yep the heart of this fiend is as small as his tiny babyhands – meanwhile plenty of babies and children are about to be destroyed – I hope there is lots of coal being put on the fire for when t.rump takes the elevator downstairs.
Depends what you mean by "interesting." For example, if we mention that it's "interesting" how many women have ruled Britain as queen, and our intention is to idly inform readers of something they may not have known, then sure, all good. However, if we mention it as an implied argument that patriarchal oppression of women as a sex hasn't been a feature of British society, then no, not so good.
So, Francesca, are you implying that patriarchal oppression of women cannot be drawn as an analogy to the political oppression of Kurds without your personal permission? I think you have overreacted. I very much doubt that PM had your protection in mind.
Why oh why can't people step back from commenting about female emancipation – PM why bring it up and just be abrasive. The Syrian battles go on regardless and you are making some nitpicking point. I suppose you think you are smart and right and feel satisfied about that.
as part of his long game to become president – trump used to regularly appear on the late nite talk shows..
(and yes..audiences wd chuckle when he floated the idea of him being president..)
but on those appearances he used to be emphatic that he would pull america out of the endless wars they are involved in..
he really pushed the isolationist line – (and he was reasonably lucid then – the adderall/cocaine had not yet done its' damage..and btw..his teetotal woth alcohol claims are more bullshit – staff who worked for him have confirmed this..)
so i am not really surprised that – unlike his predecessor – he hasn't started any wars (yet)..
and that he is pulling troops out..
(he wants to go into the election campaign (if he gets there..)..able to make that 'i brought the troops home!' boast..)
but in doing so he is treating the kurds like a no longer needed sub-contractor – and so ready/able to be screwed/discarded by him..
Tokata Iron Eyes, an environmental activist, invited Thunberg, a fellow 16-year-old, to her homelands on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota, after befriending her. On Tuesday the duo spoke at the Standing Rock high school about the burgeoning youth-led climate movement that has seen millions of people strike from school and protest against fossil-fuel projects around the world.
“This is a global fight; this is not just in my home country in Sweden,” Thunberg said. “We as teenagers shouldn’t be the ones taking responsibility. It should be the ones in power.”
Iron Eyes said that indigenous culture was inherently linked to the health of the environment. “No 16-year-old should have to travel the world in the first place sharing a message about having something as simple as clean water and fresh air to breathe,” she said.
This is as silly as the scandal of the immigration Minister allowing Karel Sroubek's entry into NZ on the grounds of his safety was at risk if he returned to the Czech Republic.
Now we all pay for jis internment for years, when he should not have been allowed in by the national Government in the first place. National are a bloody disgrace.
Now we see MBIE CEO Carol Tremain on Newshub today spouting that she agrees with Ian Lees Galloway 'Minister of Immigration' saying that he had every right to make his decision independent of the oversight of MBIE, which is also again another shocking event that poor Jacinda needs to rectify.
Why did Steve Joyce set up this awful agency MBIE to stuff everything up in the first place is beyond me. Jacinda is now being Ham stringed by her idiot ministers sadly.
Phil Twyford is now working good as he is appropriately attacking the other useless agency 'NZTA' for their erroneous behavior over our lack of road safety which was yet another agency setup to fail by Steven Joyce.
We knew that National was going to leave grenades inside Government agencies when they lost the election didn't we?
Lastly over the Governments latest surplus of $7.5Billion and National’s response; –
Do you love it when National and their media muppets – who don’t give two shits about poor people at any other time of the year – are suddenly full off crocodile tears for those people’s tax when there is a surplus?
Ian Lees-Galloway stuffed up. Everyone knows it. (only other option is he was told to make that 'unexpected' decision by someone higher up). Any half sensible person would have looked at the info. presented and decided (probably in about two minutes) Sourbek would not make a good citizen and deported him.
MBIE are now basically saying ILG should leave the decisions up to their officials as he is not competent to make them.
"MBIE are now basically saying ILG should leave the decisions up to their officials as he is not competent to make them."
Which is a bit like a pot calling a kettle black.
I'm waiting to see what the changes will be – especially with rights of appeal and the sequence that the IPT gets involved.
For many, the costs of involving the IPT (Fees, advocacy et al) can be beyond the means of some legitimate appellants – and that's even if they're aware of the procedure. I'm prepared to wait and see, although if the record to date is anything to go by, it'll take an eon and it'll be half-hearted improvements. Apparently Rome wasn't built in a day, nothing's ever bleeding bloody obvious and elitism is alive and well in lil 'ole egalitarian NuZull.
Pass me a cheeky Chardonnay will ya Jimmy
Isnt the point of Ministerial discretion (re immigration) to overcome inappropriate official inflexibility….the same officials who will now question themselves?
That's what I'd have thought, but apparently not. Ministers must be kept "above the fray" – even though they're our elected representatives.
I worry about what has become of the senior ranks in our public service (I mean quite apart from it being pale and stale and all the rest of it, AND the rise and rise of the generic manager). The "respect my authority!!!! " authoritarian, complacent, self-entitled culture that's evolved. We can see what's just happened with NZTA. It probably doesn't help much either that MBIE is full of ex-cops (some decent enough, others having to be 'managed' out).
The theory of the way things are supposed to operate, and what actually happens are often miles apart
Immigration decisions shouldn't be left up to officials. Nothing should be left entirely to the decisions of the sort of people who get to head entities and meet targets. They get harder and harder with often excuse of 'efficiency', and over time they get precedents that lock them into behaviours that do no credit to their department's standards or that of the country.
I think of the Hoover USA example. A nasty man it is said, and also staying in place and spying on everyone, with information useful for blackmail through leaks etc. The harder they are, the nastier they are, and more difficult to move on, till the system gets corrupted beyond recognition.
That's the nature of it @grey. The Hoover example will be the inevitable result of what's been in progress over the past 30 years.
The reforms all came equipped with the corporate culture (totally inappropriate for govt agencies – especially those dealing with social and cultural issues and policy). And with it also came the buzz and excuses that provide an out and preventing proper accountability (unless of course you're a rambunctious bugger with a heap of money prepared to push back). "I can't comment on operational matters" (which are ill-defined and when it suits), which I L-G just did.
Apparently, the senior ranks of the public service have become so precious that they are unable to suffer any critique (which is one of the reasons, supposedly, they get the big bucks for – going forward)
l’ll spare you from the rant I'm tempted to start. But quelle surprise there are now allegations of bullying and high staff turnovers. The sad thing is that a lot of it is all a matter of record and SFA changes until it all falls apart (such as with NZTA)
Any half sensible person would have looked at the info. presented and decided (probably in about two minutes) Sourbek would not make a good citizen and deported him.
I agree that any National minister of Immigration would have looked at a report saying the person's life could be in danger if they were deported and without the slightest qualm immediately chosen to deport the person. Fortunately, not everybody is like that, and personally I'm glad that Lees-Galloway isn't, because he's my electorate MP.
MBIE are now basically saying ILG should leave the decisions up to their officials as he is not competent to make them.
The same report points to a similarly "unexpected" decision by Woodhouse, so if the concern is ministerial incompetence there's a lot of it to go around.
Yes I believe a National immigration minister back in the nineties actually did have a complex case like that (Danny Butler?). I think one of the telling factors here is the polite way they have said ILG's decision was 'unexpected', in other words What the f#@$? We gave you enough ammunition and you still want this POS to be a resident!
Hopefully once Sourbek appeals and if he wins, he decides to live in your and ILG electorate and not mine.
Yes or no answers. Clark was better than 3 more years of Shipley, English or Brash governments in '02 and '05, and would have been much less damaging to NZ than Key in '08?
Okay, question was obviously too tough, so let's ty again.
Clark was better than 3 more years of Shipley, English or Brash governments in '02 and '05, and would have been much less damaging to NZ than Key in '08, no?
Yea/nah, be fair Jimmy! A hae ma doots he'd end up anywhere near you, but if that ever came about, you could always lock yourself behind a gated "community". That'd be the most transformational and kind thing to do.
…I think one of the telling factors here is the polite way they have said ILG's decision was 'unexpected'…
Well, yeah, I expect the empathy void that is a National MP would far better match the officials' experience and expectations.
Hopefully once Sourbek appeals and if he wins, he decides to live in your and ILG electorate and not mine.
Yeah, right-wingers used to reply along the same lines when I commented that Ahmed Zaoui should be treated fairly, after which he did move to Palmerston North and lived here for years. Somehow that "POS" managed to restrain himself from carrying out the massacres and suicide bombings that right-wingers scare-mongered about. Likewise, if Sroubek (NB: not Sourbek, or "Shruu-brek" as Simon Bridges would have it) did move here, I don't think the community would be living in dread that he might try to import a few more ecstasy tabs.
Likewise, if Sroubek (NB: not Sourbek, or "Shruu-brek" as Simon Bridges would have it) did move here, I don't think the community would be living in dread that he might try to import a few more ecstasy tabs.
Beggars belief that anyone could think that a few well orchestrated media events making The Christchurch Call was ever, ever going to prevent those who want/need to broadcast their hate from being able to do so.
ISIS made very good use of the www to broadcast their atrocities….I've been trying to remember which particular faction of violent haters began this live streamed terrorism.
Beggars belief that anyone could think that a few well orchestrated media events making The Christchurch Call was ever, ever going to prevent those who want/need to broadcast their hate from being able to do so.
Basically the same argument the gun lobby is making re tighter firearm regulations, and with the same gaping hole in its logic.
Rosemary is completely wrong because she doesnt check it out
"anyone could think that a few well orchestrated media events making The Christchurch Call was ever"
They have taken real action on their video hosting services
"Take transparent, specific measures seeking to prevent the upload of terrorist and violent extremist content and to prevent its dissemination on social media and similar content-sharing services, including its immediate and permanent removal, without prejudice to law enforcement and user appeals requirements
Not all platforms have the huge resources of the giants..
"Support smaller platforms as they build capacity to remove terrorist and violent extremist content, including through sharing technical solutions and relevant databases of hashes or other relevant material, such as the GIFCT shared database."
Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism – GIFCT
And yes Amazon is part of the 'call'
Amazon
Daily Motion
Facebook
Google
Microsoft
Qwant
Twitter
YouTube
And no Rosemary it wasnt just some media appearances as thnese countries have 'signed' up
Founders
New Zealand
France
Founding supporters announced in Paris, May 15 2019
Australia
Canada
European Commission
France
Germany
Indonesia
India
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Jordan
The Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Senegal
Spain
Sweden
United Kingdom
Supporters announced in New York on 23 September 2019
Argentina
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cyprus
Denmark
Finland
Georgia
Ghana
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ivory Coast
Kenya
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Maldives
Malta
Mexico
Mongolia
Poland
Portugal
Romania
South Korea
Slovenia
Sri Lanka
Switzerland
UNESCO
Council of Europe
After looking at some facts, mabe the ‘beggars belief’ claim can be utterly refuted.
Isn't there an objectionable material publication approach that already exists that could be utilised and enforced – not just in this case – but in others? Surely it would be better to strengthen and utilise existing laws and guidelines rather than create another for specific material.
My concern lies with future arguments about which criteria offences occur under, rather than effectively stopping or punishing such offences. Also, countries signing up – means just that – countries signing up. Until actions are created that have teeth and consequences, we should hold off on the celebrations, the work has only just begun.
I will be surprised if you can get away with that extensive and ultimately not essential list taking up the screen DoU. When i spread myself I am trying to bring forward some joined up thoughts. A link and advice from you to study the list in situ would be quite enough for your purpose.
Picked up a couple of German hitch hikers making their way to the Cape the other day . Talkative one went to some trouble to explain the political and sociological differences between various parts of Germany. Much of the "white supremacy" angst originated back from the days of the Wall. East Germans, some of them feel like they've never caught up with the West. Influx of refugees and the immigrant support structures provided by the German government has enhanced the sense of disconnectedness in those groups.
As long as the world has populations who feel disenfranchised and excluded there will be these terrorist acts, and those who want to will always find a way of broadcasting their hate.
What we need is a worldwide, universal crisis that will transcend all these differences and historic grievances and unite us all. Something like the destruction of life on the planet due to climate change….?
Let's face it….as a species we're very probably doomed.
Unfortunately Rosemary you know even less about the internet than you do about the Christchurch call. (Usually you always give considered views with backup and not wild claims like this)
Plus terrorist attacks hadnt until recently been live streamed at all. They get massive publicity outside the live stream, so not possible to 'stop them ' even if every main platform did crack down hard.
Live streaming of users is only a small part of 'the internet' and a small part of the online video world.
Twitch was a gaming and e sports ( ha!) live streaming site but has moved into 'real event's more recently. Maybe they are a forgotten part of Amazon, they wont be now.
Fire. In a water deprived world it will obliterate infrastructure and natural life and environment, masses of human energy trying to plant forests to ameliorate climate change, and destroy our archives of the past, and our dreams for the future.
