That was a pretty flimsy piece.
I also found that reading through his other bits on this subject, that he often either lacks context, by leaving out or at best lightly brushing over or playing down vital recent and/or historical information.
I also find his starting points for his 'analysis' very colonial….but then that would suit many readers I guess.
Not a serious source on this particular issue IMO, maybe he is better on other issues?
I'm not too sure what you mean by your comment. I found his article very interested and informed, on both the Israel/Gaza conflict and the Ukraine/Russia conflict. I can only assume that is because the writer is not explicitly blaming the Jews Israeli's, USA & western Europe.
What I've personally found interesting is the number of Muslim Palestinian Israeli citizens in Israel. I had been led to believe was that the Jews Israeli's hated Muslims and the "darkies". When I first visited Israel I was pleasantly surprised to find the racial and religious tolerance would put the average New Zealander to shame. However outside of Israel in the middle east, racial and religious tolerance is not really a concept.
I'm fully aware that my comment flys in the face of some people's political ideology, but as a heretic, I have always gone with reality & science.
The state of Israel exists, we either accept that fact, or we support the eradication of Israel and the Jews on a scale that would humble the like of Hitler, Hitler and the rest of the Nazi regime.
There are certainly some Israelis who are strongly racist, think all Arabs should die etc – I've personally met the odd one, and the settler groups are generally terrible. But many Israelis are secular and more moderate.
Good luck trying to find any tolerance among hamas…
Certainly there are intolerant people, in all countries. From my experience much of the Jewish Israeli people I came into contact with, just want to live in peace. They have their religion, while others have their religion, weather it’s Christian or Islam.
what is sadly unsurprising is the attitude from educated middle class white liberals in NZ who cannot comprehend that the Jews Israelis are decent people. What I find interesting is that the same people who care about the “Palestinian cause” don’t care about the human rights of other muslim people such as Syria, or say the ethnic cleansing of muslims in the former communist Yugoslavia
there are two massive, distinct blobs that are embedded deep within the Earth. The masses — called large low-velocity provinces, or LLVPs — were first detected in the 1980s. One lies beneath Africa and another below the Pacific Ocean.
These blobs are thousands of kilometers wide and likely more dense with iron compared with the surrounding mantle,making them stand out when measured by seismic waves. But the origins of the blobs — each of which are larger than the moon — remain a mystery to scientists.
But for Dr. Qian Yuan, a geophysicist and postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology and the new study’s lead author, his understanding of LLVPs forever changed when he attended a 2019 seminar at Arizona State University, his alma mater, that outlined the giant-impact hypothesis. That’s when he learned new details about Theia, the mysterious projectile that presumably struck Earth billions of years ago.
And, as a trained geophysicist, he knew of those mysterious blobs hidden in Earth’s mantle. Yuan had a eureka moment, he said. Immediately, he began perusing scientific studies, searching to see whether someone else had proposed that LLVPs might be fragments of Theia, but no one had.
I bought & read a book updating the history of Luna several months ago which featured Theia as hypothesis plus theory and was surprised how much consensus was supporting both. The cosmic dimension of physics is cosmology:
Cosmology (from Ancient Greek κόσμος (cosmos) 'the universe, the world', and λογία (logia) 'study of') is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmology
As you can see, the metaphysical basis is included because it represents our conceptual relation to cosmos.
Our conceptual relation to cosmos is informed by traditional mental models. The primary one outside the academic arena uses deeper metaphysics.
Astrologers use a diagram called the horoscope to represent an event in relation to cosmos, to discern meaning in the event. For an election outcome, one must identify the moment it occurs, which is the closing of polls @ 7pm on election day. The location is where the state is governed, the computer presents the chart when you do your data entry. The wheel (zodiac) represents cosmos, the horizontal axis represents the local horizon & the vertical axis represents the local meridian, and the top end of that (midheaven) represents connection to hierarchy (govt).
There's an interpretive language & code used to ascertain meaning, which is thus constituted by subjective artistry (usually lack of) & a relatively objective theory (of which most astrologers have a marginal grasp). The lunar nodal axis is tertiary, representing origin (south node) and destiny (north node). The horizon represents consciousness/identity at the zodiac degree rising and self/other interactions at the degree setting. The meridian represents power – status/reputation at the midheaven & belonging/Gaia at the base.
My take on the election outcome chart a while back was a hung parliament due to the new moon in Libra happening at the time. Instead, we got the balance point via NZF control of the state. Saturn (reality) is in the 11th house (groups) opposing Venus (pleasure) which means unpleasant limits & difficulties for political parties. Jupiter (luck, opportunities) trine midheaven (authority) in the 2nd (resources) means fortunate relations with the global powers that be & the economy. Uranus in the 2nd means innovation in resourcing (inventions) & trine Pluto makes it regenerative.
My reading of clouds remains the one I formed mid-1960s. In the ATC we got instructed in recognising cloud formations & weather patterns.
The sublunary view was a paradigm amongst christian theologians through the middle ages – it connected with folk mythology as ruler of mundane change. Bowie's Changes comes to mind, or more to the point, the 1966 minor hit by the same name (Crispian St Peters). My deep Green view correlates the moon in the horoscope with biological function; needs, feelings, emotions.
Over-reliance is something I've seen in those who take moon calendars rather too seriously, so your point about that is valid. Four decades of observing correlations with real-life situations has eased my original scepticism. I concede more to folk wisdom nowadays. Empirical learning beats indoctrination!
Unfortunately for New Zealand nothing serious will be done about our obscene housing/rental problems…..Labour/National are both captured and controled by Free Market fundamentalists…end of story.
The removal of the mortgage cost deduction against rent income from existing property – to incentivise new builds and the 10 year brightline test did suggest some difference.
That, rental standards and protections from eviction.
But yeah – the failure to act in accord with Greens in limiting rent increases to 3% pa was disappointing.
And the other failure to bring in a wealth tax and or estate tax, while it is more a tax and inequality matter it provides the finance to build more state houses and assist equity share support into ownership.
Casey Costello was a board member, and deputy chair, of the free-market activist group the TaxPayers Union, thanked and served alongside Ruth Richardson. That Peters selected her, and at number three on the list, is a sign of his thinking at this stage of his career.
Good point, but how much he will support reform is the big question. Will he delegate her to liaise with ACT? Seems the obvious thing to do.
They would be better off waiting for the next Labour Govt to get their "second coup"…if the history of radical free market economics in Western politics is anything to go by.
Probably right, if one thing national/tory/conservatives hate is change, good functionaries but incapable of flexibility, foresight or radical anything, should only ever be middle management 🤔
Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway’s “The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market” (Bloomsbury) adds a third dimension to the story. In their account, neoliberalism—they prefer the term “market fundamentalism,” which they credit to George Soros—represents the triumph of decades of pro-business lobbying. They also tell the intellectual story and the political story of neoliberalism, so their book is, in effect, three histories [triad] piled on top of one another. This makes for a very thick volume.
