the genocide in Gaza.
So probably not their holiday home eh, but an investment property in a tourist town instead.
Since April, online marketplace operators have been required to collect the standard 15% rate on listed services. Airbnb and Bookabach have passed the cost onto users in the form of an occupancy or lodging tax, which along with their own service fee adds about 30% to the advertised nightly rate.
The sites then give the Government 6.5% and pay the remaining 8.5% to the GST unregistered seller to recognise the GST on their costs from supplying listed services.
I don't really understand that, why is the platform giving 8.5% to the owner?
I will say that it makes booking more complicated and that might be what is putting people off. The owners could be returning the 8.5% by reducing their nightly rates.
From that article: Excellent work Rotorua Council.
'As well as the GST making it more expensive for people to rent, Rotorua District Council had also started charging commercial rates to properties advertised for at least 60 days a year as short-term accommodation.
Rates had “pretty much doubled” with people having to shell out anywhere from $4000 to $10,000 more, he said. Lock said they had already lost about 10% of properties because the owners had stopped renting them out short-term because it wasn’t worth it and he expected more to go.'
This recognition that short term rentals are an accommodation business, and a no-strings (until now) greedy undercutting of motels and hotels by bach owners for big bucks, should be taken by all councils.
Like the conspiracy rumours generated (by nutters or by disinfo agents)round the Gisborne floods, the devastation in the SE east US is generating its own multitude. The Guardian says
'The Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) put up a webpage this week to knock down the swirl of rumors it has faced – a sign of the increased myths. The American Red Cross posted on social media to dispel various falsehoods about its work. Members of Congress and state emergency management services have issued statements to insist they are working around the clock on disaster response. Elected officials who serve the area have asked constituents not to spread rumors and instead help each other.'
This is the type of misinfo and disinfo that is used by external actors and by nasty people on 8chan to push those upset and facing damage into political positions supportive of Trump, who has jumped on this particular bandwagon to make political hay while the sun shines, so to speak.
The bullshit swirling around Cyclone Gabrielle was eye-opening, including thousands of dead.
Yeah mate of mine who lives in Hawkes Bay, who also doesn't believe we landed on the moon, told me there were hundreds of bodies floating out at sea and they had built a morgue at the port to cover it up.
Obviously the cover-up worked well cause it hasn't been reported.
Politico does an interesting article on the role of the Green Party in US Presidential elections, as vote splitter in marginal electorates.
'Wisconsin Democrats haven’t forgotten the searing experience of 2016, when Hillary Clinton unexpectedly lost the state to Donald Trump by just under 23,000 votes — a defeat that many attribute to the roughly 31,000 votes Stein won that year as the Green Party nominee.'
Stine won votes from people who would never have voted democrat, so why are you attacking Stine?
I'm well over this line of crap from people. Why do you think people should automatically vote for one side? They can't think for themselves?
And if you read the piece the Greens have been building a base via local elections and growing a supporter based based on getting results. Rather than pandering to fear.
The democrats are like the labour party and their hacks here – blame everyone else for their failing to getting people to vote for them.
Greens have been building a base via local elections and growing a supporter based based on getting results.
*snort*
/
Jill Stein Is Killing the Green Party
With membership at new lows and no electoral wins to their name, it’s time for the Greens to ditch the malignant narcissist who’s presided over its decline.
Over the last several years, much ink has been spilled over the fact that one of America’s political parties has been captured—if not contorted into an outright cult of personality—by an aging, megalomaniacal autocrat apologist and repeat loser who cares about little outside accruing power and personal enrichment. You are probably conjuring the image of Donald Trump. You’re not wrong, but this dynamic actually applies to two of America’s political parties: the GOP under Trump and the Green Party under Dr. Jill Stein.
[…]
How has Stein fared as a leader? By AOC’s perfectly reasonable standard, she’s done abysmally. As of July 2024, a mere 143 officeholders in the United States are affiliated with the Green Party. None of them are in statewide or federal offices. In fact, no Green Party candidate has ever won federal office. And Stein’s reign has been a period of indisputable decline, during which time the party’s membership—which peaked in 2004 at 319,000 registered members—has fallen to 234,000 today.
I tend to agree with you Adam about Clinton. She was not a good candidate in that she was not particularly liked, was not a great campaigner and was not eloquent like her husband or Obama. She was, however, smart and may have made a good president.
However, there is no doubt that Gore lost the presidency because of Nader's presence. It is widely accepted that Nader took more Democrat votes than Republican.
If the Supreme Court had allowed a proper count in Florida, Gore would have probably won there and so would have been president.
