One of the political catchcries of the past few years has been about 'defunding the police.' Naturally there is enough wriggle room in those actual words to turn them into anything anyone wants. Like turning Jan 6 into a 'tourist visit.'
Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has done many fine impressions of a cretin, wants to pare back staff in the IRS. Recently they weren't staffed well enough to do their core job:
"The IRS did not even begin auditing Trump’s taxes until 2019, on the same day the committee began asking the agency about them. This is outrageous, and it must be investigated…
So what happened here? It’s possible that the IRS was aware of all the controversy around Trump’s taxes and simply didn’t want any part of it. That’s inexcusable, but it’s not nefarious.
A more troubling explanation is possible—even likely: that Trump used the levers of government to shield himself from scrutiny."
My pick is that any cuts to staffing in that department will be more than taken up with person power she wants utilised to turn Hunter Biden into a criminal.
I always remember from way back the fact that one B52 bomber cost twice the Peace Corps budget
I have met quite a few wonderful American PC people in my travels working wonders for poor third orld people and much enhancing Americas reputation. If only they had canned a couple of dozen B52’s and diverted the cash into more PC work…..
China is marking its first Lunar New Year since 2020 without Covid-19 domestic travel restrictions and more than 2 billion people are expected to travel over the next 40 days.
But the abrupt changes have exposed many of China's 1.4 billion population to the virus for the first time, triggering a wave of infections that is overwhelming some hospitals, emptying pharmacy shelves of medicines and causing long lines to form at crematoriums.
Editor's Note: Republicans now control the House. It's time to investigate the Biden family and Democrats and hold them accountable for their corruption.
I think you are confusing riot with "coup"…maybe go ask all your new pals in the US security state what a coup actually looks like….I would list US backed coup’s but the list would be too long more like …”chickens coming home to roost” as once said….
"coup d’état, also called coup, the sudden, violent overthrow of an existing government by a small group. The chief prerequisite for a coup is control of all or part of the armed forces, the police, and other military elements.'
"riot, in criminal law, a violent offense against public order involving three or more people. Like an unlawful assembly, a riot involves a gathering of persons for an illegal purpose. In contrast to an unlawful assembly, however, a riot involves violence."
See joe…here is an actually coup, going on today, right now, one that will actually badly effect the poor and working class….guess it just wasn't part of your twitter feed……
"The US ambassador in Peru, Lisa Kenna, worked for the CIA for 9 years, as well as the Pentagon. One day before the coup against elected left-wing President Pedro Castillo, Kenna met with Peru’s defense minister, who then ordered the military to turn against Castillo."
Longtime Republican activist Matt Schlapp is facing backlash after a new report alleged that the chair of the American Conservative Union (ACU) groped a male staffer working on Herschel Walker's Senate campaign.
Following Thursday's report in The Daily Beast, social media users took to Twitter to criticize Schlapp, the lead organizer of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), for anti-gay views that he's helped promote and spotlight over the years at the world's largest and most influential gathering of conservatives.
"This story is rock solid," journalist Michelangelo Signorile tweeted on Thursday. "Schlapp has allowed the most horrific anti-LGBTQ bile at CPAC. Another GOP hypocrite."
So the sad result of the GOP speaker action this week is that it has now become clear that certain elements within the GOP are more anti-war than anybody within the Democratic party…this is how far to the Right the Liberal (left) has become.
"The emerging deal Kevin McCarthy is discussing to make him speaker of the House could make agreements on new defense spending impossible next year"
Imagine the Squad pushing for real progressive change and holding power to ransom to get it??…but of course we all know that would never happen, nope just a bunch of boot lickers, who as it turns out, really seem to appeal to other knee bending book licking Liberals…yuk.
Oh look, the only socialist in the village thinks a corrupt petro-state with nukes bolted on should be allowed unopposed and with impunity, to revert to it's cruel, imperialist expansionism and invade it's sovereign neighbour, commit war crimes, impose a brutal and barbaric rule of occupation on civilian populations, engage in the indiscriminate killing of those they can't subjugate, loot the place and then demolish what's left.
I have absolutely no idea why you think that the left should be "anti-war" when all of the historical evidence is that they are not.
After all the USSR that purportably leftish federation invaded Poland and Finland without any cause apart from naked imperialistic greed. Our second world war government was Labour. The US was run by
What has been clear, the USSR aside (it seems to always been more imperialistic and authoritarian than left and (as someone of polish descent) was also impossible to distinguish from czarism, is that left governed states are not interested in imperialistic wars. Where imperialism is defined as annexing territory or setting up protectorates.
Left governments are very resistent to imperialist attacks. They tend to follow previous treaties that they have signed.
Historically imperialistic states like the Russian Federation or the USSR or Nazi Germany or Fascist Italy ignore the treaties, invade and annex.
Conservative right states are generally notable for tending to be isolationist.and often run down military capabilities
So the US and UK are signatories to a treaty guaranteeing Ukrainian security support Ukraine act in support. Other signatories like the China do what is in their equivalent guarantees.
Whereas Russia violated their guarantees of Ukrainian security going so far as to start implicitly waving nukes in their pronouncements. Plus of course they attempted to annex parts of Ukraine.
I think that you are confusing leftist with being a a dumbarse pacifist. Which in my view just makes you the village idiot incapable of seeing anything except your rather strange ideas that is totally divorced from reality.
The best defence against bullies is not to roll over, suck your damn thumb and hope it all goes away. It is to ally with like minded and deal with the ambitions of brutes collectively.
No one who knows me has ever accused me of being, or even supporting pacificism as an ideology (though I do in principle, and in a perfect world of course) …no, I am all for armed revolutions and national defence in the right circumstances.
The problem with you, is that you are so wrapped up in your one dimensional western world view, that it is you and not I who obviously believe we live in a perfect world, well you must do, because that is exactly the world view you are presenting ….a mythical world where Superpowers will just shrug their shoulders in regards to their perceived boarder security…except it is not a perfect world iprent, so no matter how long and how loud Russia and the most serious geo-political, Russia and Ukrainian experts from all sides and from all around the world (including Bidens own CIA director Williams Burns) have been saying that NATO expansion to Ukraine was Russia’s Red Line (rightly or wrongly), and they have all have been ignored for decades…with devastating but predicted results.
This war could have been easily avoided had there been serious negotiations around the Minsk accords which as Merkle has made quite clear, were never under serious consideration, but only used to buy time to arm and train Ukraine (by NATO as a NATO fighting force)….now you tell me, if China were arming and training the Mexican army, do you think America would stand by…or France/UK or any other Superpower in the world who were in the same circumstances?
The other major problem with you and so many other here on TS, is you don’t seem to get the idea that to understand is not to condone.
Lastly, if you really think the US or the UK give even one single shit about the Ukraine or the lives of Ukrainians then you have even less geo-political insight than I thought…they are merely geo-political pawns to the West because of their position on a map and nothing more…that is the tragedy.
BTW, I agree with most of the first part of you comment about the Left/Right…not all, but we’ll leave that to another time.
"The best defence against bullies is not to roll over, suck your damn thumb and hope it all goes away. It is to ally with like minded and deal with the ambitions of brutes collectively."
It looks more like pig-shit on an oyster shell to me; Francesca. But at least better than the unformed excrement of the initial comment (@ 6.0). "Yuk" indeed.
Temp ORary..Argue my points if you can…but I suspect you’re far too lazy…if that is the case then maybe don’t bother commenting at all until you have something interesting or constructive or funny to add…it might be interesting to see if any of those three are within your reach…probably not.