Boomers grew out of post-war malaise into boom-time revival:
It was a neoliberal’s nightmare – yet between 1950 and 1973 the world G.D.P. grew at the fastest rate in history. The United States and Western Europe experienced remarkably high rates of growth and low levels of wealth inequality—in fact, the lowest anywhere at any time.
In 1959, the poverty rate in the United States was 22%; in 1973, it was 11%. It was also a period of “liberation.” People felt free, acted out their freedom, and wanted more of it. They weren’t supposed to feel that way. They were supposed to be passive and dependent.
Controllers went uh-oh, switch to plan B! Get top lawyers & judges to create new rules:
The constitutional authority for the anti-discrimination provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act is the commerce clause. You can’t tell the story of business’s war on government without taking this legal context into account. Due process and the commerce clause were the weapons the antagonists fought with, and, as it generally does, the Supreme Court had the last word… in 1980, C.E.O.s were paid about 42 times as much as the average employee; in 2016, they were paid 347 times as much.
Dennis Frank +1
The other key component of post war Free Market fundamentalism is that they have effectively and specifically taken control of pretty much every serious 'Left' wing political party in the West…thereby nicely (for them) nullifying the one path we citizens had of putting up any sort of resistance to their madness….which is why I stopped voting for NZ Labour, who as we all know, have been completely captured by these dangerous goons.
Corbyn in the UK was probably the closest we (the West) came to regaining some sort of control of this monster…unfortunately for us, this was also when anyone with half a brain came to understand that all WesternMSM had also been captured by the same ideology…The Guardian being one of the most aggressive defenders of the free market status quo.
Anyone notice how Luxon is rushing from mike to camera to doorways with speed and grin and spilling as usual non messages? This is a ploy I think to show confidence and energy to the waiting lenses but I think overdone bigly. If he really is confident and in charge, he would not need to act like a fly on a dose of fly killer. Fraud I tell you!
That bluster seems more than a tad uncool. I suspect he's doing it for the hillbilly vote though – a careful pitch for the hicks around Port Waikato. Can't blame Jack for asking dumb questions given him by the hierarchy. Goes with the job. Maybe W thinks he can seduce Labour voters into a pile-on to defeat that grey-space Nat.
2 Nov
"Hundreds of dual passport holders and dozens of seriously injured Palestinians were allowed to leave Gaza on Wednesday after more than three weeks under siege"
It is incredible the these two lines can get printed and no one seemed to see a problem with it….this is how deep Western imperial racism runs.
There are 24,000 wounded and injured in Gaza, the hospitals have been hit by Israeli terrorist multiple times, there is no fuel or water or food to keep the few that are intact running…why the fuck wouldn't the seriously wounded and children be the first to leave the hell hole?
Well it turns out that it was upto Hamas to insist on this…. 5th Nov
"There have been problems at the Rafah crossing into Egypt – the only way out of Gaza – with reports saying that foreign nationals were not being allowed to leave the territory. Hamas was reportedly asking for more wounded people to leave before more foreigners could leave"
why the fuck wouldn't the seriously wounded and children be the first to leave the hell hole?
That's a question for Egypt.
The Rafah crossing is controlled by Egypt.
My understanding is that they explicitly do not want an influx of Palestinian refugees. As they regard them as extreme jihadists. And there has historically been little support from other Middle Eastern countries for displaced Palestinians.
Israel has considerable 'influence' over incoming aid via Rafah (specifically wanting to restrict any military supplies- in which category they include fuel) – but is not particularly interested in monitoring people leaving Gaza into Egypt.
A guarantee of medical aid from Middle Eastern countries via the Red Crescent (AFAICS, not yet provided) – to establish substantial medical facilities in Egypt – would be a prerequisite to Egypt opening up this border. There has currently been WHO medical support, but this has been geared to providing medical relief to hospitals inside Gaza. As well as offers of refugee resettlement for those who wish to take up this option.
Israel has currently said that Palestinians leaving for medical treatment would be allowed to return. This was a prerequisite for Egypt allowing any injured to cross the borders. You can believe as much of that 'guarantee' as you choose…. (personally, I think the chances of Israel allowing Palestinians to return are somewhere between fat and slim)
…why the fuck wouldn't the seriously wounded and children be the first to leave the hell hole?
I think you'll find the most seriously wounded are the ones unable to safely be moved (why the staff there cannot move down south as asked) – then when they can medevac issues – pauses and routes etc.
A hospital ship at sea is a better bet for them – helicopter movement.
Moving children would require Egypt taking in Palestinian refugees in Sinai (they are very wary of this).
Winston Peters is very calculated in all he does and says.
He will butt heads with those who recognise cultural difference, as he believes in assimilation. "All New Zealanders".
Everyone appears to be considering their, Chris Seymore and Winston coalition differences, and forgetting land and money as their meal, served with self determination sauce.
If you are able grow some veg, get 3 hens, buy in basics, pay of cards etc, and buckle up for austerity.
According to the story, Whanau hasn't even asked her (or anyone else).
And that's the point. The council (as in the elected representatives) do not have a working relationship. When the first port of call for the Mayor is to bring in 'independent' investigators, rather than talking to the Councillors that she is concerned about, it's painfully evident.
Wow, it’s December already, and it’s a Friday. So here are few things that caught our attention recently. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt covered the new government’s coalition agreements and what they mean for transport. On Tuesday Matt looked at AT’s plans for fare increases ...
Late 1996, The Dogs Bollix, Tamaki Makaurau.I’m at the front of the bar yelling my order to the bartender, jostling with other thirsty punters on a Friday night, keen to piss their wages up against a wall letting loose. The black stuff, long luscious pints of creamy goodness. Back down ...
Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop and other National, ACT and NZ First MPs applaud the signing of the coalition agreements, which included the reversal of anti-smoking measures while accelerating tax cuts for landlords. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote ...
Completed reads for November: A Modern Utopia, by H.G. Wells The Vampire (poem), by Heinrich August Ossenfelder The Corpus Hermeticum The Corpus Hermeticum is Mead’s translation. Now, this is indeed a very quiet month for reading. But there is a reason for that… You see, ...
The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies.The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. They also describe the processes of the ...
First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
Henry Kissinger is finally dead. Good fucking riddance. While Americans loved him, he was a war criminal, responsible for most of the atrocities of the final quarter of the twentieth century. Cambodia. Bangladesh. Chile. East Timor. All Kissinger. Because of these crimes, Americans revere him as a "statesman" (which says ...