A listening device was found in Boris Johnson’s personal bathroom at the Foreign Office after it had been used by Benjamin Netanyahu, the former British Prime Minister has claimed.
Johnson has alleged that when the Israeli Prime Minister visited his department in 2017, his security team found bugging devices in the toilets after he had used the facilities.
During their meeting in his old office, Johnson says Netanyahu, who he calls Bibi, excused himself to go to the bathroom, which Johnson describes as similar to “the gents in a posh London club” which exist within a “secret annexe”.
In his book, Unleashed, Johnson writes: “Thither Bibi repaired for a while, and it may or may not be a coincidence but I am told that later, when they were doing a regular sweep for bugs, they found a listening device in the thunderbox.”
I saw CNN had a headline briefly that Boris claimed QEII died of bone cancer (how tasteless of B). Then nothing came up in UK news, do guess that was squashed by the Palace pronto.
It was true tWig. She did have bone cancer. That was why she couldn't fulfil most of her public duties in the last year or so of her life. However there is a memorandum of understanding in the British media not to report details of the health problems of Royal Family members. For example we know Charles has cancer but it has not been revealed what sort of cancer.
The Right can’t handle the truth, so they rely on think-tanks to justify their actions.
This is something I suspect will only become more prevalent as invested interests stoke right wing distrust for research, arguments, and institutions that fail to support their position. This is also how the modern right are justifying think tanks, to the world and to themselves.
I understand that Greenpeace Aotearoa "uses non-violent, creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems, and to force the solutions which are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace’s goal is to ensure the ability of the earth to nurture life in all its diversity."
Imho, any organisation with such a worthwhile, principled and ambitious mission needs as many staff and as much help as it can get – the terrorists went too far! Time to increase my tiny monthly donation – thanks B for the prompt.
Greenpeace 'Bad' (according to some); Putin 'Bad'; "Putin vs Greenpeace" – um…
On thin ice – Putin vs Greenpeace: the story of the Arctic 30, and why it still matters today [1 Oct 2024]
Looking at the pictures from that day (smuggled home on a memory card hidden in an activist’s shoe!), it’s hard to believe that all those handguns and helicopters were there to stop a peaceful climate change protest. The brutality of the response is a powerful reminder of why these protests matter: polluters see Greenpeace and its supporters as a real threat to their profits.
…
Greenpeace is one of the only groups equipped to confront environmental crimes anywhere in the world. From the Arctic to the Antarctic, we’ll always stand up to the vandals and polluters trying to wreck our shared home.
Just pointing out how useless a figure of X staff is.
So that's what you were doing – sometimes it's difficult to tell
Imho, the number of staff (X) in an organisation can be useful information, but if you don't like how it’s used then by all means (mis)characterise "X" as a "random statistic."
If you just want to hate on an organization…
Well yes, your critique of F&B's campaign rhetoric didn’t mention staff numbers – kudos.
Just to brighten your day with an artwork of our beloved leader that is yours if you bid enough on the auction. Comes with a good selection of very pertinent questions.
On Tuesday Gordon Brittas debates Te Tautohe Tiriti – Te Tiriti o Waitangi with Ngāti Toa Rangatira leader Helmut Modlik on The Working Group.
I think this will be worth a look for any other political tragics. Last week Matthew Tukaki took Damien Grant to task, reminding us of the hurt he and others feel with the seeming constant attacks on tangata whenua and te reo.
Simon Wilson chimed in with the idea that Te Tiriti, being between the Crown and Maori, if there is to be a change in Te Tiriti, then it is Maori Rangitira that the Crown should be engaging with first. Not appealing to every redneck and their dog. (My paraphrasing).
"That’s right folks, The Working Group is proud to announce that we will be hosting the Iwi vs David Seymour Treaty Debate, 8pm October 8th, live-streamed on Rova, Youtube, Facebook, Tictok, Twitter, The Daily Blog AND simulcast live on Sky TV Channel 83 and Waatea Radio!"
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Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is methane the ...
The Government’s idea is that the private sector and Community Housing Providers will fund, build and operate new affordable housing to address our housing crisis. Meanwhile, the Government does not know where almost half of the 1,700 children who left emergency housing actually went. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong ...
Oh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youOh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youSongwriters: Alexander Ebert / Jade Allyson CastrinosMorena,I’m on a tight time frame this morning. In about an hour and a half, I’ll need to pack up and hit the road ...