Adrian Thornton, as far as I can discern from your original comment (@ 6.0) you are annoyed at "the Squad" for not preventing USA military aid to Ukraine. I didn't click on the link you provided, (because it was munged and I don't trust you) but the phrase seems to refer to a paywalled Bloomberg article by Tiron et al. What is not evident is what 8 of 435 USA congress members particularly have to do with that. It's not like their attempt to hold the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act ransom to the passage of the Build Back Better Act wasn't defeated by more Republicans crossing the floor.
But moving on to your reply to lprent (@ 6.2.1). Again – lots of munged links that I am not disposed to click through. But your argument seems to rest on the perception of Russia being a superpower – which it just isn't. The USSR back last century; sure, but not the present-day Russian Federation. Very dangerous and possessing nuclear weapons; yes, but lacking global influence. In a similar way that the British Empire was once a superpower, but the 2020's UK really isn't (let alone France!) – despite its nuclear armed military and pretensions to the contrary.
All I can say to your contribution is that at least Adrian does attempt to come up with an argument . Better than someone like you who found that being specialised as a dumb critic suited you.
Putin just says anything to justify his imperialist invasion. Nato? Also justified with anti-satanism, restoring claimed historic lands, denazification, defending speakers of the Russian language…?
Can you show anywhere NATO interest in invading Russia? While Russia has invaded and brutally oppressed multiple neighbours, creating the interest in joining NATO by many former Russian colonies.
Are you actually being serious?…NATO’s primary objective has always been one of antagonism toward Russia…and remember here that Russia had seriously tried to get NATO membership in 1954 a year after Stains death and before the formation of the Warsaw Pact, but of course they were turned down…now I wonder who was behind that refusal?…could it be having an enemy is better for business than having a friend?
Anyway, as I explained, Russia is acting exactly as predicted by most serious observers…and exactly as how every other Superpower would have reacted..now I will also state yet again, that me pointing out this undeniable fact does not mean I condone Russia's actions…just understand cause and effect in geo-politics…something that obviously seems to escape you.
Can you show anywhere NATO interest in invading Russia?
Reading your reply, seems your answer is no.
Exploration of a plan in 1945 by Churchill to fight the soviet conquest of central Europe is not NATO planning to invade Russia (wasn't NATO, and that plan didn't seem to involve invading Russia, only non-Russian territories that Russia had claimed conquest of – and where Russia subsequently spent decades oppressing and murdering the locals).
Molotov being denied membership of NATO in 1954…is not NATO showing interest in invading Russia either.
Countries join NATO by signing a voluntary agreement. Countries joined the USSR by being invaded by Russia.
Glad you don't condone Russia's actions in relation to Ukraine.
If Ukraine joined NATO and the latter then installed missiles on Russia's border one can understand Russia seeing this as a hostile act. Compare this with 1962, when Kruschev attempted to install missiles on Cuban soil, and note Kennedy's reaction to that.
If Ukraine joined NATO and the latter then installed missiles on Russia's border one can understand Russia seeing this as a hostile act.
If..And…Sounds like a reason to have diplomacy and discussion with Ukraine (and try this – better relations), not a reason to launch an unprovoked pre-emptive bloody war. While you justify with "cos NATO" – Russia also justifies with naked empire building, fake "denazification", "desatanisation", and anti-LGBT.
Perhaps if Russia stopped invading all her neighbours, former Russian colonies would be less keen to join a defensive alliance?
If it happens it will probably then be too late for Russia to do anything, because it will not just be Ukraine that they will have to fight but the whole of NATO, so a pre-emptive strike is justified.
Basically that is a completely bullshit rationalisation for a pre-emptive invasion. Not to mention demonstrating that you are a gormless lazy fool who sucks up propaganda and doesn't research – yet again. Perhaps you'd actually do some study for a change. So I'll provide the some basic links for your education.
Have you ever actually looked at the process to join NATO? It has a lot of conditions, requirements and processes to go through.
This is political in that any exiting member state can veto. The downside is that getting obnoxious without a reasonable cause could cause the recalcitrant member to be evicted (you'd should look at the history with Turkey and Greece inside NATO).
But more importantly, in military terms. The aspirational member has to be able to work within the NATO military frameworks and doctrines. That is a hard and often long process.
The process usually takes decades and involves a lot of work. Aspirations to join simply aren't enough, and Ukraine hadn't demonstrated that it was ready in either a political (relatively unstable) or military (not doctrine compatible) way to do so.
In 1994 both Russia and Ukraine joined a help program Partnership for Peace which is about establishing trust between NATO and other countries. That was currently the only formal precursor to NATO members that Ukraine was involved in.
If that is your apparent only criteria for readiness for acceptance into NATO – then the Russian Federation should try invading itself.
At the time that Russia invaded, Ukraine had long held aspirations to join NATO. In 2002, Ukraine has applied for a precursor for aspirants to membership – MAP. However it withdrew from that in 2010 both for internal political issues in Ukraine and because they had problems with adjusting their force structures to something that could work within NATO.
However their military structure simply wasn't going to be accepted under the NATO Article 10 membership process. That was why they hadn't started any formal attempt to enter NATO.
In 2005, Ukraine joined a relatively informal process "Intensified Dialogue", which was a process that just looked at helping aspirants for NATO membership in how to adjust their armed forces to fit within the military mutual defence of NATO. In the 17 years since, there has been little progress in that process.
Even if Russia withdrew back to pre-2014 borders. It would still take a decades for Ukraine to be able to join NATO. It's current military structure even after all of the doctrine and weaponry updates under Russian military pressure still won't fit within a NATO military structure. It will take decades to achieve that.
Ukraine finally did formally request NATO membership in September 2022 – seven months after Russia invaded. The application was only accepted because
If memory serves me that was after Putin announced that Russia was going to unilaterally annex parts of Ukraine, and in a act of aggressive intent included parts that Russia wasn't even in control of. Which
By comparison Finland and Sweden were militarily compatible with NATO forces. Consequently their NATO membership application last year, triggered by Russian Federation imperialist aggression, are getting close to the point that acceptance may actually happen this decade.
Basically NATO is very picky about membership. Its biggest recruiter has been the behaviour of the Russian imperialism. Both you and the propagandists of the Russia Federation are essentially complaining that Ukraine was aspiring to join NATO. Not that NATO was actively trying to recruit Ukraine.
The only formal relationship that NATO had with Ukraine prior to the invasion by Russia, was the same as one that Russia also had with NATO.
If Ukraine joined NATO and the latter then installed missiles on Russia's border one can understand Russia seeing this as a hostile act.
Your argument is complete crap. There were no NATO missiles installed in Ukraine. There were no no formal military treaties like that between Cuba and the USSR in 1961 or Turkey's membership in NATO.
Any deeper military relationship between NATO and Ukraine was decades in the future. It would have required that Ukraine wanted to change its military forces to ones that would fit within the NATO military framework.
Sure there were some strong indications that was their intent after 2014 – like adding their intent into the Ukrainian constitution in 2019.
But that was after the Russian Federation had forsworn its guarantees from the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances and invaded and unilaterally annexed Crimea after a fake 'referendum'. It was probably pushed further by the Russian Federation fomenting and supplying a insurrection with equipment and 'off-duty' troops in a portion of eastern Ukraine. Russia was actively pushing Ukraine to any allies it could find against their neighbours agression.
