Russian missiles slamming into apartment buildings in Mariupol say otherwise,
Hyperbole? Lying? Take your pick.
The first thing to determine about the Bucha massacre; Did the Bucha killings actually take place and in the manner described?
Or was this massacre faked, or 'staged'? – as the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has publicly alleged.
With all the claims and counter claims swirling around, I am reminded of the Douma gas attack in Syria, or even further back, the Katyn massacre of captured Polish officers during WWII. To this day the Russians claim the German's did it. The Germans (and the Poles) claim the Russians did it.
What is uncontested about the Katyn Forest, is that a massacre took place there, The captured Polish officers were massacred by someone.
What is contested about the Bucha massacre, is that it ever took place at all.
….Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has described the scenes outside Kyiv as a “stage-managed anti-Russian provocation.”
If it is determined that the Bucha Massacre was not 'staged' or faked, as the Russian Foreign Minister has alleged. That in fact, this massacre of civilians did occure: Then the next question to determine; who committed it?".
At this far remove at the other end of the world, the weight of evidence presented to us, is that the massacre of civilians in Bucha was committed by the Russian forces during their occupation of the town.
….The Kremlin has categorically rejected accusations that Russian forces were responsible for killing civilians in Bucha, suggesting images of corpses lining the streets were “fakes”.
….Russian “experts at the Ministry of Defence have identified signs of video fakes and various fakes”
Jenny if you are going to use past form(of denial) to predict current culpabilities you may have to widen your range(in the interests of fairness)
Between 1943 and 1945, members of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army massacred thousands of Poles throughout Volhynia, a region that was in Nazi-occupied Poland and is part of present-day Ukraine. Polish historians say the death toll could be as high as 100,000, while Ukrainians say it’s between 20,000 to 30,000. In 2016, Poland’s Parliament recognized the killings as genocide, a term that Ukraine rejects.
When it comes to denial, the apologists for Russian and imperialism and Assad fascism need to look at themselves.
Amid the fog of war and the competing narratives over the atrocity committed in Bucha. I know one thing for sure;
Apologists for Russian aggression and Assad fascism like yourself, will argue endlessly over the reality, or not, of one single act of atrocity. Just as you did over the gas attack on Douma in Syria.
But one thing you won't do Francesca, is address the undeniable evidence of the genocidal nature of the war itself.
I recognise the genocidal nature and cruelty of all wars, and I recognise and call out the propaganda that attempts to make us believe that our "enemies"are monsters but we are kind and just.
You state " To this day " the russians claim the germans killed the poles etc not quite true considering in 1990 Yeltsin released the execution orders signed by stalin to the new polish president Lech walesa .
You state " To this day " the russians claim the germans killed the poles….
Yes and I stand by my statement.
Since Yeltsin's day, under Putin's rule, the admission by Russia of Russian culpability for the Katyn Massacre is being rolled back.
Russia removes memorial to Katyn Massacre in new attack on historical truth
08.05.2020
Halya Coynash
……Russian officials, acting on an order from the prosecutor's office, have removed plaques commemorating victims of the Terror and Polish officers executed by the NKVD in 1940, while the Soviet Union was still collaborating with Nazi Germany. This may have been a regional initiative, but it is very much in line with Russia’s aggressive attempts under President Vladimir Putin to blur or rewrite the darkest pages of Soviet history.
Two memorial plaques, erected in 1991, were removed from the former NKVD building in Tver on 7 May….
Glad you amended your original statement jenny i think its as well to remember that the soviet bear has been known to recover its memory from time to time .The world is bleak and depressing enough without painting it black cover to cover .
I don't think there is any doubt that the Russians committed the atrocities. As I pointed out yesterday, satellite images at the time of Russian occupation have been geolocated to where bodies have been found.
If anything, this type of event is actually working against the Russians because it is motivating other countries to get in behind Ukraine.
For example, here is a great interview with Roberta Metsola, president of the European Union. She has just met with Zelenskyy. Well worth spending the 7 minutes to watch it.
According to her, the Ukranians are fighting on behalf of Europe, and she wants to make sure that Russia is never again able to attack European countries.
On a side note, she seems to be an outstanding politician, of a calibre far higher than anyone we have in New Zealand.
Also, after having taken an interest (or obsession) in this conflict, I have been very impressed with the quality of news and investigative journalism on the likes of DW and France 24. Makes our stuff seem very fluffy and weak. Having said that, they are able to have channels that are just full time news, unlike us here.
While we we wait for actual proof of culpability to this horrific event from actual professionals in this field, (trial by a biased media is proof of nothing)…don't you find it somewhat incongruous that no MSM have covered this horrific event (please be aware that the video is extremely disturbing, viewer discretion is advised) at all..why is that you think?
A satellite image of Bucha in Ukraine appears to show bodies lying in the street nearly two weeks before the Russians left the town.
The image from 19 March, first reported by the New York Times and confirmed by the BBC, directly contradicts Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's claim that footage of bodies in Bucha, that has emerged in recent days, was "staged" after the Russians withdrew.
The satellite image shows objects that appear to be bodies in the exact locations where they were subsequently found by Ukrainian forces when they regained control of the town north of Kyiv.
I am not going to get into armchair speculation on this matter….you and others on this site would do well to remember this old adage "The first casualty of war is the truth"…as I keep trying to remind people, all western MSM have declared war on Russia, they have picked a side, that is just a plain fact,,,therefore they have negated their positions as impartial news outlets…..so everything they report has to be regarded, by anyone who is actually concerned with the truth… as suspect, am I wrong?
The exact same logic applies to the Russians. The same people who six weeks ago were solemnly assuring the world there would be no invasion of Ukraine.
Yet here we are. In politics you can debate facts, ideas and nuance all you want. In war you pick a side and fight for it – or get crushed.
You have clearly picked the side of boundless cruelty.
No RedLogix, unlike you I haven't picked a side….if I were in the Ukraine (but not a Russian speaking Ukrainian in the Donbass) I would be fighting the Russian today you can be sure of that….however I am not in the position, so I (and you) have the luxury of being able to appraise the conflict from a much wider perspective.
I believe that it is exactly because we are in this privileged position to observe and appraise the conflict from this distance, that it is essential for us to remain neutral, try and negotiate our way through the fog of war, and remain steadfast in our efforts to seek out only the facts and truth…that’s all I am trying to do here.The only reason why it sometimes look like I am pro Russia is because I am pushing back against the obvious propaganda that our media spews out daily…but you can be sure that if I were in Russia, I would be doing exactly same vigorous critiquing of their propaganda on some Russian version of TS.
I know that remaining neutral is impossible for you, that is your choice and I respect that, but please respect my position of neutrality.
“Whatever the source, address the content” …I would agree in normal times, however as western MSM have willfully become a propaganda arm of the Ukrainian govt, exactly where does one even start to address the content, when that is the starting point? ….That is the problem, a very serious problem, don't you agree?
Think about it, we have now ended up with not one western MSM source that we can rely on for news of Ukraine, doesn't that bother you?…this is exactly why I so often bang on about 'Fair and Balanced Reporting' in our media as a primary problem in our search for the truth.
You've already decided the western media are propaganda tools so clearly the link wasn't for you.
Maybe leave it to those inclined to seek another perspective and concentrate on the juxtaposition of that rapid decision with the one that wants to wait and see about russian war crimes in Bucha.
So we can assume by your none answers to my questions, that you find MSM content on Ukraine to be, on the whole, fair and balanced then?
“those inclined to seek another perspective”…you see that is the problem…that ‘perspective’ you mention is the main one most people are exposed to…so if it extremely biased as I maintain…then that is a problem..no?
