Open mike 09/01/2023
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- Treasury warns deeper recession worsening Budget deficit
The gift that keeps giving: David Seymour has now opened a split in the coalition over the future of National’s promise to build a new medical school. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / TheKakaKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and ...37 minutes ago - Weekly Roundup 22-November-2024
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Record Numbers: The Hīkoi mō te Tiriti, which began at the tip of the North, and the tail of the South, on 11 November, culminated outside Parliament on Tuesday, 19 November 2024, in one of the largest demonstrations in New Zealand’s political history.ACCORDING TO TE ARA, the Ministry of Culture ...2 hours ago - The Rush To Blame “The Activists”
Activists are such easy scapegoats. The right and center have been conditioned for decades to roll their eyes at all protests. The left are easily aggravated over students leading movements they see as belonging to grownups, who have more important concerns like the economy and whether the trains come on ...2 hours ago - Cutting Through An Inundation of Dipshit Racists
Hi,Watching New Zealand from afar offers a strange perspective. It can be a good thing — distance from Aotearoa helped keep me sane while I reported on abuse at New Zealand’s biggest megachurch over the course of a year. It helps fuel my silly podcast. But it can also be ...3 hours ago - This is bad news
The speech yesterday by Treasury’s Chief Economic Advisor warning that the books are in worse shape than forecasted looks like it’s part of a softening-up process for either more cuts or a longer wait to get back into surplus. The speech was a highly unusual public preview of Treasury’s Half-Yearly ...4 hours ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #47 2024
Open access notables Projected increase in the frequency of extremely active Atlantic hurricane seasons, Lopez et al., Science Advances: Future changes to the year-to-year swings between active and inactive North Atlantic tropical cyclone (TC) seasons have received little attention, yet may have great societal implications in areas prone to hurricane ...13 hours ago - Chicken Kiev
Chatting in the supermarket this morning, I found I needed to lunge for the chicken drumsticks.Coping mechanisms: who hasn’t felt a greater need for them lately?When it all gets too much, I turn to demonstrating handy butchery hacks.It wasn’t that she’d said anything wrong, our friend, not at all. We ...17 hours ago - The year is 2024 and it’s 1984
This is written in response to the highly significant open letter from a group of economists that was today addressed to Christopher Luxon. The year is 2024, and it’s 1984. The country is reeling from a record Olympic medal gold haul, while the globe grapples with the choice of the ...18 hours ago - The IPCA has failed
Back in 2022, RNZ took an in-depth look at the "Independent" Police Conduct Authority and its handling of killings by police. These are the most serious test of oversight, and you would expect the police's use of lethal force to receive the most severe scrutiny. But despite the police regularly ...22 hours ago - Thursday 21 November 2024
The Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti arrived at Parliament on Tuesday – the size is being debated but estimates range from 42,000 to 100,000. The Prime Minister is defending not attending due to some of the organisers being affiliated with Te Pāti Māori. The national gang patch ban came into force ...22 hours ago - ‘These budget cuts are counter-productive and make no sense’
I spoke to former Productivity Chair Nana this morning about the letter he and a group of other economists sent to PM Christopher Luxon to urge the Government to urgently suspend cuts to spending and investment for the sake of the economy, struggling businesses and the wellbeing of vulnerable ...23 hours ago
- ACT’s Astroturfing & A Co-ordinated Attack on Te Pati Māori
Unity on the Streets / Unity at the TableAfter the Hīkoi, all three right wing Coalition leaders came together to push the idea that the 42,000 - 50,000 + strong Hikoi was somehow less potent and brave, and more illegitimate than the energy and crowd displayed.Prime Minister Christopher Luxon 20-November: ...1 day ago - Durability of carbon dioxide removal is critical for stabilizing temperatures
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- Economists call on PM to suspend budget cuts for the sake of the economy
Nicola Willis’ budget cuts are under fire from economists for having no clear rationale and worsening the recession. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, November 21: The news at ...1 day ago
- The end of policing by consent
National has appointed a new police commissioner. And he explicitly rejects policing by consent: Asked if he subscribed to policing by consent, he said he did not. “I don’t talk about policing by consent. I talk about trust and confidence, and it is fundamentally important that the police have ...2 days ago
- The Treaty Principles Bill: A Who’s Who