Please educate yourself, and stop presenting the kind of psuedo intellectual self-mastubation that you seem to love on this topic.
Russia apparently has been moving military equipment towards the Finnish border, a development which seems to have stemmed from Finland's decision to join NATO.
Countries join NATO by signing a voluntary agreement. Countries joined the USSR by being invaded by Russia.
I think that you're kind of confused. Perhaps you should look at the extent of the Russian Empire in 1914 on the eve of World War I.
And the size of the USSR in 1922.
There wasn't much (if any) added territory from conquest. In fact I remember that the USSR lost territory to Poland and some other areas.
After WW2 the USSR gained some territory. But it wasn't much, and I believe that the successor states to the Soviet Socialist Republics that obtained those still retain them. But it wasn't large amounts of territory except in Finland and Poland (?).
The Soviet Union took over areas formerly controlled by Germany, Finland, Poland, and Japan.
UncookedSelachimorpha: I suspect that what you are trying to talk about were the nation states that joined the Warsaw Pact after that formed. In which case you should look closely at Albania, Romania, Mongolia and Yugoslavia and their history with the Warsaw Pact. It directly contradicts your assertion.
they are merely geo-political pawns to the West because of their position on a map and nothing more…that is the tragedy.
I guess that you have absolutely no truck with the idea that a nation state or its citizens have any opinions of their own. Which when you look through your response is essentially your only working argument.
You really are such a sycophantic apologist for imperialism aren't you?
It may be Russia's red line, however the demand to join NATO hasn't been initiated by Russia or the US. That is simply geopolitical gobbledegook almost entirely from practitioners of that ancient imperial intellectual tradition. Most of them have been concentrating on the tug of war between super-powers and, like you, seldom deign to look at why actual nations join military alliances.
Nation states have been wanting to join it for mutual military security. Usually pushing really hard for it. There are states who haven't wanted it like Switzerland, Finland, Sweden and others for various reasons. But what you clearly don’t understand is that it is quite hard for states to join because of Article 10 and the military interoperability and doctrine requirements. There have been some seriously long wait periods between application and agreement to join. It is expensive as hell to get ready to join. It constrains the budgets of applicants to get up to standard and usually does some nasty things to the career prospects of military officers and staff.
But none-the-less states keep persisting on trying to join and going to great effort to join. Usually against the advice of many if not most policy makers in the US. That is because the US is a major partner in NATO, but not the only one. NATO itself has had a explicit open door policy since 1991 after requests from states exiting the USSR, but also that was how it formed originally.
In my view, geo-politics is pretty simply an excuse for simpletons to ignore the wishes and the intent of the states to determine their own destiny and their citizens to chart their own course. Basically it is an excuse for snobs to avoid looking at then little people… Does that sound like you? It does to me.
You haven't mentioned once anywhere that I am aware of, any reason why Ukraine, or Estonia or Kosovo or any of the other current of previous applicants have endured the trauma of applying for and pushing through to membership of NATO. All you ever talk about is Russia, USA, occasionally deign to mention Germany and the UK, and infinitesimal political or military groupings inside Ukraine.
Coming to think of it – that is also what you do for local politics as well. You really do sound like a aristocratic intellectual snob.
if China were arming and training the Mexican army, do you think America would stand by…or France/UK or any other Superpower in the world who were in the same circumstances?
Of course they do just stand by. That literally happens all of the time. You should just look at where the sales of arms actually happens, and the degree to which armed forces training happens between militarises. The problem with you is that you assume that the nations only sell arms and only train in places that are very friendly to them or with whom they have treaties. That isn't the case. It just happens more frequently. But if you look at what happens on the ground, you'll find military cooperation and the sale of arms has some pretty weird combinations amongst countries that are not in direct conflict with each other.
This war could have been easily avoided had there been serious negotiations around the Minsk accords which as Merkle has made quite clear, were never under serious consideration,…
Peter Schwarz in your link about Merkle is a idiot.. The timeline literally walks the time line backwards from a completely unsupported assertion that the US instigated a coup in Kyiv in 2014. Now I understand that this assertion is a a religious article of faith amongst the geo-politically unhinged. But I have seen no credible evidence of it.
Nor have I seen a single instance of you or any of your idiotic religious brethren who has even managed to advance explanation about why it is rational for the US or even any significant faction in the US to have wanted it. All I see are waffling assertions and Russia propaganda directed internally. I can understand why Russia wants to con their citizens…
However all of the historical evidence indicates that it was Russia who was trying to instigate a presidential coup over the intentions and without the support of parliament. That can be summed up with this. Note the timeline. The parliament had overwhelmingly approved in early 2013, Russia put pressure on to not approve an agreement with the EU, the president didn't approve later in 2013. Then public protests against the decision of the president broke out. Russia then invaded.
n January and February 2014, clashes in Kyiv between protesters and Berkut special riot police resulted in the deaths of 108 protesters and 13 police officers,[20] and the wounding of many others. The first protesters were killed in fierce clashes with police on Hrushevskoho Street on 19–22 January. Following this, protesters occupied government buildings throughout the country. The deadliest clashes were on 18–20 February, which saw the most severe violence in Ukraine since it regained independence.[31] Thousands of protesters advanced towards parliament, led by activists with shields and helmets, and were fired on by police snipers.[20] On 21 February, an agreement between President Yanukovych and the leaders of the parliamentary opposition was signed that called for the formation of an interim unity government, constitutional reforms and early elections.[32] The following day, police withdrew from central Kyiv, which came under effective control of the protesters. Yanukovych fled the city.[33] That day, the Ukrainian parliament voted to remove Yanukovych from office by 328 to 0 (72.8% of the parliament's 450 members).[34][35][36][32]
Yanukovych alleged that this vote was illegal and possibly coerced, and asked Russia for help.[37] Russia considered the overthrow of Yanukovych to be an illegal coup, and did not recognize the interim government.
The only countries that supported Yanukovych were Russia, who invaded Crimea and possibly Belorussia. There were assertions of CIA influence – almost entirely from Russian sources. But the evidence is flimsy at best. What has been released or stated tends to show Washington foreign policy dithering
Prior to the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014, Ukraine used to buy from Russia, most of their new military equipment and spares and do a lot of training with Russia. They also brought from NATO countries and did training with NATO.
That I can see of your paywalled link about NATO exercises refers to a exercise held last year – hardly relevant. Why did you bring it up? As a stupid distraction or because you couldn't find anything more relevant? But lets ignore that…
But that Ukraine was buying more hardware from NATO and doing more of their training with NATO forces since 2014 is a direct result of having Russia invade and annex Crimea, plus supporting both the DPR and LPR secessionist republics with military hardware and 'volunteers' from the RF military.
Are you trying to say that that Ukraine should have been buying weapons and having exercises with a country that had just invaded and annexed part of their territory and was actively promoting a two secessionist micro-states? Are you insane?
The Minsk agreements were attempts to get a ceasefire in place. A ceasefire is literally a conflict frozen in place. I guess that Peter Schwarz doesn't understand what the word means or what a agreement to have a ceasefire means and why that is in the first point of the agreement.
Sure, Minsk II had some provisions for having working towards some kind of peaceful resolution. However the prerequisite of having a working ceasefire never happened.
Neither the Minsk I or Minsk II resulted in a ceasefire. Minsk I just resulted in the conflict heating up.
There was a slowing of conflict after Minsk II. But there were numerous reported violations initiated from both sides with claims from both sides and independent observers but there was never a cessation of fire. Nor claims by both sides and independent observers of violations of the ceasefire parts of both.