I'm self moderating so need need to wait for a discussion around what you, or I, think constitute balance.
So, as I'm not arguing with you or attempting to change your mind about anything, the best case outcome is people head off down their own rabbit holes and sift the truth out for themselves, with an eye to probability and credibility.
Tricledown , did you miss the fact that prior to the invasion Zelensky's pollings were trailing in the 20s and as far as his efforts against corruption go, he's sponsored by the most corrupt oligarch Kolomoisky, and he himself was shown up hiding wealth offshore .
Truth in language alert, only one party has declared war – Russia, and in invading Ukraine it has in a sense done so against the international regime – the collective security of nations. Because it has nukes and a veto on the UNSC .. it thinks it it can do what it likes.
The idea that the western MSM, not any other MSM such as in China or Russia, cannot be relied on for truth is a definition of partisanship – not truth seeking.
And of course the central "fact" of the sovereign citizen movement and every other social media rabbit warren cult on earth is that it alone has the truth. That form of the force is with us is a secular variant of end of the world uber Zionism and related Christian and Moslem theocracy.
"The idea that the western MSM, not any other MSM such as in China or Russia, cannot be relied on for truth is a definition of partisanship – not truth seeking"…When exactly did I say or imply that?
I am happy use any western MSM and any other MSM sources when I believe they a useful.
BTW, The last part of your comment didn't make any sense…what were trying to say there?
" that many claim to the truth is with them and them alone. A definition of a cult"….that sounds a lot like western MSM….link me to one serious debate or discussion on western MSM from someone serious, pushing back against the 'Russiagate' conspiracy during the Trump era.
Note that western MSM only maintained one truth on that issue…I think you find the same 'single truth' narrative around the Douma gas attack incident…I could go on but you get the idea I am sure.
So if I apply your definition, Western MSM is a cult of some sort.
According to her, the Ukranians are fighting on behalf of Europe, and she wants to make sure that Russia is never again able to attack European countries.
It is much more likely the Ukranians are fighting on behalf of the US. After all, what were McCain, Biden and Nuland doing in Kyev around 2013 or 2014?
Why would Russia, these days, wish to attack European countries anyway?
Why would Russia, these days, wish to attack European countries anyway?
Funny question, given it's doing exactly that.
But assuming a good faith question, one particular stand-out feature of the vagaries of post-Soviet geography is Kaliningrad. Can you think of any reason some Baltic states lying between Kaliningrad and the rest of Russia might be shitting themselves at the moment, given the current Russian expansionist imperialism? What about Moldova and Transnistria?
And then there are the innumerable opportunities for border expansion, a little piece here or there…
Ukraine is not really part of Europe, though some of its citizens apparently would like it to be. This whole sorry mess grew out of the events in 2014 when Yanukovich, who was at the time the Ukrainian president, failed in his attempt to join Europe. Putin seems to have seen this attempt, after Yanukovich's ousting, together with a desire to join NATO, as an existential threat to Russia. Hence the invasion.
The invasion seems to have been a defensive move on Putin’s part. He ain’t no Napoleon Bonaparte.
Despite the blatant stupidity of that comment, it is however the only thing that bears any relevance to my response to your question as to why some definitely European countries (in addition to the country in eastern Europe called Ukraine) might be worried that the authoritarian kleptocracy controlling Russia might wish to invade their territory, too.
Russia, of course, famously spans two continents. But Ukraine is firmly in Europe, well west of the Urals.
What worries me is that RadioNZ seems to be cravenly followed the "plucky little Ukraine" line without questioning whether there is a factual basis for the reports coming out of the war. The NZ public deserve better.
Yes, fair points made in that article. That is why I think it is wise to seek sources that don't have a dog in the fight. Though, that is hard to find.
After reading all the stuff on here about the media bias, for one side or the other, maybe RadioNZ should not report anything about what is going on except to say "there is conflict in Ukraine." (Maybe there will be some who say even that is propaganda.)
If they carry a story about a number of deaths I suppose the information has come from someone. Who is to say the information is true? If they carry a story about anything to do with not all the information has come from someone. Who is to say the information is true?
I wonder where these lovely tenants will end up living now? I doubt the landlord will ever see any of the $10k owed. There should be a register of bad tenants and a bad landlords so people can avoid either renting to them or becoming their tenant.
They will probably end up being State housing tenants for life as no other landlord in their right mind would let them rent their house, and unfortunately you and me will end up paying for them.
"There should be a register of bad tenants and a bad landlords so people can avoid either renting to them or becoming their tenant"
Have you, or do you know anyone who has trying getting into a rental lately?….they have to jump through every hoop that the landlord can possibly make up…and then some more for good measure…but what single reference does the landlord have to provide to that hopeful tenant?
And because of tenants like these, that is exactly why there are so many hoops to jump through. Their "CV" would not make good reading and I wouldn't wish them on any landlord. The landlord is the one with a property at risk. The tenant risks nothing.
But I still believe there should also be a register of the bad landlords.
Nonsense. Hoops have existed for years – many of my Maori staff twenty years ago struggled to get rentals. It was called racism.
That they have increased (hoops that is) is not due to bad tenants – it's due to the bull-dozing of state houses, the massive increase in immigration without a building program to go with it, the massive subsidisation of landlords through accommodation supplement and tax breaks, reduced taxation of the wealthy freeing up capital, the realisation after the Canterbury Earthquakes by landlords they could get away with charging a fortune, the lack of rent controls, bloody-mindedness by some landlords like the one who told me he put all his rents up to piss off Jacinda, the loss of other government housing.
In short a deliberate and concerted effort to create a supply and demand shortage by capitalists. Bad tenants are the very least cause in the whole back to slum-lords and homelessness mess.
From the NY Times article:
“The images show dark objects of similar size to a human body appearing on Yablonska Street between March 9 and March 11″
yet:
” However, according to the Institute of War report, the Russians did not control the south of the city from March 9 to 11. Attention should also be drawn to the statement of the General Staff of Ukraine on Facebook on March 10, which reads «the enemy is trying to break through the defenses of Ukraine’s defenders in the areas of Poliske, Kukhari, Zhovtneve, Andriyivka, Kopyliv, Motyzhyn, Buzova, Horenychi, Bucha, Demydiv, and block Kyiv». Next, the Institute of War, in its Facebook post of March 11, states that all attempts by the Russian army to take Bucha have failed.” https://southfront.org/more-evidence-more-doubts-about-bucha-massacre/
'In 2016, Finnish journalist Jessikka Aro writing in Springer Link described SouthFront as "an allegedly citizen-sourced project that looks more like a suspicious information operation." Describing it as "a fascinating hybrid of revealingly detailed military intelligence and totally bogus stories," she said that the site's content centers on "the success of Russia's armed forces, and showing off Russia's weapons." '
Whatever the source, address the content
Article references the NYTimes article, Facebook entries of Ukrainian military and other verifiable sources.
It’s not an opinion piece
.If you dispute the validity of the references, offer counters to them or prove them to be false
Them thar facebook accounts prompted an FB phishing warning. Went as far as I could without logging in.
But despite that, nothing in your links actually contradicts the possibility that the people were killed in areas controlled by the Russians, or even the progress of events depicted in wikipedia (with considerable more precision than "in the area of [half a dozen major suburbs]").
What you, specifically, are saying is not what the sources for your article state.
Zhao Lijian: "….. in a contrasting move to its (the USA) pressuring of European countries to not buy Russian oil, the US increased crude oil supplies from Russia by 43 percent, or 100,000 barrels per day, over the past week and allowed its companies to import mineral fertilizers from Russia. The ongoing war and sanctions have incurred an influx of refugees, capital outflow and energy shortage in Europe, but enabled the US to have profited and made a fortune from that"
The US gets about 1 – 3% of its total crude oil from Russia. They get about 60-61% of oil from Canada.