Buzz from the Beehive Yes, ministers in the new government are delivering speeches and releasing press statements. But the message on the government’s official website was the same as it has been for the past several days, when Point of Order went looking for news from the Beehive that had ...
David Farrar writes – 1 News reports: Christopher Luxon says he was told by some Kiwis on the campaign trail they “didn’t know” the difference between Waka Kotahi, Te Pūkenga and Te Whatu Ora. Speaking to Breakfast, the incoming prime minister said having English first on government agencies will “make sure” ...
There are fears that mooted changes to building consent liability could end up driving the building industry into an uninsured hole. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Thursday, November 30, including:The new Government’s ...
Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, M Christopher Luxon has started blaming everyone else, and complaining that he has inherited “economic vandalism on an unprecedented scale” – which is how most of us are ...
The first I knew of the news about Tory Whanau was when a tweet came up in my feed.The sort of tweet that makes you question humanity, or at least why you bother with Twitter. Which is increasingly a cesspit of vile inhabitants who lurk spreading negativity, hate, and every ...
Cable Cars, Gondolas, Ropeways and Aerial Trams are all names for essentially the same technology and the world’s biggest maker of them are here to sell them as an public transport solution. Stuff reports: Austrian cable car company Doppelmayr has launched its case for adding aerial cable cars to New ...
Hi,It’s been awhile since I’ve done an Ask-Me-Anything on here, so today’s the day. Ask anything you like in the comments section, and I’ll be checking in today and tomorrow to answer.Leave a commentNext week I’ll be giving away a bunch of these Mister Organ blu-rays for readers in New ...
The cost of living grind continues, and the economic and inflation honeymoon is over before it began. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR:PM Christopher Luxon unveiled his 100 day plan yesterday with an avowed focus of reducing cost-of-living pressures, but his Government’s initial moves and promises are actually elevating ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has confirmed that it will be back to the future on planning legislation. This will be just one of a number of moves which will see the new government go backwards as it repeals and cost-cuts its way into power. They will completely repeal one ...
As the new government settles into the Beehive, expectations are high that it can sort out some of the economic issues confronting New Zealand. It may take time for some new ministers to get to grips with the range of their portfolio work and responsibilities before they can launch the changes that ...
TV3 political editor Jenna Lynch was among the corps of political reporters who bridled, when Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told them what he thinks of them (which is not much). She was unabashed about letting her audience know she had bridled. More usefully, she drew attention to something which ...
I have a clear memory of every election since 1969 in this plucky little nation of ours. I swear I cannot recall a single one where the question being asked repeatedly in the first week of the new government was: how long do you reckon they’ll last? And that includes all ...
Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In 2023, ...
The fear and loathing among legacy journalists is astonishingGraham Adams writes – No one is going to die wondering how some of the nation’s most influential journalists personally view the new National-led government. It has become abundantly clear within a few days of the coalition agreements ...
TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere for Wednesday November 29, including:The early return of interest deductibility for landlords could see rebates paid on previous taxes and the cost increase to $3 billion from National’s initial estimate of $2.1 billion, CTU Economist Craig Renney estimated here last ...
The day after being sworn in the new cabinet met yesterday, to enjoy their honeymoon phase. You remember, that period after a new government takes power where the country, and the media, are optimistic about them, because they haven’t had a chance to stuff anything about yet.Sadly the nuptials complete ...
Wellington Council hoardings proclaim its preparations for population growth, but around the country councils are putting things on hold in the absence of clear funding pathways for infrastructure, and despite exploding migrant numbers. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Cabinet meets in earnest today to consider the new Government’s 100-day ...
Though New Zealand First may have had ambitions to run the infrastructure portfolios, National would seem to have ended up firmly in control of them. POLITIK has obtained a private memo to members of Infrastructure NZ yesterday, which shows that the peak organisation for infrastructure sees National MPs Chris ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In ...
Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
One of the big underlying problems in our political system is the prevalence of short-term thinking, most usually seen in the periodic massive infrastructure failures at a local government level caused by them skimping on maintenance to Keep Rates Low. But the new government has given us a new example, ...
New Zealand has a chance to rise again. Under the previous government, the number of New Zealanders below the poverty line was increasing year by year. The Luxon-led government must reverse that trend – and set about stabilising the pillars of the economy. After the mismanagement of the outgoing government created huge ...
Two articles by Karl du Fresne bring media coverage of the new government into considerations. He writes – Tuesday, November 28, 2023The left-wing media needed a line of attack, and they found one The left-wing media pack wasted no time identifying the new government’s weakest point. Seething over ...
The work beginsPhilip Crump wrote this article ahead of the new government being sworn in yesterday – Later today the new National-led coalition government will be sworn in, and the hard work begins. At the core of government will be three men – each a leader ...
As everyone who watches television or is on the mailing list for any of our major stores will confirm, “Black Friday” has become the longest running commercial extravaganza and celebration in our history. Although its origins are obscure (presumably dreamt up by American salesmen a few years ago), it has ...
Yesterday the Ministers in the next government were sworn in by our Governor General. A day of tradition and ceremony, of decorum and respect. Usually.But yesterday Winston Peters, the incoming Deputy Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister, of our nation used it, as he did with the signing of the coalition ...
Nicola Willis’ first move was ‘spilling the tea’ on what she called the ‘sobering’ state of the nation’s books, but she had better be able to back that up in the HYEFU. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am ...
Yesterday Auckland Transport were celebrating, as the most recent Sunday was the busiest Sunday they’ve ever had. That’s a great outcome and I’m sure the ...
Nicola Willis (in blue) at the signing of the coalition agreement, before being sworn in as both Finance Minister and Social Investment Minister. National’s plan to unwind anti-smoking measures will benefit her in the first role, but how does it stack up from a social investment viewpoint? Photo: Lynn Grieveson ...
For the first time "in history" we decided to jump on the "Giving Tuesday" bandwagon in order to make you aware of the options you have to contribute to our work! Projects supported by Skeptical Science Inc. Skeptical ScienceSkeptical Science is an all-volunteer organization but ...
Let’s say it’s 1984,and there's a dreary little nation at the bottom of the Pacific whose name rhymes with New Zealand,and they've just had an election.Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, will you look at the state of these books we’ve opened,cries the incoming government, will you look at all this mountain ...
Wellington is braced for a “massive impact’ from the new government’s cutting public service jobs, The Post somewhat grimly reported today. Expectations of an economic and social jolt are based on the National-Act coalition agreement to cut public service numbers in each government agency in a cost-trimming exercise “informed by” head ...
One of the threats in the National - ACT - NZ First coalition agreements was to extend the term of Parliament to four years, reducing our opportunities to throw a bad government out. The justification? Apparently, the government thinks "elections are expensive". This is the stupidest of stupid reasons for ...