This was unlike any ceasefire agreement that ever actually succeeded in working its way to a a peace agreement or a long-term freeze in hostilities like the intra Korean border. Consequently neither side stood down forces, nor stopped improving their military position.
I really wish that you'd make some kind of effort to mount a coherent argument. I only have limited time to write answers.
As you can see, I had to break my quotations of points from your comment up to answer your points. I also note that you only designed to answer exactly one point from my comment. The breakup was because you don't separate your points. The ones worth dealing with are all dropped into a unwieldy paragraphs with lots of crap links all jumbled together. Generally without a connecting argument.
Could you please try to do better. It is exhausting dealing with an argument as confused as you are giving.
In a democracy the normal way of getting rid of an unwanted president is through the ballot box. Although, as you rightly point out, an early election was offered but never held – what were the protesters afraid of; that Yanukovych might be re-elected? Fleeing Kyiv was not a reason for dismissal so his dismissal was clearly unconstitutional.
In WW1, Germany invaded Belgium, not because they had any particular beef with the Belgians, but because they needed to pass through Belgium in order to attack France. Belgium declined a German request to allow its army passage; hence the invasion. I think that as WWII approached, Russia, observing the rise of Nazi Germany, thought that Germany’s armies might "pass through" either Poland or Finland, with or without the permissions of those countries, to attack Russia. One might argue that this does not justify Russian invasions of Poland and/or Finland, but that is largely a matter of opinion, and Russia obviously thinks otherwise, particularly as it sees itself as surrounded by inimical states in any case.
This Stuff article on contemporary and historical polyamory in Aotearoa is quite interesting. Especially in the references to pre-colonial Māori relationship patterns (with the caveat that, as always, this depended on; time, place, iwi & hapū):
…Dr Byron Rangiwai, an associate professor of healthcare and social practice at Unitec.
“Monogamy was of course an imported concept that came with Christianity,” he says.
“There are examples of Māori, particularly rangatira, having multiple partners. The term rangatira also included women, particularly in iwi such as Ngāti Porou.”
Tāwhiri*, a tikanga scholar and “novice in polyamory”… feels the stakes are higher in disclosing his polyamorous relationship. As someone trying to create systemic hapū-wide change, “if I get caught up in a scandal or something then all of my goals that existed, and collective upliftment are jeopardised”, he says.
“The irony is that that’s sort of an indication of how colonised we have become because it’s harder for Māori to practise our own relationship tikanga.”
However, it does omit to mention those who are unable to be in a relationship with the nature of a marriage, for bureaucratic purposes. Work and Income can be harsh with solo parents, and others, in committed heterosexual monogamous relationships – even retrospectively cutting benefits, and saddling the poorest with unexpected debt on a reduced income.
Where a; Couple with 1 or more children, gets $283/ week (each after tax before accommodation, or other, supplements – $566 total), a; Sole Parent, gets $440.96, and a; Single Jobseeker, $315 ($536 total for jobseeker couple without children – the extra $30/ week doesn't far towards meeting child costs!).
However eagle-eyed the system may be in detecting and designating monogamous heterosexual couples as de facto marriages (unless they can be proved not so – which isn't the easiest), it is strangely myopic when it comes to; homosexual, bisexual and polyamorous relationships. Thus solo parents have a (presumably unintended) incentive to form polyamorous relationship clusters. The 3 nights together a week "rule" is widely understood to be a threshold for a relationship for WINZ purposes, though I don't know what legislation or regulations back that up. It certainly seems to run counter to section 21 (prohibited grounds of discrimination) of the NZ HRA, though there is always section 21B:
To avoid doubt, an act or omission of any person or body is not unlawful under this Part if that act or omission is authorised or required by an enactment or otherwise by law.
Ngā Atua (eg Ranginui) weren't exactly gods in the European sense – or at least no one expected them to answer prayers. More like anchors to oral histories that varied by iwi. Ngā Tipua (eg Taniwha) were more like personifications of the environment, but were given offerings to appease them in some situations, say when passing through their land.
But anyway; "swap", is a bit too simple and intentional for how the religious/ political/ military colonization of Aotearoa happened. The hundred years between the Marsden mission in 1814 and WWI were complex, and while there hasn't been as much open warfare in the last century – that was differently complex. Too much to get into now.
While some Māori did end up embracing the new god (eg the Rātana and Ringatū churches; to which maybe 10% of Māori belong), many stopped having any committed religion at all. Tagata Pasifika are more likely to be churchgoing than Tangata Whenua in my experience. Though it may have been expedient in the past to profess adherence to Christianity, there were a lot of bad experiences with church authorities abusing their positions that produced disenchantment with such confidence men. Though my whānau may be more decidedly atheist than most. Plus there are the new American evangelicals and Destiny that seem to be gathering adherents (and their money).
Unless you mean that the new god was money? In which case, it'd be hard to disagree; Joe90.
One wonders what influence Key has on Luxon when it comes to foreign policy.
Damien Grant makes an interesting comparison between Neville Chamberlain and Key vis a vis Hitler and Xi.
”It is collectively accepted that Hitler deceived Chamberlain. The problem, Gladwell asserts, is that Chamberlain looked for clues in the body language and behaviour of the Nazi leader and when his words matched that behaviour Chamberlain assumed Hitler was being honest.”
Without reading, perhaps insistence on a journalism qualification? Or knowing how skewed anything written by a rampant Actoid like this guy might be? Any comms person would protect a party leader.
when simon dallow finally gets the push will his job be advertised or will another right wing hair and teeth job with a mystery career be shoe horned into place?
[You have been making attacks on Simon Dallow and asking for his resignation or being fired for at least 4.5 years now here. You provide no link nor reason and you make no political point whatsoever. You do this again and I’ll accept your resignation from TS’s commentariat. This is your warning – Incognito]
It's a nice quote; Sacha, but the link is to a twitter page that no longer exists. What is the context, and where is the evidence?
Going by the name, I imagine that it originates from a self-proclaimed media analyst in Australia – but that doesn't narrow it down much. Hope for the future seems overly optimistic to me, but certainly better than despair.
Iran shows it will kill anyone who stands against the regime.
The executions on Saturday of two young men in Iran, one a karate champion, the other a volunteer children’s coach, in connection with nationwide protests have sparked outrage around the world.
The total number of people now known to have been executed in connection with the protests that have swept the country since the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini in morality police custody on September 16 has reached four.
You do know that having a CNN link to a story on the Iranian riots is about as useful as having an PressTV link on Jan 6th riots….why don't you try finding some serious news sources to link us too on these important stories, instead of this endless stream of US propaganda…that way we can all become better informed..it's would be a win win for everyone, including you.
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
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https://www.facebook.com/robert.guyton.77582/posts/pfbid035M8kBmqnJUzdKT3pSJPsxV554PjnPDkWaPvSSVECyYH5DoT1Rw68gqk58ndXN2Nol
The true meaning of flower power.
He said one of his primary goals was to stop "wasteful Washington spending".
[Newly-elected Speaker of the US House of representatives, Kevin McCarthy]
I thought Washington ran on wasteful spending, so good luck with that.
Maybe he just means they should keep wasteful spending but transfer it to other parts of the USA.
Yup.
https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1611719288959954944
One of the political catchcries of the past few years has been about 'defunding the police.' Naturally there is enough wriggle room in those actual words to turn them into anything anyone wants. Like turning Jan 6 into a 'tourist visit.'
Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has done many fine impressions of a cretin, wants to pare back staff in the IRS. Recently they weren't staffed well enough to do their core job:
"The IRS did not even begin auditing Trump’s taxes until 2019, on the same day the committee began asking the agency about them. This is outrageous, and it must be investigated…
So what happened here? It’s possible that the IRS was aware of all the controversy around Trump’s taxes and simply didn’t want any part of it. That’s inexcusable, but it’s not nefarious.
A more troubling explanation is possible—even likely: that Trump used the levers of government to shield himself from scrutiny."
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/12/trump-tax-returns-released-house-committee-irs-audit/672582/
My pick is that any cuts to staffing in that department will be more than taken up with person power she wants utilised to turn Hunter Biden into a criminal.
They're explicit about their intent to use the levers to shield tRump.
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-08-01-2023/#comment-1929605
I'm sure "wasteful spending" won't include spending on the military.
Nope, but they will be guaranteed to keep salami cutting the both GI & VA Bills!
too many backhanders given to american polies for that to happen.
Weirdly, it might – many of the MTG etc crowd are Putin lovers, and are prepared to cut the US military for his sake.
I always remember from way back the fact that one B52 bomber cost twice the Peace Corps budget
I have met quite a few wonderful American PC people in my travels working wonders for poor third orld people and much enhancing Americas reputation. If only they had canned a couple of dozen B52’s and diverted the cash into more PC work…..
Is this a….."Well you wanted it. Enjoy" thing? Seems to have gone from one end to…for many, a final end. kinda wonder if its a thinning out. Well….IMO
The attempted coup continues.
https://twitter.com/ZaleskiLuke/status/1611787933987528712
https://twitter.com/matthewamiller/status/1611790693189685249
It is all one dimensional chess! There will be many starting to realise that there is no way to exit the "great game" ….
It's all good, two days in and they've learnt how to govern.
https://twitter.com/VABVOX/status/1611504777770242048
Yep – and from PJ Media
https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/stacey-lennox/2023/01/04/a-significant-majority-of-republican-voters-agree-with-the-gop-rebels-n1658511
Editor's Note: Republicans now control the House. It's time to investigate the Biden family and Democrats and hold them accountable for their corruption.
Let the "learning to Govern" commence?
I think you are confusing riot with "coup"…maybe go ask all your new pals in the US security state what a coup actually looks like….I would list US backed coup’s but the list would be too long more like …”chickens coming home to roost” as once said….
"coup d’état, also called coup, the sudden, violent overthrow of an existing government by a small group. The chief prerequisite for a coup is control of all or part of the armed forces, the police, and other military elements.'
"riot, in criminal law, a violent offense against public order involving three or more people. Like an unlawful assembly, a riot involves a gathering of persons for an illegal purpose. In contrast to an unlawful assembly, however, a riot involves violence."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD6aX3dHR2k
See joe…here is an actually coup, going on today, right now, one that will actually badly effect the poor and working class….guess it just wasn't part of your twitter feed……
"The US ambassador in Peru, Lisa Kenna, worked for the CIA for 9 years, as well as the Pentagon. One day before the coup against elected left-wing President Pedro Castillo, Kenna met with Peru’s defense minister, who then ordered the military to turn against Castillo."
https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/12/14/coup-us-ambassador-peru-cia/
The loudest voices, always.
/
https://twitter.com/patriottakes/status/1611830928959053825
Longtime Republican activist Matt Schlapp is facing backlash after a new report alleged that the chair of the American Conservative Union (ACU) groped a male staffer working on Herschel Walker's Senate campaign.
Following Thursday's report in The Daily Beast, social media users took to Twitter to criticize Schlapp, the lead organizer of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), for anti-gay views that he's helped promote and spotlight over the years at the world's largest and most influential gathering of conservatives.
"This story is rock solid," journalist Michelangelo Signorile tweeted on Thursday. "Schlapp has allowed the most horrific anti-LGBTQ bile at CPAC. Another GOP hypocrite."
https://www.newsweek.com/matt-schlapp-blasted-hypocrite-after-report-he-groped-male-staffer-1771897
So the sad result of the GOP speaker action this week is that it has now become clear that certain elements within the GOP are more anti-war than anybody within the Democratic party…this is how far to the Right the Liberal (left) has become.
McCarthy’s Speaker Deal Could Stymie Defense Spending Next Year
"The emerging deal Kevin McCarthy is discussing to make him speaker of the House could make agreements on new defense spending impossible next year"
Imagine the Squad pushing for real progressive change and holding power to ransom to get it??…but of course we all know that would never happen, nope just a bunch of boot lickers, who as it turns out, really seem to appeal to other knee bending book licking Liberals…yuk.
Oh look, the only socialist in the village thinks a corrupt petro-state with nukes bolted on should be allowed unopposed and with impunity, to revert to it's cruel, imperialist expansionism and invade it's sovereign neighbour, commit war crimes, impose a brutal and barbaric rule of occupation on civilian populations, engage in the indiscriminate killing of those they can't subjugate, loot the place and then demolish what's left.
//
"the only socialist in the village"…well I wouldn't say that, but I will say you sure as shit ain't one.
I have absolutely no idea why you think that the left should be "anti-war" when all of the historical evidence is that they are not.
After all the USSR that purportably leftish federation invaded Poland and Finland without any cause apart from naked imperialistic greed. Our second world war government was Labour. The US was run by
What has been clear, the USSR aside (it seems to always been more imperialistic and authoritarian than left and (as someone of polish descent) was also impossible to distinguish from czarism, is that left governed states are not interested in imperialistic wars. Where imperialism is defined as annexing territory or setting up protectorates.
Left governments are very resistent to imperialist attacks. They tend to follow previous treaties that they have signed.
Historically imperialistic states like the Russian Federation or the USSR or Nazi Germany or Fascist Italy ignore the treaties, invade and annex.
Conservative right states are generally notable for tending to be isolationist.and often run down military capabilities
So the US and UK are signatories to a treaty guaranteeing Ukrainian security support Ukraine act in support. Other signatories like the China do what is in their equivalent guarantees.
Whereas Russia violated their guarantees of Ukrainian security going so far as to start implicitly waving nukes in their pronouncements. Plus of course they attempted to annex parts of Ukraine.
I think that you are confusing leftist with being a a dumbarse pacifist. Which in my view just makes you the village idiot incapable of seeing anything except your rather strange ideas that is totally divorced from reality.
The best defence against bullies is not to roll over, suck your damn thumb and hope it all goes away. It is to ally with like minded and deal with the ambitions of brutes collectively.
No one who knows me has ever accused me of being, or even supporting pacificism as an ideology (though I do in principle, and in a perfect world of course) …no, I am all for armed revolutions and national defence in the right circumstances.
The problem with you, is that you are so wrapped up in your one dimensional western world view, that it is you and not I who obviously believe we live in a perfect world, well you must do, because that is exactly the world view you are presenting ….a mythical world where Superpowers will just shrug their shoulders in regards to their perceived boarder security…except it is not a perfect world iprent, so no matter how long and how loud Russia and the most serious geo-political, Russia and Ukrainian experts from all sides and from all around the world (including Bidens own CIA director Williams Burns) have been saying that NATO expansion to Ukraine was Russia’s Red Line (rightly or wrongly), and they have all have been ignored for decades…with devastating but predicted results.
