Open mike 09/12/2024
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6:00 am, December 9th, 2024 - 18 comments
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- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #14 2025
Open access notables A pronounced decline in northern vegetation resistance to flash droughts from 2001 to 2022, Zhang et al., Nature Communications: Here we show that vegetation resistance to flash droughts declines by up to 27% (±5%) over the Northern Hemisphere hotspots during 2001-2022, including eastern Asia, western North America, ...4 hours ago - Trump’s tariffs: Australia’s worry is the effect on its trading partners
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- The fix is in
So, having broken its promise to the nation, and dumped 85% of submissions on the Treaty Principles Bill in the trash, National's stooges on the Justice Committee have decided to end their "consideration" of the bill, and report back a full month early: Labour says the Justice Select Committee ...10 hours ago - Intelligence review is strong on workforce issues. Implementation may be harder
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Thousands of New Zealanders’ submissions are missing from the official parliamentary record because the National-dominated Justice Select Committee has rushed work on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...11 hours ago
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The National Government’s choices have contributed to a slow-down in the building sector, as thousands of people have lost their jobs in construction. ...1 day ago
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Willie Apiata’s decision to hand over his Victoria Cross to the Minister for Veterans is a powerful and selfless act, made on behalf of all those who have served our country. ...2 days ago
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The Privileges Committee has denied fundamental rights to Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Rawiri Waititi and Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, breaching their own standing orders, breaching principles of natural justice, and highlighting systemic prejudice and discrimination within our parliamentary processes. The three MPs were summoned to the privileges committee following their performance of a haka ...2 days ago
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Changes to New Zealand’s health and safety laws will strip back key protections for small businesses and put working Kiwis at greater risk. ...3 days ago
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April 1 used to be a day when workers could count on a pay rise with stronger support for those doing it tough, but that’s not the case under this Government. ...3 days ago
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Winston Peters is shopping for smaller ferries after Nicola Willis torpedoed the original deal, which would have delivered new rail enabled ferries next year. ...3 days ago
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The Government should work with other countries to press the Myanmar military regime to stop its bombing campaign especially while the country recovers from the devastating earthquake. ...4 days ago
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National is paying lip service to its promises to bring down the cost of living, failing to make any meaningful change in the grocery sector. ...4 days ago
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Labour shares farmers’ concerns that the Gene Technology Bill is moving too fast. ...1 week ago
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Small mental health providers will still be locked out of co-funding from the Mental Health Innovation Fund despite a lower threshold. ...1 week ago
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New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill today that will remove the power of MPs conscience votes and ensure mandatory national referendums are held before any conscience issues are passed into law. “We are giving democracy and power back to the people”, says New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters. ...1 week ago - Speech: Navigating the New World (Dis)order in Turbulent Times
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New data shows methamphetamine use is spiralling out of control while the Government sits on its hands. ...2 weeks ago
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It’s been revealed that the Government is secretly trying to bring back a ‘one-size fits all’ standardised test – a decision that has shocked school principals. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Kiwis still struggling as economy stumbles along
Kiwis aren’t feeling any better off despite figures showing a very slight growth in GDP in the December quarter. ...2 weeks ago
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The Green Party is calling for the compassionate release of Dean Wickliffe, a 77-year-old kaumātua on hunger strike at the Spring Hill Corrections Facility, after visiting him at the prison. ...2 weeks ago
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Christopher Luxon seems to have thrown New Zealand’s principled anti-nuclear advocacy under a bus. ...2 weeks ago
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The Green Party is calling on Government MPs to support Chlöe Swarbrick’s Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence and illegal actions in Palestine, following another day of appalling violence against civilians in Gaza. ...2 weeks ago
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One year on from the Government’s abrupt and callous changes to disability funding, the community still has no idea what the future holds. ...2 weeks ago
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The Green Party stands in support of volunteer firefighters petitioning the Government to step up and change legislation to provide volunteers the same ACC coverage and benefits as their paid counterparts. ...2 weeks ago
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At 2.30am local time, Israel launched a treacherous attack on Gaza killing more than 300 defenceless civilians while they slept. Many of them were children. This followed a more than 2 week-long blockade by Israel on the entry of all goods and aid into Gaza. Israel deliberately targeted densely populated ...2 weeks ago
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Living Strong, Aging Well There is much discussion around the health of our older New Zealanders and how we can age well. In reality, the delivery of health services accounts for only a relatively small percentage of health outcomes as we age. Significantly, dry warm housing, nutrition, exercise, social connection, ...2 weeks ago
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- New associate psychology role to grow the mental health workforce
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- Proceeds of crime to fund safety measures in central Auckland
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- New Zealand & India strengthen forestry ties
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- New Zealand & India strengthen horticultural ties
Agriculture and Trade Minister Todd McClay signed a new Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) today during the Prime Minister’s Indian Trade Mission, reinforcing New Zealand’s commitment to enhancing collaboration with India in the horticulture sector. “Our relationship with India is a key priority for New Zealand, and this agreement reflects our ...2 weeks ago
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- Fiji slapped with Trump’s highest tariffs among Pacific countries
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6 hour wait for ambulance in Whangarei
Kinda means the PM lied about no impact to front line services, and lets face reality Reti is also a lying scum bag.