Buzz from the Beehive The new government was being sworn in, at time of writing , and when Point of Order checked the Beehive website for the latest ministerial statements and re-visit some of the old ones we drew a blank. We found …. Nowt. Nothing. Zilch. Not a ...
Michael Bassett writes – Like most people, I was getting heartily sick of all the time being wasted over the coalition negotiations. During the first three weeks Winston grinned like a Cheshire cat, certain he’d be needed; Chris Luxon wasted time in lifting the phone to Winston ...
The Prime Minister elect had his silver fern badge on. He wore it to remind viewers he was supporting New Zealand, that was his team. Despite the fact it made him look like a concierge, or a welcomer in a Koru lounge. Anna Burns-Francis, the Breakfast presenter, asked if he ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – A hugely significant gain for ACT is somewhat camouflaged by legislative jargon. Under the heading ‘Oranga Tamariki’ ACT’s coalition agreement contains the following item: Remove Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 According to Oranga Tamariki: “Section ...
A previous column looked at Winston Peters biographically. This one takes a closer look at his record as a minister, especially his policy record.Brian Easton writes – 1990-1991: Minister of Māori Affairs. Few remember Ka Awatea as a major document on the future of Māori policy; there is ...
Is COP28 largely smoke and mirrors and a plan so cunning, you could pin a tail on it and call it a weasel? Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: COP28 kicks off on November 30 and up for negotiation are issues like the role of fossil fuels in the energy transition, contributions to ...
PM Elect Christopher Luxon was challenged this morning on whether he would sack Adrian Orr and Andrew Coster.TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am on Monday November 27, including:Signs councils are putting planning and capital spending on hold, given a lack of clear guidance ...
This column expands on a Werewolf column published by Scoop on FridayRoutinely, Winston Peters is described as the kingmaker who gets to decide when the centre right or the centre-left has a turn at running this country. He also plays a less heralded but equally important role as the ...
Last Friday, almost six weeks after election day, National finally came to an agreement with ACT and NZ First to form a government. They also released the agreements between each party and looking through them, here are the things I thought were the most interesting (and often concerning) from the. ...
Maori and Pasifika smoking rates are already over twice the ‘all adult’ rate. Now the revenue that generates will be used to fund National’s tax cuts. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The devil is always in the detail and it emerged over the weekend from the guts of the policy agreements National ...
Perhaps the biggest change that will come to the Beehive as the new government settles in will be a fundamental culture change. The era of endless consultation will be over. This looks like a government that knows what it wants to do, and that means it knows what outcomes ...
So what do you think of the coalition’s decision to cancel Smokefree measures intended to stop young people, including an over representation of Māori, from taking up smoking? Enabling them to use the tax revenue to give other people a tax cut?David Cormack summed it up well:It seems not only ...
A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 19, 2023 thru Sat, Nov 25, 2023. Story of the Week World stands on frontline of disaster at Cop28, says UN climate chiefExclusive: Simon Stiell says leaders must ‘stop ...
On announcement morning my mate texted:Typical of this cut-price, fake-deal government to announce itself on Black Friday.What a deal. We lose Kim Hill, we gain an empty, jargonising prime minister, a belligerent conspiracist, and a heartless Ayn Rand fanboy. One door closes, another gets slammed repeatedly in your face.It seems pretty ...
Buzz from the Beehive Having found no fresh announcements on the government’s official website,Point of Order turned today to Scoop’sLatest Parliament Headlines for its buzz. This provided us with evidence that the Māori Party has been soured by the the coalition agreement announced yesterday by the new PM. “Soured” ...
Yesterday the trio that will lead our country unveiled their vision for New Zealand.Seymour looking surprisingly statesmanlike, refusing to rise to barbs about his previous comments on Winston Peters. Almost as if they had just been slapstick for the crowd.Winston was mostly focussed on settling scores with the media, making ...
Hi,Thanks for getting amongst Mister Organ on digital — thanks to you, we hit the #1 doc spot on iTunes this week. This response goes a long way to helping us break even.I feel good about that. Other things — not so much.New Zealand finally has a new government, and ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Also in More Than A FeildingFriday The unboxing And so this is Friday and what have we gone and done to ourselves?In the same way that a Christmas present can look lovely under the ...
“And there’ll be no shortage of ‘events’ to test Luxon’s political skills. David Seymour wants a referendum on the Treaty. Winston wants a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Labour’s handling of the Covid crisis. Talk about cans of worms!”LAURIE AND LES were very fond of their local. It was nothing ...
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Misinformation is debated everywhere and has justifiably sparked concerns. It can polarise the public, reduce health-protective behaviours such as mask wearing and vaccination, and erode trust in science. Much of misinformation is spread not ...
A previous column looked at Winston Peters biographically. This one takes a closer look at his record as a minister, especially his policy record.1990-1991: Minister of Māori Affairs. Few remember Ka Awatea as a major document on the future of Māori policy; there is not even an entry in Wikipedia. ...
So New Zealand has a brand-spanking new right-wing government. Not just any new government either. A formal majority coalition, of the sort last seen in 1996-1998 (our governmental arrangements for the past quarter of a century have been varying flavours of minority coalition or single-party minority, with great emphasis ...
And so this is Friday and what have we gone and done to ourselves?In the same way that a Christmas present can look lovely under the tree with its gold ribbon but can turn out to be nothing more than a big box holding a voucher for socks, so it ...
So, after weeks of negotiations, we finally have a government, with a three-party cabinet and a time-sharing deputy PM arrangement. Newsroom's Marc Daalder has put the various coalition documents online, and I've been reading through them. A few things stand out: Luxon doesn't want to do any work, ...
Nothing says strong and stable like having your government announcement delayed by a day because one of your deputies wants to remind everyone, but mostly you, who wears the trousers. It was all a bit embarrassing yesterday with the parties descending on Wellington before pulling out of proceedings. There are ...
Winston Peters will be Deputy PM for the first half of the Coalition Government’s three-year term, with David Seymour being Deputy PM for the second half. Photo montage by Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR:PM-Elect Christopher Luxon has announced the formation of a joint National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government with a ...
THERE ARE SOME SONGS that seem to come from a place that is at once in and out of the world. Written by men and women who, for a brief moment, are granted access to that strange, collective compendium of human experience that comes from, and belongs to, all the ...
It’s Friday again! Maybe today we’ll finally have a government again. Roll into the weekend with some of the articles that caught our attention this week. And as always, feel free to add your links and observations in the comments. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt ...
The COP28 countdown is on. Over 100 world leaders are expected to attend this year’s UN Climate Change Conference in in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which starts next Thursday. Among the VIPs confirmed for the Dubai summit are the UK’s Rishi Sunak and Brazil’s Lula da Silva – along ...