This is a post about the Mountain Tui substack, and small tweaks - further to the poll and request post the other day. Please don’t read if you aren’t interested in my personal matters. Thank you all.After oohing-and-aahing about how to structure the Substack model since November, including obtaining ...
This transcript of a recent conversation between the Prime Minister and his chief economic adviser has not been verified.We’ve announced we are the ‘Yes Government’. Do you like it?Yes, Prime Minister.Dreamed up by the PR team. It’s about being committed to growth. Not that the PR team know anything about ...
The other day, Australian Senator Nick McKim issued a warning in the Australian Parliement about the US’s descent into fascim.And of course it’s true, but I lament - that was true as soon as Trump won.What we see is now simply the reification of the intention, planning, and forces behind ...
Among the many other problems associated with Musk/DOGE sending a fleet of teenage and twenty-something cultists to remove, copy and appropriate federal records like social security, medicaid and other supposedly protected data is the fact that the youngsters doing the data-removal, copying and security protocol and filter code over-writing have ...
Jokerman dance to the nightingale tuneBird fly high by the light of the moonOh, oh, oh, JokermanSong by Bob Dylan.Morena folks, I hope this fine morning of the 7th of February finds you well. We're still close to Paihia, just a short drive out of town. Below is the view ...
It’s been an eventful week as always, so here’s a few things that we have found interesting. We also hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Waitangi Day! This week in Greater Auckland We’re still running on summer time, but provided two chewy posts: On Tuesday, a guest ...
Queuing on Queen St: the Government is set to announce another apparently splashy growth policy on Sunday of offering residence visas to wealthy migrants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February 7:PM Christopher ...
The fact that Waitangi ended up being such a low-key affair may mark it out as one of the most significant Waitangi Days in recent years. A group of women draped in “Toitu Te Tiriti” banners who turned their backs on the politicians’ powhiri was about as rough as it ...
Hi,This week’s Flightless Bird episode was about “fake seizure guy” — a Melbourne man who fakes seizures in order to get members of the public to sit on him.The audio documentary (which I have included in this newsletter in case you don’t listen to Flightless Bird) built on reporting first ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk The 119th Congress comes with a price tag. The oil and gas industry gave about $24 million in campaign contributions to the members of the U.S. House and Senate expected to be sworn in January 3, 2025, according to a ...
Early morning, the shadows still long, but you can already feel the warmth building. Our motel was across the road from the historic homestead where Henry Williams' family lived. The evening before, we wandered around the gardens, reading the plaques and enjoying the close proximity to the history of the ...
Thanks folks for your feedback, votes and comments this week. I’ll be making the changes soon. Appreciate all your emails, comments and subscriptions too. I know your time is valuable - muchas gracias.A lot is happening both here and around the world - so I want to provide a snippets ...
National’s cuts to disability support funding and freezing of new residential placements has resulted in significant mental health decline for intellectually disabled people. ...
The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community - something that could have easily been avoided. ...
Today Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from state care back to te iwi Māori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga ...
The Whangarei District Council being forced to fluoridate their local water supply is facing a despotic Soviet-era disgrace. This is not a matter of being pro-fluoride or anti-fluoride. It is a matter of what New Zealanders see and value as democracy in our country. Individual democratically elected Councillors are not ...
Nicola Willis’ latest supermarket announcement is painfully weak with no new ideas, no real plan, and no relief for Kiwis struggling with rising grocery costs. ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
MONDAYSheriff Seymour rode slowly down the main street of Dodge on his faithful white horse Atlas Network.He liked what he saw.Children were being fed free lunches prepared by kind people who collected the scraps from an offal rendering plant.“Very strongly flavoured liver, such as ox liver, can be soaked overnight ...
Once upon a time it was all about being an astronaut, a firefighter or doctor; but these days kids have their sights set on becoming vloggers or YouTubers.That’s according to a 2019 study by Lego that surveyed 3000 children between the ages of eight to 12 from the US, the ...
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. From the moment I started high school and realised almost every other girl in my year was at least partially interested in what the boys were up to, I realised that I would be single for life. The feeling wasn’t one of ...
The Pacific profiles series shines a light on Pacific people in Aotearoa doing interesting and important work in their communities, as nominated by members of the public. Today, Selina Alesana Alefosio.All photos by Geoffery Matautia.On a bright Sunday morning from her grandparent’s home in Pito-one, I spoke with ...
The White Lotus star reflects on her life in TV, including the local ad reference that doesn’t work in Australia, and her bananas co-star on Neighbours.Morgana O’Reilly was scrolling her phone next to her sleeping son on an idle Saturday morning when she got the call confirming that she ...