A number of areas in the world are fire prone because of the climate and vegetation and often hot dry winds which spread smaller fires into larger ones. The electric lines company is just taking precautions because if power lines start a fire they will have to pay for all the damage.
Fuck Spark sport. I, along with over 80,000 others in the country have not only lost the rugby, Formula1, World Rally champs but now cricket.
NZ Cricket have fucked up in a big way, after their best year ever for increasing the games popularity they have run themselves out on the first ball. Fuck you as well.
So?. And how long before Spark falls over?. They are spending far more money than they can realisticly get back, only 80,000 "watched "their word, the first world cup game , is that watchers or subscribers, either way its not a lot of money. I notice Spark has not been crowing about how many are watching even the All Blacks games.I was an avid follower of F1 and WRC, but since Spark took it over I haven''t seen a single race, and I bet thousands of others are the same . It's my bet that they are losing huge amounts on those events alone. The same will happen to cricket, if people can't watch NZ play in NZ without paying a lot of money, projected subscriber numbers will fall a long way short of expectations.
Thats live streams . They dont know how many watchers for each stream, plus they did a tie in with Sky for a popup channel for pubs and clubs who pay commercial rates.
Isnt streaming a better delivery , as you can start when you like even 15 mins late, and make the half time longer before seeing the second half. The heavy rain doesnt affect the satellite feed.
Not in the country areas, broadband is still sub par. Like watching something in the 60s. Most have Sky just to get the news etc, art, docos, sport etc are an expensive little add-on, now the cost is considerably more, so in the country we are paying a shit load more than free to air in towns.
Adrian don’t talk shit. You generalise without the facts. I live in the country without cable broadband. I’m served by wireless Vodafone through farmside. It’s not fast. 8- 11 MB’s. The reception through the Spark app although not perfect is perfectly adequate. None of the problems that have hit the headlines that have been poking a stick at spark. A lot of people haven’t done their homework or haven’t bothered to get advice thinking the games might be shown live on sky eventually . Duh. I’m in my sixties and have plenty of mates like that. I know not everyone can get wireless , ‘not to be confused with satellite’ but in some cases could be more reliable than landline. People who think they need ultra fast broadband to stream successfully are mistaken. By the way my phone and internet with plenty of Gigs is just over $100 a month. I would say a lot of the problems are more to do with the home setups
Absolutely is shit to have to pay subs all over the place. I for one won’t be buying the spark cricket even though I like watching it occasionally. It was your opinion of rural internet coverage that was a wide sweeping generalisation in my opinion. From what I can see a lot of people haven’t worked out they don’t need a smart TV to stream. A chrome cast or similar is just fine. I’m picking the next time this happens people will be prepared. Maybe not my 92 year old mum in law.
Well “In Vino” What ever that is supposed to mean. If you took the time read my original comment you would see I stated I was in my sixties. Not that old these days In Vino ( what ever that means ). I thought that my comment actually contributed some information so what did yours contribute. Apart from having a pointless poke at me. I would suggest you analyse your own comments a little more instead.
Thanks . Involving Bombardier, I always thought, was a scam as they are the vehicle builders.
The PPP structure is never good anyway, as the total costs structure is higher , even worse now that interest rates to build are low.
The details of Montreal are even more disturbing, as there is no risk for the 8-9% return. None at all. And the Consortium is likely to sell out to an investment bank consortium after 5 years to take their profits early.
Australia upping the authoritarianism ante, again.
Climate change protesters arrested for obstructing traffic have been given “absurd” bail conditions that ban them from “going near” or contacting members of Extinction Rebellion, which civil liberties groups say infringes on freedom of political communication.
Australian Constitution doesnt seem to have any provisions regarding political expression. It did say ( now repealed) that Aborigines werent to be counted as part of States populations.
Dont seem to be able to find the Constitution of NSW
Australian authorities (federal or state) may be standing on shaky ground when it comes to intervening in demonstrations/protests relating to or pertaining to the environment.
And they sure don't make a lot of friends by doing so. But they would argue that disruption to commerce in CBD areas doesn't solve or resolve anything, and that peaceful protests can turn ugly very quickly when those disrupted become angered due to the inconvenience.
While not everyone may share the same belief as many of those involved in or supporting the Extinction Rebellion movement, it must be clearly evident that so many of those attending such events honestly and forthrightly believe that they are making a stand in relation to right of life and well-being. For many, it is a fight for their lives in relation to their future existence. To use government mechanism as a tool to obstruct or dismantle the expression of people who are in survival mode, is most unwise.
History has shown this to be true so many times.
Both open debate and education in relation to known scientific fact, and general deliberation on global temperature concerns would be very healthy at this juncture.
Politicising it and engaging in fervour tactics only goes so far.
These people will not be going away any time soon, irrespective of how much government is thrown at them. This includes muppets who believe that because a lower court has deemed something as appropriate, (bail conditions for example), that it is a matter of Simon Says.
Countermeasures in relation to this court imposed circumvention:
Permitted street demonstrations authorised by various city authorities. Permits in relation to lawful assembly demonstrations at parks and reserves. Rock solid legal representation (more likely requiring money, money and money) for the movement, and both mainstream media and social media scrutinising of all and any decisions made at local authority level which might show evidence of anti Extinction Rebellion sentiment and/or bias in relation to permit decision making.
So often, at street level, so much of the intricacy of environmental matters relates to local authority decision making, not just political central government rhetoric, narrative or transient mandate.
I observe that Joel Fitzgibbon, (Australian Labor Party, Hunter, NSW) appears open to at least arriving at something close to climate change policy along the lines of the Paris Accord, which could be fine tuned later.
Perhaps following his sort of lead could be helpful for Australians to consider.
Bail is supposed to be given with conditions only so they cant repeat the offences or contact people who were also involved. But only for serious offences
Not sure street blocking offences are covered by bail – as they are probably what is known as Summary Offences which are a 'fine only' if convicted
Former Greens senator Scott Ludlam has had bail conditions – that banned him from associating with Extinction Rebellion climate change protests – dismissed by a judge following his arrest at a protest earlier this week.
The strict conditions had been labelled “absurd” by civil liberties campaigners and prevented Ludlam from appearing in court on Thursday, due to restrictions on coming to the Sydney CBD.
On Thursday morning in Sydney’s Downing Centre local court, deputy chief magistrate Jane Mottley said the conditions imposed by New South Wales police were not necessary given the low seriousness of his offences.
“I note these are fine-only offences,” she said. “And when one considers the ambit of matters before the court – these are not serious examples of offences which would ordinarily attract bail conditions”.
President Donald Trump pressed then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to help persuade the Justice Department to drop a criminal case against an Iranian-Turkish gold trader who was a client of Rudy Giuliani, according to three people familiar with the 2017 meeting in the Oval Office.
Tillerson refused, arguing it would constitute interference in an ongoing investigation of the trader, Reza Zarrab, according to the people. They said other participants in the Oval Office were shocked by the request.
Tillerson immediately repeated his objections to then-Chief of Staff John Kelly in a hallway conversation just outside the Oval Office, emphasizing that the request would be illegal. Neither episode has been previously reported, and all of the people spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the conversations.
Interesting. Seems Matt Drudge ain't quite such a Fake-bronze Fuhrer fanboi anymore. Or maybe he's just getting his jollies watching it all erupt.
Jerome Corsi, a prominent right-wing conspiracy theorist, has repeatedly tweeted about the change in coverage, saying Drudge has "lost his mind," "turned left," and become a "leftist hack beating [the] impeachment drum."
…
After suggesting Drudge could be turning on Trump for web traffic, Limbaugh said, "I actually don't know," adding that as a "professional courtesy" he doesn't "ask him."
It's not clear whether Drudge had a falling out with the White House that prompted his change in coverage. After Trump ascended to the Oval Office, Drudge was known to visit the White House, spending time with the President, Jared Kushner, and Ivanka Trump.
…
"Impeachment is where Matt Drudge entered," the person close to Drudge told CNN Business. "This is a great story. And Drudge is breaking out the popcorn."
Feel the chill – lesser journalists would be frozen solid by now.
“I was relieved to have finished years of trouble after the 2014 police raid on his home”, said Nicky Hager. “I am disappointed to receive more news of more government agencies using intrusive means to try to uncover his confidential sources.”
“I would rather get on with my work than fight these fights, but this issue needs to be fixed for the future. I want the SIS to introduce clear policies that will prevent them from targeting media organisations and journalists in this way again.”
In reality, Nicky Hager probably never left the surveillance; "them against the rest of us" chain gang, and may never.
Certain agency staff may have long memories, but by public account, they appear genuine about moving on, and to kind of forgive and forget.
But how about the little brothers, big sisters, little sisters and the Sgt Dickheads of all shapes and sizes who believe that, just the same, it is their civic duty to hold a grudge against him for matters probably already considered by higher echelon to be more or less historical, and not needing a re-visited?
Perhaps it is food for thought.
I personally believe that he could find further fulfillment (over and above advisory to the IGIS Reference Group), working part time in the field of law practice procedures pertaining to both the secure handling, and the prevention of mishandling of clients' material by law practitioners.
If your elected representative doesn't appear to be pulling his or her weight, if grabbing them by the horns doesn't work, or if their oratory skills aren't producing sufficient bang for buck, perhaps try this:
I accept. Syntax and context can sometimes be an issue for me, especially when presenting my quarter in haste.
The point is that while so many people express concern (both justified and not) at the extent of surveillance by the state mechanism, and while they also express concern with regard to the powers relating to physical access by the state, fixation on this can distract people from recognizing the many opportunists, well established, who operate as their own form of surveillance mechanism, along with handling of trouble-makers, irrespective of state intent or even political intent.
The other point is that it is the people who generally both make demands, and set the standard in relation to state observation (or interference).
It would be reasonable to assume that after the state infrastructure has long since closed it's books on people who were once of interest, there would be others with considerable portfolios and access who, for their own emotional or positional reasons, carry on "the fight".
So, in context, whilst not necessarily sympathizing with Nicky Hager, the chances are very high that he will never be free from intrusion or loose observation of one sort or another, if not for the sole reason of grudges held by many with regard to his historical behavior.
Many might advise him to stay as publicly visible as he can.
If he ceased doing what he has been doing, the state would probably consider that their resources are to be best spent elsewhere.
Believing that the state infrastructure would keep much of an eye on him once salient operational matters have been laid to rest might be just a little shallow, but believing that others would keep an eye on him is most realistic.
Which is why, once marked with a particular label, it can be difficult for people to avoid the impact of the association with it.
For example, if a person punched a star All-Black in the mouth and put him out of action during a test series, that person would likely be convicted of assault. But that would not be the end of the matter for the offender. Others would wish to send him their message.
The so-called good folk will very often take over (often quietly) where and when they do not feel that the state mechanism has adequately dealt with an issue.
It is clear that there is a massive amount of surveillance opportunity available to people. Even sophisticated hardware and software can now be managed by a school child.
The wider community, Hell bent on asserting it's right to security, privacy, justice and freedom, is basically creating it's own surveillance society.
Even in New Zealander, people are fast adopting a quasi-marae style culture where, aside from episodic engagement in matters of one to one approved intimacy, personal hygiene considerations and business confidentiality, most everything else is running at a fast pace to being public domain, and needing to be scrutinized by others.
Both state and corporate will usually mimic the masses on such matters.
Where it goes once it reaches the point where most everything is visible is anybody's guess. It's not my intention to argue whether this is good, bad, right or wrong. It is just a fact.
Perhaps social credit bureau scoring such as we hear reported throughout the People's Republic of China would be the next step. I wouldn't envisage too many Kiwis getting up on their hind legs and doing much of anything to prevent it, other than to vent dissatisfaction.
Now billionaires in the USA can pay less tax than workers, even before 'optimising' their tax liabilities – the basic tax rates permit them to pay less.
Jeremy Hunt former Foreign Secretary to the Conswervs says with a straight face that the EU are perhaps going to have a catastrophic failure in statecraft or they haven't really understood what is happening in British politics right now. He looks quite exited to be the centre of attention explaining how important Britain is and the rest are mired in bureaucratic circumlocutions. Or words to that effect.
19th October is a Saturday, and Parliament is sitting that day, an historic event and I think it was said, the last time this occurred was over the Falkland War and Maggie was busy screwing over Britain to start it, and cynics say, to turn the disenchanted public eye from the unpopularity of her and the Conservatives. It is a shame that the Conservatives want to upend Britain every few decades.
It seems that the EU is trying strenuously to cope with Britain (United Kingdom?) playing fast and loose with their important national agreement and treaty, but Tusk is getting testy, and the others are being deliberately temperate no doubt to balance Johnson's Trump-like presentation.
Associated press 9 Oct 2019: The Latest: EU's Tusk says Brexit part of brutality….
…During a speech in Athens on Wednesday, European Council President Donald Tusk encouraged political leaders to heed ancient Athenian general Thucydides’ warning about the dangers of war and confrontation….