By scrapping Aotearoa’s world-leading smokefree laws, this government is sacrificing Māori lives to fund tax cuts for the wealthy. Not only is this plan revolting, but it doesn’t add up. Treasury has estimated that the reversal of smokefree laws to pay for tax cuts will cost our health system $5.25bn, ...
Figures showing National needs to find another $900 million for landlords highlights the mess this coalition Government is in less than a week into the job. ...
Community organisations, mana whenua and the Greens have written to the incoming Minister of Oceans and Fisheries to call for the progression without delay of the Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill. ...
"On behalf of the Labour Party I would like to congratulate Christopher Luxon on his appointment as Prime Minister,” Labour Party Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
NZ First has gotten their wish to ‘take our country back’ to the 1800s with a policy program that will white-wash Aotearoa and erase tangata whenua rights. By disestablishing the Māori Health Authority this Government has condemned Māori to die seven years earlier than Pākehā. By removing Treaty obligations from ...
Te Pāti Māori have called for the resignation of the Ministry of Foreign and Trade chief executive Chris Seed following his decision to erase te reo Māori from government communications. While the country still waits for a new government to be formed, Mr Seed took it upon himself to undermine ...
The New Zealand Labour Party is urgently calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and Israel to put a halt to the appalling attacks and violence, so that a journey to a lasting peace can begin, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
The Government is contributing a further $5 million to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, bringing New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response so far to $10 million. “New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the ...
RNZ political reporter Katie Scotcher, Newhub's political editor Jenna Lynch, and the New Zealand Herald's deputy political editor, Thomas Coughlan discuss the coalition government's first week in charge. ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists and media workers have criticised comments made by Aotearoa New Zealand’s newly-elected Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters — who claimed that a 2020 Labour government media funding initiative constituted “bribery” — as a threat to media freedom. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) reports that it ...
ANALYSIS:By Tristan Dunning, University of Queensland, and Martin Kear, University of Sydney While the world remains fixated on the devastating October 7 Hamas attacks and the subsequent Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, there has been a pronounced — and mostly unnoticed — escalation in violence against Palestinians in ...
ANALYSIS:By Terence Wood In the wake of New Zealand’s recent election, and subsequent coalition negotiations, Winston Peters has emerged as New Zealand’s Foreign Minister again. I’ve never been able to adequately explain why a populist politician leading a party called New Zealand First would have an interest in a ...
NZME, the owners of the Herald, has been fined close to $200,000 after a “magnetic puzzle toy” sold through its Grabone service was deemed to be unsafe. The fine is an increase on the $88,000 penalty previous imposed by the court after the Commerce Commission appealed the decision. In a ...
On Saturday 2 December, pro-choice supporters will rally and march to defend abortion rights and to counter anti-choice conservatives. The rally starts at 1pm at Te Aro Park (Dixon/Manners) with speakers in the Park before marching. ...
The Reserve Bank surprised everyone this week by warning it may have to raise interest rates again to force inflation down, effectively eliminating the prospect of major mortgage rate cuts over the coming summer. In this week’s episode of When the Facts Change, Kiwibank chief economist Jarrod Kerr joins Bernard ...
Ōtepoti supporters of Restore Passenger Rail will slowly walk from the Railway Station to the Octagon on Monday morning, in support of their campaign’s demands that the new Government restores a nationwide passenger rail service and provides ...
Dame Jacinda Ardern observed after she stood down as Prime Minister that "Government isn’t just what you do, it's how you make people feel". While an interesting insight into how she viewed the purpose of government (and, some would argue, an ...
As the show prepares for its final episode, we look back at some of the weird and wonderful moments from the last six years of The Project NZ. The Project NZ burst into the 7pm slot in February 2017, and has since served us everything from Lizzo’s opinion on cheese ...
J Day Is Auckland’s Annual Celebration Of Our Kiwi Cannabis Culture And A Protest Against Prohibition, Held In Albert Park Every Year Since 1992. NORML and friends presents the 31st Annual J Day, usually held on the first Saturday in May every year ...
E Tipu e Rea Whānau Services are deeply concerned at the new Government's plan to scrap Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. As an organisation that works with teenage parents and their tamariki who have a history of state intervention, we know ...
Auckland is considering a move that would reduce kerbside rubbish collections to once a fortnight. It’s part of a council plan to drastically reduce the amount of rubbish produced by households, supported by the recent city-wide rollout of food scrap bins expected to reduce up to 41% of bin contents by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mike W. Morley, Associate Professor and Director, Flinders Microarchaeology Laboratory, Flinders University In June, researchers led by palaeoanthropologist Lee Berger published sensational claims about an extinct human species called Homo naledi online and in the Netflix documentary Unknown: Cave of Bones. They ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Merja Myllylahti, Senior Lecturer, Co-Director Research Centre for Journalism, Media & Democracy, Auckland University of Technology According to a recent survey by the News Media Association, 90% of editors in the United Kingdom “believe that Google and Meta pose an existential threat ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sophie Scott, Associate Professor (Adjunct), Science Communication, University of Notre Dame Australia Shutterstock It’s getting towards the time of the year when you might feel more overwhelmed than usual. There are work projects to finish and perhaps exams in the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephanie Wescott, Lecturer in Education, Monash University This week a new report said there was a “curriculum problem” in Australia. Education consultancy group Learning First found the science curriculum lacked depth and breadth and had major problems with sequencing and clarity. While ...
The new government has reiterated its commitment to build a stronger relationship with India. Trade minister Todd McClay will visit the country before the end of the month for a whirlwind trip to meet with his counterpart, reports Thomas Coughlan at the Herald. “I will be working with prime minister ...
The PM says deep spending cuts are needed to fix the ‘economic vandalism’ of the previous government. But Luxon and Willis are already running up some big bills of their own, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in ...
In his first week on the job, new Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell is visiting cyclone and flood-ravaged regions to hear what they need from the government. ...
They’re cold, they’re caffeinated and they’re classier than an energy drink – iced coffee in a can has gone from novelty to normal in Aotearoa in record time. We tasted 25 to sort the morning must-haves from the mediocre mud water. Just a few short years ago, coffee in a ...
Many news consumers feel a responsibility to bear witness to all sorts of distressing images and events. But deciding to tune out instead doesn’t make you a bad person, writes counsellor Ross Palethorpe. Our attention is demanded everywhere. We are exhorted to witness, to not look away, to act, in ...
Opinion: The costs of living in New Zealand have been in the news for decades, with particular attention paid to food and housing. Food costs have been mostly blamed on the supermarket duopoly. The economics of the production and distribution of food and associated international commerce relationships and the ...
FICTION 1 The Girl from London by Olivia Spooner (Hachette, $37.99) A free copy of the wildly popular novel about a wartime shipboard romance was up for grabs in last week’s giveaway contest. Readers were asked to recount a shipboard romance in their own lives or someone they knew. ...