Claire Mabey explores the pros and cons of puff quotes on book covers.In January, Publishers Weekly put out an article by Sean Manning – publisher of Simon & Schuster’s flagship US imprint – in which he said he’d “no longer require authors to obtain blurbs for their books”.The ...
New Zealand’s Entomological Society is hosting its annual bug of the year contest. Here are some of the insects in the running. For some reason – perhaps humans’ inherent competitiveness, the idealisation of democracy, the need to demarcate winners and losers – one of the best ways to get people ...
A journey along the border, with words and illustrations by Bob Kerr.The Spinoff Essay showcases the best essayists in Aotearoa, on topics big and small. Made possible by the generous support of our members.The Sunset Limited leaves Union Station New Orleans on time at nine in the morning. We ...
Neville Peat is the 2024 recipient of the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement in nonfiction. He’s written 56 books, mostly on natural history; this excerpt is from The Falcon and the Lark: A New Zealand High Country Journal, first published in 1992. The falcon wintering on the Rock and ...
It was a light-hearted gesture Greta Pilkington will be forever grateful for – thanks to an Aussie rival who jumped in when the Olympic sailor couldn’t be at her own graduation.Pilkington, then 20, had been leading a double life – while qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics in the ILCA ...
I was born in the back of my grandfather’s ute, by an overgrown windbreak in a remote place called Wahi-Rakauyou can’t find on a map. I was born a girl but given the man’s name Harvey, as my dad always wanted a violent-minded boy to one day help him ...
“We’re not here to interfere in people’s property rights,” Ngāi Tahu’s Te Maire Tau has told the High Court.Tau, a historian, Upoko (traditional leader) of Ngāi Tūāhuriri, and a university professor of history, is the lead witness in a case designed to force the Crown to recognise the tribe’s rangatiratanga ...
Pacific Media Watch Trump administration officials barred two Associated Press (AP) reporters from covering White House events this week because the US-based independent news agency did not change its style guide to align with the president’s political agenda. The AP is being punished for using the term “Gulf of Mexico,” ...
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By bringing these global voices to the fight for free expression in New Zealand, we’ll continue to protect and expand our culture of free speech, says Nathan Seiuli, the Free Speech Union's Events Manager. ...
The issue is no longer a hypothetical one. US President Donald Trump will not explicitly suggest death camps, but he has already consented to Israel’s continuing a war that is not a war but rather a barbaric assault on a desolate stretch of land. From there, the road to annihilation is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cecelia Cmielewski, Research Fellow, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University To be selected as the artist and curator team to represent Australia at the Venice Biennale is considered the ultimate exhibition for an artistic team. To have your selection rescinded, ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hassan Vally, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Deakin University Overnight, Robert F. Kennedy Jr was confirmed as the secretary of the US Health and Human Services Department. Put simply, this makes him the most influential figure in overseeing the health and wellbeing of more ...
Everything you missed from day five of the Treaty principles bill hearings, when the Justice Committee heard eight hours of submissions.Read our recaps of the previous hearings here.It was another work from home day for the Justice Committee, the only people in Room 3 being security guards, committee ...
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In its eagerness to appease supporters of Israel, the media is happy to ride roughshod over due process and basic rights. It’s damaging Australia’s (and New Zealand’s?) democracy.COMMENTARY:By Bernard Keane Two moments stand out so far from the Federal Court hearings relating to Antoinette Lattouf’s sacking by the ...
“The reality is we’re getting poorer. The government this year is leaning heavy on chasing economic growth, which is absolutely the right thing to do.” ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 The Vegetarian by Han Kang (Granta, $28) Han Kang’s astounding novel was based on an ...
This new docuseries about two single comedians looking for love is also a joyful celebration of female friendship. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. “How many people do you think are boning right now?” Kura Forrester asks Brynley Stent as the bright ...
A new poem by Freya Turnbull. Hunger Song – After Kaveh Akbar (Untitled With Hunger And Matcheads) I hold my age in ripped fishnet hold an empty vessel oldyoung body cracks like gunshot like killa i was a father ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominik Koll, Honorary Lecturer, Australian National University View of the Pacific Ocean from the International Space Station.NASA Earth must have experienced something exceptional 10 million years ago. Our study of rock samples from the floor of the Pacific Ocean has found ...
Troy Rawhiti-Connell reviews Kia Tupu Te Ara, a documentary chronicling the meteoric rise of Aotearoa’s groundbreaking metal band. “Two brothers attempt to storm the world of thrash metal with the Māori language, despite the fact they’re both still teenagers,” reads the synopsis of Kent Belcher’s documentary, Kia Tupu Te Ara. ...