The president of the European Union’s council of national leaders says Brexit results from confrontational politics with “the ability to deal brutally with opponents, competitors, misfits or strangers.”…
He cited the Trump administration and European countries “where the foundations of liberal democracy and the rule of law are being undermined” as being part of the same trend that is taking the U.K. out of the EU.
Tusk said: “Violence, lies, hate speech, myths, and resentment: These are the tools of today’s politics.”
3:55 p.m.
European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker says he is working with EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier to find a way to end a stalemate with Britain’s government over a Brexit agreement.
Juncker told the European Parliament on Wednesday: “Personally, I don’t exclude a deal. Michel and myself are working on a deal.”
He refused to be more specific but made clear that talks between the two sides haven’t come to an irreparable standstill.
I agree we have to take action NOW to minimise and mitigate human cause Global Warming and Sea levels rising. Kia Kaha to all the intelligence tangata that know and can see the effects of Global Warming.
Ocasio-Cortez tells world's mayors drastic action needed on climate crisis
In a passionate address to leaders of 94 cities in Copenhagen, the congresswoman called ‘runaway’ pursuit of profit unsustainable
US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warned that tackling the climate crisis will involve making dramatic economic changes in a passionate closing speech at the C40 World Mayors summit in Copenhagen on Friday.
“It is unsustainable to continue to believe [in] our system of runaway, unaccountable, lawbreaking pursuit of profit,” she told the conference.
Instead, she said, the world needed to adopt “a cooperative, collaborative” system, “whose economy … benefits the middle and lower classes and marginalised people”.
‘Inspirational': Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez applauds mayors’ Global Green New Deal
Read more
“Our current logic created this mess and operating in the same way will not get us out.”
This uncompromising message won her a powerful round of applause. But it was when she came to the impact climate change had had on her own life, and on her family in Puerto Rico, that she became emotional.
“I speak to you as a human being, a woman whose dreams of motherhood now taste bittersweet because of what I know about our children’s future,” she said, her voice breaking as if she was struggling to hold back tears.
“That our actions are responsible for bringing their most dire possibilities into focus.”
From the moment she began speaking, the main hall at the summit became completely still, and when she finished, the ovation she received far exceeded that received by the veteran climate campaigner and former vice-president Al Gore, Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen; or the UN secretary general, António Guterres.
“She got a rockstar welcome in that audience,” Nicholas Reece, a city councillor from Melbourne, Australia, said. “There’s just something about her which is really mobilising and electrifying people around the world, particularly young people.”
After her speech, Ocasio-Cortez joined the weekly Fridays for Future rally outside Copenhagen city hall, where she called on the gathered activists to “make sure the politicians sweat a little bit”.
Its great that a quater of Aotearoa Mayors are Wahine.
Jailhouse witness will say what ever they are told to say times are changing.
I don't agree our farms need to respect our futures environment and Wai of course they are going to cry foul about the new water laws when I drive around I see Wai ways not fence off and stock in them these are dry stock farms.
Don't you think its suspicious that all of a sudden there's heaps of data breaches now we have a Left leaning Government.
Te Wahine will lead Ngapuhi towards the correct route to build a moanga for their Mokopuna.
I read a article about someone examineing our history he came to a conclusion that it was ballance of the left and right side of man Yin Yang. He was 1/2 correct it is ballance but the correct fact is its a ballance of human leadership between Wahine and Tane 50/50.
Nice Bubble. It amazing me that tangata have a 1 minute memorie.
Ha what about the Great statement I will not raise GST he loaded Aotearoa taxes load on the Common Poor people who have to spend all their putea guess what culture has the most poor tangata. The big elephant in the room on Kiwisaver is the way the broke rates went up to %10 to 20 under shonky is it a coincidence that banks prophets went through the roof to I think not.
Wai is a taonga. Tangata need to learn to give it respect try to use as little as possible so Our other beings creatures on Papatuanuku can live a long healthy life look around Papatuanuku and see what happens when we use it in excess and treat it like a thing that is only created for tangata.
Its a fact that money rules the Papatuanuku not logic.
I think the the local tangata of Ethiopia National Wildlife parks should be running the parks this method will solve quite a few problems.
Last wolves in Africa: the fragile wildlife of Ethiopia's ravaged parks
Conservationist Getachew Assefa points across the valley. “It started close to the mist over there, by the most spectacular viewpoint,” he says. “Almost all the grassland was burnt. All of that plateau and the steep cliff over there.”
Six months after wildfires torched this part of Ethiopia’s Simien Mountains, the scars are healing: heather and grass have returned to carpet the hilltop, brightened by the yellow daisies which bloom after the long rains. On the near side of the valley lie barley fields, rippling in the wind.
The scene is bucolic. But, as Assefa explains, these montane grasslands and the rare wildlife they host are under threat.
The Simien Mountains are home to the highly endangered Ethiopian wolf. Photograph: Claudio Sillero/EWCP
Two fires broke out earlier this year, ravaging one of the oldest natural Unesco world heritage sites, and destroying, at least temporarily, the habitat of some of the world’s rarest species: the copper-coated Ethiopian wolf and the walia ibex, a goat found nowhere else on earth
Few doubt the blazes’ cause. The park’s wolf monitors – which include Assefa – saw, through binoculars, two men setting tussocks alight, though they couldn’t confirm their identities.
For Crane, one answer is to increase the park price for foreign visitors, to try to limit the number coming to the Simien Mountains each year.
Meanwhile Watkin suggests Ethiopia considers alternative conservation approaches that allow communities to take ownership of the process, moving away from the state-led “fortress conservation” model that prevails. He notes examples in Kenya and Tanzania, where local communities run eco-lodges and tourism ventures while ensuring the landscape is protected. “They’re 20 to 30 years ahead of Ethiopia in this,” he says.
Such approaches might make it possible for Ethiopia to square the circle between conservation and development.
“The core of the problem is that tourism is not working for the locals,” says Joshua Amlakse, a Simien Mountains guide. “Nothing ends up in the local community
Let hope that European Investment Bank does the correct thing and stops lending to fossil fuel companies. Its a logical step to take considering the facts that Europe is going to be one of the hardest hit by Global Warming and sea level rising. Some countries are already feeling the negative effects of Global Warming Sea levels rising need I say whom.
Divestment works – and one huge bank can lead the way
On 15 October, the European Investment Bank meets to decide its policy on fossil fuels. The hand of history is on its shoulder
Millions of people marched against climate crisis over the past two weeks, in some of the largest demonstrations of the millennium. Most people cheered the students who led the rallies – call them the Greta Generation. But now we’ll start to find out if all their earnest protest actually matters.
EIB plans to cut all funding for fossil fuel projects by 2020
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Perhaps the first real test will come on 15 October, when the board of the EU’s European Investment Bank – the largest public bank in the world – meets to decide whether the time has finally come to stop expanding the fossil fuel sector. This should be a no-brainer decision: the bank’s staff has put forward a cogent proposal, supported by campaigners across the continent, that would end loans to new fossil fuel projects by 2020.
And if the EIB does act, it will send a strong signal to markets and to other lenders. For almost a decade now, observers have understood that restricting the flow of money to the fossil fuel industry is a key part of the climate fight. That’s why endowments and portfolios worth more than $11tn have begun divesting their fossil fuel stocks; last month the University of California system became the latest big player to join in, scrubbing its $80bn endowment and pension fund of fossil fuel stocks. Heck, even a major American utility announced that it was divesting its pension fund because it could see where the future lay.
The fifteenth of October is a crucial day in the most important fight the planet has ever faced, and a sign of whether Europe’s governments, particularly those of Germany and Italy, who insiders report have been strongly against a fossil-free EIB policy, will respond with open hearts to the outpouring of hope we have seen in the past weeks.
• Bill McKibben is the founder of the grassroots climate campaign 350.org and author of Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?
That's awesome a recycling old phones system that cool that some are being reused a lot of phones just need new batteries.
That's a great idea a public holiday to remember The New Zealand Wars this event needs to be known by all Kiwis Ka pai Ming
Kia Kaha to the students striking for their future climate the harder you mahi the better future you will have.
Japan made the 1/4 finals in Te Papatuanuku Rugby Cup it awesome to see Te Tangata Whenua o Aotearoa connections.
7 week programme to teach tamariki about respecting Wai Awa and Tangaroa ki ora.
Excellent Ngāti Porou Tane training people about how to hunt and gather Open Places.
Congratulations on your being honoured for your great Waiata Dennis Mash
Ka kite Ano
Tawhirimate has been going strong and still is I had to reset my satellite dish because it had moved my wind turbine is going to.
Elton John is a incredibly talented person.
Kiwi Space radar is a very good idea tracking space rubbish space junk. Keeping a track of the junk so other space vehicles /devices can stay clear of the space junk.
Its good that Pharmac is going to pay for things that some Wahine need.
I agree the Big interest in Wahine Sports around the Papatuanuku is not A fad Nicola from the Wahine Sports institute of Minnesota
Biketober is a great way to get the Tangata of Christchurch out of cars and onto bike that is good for our environment and one's health. We have Ebikes now.
Condolences to the person who was losted in the Yacht sinking.
That's the big picture put the bottle of Alcohol down bar fight
Trampolines are great exasize for Te mokopuna in Tawhirimate like this they have to be weighted down sand bags on the feet. I went to check my cows one morning next minute I got there a neighbour trampoline had blown onto my electric set fence cows had broken out and made a mess.
It's amazing technology that has made it very easy for the Papatuanuku to change to Green Carbon free Energy. I congratulate the 3 scientists for their Awesome improvements of batteries that are going to power our Futures
Nobel prize in chemistry awarded for work on lithium-ion batteries
John B Goodenough, M Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino honoured for sparking a portable technology revolution
The Nobel prize in chemistry has been awarded to three scientists for their work in developing lithium-ion batteries.
John B Goodenough of the University of Texas at Austin, M Stanley Whittingham of Binghamton University and Akira Yoshino of Meijo University will receive equal shares of the 9m Swedish kronor (£74o,000) prize, which was announced by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm on Wednesday.
At 97 years old, Goodenough is the oldest laureate to receive a Nobel prize in any discipline; Whittingham is the second British-born researcher to win a science Nobel this year.
Ion age: why the future will be battery powered
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Lithium-ion batteries have long been tipped for the award, not least since they have proved pivotal in the development of the high-tech world we inhabit.
“They have laid the foundation of a wireless, fossil fuel-free society, and are of the greatest benefit to humankind,” the academy said.
Far lighter and more compact than earlier types of rechargeable battery, and able to hold their charge for longer, they are found in everything from mobile phones to laptops and electric cars.
“The [electric car] batteries no longer weigh two tonnes, but 300kg,” said Prof Sara Snogerup Linse, a member of the Nobel committee for chemistry. “The ability to store energy from renewable sources, the sun, the wind, opens up for sustainable energy consumption,” she added.
The upshot was a lightweight, compact battery that could be recharged many, many times – the bedrock of modern technology. The battery continues to be developed, not least to improve its environmental impact.
Prof Dame Carol Robinson, president of the Royal Society of Chemistry, said battery technology remained an exciting field.
“It’s not the end of the journey, as lithium is a finite resource and many scientists around the world are building on the foundations laid by these three brilliant chemists,” she said Ka kite Ano link below.
n May 2016, hundreds of protestors threw dead fish onto the streets of Tagong, a town on the eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau. They had plucked them from the waters of the Liqi river, where a toxic chemical leak from the Ganzizhou Rongda Lithium mine had wreaked havoc with the local ecosystem.
cause we want our cars, we are deserving of our cars, we shall not be using public transport, we are entitled to our private transport, and the world can get fucked, so as long as i have mine and my comforts. besides you and i shall never see the mess lithium mining makes so it must be green, and good, and such.
I know Sabine. But few developed nations aren't hooked on them, or well on their way to still becoming hooked? Private motorcars that is.
But a general rule of thumb is that, aside from the basics pertaining to well being, from a consumption standpoint, as newer generations come along, what they have not had the use of cannot be missed by them. This rule also extends to private motorcars.
Considering this, it is easy to seriously consider the likelihood that global plans have been on the drawing board for quite some time to fully maximise the use of shared transport to the point where most living in even moderately sized locales will be heavily discouraged from private vehicle ownership, or forbidden outright to do so relatively soon.
By 2035, a child born in New Zealand today may well be forced to use modernized, high technology public transport infrastructure as their primary or sole means of wheeled of transport, even in little old isolated K1W1.
However, if New Zealand plays its cards right with regard to what I suspect is a general global understanding based on resource and environmental necessity, it may well end up with a stay of execution, and may well be one of the last countries on the planet to still continue to provide private motor vehicle options for the mainstream public past 2035.
In part, Ms Collins puts up some reasonable argument in relation to petroleum, carbon emissions and the global warming topic. But she would, wouldn’t she? As many respondents have already indicated, many of her assertions are not so widely accepted. But it is not all anecdotal in support of current energy use.
