How can people who are so adamant that "bloody Labour" and useless "Jacinta who is mucking everything up" and yet don't know the difference between the EU and the Commowealth when the next discussion point is Brexit be allowed to have a vote?
One just has to hope that these ignorants are spread evenly across the political spectrum… so their influence is nil….
Talkback suits the Right better with their adamant rather than us with our buts and why-fors. Whatever silly-arse prejudice you have mate it's right. Only the hosts being brought up in social-democracy holds it back.
I've been following the Brexit shenanigans and ensuing parliamentary farce on a couple of UK stations, LBC and BBC 5 Live. The differences between them and our so-called news radio is like night and day. Ignoring a couple of the more hoskinesque hosts , the nuanced and informative analysis and commentary from hosts, commentators and expert guests is first rate. And they must have rather good vetting systems to weed out the ranting, partisan, single-issue loons because most of their talk-back callers come across as reasonable, well informed, and worthwhile the time spent listening.
The way who have handled it? The Labour Party? In what sense was their handling of it a joke? Neither of us has significant knowledge of how it was handled, so ignorance-based reckons about the quality of the handling could themselves only take the form of jokes, surely?
As an abstract hypothetical, though: when allegations of workplace harrassment and bullying are made against an individual and an investigation finds that the allegations are unsupported, ie it comes down to he says/she says, how would you handle those allegations in a way that treated all parties fairly, respected their privacy, achieved a result satisfactory to all parties and also couldn't be used as propaganda against you by your enemies? Do take your time.
Vance mentions in passing Parliaments inquiry into Bullying etc?
The Journalists have never revisited the shock conclusion that some Journalists around parliament are part of the problem
"A significant number of respondents – not all of them Members – commented on what they perceived as inappropriate behaviour by members of the Press Gallery or media more generally."
and a quote:
““Gallery behaviour is unacceptable… they come in there perfectly nice people and then adopt this persona of the classic bully. You can watch it happen.”
Code of Omerta means people like Vance wont touch that aspect
"Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Labour Party President Nigel Haworth have delivered an apologetic press conference, admitting major failings by the party. Ms Ardern said the burden of care and responsibility for those allegedly sexually assualted at a summer camp should not have been left to members of Young Labour. "We handled this very, very badly as a party," Ms Ardern said."
"The party is also facing criticism for the presence of alcohol at the event. Young people attended the event with parental consent, but on Wednesday afternoon, Ms Ardern was unable to say whether those consent forms mentioned alcohol. Labour MP Liz Craig was at the event that night. On Wednesday afternoon, she deleted a photo from her Facebook page which showed her seated at a table with a group of young adults who were drinking alcohol."
There's more, but that's enough. I don't like labelling Labour's handling of this 'a joke'; it rather minimises the damage. Incompetent, inept, useless…these are far better descriptors.
Nigel Haworth has not done Jacinda any favours the way he has handled it. If true that he banned complainants from buildings, why was the accused not banned or stood down why investigation going on? Andrea Vance and Alison Mau seem to have really turned on Labour this weekend.
As an abstract hypothetical: when allegations of workplace harrassment and bullying are made against an individual and an investigation finds that the allegations are unsupported, ie it comes down to he says/she says, how would you handle those allegations in a way that treated all parties fairly, respected their privacy, achieved a result satisfactory to all parties and also couldn't be used as propaganda against you by your enemies? Do take your time.
The accused should have been stood down while investigation underway, not just the accusers being banned from the building. I think this may cost Nigel Haworth his job. The last one cost Andrew Kirton his job.
The Spinoff piece under discussion in today's thread suggests there was no investigation, or at least nothing you could reasonably call an investigation. Like you, I don't see how Kirton could keep his job and still expect anyone to vote Labour – same with the others involved.
I had to reread the story carefully as from the "heading" it seemed as though the story was in regard to the recent case due to be sentenced later in the year – the word "young" gave, to me, every impression of that. What it is referring to is another completely separate matter that has an element of "employment" attached to it and no charges, as yet, which has a bearing that needs to be sorted but the inference unless studied and read carefully implies something else.
Thanks for the clarification Rapaunzel. It wasn't at all clear from that article what case was being referred to:
He [Mallard] said: "The first point that I want to make is that I have repeatedly, through [Parliamentary Service's] general manager [Rafael Gonzalez-Montero], the relevant office and people who have raised the matter with me that I think either a Police complaint (if an offence is alleged to have occurred) or a complaint relating to employment if people feel unsafe, should be made.
The seven complainants have still not laid any complaints with either the police or Parliamentary Services.
I'm not suggesting nothing happened, but I’m starting to smell a big rat over this case.
🙂 It didn;t help that the paper was drenched but the heading led me, and I guess others, up the garden path until I re-read it. No one is suggesting anything did not happen but there are cases that were supposedly being looked at that the public had heard no more of within the National Party that were not disimmilar.
Why can't NZ media stick to the facts and the fact is as you say there are no charges and employment matters have to be handled very carefully for all involved. Allowing media to be judge and jury of what happened, how it "should be handled" and where the "blame" lies is unacceptable. This sort of conjecture and getting to the heart of who, how many people and exactly what needs to be done does nothing to educate on and improve workplace relationships.
... there are cases that were supposedly being looked at that the public had heard no more of within the National Party that were not disimilar.
There was a serious case earlier this year involving a Young Nat (male) and a Young Nat event. It was reported through the MSM and then… nothing. It was suspected at the time the complainant was 'bought off'.
"In line with our health and safety policies, we acted quickly to offer any support and advice to the person who raised the issue, and this information was passed on to the alleged victim.
"As this is now a matter for the police, we can't comment any further."
And that, as far as I know, was the last we heard of the matter so I am assuming the complainant withdrew her complaint. Did she do it of her own accord or was she coerced? Did any journos bother to check out what happened? The answer appears to be… no.
It would seem there's a big difference how these cases get reported depending on which party the complainant/complainants belong to eh?
Anne, the reason your comments are held in in Auto-Moderation is a minor typo in your user name, which I have corrected a number of times now. The system ‘thinks’ that you’re a new user and this needs to be manually approved.
That was from about 3 weeks ago , Bennett went full out on it, it was covered by the media as she arranged.
Now Vance who moved out of the Press gallery into management has a slow Sunday scandal day hole to fill ? . Has she been chatting to Bennett who wanted to recycle old news
Their new weekly columnist , the taxpayer funded opinion piece by Seymours staffer seems to disappeared
Well Stuff can get stuf't on a Sunday I'm cancelling my paper and will say exactly why, the same should apply to talkback advertisers such as "magic" radio with its Too Cheap Cars donations. After the $400+k fine for cheating clients only "trmagic's" terminally dim listeners would be an option as clientele anyway.
After the Revolutionary War, many of the white people who were loyal to Britain moved to the Bahamas, which was largely empty. A lot of those people brought their enslaved Africans with them.
But harsh conditions made many of the white people leave. Then, in 1807, Britain abolished the slave trade. Many of those freed Africans who were liberated on the open seas went to the Bahamas as free people.
When the US basically bought Florida from Spain, thousands of enslaved Africans and Black Seminoles said “fuck this” and escaped to the Bahamas.
So many ran to freedom that the US government had to build a lighthouse in Cape Florida in 1825.
In 1834, Britain freed all the slaves in its territories and shit really got crazy.
So there are significant numbers of Tory MPs with the integrity and spine prepared to stand up to Boorish and say what they think, in full knowledge the likely price is the end of their political career. That really highlights what a bunch of jellyfish the Repugs are in their craven capitulation to Kim Jong Orange.
A teacher on an individual contract has complained to the Human Rights Commission about payments union members will get after the settling of a protracted pay wrangle.
And he claims non-union teachers have been kept in the dark that they can negotiate their own employment agreements.
Hastings Boys' High head of music Justin Lindsay claims that the Ministry of Education has discriminated on the basis of political opinion in their new Secondary Teachers Collective Agreement (STCA) 2019-2022.
I googled him. Looks like he took care to sanitise his online foot print before speaking out. The only thing he shows is that he was employed in the ESOL and tech sector in Japan for a number of years,
"And he claims non-union teachers have been kept in the dark "? Really? And he also claims to be a teacher? I have seen that name before with similar "complaints" but no mention of how many people he represents. How is it that one individual's statement is passed by media as being either a wide-spread issue or movement?
Which is why NZ seriously needs some sort of public service information outlet, either a whole channel or something. While I suppose that was clear to me right from the messing with contract thing in the 1990s, more towards the end of that period I gather their are people who don't appear to "know" these things – he does is, spreading misinformation is his intent.
There are lots of basic things beginning with how to register and vote, what "free" medical options families might have, how not to pay insurance unless you know you have met criteria and are fully covered for what you think you've paid for, what are your employment "rights" and obligations are – so as not to jeopardize your employment, along with reliable borrowing or budgeting advice etc. The information is there but it needs to be more readily available and visible and repeated till it sinks in. During the 2014 election I heard from several young people that their employers or other told them "if you don't vote this way you will have no job". They believed it and spread that idea around. If basic information about "rights' was more common and normalised people might start thinking for themselves and/or seeking out the facts when they need them.
There's a Parliament TV channel that has a lot of downtime – even given repeats of QT etc. (and that's just for starters). It could actually be used for educational purposes at various times – providing 'civics'/'social studies', the citizens' rights when dealing with government agencies, the Treaty, BOR et al
No end of things – took my grandson to the medical centre last holidays and they had a number of items running, how many other groups have items of interest, probably local councils and voluntary groups.