The US public will not stand for gas prices even higher than they are (Witness how fast our own government folded after just 2 weeks).
Oil markets are now so roiled that even a partial oil sanction has driven India into the hands of Russia for perpetual oil supply. You can only mess with energy security so far.
The sanctions such as they are, are altering Russian export flows. But the trades are going to get very shadowy.
Price-sensitive refiners in India are buying Urals crude at a discount to Brent crude prices of $25 per barrel or more.
In China, both independent refiners and state oil companies are buying ESPO blend and Urals volumes.
Russian off-the-radar transactions will grow and they make it hard to calculate the current market disruption with great precision: the revenue loss for Russia isn't going to be as big as hoped.
The US is generating enough pressure to be noticeable, but not so much that Russian accelerates a full geopolitical re-alignment of India into the Russia-China-Iran-Kazakhstan-Donbas oil power that is emerging.
This world does not need energy markets more destabilised than they are. So the US has smaller oil levers to operate than would be obvious.
Equally, it's very clear that only the US and Europe are really standing up to Russia at all – in energy or anything else.
Putin and Lavrov can forget their holidays in Rotorua, and making supplies of potassium more expensive for NZ agriculturalists is really going to stick it to the Muscovites
With the Tauranga by-election on May 19th, Climate Change plan coming out a week after that, and the Tauranga by-election on June 18th, government and National get the closest thing possible to a live straw poll.
What can Labour do now to turn their fortunes around?
That is an absolutely uncharacteristic post from you it makes no sense please consider immediate medical attention as I am afraid your your blood oxygen may be way too low – this is not an attempt to harass or criticize I am concerned for your well being please seek medical help now
Labour could promise every Tauranga citizen a million dollars each, dropped into their bank account the day after the bi-election – provided that the Labour candidate is elected…
And they would still lose.
This is not a poll on the government's performance. This is a bi-election is a safe blue seat.
The inevitable loss will mean nothing in the greater scheme of things.
With the Tauranga by-election on May 19th, Climate Change plan coming out a week after that, and the Tauranga by-election on June 18th … What can Labour do now to turn their fortunes around?
Well, for a start … stop wasting public money on 2 by-elections in the same electorate just a month apart. Seems just a little bit … extravagant … and vaguely indecisive.
Still, each to their own, I spoze.
[To be brutally honest, I’ve long favoured monthly by-elections in every geographical seat as a way of making politics much more interesting … so this would certainly seem to be a move in the right direction by the Govt]
The new builds in the CBD in CHCH a high proportion already went to investors between 50-90 %,A high proportion went into short term accommodation.
A more sustainable outcome was to make them legalise their activity,change the rating,and increase their opex costs with building act requirements such as WOF.
Only need 10% of inventory to move back into the residential market,and that would increase the listed rental stock in CHCH by 25%.
It might guarantee more new builds, not necessarily new rentals.
I say it might, because it depends on the market.
I will agree in that with a market at a high and interest rates sure to rise (prevent the market rising further) there is less prospect of build and profit. And more of have the equity to build and rent out because there is market demand for a place to live by those who cannot buy at these prices.
In the USA equity firms are buying up houses to rent out for the return. NZ Super Fund and Kiwi Saver may do the same.
Investing in new builds at the peak of the market, when interest rates are rising … is a game for those with equity and who can hold and earn rent income.
I would agree with Soper, it was clearly not a job that Bloomfield would have found tempting enough to stay on for. A year working with Little and then the 2023 election challenge to the administration (political attacks on the Maori Authority etc) and potential of having to work with National (and risk of being removed). So much easier to take a sabbatical, do some advisory/consulting work and wait for post 2023.
Sure the normal – better qualified older white men not having a job and younger women of colour having jobs is par for the course for those of his generation and ambition to remain in control. It's equal part legacy white man privilege and colonialism – no wonder he just loves Winnie, one who knew his place.
A year working with Little and then the 2023 election challenge to the administration (political attacks on the Maori Authority etc) and potential of having to work with National (and risk of being removed). So much easier to take a sabbatical, do some advisory/consulting work and wait for post 2023.
Spare me the nonsense. The man is exhausted and so are the other senior health officials. They don't want their lives snuffed out early with exhaustion-induced heart attacks and the like.
In short, Bloomfield and senior colleagues are burnt out after 2 years of 12 hour days and 7 day working weeks. There is no conspiracy. Nor is there bad blood. He's made up the drivel about Ardern in an attempt to further vilify her.
Imo, he's gone too far this time and the Press Council should take action against him.
If you feel that strongly about it why don't you complain? Or have you already done so? If you aren't willing to go to the trouble of doing so then your statement is merely another of the "Someone outa do something" variety.
It is now (and has been since 2017) the New Zealand Media Council. The things you have to do in making a complaint are described here. I don't believe it costs anything to make a complaint but there are are a number of things you will have to do before they take the complaint up.
The war in Ukraine is reaching an interesting point.
From a strategic perspective, I think the Russians would be better to regroup, and reinforce the areas they have taken, and ensure they have a good solid foundation to base further attacks on.
However, Putin has put the pressure on his forces by declaring a victory by May 9th.
Therefore, in order to achieve something worth the effort, the Russians will have to go on the offensive again. This is likely to involve attempting to encircle Ukrainian forces in the east which are well dug in, and then try and take the whole Dombas region.
One option is to try and take the strategically important Sloviansk. The problem with that strategy is that Sloviansk is incredibly well defended, from what I have read. And I expect more Ukranian forces and assets no longer required up North will be deployed there. Therefore, as we have seen in Mariupol which is still fighting, this will be an incredibly hard nut to crack.
Another option is for the Russians to avoid Sloviansk by looping around it. But the Spring rains are coming, thus turning fields into a quagmire and confining tanks etc to the roads. Also, this strategy involves the problems of maintaining logistic supplies over a long distance. The problem that has plagued the Russians all along. This is going to allow the Ukrainians to continue to ambush convoys with a similar outcome to what the Russians have been experiencing thus far.
So, I think, rather than going on the offensive too much, at the moment, the Ukranians are best to dig in and let the Russians sustain more losses trying to attack defensive positions as they try and make gains to meet the progress that Putin is expecting.
Should be interesting times ahead. I hope the Ukranians are supplied with more long range missiles and the like that will allow them to target Russian artillary and ships that have been causing so much damage to civilian areas recently. And I hope they are provided with more long-range anti-aircraft capability to take on Russian bombers.
While the Ukranians are calling for more tanks, I am not sure that this is such at necessity at the moment as they will be affected by boggy fields as much as the Russians.
The death and destruction is absolutely appalling and unforgivable. But on another level the strategist in me finds the abstract lines on a map quite interesting.
So far as the death and destruction is concerned, a good thing is that Ukraine is trying to evacuate citizens from population centres in the east that are likely to be in the line of Russian fire. So hopefully there shouldn't be lots of civilian casualties in those areas as we have seen before.
BTW I started watching that series you recommended ÿday "Secret City''. It looks really good and relevant to our strategic situation down here.
… concentrate more on suffering and death from warmongers
I totally agree.
Vietnam war: 2,000,000 civilian deaths
Iraq war: 208,167 civilian deaths
Yemen War: Estimated 111,000, up to a quarter children.
Afghanistan war: 46,319 civilian deaths
Drone strikes since 911: >22,000 at least, possibly as high as 48,000
What will be interesting is how soon and where the Russians deploy from Izium. That will give a good idea of their tactics. From sources I have seen, the Russians are heavily bombarding Ukrainian dug in positions in the east which suggests they may be planning to try and break through soon.