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NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is calling on the Government to deliver an economic and industrial strategy for regional manufacturing, rather than just expressing sympathy for job losses, following the announced closure of Kinleith mill in Tokoroa. “The closure Kinleith mill in Tokoroa is not just devastating for ...2 days ago
- 27% of kids going hungry, up from 21% in a year
One in four Kiwi children live in households where food runs out often or sometimes. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, November 20: The lead: The official annual Health Survey found sharp ...2 days ago - Transport modelling is an illusion
This guest post by Tim Adriaansen, an advocate for accessibility and sustainable transport, originally published on LinkedIn and cross posted here with permission. People prefer cars, right? Probably not. Here’s why. Granted, most people in English-speaking countries use a car to get around. This simple reality underpins our transport ...2 days ago
- Young Maori take over
Neither Wellington nor Parliament has ever seen anything like it before. The Police said there were more than 40,000 but however many there were, yesterday’s Hikoi to Parliament was a monumental event. It was almost three times the Foreshore and Seabed martch of 2004 and many,many times bigger than ...2 days ago
- Gordon Campbell On The Hikoi Aftermath
The euphoria from yesterday’s hikoi may be transitory, but is no less valuable for that. It is pretty rare for the left to feel itself to be in the overwhelming majority, and speaking as the voice of the people. Lest that momentum be lost, the organisers will no doubt be ...2 days ago - Sabin 33 #3 – Solar panels generate too much waste and will overwhelm landfills
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Mr David Seymour crawling up to the ceilingThe sun don't shine the sun don't shine the sun don't shine at allMamma Pappa say you should go to school, I don't know what forNow that I've grown up and seen the world and all its liesSong: Southside of Bombay"Ake, ake, ake" ...3 days ago - Submit to defend te Tiriti!
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Like everyone else (everyone who wasn't there, anyway), I've spent the morning watching the hikoi march on Parliament. The pictures are astounding: parliament grounds and the surrounding streets are full, and there are still people backed up along Lambton Quay. The police are estimating 35,000 people, and that's a floor ...3 days ago
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There were urgent moves yesterday at Parliament to try and defuse the tension building up over ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill. The Bill’s author, ACT leader David Seymour, told reporters that he understood the Justice Select Committee met yesterday to discuss how long it should take to consider submissions on the ...3 days ago
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The NZNO have announced a nationwide strike for December over its pay dispute with Health NZ, who have put a 1 per cent cap on pay rises. The Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti and Treaty Principles Bill remain front and centre in the media, with the impacts of the Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke-led ...4 days ago
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- National’s support base is wobbling
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Hi,If I was to accurately sum up my mental state over the week, I’d just say that I got a huge fright from my own shadow.I’d nipped out for an 11pm neighborhood stroll, just to calm down after a day of stress and screens. The Cure and Fazerdaze’s new record ...6 days ago - We Are Not Listening
The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...
7 days ago - More lawlessness from National
On Tuesday, sick of government stonewalling, the Waitangi Tribunal issued a rare court order, ordering the Minister of Health to release unredacted documents within 48 hours showing its reasoning for disestablishing Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority. The government's response to the lawful order of a court? Yeah, ...7 days ago
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The Treaty Principles Bill continues to dominate political news, with it passing its first reading in the House. Parliament was briefly suspended and Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke suspended for 24 hours after leading a haka that was joined by opposition MPs and the public in the gallery. Willie ...1 week ago
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Day One of the Treaty Principles Bill…and everyone got what they wanted, and did what they liked. Heated words were exchanged. Culturally appropriate acts of outrage were performed. David Seymour got to play the victim card. Willie Jackson got kicked out of class. A comically red-faced Mr Speaker bellowed “Order, ...1 week ago
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The government's Treaty Principles Bill is up for its first reading today - bought forward in a rush in a desperate effort to avoid the hikoi which is currently marching on Wellington. But the Prime Minister won’t be there for it – he’s literally running away to Peru! But he ...1 week ago
- 97% of submissions did not want no-cause evictions, Trump chooses a Russian spy for US Intelligence ...