Besides that what groups are active in an area may be an incentive to make people more active which is the first step in the right direction to give mental stimulation, company and activities to turn back the tide of health issues putting pressure on services.
Yes, that is indeed the kind of thing that happens when technologists use simple sloppy techniques that are more or less how bacteria have been getting their genes into other organisms without any human intervention since forever. Like happened with sweet potato.
Rudd is just a careerist first and foremost looking out for herself. She makes Paula Bennett seem like Mary Poppins… the Windrush scandal wa swhen she was in charge….. she smells blood in the water for Johnson and wants to be part of the next cabinet and the next cabinet
This is the person she is :
"Rudd first denied there were targets for the removal of immigrants. Later, she maintained that she had not known of targets. Later still, The Guardian published leaked evidence that Rudd had known about targets: "
Wikipedia. That resulted in one of her many resignations
She should really be going to the Great Tory Boneyard in the Sky… but is likely to reappear somwhow.
Fox News opinion host Laura Ingraham’s earnest efforts to troll liberals reached a new, if not bizarre, level Friday as she attempted to drink a steak stuffed with incandescent light bulbs through a plastic straw.
“Well, it’s a meal that will trigger all the right … I meant all the left people,” she said to kick off the “Ingraham Angle” segment.
Meanwhile, let's remind ourselves of Article 2 Section 1 Clause 7 of the Constitution:
The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
Money from any government source finding it's way into a federal official's pocket from any source other than salary is a direct violation of the constitution, and should be cause for immediate impeachment. But Repugs just don't care, it's not like adults were indulging in any consensual private pleasure or anything like that. (Although grossly inappropriate due to the power imbalance involved)
Thats a beat up about USAF flight stop overs in Prestwick Scotland. Its not really Glasgow which has its own airport close to the city.
They reason they stop. because planes fly 'Great Circle' arcs between origin and destination as much as possible. Prestwick is on the direct route for stop overs between Middle east and US military bases. Plus its less crowded airspace- which causes delays- than military airports in Southern England.
We can see similar occurrences for USAF flights to Antarctica, they stop to refuel at Christchurch, change crew etc .
This Trump Hotel/ Golf club is just outside Prestwick, maybe they offer a cut price deal for all these sort of cargo airlines for crew stop overs.
The idea that they are stopping there so they can stay at that hotel doesnt follow.
Cant see Prestwick 'supporting Bombing raids on Syria'
A loaded Bomber definitely wont be landing at a public airport…. they need facilities that can handle live bombs.
Like I said its a beatup about an insignificant thing, not that Trump hasnt loaded up his other hotels and golf clubs with official government events.
this is more important
n three Saturday evening tweets, Donald Trump claims that leaders of the Taliban, as well as Afghan president Ashraf Ghani, were secretly scheduled to land on U.S. soil “tonight.” Trump claimed that, “unbeknownst to almost everyone,” he had separate meetings scheduled with each at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland.
Trump then claimed that he bailed on the peace talks after the Taliban took credit for a deadly car bombing in Kabul on Thursday, which killed 12 people, including an American soldier.
A Camp David peace deal with the Taliban ?
What could go wrong. Even NZ has the Taliban on its Terrorist List of proscibed groups.
Like I said its a beatup about an insignificant thing
I don't think I would be saying that. There are questions being asked on both sides of the Atlantic. And yes! Trump is benefiting from this cozy arrangement.
Scottish Government-owned Prestwick Airport paid £9m by Trump administration
Meanwhile – Trump Turnberry lost $4.5 mill in 2017 and with the help of taxpayer $$$, it made $3 mill in 2018. Furthermore Prestwick offered free rounds of golf at Turnberry to visiting US military and civilian air crews. So a fairly clear example of further contravention of the emoluments clause of the Constitution.
Wow! That is some thread Joe. Meanwhile Jerry Nadler is preparing for action this week:
House Judiciary panel preparing vote to define Trump impeachment probe
…
The panel could vote as early as Wednesday on a resolution to spell out the parameters of its investigation. The precise language is still being hammered out inside the committee and with House leaders. A draft of the resolution is expected to be release Monday morning.
Nadler has already sort clarification from the Pentagon on this very matter with a flat refusal to comply. Things could get very interesting this week.
Yes, I do vote. If it makes you feel better, I'm registered in the California 51st District, so the only time my vote might make the slightest difference is in the Dem primary for the House and Senate. But the House Rep is Juan Vargas who is well-liked, so it's unlikely he'll get a serious challenger, and CA doesn't have a senator up for election in 2020.
I'm also capable of correctly spelling Christchurch.
Meanwhile, you got anything to say about the situation whereby this is the first president ever* to own and operate businesses that sell services to the federal government, in direct contravention of one of the first clauses of the constitution? And where that business has massively increased since he took office with the one branch of government he has the most direct control over, being the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces?
*I s’pose it’s possible Washington’s distillery sold whiskey to the Feds, but I’ve never seen any claim that that actually happened.
He never had "his shit" to lose. All he ever had was a big stack of dodgy dollars, an overactive middle finger that excited the deplorables, and a massive streak of nasty vindictiveness sufficient to cow into submission or at least silence anyone that voluntarily got close to him.
Went to the one in Dunedin a few weeks ago – pretty good I thought. Didn't see much of that on the menu lol
A couple of things stood out – the "express" lunch, with a 35 minute delivery time. Seafood joint near my work has a 15 minute promise today. Sign of the time crunch these days.
Also: why did they put little plastic cow silhouettes in the steaks?! I remembered them as kids as soon as I saw them. What the actual fuck? At least plastic straws were useful!
lol so they were a little plastic token to tell you what the chef thinks you got, rather than just leaving it for you to assume that what you get is what you ordered?
I was a kitchen hand at cobbyco in welly – they really loved burning the bottom of the pots big time – I was also a vege so never ate there just cleaned the filthy meat pots – ahh now that took elbow grease to move that grease.
Along with canned beans and Irish stew, they were a staple on the surf trips of my youth. Easily heated and eaten with white whole loaf bread and washed down with beer or milk, they were pretty damned good.
The film reviews on RadioNZ – one is of Apollo 11 and the question was raise- was this the event when the USA was really great?
I think actually it was when The New Deal was brought in in USA and also being behind the Marshall Plan that got Europe out of its WW2 hell-hole of poverty of the countries, infrastructure and systems. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Deal
Yep, USA was great once. As you say, Marshall Plan etc. Really though, US still is, in general. Most disaster aide in the world today is via US military.
Sadly, the invasion of Iraq pretty much undermined a great country. And as for Vietnam,……. but I guess that is the superpower complex.
What I like about the USA is that it sets itself pretty spectacular ideals. Usually it fails dismally at achieving those ideals (most of the writers of those "self evident" truths about freedom were slaveholders, for example), but sometimes (UN, New Deal, Civil Rights Act, Apollo) it approaches them. And that's pretty spectacular.
But so are their failures (KKK, Vietnam, CIA mcfuckery).
And the thousands if not millions of people who worked together to have 12 people walk on the moon. Awesome not just that they did it, but as an example of what we can do with a united focus.
The White House is considering a plan that would have the government directly purchase uranium from U.S. producers as it contemplates ways to revive the flagging domestic mining industry.
A group set up by President Donald Trump to study the issue is considering a request by the nuclear industry to use the Defense Production Act, a 68-year-old Cold War-era statute once invoked by President Harry Truman to help the steel industry. The plan calls for requiring the government to buy American uranium to replenish their stockpiles and for other purposes, Paul Goranson, chief operating officer for Energy Fuels Inc., said in an interview.
The Greens used to claim to be doing politics differently.
The censoring of an article by veteran Green Jill Abigail suggest the Green leadership have opted for censorship and control freakery. Here is they article they took exception to and banned:
Your marxist analysis is notably lacking if you genuinely believe that biological sex as a binary model of human physiology holds any water in modern medical science. In order to properly analyse reality, you first have to understand it; a task that is apparently too difficult for your ilk who are clearly stuck in centuries-old thought about sex that has long since been updated and replaced.
Your quack theories about trans people being a threat are founded on bad science, education comes before activism, please step up.
Your marxist analysis is notably lacking if you genuinely believe that biological sex as a binary model of human physiology holds any water in modern medical science.
Good luck convincing any actual biologists that sexual reproduction doesn't involve two sexes.
Trans people exist, modern medical science understands this, many societies understand this. Unfortunately they are a marginalised, stigmatised minority and articles that present trans-women as a threat in "women-only spaces" are factually wrong and exclusionary. Trans-women are women.
What pre-occupation? You posted a quote saying biological sex isn't binary, and I replied to the effect that biologists would be surprised to hear there are more than two sexes. That's not a "pre-occupation," it's a "reply."
Trans people exist…
No-one, least of all Jill Abigail, is disputing that.
Unfortunately they are a marginalised, stigmatised minority…
Ditto.
Trans-women are women.
However, that's simply untrue for any functional definition of "woman." The fact that "trans-woman" has the prefix "trans" should be a bit of a giveaway about that.
In the complete quote I posted it says sex isn't a binary in human physiology and this is well-known in modern medical science. This has nothing to do with reproduction, nothing to do with biologists so your "reply" was at best a distraction from the topic at hand.
Please provide what you consider to be the 'functional definition of "woman"'.