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It’s been a big few years for usage of New Zealand’s rail network, according to KiwiRail executives, who have reported unprecedented interest from freight customers as capital investment mounts. But they highlight the need for big jobs such as separating passenger and freight lines and bolstering the rail corridor ...
With a call for petroleum companies and the nations of the world to work together to solve the climate crisis, the United Arab Emirates’ controversial choice of President of COP28, opened the UN’s annual climate negotiations in Dubai yesterday. “Colleagues, let history reflect the fact that this is the ...
The coalition agreements contain many actions on the environment - most of them regressive and some that could take NZ back decades, writes environmentalist Gary Taylor The post New Government crashes environment appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Call it inflation, call it rising cost of living or call it “cozzie livs” as our Aussie friends now do. But it’s impacting different cities around the world very differently. The dry Aussie vernacular disguises a real problem in their biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, which price rises have ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Peter Dutton has his tail up, but he’s being careful to manage expectations. As the opposition celebrates its suddenly improved fortunes, Dutton told the party room this week that inevitably the government would recalibrate over ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Breadon, Program Director, Health and Aged Care, Grattan Institute A Senate committee has investigated why so many Australians are missing out on dental care and made 35 recommendations for reform. By far the most sweeping is the call for universal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lester Munson, Non-resident fellow, United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney Henry Kissinger was the ultimate champion of the United States’ foreign policy battles. The former US secretary of state died on November 29 2023 after living for a century. The ...
Coldplay will become the first musical act to play three nights at Auckland’s Eden Park when they visit the country in a year’s time. The band has just announced a third and final show at the venue as part of their global and seemingly never-ending Music of the Spheres world ...
A genuine news story quickly became a springboard for rumour and speculation, with one councillor at the centre of it. Wellington mayor Tory Whanau has a problem with alcohol. She has made that public and is clearly embarrassed. Whanau’s public behaviour was first called into questionin July after reports of ...
In light of the Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters’ recent comments about the media, a group of journalists who serve as E tū delegates say these claims are misinformed. Mr Peters has claimed the Public Interest Journalism Fund was a government “bribe” ...
RNZ News New Zealand’s opposition Labour Party has announced its shadow cabinet to face off against the conservative coalition government. The party endorsed Chris Hipkins as leader and voted Carmel Sepuloni as deputy earlier this month. Sepuloni is also Pacific Peoples minister. Many of the roles are a continuation of ...
It’s been a big few years for usage of New Zealand’s rail network, according to KiwiRail executives who have reported unprecedented interest from freight customers as capital investment mounts. But at the same time, they caution the need for big jobs like separating passenger and freight lines and bolstering ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Thompson, Associate Professor of Media Studies, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Winston Peters had only just been sworn in as deputy prime minister when his long-standing antipathy to the news media emerged in the form of a serious ...
The Animal Justice Party Aotearoa New Zealand (AJPANZ) is joining forces with our friends across the ditch to lead a global protest against sportswear giant Adidas. AJPANZ has peaceful protests set to take place in Auckland and Christchurch this ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra A parliamentary inquiry has delivered a scathing indictment of Australia’s employment services, finding it does not serve the interests of job seekers or employers and urging the privatised system be partially wound back. A rigid ...
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has unveiled a proposal he says will encourage more uptake of public transport around the city. He’d like to see a $50 cap on public transport costs per person per week, which would cover bus, rail and inner harbour ferry services. “We need to get the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stacy Carter, Professor and Director, Australian Centre for Health Engagement, Evidence and Values, University of Wollongong Shutterstock Artificial intelligence (AI) is already being used in health care. AI can look for patterns in medical images to help diagnose disease. It ...
New Zealand’s new Government created international headlines this week for its decision to reverse the world’s first smoking ‘generation ban’. Now another major u-turn is on the cards, as New Zealand pledges to overturn the world-leading ...
The Others Way returns for 2023 at a bunch of venues on and around Auckland’s Karangahape Road on Friday night. Here’s who you can catch, where and when.The Others Way is, in general, a pretty chaotic music festival, spread over a number of venues in the busy Karangahape Road ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is offering to redesign logos for any renamed government departments for free in an effort to save taxpayers money following concerns that requiring a name change of government departments will give them an excuse to ...
The former justice minister Kiri Allan has revealed she pleaded not guilty to a charge of failing to accompany a police officer in order to test a grey area in the law. Allan’s case, which related to a political career-ending car crash in July, was set to be heard in ...
New Zealand Disability Support Network is seeking assurance that disabled New Zealanders are a priority for the new government after being omitted from their 100 day plan. “Disability support providers wondering how they’ll survive financially, underpaid ...
The Taxpayers’ Union can today reveal that Grant Robertson’s attendance at the Rugby World Cup final in Paris cost taxpayers $39,605. Included in the cost was more than $32,000 in business class flights and more than $5000 in accommodation costs ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Senior Lecturer, University of Sydney Earth’s surface is the living skin of our planet – it connects the physical, chemical and biological systems. Over geological time, this surface evolves. Rivers fragment the landscape into an environmentally diverse range of habitats. ...
For the eighth year, people in prisons will be receiving handmade holiday cards from strangers on the outside.Next to me, Amir* has drawn a beautiful streak of green across the front of a card. “Shit”, he says. The streak was intended to be the stem of a pōhutukawa, but ...
Former Invercargill mayor and national icon Tim Shadbolt will lend his name to the terminal at Invercargill Airport. The city’s councillors have agreed to pay tribute to Shadbolt’s eight-term tenure as mayor. He was first elected in 1993 and, aside from one term, held the position consistently until 2022. “Sir ...
Anna Galvan admits she’s not great on details. The former Silver Fern struggles to pinpoint a specific match that stands out to her, despite a career spanning 17 years in the elite game and 13 tests for her country. But ask the proud Cantabrian a strategic question on ...
Labour leader Chris Hipkins has unveiled a portfolio and list reshuffle as his party readies to hold the new coalition government to account. The line-up brought ministerial experience that National, Act and NZ First lacked, said Hipkins, and included six women and four men in the top 10. “I am ...
Two baby kiwi are the first to be born in the Wellington wild for over 150 years. The Capital Kiwi Project has, for more than five years, run a 4,600-strong stoat trap in the hills south-west of Wellington. Once predators had been deemed under control, 11 North Island brown kiwi ...
Wellington mayor Tory Whanau is off work with Covid-19, the day after admitting to an alcohol issue following media questions. Whanau told RNZ she was seeking “professional help” after reports of drunken behaviour in public, with the Herald reporting that a video “may be” circulating in the public domain. Today, ...