Perhaps most New Zealanders may not have considered where things are so likely to be heading to, and soon. Perhaps partly because little has really been done politically to deprive people of the opportunity to acquire private motor cars, petrol, diesel or electric.
There are a very fearful group of NZ politicians who suspect that their political futures would be curtailed if they voted in favor of any such future policy. Not because of any underhand mechanism backed by the oil industry or motor vehicle manufacturing industry obstructing them or punishing them for being so bold, but as a result of the bitterness of a general public which will always hold long memories on matters pertaining to the removal of their traditional lifestyle "choices".
I wouldn't blame politicians for adopting this stance, nor damn them for acting on such fears. After all, it's not the same as a plastic bag or tobacco campaign.
Personally I am grateful for the motor vehicle advantage that I've had over the coarse of my life. Selfish sounding, I guess.
A well respected and noted American (Robert Lutz) who held senior positions with General Motors, Ford and Chrysler has put forward his stance on the likely path that will be taken in relation to private motor car ownership in the medium term, and he's not the only person with a wealth of automotive industry senior management experience to hold similar views.
Petroleum fueled private motor cars out, and battery powered in. This wont bring about a cessation in the use of petroleum products as fuel alternative, but will redirect the use of it to industries and mechanisms considered critical. This currently includes passenger airliners and merchant marine, (not just military or industries described as dirty).
If the current manufacture of such components are an environmental issue for many in the meantime, then it is just the price that is paid for attempting to continue to provide both convenience and lifestyle related mechanism to a very hungry, consumption orientated global market, and with a global population growing at a rate of about 220,000 people a day.
its ok. don't worry, you are not the only one who is happy to replace fossil fuel with lithium mining. its hard giving up privilege and comfort especially when we are grown accustomed to it. Lifestyle they call it. Right?
I Question these figures to as Cat poo thing YEA RIGHT get off the grass
Questions remain over Māui threat plan cost
Ongoing drama surrounds the Māui and Hector's dolphin threat management plan, with worries key information is not being made public promptly
The way costs were calculated for fishing bans to protect Māui and Hector’s dolphins is under review – but will go to Government ministers before the public is told
For one year, stopping set-netting in 14,600 square km off the west coast of the North Island, the draft plan estimates a reduction of total economic value of $16.8m.This is based on the lost revenue of what the fish sells for, as well as value from processing and supply.
Yeoman’s estimation of the value of the fishery is substantially lower, at $1.1m.
With only 63 Māui dolphins remaining, the stakes are high for the sub-species. The threat management plan proposes human-induced deaths of Māui dolphins need to be reduced to as “near as practicable to zero”.
It hasn't just been economists querying numbers. Scientists have disagreed with a calculation regarding the impact of toxoplasmosis on Māui dolphins. The plan estimates two Māui dolphin die each year due to the disease, making it more lethal to the species than commercial fishing. This was based on analysis of dead dolphins and interpreting what's found in dead dolphins to what is happening with live dolphins
Well, I've been there, sitting in that same chairWhispering that same prayer half a million timesIt's a lie, though buried in disciplesOne page of the Bible isn't worth a lifeThere's nothing wrong with youIt's true, it's trueThere's something wrong with the villageWith the villageSomething wrong with the villageSongwriters: Andrew Jackson ...
ACT would like to dictate what universities can and can’t say. We knew it was coming. It was outlined in the coalition agreement and has become part of Seymour’s strategy of “emphasising public funding” to prevent people from opposing him and his views—something he also uses to try and de-platform ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Are we heading ...
So the Solstice has arrived – Summer in this part of the world, Winter for the Northern Hemisphere. And with it, the publication my new Norse dark-fantasy piece, As Our Power Lessens at Eternal Haunted Summer: https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/winter-solstice-2024/as-our-power-lessens/ As previously noted, this one is very ‘wyrd’, and Northern Theory of Courage. ...
The Natural Choice: As a starter for ten percent of the Party Vote, “saving the planet” is a very respectable objective. Young voters, in particular, raised on the dire (if unheeded) warnings of climate scientists, and the irrefutable evidence of devastating weather events linked to global warming, vote Green. After ...
The Government cancelled 60% of Kāinga Ora’s new builds next year, even though the land for them was already bought, the consents were consented and there are builders unemployed all over the place. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political ...
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on UnsplashEvery morning I get up at 3am to go around the traps of news sites in Aotearoa and globally. I pick out the top ones from my point of view and have been putting them into my Dawn Chorus email, which goes out with a podcast. ...
Over on Kikorangi Newsroom's Marc Daalder has published his annual OIA stats. So I thought I'd do mine: 82 OIA requests sent in 2024 7 posts based on those requests 20 average working days to receive a response Ministry of Justice was my most-requested entity, ...
Welcome to the December 2024 Economic Bulletin. We have two monthly features in this edition. In the first, we discuss what the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update from Treasury and the Budget Policy Statement from the Minister of Finance tell us about the fiscal position and what to ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi have submitted against the controversial Treaty Principles Bill, slamming the Bill as a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and an attack on tino rangatiratanga and the collective rights of Tangata Whenua. “This Bill seeks to legislate for Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles that are ...
I don't knowHow to say what's got to be saidI don't know if it's black or whiteThere's others see it redI don't get the answers rightI'll leave that to youIs this love out of fashionOr is it the time of yearAre these words distraction?To the words you want to hearSongwriters: ...
Our economy has experienced its worst recession since 1991. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, December 20 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above and the daily Pick ‘n’ Mix below ...
Twas the Friday before Christmas and all through the week we’ve been collecting stories for our final roundup of the year. As we start to wind down for the year we hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and new year. If you’re travelling please be safe on ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the year’s news with: on climate. Her book of the year was Tim Winton’s cli-fi novel Juice and she also mentioned Mike Joy’s memoir The Fight for Fresh Water. ...
The Government can head off to the holidays, entitled to assure itself that it has done more or less what it said it would do. The campaign last year promised to “get New Zealand back on track.” When you look at the basic promises—to trim back Government expenditure, toughen up ...
Open access notables An intensification of surface Earth’s energy imbalance since the late 20th century, Li et al., Communications Earth & Environment:Tracking the energy balance of the Earth system is a key method for studying the contribution of human activities to climate change. However, accurately estimating the surface energy balance ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guests and , ...
“Like you said, I’m an unreconstructed socialist. Everybody deserves to get something for Christmas.”“ONE OF THOSE had better be for me!” Hannah grinned, fascinated, as Laurie made his way, gingerly, to the bar, his arms full of gift-wrapped packages.“Of course!”, beamed Laurie. Depositing his armful on the bar-top and selecting ...
Data released by Statistics New Zealand today showed a significant slowdown in the economy over the past six months, with GDP falling by 1% in September, and 1.1% in June said CTU Economist Craig Renney. “The data shows that the size of the economy in GDP terms is now smaller ...
One last thing before I quitI never wanted any moreThan I could fit into my headI still remember every single word you saidAnd all the shit that somehow came along with itStill, there's one thing that comforts meSince I was always caged and now I'm freeSongwriters: David Grohl / Georg ...
Sparse offerings outside a Te Kauwhata church. Meanwhile, the Government is cutting spending in ways that make thousands of hungry children even hungrier, while also cutting funding for the charities that help them. It’s also doing that while winding back new building of affordable housing that would allow parents to ...
It is difficult to make sense of the Luxon Coalition Government’s economic management.This end-of-year review about the state of economic management – the state of the economy was last week – is not going to cover the National Party contribution. Frankly, like every other careful observer, I cannot make up ...
This morning I awoke to the lovely news that we are firmly back on track, that is if the scale was reversed.NZ ranks low in global economic comparisonsNew Zealand's economy has been ranked 33rd out of 37 in an international comparison of which have done best in 2024.Economies were ranked ...
Remember those silent movies where the heroine is tied to the railway tracks or going over the waterfall in a barrel? Finance Minister Nicola Willis seems intent on portraying herself as that damsel in distress. According to Willis, this country’s current economic problems have all been caused by the spending ...
Similar to the cuts and the austerity drive imposed by Ruth Richardson in the 1990’s, an era which to all intents and purposes we’ve largely fiddled around the edges with fixing in the time since – over, to be fair, several administrations – whilst trying our best it seems to ...
String-Pulling in the Dark: For the democratic process to be meaningful it must also be public. WITH TRUST AND CONFIDENCE in New Zealand’s politicians and journalists steadily declining, restoring those virtues poses a daunting challenge. Just how daunting is made clear by comparing the way politicians and journalists treated New Zealanders ...
Dear Nicola Willis, thank you for letting us know in so many words that the swingeing austerity hasn't worked.By in so many words I mean the bit where you said, Here is a sea of red ink in which we are drowning after twelve months of savage cost cutting and ...
The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral organisation committed to advancing open government. Countries which join are supposed to co-create regular action plans with civil society, committing to making verifiable improvements in transparency, accountability, participation, or technology and innovation for the above. And they're held to account through an Independent ...
Today I tuned into something strange: a press conference that didn’t make my stomach churn or the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Which was strange, because it was about the torture of children. It was the announcement by Erica Stanford — on her own, unusually ...
This is a must watch, and puts on brilliant and practical display the implications and mechanics of fast-track law corruption and weakness.CLICK HERE: LINK TO WATCH VIDEOOur news media as it is set up is simply not equipped to deal with the brazen disinformation and corruption under this right wing ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting Secretary Erin Polaczuk is welcoming the announcement from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden that she is opening consultation on engineered stone and is calling on her to listen to the evidence and implement a total ban of the product. “We need ...
The Government has announced a 1.5% increase in the minimum wage from 1 April 2025, well below forecast inflation of 2.5%. Unions have reacted strongly and denounced it as a real terms cut. PSA and the CTU are opposing a new round of staff cuts at WorkSafe, which they say ...
The decision to unilaterally repudiate the contract for new Cook Strait ferries is beginning to look like one of the stupidest decisions a New Zealand government ever made. While cancelling the ferries and their associated port infrastructure may have made this year's books look good, it means higher costs later, ...
Hi there! I’ve been overseas recently, looking after a situation with a family member. So apologies if there any less than focused posts! Vanuatu has just had a significant 7.3 earthquake. Two MFAT staff are unaccounted for with local fatalities.It’s always sad to hear of such things happening.I think of ...
Today is a special member's morning, scheduled to make up for the government's theft of member's days throughout the year. First up was the first reading of Greg Fleming's Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill, which was passed unanimously. Currently the House is debating the third reading of ...
We're going backwardsIgnoring the realitiesGoing backwardsAre you counting all the casualties?We are not there yetWhere we need to beWe are still in debtTo our insanitiesSongwriter: Martin Gore Read more ...
Willis blamed Treasury for changing its productivity assumptions and Labour’s spending increases since Covid for the worsening Budget outlook. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, December 18 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above ...
Today the Auckland Transport board meet for the last time this year. For those interested (and with time to spare), you can follow along via this MS Teams link from 10am. I’ve taken a quick look through the agenda items to see what I think the most interesting aspects are. ...
Hi,If you’re a New Zealander — you know who Mike King is. He is the face of New Zealand’s battle against mental health problems. He can be loud and brash. He raises, and is entrusted with, a lot of cash. Last year his “I Am Hope” charity reported a revenue ...
Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...
Come and join myself and CTU Chief Economist for a pop-up ‘Hoon’ webinar on the Government’s Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) with paying subscribers to The Kākā for 30 minutes at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream to watch our chat. Don’t worry if ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...
Hi,“What I love about New Zealanders is that sometimes you use these expressions that as Americans we have no idea what those things mean!"I am watching a 30-something year old American ramble on about how different New Zealanders are to Americans. It’s his podcast, and this man is doing a ...
What Chris Penk has granted holocaust-denier and equal-opportunity-bigot Candace Owens is not “freedom of speech”. It’s not even really freedom of movement, though that technically is the right she has been granted. What he has given her is permission to perform. Freedom of SpeechIn New Zealand, the right to freedom ...
All those tears on your cheeksJust like deja vu flow nowWhen grandmother speaksSo tell me a story (I'll tell you a story)Spell it out, I can't hear (What do you want to hear?)Why you wear black in the morning?Why there's smoke in the air? Songwriter: Greg Johnson.Mōrena all ☀️Something a ...
2024 is now officially my best-ever year for short stories. My 1,850-word dark fantasy piece, As Our Power Lessens, has been accepted for the upcoming solstice edition of Eternal Haunted Summer (https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/), thereby making that six published short stories for the calendar year. As always, see the Bibliography page for ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation. The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care ...
The Government‘s Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to create a new regulatory regime that will enable firms to construct offshore wind generation has passed its first reading in Parliament, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand currently does not have a regulatory regime for offshore renewable energy as the previous government failed ...
Legislation to enable new water service delivery models that will drive critical investment in infrastructure has passed its first reading in Parliament, marking a significant step towards the delivery of Local Water Done Well, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly say.“Councils and voters ...