I am sure that Putin will declare a win on May 9th regardless. I guess the problem for the Russians is, if they go for the slow build-up option, it gives the Ukranians a lot more time to get tooled up with better equipment and get trained in more modern systems the West can provide.
My take on this now is that the West has changed its perspective a bit. Rather than trying to set up an insurgency after a Russian take over, the strong performance of the Ukranians means the West wants to try and prevent Russia from being able to claim a win in Ukraine as this would just embolden Putin to keep on going.
9 May is the date Russia holds its victory parade ie the date Russia won the 2nd ww. 12000 plus troops and all the modern weapons on show. What's not for Putin to love.
The Ukrainians need more Armour for it's Combined Arms TTP's, yes it's the muddie seasons & once the ground dries out its going to be a fluid Battle Zone.
The Ukranian Armoured Corps has been very quiet so far, but what I've seen so of the Ukrainian Armoured TTP's they are 1k times better than the Russians.
Sloviansk Pocket is going to the next crucial battle for the Ukrainians, if they can hold without only major losses.
Then the Ukranian Military have a chance of doing some serious damage to the Russians especially if the Ukrainian Forces manage to bump the Russians out of the Kherson.
Yes, Anne, reading Soper's cynical bitter column on Dr Bloomfield makes one almost sorry for his new baby growing up with a parent/parents like that. I can never understand why the Herald has a stable full of columnists like Soper, mostly older males. What joyless, miserable people they all are.
It only took a couple of reads of Soper, to never again bother with Soper. And yes, there's a whole pack of them, and they're not worth the time either. Their task is supplying anger in soundbites, daily ammo to 'own the libs' in the form of some moronic bumper sticker.
Don't feed the professional trolls. What they say isn't controversial, it's horse shit.
Bloomfield has had to negotiate NZ through the biggest catastrophe since WW2.
The herald stable of treasonous poisonous traitors have no empathy for Ashley Bloomfeild who has had the biggest burden on his shoulders of any single person since WW2.
Regarding the political right's scorn over Ashley Bloomfield's resignation.
They had good reason to hate Bloomfield, because he repeatedly told them what they didn't want to hear, stood by it and resisted all their attempts to undermine his work.
The political right have few principles and don't like it when their opponents stand fast.
And as far as Jacinda is concerned there is also a certain amount of misogynistic jealousy too. Some elements hate it that we have a female PM who is a real leader.
The convergence of they stole the election and mistrust of liberal democracy vaccine mandates – the white race Christian identity movement of Putin (eastern Tsar) of the GOP and the crusade for totalitarian kingdom come power.
At events across the United States, it is not unusual for participants to describe encountering the divine and feel they are doing their part to install God’s kingdom on earth. For them, right-wing political activity itself is becoming a holy act.
“Christians are the ones that are responsible for granting you and myself the right and authority over government,”
“I lay the key of David upon you,” Anthony Kern, a candidate for the Arizona State Senate who was photographed on the Capitol steps on Jan. 6, 2021, proclaimed to the crowd from the stage, paraphrasing a biblical passage about power given by God. “That means the governmental authority is upon you, men and women.”
SPC, it’s the rise of Christian Nationalism, and the splitting of the American church into a militaristic, heretical cult enslaved to Republican propaganda vs the traditional faith and progressive churches who actually know what the Gospel teaches.
The Maga/Q nuts are ideologically similar to Putin’s crazed regime of Russian nationalism, they are spawned from the same toxic brew of paranoia, white supremacy, and personality cult of a dictator supposedly chosen by God. And the enemy is inhuman, satanic, utterly corrupt, and cheating the true believers out of their rightful inheritance. Only a “final solution” can cleanse the earth of this (shadow projection of themselves) great evil
It matters not where the defaults occur, they destroy liquidity and reduce the propensity for credit creation…..and 400k for drilling hands, really! bloody hell thats ridiculous especially in an industry that has lost billions to date.
As the price rises more fields become economic.Without the transport constraint of of oil from large tankers (freight margin around 13bbl) their is a higher local premium.
IEA has announced a further 60 million bbls from strategic reserves,(megan woods to wave our futures contract around soon) ,tends to remove the margin players long positions.
We as part of the IEA are also supposed to have started a conservation campaign,seems to have been overlooked.
Jacinda Ardern needs to have a few stern words to Poto Williams after this interview.
"Williams said she was "not over the detail" despite 1News having sent the details to her office, and described it as an "operational matter to the police".
Luckily for Poto, Helen Clark is not the PM else she would probably be packing up her office today. Poto needs to get over the detail. She's the minister.
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The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
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Bucha killings.
Fool me once…..
Hard path to justice in Bucha atrocities
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Sunday that “not a single civilian has faced any violent action by the Russian military,”
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/war-crimes-watch-hard-path-justice-bucha-atrocities-83866892
Russian missiles slamming into apartment buildings in Mariupol say otherwise,
Hyperbole? Lying? Take your pick.
The first thing to determine about the Bucha massacre; Did the Bucha killings actually take place and in the manner described?
Or was this massacre faked, or 'staged'? – as the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has publicly alleged.
With all the claims and counter claims swirling around, I am reminded of the Douma gas attack in Syria, or even further back, the Katyn massacre of captured Polish officers during WWII. To this day the Russians claim the German's did it. The Germans (and the Poles) claim the Russians did it.
What is uncontested about the Katyn Forest, is that a massacre took place there, The captured Polish officers were massacred by someone.
What is contested about the Bucha massacre, is that it ever took place at all.
If it is determined that the Bucha Massacre was not 'staged' or faked, as the Russian Foreign Minister has alleged. That in fact, this massacre of civilians did occure: Then the next question to determine; who committed it?".
At this far remove at the other end of the world, the weight of evidence presented to us, is that the massacre of civilians in Bucha was committed by the Russian forces during their occupation of the town.
Jenny if you are going to use past form(of denial) to predict current culpabilities you may have to widen your range(in the interests of fairness)
Ukraine to this day is denying the full scale of its actions
I see your massacre and raise you a Holodomor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor
Millions Murdered
When it comes to denial, the apologists for Russian and imperialism and Assad fascism need to look at themselves.
Amid the fog of war and the competing narratives over the atrocity committed in Bucha. I know one thing for sure;
Apologists for Russian aggression and Assad fascism like yourself, will argue endlessly over the reality, or not, of one single act of atrocity. Just as you did over the gas attack on Douma in Syria.
But one thing you won't do Francesca, is address the undeniable evidence of the genocidal nature of the war itself.
As the dead lie beneath the rubble of Borodyanka, the gruesome toll could be worse than Bucha
I recognise the genocidal nature and cruelty of all wars, and I recognise and call out the propaganda that attempts to make us believe that our "enemies"are monsters but we are kind and just.
Yes. Things would get interesting if the dead turned out to be known Russian sympathisers.
You state " To this day " the russians claim the germans killed the poles etc not quite true considering in 1990 Yeltsin released the execution orders signed by stalin to the new polish president Lech walesa .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katyn_massacre#Post-communist_investigations
Yes and I stand by my statement.
Since Yeltsin's day, under Putin's rule, the admission by Russia of Russian culpability for the Katyn Massacre is being rolled back.
After 80 Years, The ‘Katyn Lie’ Lives On In Russia
https://www.rferl.org/a/after-80-years-the-katyn-lie-lives-on-in-russia/30470317.html
Glad you amended your original statement jenny i think its as well to remember that the soviet bear has been known to recover its memory from time to time .The world is bleak and depressing enough without painting it black cover to cover .