In the complete quote I posted it says sex isn't a binary in human physiology and this is well-known in modern medical science. This has nothing to do with reproduction…
I've tried parsing the claim that sex has nothing to do with reproduction multiple times, but no matter how I come at it the claim still makes no sense. The term "sex" refers to reproduction, and the term "sex differences" exists exactly because they are differences in the respective reproductive systems (or caused by the reproductive systems.
In my previous experience, references to sex supposedly not being binary are usually based on the existence of intersex people. However, the fact that sexual reproduction isn't 100% perfect and birth defects of the reproductive system can occur the same as they can for any other parts of the body was well-known to ancient medical science, let alone modern. That doesn't alter the fact that sexually-reproducing species have two sexes. Humans are no different in that respect.
Please provide what you consider to be the 'functional definition of "woman"'.
"A" functional definition, not "the." We have dictionaries for that, and the definition is usually "adult female human," or a variation on it. Drop "female" from the definition and it's just a synonym for "person," which would render it non-functional.
The obsession with reproduction as the important part for the definition of sex and gender excludes everyone who is unable to naturally conceive. Are all those infertile cis-gendered people also to be excluded from this gender binary? If not, why not?
Some females were assigned male at birth, it’s not a complicated thing, we agreed this above, it’s in dictionaries. However your example of a functional definition excludes trans-women because evidently you don’t actually consider them to be female. Why would this be?
… reproduction as the important part for the definition of sex and gender excludes everyone who is unable to naturally conceive.
Sex, not gender – gender's a social construct, nothing to do with physiology. And no the definitions of man and woman don't exclude people unable to conceive – the dictionary doesn't qualify the term "female" with "NB: female reproductive system in question must be proven to function correctly", for fairly obvious reasons.
Some females were assigned male at birth, it’s not a complicated thing, we agreed this above, it’s in dictionaries.
We did. However, we're talking about trans-women, not intersex people. The proportion of trans women who are intersex would be tiny.
…your example of a functional definition excludes trans-women because evidently you don’t actually consider them to be female. Why would this be?
First and foremost, because they're not female. I found that a pretty compelling reason.
Trans-women were assigned male at conception, by physical reality. If they'd rather live as a woman, all good by me and let's make that as straightforward for them as possible, but there isn't any way for them to become female – which leads to debates like the one Jill Abigail was contributing to (or trying to, at least).
So you say trans-women are not female, pray tell, what do you determine them to be?
Male/female is a matter of sex, not gender. We can fuck with gender every which way we feel like because it's a social construct, but so far no-one's come up with the technology for a person to change their sex.
A bit circular, and well removed from your original comment about reproduction requiring two sexes.
Fair cop, that was a silly answer, but it was a silly question. The answer was also not unrelated from my original comment, because male and female refer to the two sexes. The question of why I'd consider someone with a male body not to be female is self-answering.
Tauranga a ghost town at 5pm, Monday. Lots of vacant prime commercial real estate. Anyone who thinks we will keep seeing prices rise is dreaming & it will get worse despite the GST about to be charged on imported goods.
30 odd units vacant (!) on just two roads.
Check it out what mainstream news won’t be telling you.
The Tauranga auction spy reports that this week out of the 11 residential auctions he attended 8 did not get a single bid.
pretty much any town in nz is suffering from this lack of commercial tenants. Reason one: Leases in Tauranga, Rotorua, Tokoroa, Putaruru, Taupo etc are all the same, namely as in AKL. Meaninch 15-25 grand a year ex gst, ex rates, ex building insurance, ex ex ex ex ex ex
and so as long as that is addressed ( and we have the same issue with residential) people don't rent/lease. Simple as that.
Prices will raise, but it ain't the locals buying. And for those that can't sell, fear not, just write of your loss if you can't find a tenant to pay your exuberant rent / lease demands. The government will look after you 🙂
That is the biggest single failing of the current lot running the show in wellington, they could have closed loopholes that allow property owners to keep buildings, dwelling, residential/commercial spaces empty as they still make money of it. They could have regulated rent demands, they could have regulated air bnb, they could have should have but sadly have done fuck all.
With the soaring cost of housing, power, rates, insurance and food it's no wonder people can't afford to go shopping, thus bars and restaurants are struggling and shops are sitting vacant.
The one thing that is growing is queues at the local food bank.
wow – just noticed this – I hope it gets better I really do
Authorities are labelling Queensland's bushfire emergency as historic, as crews continue to battle dozens of blazes.
…"It is an historic event. [We've] never seen this before in recorded history – fire weather has never been as severe, this early in Spring," Inspector Sturgess said.
"So this is an omen, if you will, a warning of the fire season that we're likely to see ahead in the south-eastern parts of the state, the driest parts of the state, where most of our population is."
Acting Queensland Premier Jackie Trad said the severe conditions could be attributed to climate change.
"There is no doubt that with an increasing temperature with climate change, then what the scientists tell us is that events such as these will be more frequent and they will be much more ferocious."
The East Coast Fire Season, has started about 2mths early than normal. In some parts of the east coast it’s so extreme that some towns have next to no water or are likely to run out water in the coming months and as a result of a lack of water the fire crews have to resort to dry fire fighting techniques which is not a effective, but that’s what they do given the circumstances especially around the Tenterfield area in Northern NSW.
I had drinks with my Bushfire Brigade on Thursday here at Dundee NT, where the talk got around the water supply? The local plumber who also supplies water as everyone is on Tank water or they shallow bores are running out of water and it get worse. The local plumber has had to cut back in the water cart business, so he doesn’t run old of water and the community open water supply has run dry. Due to selfish members of the Dundee community have been using our bushfires outlet which feeds out of the bottom tank and at times has stuffed up the bore feeding the water tank. Where as the community outlet is half way up the tank and it’s going to a point if we have fire we may not have water and this water supply supports people out to a radius of 20-30 km’s.
Some communities in the Darwin Rural Area are about run out of water or they have been trucking in water since Xmas and the scary thing is we are expecting to this fire season to extend out to December and water to be very scarce until the Wet Season breaks if it comes at all?
Its getting despite in a lot of places throughout Australia if this current droughts doesn’t break IRT water, food production and whole communities etc.
For various reasons, agriculture in much of Australia will be near impossible in a few decades.
Drought, salinity inclusions into artesian water, air borne erosion of soil, (Dust bowl affect) warmer temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, and more frequent storms are already having a serious impact.
Yesterday I watched ABC’s Landline as I do most Sunday’s and this weeks episode was entire on Climate Change. There was some interesting stuff from a whole range of people including a former GG who has a special forces background and who also supported the Maj Les Hiddins aka The Bush Tucker Man at a time when the Army thought Les was a bit of a crackpot. Who has an interest in soil carbon capture and he words about CC are the same POV as mine.
The follow links were on yesterday’s Landline and this is the link for Landline as they will do more episodes on CC in the future. https://www.abc.net.au/landline/
Last years Drought summit held in Canberra before the Federal election, raised the possibility that retiring land has to be now considered as a result of CC in the more marginal areas of Australia. But the sticking point was how to give those Farmers some dignity without the banks etc including Government leaving them penny less as most of the farmers wealth is tired up in land etc, management of the land once its retired from farming and those a effected communities that service the farming sector.
The old man comes from Broken Hill and to see the massive fish kill at the Menindee Lakes almost brought him to tears as the lake system was meant to hold water during the Drought's and hold water for the fish etc. But somewhere along the line some smart ass lobbied the State government to use all that water for farming/ horticulture, instead of it sitting there when the next drought comes along.
Here's a couple of more interesting links and both them I've had some experience in especially from a military planning/ military research side of things at unit level and group level before I was medical discharge.
Aron looks like a national supporter I seen his nihor showing.
Sam the number one cause of suicide is no money. I have seen for my self how professionals lawyers advises accounts and foresters have ripped off people close to me THAT'S CAPTILSIM take all you can from innocent people with their silver TONGUES.
You should have taken the complaints to the police Paula milking it.
BULLSHIT there are deaths from dairydack for years how do we know that you are telling the TRUTH about the numbers and dates. People were making money off the sale of stuff that could kill people this is national mess you are trying to blame others Paul It would never have been a issue if it was stamped out straight away not sold in shops.
There you go America needs to change laws to make tech companies responsible for the content on their platform.
Eric their you go Jacinda is speaking about the haters get exposure on big tech companies sites that will help to highlight the problem and motivate them to take the videos down. It's will be hard when you have old Politicians employed on the big tech companies LOBBYING branches.
I read that colonel sanders was a white supremist I get a sore face when people quote him.
The Coalition Government new approach ZERO lives lost to suicide every life matters is awesome.
Some people are so cruel how can they do that to a human or even a animal those idiots who torchered that poor Wahine WTF.
There he goes again barking up the wrong tree bridges doe not think very well of course we care about the haters who harm inenecint tangata using the Internet to gain support it must be stop.
Let's hope Otago get a good growing season this year. Im hopeing for some wind from Tawhirimate to get my wind turbine turning I had to design if for strong Tawhirimate as things get blown over were we are.
Mike that's gives Eco Maori A sore face all the Tangata and Tamariki wanting to learn Te Reo it is every one in Aotearoa taonga Ka pai.
I have congratulations for our government move to a goal of zero lives lost to suicide . I agree with Mike suicide is a New Zealand problem
It awesome that Te puni korokiri is tau toko Te tangata with building whare on their own whenua that is what Te puni Korokiri did back in the days of old.
Maori tourism is getting links to boost their business and putea Ka pai
Toronto film Festival Tika Waititi Jojo rabbit will show Maori wit and humour awesome.