New Zealand is one step closer to reaping the benefits of gene technology with the passing of the first reading of the Gene Technology Bill, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins says. "This legislation will end New Zealand's near 30-year ban on gene technology outside the lab and is ...
Cosmic CatastropheThe year draws to a close.King Luxon has grown tired of the long eveningsListening to the dreary squabbling of his Triumvirate.He strolls up to the top floor of the PalaceTo consult with his Astronomer Royal.The Royal Telescope scans the skies,And King Luxon stares up into the heavensFrom the terrestrial ...
Spinoff editor Mad Chapman and books editor Claire Mabey debate Carl Shuker’s new novel about… an editor. Claire: Hello Mad, you just finished The Royal Free – overall impressions? Mad: Hi Claire, I literally just put the book down and I would have to say my immediate impression is ...
Christmas and its buildup are often lonely, hard and full of unreasonable expectations. Here’s how to make it to Jesus’s birthday and find the little bit of joy we all deserve. Have you found this year relentless? Has the latest Apple update “fucked up your life”? Have you lost two ...
Despite overwhelming public and corporate support, the government has stalled progress on a modern day slavery law. That puts us behind other countries – and makes Christmas a time of tragedy rather than joy, argues Shanti Mathias. Picture the scene on Christmas Day. Everyone replete with nice things to eat, ...
Asia Pacific Report “It looks like Hiroshima. It looks like Germany at the end of World War Two,” says an Israeli-American historian and professor of holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University about the horrifying reality of Gaza. Professor Omer Bartov, has described Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza as an ...
The New Zealand government coalition is tweaking university regulations to curb what it says is an increasingly “risk-averse approach” to free speech. The proposed changes will set clear expectations on how universities should approach freedom of speech issues. Each university will then have to adopt a “freedom of speech statement” ...
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone New York prosecutors have charged Luigi Mangione with “murder as an act of terrorism” in his alleged shooting of health insurance CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month. This news comes out at the same time as ...
Pacific Media Watch The union for Australian journalists has welcomed the delivery by the federal government of more than $150 million to support the sustainability of public interest journalism over the next four years. Combined with the announcement of the revamped News Bargaining Initiative, this could result in up to ...
Comment: If we say the word ‘dementia’, many will picture an older person struggling to remember the names of their loved ones, maybe a grandparent living out their final years in an aged care facility. Dementia can also occur in people younger than 65, but it can take time before ...
Piracy is a reality of modern life – but copyright law has struggled to play catch-up for as long as the entertainment industry has existed. As far back as 1988, the House of Lords criticised copyright law’s conflict with the reality of human behaviour in the context of burning cassette ...
MONDAY“Merry Xmas, and praise the Lord,” said Sheriff Luxon, and smiled for the camera. There was a flash of smoke when the shutter pressed down on the magnesium powder. The sheriff had arranged for a photographer from the Dodge Gazette to attend a ceremony where he handed out food parcels to ...
It’s a little under two months since the White Ferns shocked the cricketing world, deservedly taking home the T20 World Cup. Since then the trophy has had a tour around the country, five of the squad have played in the WBBL in Australia while most others have returned to domestic ...
As he makes a surprise return to Shortland Street, actor Craig Parker takes us through his life in television. Craig Parker has been a fixture on television in Aotearoa for nearly four decades. He had starring roles in iconic local series like Gloss, Mercy Peak and Diplomatic Immunity, featured in ...
The Ōtautahi musician shares the 10 tracks he loves to spin, including the folk classic that cured him of a ‘case of the give-ups’. When singer-songwriter Adam McGrath returns to Kumeu’s Auckland Folk Festival from January 24-27, he’s not planning on simply idling his way through – he wants the late ...
Alex Casey spends an afternoon on the job with River, the rescue dog on a mission to spread joy to Ōtautahi rest homes.Almost everyone says it is never enough time. But River the rescue dog, a jet black huntaway border collie cross, has to keep a tight pace to ...
Asia Pacific Report Fiji activists have recreated the nativity scene at a solidarity for Palestine gathering in Fiji’s capital Suva just days before Christmas. The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre and Fijians for Palestine Solidarity Network recreated the scene at the FWCC compound — a baby Jesus figurine lies amidst the ...
By 1News Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver and 1News reporters A number of Kiwis have been successfully evacuated from Vanuatu after a devastating earthquake shook the Pacific island nation earlier this week. The death toll was still unclear, though at least 14 people were killed according to an earlier statement from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Scully, Professor in Modern History, University of New England Bunker.Image courtesy of Michael Leunig, CC BY-NC-SA Michael Leunig – who died in the early hours of Thursday December 19, surrounded by “his children, loved ones, and sunflowers” – was the ...
The House - On Parliament's last day of the year, there was the rare occurrence of a personal (conscience) vote on selling booze over the Easter weekend. While it didn't have the numbers to pass, it was a chance to get a rare glimpse of the fact ...
A new poem by Holly Fletcher. bejeweled log i was dreaming about wasps / wee darlings that followed me / ducking under objects / that i was fated to pickup / my fingers seeking / and meeting with tiny proboscis’s / but instead / i wake up / roll sideways ...
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 Versta/Shutterstock Australians are exposed to some of the highest levels of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the world. While we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Terry, Professor of Business Regulation, University of Sydney Michael von Aichberger/Shutterstock Even if you’ve no idea how the business model underpinning franchises works, there’s a good chance you’ve spent money at one. Franchising is essentially a strategy for cloning ...
If something big is going to happen in Ferndale, it’s going to happen at Christmas. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If there’s one episode of Shortland Street you should watch each year, it’s the annual Christmas cliffhanger. The final episode of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By William A. Stoltz, Lecturer and expert Associate, National Security College, Australian National University US President-elect Donald Trump has named most of the members of his proposed cabinet. However, he’s yet to reveal key appointees to America’s powerful cyber warfare and intelligence institutions. ...
Announcing the top 10 books of the the year at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Intermezzo by Sally Rooney (Faber & Faber, $37) The phenomenal Irish writer is the unsurprising chart topper for 2024 with her fourth novel that, much like her first ...
The government has confirmed its plan to break up Te Pūkenga / New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology and re-establish independent polytechnics. ...
Oh dear, seems we're getting mixed messages from God. Well, if not actually God, then God's self-proclaimed spokes-hucksters.
Pat Robertson sez the genital-grabbing golem is “in danger of losing the mandate of heaven.”, while Ralph Reed is all in on “Render to God and Trump”.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pat-robertson-trump-in-danger-of-losing-the-mandate-of-heaven_n_5d9b9082e4b099389804aba9
https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/09/ralph-reed-trump-book-040920
I thought it was the Emperor of China who has the mandate of heaven? Mind you, he's not using it any more…
I believe New World Computing still has the Mandate of Heaven…
https://youtu.be/bHJR3683B3w
Ugly as all hell, but still a fun game.
President Trump, when asked yesterday about US troop withdrawal from Syria exposing their core allies the Kurds to further massacres:
"We shouldn't have been in the Middle East in the first place."
A sentiment some on both left and right could agree with.
But a pretty cold sentiment for the homeless, landlocked Kurds facing Turkish artillery and warplanes today.
Not to mention it's also abandoning the principle of a people's right to self-determination.
https://unpo.org/article/4957
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-determination
"pretty cold sentiment"
yep the heart of this fiend is as small as his tiny babyhands – meanwhile plenty of babies and children are about to be destroyed – I hope there is lots of coal being put on the fire for when t.rump takes the elevator downstairs.
The Kurds will always have the Tree https://politics.theonion.com/trump-assures-kurds-there-will-one-day-be-very-nice-tre-1838917478
Interesting all the same, how many Syrian Kurds have become Prime ministers and Presidents of Syria,military leaders and politicians
for instance
Saladin was also a Kurd.
Depends what you mean by "interesting." For example, if we mention that it's "interesting" how many women have ruled Britain as queen, and our intention is to idly inform readers of something they may not have known, then sure, all good. However, if we mention it as an implied argument that patriarchal oppression of women as a sex hasn't been a feature of British society, then no, not so good.
Gosh thanks for defending my interests as a woman psycho
Where would I be without you !
What a guy
Reading comprehension not your strong point, then?
Paternalism yours?
So, Francesca, are you implying that patriarchal oppression of women cannot be drawn as an analogy to the political oppression of Kurds without your personal permission? I think you have overreacted. I very much doubt that PM had your protection in mind.
Why oh why can't people step back from commenting about female emancipation – PM why bring it up and just be abrasive. The Syrian battles go on regardless and you are making some nitpicking point. I suppose you think you are smart and right and feel satisfied about that.
as part of his long game to become president – trump used to regularly appear on the late nite talk shows..
(and yes..audiences wd chuckle when he floated the idea of him being president..)
but on those appearances he used to be emphatic that he would pull america out of the endless wars they are involved in..
he really pushed the isolationist line – (and he was reasonably lucid then – the adderall/cocaine had not yet done its' damage..and btw..his teetotal woth alcohol claims are more bullshit – staff who worked for him have confirmed this..)
so i am not really surprised that – unlike his predecessor – he hasn't started any wars (yet)..
and that he is pulling troops out..
(he wants to go into the election campaign (if he gets there..)..able to make that 'i brought the troops home!' boast..)
but in doing so he is treating the kurds like a no longer needed sub-contractor – and so ready/able to be screwed/discarded by him..
Trump and lucid dont really work in the same sentence
Trump and lucent go together.
an orange glow?
Nice – go the youth!
Well said;
This is as silly as the scandal of the immigration Minister allowing Karel Sroubek's entry into NZ on the grounds of his safety was at risk if he returned to the Czech Republic.
Now we all pay for jis internment for years, when he should not have been allowed in by the national Government in the first place. National are a bloody disgrace.
Now we see MBIE CEO Carol Tremain on Newshub today spouting that she agrees with Ian Lees Galloway 'Minister of Immigration' saying that he had every right to make his decision independent of the oversight of MBIE, which is also again another shocking event that poor Jacinda needs to rectify.
Why did Steve Joyce set up this awful agency MBIE to stuff everything up in the first place is beyond me. Jacinda is now being Ham stringed by her idiot ministers sadly.
Phil Twyford is now working good as he is appropriately attacking the other useless agency 'NZTA' for their erroneous behavior over our lack of road safety which was yet another agency setup to fail by Steven Joyce.
We knew that National was going to leave grenades inside Government agencies when they lost the election didn't we?
Lastly over the Governments latest surplus of $7.5Billion and National’s response; –
Do you love it when National and their media muppets – who don’t give two shits about poor people at any other time of the year – are suddenly full off crocodile tears for those people’s tax when there is a surplus?
Ian Lees-Galloway stuffed up. Everyone knows it. (only other option is he was told to make that 'unexpected' decision by someone higher up). Any half sensible person would have looked at the info. presented and decided (probably in about two minutes) Sourbek would not make a good citizen and deported him.
MBIE are now basically saying ILG should leave the decisions up to their officials as he is not competent to make them.
"MBIE are now basically saying ILG should leave the decisions up to their officials as he is not competent to make them."
Which is a bit like a pot calling a kettle black.
I'm waiting to see what the changes will be – especially with rights of appeal and the sequence that the IPT gets involved.
For many, the costs of involving the IPT (Fees, advocacy et al) can be beyond the means of some legitimate appellants – and that's even if they're aware of the procedure. I'm prepared to wait and see, although if the record to date is anything to go by, it'll take an eon and it'll be half-hearted improvements. Apparently Rome wasn't built in a day, nothing's ever bleeding bloody obvious and elitism is alive and well in lil 'ole egalitarian NuZull.
Pass me a cheeky Chardonnay will ya Jimmy
Isnt the point of Ministerial discretion (re immigration) to overcome inappropriate official inflexibility….the same officials who will now question themselves?
That's what I'd have thought, but apparently not. Ministers must be kept "above the fray" – even though they're our elected representatives.
I worry about what has become of the senior ranks in our public service (I mean quite apart from it being pale and stale and all the rest of it, AND the rise and rise of the generic manager). The "respect my authority!!!! " authoritarian, complacent, self-entitled culture that's evolved. We can see what's just happened with NZTA. It probably doesn't help much either that MBIE is full of ex-cops (some decent enough, others having to be 'managed' out).
The theory of the way things are supposed to operate, and what actually happens are often miles apart
Immigration decisions shouldn't be left up to officials. Nothing should be left entirely to the decisions of the sort of people who get to head entities and meet targets. They get harder and harder with often excuse of 'efficiency', and over time they get precedents that lock them into behaviours that do no credit to their department's standards or that of the country.
I think of the Hoover USA example. A nasty man it is said, and also staying in place and spying on everyone, with information useful for blackmail through leaks etc. The harder they are, the nastier they are, and more difficult to move on, till the system gets corrupted beyond recognition.
That's the nature of it @grey. The Hoover example will be the inevitable result of what's been in progress over the past 30 years.
