Open mike 08/01/2024
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- Another Munich crisis? Understanding the limits of policymaking by analogy
We see it often enough. A democracy deals with an authoritarian state, and those who oppose concessions cite the lesson of Munich 1938: make none to dictators; take a firm stand. And so we hear ...9 minutes ago - Wednesday 23 April
370 perioperative nurses working at Auckland City Hospital, Starship Hospital and Greenlane Clinical Centre will strike for two hours on 1 May – the same day senior doctors are striking. This is part of nationwide events to mark May Day on 1 May, including rallies outside public hospitals, organised by ...1 hour ago - Auckland character rules stop building on 20,000 sections
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- What is a Man?
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On Twitter on Saturday I indicated that there had been a mistake in my post from last Thursday in which I attempted to step through the Reserve Bank Funding Agreement issues. Making mistakes (there are two) is annoying and I don’t fully understand how I did it (probably too much ...23 hours ago - Indonesia needs to rethink its approach to military drones
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7 days ago
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1 week ago
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The Health Minister says the striking doctors already “well remunerated,” and are “walking away from” and “hurting” their patients. File photo: Lynn GrievesonLong stories short from our political economy on Wednesday, April 16:Simeon Brown has attacked1 doctors striking for more than a 1.5% pay rise as already “well remunerated,” even ...1 week ago - Strengthening Australia’s space cooperation with South Korea
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- Release: Govt funding needed to combat invasive seaweed
The Government must support Northland hapū who have resorted to rakes and buckets to try to control a devastating invasive seaweed that threatens the local economy and environment. ...20 hours ago - New Zealand First Introduces Bill Defining ‘Woman’ and ‘Man’ in Law
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Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins joins those mourning the passing of Pope Francis. ...2 days ago
- Release: Boot camps blog post fails to provide clarity
After stonewalling requests for information on boot camps, the Government has now offered up a blog post right before Easter weekend rather than provide clarity on the pilot. ...6 days ago
- Release: Inflation rises and families feel the squeeze
Inflation is rising again and it’s landing hardest on families already stretched thin. ...6 days ago
- Release: Govt doesn’t know how to fund new hospitals
The Government’s health infrastructure plan is big on promises but coy on where the money is coming from. ...7 days ago
- Release: $10 million for only 215 students in charter schools
David Seymour is pouring $10 million into charter schools that only have 215 students enrolled. ...7 days ago
- Release: Food prices further stretching the family budget
Families already stretched by rising costs will struggle with the news food prices are going up again. ...1 week ago
- Release: Mental health staff and patients at risk without plan
More people could be harmed if Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey does not guarantee to protect patients and workers as the Police withdraw from supporting mental health call outs. ...1 week ago
- Release: Driver licensing proposal doesn’t put safety first
The Government’s proposal to change driver licensing rules is a mixed bag of sensible and careless. ...1 week ago
- Release: Students struggling as Govt sits on hands
The Government is continuing to sit on its hands as students struggle to pay rent due to delays with StudyLink. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: More must be done to stop children going hungry
More children are going hungry and statistics showing children in material hardship continue to get worse. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens continue to call for Pacific Visa Waiver
The Green Party recognises the extension of visa allowances for our Pacific whānau as a step in the right direction but continues to call for a Pacific Visa Waiver. ...2 weeks ago - More children going hungry under Coalition govt
The Government yesterday released its annual child poverty statistics, and by its own admission, more tamariki across Aotearoa are now living in material hardship. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Longer wait for treatment under National
New Zealanders have waited longer to get an appointment with a specialist and to get elective surgery under the National Government. ...2 weeks ago
- Ka mate te Pire- Ka ora te mana o Te Tiriti o Waitangi me te iwi Māori
Today, Te Pāti Māori join the motu in celebration as the Treaty Principles Bill is voted down at its second reading. “From the beginning, this Bill was never welcome in this House,” said Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader, Rawiri Waititi. “Our response to the first reading was one of protest: protesting ...2 weeks ago
- Chris Hipkins speech: Treaty Principles Bill second reading
Normally, when I rise in this House to speak on a bill, I say it's a great privilege to speak on the bill. That is not the case today. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: End to the Treaty Principles Bill, but challenges remain ahead for Aotearoa
Ka mate te pire I te rā neiThe bill dies today ...2 weeks ago
- Ka mate te Pire, ka ora Te Tiriti o Waitangi – Treaty Principles Bill dead, Te Tiriti o Waitangi m...