Turangi A Kiwa celebrating Te Reo Maori Language week kia kaha Whanau. Tawhirimate was celebrating Te Reo Maori Language week to. Pouho Rawiri Marae
Maunatu taonga their tamariki Ka pai I taonga my tamariki so does Ngāti Porou.
The last few days have been a bit too much of a whirl for me to manage a fresh edition each day. It's been that kind of year. Hope you don't mind.I’ve been coming around to thinking that it doesn't really matter if you don't have something to say every ...
The worms will live in every hostIt's hard to pick which one they eat the mostThe horrible people, the horrible peopleIt's as anatomic as the size of your steepleCapitalism has made it this wayOld-fashioned fascism will take it awaySongwriter: Twiggy Ramirez Read more ...
Hi,It’s almost Christmas Day which means it is almost my birthday, where you will find me whimpering in the corner clutching a warm bottle of Baileys.If you’re out of ideas for presents (and truly desperate) then it is possible to gift a full Webworm subscription to a friend (or enemy) ...
This morning’s six standouts for me at 6.30am include:Rachel Helyer Donaldson’s scoop via RNZ last night of cuts to maternity jobs in the health system;Maddy Croad’s scoop via The Press-$ this morning on funding cuts for Christchurch’s biggest food rescue charity;Benedict Collins’ scoop last night via 1News on a last-minute ...
A listing of 25 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 15, 2024 thru Sat, December 21, 2024. Based on feedback we received, this week's roundup is the first one published soleley by category. We are still interested in ...
Well, I've been there, sitting in that same chairWhispering that same prayer half a million timesIt's a lie, though buried in disciplesOne page of the Bible isn't worth a lifeThere's nothing wrong with youIt's true, it's trueThere's something wrong with the villageWith the villageSomething wrong with the villageSongwriters: Andrew Jackson ...
ACT would like to dictate what universities can and can’t say. We knew it was coming. It was outlined in the coalition agreement and has become part of Seymour’s strategy of “emphasising public funding” to prevent people from opposing him and his views—something he also uses to try and de-platform ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Are we heading ...
So the Solstice has arrived – Summer in this part of the world, Winter for the Northern Hemisphere. And with it, the publication my new Norse dark-fantasy piece, As Our Power Lessens at Eternal Haunted Summer: https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/winter-solstice-2024/as-our-power-lessens/ As previously noted, this one is very ‘wyrd’, and Northern Theory of Courage. ...
The Natural Choice: As a starter for ten percent of the Party Vote, “saving the planet” is a very respectable objective. Young voters, in particular, raised on the dire (if unheeded) warnings of climate scientists, and the irrefutable evidence of devastating weather events linked to global warming, vote Green. After ...
The Government cancelled 60% of Kāinga Ora’s new builds next year, even though the land for them was already bought, the consents were consented and there are builders unemployed all over the place. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political ...
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on UnsplashEvery morning I get up at 3am to go around the traps of news sites in Aotearoa and globally. I pick out the top ones from my point of view and have been putting them into my Dawn Chorus email, which goes out with a podcast. ...
Over on Kikorangi Newsroom's Marc Daalder has published his annual OIA stats. So I thought I'd do mine: 82 OIA requests sent in 2024 7 posts based on those requests 20 average working days to receive a response Ministry of Justice was my most-requested entity, ...
Welcome to the December 2024 Economic Bulletin. We have two monthly features in this edition. In the first, we discuss what the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update from Treasury and the Budget Policy Statement from the Minister of Finance tell us about the fiscal position and what to ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi have submitted against the controversial Treaty Principles Bill, slamming the Bill as a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and an attack on tino rangatiratanga and the collective rights of Tangata Whenua. “This Bill seeks to legislate for Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles that are ...
I don't knowHow to say what's got to be saidI don't know if it's black or whiteThere's others see it redI don't get the answers rightI'll leave that to youIs this love out of fashionOr is it the time of yearAre these words distraction?To the words you want to hearSongwriters: ...
Our economy has experienced its worst recession since 1991. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, December 20 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above and the daily Pick ‘n’ Mix below ...
Twas the Friday before Christmas and all through the week we’ve been collecting stories for our final roundup of the year. As we start to wind down for the year we hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and new year. If you’re travelling please be safe on ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the year’s news with: on climate. Her book of the year was Tim Winton’s cli-fi novel Juice and she also mentioned Mike Joy’s memoir The Fight for Fresh Water. ...
The Government can head off to the holidays, entitled to assure itself that it has done more or less what it said it would do. The campaign last year promised to “get New Zealand back on track.” When you look at the basic promises—to trim back Government expenditure, toughen up ...
Open access notables An intensification of surface Earth’s energy imbalance since the late 20th century, Li et al., Communications Earth & Environment:Tracking the energy balance of the Earth system is a key method for studying the contribution of human activities to climate change. However, accurately estimating the surface energy balance ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guests and , ...
“Like you said, I’m an unreconstructed socialist. Everybody deserves to get something for Christmas.”“ONE OF THOSE had better be for me!” Hannah grinned, fascinated, as Laurie made his way, gingerly, to the bar, his arms full of gift-wrapped packages.“Of course!”, beamed Laurie. Depositing his armful on the bar-top and selecting ...
Data released by Statistics New Zealand today showed a significant slowdown in the economy over the past six months, with GDP falling by 1% in September, and 1.1% in June said CTU Economist Craig Renney. “The data shows that the size of the economy in GDP terms is now smaller ...
One last thing before I quitI never wanted any moreThan I could fit into my headI still remember every single word you saidAnd all the shit that somehow came along with itStill, there's one thing that comforts meSince I was always caged and now I'm freeSongwriters: David Grohl / Georg ...
Sparse offerings outside a Te Kauwhata church. Meanwhile, the Government is cutting spending in ways that make thousands of hungry children even hungrier, while also cutting funding for the charities that help them. It’s also doing that while winding back new building of affordable housing that would allow parents to ...
It is difficult to make sense of the Luxon Coalition Government’s economic management.This end-of-year review about the state of economic management – the state of the economy was last week – is not going to cover the National Party contribution. Frankly, like every other careful observer, I cannot make up ...
This morning I awoke to the lovely news that we are firmly back on track, that is if the scale was reversed.NZ ranks low in global economic comparisonsNew Zealand's economy has been ranked 33rd out of 37 in an international comparison of which have done best in 2024.Economies were ranked ...
Remember those silent movies where the heroine is tied to the railway tracks or going over the waterfall in a barrel? Finance Minister Nicola Willis seems intent on portraying herself as that damsel in distress. According to Willis, this country’s current economic problems have all been caused by the spending ...
Similar to the cuts and the austerity drive imposed by Ruth Richardson in the 1990’s, an era which to all intents and purposes we’ve largely fiddled around the edges with fixing in the time since – over, to be fair, several administrations – whilst trying our best it seems to ...
String-Pulling in the Dark: For the democratic process to be meaningful it must also be public. WITH TRUST AND CONFIDENCE in New Zealand’s politicians and journalists steadily declining, restoring those virtues poses a daunting challenge. Just how daunting is made clear by comparing the way politicians and journalists treated New Zealanders ...
Dear Nicola Willis, thank you for letting us know in so many words that the swingeing austerity hasn't worked.By in so many words I mean the bit where you said, Here is a sea of red ink in which we are drowning after twelve months of savage cost cutting and ...
The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral organisation committed to advancing open government. Countries which join are supposed to co-create regular action plans with civil society, committing to making verifiable improvements in transparency, accountability, participation, or technology and innovation for the above. And they're held to account through an Independent ...
Today I tuned into something strange: a press conference that didn’t make my stomach churn or the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Which was strange, because it was about the torture of children. It was the announcement by Erica Stanford — on her own, unusually ...
This is a must watch, and puts on brilliant and practical display the implications and mechanics of fast-track law corruption and weakness.CLICK HERE: LINK TO WATCH VIDEOOur news media as it is set up is simply not equipped to deal with the brazen disinformation and corruption under this right wing ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting Secretary Erin Polaczuk is welcoming the announcement from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden that she is opening consultation on engineered stone and is calling on her to listen to the evidence and implement a total ban of the product. “We need ...
The Government has announced a 1.5% increase in the minimum wage from 1 April 2025, well below forecast inflation of 2.5%. Unions have reacted strongly and denounced it as a real terms cut. PSA and the CTU are opposing a new round of staff cuts at WorkSafe, which they say ...
The decision to unilaterally repudiate the contract for new Cook Strait ferries is beginning to look like one of the stupidest decisions a New Zealand government ever made. While cancelling the ferries and their associated port infrastructure may have made this year's books look good, it means higher costs later, ...
Hi there! I’ve been overseas recently, looking after a situation with a family member. So apologies if there any less than focused posts! Vanuatu has just had a significant 7.3 earthquake. Two MFAT staff are unaccounted for with local fatalities.It’s always sad to hear of such things happening.I think of ...
Today is a special member's morning, scheduled to make up for the government's theft of member's days throughout the year. First up was the first reading of Greg Fleming's Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill, which was passed unanimously. Currently the House is debating the third reading of ...
We're going backwardsIgnoring the realitiesGoing backwardsAre you counting all the casualties?We are not there yetWhere we need to beWe are still in debtTo our insanitiesSongwriter: Martin Gore Read more ...
Willis blamed Treasury for changing its productivity assumptions and Labour’s spending increases since Covid for the worsening Budget outlook. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, December 18 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above ...