The reforms all came equipped with the corporate culture (totally inappropriate for govt agencies – especially those dealing with social and cultural issues and policy). And with it also came the buzz and excuses that provide an out and preventing proper accountability (unless of course you're a rambunctious bugger with a heap of money prepared to push back). "I can't comment on operational matters" (which are ill-defined and when it suits), which I L-G just did.
Apparently, the senior ranks of the public service have become so precious that they are unable to suffer any critique (which is one of the reasons, supposedly, they get the big bucks for – going forward)
l’ll spare you from the rant I'm tempted to start. But quelle surprise there are now allegations of bullying and high staff turnovers. The sad thing is that a lot of it is all a matter of record and SFA changes until it all falls apart (such as with NZTA)
Any half sensible person would have looked at the info. presented and decided (probably in about two minutes) Sourbek would not make a good citizen and deported him.
I agree that any National minister of Immigration would have looked at a report saying the person's life could be in danger if they were deported and without the slightest qualm immediately chosen to deport the person. Fortunately, not everybody is like that, and personally I'm glad that Lees-Galloway isn't, because he's my electorate MP.
MBIE are now basically saying ILG should leave the decisions up to their officials as he is not competent to make them.
The same report points to a similarly "unexpected" decision by Woodhouse, so if the concern is ministerial incompetence there's a lot of it to go around.
Yes I believe a National immigration minister back in the nineties actually did have a complex case like that (Danny Butler?). I think one of the telling factors here is the polite way they have said ILG's decision was 'unexpected', in other words What the f#@$? We gave you enough ammunition and you still want this POS to be a resident!
Hopefully once Sourbek appeals and if he wins, he decides to live in your and ILG electorate and not mine.
Why should he win. Surely you are not saying hes POS and has a good case ?
I hope you are correct and he does not win (I did say "if") and is deported as soon as his sentence is finished.
I just think due to ILG's original unexpected decision he may have a strengthened case….but hopefully not.
If Helen Clark was prime minister, I think it would be a case of:
"Ian ……you are the weakest link……goodbye"
She wasnt all that ruthless
as long as you weren't one of those 'undeserving-families' she so successfully stigmatised/scape-goated…eh..?
Yes or no answers. Clark was better than 3 more years of Shipley, English or Brash governments in '02 and '05, and would have been much less damaging to NZ than Key in '08?
aah..!..the old not-as-bad-as excuse…
clark left a low-wage/high cost of living environment –
she did nothing on climate-change (didn't she know..?)
she blocked cannabis-law-reform..
she did nothing for the homeless..
and her stigmatising of the 'undeserving families'..
prepared the ground nicely for the incoming tory gummint and their war on the poor..didn't it..?
basically clark was/is a neoliberal-incrementalist –
just keeping the seat warm for the next one..
meet the new boss – same as the old boss..
Okay, question was obviously too tough, so let's ty again.
Clark was better than 3 more years of Shipley, English or Brash governments in '02 and '05, and would have been much less damaging to NZ than Key in '08, no?
see above..
Yeah, nah, evasion, not nearly good enough.
Another angle, then. In 2008, you celebrated the end of Clark as pm and welcomed the result which gave us a national government and key?
She didn't put up with fools.
Yea/nah, be fair Jimmy! A hae ma doots he'd end up anywhere near you, but if that ever came about, you could always lock yourself behind a gated "community". That'd be the most transformational and kind thing to do.
…I think one of the telling factors here is the polite way they have said ILG's decision was 'unexpected'…
Well, yeah, I expect the empathy void that is a National MP would far better match the officials' experience and expectations.
Hopefully once Sourbek appeals and if he wins, he decides to live in your and ILG electorate and not mine.
Yeah, right-wingers used to reply along the same lines when I commented that Ahmed Zaoui should be treated fairly, after which he did move to Palmerston North and lived here for years. Somehow that "POS" managed to restrain himself from carrying out the massacres and suicide bombings that right-wingers scare-mongered about. Likewise, if Sroubek (NB: not Sourbek, or "Shruu-brek" as Simon Bridges would have it) did move here, I don't think the community would be living in dread that he might try to import a few more ecstasy tabs.
Likewise, if Sroubek (NB: not Sourbek, or "Shruu-brek" as Simon Bridges would have it) did move here, I don't think the community would be living in dread that he might try to import a few more ecstasy tabs.
At least you would have the best parties!
Now do you know that from personal experience, Jimmy? Or are you just making another misguided jibe?
Just a jibe that time. I don't mix in the right circles (or want to) to do drugs. Guess I'm boring.
'..I don't think the community would be living in dread that he might try to import a few more ecstasy tabs. .'
heh..!
German white supremacist sets out to kill the Jews…posts mission statement on-line before killing two.
How's that bid to get the tech companies to prevent this kind if shit happening going???
Talk is cheap and easy.
On phone, can't provide link.
Here's one from CBS.
Thanks Molly.
Beggars belief that anyone could think that a few well orchestrated media events making The Christchurch Call was ever, ever going to prevent those who want/need to broadcast their hate from being able to do so.
ISIS made very good use of the www to broadcast their atrocities….I've been trying to remember which particular faction of violent haters began this live streamed terrorism.
Words will not stop this.
Beggars belief that anyone could think that a few well orchestrated media events making The Christchurch Call was ever, ever going to prevent those who want/need to broadcast their hate from being able to do so.
Basically the same argument the gun lobby is making re tighter firearm regulations, and with the same gaping hole in its logic.
For me the argument is for "effective firearm regulations", not just tighter.
I think that is may be the point Rosemary is trying to make. If it is, I agree with her.
Rosemary is completely wrong because she doesnt check it out
"anyone could think that a few well orchestrated media events making The Christchurch Call was ever"
They have taken real action on their video hosting services
"Take transparent, specific measures seeking to prevent the upload of terrorist and violent extremist content and to prevent its dissemination on social media and similar content-sharing services, including its immediate and permanent removal, without prejudice to law enforcement and user appeals requirements
https://www.christchurchcall.com/call.html
Not all platforms have the huge resources of the giants..
"Support smaller platforms as they build capacity to remove terrorist and violent extremist content, including through sharing technical solutions and relevant databases of hashes or other relevant material, such as the GIFCT shared database."
Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism – GIFCT
And yes Amazon is part of the 'call'
And no Rosemary it wasnt just some media appearances as thnese countries have 'signed' up
Founders
Founding supporters announced in Paris, May 15 2019
Supporters announced in New York on 23 September 2019
After looking at some facts, mabe the ‘beggars belief’ claim can be utterly refuted.
Isn't there an objectionable material publication approach that already exists that could be utilised and enforced – not just in this case – but in others? Surely it would be better to strengthen and utilise existing laws and guidelines rather than create another for specific material.
My concern lies with future arguments about which criteria offences occur under, rather than effectively stopping or punishing such offences. Also, countries signing up – means just that – countries signing up. Until actions are created that have teeth and consequences, we should hold off on the celebrations, the work has only just begun.
I will be surprised if you can get away with that extensive and ultimately not essential list taking up the screen DoU. When i spread myself I am trying to bring forward some joined up thoughts. A link and advice from you to study the list in situ would be quite enough for your purpose.
+ 1 duke
it streamed on an amazon gaming platform..
so outside the control of those ardern was talking to..
Amazon is part of the call.
The platform used in Germany was called Twitch which seems to be part opf the Amazon group.
There will be serious questions of Amazon over this
Ooooh!!!
"Serious Questions"!!!!
I bet Amazon are fair shitting themselves.
To stop this, the internet as we know it will have to be shut down.
are you saying we should shut the internet down, or that we can't stop white supremacy?
Picked up a couple of German hitch hikers making their way to the Cape the other day . Talkative one went to some trouble to explain the political and sociological differences between various parts of Germany. Much of the "white supremacy" angst originated back from the days of the Wall. East Germans, some of them feel like they've never caught up with the West. Influx of refugees and the immigrant support structures provided by the German government has enhanced the sense of disconnectedness in those groups.
As long as the world has populations who feel disenfranchised and excluded there will be these terrorist acts, and those who want to will always find a way of broadcasting their hate.
What we need is a worldwide, universal crisis that will transcend all these differences and historic grievances and unite us all. Something like the destruction of life on the planet due to climate change….?
Let's face it….as a species we're very probably doomed.
Unfortunately Rosemary you know even less about the internet than you do about the Christchurch call. (Usually you always give considered views with backup and not wild claims like this)
Plus terrorist attacks hadnt until recently been live streamed at all. They get massive publicity outside the live stream, so not possible to 'stop them ' even if every main platform did crack down hard.
Live streaming of users is only a small part of 'the internet' and a small part of the online video world.
Twitch was a gaming and e sports ( ha!) live streaming site but has moved into 'real event's more recently. Maybe they are a forgotten part of Amazon, they wont be now.
Fire. In a water deprived world it will obliterate infrastructure and natural life and environment, masses of human energy trying to plant forests to ameliorate climate change, and destroy our archives of the past, and our dreams for the future.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/400652/northern-california-hit-by-major-power-cuts-over-wildfire-fears
A number of areas in the world are fire prone because of the climate and vegetation and often hot dry winds which spread smaller fires into larger ones. The electric lines company is just taking precautions because if power lines start a fire they will have to pay for all the damage.
Fuck Spark sport. I, along with over 80,000 others in the country have not only lost the rugby, Formula1, World Rally champs but now cricket.
NZ Cricket have fucked up in a big way, after their best year ever for increasing the games popularity they have run themselves out on the first ball. Fuck you as well.
Yes I agree. Makes it hardly worth having Sky Sport now.
Only Cricket played in NZ. Doesnt include international cricket or Black Caps playing outside NZ
Thanks…I didn't know that.
So?. And how long before Spark falls over?. They are spending far more money than they can realisticly get back, only 80,000 "watched "their word, the first world cup game , is that watchers or subscribers, either way its not a lot of money. I notice Spark has not been crowing about how many are watching even the All Blacks games.I was an avid follower of F1 and WRC, but since Spark took it over I haven''t seen a single race, and I bet thousands of others are the same . It's my bet that they are losing huge amounts on those events alone. The same will happen to cricket, if people can't watch NZ play in NZ without paying a lot of money, projected subscriber numbers will fall a long way short of expectations.
Thats live streams . They dont know how many watchers for each stream, plus they did a tie in with Sky for a popup channel for pubs and clubs who pay commercial rates.
Isnt streaming a better delivery , as you can start when you like even 15 mins late, and make the half time longer before seeing the second half. The heavy rain doesnt affect the satellite feed.
I dont have it but isnt that 'more convenient'
Not in the country areas, broadband is still sub par. Like watching something in the 60s. Most have Sky just to get the news etc, art, docos, sport etc are an expensive little add-on, now the cost is considerably more, so in the country we are paying a shit load more than free to air in towns.
Once Sky was beamed from towers like TV signals but things changed.
Sky will move all sport to streaming , you can bet on it
Adrian don’t talk shit. You generalise without the facts. I live in the country without cable broadband. I’m served by wireless Vodafone through farmside. It’s not fast. 8- 11 MB’s. The reception through the Spark app although not perfect is perfectly adequate. None of the problems that have hit the headlines that have been poking a stick at spark. A lot of people haven’t done their homework or haven’t bothered to get advice thinking the games might be shown live on sky eventually . Duh. I’m in my sixties and have plenty of mates like that. I know not everyone can get wireless , ‘not to be confused with satellite’ but in some cases could be more reliable than landline. People who think they need ultra fast broadband to stream successfully are mistaken. By the way my phone and internet with plenty of Gigs is just over $100 a month. I would say a lot of the problems are more to do with the home setups
Is it shit to now need up to 6 subscriptions to get half of what one was able to supply.
Absolutely is shit to have to pay subs all over the place. I for one won’t be buying the spark cricket even though I like watching it occasionally. It was your opinion of rural internet coverage that was a wide sweeping generalisation in my opinion. From what I can see a lot of people haven’t worked out they don’t need a smart TV to stream. A chrome cast or similar is just fine. I’m picking the next time this happens people will be prepared. Maybe not my 92 year old mum in law.
Listen, New view. If your Mum-in-law is 92, you are already far too old to claim the pseudonym you use. You stale old thing.
Well “In Vino” What ever that is supposed to mean. If you took the time read my original comment you would see I stated I was in my sixties. Not that old these days In Vino ( what ever that means ). I thought that my comment actually contributed some information so what did yours contribute. Apart from having a pointless poke at me. I would suggest you analyse your own comments a little more instead.
That's great news!
India, Australia, England and Sth African Women are all tourists in 2020. Best schedule for NZ cricket @ home in a long spell.
I am a consumer of the spark rugger content.
All the games are there to watch on demand.
I love the product.
Duke
Check out GreaterAuckland for commentary on the light rail NZSuper ppp and concession.
Thanks . Involving Bombardier, I always thought, was a scam as they are the vehicle builders.
The PPP structure is never good anyway, as the total costs structure is higher , even worse now that interest rates to build are low.
