Agreed not good for any party, but being private school far more likely to end up Nats or Act. Mallard seems to be the exception as his bullying well reported.
Why, ya gotta wonder, did Uffindell choose to do this?
Uffindell "… used his maiden speech to critique a “growing culture of lawlessness, lack of accountability, a sense of impunity, and significant underlying generational social problems”.
Agreed – I want him to stay. He sounds like a natural fit for National. An ambitious, hard-working guy wanting to get ahead, keen to show his personal excellence (physical, intellectual, verbal) and be unshackled from state regulations and the wasteful spending that goes with it. He might have become a tradie instead of an MP – he knew how to unscrew the bed leg. Certainly he knows that humans are innately competitive and some people naturally dominate others in the free markets of the economy and physical violence. Go Sam, you are the future.
"If Helen Clark was his boss he would be gone by lunchtime"
Really?
About the only thing we have to decide this is what she did when Trevor Mallard assaulted Tau Henare in Parliament. Trevor was an adult of course, not a teenager.
What did Helen do? Well nothing really. She was reported as saying that
"Miss Clark said today that her minister had been punished enough for the brawl in Parliament's lobby.
Mr Mallard had already been publicly humiliated over the "silly incident", which had occurred after he had been provoked – both verbally and physically."
She also said "Miss Clark today said calls for Mr Mallard to be sacked were political in nature due to his effectiveness as a minister."
Then she shifted him into a more significant position in Cabinet.
I seem to remember she also said something like "That is just Trevor being Trevor" but I can't find any link and I may be imagining that.
All this storm in a teacup is people on the left trying to distract public attention from last night's poll results. Just the standard dirty politics from the left.
There has been a concerted effort from the NACT troll farm to run a massive campaign of "whataboutism" – "what about Mallard"? As if a couple of middle aged blokes having an attack of testosterone poisoning in an inappropriate place was exactly equivalent to 4 people attacking a sleeping and defenseless 13 yo child as he slept.
The left is very adept at it's own forms of dirty politics. What's different is that it is often directed at itself, a bit like a man with a pistol that fires before lifting the barrel.
Four on one – the man's a coward.
Four on one with weapons – the man's an utter coward.
Four on one with weapons on a person in bed – the mans a snivelling wretch and an utter coward.
FOUR ON ONE – so he could have said something but did not… the man's willing to break laws and bones just to be accepted. A jellyfish. A limp-wristed pathetic preener.
But the National Party deputy-leader says, Sam" is sincere (now) and changed (now). She's sure he will join her in condemning bullying of that sort (now).
How she knows this, we cannot know.
She didn't hear about the bullying incident until yesterday…
Also no harm…actually one could say it is important, to keep reminding ourselves and other of Western MSM media imperialist driven narratives on wars….as this piece from Fair.org points out quite nicely….
"In April 2022, there were a total of 179 stories on the Times‘ front page, and 79 (44%) concerned the Ukraine invasion. All but three were located at the top of the page (i.e., with no articles above them), where editors put the stories they consider to be the most important of the day. Fully 75% of all top-of-the-page stories were about the Ukraine war. Not a single day went by without a Ukraine story being published on the top of the page, and on 14 different days only stories about Ukraine were published on the top of the front page.
In May 2003, when there were 226 stories on the front page, only 41 of them (18%) reported on the Iraq invasion. Thirty-two of those were at the top of the page, with nine below; 25% of all top-of-the-page stories were dedicated to the Iraq War."
Adrian, though you have accused me of it more than once, I am not a partisan supporter of one bloody imperialist bloc over another.
The point Putin was making is that he should have the same right to impunity, to kill and maim invade other countries as the Western Powers have.
My point is that none of them should have any impunity and that includes Israel.
This latest attack by Israel against the Palestinian people, brings into sharp relief the hypocrisy of the Ardern administration.
When Ukraine was attacked by Russia, the Prime Minister never paused for a second in the rush to impose sanctions and even send military aid to Ukraine to defend themselves.
….Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says NZ is sending Hercules aircraft to help Ukraine, $7.5m for weapons. The Government will send a C130 Hercules aircraft to Europe to help move donated military provisions to Ukraine and will provide millions of dollars for weapons to arm Ukrainian soldiers.
Instead of sanctions, New Zealand rewards Israel with visiting privileges.
In April 2011, Israel and New Zealand signed a reciprocal deal that allows tourists to work for three months without an additional visa. The deal was signed by the Speaker of the Knesset, Reuven Rivlin and his New Zealand counterpart Lockwood Smith, when Rivlin was visiting New Zealand.
Will we hear a peep out of 'Kindness' government over this latest Israeli atrocity?
Will the government rescind Israel's visiting privileges to this country?
Will we put economic sanctions on Israel as the BDS Movement have asked us to?
The West is busy supplying Ukraine with highly accurate HiMARs to defend themselves from Russian attacks.
God forbid, that we could ever even contemplate supplying the Palestinians with any means at all to defend themselves from Israeli attacks, rather than the highly inaccurate backyard hand made rockets they have to make themselves.
"Adrian, though you have accused me of it more than once, I am not a partisan supporter of one bloody imperialist bloc over another"….
Well that's very strange, because that is exactly what nearly everything you write on the matter of geo-politics usually sounds (reads) like….and BTW let’s be honest here..getting the Palestinian/ Israel conflict right is real easy…pretty much all Liberals are on board with that one, as they should be, (well except most of the editorial board at The Guardian)…
..but now we cut to the present, and for some reason the Liberal class have morphed into the most aggressive war hawks on the planet, and are now all gung-ho about nearly every Western backed military intervention that comes knocking (and I include the Ukrainian conflict here), even though this means getting into bed again and again with the likes of John Bolton, George Bush, Boris Johnson, the US miliary industrial complex and every other blood thirsty war hawk you can think of…but again, for reasons known only to yourselves, even that doesn’t seem set off any alarm bells?!??…apparently not.
You do realize, that if the Iraq war were to happen today under Biden or Obama… the probability that you Red Logic and all the other Western war Hawks on this site would support that invasion would be extremely high…infact it is almost a certainty.
BTW…Jacinda Ardern and Labour NZ stepping out of line on Palestine or the genocide in Yemen, come on, seriously….we all know that will never happen….ever, maybe you should ask yourself why that is.
"….let’s be honest here..getting the Palestinian/ Israel conflict right is real easy…pretty much all Liberals are on board with that one, as they should be, (well except most of the editorial board at The Guardian)…" Adrian Thornton
How about a link for that claim. Eh, Adrian.
Apart from your continual diversions, what-aboutisms, and smears.
What I am getting heartily sick of Adrian, is the repeated use of outrageous bald statements, without any attempt to provide evidence, or back up for them, from the supporters of Russia's bloody imperialist interventions and wars, like yourself.
The BoP Times asked the Tauranga candidates about their biggest mistake. Act's candidate Cam Luxton spoke about his drink-driving conviction. Uffindell's response was: "Not coming home to New Zealand sooner. There's nowhere we'd rather raise our kids.""
when you are quoting tweets, please click on the date/time stamp of the tweet, then copy and paste the URL address into the TS comment box. This will embed the tweet so we can see the whole thing, as well as being a live link.