Three freelance writers have been awarded grants to work on their ambitious journalism projects. In January, The Spinoff announced the Vince Geddes In-Depth Journalism Fund, supported by the Auckland Radio Trust (ART). The fund was established to provide much-needed financial and editorial support to talented freelance journalists, empowering them to ...
Iran sends around 200 missiles into Israel, all aimed at military targets. One civilian, a Palestinian, dies from shrapnel from an intercepted missile. Israel responds with devastating strikes on apartment blocks in Beirut. Hundreds of ordinary people join the deaths of the thousands in Gaza. In all likelihood, this is only the beginning for Beirut.
Dr Marandi and his Lebanese host take a walk around the devastation in Beirut. This is what the height of western civilization is. A colonial invading force that demands subjegation and cares not a wit about human decency.
https://x.com/TVFreePalestine/status/1841937491869499531
Whatever one thinks of the Israeli military actions in Gaza, or Lebanon (and there are critics within Israel), it would be inaccurate to say the more recent actions in Lebanon are the response to Iran firing missiles into Israel.
Campbell reckons recent Israeli military actions aren't much chop in humanitarian terms – that could apply to almost any military conflict, depending on one's PoV.
Head-on conflict with Iran could be the end of the beginning, and the US+allies would jump in boots and all. Imho, living on spaceship Earth doesn't get any easier from here on out – we don't know how lucky we are, and were – but don't mind me.
https://www.climatechangeguide.com/wars-over-natural-resources.html
I am hoping it is just
1.a demonstration of strength though their New Year, Oct anniversary and the following religious holiday period (to end of the month)
2.getting away with an action now, before they are required to be more circumspect by Biden over the winter (when there is a focus on aid) and the arrival of a new POTUS in January.
They have diplomatic options, or had.
All we can do is hope against hope (and evidence?) that "Israel's war fever" will respond to future US urgings/requirements for greater circumspection.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_veto_power#United_States
After Nov 5.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cje3zl0dq2ko
A month or more is a long time to wait for a fever to break – here's hoping.
I suspect he might be wrong about Biden Nov 5 2024 to January 2025. Remember POTUS Obama did not discourage Resolution 2334 Dec 2016.
There is still risk as to other action on Iran before Nov 5. Biden might not prevent that, but probably would try and discourage it – maybe by tying it to Israeli commitments.
https://www.un.org/webcast/pdfs/SRES2334-2016.pdf
Well intentioned, but, 8 years on, progress has been slow.
I suspect Israel's leaders are past the point where "try and discourage" and/or apparent lack of US support looms large in their conflict calculus.
Time will tell if that changes after 5 Nov., given that Israel can always count on US administrations to be "fully, fully supportive of Israel."
I am in awe. What an inspiring way to emphasize….
Onya mate. True Respect !
CCN World, gives the most in depth report on the sabotage of the Gold Apollo pagers that I have read yet. And well worth a look.
But there was one snippet that particularly caught my eye.
This raised some questions in my mind.
Did any of the 3,000 pagers shipped to Australia, reach New Zealand?
Why was there no international recall of these pagers to check for tampering?
Were the US and Australia and Hong Kong authorities in communication with Mossad, and given an assurance by Mossad that the Gold Appollo pagers they received were guaranteed safe?
These pagers may present a public health risk.
These handy compact and relatively cheap and rugged devices are commonly used by On-Call femergency Drs, and other first responders, like volunteer fire fighters and ambulance drivers, especialy in rural New Zealand.
Did any Gold Appollo pagers enter New Zealand?
Have our intellingence agencies received an assurance from Mossad that these pagers are safe?
And was this safety assurance passed on to the pager users?
Might be well worth an OIA request to the government.
The take-home I got from CNN was that explosives were deliberately installed, ie they were bombs, not electronics made to explode.
Jenny, while it makes for a good conspiracy theory, the reality is different.
People that are “on call”, ie doctors, firemen, IT technicians etc, all stopped using pagers with the advent of mobile phones. I briefly had a pager in the mid ‘80’s, but from about ’87 we started using mobile phones. I haven’t seen a pager used in NZ since the’90’s.
Mossad is not out to get you, unless you’re a member of Hamas living in New Zealand and they know you’re part of the leadership of that organisation. So I think you’re safe from the Jews.