I don't think there is any doubt that the Russians committed the atrocities. As I pointed out yesterday, satellite images at the time of Russian occupation have been geolocated to where bodies have been found.
If anything, this type of event is actually working against the Russians because it is motivating other countries to get in behind Ukraine.
For example, here is a great interview with Roberta Metsola, president of the European Union. She has just met with Zelenskyy. Well worth spending the 7 minutes to watch it.
According to her, the Ukranians are fighting on behalf of Europe, and she wants to make sure that Russia is never again able to attack European countries.
On a side note, she seems to be an outstanding politician, of a calibre far higher than anyone we have in New Zealand.
Also, after having taken an interest (or obsession) in this conflict, I have been very impressed with the quality of news and investigative journalism on the likes of DW and France 24. Makes our stuff seem very fluffy and weak. Having said that, they are able to have channels that are just full time news, unlike us here.
While we we wait for actual proof of culpability to this horrific event from actual professionals in this field, (trial by a biased media is proof of nothing)…don't you find it somewhat incongruous that no MSM have covered this horrific event (please be aware that the video is extremely disturbing, viewer discretion is advised) at all..why is that you think?
Satellite image of bodies site contradicts Russian claims
I am not going to get into armchair speculation on this matter….you and others on this site would do well to remember this old adage "The first casualty of war is the truth"…as I keep trying to remind people, all western MSM have declared war on Russia, they have picked a side, that is just a plain fact,,,therefore they have negated their positions as impartial news outlets…..so everything they report has to be regarded, by anyone who is actually concerned with the truth… as suspect, am I wrong?
The exact same logic applies to the Russians. The same people who six weeks ago were solemnly assuring the world there would be no invasion of Ukraine.
Yet here we are. In politics you can debate facts, ideas and nuance all you want. In war you pick a side and fight for it – or get crushed.
You have clearly picked the side of boundless cruelty.
No RedLogix, unlike you I haven't picked a side….if I were in the Ukraine (but not a Russian speaking Ukrainian in the Donbass) I would be fighting the Russian today you can be sure of that….however I am not in the position, so I (and you) have the luxury of being able to appraise the conflict from a much wider perspective.
I believe that it is exactly because we are in this privileged position to observe and appraise the conflict from this distance, that it is essential for us to remain neutral, try and negotiate our way through the fog of war, and remain steadfast in our efforts to seek out only the facts and truth…that’s all I am trying to do here.The only reason why it sometimes look like I am pro Russia is because I am pushing back against the obvious propaganda that our media spews out daily…but you can be sure that if I were in Russia, I would be doing exactly same vigorous critiquing of their propaganda on some Russian version of TS.
I know that remaining neutral is impossible for you, that is your choice and I respect that, but please respect my position of neutrality.
Sort of why I wanted this sorted out via diplomacy.
But I am not capable of neutrality after one side starts a war – multi-lateral collective security of nations.
That Russia has nukes and a UNSC veto is the only reason there is not a plan for foreign troops to occupy the Kremlin and remove Putin by force.
Just adding more info to balance the page for readers.
I think “Whatever the source, address the content” is a good call.
“Whatever the source, address the content” …I would agree in normal times, however as western MSM have willfully become a propaganda arm of the Ukrainian govt, exactly where does one even start to address the content, when that is the starting point? ….That is the problem, a very serious problem, don't you agree?
Think about it, we have now ended up with not one western MSM source that we can rely on for news of Ukraine, doesn't that bother you?…this is exactly why I so often bang on about 'Fair and Balanced Reporting' in our media as a primary problem in our search for the truth.
You've already decided the western media are propaganda tools so clearly the link wasn't for you.
Maybe leave it to those inclined to seek another perspective and concentrate on the juxtaposition of that rapid decision with the one that wants to wait and see about russian war crimes in Bucha.
So we can assume by your none answers to my questions, that you find MSM content on Ukraine to be, on the whole, fair and balanced then?
“those inclined to seek another perspective”…you see that is the problem…that ‘perspective’ you mention is the main one most people are exposed to…so if it extremely biased as I maintain…then that is a problem..no?
I'm self moderating so need need to wait for a discussion around what you, or I, think constitute balance.
So, as I'm not arguing with you or attempting to change your mind about anything, the best case outcome is people head off down their own rabbit holes and sift the truth out for themselves, with an eye to probability and credibility.
The truth is out there.
Adrian we know you have sympathies for Russia.
But complete destruction of suburbs bodies of civilians bound tortured and shot.
This is Putin our modern day megalomaniac.
Not Russia but a megalomaniac dictator.
You can ignore all the photos,videos etc.
But ever since Zelensky was elected by an overwhelming majority Putin has had it in for him.
Zelensky was a comedian fed up with corruption turned politician as a joke.
Tricledown , did you miss the fact that prior to the invasion Zelensky's pollings were trailing in the 20s and as far as his efforts against corruption go, he's sponsored by the most corrupt oligarch Kolomoisky, and he himself was shown up hiding wealth offshore .
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/oct/03/revealed-anti-oligarch-ukrainian-president-offshore-connections-volodymyr-zelenskiy
Truth in language alert, only one party has declared war – Russia, and in invading Ukraine it has in a sense done so against the international regime – the collective security of nations. Because it has nukes and a veto on the UNSC .. it thinks it it can do what it likes.
The idea that the western MSM, not any other MSM such as in China or Russia, cannot be relied on for truth is a definition of partisanship – not truth seeking.
And of course the central "fact" of the sovereign citizen movement and every other social media rabbit warren cult on earth is that it alone has the truth. That form of the force is with us is a secular variant of end of the world uber Zionism and related Christian and Moslem theocracy.
"The idea that the western MSM, not any other MSM such as in China or Russia, cannot be relied on for truth is a definition of partisanship – not truth seeking"…When exactly did I say or imply that?
I am happy use any western MSM and any other MSM sources when I believe they a useful.
BTW, The last part of your comment didn't make any sense…what were trying to say there?
In every comment about western media in 2 above.
What I said, I was not trying, was that many claim to the truth is with them and them alone. A definition of a cult.
" that many claim to the truth is with them and them alone. A definition of a cult"….that sounds a lot like western MSM….link me to one serious debate or discussion on western MSM from someone serious, pushing back against the 'Russiagate' conspiracy during the Trump era.
Note that western MSM only maintained one truth on that issue…I think you find the same 'single truth' narrative around the Douma gas attack incident…I could go on but you get the idea I am sure.
So if I apply your definition, Western MSM is a cult of some sort.
So you define cult as what you are against, rather than note the common characteristics of them …
According to her, the Ukranians are fighting on behalf of Europe, and she wants to make sure that Russia is never again able to attack European countries.
It is much more likely the Ukranians are fighting on behalf of the US. After all, what were McCain, Biden and Nuland doing in Kyev around 2013 or 2014?
Why would Russia, these days, wish to attack European countries anyway?
Funny question, given it's doing exactly that.
But assuming a good faith question, one particular stand-out feature of the vagaries of post-Soviet geography is Kaliningrad. Can you think of any reason some Baltic states lying between Kaliningrad and the rest of Russia might be shitting themselves at the moment, given the current Russian expansionist imperialism? What about Moldova and Transnistria?
And then there are the innumerable opportunities for border expansion, a little piece here or there…
Ukraine is not really part of Europe, though some of its citizens apparently would like it to be. This whole sorry mess grew out of the events in 2014 when Yanukovich, who was at the time the Ukrainian president, failed in his attempt to join Europe. Putin seems to have seen this attempt, after Yanukovich's ousting, together with a desire to join NATO, as an existential threat to Russia. Hence the invasion.