Your comment doesn't have a direct link in it, can you please go find it now and post here, thanks.
A healthcare company has apologised for the "shocking" treatment of a diabetic woman who did not receive her regular insulin medication and died less than 24 hours after being admitted to one of its rest homes.
"Multiple systems issues" were to blame for the woman's death, Hughes said.
"There are individuals involved, there are systems involved, there are processes involved and at the end of the day we expect more. We've done a lot to prevent this happening again."
no-one at Oceania had lost their jobs, Hughes said.
WTF? Are you a Granny Farmer? Manager? Employee? My comments were in regard to Oceania .I'm sure you have some……"thoughts". Best keep them to yourself …..
there's nothing wrong with gsays' comment and they have as much right to say what they think as you.
In this case they're making a political point: in NZ, many people support the system we have for elderly people who can't live at home. Families are generally the ones that put elderly people into those situations.
What’s not ok is telling people to shut up. I’m also not impressed by the reaction to start questioning someone’s personal and work life. Focus on the politics.
Well..thats your take on it. I fail to see how you read that into what I wrote. I have previously linked “rest homes” to very high fees…AND Low Employee pay rates. Hence “Granny Farming” . Oceania would be up there with the worst…gsays comment ignored my link comment. per : That NO ONE from Oceania lost their job.! When some one died a very short time after being admitted. Maybe nuance….
I have no truck with granny farms. Like supermarkets, they will keep up their practices and undesirable exploitative behaviour so long as folk keep signing up their elderly relatives.
I missed the memo where we were told to sub-contract our love.
As predicted, the US led war in Ukraine is not as cut and dried as some would have you believe, and with the avalanche of weapons pouring into the Ukraine seemingly being only marginally monitored, into what was only a short while ago openly known as the most corrupt country in Europe…what could go wrong…well you don’t have to have a degree to work that out for yourself now do you?
The balance of probability that in the wake of this war, extremely well armed and highly motivated, organized and battle hardened Right Wing militia will cause havoc throughout Europe is highly likely, as well as crazy Right Wing lone wolves, returning to their countries (or somewhere) post conflict (as we know only to well in NZ)….not to mention just your run of the mill criminal organizations… Welcome to Ukraine, the most corrupt nation in Europe
. Ukraine: Cashing in on Illegal Arms
" Ukraine has gained a reputation as one of the world's most active suppliers of illegal small arms. It is one of several Eastern European countries that has turned to arms dealing as a source of much-needed hard currency."
"The documentary originally featured an interview with Jonas Ohman, the founder of a Lithuania-based organization that supplies the Ukrainian military. Ohman told CBS that supplying foreign weapons to Ukrainian troops involves navigating a web of “lords of power, oligarchs [and] political actors, and that of all aid arriving at the border in Poland, “kind of like 30% of it reaches its final destination.”
I can't yet figure how all those pre Zelinsky oligarchs and their oligopolies are in operation now and in what form. Maybe it's simply too complex and febrile to analyse until the war is done.
One would reasonably expect this protracted war to make even greater concentration of power in wheat, coal, steel, armaments, electricity, and pretty much anything else people need to survive, than there was when it started.
Well if we thought National's annual conference got spiked with historical revelations about an MP, imagine how the US Republicans feel when their own Convention got spiked with Trump's Mar A Lago raided by the FBI an hour ago.
Another update from Swedish authorities on the use of medication for minors, as NZ perversely makes them accessible from GPs without comprehensive assessment:
(In Swedish, but Google translate link will appear)
Following a request from the National Board of Health and Welfare, SBU has drawn up a literature review in which all relevant studies on the effect and safety of hormone treatments have been reviewed. In the report, which is published today, it appears that it is not yet possible to draw any definite conclusions about the effect and safety of the treatments based on scientific evidence.
– The conclusion is that very little knowledge has been gained about the effects and safety of the treatments since 2015, says Thomas Lindén.
– When the knowledge support for the care of children and young people with gender dysphoria was developed in 2015, the importance of the measures offered within the framework of the clinical work being systematically followed up and evaluated in the best possible way was emphasized. Now we see that this has not yet been realized, which contributes to the fact that there is reason to change the recommendations.
SBU has also compiled studies on changing perceptions of gender identity or interruption of treatment. It is not possible to determine how common it is for people who undergo gender-affirming treatment to later change their mind about their gender identity, cancel the treatment or regret it in some aspect. At the same time, it is documented that detransition occurs, and there may also be a dark speech.
<
p style=”text-align:left”>The whole is worth the read.
There's no doubt that things are different Down South…
In some DHB’s, including Southern, there were requirements for psychologist referrals to access endocrinologists whereas in other areas, such as Canterbury, gender-affirming hormone treatment was led by GPs, with studies showed this reduced stress amongst patients.
…and luckily
The change in requirements for psychological assessment only impacts adults looking to receive gender-affirming hormones, and does not cover gender-affirming surgery or children looking to access hormones.
Fine if adults wish to pharmacologically alter their appearance to better match their gender identity…but its also entirely appropriate for there to be extra layers of scrutiny when it entails surgery and hormones for children experiencing gender discomfort.
I thought this a little strange though…a doctor somehow seeing some similarity between access to gender affirming pharmaceuticals and the contraceptive pill.
He pointed out that psychological assessment before hormone prescription was not common in other areas, such as when the contraceptive pill is prescribed, with the change reducing stigma for the gender diverse community.
Is there still 'stigma' attached to accessing the Pill?
If "gender" is not sex – as they keep on claiming – then why does this "gender affirming" treatment all relate to the primary and secondary sex characteristics? If "gender " is in your head – surely saying "yes, I affirm your gender" should do the trick? If people like Eddie Izzard and Alex Drummond become women simply by saying so – not bodily change required (Alex does not even shave off the beard but identifies as a woman and a lesbian), then why are children pushed into changing their bodies with drugs and surgeries?
Housing prices continue fall with mean price falling 4.9% for quarter.With OCR increases coming and floating rates to be close to 8% by New Year,there will see some significant decreases in asking prices as new builds come on stream.
My daily news diet is not what it once was.It was the TV news that lost me first. Too infantilising, too breathless, too frustrating.The Herald was next. You could look past the reactionary framing while it was being a decent newspaper of record, but once Shayne Currie began unleashing all ...
Hit the road Jack and don't you come backNo more, no more, no more, no moreHit the road Jack and don't you come back no moreWhat you say?Songwriters: Percy MayfieldMorena,I keep many of my posts, like this one, paywall-free so that everyone can read them.However, please consider supporting me as ...
This might be the longest delay between reading (or in this case re-reading) a work, and actually writing a review of it I have ever managed. Indeed, when I last read these books in December 2022, I was not planning on writing anything about them… but as A Phuulish Fellow ...
Kia Ora,I try to keep most my posts without a paywall for public interest journalism purposes. However, if you can afford to, please consider supporting me as a paid subscriber and/or supporting over at Ko-Fi. That will help me to continue, and to keep spending time on the work. Embarrassingly, ...
There was a time when Google was the best thing in my world. I was an early adopter of their AdWords program and boy did I like what it did for my business. It put rocket fuel in it, is what it did. For every dollar I spent, those ads ...