Today the Auckland Transport board meet for the last time this year. For those interested (and with time to spare), you can follow along via this MS Teams link from 10am. I’ve taken a quick look through the agenda items to see what I think the most interesting aspects are. ...
Hi,If you’re a New Zealander — you know who Mike King is. He is the face of New Zealand’s battle against mental health problems. He can be loud and brash. He raises, and is entrusted with, a lot of cash. Last year his “I Am Hope” charity reported a revenue ...
Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...
Come and join myself and CTU Chief Economist for a pop-up ‘Hoon’ webinar on the Government’s Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) with paying subscribers to The Kākā for 30 minutes at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream to watch our chat. Don’t worry if ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Kiwis planning a swim or heading out on a boat this summer should remember to stop and think about water safety, Sport & Recreation Minister Chris Bishop and ACC and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “New Zealand’s beaches, lakes and rivers are some of the most beautiful in the ...
The Government is urging Kiwis to drive safely this summer and reminding motorists that Police will be out in force to enforce the road rules, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“This time of year can be stressful and result in poor decision-making on our roads. Whether you are travelling to see ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
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How can people who are so adamant that "bloody Labour" and useless "Jacinta who is mucking everything up" and yet don't know the difference between the EU and the Commowealth when the next discussion point is Brexit be allowed to have a vote?
One just has to hope that these ignorants are spread evenly across the political spectrum… so their influence is nil….
Frankly I think that talk back radio is a great weapon of the right –
These sort of lies and drivel are the harvest of the echo chamber known as talk back radio.
Just as the National party has the 'Cabinet Club' ,
Im sure they have a 'Talk Back Club…on call to flood the phone lines.
Talkback suits the Right better with their adamant rather than us with our buts and why-fors. Whatever silly-arse prejudice you have mate it's right. Only the hosts being brought up in social-democracy holds it back.
Yes Barfly. That is true here in Australia as well. Mike Hoskins is another Alan Jones type.
I've been following the Brexit shenanigans and ensuing parliamentary farce on a couple of UK stations, LBC and BBC 5 Live. The differences between them and our so-called news radio is like night and day. Ignoring a couple of the more hoskinesque hosts , the nuanced and informative analysis and commentary from hosts, commentators and expert guests is first rate. And they must have rather good vetting systems to weed out the ranting, partisan, single-issue loons because most of their talk-back callers come across as reasonable, well informed, and worthwhile the time spent listening.
VTO – They used to call it 'brainwashing'.keep saying it so many times until a lie becomes the truth.
Propaganda… Repeat ad nauseam.
Ignore facts and science, just repeat repeat, until it is imprinted.
A tactic as old as politics, and just remember "Who pays the Piper to play the song on repeat?"
The answer is, "Follow the big money"
This is getting beyond a joke now.https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/115592299/young-labour-abuse-victims-barred-from-parliament-offices.
It was a joke up until now?
The way they have handled it has been a joke yes.
The way who have handled it? The Labour Party? In what sense was their handling of it a joke? Neither of us has significant knowledge of how it was handled, so ignorance-based reckons about the quality of the handling could themselves only take the form of jokes, surely?
As an abstract hypothetical, though: when allegations of workplace harrassment and bullying are made against an individual and an investigation finds that the allegations are unsupported, ie it comes down to he says/she says, how would you handle those allegations in a way that treated all parties fairly, respected their privacy, achieved a result satisfactory to all parties and also couldn't be used as propaganda against you by your enemies? Do take your time.
Vance mentions in passing Parliaments inquiry into Bullying etc?
The Journalists have never revisited the shock conclusion that some Journalists around parliament are part of the problem
"A significant number of respondents – not all of them Members – commented on what they perceived as inappropriate behaviour by members of the Press Gallery or media more generally."
https://www.parliament.nz/media/5739/independent-external-review-into-bullying-and-harassment-in-the-new-zealand-parliamentary-workplace-final-report.pdf
and a quote:
““Gallery behaviour is unacceptable… they come in there perfectly nice people and then adopt this persona of the classic bully. You can watch it happen.”
Code of Omerta means people like Vance wont touch that aspect
"In what sense was their handling of it a joke?"
"Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Labour Party President Nigel Haworth have delivered an apologetic press conference, admitting major failings by the party. Ms Ardern said the burden of care and responsibility for those allegedly sexually assualted at a summer camp should not have been left to members of Young Labour. "We handled this very, very badly as a party," Ms Ardern said."
"The party is also facing criticism for the presence of alcohol at the event. Young people attended the event with parental consent, but on Wednesday afternoon, Ms Ardern was unable to say whether those consent forms mentioned alcohol. Labour MP Liz Craig was at the event that night. On Wednesday afternoon, she deleted a photo from her Facebook page which showed her seated at a table with a group of young adults who were drinking alcohol."
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2018/03/labour-accused-of-dropping-the-ball-on-young-labour-sexual-assault-claims.html
"The Prime Minister, parents of the victims, and police were not notified about alleged sexual misconduct at a Young Labour summer camp last month."
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2018/03/labour-didn-t-tell-police-parents-or-pm-about-sexual-assault-claims.html
There's more, but that's enough. I don't like labelling Labour's handling of this 'a joke'; it rather minimises the damage. Incompetent, inept, useless…these are far better descriptors.
Nigel Haworth has not done Jacinda any favours the way he has handled it. If true that he banned complainants from buildings, why was the accused not banned or stood down why investigation going on? Andrea Vance and Alison Mau seem to have really turned on Labour this weekend.
As an abstract hypothetical: when allegations of workplace harrassment and bullying are made against an individual and an investigation finds that the allegations are unsupported, ie it comes down to he says/she says, how would you handle those allegations in a way that treated all parties fairly, respected their privacy, achieved a result satisfactory to all parties and also couldn't be used as propaganda against you by your enemies? Do take your time.
The accused should have been stood down while investigation underway, not just the accusers being banned from the building. I think this may cost Nigel Haworth his job. The last one cost Andrew Kirton his job.
The Spinoff piece under discussion in today's thread suggests there was no investigation, or at least nothing you could reasonably call an investigation. Like you, I don't see how Kirton could keep his job and still expect anyone to vote Labour – same with the others involved.
Picking on a turn of phrase psycho?
I had to reread the story carefully as from the "heading" it seemed as though the story was in regard to the recent case due to be sentenced later in the year – the word "young" gave, to me, every impression of that. What it is referring to is another completely separate matter that has an element of "employment" attached to it and no charges, as yet, which has a bearing that needs to be sorted but the inference unless studied and read carefully implies something else.
Thanks for the clarification Rapaunzel. It wasn't at all clear from that article what case was being referred to:
The seven complainants have still not laid any complaints with either the police or Parliamentary Services.
I'm not suggesting nothing happened, but I’m starting to smell a big rat over this case.
🙂 It didn;t help that the paper was drenched but the heading led me, and I guess others, up the garden path until I re-read it. No one is suggesting anything did not happen but there are cases that were supposedly being looked at that the public had heard no more of within the National Party that were not disimmilar.
Why can't NZ media stick to the facts and the fact is as you say there are no charges and employment matters have to be handled very carefully for all involved. Allowing media to be judge and jury of what happened, how it "should be handled" and where the "blame" lies is unacceptable. This sort of conjecture and getting to the heart of who, how many people and exactly what needs to be done does nothing to educate on and improve workplace relationships.
... there are cases that were supposedly being looked at that the public had heard no more of within the National Party that were not disimilar.
There was a serious case earlier this year involving a Young Nat (male) and a Young Nat event. It was reported through the MSM and then… nothing. It was suspected at the time the complainant was 'bought off'.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12166768
Nov 2018.
Simon Bridges said:
"In line with our health and safety policies, we acted quickly to offer any support and advice to the person who raised the issue, and this information was passed on to the alleged victim.
"As this is now a matter for the police, we can't comment any further."
And that, as far as I know, was the last we heard of the matter so I am assuming the complainant withdrew her complaint. Did she do it of her own accord or was she coerced? Did any journos bother to check out what happened? The answer appears to be… no.
It would seem there's a big difference how these cases get reported depending on which party the complainant/complainants belong to eh?
If any thing serious happened, surely, at least one complainant must report it to the police (or Parliamentary services?).
The Nat one was reported to police.
Not parliamentary services for that one, as it was in Auckland bar and a apartment. No Parliamentary Services employees from the outline of the event
Anne, the reason your comments are held in in Auto-Moderation is a minor typo in your user name, which I have corrected a number of times now. The system ‘thinks’ that you’re a new user and this needs to be manually approved.
Thank-you Incognito. I picked it up after sending the comment. 😳
That was from about 3 weeks ago , Bennett went full out on it, it was covered by the media as she arranged.
Now Vance who moved out of the Press gallery into management has a slow Sunday scandal day hole to fill ? . Has she been chatting to Bennett who wanted to recycle old news
Their new weekly columnist , the taxpayer funded opinion piece by Seymours staffer seems to disappeared
Well Stuff can get stuf't on a Sunday I'm cancelling my paper and will say exactly why, the same should apply to talkback advertisers such as "magic" radio with its Too Cheap Cars donations. After the $400+k fine for cheating clients only "trmagic's" terminally dim listeners would be an option as clientele anyway.
Marvelous!
https://twitter.com/michaelharriot/status/1170202643672776704
After the Revolutionary War, many of the white people who were loyal to Britain moved to the Bahamas, which was largely empty. A lot of those people brought their enslaved Africans with them.