Being "safe from the Jews" is not the problem. The problem is being safe from the Zionists. Much as you would like to equate them, they are not the same. Zionists include many fundamentalist Christians and as with all fundamentalists they embrace violence. Netanyahu invoking the Amalekites is a prime example. Zionism is a rascist settler colonial movement that seeks to displace the local population by any means including mass murder, as has been amply demonstrated in Gaza and the West Bank
Zionism is a
rascistsettler colonial movement, based on wanting a national homeland in an area where there is also another people (different language and religion).The separatist component can make it like apartheid, but the difference here is not race.
The users of the 3,000 pagers shipped to Australia might beg to differ.
Pagers: Small; discrete and more durable, and last longer between charges.
They are also cheaper and the screen is not likely crack. For one-way urgent emergency messaging pagers are the perfect device.
Smart phones: fragile, bulky and need to be charged every day. Not to mention, expensive.
I take it you are not a manual worker?
Say instead that you are a volunteer firefighter working at your day job doing a physical task, and a fire breaks out in your community. You don't have the room in your work clothes for a mobile phone, and you know you may get called to go to the local volunteer fire station at a moment's notice. then a pager is the device for you.
Even burner phones are not as well suited to this task as a pager.
The word "Pager", says it all really.
Ae…volunteer coastguard I think and still on pagers..
No doubt you were just as concerned over the importation of high-tops, when they were used by Richard Reid in an attempt to blow up a plane. /sarc/
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Richard-Reid
From everything that I've read, the explosives were inserted into a specific consignment of pagers/walkie talkies, which were ordered by Hezbollah. Not into random ones on the production line.
Unless Mossad is targeting you, deliberately, I don't expect that pagers, etc. imported into NZ are any greater risk than they ever have been.
The term Zionist is more appropriate.
All?
Now for the facts:
P.S. I too like other commenters here, find your effort to conflate Jews with Zionists offensive.
Not all Jews are Zionists and not all Zionists are Jews.
At almost every Pro-Palestinian protest in Auckland that I have attended there is a huge banner held by 'Jewish Voices For Peace' calling an end to the genocide in Gaza.
I am not conflating Jews with Zionists. Could you point out to me where I did so?
The comment about you being safe from the Jews not ment to be taken seriously.
“We’ve had a few clients turn their short-term rentals into long-term rentals because it’s just not worth it anymore to do it through Airbnb.”
https://www.oneroof.co.nz/news/bach-owners-say-airbnb-booking-fees-and-app-tax-are-crushing-them-its-just-not-worth-it-46337
Good. A policy that has an overall beneficial effect. Hopefully this current mob won't reverse it.
"Bach owners… Some are considering selling up"
So probably not their holiday home eh, but an investment property in a tourist town instead.
I don't really understand that, why is the platform giving 8.5% to the owner?
I will say that it makes booking more complicated and that might be what is putting people off. The owners could be returning the 8.5% by reducing their nightly rates.
From that article: Excellent work Rotorua Council.
'As well as the GST making it more expensive for people to rent, Rotorua District Council had also started charging commercial rates to properties advertised for at least 60 days a year as short-term accommodation.
Rates had “pretty much doubled” with people having to shell out anywhere from $4000 to $10,000 more, he said. Lock said they had already lost about 10% of properties because the owners had stopped renting them out short-term because it wasn’t worth it and he expected more to go.'
This recognition that short term rentals are an accommodation business, and a no-strings (until now) greedy undercutting of motels and hotels by bach owners for big bucks, should be taken by all councils.
interesting. QLDC (another tourist town) did this a long time ago.
Not sure what various councils do with long term rentals and commercial rates though.
Like the conspiracy rumours generated (by nutters or by disinfo agents)round the Gisborne floods, the devastation in the SE east US is generating its own multitude. The Guardian says
'The Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) put up a webpage this week to knock down the swirl of rumors it has faced – a sign of the increased myths. The American Red Cross posted on social media to dispel various falsehoods about its work. Members of Congress and state emergency management services have issued statements to insist they are working around the clock on disaster response. Elected officials who serve the area have asked constituents not to spread rumors and instead help each other.'
This is the type of misinfo and disinfo that is used by external actors and by nasty people on 8chan to push those upset and facing damage into political positions supportive of Trump, who has jumped on this particular bandwagon to make political hay while the sun shines, so to speak.
The bullshit swirling around Cyclone Gabrielle was eye-opening, including thousands of dead.
Yeah mate of mine who lives in Hawkes Bay, who also doesn't believe we landed on the moon, told me there were hundreds of bodies floating out at sea and they had built a morgue at the port to cover it up.