A while back I was engaged in an unpleasant exchange with a leader of the most well-known NZ anti-vax group and several like-minded trolls. I had responded to a racist meme on social media in which a rightwing podcaster in the US interviewed one of the leaders of the Proud ...
Hi,If you’ve been reading Webworm for a while, you’ll be familiar with Anna Wilding. Between 2020 and 2021 I looked at how the New Zealander had managed to weasel her way into countless news stories over the years, often with very little proof any of it had actually happened. When ...
It's a long white cloud for you, baby; staying together alwaysSummertime in AotearoaWhere the sunshine kisses the water, we will find it alwaysSummertime in AotearoaYeah, it′s SummertimeIt's SummertimeWriters: Codi Wehi Ngatai, Moresby Kainuku, Pipiwharauroa Campbell, Taulutoa Michael Schuster, Rebekah Jane Brady, Te Naawe Jordan Muturangi Tupe, Thomas Edward Scrase.Many of ...
Last year, 292 people died unnecessarily on our roads. That is the lowest result in over a decade and only the fourth time in the last 70 years we’ve seen fewer than 300 deaths in a calendar year. Yet, while it is 292 people too many, with each death being ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob HensonFlames from the Palisades Fire burn a building at Sunset Boulevard amid a powerful windstorm on January 8, 2025 in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The fast-moving wildfire had destroyed thousands of structures and ...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.The Regulatory Standards Bill, as I understand it, seeks to bind parliament to a specific range of law-making.For example, it seems to ensure primacy of individual rights over that of community, environment, te Tiriti ...
Happy New Year!I had a lovely break, thanks very much for asking: friends, family, sunshine, books, podcasts, refreshing swims, barbecues, bike rides. So good to step away from the firehose for a while, to have less Trump and Seymour in your day. Who needs the Luxons in their risible PJs ...
Patrick Reynolds is deputy chair of the Auckland City Centre Advisory Panel and a director of Greater Auckland In 2003, after much argument, including the election of a Mayor in 2001 who ran on stopping it, Britomart train station in downtown Auckland opened. A mere 1km twin track terminating branch ...
For the first time in a decade, a New Zealand Prime Minister is heading to the Middle East. The trip is more than just a courtesy call. New Zealand PMs frequently change planes in Dubai en route to destinations elsewhere. But Christopher Luxon’s visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 5, 2025 thru Sat, January 11, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
The decade between 1952 and the early 1960s was the peak period for the style of music we now call doo wop, after which it got dissolved into soul music, girl groups, and within pop music in general. Basically, doo wop was a form of small group harmonising with a ...
The future teaches you to be aloneThe present to be afraid and coldSo if I can shoot rabbits, then I can shoot fascists…And if you tolerate thisThen your children will be nextSongwriters: James Dean Bradfield / Sean Anthony Moore / Nicholas Allen Jones.Do you remember at school, studying the rise ...
When National won the New Zealand election in 2023, one of the first to congratulate Luxon was tech-billionaire and entrepreneur extraordinaire Elon Musk.And last year, after Luxon posted a video about a trip to Malaysia, Musk came forward again to heap praise on Christopher:So it was perhaps par for the ...
Hi,Today’s Webworm features a new short film from documentary maker Giorgio Angelini. It’s about Luigi Mangione — but it’s also, really, about everything in America right now.Bear with me.Shortly after I sent out my last missive from the fires on Wednesday, one broke out a little too close to home ...
So soon just after you've goneMy senses sharpenBut it always takes so damn longBefore I feel how much my eyes have darkenedFear hangs in a plane of gun smokeDrifting in our roomSo easy to disturb, with a thought, with a whisperWith a careless memorySongwriters: Andy Taylor / John Taylor / ...
Can we trust the Trump cabinet to act in the public interest?Nine of Trump’s closest advisers are billionaires. Their total net worth is in excess of $US375b (providing there is not a share-market crash). In contrast, the total net worth of Trump’s first Cabinet was about $6b. (Joe Biden’s Cabinet ...
Welcome back to our weekly roundup. We hope you had a good break (if you had one). Here’s a few of the stories that caught our attention over the last few weeks. This holiday period on Greater Auckland Since our last roundup we’ve: Taken a look back at ...
Sometimes I feel like I don't have a partnerSometimes I feel like my only friendIs the city I live in, The City of AngelsLonely as I am together we crySong: Anthony Kiedis, Chad Smith, Flea, John Frusciante.A home is engulfed in flames during the Eaton fire in the Altadena area. ...
Open access notablesLarge emissions of CO2 and CH4 due to active-layer warming in Arctic tundra, Torn et al., Nature Communications:Climate warming may accelerate decomposition of Arctic soil carbon, but few controlled experiments have manipulated the entire active layer. To determine surface-atmosphere fluxes of carbon dioxide and ...
It's election year for Wellington City Council and for the Regional Council. What have the progressive councillors achieved over the last couple of years. What were the blocks and failures? What's with the targeting of the mayor and city council by the Post and by central government? Why does the ...
Over the holidays, there was a rising tide of calls for people to submit on National's repulsive, white supremacist Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill, along with a wave of advice and examples of what to say. And it looks like people rose to the occasion, with over 300,000 ...
The lie is my expenseThe scope of my desireThe Party blessed me with its futureAnd I protect it with fireI am the Nina The Pinta The Santa MariaThe noose and the rapistAnd the fields overseerThe agents of orangeThe priests of HiroshimaThe cost of my desire…Sleep now in the fireSongwriters: Brad ...
This is a re-post from the Climate BrinkGlobal surface temperatures have risen around 1.3C since the preindustrial (1850-1900) period as a result of human activity.1 However, this aggregate number masks a lot of underlying factors that contribute to global surface temperature changes over time.These include CO2, which is the primary ...
There are times when movement around us seems to slow down. And the faster things get, the slower it all appears.And so it is with the whirlwind of early year political activity.They are harbingers for what is to come:Video: Wayne Wright Jnr, funder of Sean Plunket, talk growing power and ...
Hi,Right now the power is out, so I’m just relying on the laptop battery and tethering to my phone’s 5G which is dropping in and out. We’ll see how we go.First up — I’m fine. I can’t see any flames out the window. I live in the greater Hollywood area ...
2024 was a tough year for working Kiwis. But together we’ve been able to fight back for a just and fair New Zealand and in 2025 we need to keep standing up for what’s right and having our voices heard. That starts with our Mood of the Workforce Survey. It’s your ...
Time is never time at allYou can never ever leaveWithout leaving a piece of youthAnd our lives are forever changedWe will never be the sameThe more you change, the less you feelSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan.Babinden - Baba’s DayToday, January 8th, 2025, is Babinden, “The Day of the baba” or “The ...
..I/We wish to make the following comments:I oppose the Treaty Principles Bill."5. Act binds the CrownThis Act binds the Crown."How does this Act "bind the Crown" when Te Tiriti o Waitangi, which the Act refers to, has been violated by the Crown on numerous occassions, resulting in massive loss of ...