This war could have been easily avoided had there been serious negotiations around the Minsk accords which as Merkle has made quite clear, were never under serious consideration, but only used to buy time to arm and train Ukraine (by NATO as a NATO fighting force)….now you tell me, if China were arming and training the Mexican army, do you think America would stand by…or France/UK or any other Superpower in the world who were in the same circumstances?
The other major problem with you and so many other here on TS, is you don’t seem to get the idea that to understand is not to condone.
Lastly, if you really think the US or the UK give even one single shit about the Ukraine or the lives of Ukrainians then you have even less geo-political insight than I thought…they are merely geo-political pawns to the West because of their position on a map and nothing more…that is the tragedy.
BTW, I agree with most of the first part of you comment about the Left/Right…not all, but we’ll leave that to another time.
Bravo Adrian , but once again pearls before swine
And by the way I'd take LPrent's advice re bullies .He knows what he's talking about
Yep he sure does.
Indeed
"The best defence against bullies is not to roll over, suck your damn thumb and hope it all goes away. It is to ally with like minded and deal with the ambitions of brutes collectively."
It looks more like pig-shit on an oyster shell to me; Francesca. But at least better than the unformed excrement of the initial comment (@ 6.0). "Yuk" indeed.
'unformed excrement'? Or maybe you meant uninformed? Either way, the excrement remains upon you own keyboard. Try to be more careful please.
No; In Vino, I meant "unformed".
Temp ORary..Argue my points if you can…but I suspect you’re far too lazy…if that is the case then maybe don’t bother commenting at all until you have something interesting or constructive or funny to add…it might be interesting to see if any of those three are within your reach…probably not.
Adrian Thornton, as far as I can discern from your original comment (@ 6.0) you are annoyed at "the Squad" for not preventing USA military aid to Ukraine. I didn't click on the link you provided, (because it was munged and I don't trust you) but the phrase seems to refer to a paywalled Bloomberg article by Tiron et al. What is not evident is what 8 of 435 USA congress members particularly have to do with that. It's not like their attempt to hold the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act ransom to the passage of the Build Back Better Act wasn't defeated by more Republicans crossing the floor.
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/05/politics/infrastructure-bill-house-democrats-voted-no-republicans-voted-yes/index.html
But moving on to your reply to lprent (@ 6.2.1). Again – lots of munged links that I am not disposed to click through. But your argument seems to rest on the perception of Russia being a superpower – which it just isn't. The USSR back last century; sure, but not the present-day Russian Federation. Very dangerous and possessing nuclear weapons; yes, but lacking global influence. In a similar way that the British Empire was once a superpower, but the 2020's UK really isn't (let alone France!) – despite its nuclear armed military and pretensions to the contrary.
Thanks for your contribution Francesca.
All I can say to your contribution is that at least Adrian does attempt to come up with an argument . Better than someone like you who found that being specialised as a dumb critic suited you.
/sarc
Putin just says anything to justify his imperialist invasion. Nato? Also justified with anti-satanism, restoring claimed historic lands, denazification, defending speakers of the Russian language…?
Can you show anywhere NATO interest in invading Russia? While Russia has invaded and brutally oppressed multiple neighbours, creating the interest in joining NATO by many former Russian colonies.
Are you actually being serious?…NATO’s primary objective has always been one of antagonism toward Russia…and remember here that Russia had seriously tried to get NATO membership in 1954 a year after Stains death and before the formation of the Warsaw Pact, but of course they were turned down…now I wonder who was behind that refusal?…could it be having an enemy is better for business than having a friend?
Molotov's Proposal that the USSR Join NATO, March 1954
Operation Unthinkable – Churchill’s plans to invade the Soviet Union
Anyway, as I explained, Russia is acting exactly as predicted by most serious observers…and exactly as how every other Superpower would have reacted..now I will also state yet again, that me pointing out this undeniable fact does not mean I condone Russia's actions…just understand cause and effect in geo-politics…something that obviously seems to escape you.
Reading your reply, seems your answer is no.
Exploration of a plan in 1945 by Churchill to fight the soviet conquest of central Europe is not NATO planning to invade Russia (wasn't NATO, and that plan didn't seem to involve invading Russia, only non-Russian territories that Russia had claimed conquest of – and where Russia subsequently spent decades oppressing and murdering the locals).
Molotov being denied membership of NATO in 1954…is not NATO showing interest in invading Russia either.
Countries join NATO by signing a voluntary agreement. Countries joined the USSR by being invaded by Russia.
Glad you don't condone Russia's actions in relation to Ukraine.
If Ukraine joined NATO and the latter then installed missiles on Russia's border one can understand Russia seeing this as a hostile act. Compare this with 1962, when Kruschev attempted to install missiles on Cuban soil, and note Kennedy's reaction to that.
If..And…Sounds like a reason to have diplomacy and discussion with Ukraine (and try this – better relations), not a reason to launch an unprovoked pre-emptive bloody war. While you justify with "cos NATO" – Russia also justifies with naked empire building, fake "denazification", "desatanisation", and anti-LGBT.
Perhaps if Russia stopped invading all her neighbours, former Russian colonies would be less keen to join a defensive alliance?
If it happens it will probably then be too late for Russia to do anything, because it will not just be Ukraine that they will have to fight but the whole of NATO, so a pre-emptive strike is justified.
Basically that is a completely bullshit rationalisation for a pre-emptive invasion. Not to mention demonstrating that you are a gormless lazy fool who sucks up propaganda and doesn't research – yet again. Perhaps you'd actually do some study for a change. So I'll provide the some basic links for your education.
Have you ever actually looked at the process to join NATO? It has a lot of conditions, requirements and processes to go through.
This is political in that any exiting member state can veto. The downside is that getting obnoxious without a reasonable cause could cause the recalcitrant member to be evicted (you'd should look at the history with Turkey and Greece inside NATO).
But more importantly, in military terms. The aspirational member has to be able to work within the NATO military frameworks and doctrines. That is a hard and often long process.
Here is the potted history of NATO-Ukraine relations and NATO-Russia relations (and a clearer version of the latter).
The process usually takes decades and involves a lot of work. Aspirations to join simply aren't enough, and Ukraine hadn't demonstrated that it was ready in either a political (relatively unstable) or military (not doctrine compatible) way to do so.
In 1994 both Russia and Ukraine joined a help program Partnership for Peace which is about establishing trust between NATO and other countries. That was currently the only formal precursor to NATO members that Ukraine was involved in.
If that is your apparent only criteria for readiness for acceptance into NATO – then the Russian Federation should try invading itself.
At the time that Russia invaded, Ukraine had long held aspirations to join NATO. In 2002, Ukraine has applied for a precursor for aspirants to membership – MAP. However it withdrew from that in 2010 both for internal political issues in Ukraine and because they had problems with adjusting their force structures to something that could work within NATO.
However their military structure simply wasn't going to be accepted under the NATO Article 10 membership process. That was why they hadn't started any formal attempt to enter NATO.
In 2005, Ukraine joined a relatively informal process "Intensified Dialogue", which was a process that just looked at helping aspirants for NATO membership in how to adjust their armed forces to fit within the military mutual defence of NATO. In the 17 years since, there has been little progress in that process.
Even if Russia withdrew back to pre-2014 borders. It would still take a decades for Ukraine to be able to join NATO. It's current military structure even after all of the doctrine and weaponry updates under Russian military pressure still won't fit within a NATO military structure. It will take decades to achieve that.