But harsh conditions made many of the white people leave. Then, in 1807, Britain abolished the slave trade. Many of those freed Africans who were liberated on the open seas went to the Bahamas as free people.
When the US basically bought Florida from Spain, thousands of enslaved Africans and Black Seminoles said “fuck this” and escaped to the Bahamas.
So many ran to freedom that the US government had to build a lighthouse in Cape Florida in 1825.
In 1834, Britain freed all the slaves in its territories and shit really got crazy.
[…]
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1170202643672776704.html
It usually raises a red flag for me when some one claims a country was 'largely empty'
Its part of the White Settlers shtick about South Africa too.
The large existing population of the Bahamas was removed by the Spanish for the slave trade at the start of Colonisation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Bahamas
Amber Rudd has resigned from the BJ Cabinet and the Tory whip.
1. BJ is only pretending to seek a deal.
2. the removal of the 21 MP’s.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49623737
So there are significant numbers of Tory MPs with the integrity and spine prepared to stand up to Boorish and say what they think, in full knowledge the likely price is the end of their political career. That really highlights what a bunch of jellyfish the Repugs are in their craven capitulation to Kim Jong Orange.
Quoted for Truth
Turns out the bludger is stupid, too.
A teacher on an individual contract has complained to the Human Rights Commission about payments union members will get after the settling of a protracted pay wrangle.
And he claims non-union teachers have been kept in the dark that they can negotiate their own employment agreements.
Hastings Boys' High head of music Justin Lindsay claims that the Ministry of Education has discriminated on the basis of political opinion in their new Secondary Teachers Collective Agreement (STCA) 2019-2022.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12265580&ref=clavis
I googled him. Looks like he took care to sanitise his online foot print before speaking out. The only thing he shows is that he was employed in the ESOL and tech sector in Japan for a number of years,
"And he claims non-union teachers have been kept in the dark "? Really? And he also claims to be a teacher? I have seen that name before with similar "complaints" but no mention of how many people he represents. How is it that one individual's statement is passed by media as being either a wide-spread issue or movement?
He would have signed this – which is a template
https://www.education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/School/Individual-Employment-Agreements/Secondary-Teachers-IEA-2019.pdf
perhaps he should appoint /pay for his own advocate to get better terms than the Union members.
Funny these sort of stories dont sit for long in the NZME 'pending publishing' queue.
Which is why NZ seriously needs some sort of public service information outlet, either a whole channel or something. While I suppose that was clear to me right from the messing with contract thing in the 1990s, more towards the end of that period I gather their are people who don't appear to "know" these things – he does is, spreading misinformation is his intent.
There are lots of basic things beginning with how to register and vote, what "free" medical options families might have, how not to pay insurance unless you know you have met criteria and are fully covered for what you think you've paid for, what are your employment "rights" and obligations are – so as not to jeopardize your employment, along with reliable borrowing or budgeting advice etc. The information is there but it needs to be more readily available and visible and repeated till it sinks in. During the 2014 election I heard from several young people that their employers or other told them "if you don't vote this way you will have no job". They believed it and spread that idea around. If basic information about "rights' was more common and normalised people might start thinking for themselves and/or seeking out the facts when they need them.
There's a Parliament TV channel that has a lot of downtime – even given repeats of QT etc. (and that's just for starters). It could actually be used for educational purposes at various times – providing 'civics'/'social studies', the citizens' rights when dealing with government agencies, the Treaty, BOR et al
No end of things – took my grandson to the medical centre last holidays and they had a number of items running, how many other groups have items of interest, probably local councils and voluntary groups.
Besides that what groups are active in an area may be an incentive to make people more active which is the first step in the right direction to give mental stimulation, company and activities to turn back the tide of health issues putting pressure on services.
Cross contamination (Bacteria) in gene editing experiment.
https://twitter.com/techreview/status/1169921428969480192
Yes, that is indeed the kind of thing that happens when technologists use simple sloppy techniques that are more or less how bacteria have been getting their genes into other organisms without any human intervention since forever. Like happened with sweet potato.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150421084204.htm
Genetic transfer has been ongoing in the nature,with subsequent trial and success,over very looooooong time periods.
Mitichondria being a good example.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitochondrion
Brexit is my addiction, (I watch it like I used to watch Babylon 5.) Fascinating – what's next.
I like the photo of Boorish that has been captured.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/world/more-turmoil-boris-johnson-he-loses-another-cabinet-member-over-brexit-fiasco
BBC one good too. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49618242
Amber Rudd not a dead insect encapsulated in gum. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49623737
Rudd is just a careerist first and foremost looking out for herself. She makes Paula Bennett seem like Mary Poppins… the Windrush scandal wa swhen she was in charge….. she smells blood in the water for Johnson and wants to be part of the next cabinet and the next cabinet
This is the person she is :
"Rudd first denied there were targets for the removal of immigrants. Later, she maintained that she had not known of targets. Later still, The Guardian published leaked evidence that Rudd had known about targets: "
Wikipedia. That resulted in one of her many resignations
She should really be going to the Great Tory Boneyard in the Sky… but is likely to reappear somwhow.
If that's true dookydooky, then blobbyjobby should be worried shouldn't he.
If you watch nothing else – watch the first first 2.15 find out if your a socialist or just some sort of wannabe.
Haven't watched it but a muscly govt is vital now to face climate change.
Cleek's law done wrong.
https://twitter.com/JordanUhl/status/1170172075094487041
Fox News opinion host Laura Ingraham’s earnest efforts to troll liberals reached a new, if not bizarre, level Friday as she attempted to drink a steak stuffed with incandescent light bulbs through a plastic straw.
“Well, it’s a meal that will trigger all the right … I meant all the left people,” she said to kick off the “Ingraham Angle” segment.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/laura-ingraham-tries-to-drink-light-bulb-steak-to-trigger-liberals_n_5d73c962e4b0fde50c2740cd?
she is so thick – thin lipped zombie who need 'braaaaaaaaaiiinnnnnnnnss'
Dementia Don is clearly contagious.
She really does suck.
The grift continues …
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/09/house-investigation-air-force-crew-trump-turnberry-resort-scotland.html
Meanwhile, let's remind ourselves of Article 2 Section 1 Clause 7 of the Constitution:
The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
Money from any government source finding it's way into a federal official's pocket from any source other than salary is a direct violation of the constitution, and should be cause for immediate impeachment. But Repugs just don't care, it's not like adults were indulging in any consensual private pleasure or anything like that. (Although grossly inappropriate due to the power imbalance involved)
Thats a beat up about USAF flight stop overs in Prestwick Scotland. Its not really Glasgow which has its own airport close to the city.
They reason they stop. because planes fly 'Great Circle' arcs between origin and destination as much as possible. Prestwick is on the direct route for stop overs between Middle east and US military bases. Plus its less crowded airspace- which causes delays- than military airports in Southern England.
We can see similar occurrences for USAF flights to Antarctica, they stop to refuel at Christchurch, change crew etc .
This Trump Hotel/ Golf club is just outside Prestwick, maybe they offer a cut price deal for all these sort of cargo airlines for crew stop overs.
The idea that they are stopping there so they can stay at that hotel doesnt follow.
Ah – huh …
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/feb/07/scottish-government-criticised-over-us-military-use-of-airport
https://m.dailykos.com/stories/1884091
Cant see Prestwick 'supporting Bombing raids on Syria'
A loaded Bomber definitely wont be landing at a public airport…. they need facilities that can handle live bombs.
Like I said its a beatup about an insignificant thing, not that Trump hasnt loaded up his other hotels and golf clubs with official government events.
this is more important
n three Saturday evening tweets, Donald Trump claims that leaders of the Taliban, as well as Afghan president Ashraf Ghani, were secretly scheduled to land on U.S. soil “tonight.” Trump claimed that, “unbeknownst to almost everyone,” he had separate meetings scheduled with each at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland.
Trump then claimed that he bailed on the peace talks after the Taliban took credit for a deadly car bombing in Kabul on Thursday, which killed 12 people, including an American soldier.
A Camp David peace deal with the Taliban ?
What could go wrong. Even NZ has the Taliban on its Terrorist List of proscibed groups.
I don't think I would be saying that. There are questions being asked on both sides of the Atlantic. And yes! Trump is benefiting from this cozy arrangement.
Meanwhile – Trump Turnberry lost $4.5 mill in 2017 and with the help of taxpayer $$$, it made $3 mill in 2018. Furthermore Prestwick offered free rounds of golf at Turnberry to visiting US military and civilian air crews. So a fairly clear example of further contravention of the emoluments clause of the Constitution.
Nothing quite like an official partnership.
https://twitter.com/MartynMcL/status/1170151675132297216
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1170137677095669766.html
Wow! That is some thread Joe. Meanwhile Jerry Nadler is preparing for action this week:
Nadler has already sort clarification from the Pentagon on this very matter with a flat refusal to comply. Things could get very interesting this week.
More crazy conspiracy theories.
And of course, man never landed on the moon, the ChCh mosque massacre was all Mossads doing, and my chips tonight are soggy because of Brexit.
Unbelievable. And you are allowed to vote? I despair at times like this.
Yes, I do vote. If it makes you feel better, I'm registered in the California 51st District, so the only time my vote might make the slightest difference is in the Dem primary for the House and Senate. But the House Rep is Juan Vargas who is well-liked, so it's unlikely he'll get a serious challenger, and CA doesn't have a senator up for election in 2020.