The details of Montreal are even more disturbing, as there is no risk for the 8-9% return. None at all. And the Consortium is likely to sell out to an investment bank consortium after 5 years to take their profits early.
Australia upping the authoritarianism ante, again.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/09/absurd-bail-conditions-prevent-extinction-rebellion-protesters-going-near-other-members
Australian Constitution doesnt seem to have any provisions regarding political expression. It did say ( now repealed) that Aborigines werent to be counted as part of States populations.
Dont seem to be able to find the Constitution of NSW
Australian authorities (federal or state) may be standing on shaky ground when it comes to intervening in demonstrations/protests relating to or pertaining to the environment.
And they sure don't make a lot of friends by doing so. But they would argue that disruption to commerce in CBD areas doesn't solve or resolve anything, and that peaceful protests can turn ugly very quickly when those disrupted become angered due to the inconvenience.
While not everyone may share the same belief as many of those involved in or supporting the Extinction Rebellion movement, it must be clearly evident that so many of those attending such events honestly and forthrightly believe that they are making a stand in relation to right of life and well-being. For many, it is a fight for their lives in relation to their future existence. To use government mechanism as a tool to obstruct or dismantle the expression of people who are in survival mode, is most unwise.
History has shown this to be true so many times.
Both open debate and education in relation to known scientific fact, and general deliberation on global temperature concerns would be very healthy at this juncture.
Politicising it and engaging in fervour tactics only goes so far.
These people will not be going away any time soon, irrespective of how much government is thrown at them. This includes muppets who believe that because a lower court has deemed something as appropriate, (bail conditions for example), that it is a matter of Simon Says.
Countermeasures in relation to this court imposed circumvention:
Permitted street demonstrations authorised by various city authorities. Permits in relation to lawful assembly demonstrations at parks and reserves. Rock solid legal representation (more likely requiring money, money and money) for the movement, and both mainstream media and social media scrutinising of all and any decisions made at local authority level which might show evidence of anti Extinction Rebellion sentiment and/or bias in relation to permit decision making.
So often, at street level, so much of the intricacy of environmental matters relates to local authority decision making, not just political central government rhetoric, narrative or transient mandate.
I observe that Joel Fitzgibbon, (Australian Labor Party, Hunter, NSW) appears open to at least arriving at something close to climate change policy along the lines of the Paris Accord, which could be fine tuned later.
Perhaps following his sort of lead could be helpful for Australians to consider.
Bail is supposed to be given with conditions only so they cant repeat the offences or contact people who were also involved. But only for serious offences
Not sure street blocking offences are covered by bail – as they are probably what is known as Summary Offences which are a 'fine only' if convicted
https://www.ruleoflaw.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/2018-09-20-Bail-Laws-in-NSW-FINAL.pdf
In London they would arrest those blocking the streets who would return the next day to do it all over again
A judge has now revoked the bail conditions.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/10/extinction-rebellion-scott-ludlam-has-absurd-bail-conditions-dismissed-by-judge?CMP=share_btn_tw
anyone wondering what citizen thiel has been up to..?
https://www.mintpressnews.com/cia-israel-mossad-jeffrey-epstein-orwellian-nightmare/261692/
(it's quite a long read – but an interesting one..)
"Upon this rock, they shall build a monolith".
He most certainly seems to be, a busy bee !
Assadist falls out of love.
https://twitter.com/Partisangirl/status/1181393097952940032
https://twitter.com/Partisangirl/status/1181281166726295553
https://twitter.com/Partisangirl/status/1181388945289932800
Sorry I couldn't put the fix in for your money launderer. Here, have some some Kurds.
https://twitter.com/ColinKahl/status/1182071789737795584
President Donald Trump pressed then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to help persuade the Justice Department to drop a criminal case against an Iranian-Turkish gold trader who was a client of Rudy Giuliani, according to three people familiar with the 2017 meeting in the Oval Office.
Tillerson refused, arguing it would constitute interference in an ongoing investigation of the trader, Reza Zarrab, according to the people. They said other participants in the Oval Office were shocked by the request.
Tillerson immediately repeated his objections to then-Chief of Staff John Kelly in a hallway conversation just outside the Oval Office, emphasizing that the request would be illegal. Neither episode has been previously reported, and all of the people spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the conversations.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-09/trump-urged-top-aide-to-help-giuliani-client-facing-doj-charges
Interesting. Seems Matt Drudge ain't quite such a Fake-bronze Fuhrer fanboi anymore. Or maybe he's just getting his jollies watching it all erupt.
Feel the chill – lesser journalists would be frozen solid by now.
In reality, Nicky Hager probably never left the surveillance; "them against the rest of us" chain gang, and may never.
Certain agency staff may have long memories, but by public account, they appear genuine about moving on, and to kind of forgive and forget.
But how about the little brothers, big sisters, little sisters and the Sgt Dickheads of all shapes and sizes who believe that, just the same, it is their civic duty to hold a grudge against him for matters probably already considered by higher echelon to be more or less historical, and not needing a re-visited?
Perhaps it is food for thought.
I personally believe that he could find further fulfillment (over and above advisory to the IGIS Reference Group), working part time in the field of law practice procedures pertaining to both the secure handling, and the prevention of mishandling of clients' material by law practitioners.
If your elected representative doesn't appear to be pulling his or her weight, if grabbing them by the horns doesn't work, or if their oratory skills aren't producing sufficient bang for buck, perhaps try this:
https://golf.swingbyswing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/hog.jpg
Parliamentary and local body salaries are not meant to be hog to get high on.
Parliamentary session presentations, (via Hansard), not to be used for hog wash either.
With all due respect.
With all due respect karol121 you seem to have deep concerns about security, and whistleblowers and other things, hogs amongst them.
Incomprehensible to follow. What was your point again. Perhaps list multiple ones with bullet points for the benefit of us all.
+1. Unclear, karol121.
Sure, Greywarshark/In Vino
I accept. Syntax and context can sometimes be an issue for me, especially when presenting my quarter in haste.
The point is that while so many people express concern (both justified and not) at the extent of surveillance by the state mechanism, and while they also express concern with regard to the powers relating to physical access by the state, fixation on this can distract people from recognizing the many opportunists, well established, who operate as their own form of surveillance mechanism, along with handling of trouble-makers, irrespective of state intent or even political intent.
The other point is that it is the people who generally both make demands, and set the standard in relation to state observation (or interference).
It would be reasonable to assume that after the state infrastructure has long since closed it's books on people who were once of interest, there would be others with considerable portfolios and access who, for their own emotional or positional reasons, carry on "the fight".
So, in context, whilst not necessarily sympathizing with Nicky Hager, the chances are very high that he will never be free from intrusion or loose observation of one sort or another, if not for the sole reason of grudges held by many with regard to his historical behavior.
Many might advise him to stay as publicly visible as he can.
If he ceased doing what he has been doing, the state would probably consider that their resources are to be best spent elsewhere.
Believing that the state infrastructure would keep much of an eye on him once salient operational matters have been laid to rest might be just a little shallow, but believing that others would keep an eye on him is most realistic.
Which is why, once marked with a particular label, it can be difficult for people to avoid the impact of the association with it.
For example, if a person punched a star All-Black in the mouth and put him out of action during a test series, that person would likely be convicted of assault. But that would not be the end of the matter for the offender. Others would wish to send him their message.
The so-called good folk will very often take over (often quietly) where and when they do not feel that the state mechanism has adequately dealt with an issue.
It is clear that there is a massive amount of surveillance opportunity available to people. Even sophisticated hardware and software can now be managed by a school child.
The wider community, Hell bent on asserting it's right to security, privacy, justice and freedom, is basically creating it's own surveillance society.
Even in New Zealander, people are fast adopting a quasi-marae style culture where, aside from episodic engagement in matters of one to one approved intimacy, personal hygiene considerations and business confidentiality, most everything else is running at a fast pace to being public domain, and needing to be scrutinized by others.
Both state and corporate will usually mimic the masses on such matters.
Where it goes once it reaches the point where most everything is visible is anybody's guess. It's not my intention to argue whether this is good, bad, right or wrong. It is just a fact.
Perhaps social credit bureau scoring such as we hear reported throughout the People's Republic of China would be the next step. I wouldn't envisage too many Kiwis getting up on their hind legs and doing much of anything to prevent it, other than to vent dissatisfaction.
Now billionaires in the USA can pay less tax than workers, even before 'optimising' their tax liabilities – the basic tax rates permit them to pay less.
John Key's wet dream!
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-billionaires-low-tax-rate-working-class-cost-a9148746.html
The arrogance of the UK Conservatives is outstanding. One of their strongest traits it seems. Beyond that is an aching void.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPcx3cIlamg Brexit: Saturday parliamentary session to decide UK future confirmed for October – BBC News
Jeremy Hunt former Foreign Secretary to the Conswervs says with a straight face that the EU are perhaps going to have a catastrophic failure in statecraft or they haven't really understood what is happening in British politics right now. He looks quite exited to be the centre of attention explaining how important Britain is and the rest are mired in bureaucratic circumlocutions. Or words to that effect.
19th October is a Saturday, and Parliament is sitting that day, an historic event and I think it was said, the last time this occurred was over the Falkland War and Maggie was busy screwing over Britain to start it, and cynics say, to turn the disenchanted public eye from the unpopularity of her and the Conservatives. It is a shame that the Conservatives want to upend Britain every few decades.
It seems that the EU is trying strenuously to cope with Britain (United Kingdom?) playing fast and loose with their important national agreement and treaty, but Tusk is getting testy, and the others are being deliberately temperate no doubt to balance Johnson's Trump-like presentation.
Associated press 9 Oct 2019: The Latest: EU's Tusk says Brexit part of brutality….
…During a speech in Athens on Wednesday, European Council President Donald Tusk encouraged political leaders to heed ancient Athenian general Thucydides’ warning about the dangers of war and confrontation….
The president of the European Union’s council of national leaders says Brexit results from confrontational politics with “the ability to deal brutally with opponents, competitors, misfits or strangers.”…
He cited the Trump administration and European countries “where the foundations of liberal democracy and the rule of law are being undermined” as being part of the same trend that is taking the U.K. out of the EU.
Tusk said: “Violence, lies, hate speech, myths, and resentment: These are the tools of today’s politics.”
3:55 p.m.
European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker says he is working with EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier to find a way to end a stalemate with Britain’s government over a Brexit agreement.
Juncker told the European Parliament on Wednesday: “Personally, I don’t exclude a deal. Michel and myself are working on a deal.”
He refused to be more specific but made clear that talks between the two sides haven’t come to an irreparable standstill.
https://youtu.be/qQfetkoGrpU
I agree we have to take action NOW to minimise and mitigate human cause Global Warming and Sea levels rising. Kia Kaha to all the intelligence tangata that know and can see the effects of Global Warming.
Ocasio-Cortez tells world's mayors drastic action needed on climate crisis
In a passionate address to leaders of 94 cities in Copenhagen, the congresswoman called ‘runaway’ pursuit of profit unsustainable
US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warned that tackling the climate crisis will involve making dramatic economic changes in a passionate closing speech at the C40 World Mayors summit in Copenhagen on Friday.
In her first overseas appearance as an elected politician, the 29-year-old was invited to speak after the C40, which represents the mayors of 94 cities worldwide, and which this week pledged support for a global version of her flagship Green New Deal policy.
“It is unsustainable to continue to believe [in] our system of runaway, unaccountable, lawbreaking pursuit of profit,” she told the conference.
Instead, she said, the world needed to adopt “a cooperative, collaborative” system, “whose economy … benefits the middle and lower classes and marginalised people”.
‘Inspirational': Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez applauds mayors’ Global Green New Deal
Read more
“Our current logic created this mess and operating in the same way will not get us out.”
This uncompromising message won her a powerful round of applause. But it was when she came to the impact climate change had had on her own life, and on her family in Puerto Rico, that she became emotional.
“I speak to you as a human being, a woman whose dreams of motherhood now taste bittersweet because of what I know about our children’s future,” she said, her voice breaking as if she was struggling to hold back tears.
“That our actions are responsible for bringing their most dire possibilities into focus.”
From the moment she began speaking, the main hall at the summit became completely still, and when she finished, the ovation she received far exceeded that received by the veteran climate campaigner and former vice-president Al Gore, Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen; or the UN secretary general, António Guterres.
“She got a rockstar welcome in that audience,” Nicholas Reece, a city councillor from Melbourne, Australia, said. “There’s just something about her which is really mobilising and electrifying people around the world, particularly young people.”
After her speech, Ocasio-Cortez joined the weekly Fridays for Future rally outside Copenhagen city hall, where she called on the gathered activists to “make sure the politicians sweat a little bit”.
Ka kite Ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/oct/11/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-c40-world-mayors-summit-climate-crisis
Some Eco Maori Music For The Minute.
https://youtu.be/KSN7Nz4ECQM
Kia Ora 1 News.