Good morning, and I’m sorry I’ve been away for a couple of days.I’ve been focusing on the Hikoi, and also testing out sentiment on the Treaty Principles Bill. It’s complicated, and the Treaty Principles Bill will be debated in the House today. The Government’s own lawyers have told them the ...1 week ago - Government must vote down ACT Members Bill that would undermine workers’ rights
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The Treaty Principles Bill is set to have its First Reading in the House today, as the Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti continues. More than 40 KCs have written to the Prime Minister and Attorney-General outlining their “grave concerns” about the substance of the Treaty Principles Bill, while an academic and ...1 week ago
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As the Hikoi against it swells into the tens of thousands, KCs call on National to kill off ACT’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, November 14: The ...1 week ago
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The Ministry of Health has today released an evidence brief regarding the use of puberty blockers in gender-affirming healthcare, amid moves by the government to limit access. ...17 hours ago
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Louise Upston has revealed her diminished vision for vulnerable youth against a backdrop of snubbed advice, scrapped priorities, shifted goal posts and thousands more children projected to fall into poverty. ...20 hours ago
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National Government’s backward-looking climate policy has seen New Zealand fall seven places on the Climate Change Performance Index to 41 out of 63 countries measured. ...20 hours ago
- Release: Simple reason for drop in emergency housing
When the Government says it has reduced the number of people in emergency housing, what it means is it is stopping people from accessing it in the first place. ...23 hours ago
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The Government is turning its back on children by not only weakening child poverty reduction targets, but also removing child mental wellbeing as a priority focus in their Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy. ...24 hours ago
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The Government has taken a giant step backwards by reinstating live animal exports. ...2 days ago
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- Release: Call for Palestine recognition by NZ, Australian and Canadian MPs
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Today, Hīkoi mō te Tiriti arrived in Wellington, with thousands gathering to march in unity against the divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...3 days ago
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Te Tiriti o Waitangi is our country’s founding document. It forms the basis of the relationship between Māori and the Crown – and the Aotearoa New Zealand we live in today. ...1 week ago
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...1 week ago
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Today, the Green Party stands alongside the survivors of abuse in state care and faith-based care as the Government issues an historic apology. ...1 week ago
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The Green Party has written to the Speaker of the House requesting he enable a personal vote on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
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The Green Party is alarmed by the Government’s move to exclude a journalist from covering this week’s apology for the survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care. ...2 weeks ago
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Kua hinga te manawa kairākau o Te Rua Tekau Ma Waru Tiwhatiwha te po! Kakarauru i te po! Ka rapuhia kei hea koe kua riro! Haere e te Ika a Whiro ki o tini hoa kua ngaro atu ki te Pō ...2 weeks ago
- Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principles Bill
The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principle...
The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- NZ must pursue independent foreign policy
The Green Party says the need is greater than ever for Aotearoa New Zealand to pursue an independent foreign policy. ...2 weeks ago
- Government action provides Southland farmers more time to meet plan requirements
The Government is taking action to ensure Southland farmers and growers are not affected by unreasonable regional farm plan deadlines, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard say.“Cabinet has agreed to provide more time for farmers and growers to comply with regional rules ...17 hours ago - Bill reaffirms Government’s commitment to crack down on serious youth offending
The Oranga Tamariki (Responding to Serious Youth Offending) Bill had its first reading at Parliament today. The Bill reaffirms the Government’s commitment to crack down on serious youth offending, Minister for Children Karen Chhour says. “In recent years we have seen an unacceptable spike in youth offending. “This Bill makes ...17 hours ago
- Critical milestones for earthquake buildings review
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- State of the art radiology machine for Auckland
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- Foreign Minister to visit Europe
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- First arrests made under gang patch ban
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- Better support for victims of sexual violence
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- Government moving forward with Regional Deals
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- MSA pilot participant update
One of the ten young men selected to participate in the Military-Style Academy Pilot has allegedly reoffended. Children’s Minister Karen Chhour is disappointed but says it would be naïve to think that none of these young men would reoffend. “I’m saddened that this young person has not taken this opportunity ...22 hours ago
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Tēnā koutou katoa – it is a pleasure to be here today. I would like to begin by acknowledging the important leadership role you all play in ensuring a quality health system New Zealanders can trust. There is enormous clinical expertise in this room covering a wide range of disciplines. ...2 days ago
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Tēnā koutou katoa. Mr President, Excellencies, Delegates. New Zealand, and all nations represented here today, are already dealing with the impacts of climate change. Our households, businesses, and economies are bearing the costs of its effects. The choices we make now will shape the severity of these impacts for generations ...2 days ago