The invasion seems to have been a defensive move on Putin’s part. He ain’t no Napoleon Bonaparte.
Despite the blatant stupidity of that comment, it is however the only thing that bears any relevance to my response to your question as to why some definitely European countries (in addition to the country in eastern Europe called Ukraine) might be worried that the authoritarian kleptocracy controlling Russia might wish to invade their territory, too.
Russia, of course, famously spans two continents. But Ukraine is firmly in Europe, well west of the Urals.
Maybe you should read Chris Trotter's latest article tsmithfield.
https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2022/04/forgetting-to-remember-news-coverage-of.html
What worries me is that RadioNZ seems to be cravenly followed the "plucky little Ukraine" line without questioning whether there is a factual basis for the reports coming out of the war. The NZ public deserve better.
Yes, fair points made in that article. That is why I think it is wise to seek sources that don't have a dog in the fight. Though, that is hard to find.
After reading all the stuff on here about the media bias, for one side or the other, maybe RadioNZ should not report anything about what is going on except to say "there is conflict in Ukraine." (Maybe there will be some who say even that is propaganda.)
If they carry a story about a number of deaths I suppose the information has come from someone. Who is to say the information is true? If they carry a story about anything to do with not all the information has come from someone. Who is to say the information is true?
Trotter gets it right on Ukraine again here.
https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2022/04/bloody-anniversaries.html
I wonder where these lovely tenants will end up living now? I doubt the landlord will ever see any of the $10k owed. There should be a register of bad tenants and a bad landlords so people can avoid either renting to them or becoming their tenant.
Christchurch tenants ordered to pay landlord $10,000 after damage, meth use, robbery, abandonment – NZ Herald
They will probably end up being State housing tenants for life as no other landlord in their right mind would let them rent their house, and unfortunately you and me will end up paying for them.
Great, more poverty porn from the Herald…yuk.
"There should be a register of bad tenants and a bad landlords so people can avoid either renting to them or becoming their tenant"
Have you, or do you know anyone who has trying getting into a rental lately?….they have to jump through every hoop that the landlord can possibly make up…and then some more for good measure…but what single reference does the landlord have to provide to that hopeful tenant?
And because of tenants like these, that is exactly why there are so many hoops to jump through. Their "CV" would not make good reading and I wouldn't wish them on any landlord. The landlord is the one with a property at risk. The tenant risks nothing.
But I still believe there should also be a register of the bad landlords.
Nonsense. Hoops have existed for years – many of my Maori staff twenty years ago struggled to get rentals. It was called racism.
That they have increased (hoops that is) is not due to bad tenants – it's due to the bull-dozing of state houses, the massive increase in immigration without a building program to go with it, the massive subsidisation of landlords through accommodation supplement and tax breaks, reduced taxation of the wealthy freeing up capital, the realisation after the Canterbury Earthquakes by landlords they could get away with charging a fortune, the lack of rent controls, bloody-mindedness by some landlords like the one who told me he put all his rents up to piss off Jacinda, the loss of other government housing.
In short a deliberate and concerted effort to create a supply and demand shortage by capitalists. Bad tenants are the very least cause in the whole back to slum-lords and homelessness mess.
About those satellite images:
https://southfront.org/more-evidence-more-doubts-about-bucha-massacre/
From the NY Times article:
“The images show dark objects of similar size to a human body appearing on Yablonska Street between March 9 and March 11″
yet:
” However, according to the Institute of War report, the Russians did not control the south of the city from March 9 to 11. Attention should also be drawn to the statement of the General Staff of Ukraine on Facebook on March 10, which reads «the enemy is trying to break through the defenses of Ukraine’s defenders in the areas of Poliske, Kukhari, Zhovtneve, Andriyivka, Kopyliv, Motyzhyn, Buzova, Horenychi, Bucha, Demydiv, and block Kyiv». Next, the Institute of War, in its Facebook post of March 11, states that all attempts by the Russian army to take Bucha have failed.”
https://southfront.org/more-evidence-more-doubts-about-bucha-massacre/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SouthFront
'In 2016, Finnish journalist Jessikka Aro writing in Springer Link described SouthFront as "an allegedly citizen-sourced project that looks more like a suspicious information operation." Describing it as "a fascinating hybrid of revealingly detailed military intelligence and totally bogus stories," she said that the site's content centers on "the success of Russia's armed forces, and showing off Russia's weapons." '
Whatever the source, address the content
Article references the NYTimes article, Facebook entries of Ukrainian military and other verifiable sources.
It’s not an opinion piece
.If you dispute the validity of the references, offer counters to them or prove them to be false
Them thar facebook accounts prompted an FB phishing warning. Went as far as I could without logging in.
But despite that, nothing in your links actually contradicts the possibility that the people were killed in areas controlled by the Russians, or even the progress of events depicted in wikipedia (with considerable more precision than "in the area of [half a dozen major suburbs]").
What you, specifically, are saying is not what the sources for your article state.
Why am I not surprised…..
Zhao Lijian: "….. in a contrasting move to its (the USA) pressuring of European countries to not buy Russian oil, the US increased crude oil supplies from Russia by 43 percent, or 100,000 barrels per day, over the past week and allowed its companies to import mineral fertilizers from Russia. The ongoing war and sanctions have incurred an influx of refugees, capital outflow and energy shortage in Europe, but enabled the US to have profited and made a fortune from that"
Will be interesting if these claims pan out.
https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/PET_MOVE_IMPCUS_D_NUS_NRS_MBBL_M.htm
The US gets about 1 – 3% of its total crude oil from Russia. They get about 60-61% of oil from Canada.
The US public will not stand for gas prices even higher than they are (Witness how fast our own government folded after just 2 weeks).
Oil markets are now so roiled that even a partial oil sanction has driven India into the hands of Russia for perpetual oil supply. You can only mess with energy security so far.
So have they increased their oil imports from Russia by 43% or not…I guess that is the question, regardless of what overall percentage it is?
The sanctions such as they are, are altering Russian export flows. But the trades are going to get very shadowy.
Price-sensitive refiners in India are buying Urals crude at a discount to Brent crude prices of $25 per barrel or more.
In China, both independent refiners and state oil companies are buying ESPO blend and Urals volumes.
Russian off-the-radar transactions will grow and they make it hard to calculate the current market disruption with great precision: the revenue loss for Russia isn't going to be as big as hoped.
The US is generating enough pressure to be noticeable, but not so much that Russian accelerates a full geopolitical re-alignment of India into the Russia-China-Iran-Kazakhstan-Donbas oil power that is emerging.
This world does not need energy markets more destabilised than they are. So the US has smaller oil levers to operate than would be obvious.
Equally, it's very clear that only the US and Europe are really standing up to Russia at all – in energy or anything else.
Oh come on Ad
Putin and Lavrov can forget their holidays in Rotorua, and making supplies of potassium more expensive for NZ agriculturalists is really going to stick it to the Muscovites
Pretty simple Francesca:
United we stand, divided was fall.
Nothing to stop us falling united in a great economic collapse either.
Two comments above you were saying nothing would make a difference.
What makes a difference in this world is courage and planning. That's what unity feels like.
??
Can't recall saying nothing would make a difference
The purpose of Russian propaganda to twofold
1. to demonise Ukrainians as unworthy of life and self-determination
2. to convince us that the cost of upholding international norms – collective security of nations comes at too high a cost.
What's the purpose of western propaganda?
With the Tauranga by-election on May 19th, Climate Change plan coming out a week after that, and the Tauranga by-election on June 18th, government and National get the closest thing possible to a live straw poll.
What can Labour do now to turn their fortunes around?
'Post makes no sense Ad
Budget 2022 will be delivered on 19 May.