Everything is good and brownI'm here againWith a sunshine smile upon my faceMy friends are close at handAnd all my inhibitions have disappeared without a traceI'm glad, oh, that I found oohSomebody who I can rely onSongwriter: Jay KayGood morning, all you lovely people. Today, I’ve got nothing except a ...
Welcome to 2025. After wrapping up 2024, here’s a look at some of the things we can expect to see this year along with a few predictions. Council and Elections Elections One of the biggest things this year will be local body elections in October. Will Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Canadians can take a while to get angry – but when they finally do, watch out. Canada has been falling out of love with Justin Trudeau for years, and his exit has to be the least surprising news event of the New Year. On recent polling, Trudeau’s Liberal party has ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Much like 2023, many climate and energy records were broken in 2024. It was Earth’s hottest year on record by a wide margin, breaking the previous record that was set just last year by an even larger margin. Human-caused climate-warming pollution and ...
Submissions on National's racist, white supremacist Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill are due tomorrow! So today, after a good long holiday from all that bullshit, I finally got my shit together to submit on it. As I noted here, people should write their own submissions in their own ...
Ooh, baby (ooh, baby)It's making me crazy (it's making me crazy)Every time I look around (look around)Every time I look around (every time I look around)Every time I look aroundIt's in my faceSongwriters: Alan Leo Jansson / Paul Lawrence L. Fuemana.Today, I’ll be talking about rich, middle-aged men who’ve made ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 29, 2024 thru Sat, January 4, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Hi,The thing that stood out at me while shopping for Christmas presents in New Zealand was how hard it was to avoid Zuru products. Toy manufacturer Zuru is a bit like Netflix, in that it has so much data on what people want they can flood the market with so ...
And when a child is born into this worldIt has no conceptOf the tone of skin it's living inAnd there's a million voicesAnd there's a million voicesTo tell you what you should be thinkingSong by Neneh Cherry and Youssou N'Dour.The moment you see that face, you can hear her voice; ...
While we may not always have quality political leadership, a couple of recently published autobiographies indicate sometimes we strike it lucky. When ranking our prime ministers, retired professor of history Erik Olssen commented that ‘neither Holland nor Nash was especially effective as prime minister – even his private secretary thought ...
Baby, be the class clownI'll be the beauty queen in tearsIt's a new art form, showin' people how little we care (yeah)We're so happy, even when we're smilin' out of fearLet's go down to the tennis court and talk it up like, yeah (yeah)Songwriters: Joel Little / Ella Yelich O ...
Open access notables Why Misinformation Must Not Be Ignored, Ecker et al., American Psychologist:Recent academic debate has seen the emergence of the claim that misinformation is not a significant societal problem. We argue that the arguments used to support this minimizing position are flawed, particularly if interpreted (e.g., by policymakers or the public) as suggesting ...
What I’ve Been Doing: I buried a close family member.What I’ve Been Watching: Andor, Jack Reacher, Xmas movies.What I’ve Been Reflecting On: The Usefulness of Writing and the Worthiness of Doing So — especially as things become more transparent on their own.I also hate competing on any day, and if ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by John Wihbey. A version of this article first appeared on Yale Climate Connections on Nov. 11, 2008. (Image credits: The White House, Jonathan Cutrer / CC BY 2.0; President Jimmy Carter, Trikosko/Library of Congress; Solar dedication, Bill Fitz-Patrick / Jimmy Carter Library; Solar ...
Morena folks,We’re having a good break, recharging the batteries. Hope you’re enjoying the holiday period. I’m not feeling terribly inspired by much at the moment, I’m afraid—not from a writing point of view, anyway.So, today, we’re travelling back in time. You’ll have to imagine the wavy lines and sci-fi sound ...
Completed reads for 2024: Oration on the Dignity of Man, by Giovanni Pico della Mirandola A Platonic Discourse Upon Love, by Giovanni Pico della Mirandola Of Being and Unity, by Giovanni Pico della Mirandola The Life of Pico della Mirandola, by Giovanni Francesco Pico Three Letters Written by Pico ...
Welcome to 2025, Aotearoa. Well… what can one really say? 2024 was a story of a bad beginning, an infernal middle and an indescribably farcical end. But to chart a course for a real future, it does pay to know where we’ve been… so we know where we need ...
Welcome to the official half-way point of the 2020s. Anyway, as per my New Years tradition, here’s where A Phuulish Fellow’s blog traffic came from in 2024: United States United Kingdom New Zealand Canada Sweden Australia Germany Spain Brazil Finland The top four are the same as 2023, ...
Completed reads for December: Be A Wolf!, by Brian Strickland The Magic Flute [libretto], by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Emanuel Schikaneder The Invisible Eye, by Erckmann-Chatrian The Owl’s Ear, by Erckmann-Chatrian The Waters of Death, by Erckmann-Chatrian The Spider, by Hanns Heinz Ewers Who Knows?, by Guy de Maupassant ...
Well, it’s the last day of the year, so it’s time for a quick wrap-up of the most important things that happened in 2024 for urbanism and transport in our city. A huge thank you to everyone who has visited the blog and supported us in our mission to make ...
Leave your office, run past your funeralLeave your home, car, leave your pulpitJoin us in the streets where weJoin us in the streets where weDon't belong, don't belongHere under the starsThrowing light…Song: Jeffery BuckleyToday, I’ll discuss the standout politicians of the last 12 months. Each party will receive three awards, ...
Hi,A lot’s happened this year in the world of Webworm, and as 2024 comes to an end I thought I’d look back at a few of the things that popped. Maybe you missed them, or you might want to revisit some of these essay and podcast episodes over your break ...
Hi,I wanted to share this piece by film editor Dan Kircher about what cinema has been up to in 2024.Dan edited my documentary Mister Organ, as well as this year’s excellent crowd-pleasing Bookworm.Dan adores movies. He gets the language of cinema, he knows what he loves, and writes accordingly. And ...
Without delving into personal details but in order to give readers a sense of the year that was, I thought I would offer the study in contrasts that are Xmas 2023 and Xmas 2024: Xmas 2023 in Starship Children’s Hospital (after third of four surgeries). Even opening presents was an ...
Heavy disclaimer: Alpha/beta/omega dynamics is a popular trope that’s used in a wide range of stories and my thoughts on it do not apply to all cases. I’m most familiar with it through the lens of male-focused fanfic, typically m/m but sometimes also featuring m/f and that’s the situation I’m ...
Hi,Webworm has been pretty heavy this year — mainly because the world is pretty heavy. But as we sprint (or limp, you choose) through the final days of 2024, I wanted to keep Webworm a little lighter.So today I wanted to look at one of the biggest and weirdest elements ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 22, 2024 thru Sat, December 28, 2024. This week's roundup is the second one published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, ...
We’ll have a climate change ChristmasFrom now until foreverWarming our hearts and mindsAnd planet all togetherSpirits high and oceans higherChestnuts roast on wildfiresIf coal is on your wishlistMerry Climate Change ChristmasSong by Ian McConnellReindeer emissions are not something I’d thought about in terms of climate change. I guess some significant ...
KP continues to putt-putt along as a tiny niche blog that offers a NZ perspective on international affairs with a few observations about NZ domestic politics thrown in. In 2024 there was also some personal posts given that my son was in the last four months of a nine month ...