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- Better coordination of anti-scam efforts
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- Minister to consider 7AA select committee report
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- Defence Minister to attend ASEAN meeting
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- Launching the White Ribbon Ride
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- NZ signs trade deal with Costa Rica, Iceland and Switzerland
Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has signed a pioneering trade agreement that prioritises New Zealand’s sustainable exports at a ceremony during APEC in Peru today. “The Agreement on Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS), between Costa Rica, Iceland, and Switzerland was concluded in July of this year and opens up significant ...6 days ago
- Government and iwi work together on aquaculture
Five new Aquaculture Settlement Areas will help ensure Ngāi Tahu shares in the opportunities aquaculture offers for Southland’s economy, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. “The Aquaculture Settlement Areas (ASAs) I’m announcing today set aside space so the Crown and Ngāi Tahu can assess their potential for aquaculture development. ...7 days ago
- Government launches review to ensure electricity market is fit-for-purpose
The terms of reference for a review of the performance of the electricity market have been released. The review, initiated by the Coalition Government during the power crisis in winter will look at whether current regulations and market design support economic growth and access to reliable and affordable electricity, Energy Minister ...7 days ago
- Speech to Social Investment Hui: Jack and his whānau need our help
Kia ora koutou katoa. Nau mai, haere mai, piki mai. Ki te mihi atu ahau, ki te manwhenua nei, Te Atiawa, Ngāti toa rangatira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Thank you, Andy, for your introduction. Let me acknowledge you as the new Chief Executive of the Social Investment ...7 days ago
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Minister of State for Trade Nicola Grigg has travelled to Australia to attend the PACER Plus Ministers Meeting in Brisbane. “Trade plays a critical role in driving employment, economic growth, and improving the standards of living in the Pacific Region. The Government is strongly committed to supporting Pacific Island countries ...1 week ago
- RNA editing is the next frontier in gene therapy – here’s what you need to know
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Flora Hui, Research Fellow, Centre for Eye Research Australia and Honorary Fellow, Department of Surgery (Ophthalmology), The University of Melbourne IoanaB/Shutterstock The United States Food and Drug Administration has just approved the first-ever clinical trial that uses CRISPR-Cas13 RNA editing. Its ...40 minutes ago - Yes, you still need to use sunscreen, despite what you’ve heard on TikTok
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Treena Clark, Chancellor’s Indigenous Research Fellow, Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building, University of Technology Sydney Once located 250 metres to the east of the Art Gallery of South Australia, the grand beaux-arts style Jubilee Exhibition Building was constructed to house the ...40 minutes ago
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Annette Greenhow, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, Bond University Linda George/Shutterstock The ten-year anniversary of the death of much-loved Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes falls on November 27. The 25-year-old’s life was tragically cut short in 2014 when a bouncer ...1 hour ago
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephanie Gomes-Ng, Senior Lecturer of Psychology, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Former New Zealand prime minister John Key has three white rabbits painted on his helicopter, a nod to his “massively superstitious” habit of repeating “white rabbits” three times at ...3 hours ago
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Ah, welcome back to the lingering death of paid employment….
The possibility of an unalienated life appears only when we are too old to achieve it. It is one of the biggest cruelties of our times.
Déjà vu all over again:
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/world/bolsonaro-supporters-storm-brazil%E2%80%99s-congress-supreme-court
Same enablers even
https://twitter.com/DylanReeve/status/1612204383781150722
But quite a different response to the US
https://twitter.com/apagliar/status/1612191224902950916
https://twitter.com/apagliar/status/1612193759164510208
Whereas Bolsanaro is still in the USA, reportedly arranging travel to a place further beyond extradition back to Brazil. The difference between his self-serving cowardice and Lula's determination in the face of this domestic terrorism is quite plain.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/08/world/americas/bolsonaro-florida-brazil-protests.html
https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1612211900326215681?s=20
I read the other day that Bolsanaro was attempting to arrange travel to Italy (where he has family history, and honorary citizenship), though can't find the link just now. This article has much the same information, though not the most reliable source:
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/bolsonaro-to-italy-before-brazil-judge-issues-arrest
https://www.dw.com/en/brazils-bolsonaro-attends-honors-ceremony-in-italy-amid-protests/a-59686581
Though the recent acts of domestic terrorism by his remaining supporters in Brazil may be putting this bolt-hole beyond his reach. Meloni may be personally sympathetic to another far right politician, but has found it necessary join her voice to the world-wide condemnation of the Brazilian irruption:
https://www.agenzianova.com/en/news/meloni-lirruzione-in-brasile-e-incompatibile-con-il-dissenso-democratico/
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/global-leaders-condemn-bolsonaro-supporters-assault-brazil-govt-buildings-2023-01-08/
I would love the US to extradite Bannon as well as Bolsonaro.
https://twitter.com/anders_aslund/status/1612217562518921217
But Trump's not so bad, eh.
https://twitter.com/davidrkadler/status/1612174652763426817
https://twitter.com/davidrkadler/status/1612191936613416960
Florida must be the place to go. Hasn't Trump got refuge there too?