The Green Party is proud to have voted down the Coalition Government’s Treaty Principles Bill, an archaic piece of legislation that sought to attack the nation’s founding agreement. ...2 weeks ago
- Member’s Bill an opportunity for climate action
A Member’s Bill in the name of Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter which aims to stop coal mining, the Crown Minerals (Prohibition of Mining) Amendment Bill, has been pulled from Parliament’s ‘biscuit tin’ today. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Bill to make trading laws fairer passes first hurdle
Labour MP Kieran McAnulty’s Members Bill to make the law simpler and fairer for businesses operating on Easter, Anzac and Christmas Days has passed its first reading after a conscience vote in Parliament. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Reserve Bank acts while Govt shrugs
Nicola Willis continues to sit on her hands amid a global economic crisis, leaving the Reserve Bank to act for New Zealanders who are worried about their jobs, mortgages, and KiwiSaver. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Property Law Amendment Bill pulled from ballot
A Bill to protect first home buyers and others from bad faith property vendors has been drawn from the Member’s Ballot. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: More children at risk of losing family connections
Karen Chhour is proposing to scrap Oranga Tamariki targets which aim to connect more children under state care with family and their culture. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: David Parker made a difference – Hipkins
The Labour Leader today acknowledged and celebrated David Parker’s 23-year contribution to the Labour Party and to Parliament. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: David Parker to step down from Parliament
Long-serving Labour MP and former Minister David Parker has today announced his intention to leave Parliament. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Flaws in Govt’s climate strategy will cost us money
The Government’s plan to achieve our climate goals falls short, and will cost New Zealanders money and jobs. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party differing view on the Treaty Principles Bill
Read the Green Party's differing view on the Treaty Principles Bill, prepared by Tamatha Paul. ...2 weeks ago
- Te Pāti Māori Urges Governor-General to Block Repeal of 7AA
Today, the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill has passed its third and final reading, but there is one more stage before it becomes law. The Governor-General must give their ‘Royal assent’ for any bill to become legally enforceable. This means that, even if a bill gets voted ...3 weeks ago
- Release: Abortion care quietly shelved amid staff shortage
Abortion care at Whakatāne Hospital has been quietly shelved, with patients told they will likely have to travel more than an hour to Tauranga to get the treatment they need. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: Govt guts Kāinga Ora, third of workforce under axe
The gutting of Kāinga Ora shows public housing is not a priority for this Government as it removes a third of the roles at the housing agency. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: Thousands of submissions excluded from Treaty Principles Bill report
Thousands of New Zealanders’ submissions are missing from the official parliamentary record because the National-dominated Justice Select Committee has rushed work on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...3 weeks ago
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- Northland Expressway preferred routes: New road over Brynderwyn Hills to be built
A replacement for State Highway 1 over Northland's notorious Brynderwyn Hills will be built just to the east of the current road - a major change from the original plan. ...12 minutes ago - NZ First leader Winston Peters defends gender bill during fiery RNZ interview
The NZ First leader has mounted a defence of his party's proposal to define "woman" in law when questioned over its enforcement. ...31 minutes ago
- Watch: Regulation Minister David Seymour on ECE sector review
David Seymour is due to speak to media about changes to be made to "outdated" rules in the early childhood sector. ...39 minutes ago
- Saving our taonga: Iwi unite to protect tuna and our waterways
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"There is no reason why good cannot triumph as often as evil. The triumph of anything is a matter of organization. If there are such things as angels, I hope that they are organized along the lines of the Mafia." ~Kurt Vonnegut
(Book: The Sirens of Titan [ad] https://amzn.to/3TJd92P)
https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/mafia-family-tree.pdf/view
Minus the killy-bits. And the patriarchy.
Vonnegut did say, "along the lines of…"
An interesting site all about Kurt Vonnegut's writing…
http://www.vonnegutreview.com/2013/06/vonnegut-in-jerusalem-report-on.html
Difficult to remove the killing (and patriarchy) when advocating for a system based on threats of violence and fear.
It's official: the Republicans, as horrifying as they clearly are, are four times more decent than the "Democrats."
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-resolution/934/cosponsors?s=1&r=66
Rep. McGovern, James P. [D-MA-2]* 12/13/2023
Rep. Massie, Thomas [R-KY-4]* 12/13/2023
Rep. Greene, Marjorie Taylor [R-GA-14]* 12/13/2023
Rep. Luna, Anna Paulina [R-FL-13]* 12/13/2023
Rep. Burlison, Eric [R-MO-7]* 12/13/2023
Rep. Duncan, Jeff [R-SC-3]* 12/13/2023
Rep. Omar, Ilhan [D-MN-5]* 12/13/2023
Rep. Higgins, Clay [R-LA-3]
No Sanders. No Ocasio-Cortez. No Rashida Tlaib, for pity's sake. What a joke.
No surprise that nearly all US politicians really want their pound of flesh
I don't think that the failure of the much over-hyped "squad" is due to greed or corruption. It's more a failure of nerve, a fear of incurring the displeasure of the likes of Charles Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, and a forlorn idea that they are being "clever" and "tactical", i.e. that their continual compromises, betrayal of people (union members, peace activists, journalists and whistle-blowers) and abandonment of principles will on some day in the future pay off somehow.
We see the same behaviour from the politicians in our own Labour Party. Not one of them had the courage to confront Ardern after she so callously dismissed the idea of granting political asylum to Julian Assange.
Pelosi is no longer leader of the House Democrats.
https://theintercept.com/2019/05/24/julian-assange-extradition-espionage-congress/
Pathetic.
Unlike NZ, the USA actually needs Australia. Albanese should start rattling the cage.
https://youtu.be/9oxkwDnVe9o?si=a_jnU0UJ3kkNTk3s