I can see very wellThere's a boat on the reef with a broken backAnd I can see it very wellThere's a joke and I know it very wellIt's one of those that I told you long agoTake my word I'm a madman, don't you knowSongwriters: Bernie Taupin / Elton JohnIt ...
.Acknowledgement: Tim PrebbleThanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work..With each passing day of bad headlines, squandering tax revenue to enrich the rich, deep cuts to our social services and a government struggling to keep the lipstick on its neo-liberal pig ...
This is from the 36th Parallel social media account (as brief food for thought). We know that Trump is ahistorical at best but he seems to think that he is Teddy Roosevelt and can use the threat of invoking the Monroe Doctrine and “Big Stick” gunboat diplomacy against Panama and ...
Don't you cry tonightI still love you, babyAnd don't you cry tonightDon't you cry tonightThere's a heaven above you, babyAnd don't you cry tonightSong: Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin“Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so”, said possibly the greatest philosopher ever to walk this earth, Douglas Adams.We have entered the ...
The Green Party welcomes the extension of the deadline for Treaty Principles Bill submissions but continues to call on the Government to abandon the Bill. ...
Complaints about disruptive behaviour now handled in around 13 days (down from around 60 days a year ago) 553 Section 55A notices issued by Kāinga Ora since July 2024, up from 41 issued during the same period in the previous year. Of that 553, first notices made up around 83 ...
The time it takes to process building determinations has improved significantly over the last year which means fewer delays in homes being built, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “New Zealand has a persistent shortage of houses. Making it easier and quicker for new homes to be built will ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden is pleased to announce the annual list of New Zealand’s most popular baby names for 2024. “For the second consecutive year, Noah has claimed the top spot for boys with 250 babies sharing the name, while Isla has returned to the most popular ...
Work is set to get underway on a new bus station at Westgate this week. A contract has been awarded to HEB Construction to start a package of enabling works to get the site ready in advance of main construction beginning in mid-2025, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“A new Westgate ...
Minister for Children and for Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour is encouraging people to use the resources available to them to get help, and to report instances of family and sexual violence amongst their friends, families, and loved ones who are in need. “The death of a ...
Uia te pō, rangahaua te pō, whakamāramatia mai he aha tō tango, he aha tō kāwhaki? Whitirere ki te ao, tirotiro kau au, kei hea taku rātā whakamarumaru i te au o te pakanga mo te mana motuhake? Au te pō, ngū te pō, ue hā! E te kahurangi māreikura, ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says people with diabetes and other painful conditions will benefit from a significant new qualification to boost training in foot care. “It sounds simple, but quality and regular foot and nail care is vital in preventing potentially serious complications from diabetes, like blisters or sores, which can take a long time to heal ...
Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Pharmac David Seymour is pleased to see Pharmac continue to increase availability of medicines for Kiwis with the government’s largest ever investment in Pharmac. “Pharmac operates independently, but it must work within the budget constraints set by the government,” says Mr Seymour. “When this government assumed ...
Mā mua ka kite a muri, mā muri ka ora e mua - Those who lead give sight to those who follow, those who follow give life to those who lead. Māori recipients in the New Year 2025 Honours list show comprehensive dedication to improving communities across the motu that ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden is wishing all New Zealanders a great holiday season as Kiwis prepare for gatherings with friends and families to see in the New Year. It is a great time of year to remind everyone to stay fire safe over the summer. “I know ...
From 1 January 2025, first-time tertiary learners will have access to a new Fees Free entitlement of up to $12,000 for their final year of provider-based study or final two years of work-based learning, Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Targeting funding to the final year of study ...
“As we head into one of the busiest times of the year for Police, and family violence and sexual violence response services, it’s a good time to remind everyone what to do if they experience violence or are worried about others,” Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Manisha Caleb, Senior Lecturer in Astrophysics, University of Sydney Artist’s impression of ASKAP J1839-0756.James Josephides When some of the biggest stars reach the end of their lives, they explode in spectacular supernovas and leave behind incredibly dense cores called neutron stars. ...
Democracy Now!AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman.We turn now to Gaza, where Israel’s assault on the besieged strip continues despite ongoing talks over a possible ceasefire. Palestinian authorities say 5000 people are missing or have been killed in this ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Walker-Munro, Senior Lecturer (Law), Southern Cross University Elon Musk is no stranger to news headlines. His purchase of Twitter and subsequent decision to rebrand the platform as X has seen it called “a true black mirror of the most worrying parts ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor in Port Vila The electoral commission in Vanuatu is trying its best to clear up some confusion with the voting process for tomorrow’s snap election. Principal Electoral Officer Guilain Malessas said this is due to the tight turnaround to deliver this election after Parliament ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gemma King, Senior Lecturer in French Studies, ARC DECRA Fellow in Screen Studies, Australian National University Universal Pictures In two of the biggest films released this summer, Gladiator II and Nosferatu, most actors seem to be speaking like they’re in a ...
Alex Casey reviews the first and possibly last ever musical biopic to star a CGI ape. Sometime over the fuzzy holiday break, I watched a Subway Take on Instagram which stuck with me. “Musician biopics should be illegal,” opined guest Charlene Kaye. “I’m so sick of the trope of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Whitcombe-Dobbs, Senior Lecturer in Child and Family Psychology, University of Canterbury After last year’s budget cuts to social services, including a NZ$14 million cut to early home visits, social services providers in New Zealand raised concerns about what the move would ...
COMMENTARY:By Maire Leadbeater Aotearoa New Zealand’s coalition government has introduced a bill to criminalise “improper conduct for or on behalf of a foreign power” or foreign interference that echoes earlier Cold War times, and could capture critics of New Zealand’s foreign and defence policy, especially if they liaise with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kristine Crous, Senior Lecturer, School of Science and Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University Researchers study leaves in the Daintree rainforest in North Queensland, Australia, using a canopy crane. Alexander Cheesman On the east coast of Australia, in tropical ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Louise Baur, Professor, Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health, University of Sydney World Obesity Federation Obesity is linked to many common diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver disease and knee osteoarthritis. Obesity is currently defined using ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelvin (Shiu Fung) Wong, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, Swinburne University of Technology Sad, anxious or lacking in motivation? Chances are you have just returned to work after a summer break. January is the month when people are most likely to quit ...
Is warning people about police on Google Maps aiding your fellow citizens, or abetting dangerous drivers? Anna Rawhiti-Connell debates Anna Rawhiti-Connell.For over a decade, the navigation app Waze has used a crowdsourcing feature that allows you to report incidents on your route. With your phone plugged into Apple CarPlay ...
With dozens of Māori seats up for referendum, this year’s local elections will reveal where Aotearoa truly stands on representation.Last year, the government introduced legislation requiring all local authorities that had established Māori wards and constituencies to hold a referendum on these seats during this year’s local government elections. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Williams, Associate Professor, Griffith University, Griffith University Queensland’s Bruce Highway is a bit like a 1980s family sedan: dated, worn in places, and often more than a little dangerous. But it’s also a necessary part of life for people just trying ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julie Collins, Research Fellow and Curator, Architecture Museum, University of South Australia South Australian Home Builders’ Club members at work.SAHBC collection S284, Architecture Museum, University of South Australia Australians are no strangers to housing crises. Some will even remember the crisis ...