Obviously the cover-up worked well cause it hasn't been reported.
Yeh, perfect dual-fork propaganda strategy. Damned if you do, damed if you don't.
Politico does an interesting article on the role of the Green Party in US Presidential elections, as vote splitter in marginal electorates.
'Wisconsin Democrats haven’t forgotten the searing experience of 2016, when Hillary Clinton unexpectedly lost the state to Donald Trump by just under 23,000 votes — a defeat that many attribute to the roughly 31,000 votes Stein won that year as the Green Party nominee.'
How FPTP damages democratic choice.
A split vote was also why Al Gore lost in 2000 (though he actually won of course).
Ralph Nader got 2.8 million votes, taken mostly from Gore.
Piss off with that bullshit lie. I see you put no proof to back up your point.
Here watch a video on how the democrats actually lost.
Florida 2000
Stine won votes from people who would never have voted democrat, so why are you attacking Stine?
I'm well over this line of crap from people. Why do you think people should automatically vote for one side? They can't think for themselves?
And if you read the piece the Greens have been building a base via local elections and growing a supporter based based on getting results. Rather than pandering to fear.
The democrats are like the labour party and their hacks here – blame everyone else for their failing to getting people to vote for them.
Yes, I thought the piece gave a good all-round context to Green strategy. Still, they worry the Democratic party.
Until they are successful in getting preferential voting, they are doing nothing to challenge the duopoly.
They and Independents could do something.
*snort*
/
Jill Stein Is Killing the Green Party
With membership at new lows and no electoral wins to their name, it’s time for the Greens to ditch the malignant narcissist who’s presided over its decline.
Over the last several years, much ink has been spilled over the fact that one of America’s political parties has been captured—if not contorted into an outright cult of personality—by an aging, megalomaniacal autocrat apologist and repeat loser who cares about little outside accruing power and personal enrichment. You are probably conjuring the image of Donald Trump. You’re not wrong, but this dynamic actually applies to two of America’s political parties: the GOP under Trump and the Green Party under Dr. Jill Stein.
[…]
How has Stein fared as a leader? By AOC’s perfectly reasonable standard, she’s done abysmally. As of July 2024, a mere 143 officeholders in the United States are affiliated with the Green Party. None of them are in statewide or federal offices. In fact, no Green Party candidate has ever won federal office. And Stein’s reign has been a period of indisputable decline, during which time the party’s membership—which peaked in 2004 at 319,000 registered members—has fallen to 234,000 today.
https://newrepublic.com/article/186004/green-jill-stein-2024-election
Link to new republic, rofl.
Stein has no path to win the presidency but, like she did in 2016, she can help tRump win.
Bullshit, get a grip on reality. Clinton, was a bloody awful candidate who lost because she was loathed by the US public.
Stop blaming others for the the uselessness of Clinton.
I tend to agree with you Adam about Clinton. She was not a good candidate in that she was not particularly liked, was not a great campaigner and was not eloquent like her husband or Obama. She was, however, smart and may have made a good president.
However, there is no doubt that Gore lost the presidency because of Nader's presence. It is widely accepted that Nader took more Democrat votes than Republican.
If the Supreme Court had allowed a proper count in Florida, Gore would have probably won there and so would have been president.
Oh dear, the plot thickens:
I saw an item on the Herald online yesterday but it seems to have disappeared. Will have another look.
Of course Bibi was just a backpacker….
/
A listening device was found in Boris Johnson’s personal bathroom at the Foreign Office after it had been used by Benjamin Netanyahu, the former British Prime Minister has claimed.
Johnson has alleged that when the Israeli Prime Minister visited his department in 2017, his security team found bugging devices in the toilets after he had used the facilities.
During their meeting in his old office, Johnson says Netanyahu, who he calls Bibi, excused himself to go to the bathroom, which Johnson describes as similar to “the gents in a posh London club” which exist within a “secret annexe”.
In his book, Unleashed, Johnson writes: “Thither Bibi repaired for a while, and it may or may not be a coincidence but I am told that later, when they were doing a regular sweep for bugs, they found a listening device in the thunderbox.”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/bugging-device-found-in-boris-johnsons-bathroom-after-benjamin-netanyahu-visit/SSGLN5X7JRHAZMFVXBILDQX2DY/
I saw CNN had a headline briefly that Boris claimed QEII died of bone cancer (how tasteless of B). Then nothing came up in UK news, do guess that was squashed by the Palace pronto.