I'm also capable of correctly spelling Christchurch.
Meanwhile, you got anything to say about the situation whereby this is the first president ever* to own and operate businesses that sell services to the federal government, in direct contravention of one of the first clauses of the constitution? And where that business has massively increased since he took office with the one branch of government he has the most direct control over, being the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces?
*I s’pose it’s possible Washington’s distillery sold whiskey to the Feds, but I’ve never seen any claim that that actually happened.
And now the dayglo swampzilla is trying to force automakers to pollute more …
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/antitrust-investigation-ford-bmw-justice-department_n_5d728876e4b03aabe35bbd99
Meanwhile…
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/trump-aides-worried-about-mental-state-alabama-hurricane-dorian-2019-9?
He never had "his shit" to lose. All he ever had was a big stack of dodgy dollars, an overactive middle finger that excited the deplorables, and a massive streak of nasty vindictiveness sufficient to cow into submission or at least silence anyone that voluntarily got close to him.
Well yeah I totally agree.
"Sharpiegate" is just another episode in the total clusterfuck of daily shock and horror that is now everyday American politics.
this is effin' hilarious..
a cobb & co training vid from the 80's..
i've never been to a cobb & co..
but for those of you who used to..?…and liked it..?
my god – you used to eat some crap..
(the vid is 12 and a half mins long..but i urge you to watch all of it..
the dessert for two – at the end – is well worth the wait/journey..(it comes with an umbrella..(!)..didn’tyaknow..?..)
https://thespinoff.co.nz/food/14-08-2017/a-play-by-play-of-a-32-year-old-cobb-co-staff-training-video/
i laughed like a drain thru much of it..
the re-heated tinned-mushrooms – the ubiquitous orange-slice..
the foul muck they called sauces – the piped cream..
it just keeps giving and giving…heh..!
Cobbnco was great philly… ngnghchn…
Mmmmmm …. crumbed schnitzel … stuffed with ham and cheese …
Ah, the eighties.
Went to the one in Dunedin a few weeks ago – pretty good I thought. Didn't see much of that on the menu lol
A couple of things stood out – the "express" lunch, with a 35 minute delivery time. Seafood joint near my work has a 15 minute promise today. Sign of the time crunch these days.
Also: why did they put little plastic cow silhouettes in the steaks?! I remembered them as kids as soon as I saw them. What the actual fuck? At least plastic straws were useful!
I'm pretty sure the coloured cows were to indicate the 'doneness' of steak.
lol so they were a little plastic token to tell you what the chef thinks you got, rather than just leaving it for you to assume that what you get is what you ordered?
It was more for the one between the chef and the diner – the wait staff.
So they knew what to announce they had when they got to the table.
Don't be so awful Phil. It was farken sofusticaydid and pretty much the start of it all. Lil ole NuZull had come of age.
..heh..!
and i have just remembered i have been to one..on north shore..just a few yrs ago..
i think it was one..
it was an auntie-do..
and my vegan cousin and i wandered past the offerings..(twice..)
and neither i nor she could bring ourselves to try anything…
the aunties were all tucking in tho'…
no accounting for taste..i'spose
I was a kitchen hand at cobbyco in welly – they really loved burning the bottom of the pots big time – I was also a vege so never ate there just cleaned the filthy meat pots – ahh now that took elbow grease to move that grease.
Thanks for the link, it was a hoot.
chrs..!
i can't get those tinned mushrooms out of my mind..
they must have been vile/puke-inducing..
Along with canned beans and Irish stew, they were a staple on the surf trips of my youth. Easily heated and eaten with white whole loaf bread and washed down with beer or milk, they were pretty damned good.
OMG — I havent been to Cobb and Co since 2000.
The film reviews on RadioNZ – one is of Apollo 11 and the question was raise- was this the event when the USA was really great?
I think actually it was when The New Deal was brought in in USA and also being behind the Marshall Plan that got Europe out of its WW2 hell-hole of poverty of the countries, infrastructure and systems.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Deal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Plan#Change_in_American_ideology
Incidentally I came across this good article from The Atlantic on Election voting – USA and Germany.
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/09/why-germany-s-politics-are-much-saner-cheaper-and-nicer-than-ours/280081/
Yep, USA was great once. As you say, Marshall Plan etc. Really though, US still is, in general. Most disaster aide in the world today is via US military.
Sadly, the invasion of Iraq pretty much undermined a great country. And as for Vietnam,……. but I guess that is the superpower complex.
What I like about the USA is that it sets itself pretty spectacular ideals. Usually it fails dismally at achieving those ideals (most of the writers of those "self evident" truths about freedom were slaveholders, for example), but sometimes (UN, New Deal, Civil Rights Act, Apollo) it approaches them. And that's pretty spectacular.
But so are their failures (KKK, Vietnam, CIA mcfuckery).
Nothing much I like about America after '45. Took over the world, became an empire.
The War on Poverty was a good attempt.
The tech is nice.
And the thousands if not millions of people who worked together to have 12 people walk on the moon. Awesome not just that they did it, but as an example of what we can do with a united focus.
BJ’s cunning plan?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12265853
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/sep/07/tories-extend-lead-over-labour-to-10-despite-chaotic-week
More corporate welfare.
The White House is considering a plan that would have the government directly purchase uranium from U.S. producers as it contemplates ways to revive the flagging domestic mining industry.
A group set up by President Donald Trump to study the issue is considering a request by the nuclear industry to use the Defense Production Act, a 68-year-old Cold War-era statute once invoked by President Harry Truman to help the steel industry. The plan calls for requiring the government to buy American uranium to replenish their stockpiles and for other purposes, Paul Goranson, chief operating officer for Energy Fuels Inc., said in an interview.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-06/white-house-considering-direct-purchases-of-u-s-mined-uranium
The Greens used to claim to be doing politics differently.
The censoring of an article by veteran Green Jill Abigail suggest the Green leadership have opted for censorship and control freakery. Here is they article they took exception to and banned:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2019/09/03/21871/
Damned if they do, damned if they don't.
They had to pick a side: TERF-positive or trans-positive. Either position was going to piss people off.
Seraphir
Your marxist analysis is notably lacking if you genuinely believe that biological sex as a binary model of human physiology holds any water in modern medical science.
Good luck convincing any actual biologists that sexual reproduction doesn't involve two sexes.
Why the preoccupation on sexual reproduction?
Trans people exist, modern medical science understands this, many societies understand this. Unfortunately they are a marginalised, stigmatised minority and articles that present trans-women as a threat in "women-only spaces" are factually wrong and exclusionary. Trans-women are women.
Why the preoccupation on sexual reproduction?
What pre-occupation? You posted a quote saying biological sex isn't binary, and I replied to the effect that biologists would be surprised to hear there are more than two sexes. That's not a "pre-occupation," it's a "reply."
Trans people exist…
No-one, least of all Jill Abigail, is disputing that.
Unfortunately they are a marginalised, stigmatised minority…
Ditto.
Trans-women are women.
However, that's simply untrue for any functional definition of "woman." The fact that "trans-woman" has the prefix "trans" should be a bit of a giveaway about that.
In the complete quote I posted it says sex isn't a binary in human physiology and this is well-known in modern medical science. This has nothing to do with reproduction, nothing to do with biologists so your "reply" was at best a distraction from the topic at hand.
Please provide what you consider to be the 'functional definition of "woman"'.
In the complete quote I posted it says sex isn't a binary in human physiology and this is well-known in modern medical science. This has nothing to do with reproduction…
I've tried parsing the claim that sex has nothing to do with reproduction multiple times, but no matter how I come at it the claim still makes no sense. The term "sex" refers to reproduction, and the term "sex differences" exists exactly because they are differences in the respective reproductive systems (or caused by the reproductive systems.
In my previous experience, references to sex supposedly not being binary are usually based on the existence of intersex people. However, the fact that sexual reproduction isn't 100% perfect and birth defects of the reproductive system can occur the same as they can for any other parts of the body was well-known to ancient medical science, let alone modern. That doesn't alter the fact that sexually-reproducing species have two sexes. Humans are no different in that respect.
Please provide what you consider to be the 'functional definition of "woman"'.
"A" functional definition, not "the." We have dictionaries for that, and the definition is usually "adult female human," or a variation on it. Drop "female" from the definition and it's just a synonym for "person," which would render it non-functional.
The obsession with reproduction as the important part for the definition of sex and gender excludes everyone who is unable to naturally conceive. Are all those infertile cis-gendered people also to be excluded from this gender binary? If not, why not?
Some females were assigned male at birth, it’s not a complicated thing, we agreed this above, it’s in dictionaries. However your example of a functional definition excludes trans-women because evidently you don’t actually consider them to be female. Why would this be?
… reproduction as the important part for the definition of sex and gender excludes everyone who is unable to naturally conceive.
Sex, not gender – gender's a social construct, nothing to do with physiology. And no the definitions of man and woman don't exclude people unable to conceive – the dictionary doesn't qualify the term "female" with "NB: female reproductive system in question must be proven to function correctly", for fairly obvious reasons.
Some females were assigned male at birth, it’s not a complicated thing, we agreed this above, it’s in dictionaries.
We did. However, we're talking about trans-women, not intersex people. The proportion of trans women who are intersex would be tiny.
…your example of a functional definition excludes trans-women because evidently you don’t actually consider them to be female. Why would this be?
First and foremost, because they're not female. I found that a pretty compelling reason.