Ukraine finally did formally request NATO membership in September 2022 – seven months after Russia invaded. The application was only accepted because
If memory serves me that was after Putin announced that Russia was going to unilaterally annex parts of Ukraine, and in a act of aggressive intent included parts that Russia wasn't even in control of. Which
By comparison Finland and Sweden were militarily compatible with NATO forces. Consequently their NATO membership application last year, triggered by Russian Federation imperialist aggression, are getting close to the point that acceptance may actually happen this decade.
Basically NATO is very picky about membership. Its biggest recruiter has been the behaviour of the Russian imperialism. Both you and the propagandists of the Russia Federation are essentially complaining that Ukraine was aspiring to join NATO. Not that NATO was actively trying to recruit Ukraine.
The only formal relationship that NATO had with Ukraine prior to the invasion by Russia, was the same as one that Russia also had with NATO.
Your argument is complete crap. There were no NATO missiles installed in Ukraine. There were no no formal military treaties like that between Cuba and the USSR in 1961 or Turkey's membership in NATO.
Any deeper military relationship between NATO and Ukraine was decades in the future. It would have required that Ukraine wanted to change its military forces to ones that would fit within the NATO military framework.
Sure there were some strong indications that was their intent after 2014 – like adding their intent into the Ukrainian constitution in 2019.
But that was after the Russian Federation had forsworn its guarantees from the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances and invaded and unilaterally annexed Crimea after a fake 'referendum'. It was probably pushed further by the Russian Federation fomenting and supplying a insurrection with equipment and 'off-duty' troops in a portion of eastern Ukraine. Russia was actively pushing Ukraine to any allies it could find against their neighbours agression.
Please educate yourself, and stop presenting the kind of psuedo intellectual self-mastubation that you seem to love on this topic.
Russia apparently has been moving military equipment towards the Finnish border, a development which seems to have stemmed from Finland's decision to join NATO.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-jEsDy5Rxo
I think that you're kind of confused. Perhaps you should look at the extent of the Russian Empire in 1914 on the eve of World War I.
And the size of the USSR in 1922.
There wasn't much (if any) added territory from conquest. In fact I remember that the USSR lost territory to Poland and some other areas.
After WW2 the USSR gained some territory. But it wasn't much, and I believe that the successor states to the Soviet Socialist Republics that obtained those still retain them. But it wasn't large amounts of territory except in Finland and Poland (?).
UncookedSelachimorpha: I suspect that what you are trying to talk about were the nation states that joined the Warsaw Pact after that formed. In which case you should look closely at Albania, Romania, Mongolia and Yugoslavia and their history with the Warsaw Pact. It directly contradicts your assertion.
I guess that you have absolutely no truck with the idea that a nation state or its citizens have any opinions of their own. Which when you look through your response is essentially your only working argument.
You really are such a sycophantic apologist for imperialism aren't you?
It may be Russia's red line, however the demand to join NATO hasn't been initiated by Russia or the US. That is simply geopolitical gobbledegook almost entirely from practitioners of that ancient imperial intellectual tradition. Most of them have been concentrating on the tug of war between super-powers and, like you, seldom deign to look at why actual nations join military alliances.
Nation states have been wanting to join it for mutual military security. Usually pushing really hard for it. There are states who haven't wanted it like Switzerland, Finland, Sweden and others for various reasons. But what you clearly don’t understand is that it is quite hard for states to join because of Article 10 and the military interoperability and doctrine requirements. There have been some seriously long wait periods between application and agreement to join. It is expensive as hell to get ready to join. It constrains the budgets of applicants to get up to standard and usually does some nasty things to the career prospects of military officers and staff.
But none-the-less states keep persisting on trying to join and going to great effort to join. Usually against the advice of many if not most policy makers in the US. That is because the US is a major partner in NATO, but not the only one. NATO itself has had a explicit open door policy since 1991 after requests from states exiting the USSR, but also that was how it formed originally.
In my view, geo-politics is pretty simply an excuse for simpletons to ignore the wishes and the intent of the states to determine their own destiny and their citizens to chart their own course. Basically it is an excuse for snobs to avoid looking at then little people… Does that sound like you? It does to me.
You haven't mentioned once anywhere that I am aware of, any reason why Ukraine, or Estonia or Kosovo or any of the other current of previous applicants have endured the trauma of applying for and pushing through to membership of NATO. All you ever talk about is Russia, USA, occasionally deign to mention Germany and the UK, and infinitesimal political or military groupings inside Ukraine.
Coming to think of it – that is also what you do for local politics as well. You really do sound like a aristocratic intellectual snob.
Of course they do just stand by. That literally happens all of the time. You should just look at where the sales of arms actually happens, and the degree to which armed forces training happens between militarises. The problem with you is that you assume that the nations only sell arms and only train in places that are very friendly to them or with whom they have treaties. That isn't the case. It just happens more frequently. But if you look at what happens on the ground, you'll find military cooperation and the sale of arms has some pretty weird combinations amongst countries that are not in direct conflict with each other.
You find (for instance) Turkey arming itself with S400 anti-aircraft systems from Russia. That makes the US cranky, but doesn't stop it. Similarly places like Uzbekistan that tend to be in the Russian orbit have some pretty active NATO training and various types of equipment sales going on. Along with
Peter Schwarz in your link about Merkle is a idiot.. The timeline literally walks the time line backwards from a completely unsupported assertion that the US instigated a coup in Kyiv in 2014. Now I understand that this assertion is a a religious article of faith amongst the geo-politically unhinged. But I have seen no credible evidence of it.
Nor have I seen a single instance of you or any of your idiotic religious brethren who has even managed to advance explanation about why it is rational for the US or even any significant faction in the US to have wanted it. All I see are waffling assertions and Russia propaganda directed internally. I can understand why Russia wants to con their citizens…
However all of the historical evidence indicates that it was Russia who was trying to instigate a presidential coup over the intentions and without the support of parliament. That can be summed up with this. Note the timeline. The parliament had overwhelmingly approved in early 2013, Russia put pressure on to not approve an agreement with the EU, the president didn't approve later in 2013. Then public protests against the decision of the president broke out. Russia then invaded.
The only countries that supported Yanukovych were Russia, who invaded Crimea and possibly Belorussia. There were assertions of CIA influence – almost entirely from Russian sources. But the evidence is flimsy at best. What has been released or stated tends to show Washington foreign policy dithering
Prior to the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014, Ukraine used to buy from Russia, most of their new military equipment and spares and do a lot of training with Russia. They also brought from NATO countries and did training with NATO.
That I can see of your paywalled link about NATO exercises refers to a exercise held last year – hardly relevant. Why did you bring it up? As a stupid distraction or because you couldn't find anything more relevant? But lets ignore that…
But that Ukraine was buying more hardware from NATO and doing more of their training with NATO forces since 2014 is a direct result of having Russia invade and annex Crimea, plus supporting both the DPR and LPR secessionist republics with military hardware and 'volunteers' from the RF military.
Are you trying to say that that Ukraine should have been buying weapons and having exercises with a country that had just invaded and annexed part of their territory and was actively promoting a two secessionist micro-states? Are you insane?
The Minsk agreements were attempts to get a ceasefire in place. A ceasefire is literally a conflict frozen in place. I guess that Peter Schwarz doesn't understand what the word means or what a agreement to have a ceasefire means and why that is in the first point of the agreement.
Sure, Minsk II had some provisions for having working towards some kind of peaceful resolution. However the prerequisite of having a working ceasefire never happened.