It was true tWig. She did have bone cancer. That was why she couldn't fulfil most of her public duties in the last year or so of her life. However there is a memorandum of understanding in the British media not to report details of the health problems of Royal Family members. For example we know Charles has cancer but it has not been revealed what sort of cancer.
The Right can’t handle the truth, so they rely on think-tanks to justify their actions.
https://sapphia.substack.com/p/the-right-are-furious-that-abuse [from RH Feeds section]
Interesting perspective and combined with funding (by, for, and with the invested Right parties) it makes sense.
I read somewhere (possibly at their own website) The NZ Initiative alone has nine employees focussed soley on pumping out rw opinions and propaganda.
Nine seems OTT; surely, they use genAI to spawn their ‘opinions’.
I understand that Greenpeace NZ has more than 30 staff.
That just means Greenpeace NZ is an organisation more than three times bigger than The Nutjob Initiative.
Long may that continue.
Just pointing out how useless a figure of X staff is.
Gosh, "more than 30 staff" you say. How many staff does Forest&Bird have? Reckon they're gonna be busy.
https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/resources/fast-track-list-reveal-dark-day-democracy
https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/stop-fast-track
https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/support-us/appeals
I understand that Greenpeace Aotearoa "uses non-violent, creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems, and to force the solutions which are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace’s goal is to ensure the ability of the earth to nurture life in all its diversity."
Imho, any organisation with such a worthwhile, principled and ambitious mission needs as many staff and as much help as it can get – the terrorists went too far! Time to increase my tiny monthly donation – thanks B for the prompt.
https://donate.act.greenpeace.org.nz/p4-donate
Greenpeace 'Bad' (according to some); Putin 'Bad'; "Putin vs Greenpeace" – um…
The Arctic 30 – go figure.
Just pointing out how useless a figure of X staff is.
If you just want to hate on an organization, because you're politically opposed to them – you don't need random statistics.
So that's what you were doing – sometimes it's difficult to tell
Imho, the number of staff (X) in an organisation can be useful information, but if you don't like how it’s used then by all means (mis)characterise "X" as a "random statistic."
Well yes, your critique of F&B's campaign rhetoric didn’t mention staff numbers – kudos.
https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/campaigns/stop-the-war-on-nature
https://www.greenpeace.org/aotearoa/story/luxons-fast-track-war-on-nature/
Tumbleweeds and gallows swinging in the wind in a deserted ghost town where Westies used to roam wild.
https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/10/05/the-secret-diary-of-the-labour-gang/
Just to brighten your day with an artwork of our beloved leader that is yours if you bid enough on the auction. Comes with a good selection of very pertinent questions.
https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/marketplace/art/paintings/portrait/acrylic/listing/4945302633
surreal
The era of the red dynasty.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/is-king-charles-iiis-first-official-portrait-too-red-180984364/
Taking the red pill.
Rimmer's colonoscopy report …..?
What a shame. Such a wonderful painting, and artist, buttoo 'risky' to last, apparently.
Jeez, Chris – pink- and thin-skinned or what? If only we could reinvent 'A Week of It'.
Just another heads up.
On Tuesday Gordon Brittas debates Te Tautohe Tiriti – Te Tiriti o Waitangi with Ngāti Toa Rangatira leader Helmut Modlik on The Working Group.
I think this will be worth a look for any other political tragics. Last week Matthew Tukaki took Damien Grant to task, reminding us of the hurt he and others feel with the seeming constant attacks on tangata whenua and te reo.
Simon Wilson chimed in with the idea that Te Tiriti, being between the Crown and Maori, if there is to be a change in Te Tiriti, then it is Maori Rangitira that the Crown should be engaging with first. Not appealing to every redneck and their dog. (My paraphrasing).
"That’s right folks, The Working Group is proud to announce that we will be hosting the Iwi vs David Seymour Treaty Debate, 8pm October 8th, live-streamed on Rova, Youtube, Facebook, Tictok, Twitter, The Daily Blog AND simulcast live on Sky TV Channel 83 and Waatea Radio!"
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2024/10/05/exclusive-8pm-tuesday-the-working-group-iwi-vs-seymour-treaty-debate-special/
Have they sent an invite to David Seymour? He may try to run away again.
https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/10/04/emails-show-david-seymour-was-invited-to-koroneihana/
If Seymour is as half as intelligent as I give him credit for, he should do a no-show.
The disingenuous way this has been raised and the cost and time of resources in Parliament for starters.
But that’s exactly what it is, a show, not a genuine debate. Seymour has this in common with Trump, showmanship.
Eventually his giant ego will be his downfall. Seymour, that is.
Who knows?