Budget policies will feed into the Tauranga election.
Two RBNZ mps statements before the election,lets not forget who really makes economic policy in the real world.
That is an absolutely uncharacteristic post from you it makes no sense please consider immediate medical attention as I am afraid your your blood oxygen may be way too low – this is not an attempt to harass or criticize I am concerned for your well being please seek medical help now
2022 Budget policies will feed into the Tauranga election.
Labour could promise every Tauranga citizen a million dollars each, dropped into their bank account the day after the bi-election – provided that the Labour candidate is elected…
And they would still lose.
This is not a poll on the government's performance. This is a bi-election is a safe blue seat.
The inevitable loss will mean nothing in the greater scheme of things.
The by election is on Saturday June 18. Does that help?
.
Well, for a start … stop wasting public money on 2 by-elections in the same electorate just a month apart. Seems just a little bit … extravagant … and vaguely indecisive.
Still, each to their own, I spoze.
[To be brutally honest, I’ve long favoured monthly by-elections in every geographical seat as a way of making politics much more interesting … so this would certainly seem to be a move in the right direction by the Govt]
To be brutally honest for someone who follows polls you have a dim view of democracy.
No, big believer in liberal democracy …unlike the affluent & autocratic Woke.
Keep it up Greens! Rent Freeze now, then Rent Control. Stick it up the bludging landlords.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300560111/green-party-pushes-for-rent-controls-hoping-house-and-rental-prices-will-fall?fbclid=IwAR1gQm4G8p8mZk16ojwxmApK2tlZiIO5uhQYy2AW4d4oTpJR1tGgqBjPWPk
And here is one way to deliver homes rather than just more misery.
All a Labour or National government would have to do is get rid of the Bright Line test for all new builds.
Watch the new rentals shoot up.
The new builds in the CBD in CHCH a high proportion already went to investors between 50-90 %,A high proportion went into short term accommodation.
A more sustainable outcome was to make them legalise their activity,change the rating,and increase their opex costs with building act requirements such as WOF.
Only need 10% of inventory to move back into the residential market,and that would increase the listed rental stock in CHCH by 25%.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/128264975/airbnb-slams-christchurchs-new-house-sharing-rules-as-most-restrictive-in-australasia
It might guarantee more new builds, not necessarily new rentals.
I say it might, because it depends on the market.
I will agree in that with a market at a high and interest rates sure to rise (prevent the market rising further) there is less prospect of build and profit. And more of have the equity to build and rent out because there is market demand for a place to live by those who cannot buy at these prices.
In the USA equity firms are buying up houses to rent out for the return. NZ Super Fund and Kiwi Saver may do the same.
Investing in new builds at the peak of the market, when interest rates are rising … is a game for those with equity and who can hold and earn rent income.
I don't know about "bludging landlords". However many seem to have been sucked into unwise investments by the interest deductibility subsidy.
Accommodation Supplements = Billions funneled to landlords
Read Soper's latest out of curiosity:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/barry-soper-why-there-was-no-point-sticking-around-for-ashley-bloomfield/OSLFTGIDSO5WL5VXVO57X6D2BM/
A bitter, bombastic, misogynistic, jealousy ridden racist rant of bile.
Feel free to add any further appropriate adjectives….
It was not as bad as I expected.
I would agree with Soper, it was clearly not a job that Bloomfield would have found tempting enough to stay on for. A year working with Little and then the 2023 election challenge to the administration (political attacks on the Maori Authority etc) and potential of having to work with National (and risk of being removed). So much easier to take a sabbatical, do some advisory/consulting work and wait for post 2023.
Sure the normal – better qualified older white men not having a job and younger women of colour having jobs is par for the course for those of his generation and ambition to remain in control. It's equal part legacy white man privilege and colonialism – no wonder he just loves Winnie, one who knew his place.
Spare me the nonsense. The man is exhausted and so are the other senior health officials. They don't want their lives snuffed out early with exhaustion-induced heart attacks and the like.
You and Soper should team up.
Do you know what sabbatical means?
What a sad reaction – me too tribalism us or them at its worst.
A realistic counter to the twisted conspiracy weaved by Soper:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/464787/ashley-bloomfield-s-resignation-he-felt-the-pressure-along-with-the-rest-of-us
In short, Bloomfield and senior colleagues are burnt out after 2 years of 12 hour days and 7 day working weeks. There is no conspiracy. Nor is there bad blood. He's made up the drivel about Ardern in an attempt to further vilify her.
Imo, he's gone too far this time and the Press Council should take action against him.
"Press Council should take action against him".
If you feel that strongly about it why don't you complain? Or have you already done so? If you aren't willing to go to the trouble of doing so then your statement is merely another of the "Someone outa do something" variety.
It is now (and has been since 2017) the New Zealand Media Council. The things you have to do in making a complaint are described here. I don't believe it costs anything to make a complaint but there are are a number of things you will have to do before they take the complaint up.
https://www.mediacouncil.org.nz/complaints/
Well, are you going to do it , or are you just going to complain here? Let us know how you get on won't you?
Yeah… knew that little line would come up. I know how to make complaints alwyn but it is up to the Press Council to police their own.
If I want to bawl someone out on this site I will do so. After all, you make quite a habit of it.
Now read the RNZ link @ 8.2 and get a handle on the facts of the case (warts n' all) rather than the Soper fiction.
I too agree with a lot of Soper's article. Why would Bloomfield wait around when his job was going to be changing.
Also, the prospect of working with Andrew Little would not be very tempting.
"I too agree with a lot of Soper's article."
You would wouldn't you. 😯
The war in Ukraine is reaching an interesting point.
From a strategic perspective, I think the Russians would be better to regroup, and reinforce the areas they have taken, and ensure they have a good solid foundation to base further attacks on.
However, Putin has put the pressure on his forces by declaring a victory by May 9th.
Therefore, in order to achieve something worth the effort, the Russians will have to go on the offensive again. This is likely to involve attempting to encircle Ukrainian forces in the east which are well dug in, and then try and take the whole Dombas region.
One option is to try and take the strategically important Sloviansk. The problem with that strategy is that Sloviansk is incredibly well defended, from what I have read. And I expect more Ukranian forces and assets no longer required up North will be deployed there. Therefore, as we have seen in Mariupol which is still fighting, this will be an incredibly hard nut to crack.
Another option is for the Russians to avoid Sloviansk by looping around it. But the Spring rains are coming, thus turning fields into a quagmire and confining tanks etc to the roads. Also, this strategy involves the problems of maintaining logistic supplies over a long distance. The problem that has plagued the Russians all along. This is going to allow the Ukrainians to continue to ambush convoys with a similar outcome to what the Russians have been experiencing thus far.
So, I think, rather than going on the offensive too much, at the moment, the Ukranians are best to dig in and let the Russians sustain more losses trying to attack defensive positions as they try and make gains to meet the progress that Putin is expecting.
Should be interesting times ahead. I hope the Ukranians are supplied with more long range missiles and the like that will allow them to target Russian artillary and ships that have been causing so much damage to civilian areas recently. And I hope they are provided with more long-range anti-aircraft capability to take on Russian bombers.
While the Ukranians are calling for more tanks, I am not sure that this is such at necessity at the moment as they will be affected by boggy fields as much as the Russians.
20 days out from ANZAC Day I'd concentrate more on suffering and death from warmongers, rather than abstract lines on a map from afar.
Agreed.
The death and destruction is absolutely appalling and unforgivable. But on another level the strategist in me finds the abstract lines on a map quite interesting.
So far as the death and destruction is concerned, a good thing is that Ukraine is trying to evacuate citizens from population centres in the east that are likely to be in the line of Russian fire. So hopefully there shouldn't be lots of civilian casualties in those areas as we have seen before.