The dictionary definitions of man and woman don't exclude trans people either, but you seem to think it does
Trans-women were assigned male at birth. That is the definition of a trans-women. Intersexuality isn't relevant here.
So you say trans-women are not female, pray tell, what do you determine them to be?
A bit circular, and well removed from your original comment about reproduction requiring two sexes.
Trans-women were assigned male at birth.
Trans-women were assigned male at conception, by physical reality. If they'd rather live as a woman, all good by me and let's make that as straightforward for them as possible, but there isn't any way for them to become female – which leads to debates like the one Jill Abigail was contributing to (or trying to, at least).
So you say trans-women are not female, pray tell, what do you determine them to be?
Male/female is a matter of sex, not gender. We can fuck with gender every which way we feel like because it's a social construct, but so far no-one's come up with the technology for a person to change their sex.
A bit circular, and well removed from your original comment about reproduction requiring two sexes.
Fair cop, that was a silly answer, but it was a silly question. The answer was also not unrelated from my original comment, because male and female refer to the two sexes. The question of why I'd consider someone with a male body not to be female is self-answering.
um…
You do get that if I have surgery to make me look younger, it hasn't actually made me younger, right?
Luckily sex change surgery merely involves changing organs, rather than resisting the inexorable progression of the universe.
The Greens used to claim to be doing politics differently.
"Used to?" Can you point to the times any mainstream party's had a shitfight over whether it's going to back trans activists or feminists?
i don't think many saw that coming…
"No previous extensions of human rights for new groups have involved taking away the rights of others needing protection."
Really succinct quote.
I'm sure a lot of white folks said that when blacks were suddenly allowed in all sorts of places.
not in the opinion of the author
Hell, they still do. All that "replacement" bullshit.
Upon reading that link it occurred to me that Maggie Thatchers work continues by proxy….or perhaps she was prescient.
Tauranga a ghost town at 5pm, Monday. Lots of vacant prime commercial real estate. Anyone who thinks we will keep seeing prices rise is dreaming & it will get worse despite the GST about to be charged on imported goods.
30 odd units vacant (!) on just two roads.
Check it out what mainstream news won’t be telling you.
The Tauranga auction spy reports that this week out of the 11 residential auctions he attended 8 did not get a single bid.
pretty much any town in nz is suffering from this lack of commercial tenants. Reason one: Leases in Tauranga, Rotorua, Tokoroa, Putaruru, Taupo etc are all the same, namely as in AKL. Meaninch 15-25 grand a year ex gst, ex rates, ex building insurance, ex ex ex ex ex ex
and so as long as that is addressed ( and we have the same issue with residential) people don't rent/lease. Simple as that.
Prices will raise, but it ain't the locals buying. And for those that can't sell, fear not, just write of your loss if you can't find a tenant to pay your exuberant rent / lease demands. The government will look after you 🙂
That is the biggest single failing of the current lot running the show in wellington, they could have closed loopholes that allow property owners to keep buildings, dwelling, residential/commercial spaces empty as they still make money of it. They could have regulated rent demands, they could have regulated air bnb, they could have should have but sadly have done fuck all.
Indeed, A.
With the soaring cost of housing, power, rates, insurance and food it's no wonder people can't afford to go shopping, thus bars and restaurants are struggling and shops are sitting vacant.
The one thing that is growing is queues at the local food bank.
'Murica
https://twitter.com/QasimRashid/status/1170492651638054914
wow – just noticed this – I hope it gets better I really do
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-08-09-2019/#comment-1653159
Hi Everyone,
The East Coast Fire Season, has started about 2mths early than normal. In some parts of the east coast it’s so extreme that some towns have next to no water or are likely to run out water in the coming months and as a result of a lack of water the fire crews have to resort to dry fire fighting techniques which is not a effective, but that’s what they do given the circumstances especially around the Tenterfield area in Northern NSW.
I had drinks with my Bushfire Brigade on Thursday here at Dundee NT, where the talk got around the water supply? The local plumber who also supplies water as everyone is on Tank water or they shallow bores are running out of water and it get worse. The local plumber has had to cut back in the water cart business, so he doesn’t run old of water and the community open water supply has run dry. Due to selfish members of the Dundee community have been using our bushfires outlet which feeds out of the bottom tank and at times has stuffed up the bore feeding the water tank. Where as the community outlet is half way up the tank and it’s going to a point if we have fire we may not have water and this water supply supports people out to a radius of 20-30 km’s.
Some communities in the Darwin Rural Area are about run out of water or they have been trucking in water since Xmas and the scary thing is we are expecting to this fire season to extend out to December and water to be very scarce until the Wet Season breaks if it comes at all?
Its getting despite in a lot of places throughout Australia if this current droughts doesn’t break IRT water, food production and whole communities etc.
For various reasons, agriculture in much of Australia will be near impossible in a few decades.
Drought, salinity inclusions into artesian water, air borne erosion of soil, (Dust bowl affect) warmer temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, and more frequent storms are already having a serious impact.
We may be feeding 15 million Australians, yet.
Yesterday I watched ABC’s Landline as I do most Sunday’s and this weeks episode was entire on Climate Change. There was some interesting stuff from a whole range of people including a former GG who has a special forces background and who also supported the Maj Les Hiddins aka The Bush Tucker Man at a time when the Army thought Les was a bit of a crackpot. Who has an interest in soil carbon capture and he words about CC are the same POV as mine.
The follow links were on yesterday’s Landline and this is the link for Landline as they will do more episodes on CC in the future. https://www.abc.net.au/landline/
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-08/family-farms:-new-generation-changing-conventional/11490438
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-08/corporate-farming:-big-business-investment-in/11490444
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-08/chicken-free-chicken:-meat-less-meat-substitutes/11490424
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-08/future-in-cloud:-technology-solving-everyday/11490454
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-08/future-soil:-excess-carbon-regenerating-soils/11490464
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-08/climate-chaos:-adapting-to-changing-climate/11490434
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-08/dollars-from-dirt-the-farmer-making-money-from-healthy-soil/11486346
Last years Drought summit held in Canberra before the Federal election, raised the possibility that retiring land has to be now considered as a result of CC in the more marginal areas of Australia. But the sticking point was how to give those Farmers some dignity without the banks etc including Government leaving them penny less as most of the farmers wealth is tired up in land etc, management of the land once its retired from farming and those a effected communities that service the farming sector.
Interesting links. Ta.
One of my old friends in Oz, was one of the scientists in charge of Victoria's soil salinity project.
Limited water, and artesian wells drawing salt water into farmland, was already a problem several decades ago.
The old man comes from Broken Hill and to see the massive fish kill at the Menindee Lakes almost brought him to tears as the lake system was meant to hold water during the Drought's and hold water for the fish etc. But somewhere along the line some smart ass lobbied the State government to use all that water for farming/ horticulture, instead of it sitting there when the next drought comes along.
Here's a couple of more interesting links and both them I've had some experience in especially from a military planning/ military research side of things at unit level and group level before I was medical discharge.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-11/government-appears-unprepared-for-climate-change/11492886
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-11/fighting-fires-becoming-impossible-task/11497588
Kia Ora The Am Show.
Aron looks like a national supporter I seen his nihor showing.
Sam the number one cause of suicide is no money. I have seen for my self how professionals lawyers advises accounts and foresters have ripped off people close to me THAT'S CAPTILSIM take all you can from innocent people with their silver TONGUES.
You should have taken the complaints to the police Paula milking it.
BULLSHIT there are deaths from dairydack for years how do we know that you are telling the TRUTH about the numbers and dates. People were making money off the sale of stuff that could kill people this is national mess you are trying to blame others Paul It would never have been a issue if it was stamped out straight away not sold in shops.
There you go America needs to change laws to make tech companies responsible for the content on their platform.
Eric their you go Jacinda is speaking about the haters get exposure on big tech companies sites that will help to highlight the problem and motivate them to take the videos down. It's will be hard when you have old Politicians employed on the big tech companies LOBBYING branches.
I read that colonel sanders was a white supremist I get a sore face when people quote him.
Ka kite Ano
No there is just a small amount of real criminal in New Zealand Mark 2%
Kia Ora Newshub
The Coalition Government new approach ZERO lives lost to suicide every life matters is awesome.
Some people are so cruel how can they do that to a human or even a animal those idiots who torchered that poor Wahine WTF.
There he goes again barking up the wrong tree bridges doe not think very well of course we care about the haters who harm inenecint tangata using the Internet to gain support it must be stop.
Let's hope Otago get a good growing season this year. Im hopeing for some wind from Tawhirimate to get my wind turbine turning I had to design if for strong Tawhirimate as things get blown over were we are.
Mike that's gives Eco Maori A sore face all the Tangata and Tamariki wanting to learn Te Reo it is every one in Aotearoa taonga Ka pai.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
I have congratulations for our government move to a goal of zero lives lost to suicide . I agree with Mike suicide is a New Zealand problem
It awesome that Te puni korokiri is tau toko Te tangata with building whare on their own whenua that is what Te puni Korokiri did back in the days of old.
Maori tourism is getting links to boost their business and putea Ka pai
Toronto film Festival Tika Waititi Jojo rabbit will show Maori wit and humour awesome.
Turangi A Kiwa celebrating Te Reo Maori Language week kia kaha Whanau. Tawhirimate was celebrating Te Reo Maori Language week to. Pouho Rawiri Marae
Maunatu taonga their tamariki Ka pai I taonga my tamariki so does Ngāti Porou.
Ka kite Ano