Yup, the lemon and sour grape industries are thriving in Florida.
Heart of the Confederacy.
That's a real worry (the Brazil situation, I mean).
And don't go thinking it could never happen in good old NZ. There are people out there who will readily resort to violence if they don't get their way.
A year ago, I would have scoffed. Now I agree.
Also requires significant enough enforcement agency officers to side with the rebels though.
My Portuguese is worse than my Spanish (no soy bueno), can anyone decipher the text of this graphic? It won't cut and paste into a translator, and that's a lot to type! "Inicio", the distance markings and; "Congresso Nacional", are pretty obvious though.
https://twitter.com/tomphillipsin/status/1612247771482050562?s=20
Is it just me or does $5 week at paknsave feel like they are announcing the new inflated prices these days?
Yes Adam, gone is "two dollar week". Our son in Hamilton agrees.
Tourism is vital to NZ economy. However, planes are flying carriers with a huge carbon footprint and they aid the (rapid) spreading of disease and cruise ships are enormous floating carriers and incubators of biohazards, inside and out.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/482118/tourism-operators-frustrated-cruise-ships-failing-to-meet-biofouling-standards
Do we have it about right here in NZ at present or are we too lax, or too stringent?
If we are going to continue with infinite, compounding (exponential) economic growth, we'll need to de-couple it from any significant planetary impacts. The production and sale of 'spectacle' or 'experiences' can be quite useful in that respect – the spectacle or experience is destroyed quickly in in a single act of consumption. A new one can then be created and sold. But travelling somewhere to have the experience makes tourism very problematic indeed in terms of planetary impacts. It'll probably have to stop – one would like to think voluntarily and progressively over time with proper care taken of the people whose livelihoods vanish – but there's almost no chance of that.
Virtual reality will make alternative reality tourist destinations. I can see the marketing now:
No fossil fuels, no airports, no scary weather.
Visit the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone and we'll throw in Mt Rushmore for free.
This is how it's done.
https://twitter.com/YWNReporter/status/1612206539464376320
And this
https://twitter.com/tomphillipsin/status/1612302390375649282
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/130919502/wannabe-drivers-need-to-be-confronted-with-the-impact-of-poor-decisions
Yup, but we’re not allowed to ‘annoy’ drivers in NZ with speed reductions, FFS.
Your missing the favourite pass time in North land these days – riding a motorbike with out a helmet at 50km.
But I love this information from Roadwise UK
"
If you hit a pedestrian they have a much greater chance of surviving if your speed is lower.
If you hit a pedestrian:
So I'd like to see the speed drop to 30km an hour throughout town.
30 kms without a helmet on a dirt bike or motorbike and you might be dead.
We have a lot of these squids hooning around in in roto vegas, generally around 12 – 15 – all very young faces, over the parks and the sports field, three in row down the roads, fast as fuck, no helmet and no gear. And none of the bikes are in any way road worthy or legal.
When they go of their bikes you might need a shuffle to get them in a box.
But i guess nothing can be done about that.
God Bless the French working class.
https://twitter.com/dilanpcook/status/1612042270634831872?
Israel
https://twitter.com/AJEnglish/status/1612358386699444225
The two state solution is truly dead. The Israelis are out to destroy the Palestinian identity with the help of Western Corbyn haters.
And hobble any criticism
https://twitter.com/Ahmedwsh95/status/1612811505673568259
A RWNJ aka moron blames Government for lost luggage.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/300780442/govt-asleep-at-the-baggage-carousel-as-countless-kiwi-travellers-lose-bags
I’m sure that Chris ‘I used to run an airline’ Luxon will personally help you find your lost luggage and offer you free fries with that.
Isn't his daddy called Mike Sabin?
Yup, there’s a Post up on this now: https://thestandard.org.nz/why-is-everything-always-jacindas-fault/.
That story is something else, isn't it? The travel industry were amongst the biggest moaners at COVID restrictions, they rail constantly at any regulation of travel, they demand an unfterred hand on an array of issues from fuel to visas to PT to the airport.
Yet people doing a discretionary activity of travelling in a private capacity on basically private carriers to an aiport trhat is only notionally publically owned and completely privately managed who lose their luggage need government intervention?
Brooke Sabin is yet another example of complete industry capture of a journalist. The guy knows his gravy train of free holidays depends on nevere blaming the hand that feeds him, ever.