Don't even bother in Pukekohe. The last time, one had to be sent from the North Shore, took quite some time. A few days ago after 1.5 hours an ambulance still hadn't even been assigned. (Very ill relative). Said relative made the comment she could see how people die just waiting for the ambos.
To be slightly fair on this govt (with gritted teeth)- the ambulance system has been in serious trouble for a few years now.
Google ‘serious delays with ambulances nz’ and some horrible stories from recent years show up. Too many to link
And in postcode-healthcare-positive Wanaka, you get St Johns within minutes and if needed you get helicoptered out to Dunedin. Such an egregiously unequal country now.
There are some consolations from the seasonal influxes of visitors to these parts, requiring more ambulances and staff. Also had instances where we've been asked to make our own way to ED because they were too busy.
We also get the dubious pleasure of a 5 – 6 hour round trip to hospital for a 20 minute consultation. Sudden emergencies or surgery entails family having to camp in town for a period to support. Just had a week in Invercargill for partner's surgery and had a month camped / commuting when Mum broke her hip a year ago. It's odd that staff and patients from town don't understand what's involved.
I hope all is okay Adam, agree 100% re Reti. I hate that he's our MP.
[I fixed user handle; please pay more care in future, thanks – Incognito]
Mod note
You have my sympathy and understanding–has happened to several of my family members too.
Reti is the classic Māori who barely realises he is one–set up by a Mormon upbringing to be a “chosen one”. His conflicts of interest abound with his holdings via trust in Kensington Private Hospital.
https://wheretheystand.nz/people/shane-reti/interests
Being a registered medical doctor who is happy to go along with all that smoking tax crap for the sake of holding onto power is also a major conflict of interest.
Petition to send Simeon Brown to the depth of suburban LA, particularly to a suburb where cars are the only option and make him commute to an office in the city. If he likes it great! He can stay there. If he doesn’t, he gets the point and he has to stay anyway…
And if the mothers float, they're in league with the devil..
//
The “lung float” test claims to help determine if a baby was born alive or dead, but many medical examiners say it’s too unreliable. Yet the test is still being used to bring murder charges — and get convictions.
Inside the medical examiner’s office, two pathologists removed a baby’s lungs from his chest, clamped them together and placed them in a container of water. Then they watched.
They were examining the suspicious death of the baby whose body was found in a Maryland home; his mother said he was stillborn.
If the lungs floated, the theory behind the test holds, the baby likely was born alive. If they sank, the baby likely was stillborn.
“A very simple premise,” the assistant medical examiner later testified.
The lungs floated — and the mother was charged with murder.
https://www.propublica.org/article/is-lung-float-test-reliable-stillbirth-medical-examiners-murder
Amnesty has joined the chorus of voices depicting the obvious. The brutal destruction of Gaza is unequivocally a genocide. They particularly focus on intent dedicating nearly one third of the almost 300 page document to this topic.
It is this that largely has driven Israel to negotiate in bad faith even to the extent of assassinating the man they are negotiating with. Genocide is easier under conditions of assumed conflict even if one party only has access to the effective equivalence of sticks and stones.
https://mondoweiss.net/2024/12/israels-genocide-in-gaza-is-fully-intentional-and-other-takeaways-from-the-amnesty-international-report/
Marina Hyde, Guardian satirist, rips into Justin Welby, resigning AB of Canterbury, on his tone-deaf resignation speech in the UK Lords, Here.
Well I guess this bloke has learnt a valuable life lesson.
Man hospitalised after alleged copper theft attempt | Stuff
Is ACC still covering people who were injured during the commission of a crime?
If they are, then screw his valuable life lessons.
Someone here at TS swallows Ozzie Liberal Party propaganda regarding nuclear power being economically viable in Australia (and maybe here).
CSIRO with others have thoroughly refuted the Lib Party case. Nuclear power station build times and costs, plant lifetime and likely power grid contribution all place nuclear as less efficient, and far more expensive, than wind and solar options.
Somewhere out there nuclear power plant companies are just pumping their disinformation into the small brains of gullible political parties who are keen to undermine greener options as their USP.
TVNZ poll at 6 pm.
"What I would say to you is I don't believe this poll, or all the other polls, I'm awesome, everybody loves me …"
Two announcements coming up shortly from the CoC.
Kiwibank and the ferries.
From the noises coming from the Beehive it sounds like privatisation of both.
Yeah. Ideological asset sales disguised as some sort of emergency response. Willis, who I believe is genuinely thick in general and way too thick to be stinking up the job she has somehow blagged her way into, did say in months gone by there would be no reduction in the government's investment, so she is not selling as such but they think listing Kiwibank is going to save the New Zealand banking system for the consumer, I guess.
I heard on the radio that Kiwibank is doing very well on market share right now and is being aggressive with low mortgage rates and consequently low savings rates. Government interference will no doubt blunt their ability to pursue such challenging rate settings.
These f*ckwits don't care though. The only thing they care about is a return to house price inflation.