A new report from Australian charity Action Aid reveals how the New Zealand banks’ Australian owners manage to sign up to international climate goals while continuing to fund fossil fuel companies. Most people in New Zealand bank with four large banks, all of which are owned by overseas companies. BNZ’s ...
The only way forward is for workers to build a new party that fights for the socialist reorganisation of society, on the basis of human need, not private profit. This is the program of the Socialist Equality Group in New Zealand and the International ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Senior Lecturer of Urban Risk & Resilience, UNSW Sydney MIA Studio We are surrounded by random events every day. Will the stock market rise or fall tomorrow? Will the next penalty kick in a soccer match go left or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Athena Lee, Lecturer and Researcher, Centre for Indigenous Australian Education and Research, Edith Cowan University When we think of writing systems we likely think of an Alphabetic writing system, where each symbol (letter) in the alphabet represents a basic sound unit, such ...
David Seymour has welcomed the huge amount of public interest in his controversial proposed law, explains The Bulletin’s Stewart Sowman-Lund. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Parliament's justice committee will find out tomorrow how many submissions were made on the Treaty Principles Bill after the deadline was extended by nearly a week after website issues. ...
A parent shares their experience and fears as public submissions are sought on the use of puberty blockers for gender-affirming care. Both the author and daughter’s names have been changed to protect their privacy.When my daughter Marie was born, everyone, including me, thought she was a boy. She started ...
Thrice thwarted previously, the Act Party’s Regulatory Standards Bill is set to pass in 2025, ushering in a new – and potentially controversial – era for government rule-making. Here’s everything you need to know. Before public submissions for the Treaty principles bill came to a close on Tuesday, a separate ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Wednesday 15 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Summer reissue: Adopted in 1834 the first national flag of New Zealand (Te Kara o Te Whakaminenga o Ngā Hapū o Nu Tīreni) symbolises more than just necessity – it represents Māori autonomy and a legacy of self-determination that continues today.The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying ...
Summer reissue: Shortsightedness in kids is skyrocketing overseas. Is New Zealand next? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today.“Hey bro, are you blind now?” ...
While mediator Qatar says a Gaza ceasefire deal is at the closest point it has been in the past few months — adding that many of the obstacles in the negotiations have been ironed out — a special report for Drop Site News reveals the escalation in attacks on Palestinians ...
In our latest in-depth podcast investigation, Fractured, Melanie Reid and her team delve deep into a complex case involving a controversial medical diagnosis and its fallout on a young family. While Fractured is a forensic examination of this case here in New Zealand, the diagnosis that started it all is ...
While last year was termed the ‘year of elections’, 2025 will see some highly significant elections set to take place throughout the world that could have significant impacts on countries, their regions, and the wider global picture.AfricaThe presidential elections in Cameroon this October see the world’s oldest head of state ...
ANALYSIS:By Ali Mirin Indonesia officially joined the BRICS — Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa — consortium last week marking a significant milestone in its foreign relations. In a statement released a day later on January 7, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that this membership reflected Indonesia’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Senior Lecturer of Urban Risk & Resilience, UNSW Sydney Imagine a gathering so large it dwarfs any concert, festival, or sporting event you’ve ever seen. In the Kumbh Mela, a religious festival held in India, millions of Hindu pilgrims come ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra Motortion Films/Shutterstock You may have seen stories the Australian dollar has “plummeted”. Sounds bad. But what does it mean and should you be worried? The most-commonly quoted ...
Summer reissue: Lange and Muldoon clash, two days after the election. Our live updates editor is on the case. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gina Perry, Science historian with a specific interest in the history of social psychology., The University of Melbourne ‘Guards’ with a blindfolded ‘prisoner’.PrisonExp.org A new translation of a 2018 book by French science historian Thibault Le Texier challenges the claims of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Jordan, Professor of Epidemiology, The University of Queensland Peakstock/Shutterstock Many women worry hormonal contraceptives have dangerous side-effects including increased cancer risk. But this perception is often out of proportion with the actual risks. So, what does the research actually say ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kiley Seymour, Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Behaviour, University of Technology Sydney Vector Tradition/Shutterstock From self-service checkouts to public streets to stadiums – surveillance technology is everywhere. This pervasive monitoring is often justified in the name of safety and security. ...
"You want the truth. You can't handle the truth." – Sam Uffindell 2022.
Also, Jack Nicholson 1992.
If John Key was his boss he would be gone by lunchtime.
If Helen Clark was his boss he would be gone by lunchtime.
If Jacinda Ardern was his boss he would be promoted up the list and probably made speaker.
As Luxon is his boss……………..could go either way.
Key'd hand him a bed-leg.
And If the kid'd had a ponytail….uurgh. : (
sir Key, absolutely fits the bully cap
The bullie had three other sadists,who are they ?
I guess we don't need to know…unless they stand as National Party candidates.
What if they stood for Labour?
For all and any party.
More likely they'd be drawn to National though 🙂
Not The Greens.
No way at all.
Agreed not good for any party, but being private school far more likely to end up Nats or Act. Mallard seems to be the exception as his bullying well reported.
bullies from a private school? young nats all day long
On what basis would he be gone? He disclosed this information to the party as part of the candidate vetting process but they let him run anyway.
Why, ya gotta wonder, did Uffindell choose to do this?
Uffindell "… used his maiden speech to critique a “growing culture of lawlessness, lack of accountability, a sense of impunity, and significant underlying generational social problems”.
???
Was it that "sense of impunity" wot dunnit?
but surely he wasn't talking about top feeders.
Hey it turns out you have this all wrong. Luxon just explained on his presser that:
@6.40
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/129518873/christopher-luxon-says-voters-should-have-been-told-about-sam-uffindells-past
Agreed – I want him to stay. He sounds like a natural fit for National. An ambitious, hard-working guy wanting to get ahead, keen to show his personal excellence (physical, intellectual, verbal) and be unshackled from state regulations and the wasteful spending that goes with it. He might have become a tradie instead of an MP – he knew how to unscrew the bed leg. Certainly he knows that humans are innately competitive and some people naturally dominate others in the free markets of the economy and physical violence. Go Sam, you are the future.
Good point, AB – John Key couldn't use a hammer, but this bloke can repurpose technology (in this instance, a bed-leg, like nobody's business!).
Future Leader of the National Party?
"If Helen Clark was his boss he would be gone by lunchtime"
Really?
About the only thing we have to decide this is what she did when Trevor Mallard assaulted Tau Henare in Parliament. Trevor was an adult of course, not a teenager.
What did Helen do? Well nothing really. She was reported as saying that
"Miss Clark said today that her minister had been punished enough for the brawl in Parliament's lobby.
Mr Mallard had already been publicly humiliated over the "silly incident", which had occurred after he had been provoked – both verbally and physically."
She also said "Miss Clark today said calls for Mr Mallard to be sacked were political in nature due to his effectiveness as a minister."
Then she shifted him into a more significant position in Cabinet.
I seem to remember she also said something like "That is just Trevor being Trevor" but I can't find any link and I may be imagining that.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/35562/Clark-making-excuses-for-Mallard-Henare
All this storm in a teacup is people on the left trying to distract public attention from last night's poll results. Just the standard dirty politics from the left.