Not everyone needs to follow a tertiary pathway. But for those who do, a degree could well be ‘the experience of a lifetime’.In today’s job market, it’s hard not to feel a little hopeless. As entire industries go through massive change, it can be difficult for new entrants to ...
We invite you to read – ideally aloud – writer Emily Perkins’ speech delivered at the launch of a remarkable new novel earlier this month, republished in full below. The book launch speech is a particular and honoured art. Those who’ve attended a book launch, or many, will know how ...
ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa condemns the Luxon government’s plan to remove relationship and sexuality education (RSE) from school curricula. In striking out RSE, the government ignores decades of evidence-based research carried out in Aotearoa ...
Should we be texting and calling between dates? How can I tell if they’re really into me? Is it a crush or a dopamine spike?Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to [email protected]Dear Hera, I’m in my mid-20s and for a myriad reasons (devastating break-up, birth control-induced weight gain leading to self-esteem ...
As the Herald’s Claire Trevett and Thomas Coughlan write (paywalled), “There’s a fair bit of bad blood between some ministers in the new National-Act-NZ First government and a range of other public servants, diplomats and political appointees to public bodies.” As they explain, ministers do not hire or fire government department ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Toby Walsh, Professor of AI, Research Group Leader, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock OpenAI’s artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT was unleashed onto an unsuspecting public exactly one year ago. It quickly became the fastest-growing app ever, in the hands of 100 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Dunning, Honorary Research Fellow, The University of Queensland While the world remains fixated on the devastating October 7 Hamas attacks and the subsequent Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, there has been a pronounced – and mostly unnoticed – escalation in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacqueline Peel, Director, Melbourne Climate Futures, The University of Melbourne As the COP28 climate summit gets underway in the oil production hub of the United Arab Emirates today, Australia’s climate minister Chris Bowen will detail our progress in meeting emissions cut targets ...
Lawrence Freedman is always an interesting read. Long, but summed up in: no end in sight.
https://open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/casualties-and-conflict-gaza-and?r=aax0&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
That was a pretty flimsy piece.
I also found that reading through his other bits on this subject, that he often either lacks context, by leaving out or at best lightly brushing over or playing down vital recent and/or historical information.
I also find his starting points for his 'analysis' very colonial….but then that would suit many readers I guess.
Not a serious source on this particular issue IMO, maybe he is better on other issues?
I'm not too sure what you mean by your comment. I found his article very interested and informed, on both the Israel/Gaza conflict and the Ukraine/Russia conflict. I can only assume that is because the writer is not explicitly blaming the
JewsIsraeli's, USA & western Europe.What I've personally found interesting is the number of Muslim Palestinian Israeli citizens in Israel. I had been led to believe was that the
JewsIsraeli's hated Muslims and the "darkies". When I first visited Israel I was pleasantly surprised to find the racial and religious tolerance would put the average New Zealander to shame. However outside of Israel in the middle east, racial and religious tolerance is not really a concept.I'm fully aware that my comment flys in the face of some people's political ideology, but as a heretic, I have always gone with reality & science.
The state of Israel exists, we either accept that fact, or we support the eradication of Israel and the
Jewson a scale that would humble the like of Hitler, Hitler and the rest of the Nazi regime.There are certainly some Israelis who are strongly racist, think all Arabs should die etc – I've personally met the odd one, and the settler groups are generally terrible. But many Israelis are secular and more moderate.
Good luck trying to find any tolerance among hamas…
Certainly there are intolerant people, in all countries. From my experience much of the Jewish Israeli people I came into contact with, just want to live in peace. They have their religion, while others have their religion, weather it’s Christian or Islam.
what is sadly unsurprising is the attitude from educated middle class white liberals in NZ who cannot comprehend that the
JewsIsraelis are decent people. What I find interesting is that the same people who care about the “Palestinian cause” don’t care about the human rights of other muslim people such as Syria, or say the ethnic cleansing of muslims in the former communist YugoslaviaCompletely agree. What we see in some liberals is a demonstration of the horseshoe theory, in my opinion.
And many are soaking in a rich brew of russian propaganda.
Blob theory: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/11/03/world/earth-moon-theia-collision-llvps-scn/index.html
I bought & read a book updating the history of Luna several months ago which featured Theia as hypothesis plus theory and was surprised how much consensus was supporting both. The cosmic dimension of physics is cosmology:
As you can see, the metaphysical basis is included because it represents our conceptual relation to cosmos.
Our conceptual relation to cosmos is informed by traditional mental models. The primary one outside the academic arena uses deeper metaphysics.
Astrologers use a diagram called the horoscope to represent an event in relation to cosmos, to discern meaning in the event. For an election outcome, one must identify the moment it occurs, which is the closing of polls @ 7pm on election day. The location is where the state is governed, the computer presents the chart when you do your data entry. The wheel (zodiac) represents cosmos, the horizontal axis represents the local horizon & the vertical axis represents the local meridian, and the top end of that (midheaven) represents connection to hierarchy (govt).
There's an interpretive language & code used to ascertain meaning, which is thus constituted by subjective artistry (usually lack of) & a relatively objective theory (of which most astrologers have a marginal grasp). The lunar nodal axis is tertiary, representing origin (south node) and destiny (north node). The horizon represents consciousness/identity at the zodiac degree rising and self/other interactions at the degree setting. The meridian represents power – status/reputation at the midheaven & belonging/Gaia at the base.
My take on the election outcome chart a while back was a hung parliament due to the new moon in Libra happening at the time. Instead, we got the balance point via NZF control of the state. Saturn (reality) is in the 11th house (groups) opposing Venus (pleasure) which means unpleasant limits & difficulties for political parties. Jupiter (luck, opportunities) trine midheaven (authority) in the 2nd (resources) means fortunate relations with the global powers that be & the economy. Uranus in the 2nd means innovation in resourcing (inventions) & trine Pluto makes it regenerative.
https://astromatrix.org/Horoscopes/Planet-Aspects/Pluto-Trine-North-Node
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A marginal grasp of relatively objective theory leads some astrologers to rely overly on la lune. Oh, être dans la lune – time for a walk.
My reading of clouds remains the one I formed mid-1960s. In the ATC we got instructed in recognising cloud formations & weather patterns.
The sublunary view was a paradigm amongst christian theologians through the middle ages – it connected with folk mythology as ruler of mundane change. Bowie's Changes comes to mind, or more to the point, the 1966 minor hit by the same name (Crispian St Peters). My deep Green view correlates the moon in the horoscope with biological function; needs, feelings, emotions.
Over-reliance is something I've seen in those who take moon calendars rather too seriously, so your point about that is valid. Four decades of observing correlations with real-life situations has eased my original scepticism. I concede more to folk wisdom nowadays. Empirical learning beats indoctrination!