Neither the Minsk I or Minsk II resulted in a ceasefire. Minsk I just resulted in the conflict heating up.
There was a slowing of conflict after Minsk II. But there were numerous reported violations initiated from both sides with claims from both sides and independent observers but there was never a cessation of fire. Nor claims by both sides and independent observers of violations of the ceasefire parts of both.
This was unlike any ceasefire agreement that ever actually succeeded in working its way to a a peace agreement or a long-term freeze in hostilities like the intra Korean border. Consequently neither side stood down forces, nor stopped improving their military position.
I really wish that you'd make some kind of effort to mount a coherent argument. I only have limited time to write answers.
As you can see, I had to break my quotations of points from your comment up to answer your points. I also note that you only designed to answer exactly one point from my comment. The breakup was because you don't separate your points. The ones worth dealing with are all dropped into a unwieldy paragraphs with lots of crap links all jumbled together. Generally without a connecting argument.
Could you please try to do better. It is exhausting dealing with an argument as confused as you are giving.
In a democracy the normal way of getting rid of an unwanted president is through the ballot box. Although, as you rightly point out, an early election was offered but never held – what were the protesters afraid of; that Yanukovych might be re-elected? Fleeing Kyiv was not a reason for dismissal so his dismissal was clearly unconstitutional.
In WW1, Germany invaded Belgium, not because they had any particular beef with the Belgians, but because they needed to pass through Belgium in order to attack France. Belgium declined a German request to allow its army passage; hence the invasion. I think that as WWII approached, Russia, observing the rise of Nazi Germany, thought that Germany’s armies might "pass through" either Poland or Finland, with or without the permissions of those countries, to attack Russia. One might argue that this does not justify Russian invasions of Poland and/or Finland, but that is largely a matter of opinion, and Russia obviously thinks otherwise, particularly as it sees itself as surrounded by inimical states in any case.
"anti-war", in the sense of being pro-brutality, pro-authoritarian, pro-imperialist, pro-torture, pro-kleptocracy, pro-violence…etc etc
This Stuff article on contemporary and historical polyamory in Aotearoa is quite interesting. Especially in the references to pre-colonial Māori relationship patterns (with the caveat that, as always, this depended on; time, place, iwi & hapū):
https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/130649407/i-was-seeing-six-people-polyamory-often-misunderstood-can-also-be-freeing
However, it does omit to mention those who are unable to be in a relationship with the nature of a marriage, for bureaucratic purposes. Work and Income can be harsh with solo parents, and others, in committed heterosexual monogamous relationships – even retrospectively cutting benefits, and saddling the poorest with unexpected debt on a reduced income.
Where a; Couple with 1 or more children, gets $283/ week (each after tax before accommodation, or other, supplements – $566 total), a; Sole Parent, gets $440.96, and a; Single Jobseeker, $315 ($536 total for jobseeker couple without children – the extra $30/ week doesn't far towards meeting child costs!).
https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/products/benefit-rates/benefit-rates-april-2022.html
However eagle-eyed the system may be in detecting and designating monogamous heterosexual couples as de facto marriages (unless they can be proved not so – which isn't the easiest), it is strangely myopic when it comes to; homosexual, bisexual and polyamorous relationships. Thus solo parents have a (presumably unintended) incentive to form polyamorous relationship clusters. The 3 nights together a week "rule" is widely understood to be a threshold for a relationship for WINZ purposes, though I don't know what legislation or regulations back that up. It certainly seems to run counter to section 21 (prohibited grounds of discrimination) of the NZ HRA, though there is always section 21B:
https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1993/0082/latest/DLM304212.html
That's what happens when you swap your old gods for a new one.
Ngā Atua (eg Ranginui) weren't exactly gods in the European sense – or at least no one expected them to answer prayers. More like anchors to oral histories that varied by iwi. Ngā Tipua (eg Taniwha) were more like personifications of the environment, but were given offerings to appease them in some situations, say when passing through their land.
But anyway; "swap", is a bit too simple and intentional for how the religious/ political/ military colonization of Aotearoa happened. The hundred years between the Marsden mission in 1814 and WWI were complex, and while there hasn't been as much open warfare in the last century – that was differently complex. Too much to get into now.
While some Māori did end up embracing the new god (eg the Rātana and Ringatū churches; to which maybe 10% of Māori belong), many stopped having any committed religion at all. Tagata Pasifika are more likely to be churchgoing than Tangata Whenua in my experience. Though it may have been expedient in the past to profess adherence to Christianity, there were a lot of bad experiences with church authorities abusing their positions that produced disenchantment with such confidence men. Though my whānau may be more decidedly atheist than most. Plus there are the new American evangelicals and Destiny that seem to be gathering adherents (and their money).
Unless you mean that the new god was money? In which case, it'd be hard to disagree; Joe90.
One wonders what influence Key has on Luxon when it comes to foreign policy.
Damien Grant makes an interesting comparison between Neville Chamberlain and Key vis a vis Hitler and Xi.
”It is collectively accepted that Hitler deceived Chamberlain. The problem, Gladwell asserts, is that Chamberlain looked for clues in the body language and behaviour of the Nazi leader and when his words matched that behaviour Chamberlain assumed Hitler was being honest.”
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/300779066/damien-grant-does-luxon-share-sir-john-keys-wilful-blindness-on-china
I wonder why? Attempting to control the narrative? Unable to handle pointed questions? Afraid of scrutiny?
Without reading, perhaps insistence on a journalism qualification? Or knowing how skewed anything written by a rampant Actoid like this guy might be? Any comms person would protect a party leader.
when simon dallow finally gets the push will his job be advertised or will another right wing hair and teeth job with a mystery career be shoe horned into place?
[You have been making attacks on Simon Dallow and asking for his resignation or being fired for at least 4.5 years now here. You provide no link nor reason and you make no political point whatsoever. You do this again and I’ll accept your resignation from TS’s commentariat. This is your warning – Incognito]
Editors and producers decide on stories and approaches to them. Not presenters.
S Dallow yes he is awful and I don't like him. Perhaps you are correct Sacha, that means there is a group of nasties.
Message received. Won't comment on this again.
Mod note
He is a new reader you fool. He reads whats on the teleprompter. Thats it.
Reframing
https://twitter.com/MediaAnalystOz/status/1611955213195415556
Great quote.
It's a nice quote; Sacha, but the link is to a twitter page that no longer exists. What is the context, and where is the evidence?
Going by the name, I imagine that it originates from a self-proclaimed media analyst in Australia – but that doesn't narrow it down much. Hope for the future seems overly optimistic to me, but certainly better than despair.
Twitter was the context.
SRODS strikes again.
https://twitter.com/EINGazpromNews/status/1611475265015762955
Geography and politics.
https://twitter.com/ettingermentum/status/1611419147333955585
Iran shows it will kill anyone who stands against the regime.
The executions on Saturday of two young men in Iran, one a karate champion, the other a volunteer children’s coach, in connection with nationwide protests have sparked outrage around the world.
The total number of people now known to have been executed in connection with the protests that have swept the country since the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini in morality police custody on September 16 has reached four.
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/07/middleeast/iran-protesters-executed-intl-hnk/index.html
You do know that having a CNN link to a story on the Iranian riots is about as useful as having an PressTV link on Jan 6th riots….why don't you try finding some serious news sources to link us too on these important stories, instead of this endless stream of US propaganda…that way we can all become better informed..it's would be a win win for everyone, including you.