WTF? You righties have the lock on that! Proven. And 4 scumbags (one now a nat MP ).. beating on a younger kid…with weapons is a distraction.?
Unbelievable
There has been a concerted effort from the NACT troll farm to run a massive campaign of "whataboutism" – "what about Mallard"? As if a couple of middle aged blokes having an attack of testosterone poisoning in an inappropriate place was exactly equivalent to 4 people attacking a sleeping and defenseless 13 yo child as he slept.
The left is very adept at it's own forms of dirty politics. What's different is that it is often directed at itself, a bit like a man with a pistol that fires before lifting the barrel.
Somewhere, a bridge is missing you……
It could have been a deflection from last nights poll, or it could have been a deflection from the OAG's submission on the 3Waters legislation?
Four on one – the man's a coward.
Four on one with weapons – the man's an utter coward.
Four on one with weapons on a person in bed – the mans a snivelling wretch and an utter coward.
FOUR ON ONE – so he could have said something but did not… the man's willing to break laws and bones just to be accepted. A jellyfish. A limp-wristed pathetic preener.
Four times Uffindell was asked on Morning Report if this assault was a one off and each time he evaded the answer.
He let slip that he was asked to leave (expelled) but the others were suspended.
I wonder why they attacked the victim who was years their junior. Must have been a serious "flaw" of some sort.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=2018852740
But the National Party deputy-leader says, Sam" is sincere (now) and changed (now). She's sure he will join her in condemning bullying of that sort (now).
How she knows this, we cannot know.
She didn't hear about the bullying incident until yesterday…
Nowness.
Unless she knew all about him months ago.
Several hundred old things on TradeMe confirm us still as "Where old British cars go to die." No, not Dunedin, but Hawkes Bay.
Fancy a classic British motor? Hundreds from one man's passion project on sale | Stuff.co.nz
Putin asks us, when we bomb civilians, why do we get sanctions, but Israel doesn't?
He has a point.
"But what about them" is one of the stupidest defences for war crimes I have ever heard.
Yes..what about them…committing war crimes as we speak…that was the question, how about you just answer that instead of deflecting?
No point trading injustice for injustice, deflection for deflection.
Also no harm…actually one could say it is important, to keep reminding ourselves and other of Western MSM media imperialist driven narratives on wars….as this piece from Fair.org points out quite nicely….
Invasion News Fits on Front Page More When an Enemy Does the Invading
"In April 2022, there were a total of 179 stories on the Times‘ front page, and 79 (44%) concerned the Ukraine invasion. All but three were located at the top of the page (i.e., with no articles above them), where editors put the stories they consider to be the most important of the day. Fully 75% of all top-of-the-page stories were about the Ukraine war. Not a single day went by without a Ukraine story being published on the top of the page, and on 14 different days only stories about Ukraine were published on the top of the front page.
In May 2003, when there were 226 stories on the front page, only 41 of them (18%) reported on the Iraq invasion. Thirty-two of those were at the top of the page, with nine below; 25% of all top-of-the-page stories were dedicated to the Iraq War."
We hear almost nothing out of Africa or the Arabian peninsula and yet they hold most of the deeply corrupt, violent and fragile states in the world.
List of countries by Fragile States Index – Wikipedia
But then, they tend to be the places where reporters aren't merely shot in the ones or twos. So one tends not to get too many stories out of them.
Adrian, though you have accused me of it more than once, I am not a partisan supporter of one bloody imperialist bloc over another.
The point Putin was making is that he should have the same right to impunity, to kill and maim invade other countries as the Western Powers have.
My point is that none of them should have any impunity and that includes Israel.
This latest attack by Israel against the Palestinian people, brings into sharp relief the hypocrisy of the Ardern administration.
When Ukraine was attacked by Russia, the Prime Minister never paused for a second in the rush to impose sanctions and even send military aid to Ukraine to defend themselves.
Instead of sanctions, New Zealand rewards Israel with visiting privileges.
Will we hear a peep out of 'Kindness' government over this latest Israeli atrocity?
Will the government rescind Israel's visiting privileges to this country?
Will we put economic sanctions on Israel as the BDS Movement have asked us to?
The West is busy supplying Ukraine with highly accurate HiMARs to defend themselves from Russian attacks.
God forbid, that we could ever even contemplate supplying the Palestinians with any means at all to defend themselves from Israeli attacks, rather than the highly inaccurate backyard hand made rockets they have to make themselves.
"Adrian, though you have accused me of it more than once, I am not a partisan supporter of one bloody imperialist bloc over another"….
Well that's very strange, because that is exactly what nearly everything you write on the matter of geo-politics usually sounds (reads) like….and BTW let’s be honest here..getting the Palestinian/ Israel conflict right is real easy…pretty much all Liberals are on board with that one, as they should be, (well except most of the editorial board at The Guardian)…
..but now we cut to the present, and for some reason the Liberal class have morphed into the most aggressive war hawks on the planet, and are now all gung-ho about nearly every Western backed military intervention that comes knocking (and I include the Ukrainian conflict here), even though this means getting into bed again and again with the likes of John Bolton, George Bush, Boris Johnson, the US miliary industrial complex and every other blood thirsty war hawk you can think of…but again, for reasons known only to yourselves, even that doesn’t seem set off any alarm bells?!??…apparently not.
You do realize, that if the Iraq war were to happen today under Biden or Obama… the probability that you Red Logic and all the other Western war Hawks on this site would support that invasion would be extremely high…infact it is almost a certainty.
BTW…Jacinda Ardern and Labour NZ stepping out of line on Palestine or the genocide in Yemen, come on, seriously….we all know that will never happen….ever, maybe you should ask yourself why that is.
"….let’s be honest here..getting the Palestinian/ Israel conflict right is real easy…pretty much all Liberals are on board with that one, as they should be, (well except most of the editorial board at The Guardian)…" Adrian Thornton
How about a link for that claim. Eh, Adrian.
Apart from your continual diversions, what-aboutisms, and smears.
What I am getting heartily sick of Adrian, is the repeated use of outrageous bald statements, without any attempt to provide evidence, or back up for them, from the supporters of Russia's bloody imperialist interventions and wars, like yourself.
Lord Rutherford's back!
Good news!
(Great video)
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/129510845/statue-of-lord-ernest-rutherford-retrieved-as-accused-thief-runs-into-river
It just gets worse for Uffindell
"Matthew Hooton
@MatthewHootonNZ
The BoP Times asked the Tauranga candidates about their biggest mistake. Act's candidate Cam Luxton spoke about his drink-driving conviction. Uffindell's response was: "Not coming home to New Zealand sooner. There's nowhere we'd rather raise our kids.""
I wonder if we'll learn why Uffindell was expelled, while his fellow child-beaters were merely suspended?
Gosman, I guess you're piling on in there hope that the ACT candidate will be awarded the seat, should Uffindel be ousted?
That and I can't stand privileged born to rule bullies. It is one of the reasons I do not support National.