Putin's cruelty to his own people. Page after page.
https://t.me/wind_sower/4595
Another mass death of the Russian military, similar to the one in Makeevka, happened in Shakhtersk on New Year's Eve. On December 31, 2022, there was an attack on the village of Davydovka. The exact number of dead is not known, but there are probably several dozen. Obituaries of the dead are already being published online. This incident was covered up by the Russian Ministry of Defense. No "retribution strikes" were delivered in response. And the Russian military correspondents, who were very worried about what happened in Makeyevka, simply ignored Shakhtersk. No one wrote that they used mobile phones in Shakhtyorsk, and similar nonsense. No one mentioned those dead. It was as if they didn't exist.
google translate
https://t.me/wind_sower/4575
Mobilized from Samara, who survived the attack on Makiivka on January 1, spoke about how the shelling took place. He stated that such a large number of dead was due to the fact that on New Year's Eve the soldiers were gathered in the assembly hall (!) to listen to Putin's congratulations. The order was given by Colonel Roman Enikeev. The mobilized allegedly asked not to do this and not to gather them together, but they could not disobey the officers. Apparently the real goal of a special military operation is to achieve some unprecedented depths of shame and humiliation. Because there is no other way to explain the madness that is happening is simply impossible.
google translate
https://t.me/wind_sower/4483
A video that needs to be shown on Russian channels, instead of Solovyov and Skabeeva. Russian soldier Alexander Goltsev, wounded 2 months ago, is slowly dying in a hospital in Makeevka, no one needs him, without proper help. He is not taken to Russia, there are no conditions for treatment in Makeevka. A few months ago it was a healthy man. Now – a weak, fading cripple. The soldiers do not receive any promised millions and help. Waste material. The video is a must-see for potential Russian mobiles and conscripts. Putin's criminal war is not romance, but such a nightmare. If you remain a cripple, you will suffer for the rest of your life, and no one will help you.
google translate
I've been reading quite a few of the comments u.s.n.a.t.o sending weapons to ukraine.
Nato and the United States didn't have to get involved in this conflict at all.
The fact is as of feb 24 2022..ukraine was not in nato.
When USA invaded Iraq, did China Russa and Iran get involved?
Thus World War three happens in April 2003 because opponents FIGHT.
When people talk about a solution…often American apologists come up
with What aboutism arguments…such as:
What about the territory stolen by Russia..or What about Putin ordering shelling?
Can people on here not see the blatant hypocrisy of the US?
Bush invaded two soveirgen nations in his first term.
another LOL effort is Putin mindreading.
I guess then we really need to stop Bush..otherwise he would have taken dubai, kuwait etc…
The POINT is …ESCALATION will lead to ww3…and Biden has chosen this.
As for the "supress the oppressor" argument…this has been debunked with the Cuban Missile Crises.
Based on this …WW3 would have happen Oct62 because none backed down.
Survivors can self congratulate on not being pacifist.
The fact is…since july45 …world war has become a zero-sum game.
If ww3 is your enemy..and escalation causes ww3..then DEescalation is your ally.
The reality is MAD…two superpowers with many nukes..KEPT the world safe.
Russia is still the worlds superpower..with more nukes than anyone…1991 didnt change that….how would USA react to Mexico initiating a process of defense with Putin…ala Bucharest 2008.
Why should my taxes go towards Escalation?
It doesn't matter if i am wrong or right…what matters is you question the lack of questioning.
De-escalation happens by arming Ukraine and driving the Russians out.
Deescalation happens by arming the Iraqis and driving the Americans out
Ever been to France? Its truely the national sport ,theres a protest about something every single day and that picture only shows a small one.
I made a claim…so need to back it up:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_with_nuclear_weapons
I also found a gem to example the use of questioning:
so why is mccain in ukraine with asov? who is enemy? why?
dec 2017
The real key question is though: should other countries get involved?
Consider the proposition that the West is not supporting Ukraine, but rather Ukraine is supporting the West.
It's been suggested that Ukrainian resistance comes at a cost to Americans [and by extension, the Western world].
Historian Timothy Snyder's position is that Ukrainian resistance instead provides "extraordinary security benefits".
The Russian invasion has pulled the curtain back on the Russian military and exposed its true large scale capabilities. It has changed the global balance in a way that makes peace more likely in decades to come.
By fighting in self-defense, Ukrainians have thus reduced the risk of a major war and of a nuclear war. This extraordinary achievement is due to the courage and skill of Ukrainians. They do not get much credit for it. They should get more credit, and more support.
More at
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1589260108537610240.html
More along these lines at:
https://www.csis.org/analysis/united-states-aid-ukraine-investment-whose-benefits-greatly-exceed-its-cost