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/renting/132800974/the-gravy-train-is-over-why-my-tiniest-violin-is-out-for-landlords?cx_testId=23&cx_testVariant=cx_1&cx_artPos=3#cxrecs_s
One of the best articles I have read yet regarding the problems in the rental market.
It’s bad enough that landlords are profiting from you and your neighbours' suffering, we shouldn’t have to read their sob stories too.
Unfortunately for New Zealand nothing serious will be done about our obscene housing/rental problems…..Labour/National are both captured and controled by Free Market fundamentalists…end of story.
The removal of the mortgage cost deduction against rent income from existing property – to incentivise new builds and the 10 year brightline test did suggest some difference.
That, rental standards and protections from eviction.
But yeah – the failure to act in accord with Greens in limiting rent increases to 3% pa was disappointing.
And the other failure to bring in a wealth tax and or estate tax, while it is more a tax and inequality matter it provides the finance to build more state houses and assist equity share support into ownership.
How much do the toxic, aging colonels of Rogernomics yearn for a second coup?
This much.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/301001542/inside-the-national-caucus-mps-are-frustrated-and-want-a-radical-change
Hmmm…
Good point, but how much he will support reform is the big question. Will he delegate her to liaise with ACT? Seems the obvious thing to do.
They would be better off waiting for the next Labour Govt to get their "second coup"…if the history of radical free market economics in Western politics is anything to go by.
Probably right, if one thing national/tory/conservatives hate is change, good functionaries but incapable of flexibility, foresight or radical anything, should only ever be middle management 🤔
True believers remain stalwart no matter what happens:
Boomers grew out of post-war malaise into boom-time revival:
Controllers went uh-oh, switch to plan B! Get top lawyers & judges to create new rules:
Dennis Frank +1
The other key component of post war Free Market fundamentalism is that they have effectively and specifically taken control of pretty much every serious 'Left' wing political party in the West…thereby nicely (for them) nullifying the one path we citizens had of putting up any sort of resistance to their madness….which is why I stopped voting for NZ Labour, who as we all know, have been completely captured by these dangerous goons.
Corbyn in the UK was probably the closest we (the West) came to regaining some sort of control of this monster…unfortunately for us, this was also when anyone with half a brain came to understand that all Western MSM had also been captured by the same ideology…The Guardian being one of the most aggressive defenders of the free market status quo.
Anyone notice how Luxon is rushing from mike to camera to doorways with speed and grin and spilling as usual non messages? This is a ploy I think to show confidence and energy to the waiting lenses but I think overdone bigly. If he really is confident and in charge, he would not need to act like a fly on a dose of fly killer. Fraud I tell you!
Still electioneering, just incase!!
The story so far …
Fri – Day zero: Election result.
Sat – Day one: gets bad
Sun -Day two: gets worse …
Winston Peters blasts 'moron' Jack Tame, NZ media in Port Waikato (1news.co.nz)
If that's the next Deputy PM, buy shares in a popcorn company ASAP.
That bluster seems more than a tad uncool. I suspect he's doing it for the hillbilly vote though – a careful pitch for the hicks around Port Waikato. Can't blame Jack for asking dumb questions given him by the hierarchy. Goes with the job. Maybe W thinks he can seduce Labour voters into a pile-on to defeat that grey-space Nat.
2 Nov
"Hundreds of dual passport holders and dozens of seriously injured Palestinians were allowed to leave Gaza on Wednesday after more than three weeks under siege"
It is incredible the these two lines can get printed and no one seemed to see a problem with it….this is how deep Western imperial racism runs.
There are 24,000 wounded and injured in Gaza, the hospitals have been hit by Israeli terrorist multiple times, there is no fuel or water or food to keep the few that are intact running…why the fuck wouldn't the seriously wounded and children be the first to leave the hell hole?
Well it turns out that it was upto Hamas to insist on this….
5th Nov
"There have been problems at the Rafah crossing into Egypt – the only way out of Gaza – with reports saying that foreign nationals were not being allowed to leave the territory. Hamas was reportedly asking for more wounded people to leave before more foreigners could leave"
That's a question for Egypt.
The Rafah crossing is controlled by Egypt.
My understanding is that they explicitly do not want an influx of Palestinian refugees. As they regard them as extreme jihadists. And there has historically been little support from other Middle Eastern countries for displaced Palestinians.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67133675
Israel has considerable 'influence' over incoming aid via Rafah (specifically wanting to restrict any military supplies- in which category they include fuel) – but is not particularly interested in monitoring people leaving Gaza into Egypt.
A guarantee of medical aid from Middle Eastern countries via the Red Crescent (AFAICS, not yet provided) – to establish substantial medical facilities in Egypt – would be a prerequisite to Egypt opening up this border. There has currently been WHO medical support, but this has been geared to providing medical relief to hospitals inside Gaza. As well as offers of refugee resettlement for those who wish to take up this option.
Israel has currently said that Palestinians leaving for medical treatment would be allowed to return. This was a prerequisite for Egypt allowing any injured to cross the borders. You can believe as much of that 'guarantee' as you choose…. (personally, I think the chances of Israel allowing Palestinians to return are somewhere between fat and slim)
https://www.axios.com/2023/11/01/israel-hamas-war-palestinians-egypt-return-after-hospitals
I think you'll find the most seriously wounded are the ones unable to safely be moved (why the staff there cannot move down south as asked) – then when they can medevac issues – pauses and routes etc.
A hospital ship at sea is a better bet for them – helicopter movement.
Moving children would require Egypt taking in Palestinian refugees in Sinai (they are very wary of this).
Winston Peters is a grouchy, angry, rude old man these days with an ego requiring a lot of attention.
Winston Peters is very calculated in all he does and says.
He will butt heads with those who recognise cultural difference, as he believes in assimilation. "All New Zealanders".
Everyone appears to be considering their, Chris Seymore and Winston coalition differences, and forgetting land and money as their meal, served with self determination sauce.
If you are able grow some veg, get 3 hens, buy in basics, pay of cards etc, and buckle up for austerity.
Got Winston fatigue already. He is a very wearisome old man who just needs to be quiet.
The infighting on Wellington Council seems to be getting worse.
The division between the mayor, and some of the more 'right' councillors, looks as though it's becoming unbridgeable.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/wellington-councillor-accuses-mayor-of-politically-motivated-attack-rejects-claims-of-leak/VLAGIDD67VEYLOO3LC6KKMKD6I/
I notice Calvert never actually denied leaking. !
According to the story, Whanau hasn't even asked her (or anyone else).
And that's the point. The council (as in the elected representatives) do not have a working relationship. When the first port of call for the Mayor is to bring in 'independent' investigators, rather than talking to the Councillors that she is concerned about, it's painfully evident.