I must be getting old or you're getting soft. I agree with a few things you've said lately.
when you are quoting tweets, please click on the date/time stamp of the tweet, then copy and paste the URL address into the TS comment box. This will embed the tweet so we can see the whole thing, as well as being a live link.
Your comment doesn't have a direct link in it, can you please go find it now and post here, thanks.
Thanks for the info
https://twitter.com/MatthewHootonNZ/status/1556600288961630209
perfect, thanks Gosman.
"no-one at Oceania had lost their jobs"….Yea, strange that. (not)
There is a not nice term for these "Rest Homes"….Granny Farming.
And the Owners….beneath contempt : (
Any thoughts on those who keep these Granny Farms well stocked and with a waiting list ie the families?
WTF? Are you a Granny Farmer? Manager? Employee? My comments were in regard to Oceania .I'm sure you have some……"thoughts". Best keep them to yourself …..
there's nothing wrong with gsays' comment and they have as much right to say what they think as you.
In this case they're making a political point: in NZ, many people support the system we have for elderly people who can't live at home. Families are generally the ones that put elderly people into those situations.
What’s not ok is telling people to shut up. I’m also not impressed by the reaction to start questioning someone’s personal and work life. Focus on the politics.
Well..thats your take on it. I fail to see how you read that into what I wrote. I have previously linked “rest homes” to very high fees…AND Low Employee pay rates. Hence “Granny Farming” . Oceania would be up there with the worst…gsays comment ignored my link comment. per : That NO ONE from Oceania lost their job.! When some one died a very short time after being admitted. Maybe nuance….
I’ll certainly avoid gsays..and you.
I didn't comment on what *you wrote.
I have no truck with granny farms. Like supermarkets, they will keep up their practices and undesirable exploitative behaviour so long as folk keep signing up their elderly relatives.
I missed the memo where we were told to sub-contract our love.
As predicted, the US led war in Ukraine is not as cut and dried as some would have you believe, and with the avalanche of weapons pouring into the Ukraine seemingly being only marginally monitored, into what was only a short while ago openly known as the most corrupt country in Europe…what could go wrong…well you don’t have to have a degree to work that out for yourself now do you?
The balance of probability that in the wake of this war, extremely well armed and highly motivated, organized and battle hardened Right Wing militia will cause havoc throughout Europe is highly likely, as well as crazy Right Wing lone wolves, returning to their countries (or somewhere) post conflict (as we know only to well in NZ)….not to mention just your run of the mill criminal organizations…
Welcome to Ukraine, the most corrupt nation in Europe
. Ukraine: Cashing in on Illegal Arms
" Ukraine has gained a reputation as one of the world's most active suppliers of illegal small arms. It is one of several Eastern European countries that has turned to arms dealing as a source of much-needed hard currency."
Nato and EU sound alarm over risk of Ukraine weapons smuggling
Even CBS ran a indepth story on this crazy free for all…but got pressured to pull the piece…
CBS bows to Ukrainian pressure over weapons reveals
"The documentary originally featured an interview with Jonas Ohman, the founder of a Lithuania-based organization that supplies the Ukrainian military. Ohman told CBS that supplying foreign weapons to Ukrainian troops involves navigating a web of “lords of power, oligarchs [and] political actors, and that of all aid arriving at the border in Poland, “kind of like 30% of it reaches its final destination.”
I can't yet figure how all those pre Zelinsky oligarchs and their oligopolies are in operation now and in what form. Maybe it's simply too complex and febrile to analyse until the war is done.
One would reasonably expect this protracted war to make even greater concentration of power in wheat, coal, steel, armaments, electricity, and pretty much anything else people need to survive, than there was when it started.
Ain't no Marshall Plan out of this one.
Well if we thought National's annual conference got spiked with historical revelations about an MP, imagine how the US Republicans feel when their own Convention got spiked with Trump's Mar A Lago raided by the FBI an hour ago.
Donald Trump Says FBI Raided Mar-A-Lago As It Executed Search Warrant – Deadline
Hope FBI Director Christopher Wray has the asbestos undies on.
Turn about is fair play – Comey killed Hillary's election.
aye and served cold.
Another update from Swedish authorities on the use of medication for minors, as NZ perversely makes them accessible from GPs without comprehensive assessment:
https://www.socialstyrelsen.se/om-socialstyrelsen/pressrum/press/uppdaterade-rekommendationer-for-hormonbehandling-vid-konsdysfori-hos-unga/
(In Swedish, but Google translate link will appear)
<
p style=”text-align:left”>The whole is worth the read.
Old "update"… from February.
Do you have any specific references for that?
Here's one: https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/129403493/guideline-change-removes-demeaning-barrier-to-hormone-therapy
thanks 👍
There's a whole conversation here about how much liberals are into medication as a fix.
(can you please make sure you stick to one user name from now on? cheers).
There's no doubt that things are different Down South…
In some DHB’s, including Southern, there were requirements for psychologist referrals to access endocrinologists whereas in other areas, such as Canterbury, gender-affirming hormone treatment was led by GPs, with studies showed this reduced stress amongst patients.
…and luckily
The change in requirements for psychological assessment only impacts adults looking to receive gender-affirming hormones, and does not cover gender-affirming surgery or children looking to access hormones.
Fine if adults wish to pharmacologically alter their appearance to better match their gender identity…but its also entirely appropriate for there to be extra layers of scrutiny when it entails surgery and hormones for children experiencing gender discomfort.
I thought this a little strange though…a doctor somehow seeing some similarity between access to gender affirming pharmaceuticals and the contraceptive pill.
He pointed out that psychological assessment before hormone prescription was not common in other areas, such as when the contraceptive pill is prescribed, with the change reducing stigma for the gender diverse community.
Is there still 'stigma' attached to accessing the Pill?
If "gender" is not sex – as they keep on claiming – then why does this "gender affirming" treatment all relate to the primary and secondary sex characteristics? If "gender " is in your head – surely saying "yes, I affirm your gender" should do the trick? If people like Eddie Izzard and Alex Drummond become women simply by saying so – not bodily change required (Alex does not even shave off the beard but identifies as a woman and a lesbian), then why are children pushed into changing their bodies with drugs and surgeries?
Housing prices continue fall with mean price falling 4.9% for quarter.With OCR increases coming and floating rates to be close to 8% by New Year,there will see some significant decreases in asking prices as new builds come on stream.
https://www.qv.co.nz/price-index/
Who knew.
https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/08/08/corn-and-soybean-sweat-helps-make-nebraska-summers-more-humid/
People
Labourin glass houses shouldn't throw stonesSure by itself this is nothing:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/10/new-zealand-labour-faces-sexual-assault-crisis-as-jacinda-ardern-sets-up-inquiry
Be interesting to know who the 20 year old was:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/13/world/asia/new-zealand-jacinda-ardern-labour-party-sexual-assault-.html
Again probably nothing but maybe it appears theres a cultural problem within Labour:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/4809631/MP-Darren-Hughes-resigns-following-scandal
Maybe Labour tidies up its own backyard first but only if they think theres a problem, which there probably isn't
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
[You have diverted and distracted enough under Micky’s Post. Consider this a warning – Incognito]
How about people in Green houses?
Can we express our disgust at Uffindell's behaviour?
Mod note
Noted
Ta