BTW I started watching that series you recommended ÿday "Secret City''. It looks really good and relevant to our strategic situation down here.
I totally agree.
Vietnam war: 2,000,000 civilian deaths
Iraq war: 208,167 civilian deaths
Yemen War: Estimated 111,000, up to a quarter children.
Afghanistan war: 46,319 civilian deaths
Drone strikes since 911: >22,000 at least, possibly as high as 48,000
War is always horrible.
Zelensky is ignorant of history..
https://twitter.com/AP/status/1511365620310364169
It sort of depends whether the May date is real or not. The Russian tanks are viable in the east in the summer. And Ukraine has to prepare for that.
Sure Ukraine can lift siege by bombardment with better artillery and missile capability (range and numbers).
What will be interesting is how soon and where the Russians deploy from Izium. That will give a good idea of their tactics. From sources I have seen, the Russians are heavily bombarding Ukrainian dug in positions in the east which suggests they may be planning to try and break through soon.
I am sure that Putin will declare a win on May 9th regardless. I guess the problem for the Russians is, if they go for the slow build-up option, it gives the Ukranians a lot more time to get tooled up with better equipment and get trained in more modern systems the West can provide.
My take on this now is that the West has changed its perspective a bit. Rather than trying to set up an insurgency after a Russian take over, the strong performance of the Ukranians means the West wants to try and prevent Russia from being able to claim a win in Ukraine as this would just embolden Putin to keep on going.
9 May is the date Russia holds its victory parade ie the date Russia won the 2nd ww. 12000 plus troops and all the modern weapons on show. What's not for Putin to love.
The Ukrainians need more Armour for it's Combined Arms TTP's, yes it's the muddie seasons & once the ground dries out its going to be a fluid Battle Zone.
The Ukranian Armoured Corps has been very quiet so far, but what I've seen so of the Ukrainian Armoured TTP's they are 1k times better than the Russians.
Sloviansk Pocket is going to the next crucial battle for the Ukrainians, if they can hold without only major losses.
Then the Ukranian Military have a chance of doing some serious damage to the Russians especially if the Ukrainian Forces manage to bump the Russians out of the Kherson.
Russians
Yes, Anne, reading Soper's cynical bitter column on Dr Bloomfield makes one almost sorry for his new baby growing up with a parent/parents like that. I can never understand why the Herald has a stable full of columnists like Soper, mostly older males. What joyless, miserable people they all are.
It only took a couple of reads of Soper, to never again bother with Soper. And yes, there's a whole pack of them, and they're not worth the time either. Their task is supplying anger in soundbites, daily ammo to 'own the libs' in the form of some moronic bumper sticker.
Don't feed the professional trolls. What they say isn't controversial, it's horse shit.
Corporate cronies and psychophants.
Getting well paid to spread toxic untruths.
Bloomfield has had to negotiate NZ through the biggest catastrophe since WW2.
The herald stable of treasonous poisonous traitors have no empathy for Ashley Bloomfeild who has had the biggest burden on his shoulders of any single person since WW2.
Soper is our Lord haw haw.
Quite the shit list.
https://twitter.com/ashleygjovik/status/1511588538004873216
[…]
https://twitter.com/ashleygjovik/status/1511812771637194754
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1511588538004873216.html
Regarding the political right's scorn over Ashley Bloomfield's resignation.
They had good reason to hate Bloomfield, because he repeatedly told them what they didn't want to hear, stood by it and resisted all their attempts to undermine his work.
The political right have few principles and don't like it when their opponents stand fast.
They hate she is still there, and hate she is leading a business delegation to Asia.
That gets right up their nose.![devil devil](https://cdn2.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/ark-wysiwyg-comment-editor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/devil_smile.png?x42494)
And as far as Jacinda is concerned there is also a certain amount of misogynistic jealousy too. Some elements hate it that we have a female PM who is a real leader.
The convergence of they stole the election and mistrust of liberal democracy vaccine mandates – the white race Christian identity movement of Putin (eastern Tsar) of the GOP and the crusade for totalitarian kingdom come power.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/06/us/christian-right-wing-politics.html
SPC, it’s the rise of Christian Nationalism, and the splitting of the American church into a militaristic, heretical cult enslaved to Republican propaganda vs the traditional faith and progressive churches who actually know what the Gospel teaches.
The Maga/Q nuts are ideologically similar to Putin’s crazed regime of Russian nationalism, they are spawned from the same toxic brew of paranoia, white supremacy, and personality cult of a dictator supposedly chosen by God. And the enemy is inhuman, satanic, utterly corrupt, and cheating the true believers out of their rightful inheritance. Only a “final solution” can cleanse the earth of this (shadow projection of themselves) great evil
Peak money arises as the Fed reduces QE,and doubles down on signaled rates increases.
A trillion dollars to be removed from US economy this year.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fed-officials-weigh-shrinking-balance-180243725.html
A trillion plus whatever is removed by defaults.
More likely defaults in the large ne cities or california.Not so much in the Oilbelt with contract driller hands being offered 400k.
https://www.unitedvanlines.com/newsroom/movers-study-2021?#
It matters not where the defaults occur, they destroy liquidity and reduce the propensity for credit creation…..and 400k for drilling hands, really! bloody hell thats ridiculous especially in an industry that has lost billions to date.
Heavy diesel mechanics in mining in WA is offering 200k pa,plus fly in fly out to Perth 14 on 14 off,plus 12% super fully paid,free med etc.
Sustainable too.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/rural-news/2022-04-06/andrew-forrest-buys-cattle-stations-green-energy-production/100966340
True enough…(the numbers are a wee bit bigger now than i recall)….still 400K US and as said the industry has cost investors billions to date.
Thats confidence that sanctions will be effective and enduring…over confidence imo.
As the price rises more fields become economic.Without the transport constraint of of oil from large tankers (freight margin around 13bbl) their is a higher local premium.
Old pricing structure had them unprofitable under 50 USD a barrel….so say 60+ today….price has eased to low/mid 90s even while OPEC stands back.
IEA has announced a further 60 million bbls from strategic reserves,(megan woods to wave our futures contract around soon) ,tends to remove the margin players long positions.
We as part of the IEA are also supposed to have started a conservation campaign,seems to have been overlooked.
https://twitter.com/IEA/status/1511444829712039939?cxt=HHwWhoCyyZHE3fkpAAAA
Maybe the working from home part may be unpalatable to hospitality.
Hospitality has more problems than public servants working from home ….but i guess every little bit helps.
I think hospitality has more problems from landlords wanting market rent increases,when bums on seats are decreasing.
That old real estate bubble causing problems everywhere.
But dog forbid we mock and deride these folk and their economic anxiety.
https://twitter.com/stphnfwlr/status/1510663380314783744
Just say Space Force like Trevor Noah channeling Trump and then consider how children learn to imitate "adult" behaviour …
Anatomically correct puppets …
Timely reminder. Dr Dan Goyal:
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1511590788647604226.html
Jacinda Ardern needs to have a few stern words to Poto Williams after this interview.
"Williams said she was "not over the detail" despite 1News having sent the details to her office, and described it as an "operational matter to the police".
https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/04/06/kiwis-having-to-wait-longer-and-longer-for-police-help/
Luckily for Poto, Helen Clark is not the PM else she would probably be packing up her office today. Poto needs to get over the detail. She's the minister.
It is an operational matter.
That's a Costa issue. Poto can't control that and shouldn't interfere.
Rabid feral at US capitol bites 9
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-07/viral-capitol-fox-put-down-biting-nine-people-officials/100973484
I always try to avoid fox news.