Its great that a quater of Aotearoa Mayors are Wahine.
Jailhouse witness will say what ever they are told to say times are changing.
I don't agree our farms need to respect our futures environment and Wai of course they are going to cry foul about the new water laws when I drive around I see Wai ways not fence off and stock in them these are dry stock farms.
Don't you think its suspicious that all of a sudden there's heaps of data breaches now we have a Left leaning Government.
Te Wahine will lead Ngapuhi towards the correct route to build a moanga for their Mokopuna.
I think Wellington Bucket fountain is cool.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
Its good to hear that Te Maori party wants to line up with the left Tangata .
Ka pai to all Te tangata whenua running for Council in Turangi Nui A Kiwa.
Its great to see that Rotorua has elected a diverse selection of councilors.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora The Breakfast Show.
I read a article about someone examineing our history he came to a conclusion that it was ballance of the left and right side of man Yin Yang. He was 1/2 correct it is ballance but the correct fact is its a ballance of human leadership between Wahine and Tane 50/50.
Nice Bubble. It amazing me that tangata have a 1 minute memorie.
Ha what about the Great statement I will not raise GST he loaded Aotearoa taxes load on the Common Poor people who have to spend all their putea guess what culture has the most poor tangata. The big elephant in the room on Kiwisaver is the way the broke rates went up to %10 to 20 under shonky is it a coincidence that banks prophets went through the roof to I think not.
Wai is a taonga. Tangata need to learn to give it respect try to use as little as possible so Our other beings creatures on Papatuanuku can live a long healthy life look around Papatuanuku and see what happens when we use it in excess and treat it like a thing that is only created for tangata.
Its a fact that money rules the Papatuanuku not logic.
Congratulations on 5 years of being Alcohol free.
Ka kite Ano
I think the the local tangata of Ethiopia National Wildlife parks should be running the parks this method will solve quite a few problems.
Last wolves in Africa: the fragile wildlife of Ethiopia's ravaged parks
Conservationist Getachew Assefa points across the valley. “It started close to the mist over there, by the most spectacular viewpoint,” he says. “Almost all the grassland was burnt. All of that plateau and the steep cliff over there.”
Six months after wildfires torched this part of Ethiopia’s Simien Mountains, the scars are healing: heather and grass have returned to carpet the hilltop, brightened by the yellow daisies which bloom after the long rains. On the near side of the valley lie barley fields, rippling in the wind.
The scene is bucolic. But, as Assefa explains, these montane grasslands and the rare wildlife they host are under threat.
The Simien Mountains are home to the highly endangered Ethiopian wolf. Photograph: Claudio Sillero/EWCP
Two fires broke out earlier this year, ravaging one of the oldest natural Unesco world heritage sites, and destroying, at least temporarily, the habitat of some of the world’s rarest species: the copper-coated Ethiopian wolf and the walia ibex, a goat found nowhere else on earth
Few doubt the blazes’ cause. The park’s wolf monitors – which include Assefa – saw, through binoculars, two men setting tussocks alight, though they couldn’t confirm their identities.
For Crane, one answer is to increase the park price for foreign visitors, to try to limit the number coming to the Simien Mountains each year.
Meanwhile Watkin suggests Ethiopia considers alternative conservation approaches that allow communities to take ownership of the process, moving away from the state-led “fortress conservation” model that prevails. He notes examples in Kenya and Tanzania, where local communities run eco-lodges and tourism ventures while ensuring the landscape is protected. “They’re 20 to 30 years ahead of Ethiopia in this,” he says.
Such approaches might make it possible for Ethiopia to square the circle between conservation and development.
“The core of the problem is that tourism is not working for the locals,” says Joshua Amlakse, a Simien Mountains guide. “Nothing ends up in the local community
Ka kite Ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/11/last-wolves-in-africa-fragile-wildlife-ethiopia-park
Let hope that European Investment Bank does the correct thing and stops lending to fossil fuel companies. Its a logical step to take considering the facts that Europe is going to be one of the hardest hit by Global Warming and sea level rising. Some countries are already feeling the negative effects of Global Warming Sea levels rising need I say whom.
Divestment works – and one huge bank can lead the way
Bill McKibben
On 15 October, the European Investment Bank meets to decide its policy on fossil fuels. The hand of history is on its shoulder
Millions of people marched against climate crisis over the past two weeks, in some of the largest demonstrations of the millennium. Most people cheered the students who led the rallies – call them the Greta Generation. But now we’ll start to find out if all their earnest protest actually matters.
EIB plans to cut all funding for fossil fuel projects by 2020
Read more
Perhaps the first real test will come on 15 October, when the board of the EU’s European Investment Bank – the largest public bank in the world – meets to decide whether the time has finally come to stop expanding the fossil fuel sector. This should be a no-brainer decision: the bank’s staff has put forward a cogent proposal, supported by campaigners across the continent, that would end loans to new fossil fuel projects by 2020.
And if the EIB does act, it will send a strong signal to markets and to other lenders. For almost a decade now, observers have understood that restricting the flow of money to the fossil fuel industry is a key part of the climate fight. That’s why endowments and portfolios worth more than $11tn have begun divesting their fossil fuel stocks; last month the University of California system became the latest big player to join in, scrubbing its $80bn endowment and pension fund of fossil fuel stocks. Heck, even a major American utility announced that it was divesting its pension fund because it could see where the future lay.
The fifteenth of October is a crucial day in the most important fight the planet has ever faced, and a sign of whether Europe’s governments, particularly those of Germany and Italy, who insiders report have been strongly against a fossil-free EIB policy, will respond with open hearts to the outpouring of hope we have seen in the past weeks.
• Bill McKibben is the founder of the grassroots climate campaign 350.org and author of Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?
Ka kite Ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/oct/13/divestment-bank-european-investment-fossil-fuels
Kia Ora 1 News.
Ka pai to the Canadian Rugby team for helping clean up in Japan.
Congratulations to Japan for making the 1/4 finals in the Rugby Papatuanuku Cup.
The kane toads a killing Australia native wildlife Australia has had A problem with Kane TOADS for a while – – – – – – – – – – -??????? Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
That's awesome a recycling old phones system that cool that some are being reused a lot of phones just need new batteries.
That's a great idea a public holiday to remember The New Zealand Wars this event needs to be known by all Kiwis Ka pai Ming
Kia Kaha to the students striking for their future climate the harder you mahi the better future you will have.
Japan made the 1/4 finals in Te Papatuanuku Rugby Cup it awesome to see Te Tangata Whenua o Aotearoa connections.
7 week programme to teach tamariki about respecting Wai Awa and Tangaroa ki ora.
Excellent Ngāti Porou Tane training people about how to hunt and gather Open Places.
Congratulations on your being honoured for your great Waiata Dennis Mash
Ka kite Ano
https://youtu.be/g_D5vzqBVWo
Kia Ora Breakfast.
Tawhirimate has been going strong and still is I had to reset my satellite dish because it had moved my wind turbine is going to.
Elton John is a incredibly talented person.
Kiwi Space radar is a very good idea tracking space rubbish space junk. Keeping a track of the junk so other space vehicles /devices can stay clear of the space junk.
Its good that Pharmac is going to pay for things that some Wahine need.
I agree the Big interest in Wahine Sports around the Papatuanuku is not A fad Nicola from the Wahine Sports institute of Minnesota
Biketober is a great way to get the Tangata of Christchurch out of cars and onto bike that is good for our environment and one's health. We have Ebikes now.
Condolences to the person who was losted in the Yacht sinking.
That's the big picture put the bottle of Alcohol down bar fight
Trampolines are great exasize for Te mokopuna in Tawhirimate like this they have to be weighted down sand bags on the feet. I went to check my cows one morning next minute I got there a neighbour trampoline had blown onto my electric set fence cows had broken out and made a mess.
Ka kite Ano
It's amazing technology that has made it very easy for the Papatuanuku to change to Green Carbon free Energy. I congratulate the 3 scientists for their Awesome improvements of batteries that are going to power our Futures
Nobel prize in chemistry awarded for work on lithium-ion batteries
John B Goodenough, M Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino honoured for sparking a portable technology revolution
The Nobel prize in chemistry has been awarded to three scientists for their work in developing lithium-ion batteries.
John B Goodenough of the University of Texas at Austin, M Stanley Whittingham of Binghamton University and Akira Yoshino of Meijo University will receive equal shares of the 9m Swedish kronor (£74o,000) prize, which was announced by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm on Wednesday.
At 97 years old, Goodenough is the oldest laureate to receive a Nobel prize in any discipline; Whittingham is the second British-born researcher to win a science Nobel this year.
Ion age: why the future will be battery powered
Read more
Lithium-ion batteries have long been tipped for the award, not least since they have proved pivotal in the development of the high-tech world we inhabit.
“They have laid the foundation of a wireless, fossil fuel-free society, and are of the greatest benefit to humankind,” the academy said.
Far lighter and more compact than earlier types of rechargeable battery, and able to hold their charge for longer, they are found in everything from mobile phones to laptops and electric cars.
“The [electric car] batteries no longer weigh two tonnes, but 300kg,” said Prof Sara Snogerup Linse, a member of the Nobel committee for chemistry. “The ability to store energy from renewable sources, the sun, the wind, opens up for sustainable energy consumption,” she added.
The upshot was a lightweight, compact battery that could be recharged many, many times – the bedrock of modern technology. The battery continues to be developed, not least to improve its environmental impact.
Prof Dame Carol Robinson, president of the Royal Society of Chemistry, said battery technology remained an exciting field.
“It’s not the end of the journey, as lithium is a finite resource and many scientists around the world are building on the foundations laid by these three brilliant chemists,” she said Ka kite Ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/oct/09/nobel-prize-in-chemistry-awarded-for-work-on-lithium-ion-batteries
yeah, right. TUI
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/lithium-batteries-environment-impact
cause we want our cars, we are deserving of our cars, we shall not be using public transport, we are entitled to our private transport, and the world can get fucked, so as long as i have mine and my comforts. besides you and i shall never see the mess lithium mining makes so it must be green, and good, and such.
I know Sabine. But few developed nations aren't hooked on them, or well on their way to still becoming hooked? Private motorcars that is.
But a general rule of thumb is that, aside from the basics pertaining to well being, from a consumption standpoint, as newer generations come along, what they have not had the use of cannot be missed by them. This rule also extends to private motorcars.
Considering this, it is easy to seriously consider the likelihood that global plans have been on the drawing board for quite some time to fully maximise the use of shared transport to the point where most living in even moderately sized locales will be heavily discouraged from private vehicle ownership, or forbidden outright to do so relatively soon.
By 2035, a child born in New Zealand today may well be forced to use modernized, high technology public transport infrastructure as their primary or sole means of wheeled of transport, even in little old isolated K1W1.
However, if New Zealand plays its cards right with regard to what I suspect is a general global understanding based on resource and environmental necessity, it may well end up with a stay of execution, and may well be one of the last countries on the planet to still continue to provide private motor vehicle options for the mainstream public past 2035.
In part, Ms Collins puts up some reasonable argument in relation to petroleum, carbon emissions and the global warming topic. But she would, wouldn’t she? As many respondents have already indicated, many of her assertions are not so widely accepted. But it is not all anecdotal in support of current energy use.
Perhaps most New Zealanders may not have considered where things are so likely to be heading to, and soon. Perhaps partly because little has really been done politically to deprive people of the opportunity to acquire private motor cars, petrol, diesel or electric.
There are a very fearful group of NZ politicians who suspect that their political futures would be curtailed if they voted in favor of any such future policy. Not because of any underhand mechanism backed by the oil industry or motor vehicle manufacturing industry obstructing them or punishing them for being so bold, but as a result of the bitterness of a general public which will always hold long memories on matters pertaining to the removal of their traditional lifestyle "choices".
I wouldn't blame politicians for adopting this stance, nor damn them for acting on such fears. After all, it's not the same as a plastic bag or tobacco campaign.
Personally I am grateful for the motor vehicle advantage that I've had over the coarse of my life. Selfish sounding, I guess.
A well respected and noted American (Robert Lutz) who held senior positions with General Motors, Ford and Chrysler has put forward his stance on the likely path that will be taken in relation to private motor car ownership in the medium term, and he's not the only person with a wealth of automotive industry senior management experience to hold similar views.
Petroleum fueled private motor cars out, and battery powered in. This wont bring about a cessation in the use of petroleum products as fuel alternative, but will redirect the use of it to industries and mechanisms considered critical. This currently includes passenger airliners and merchant marine, (not just military or industries described as dirty).
If the current manufacture of such components are an environmental issue for many in the meantime, then it is just the price that is paid for attempting to continue to provide both convenience and lifestyle related mechanism to a very hungry, consumption orientated global market, and with a global population growing at a rate of about 220,000 people a day.
its ok. don't worry, you are not the only one who is happy to replace fossil fuel with lithium mining. its hard giving up privilege and comfort especially when we are grown accustomed to it. Lifestyle they call it. Right?
Yes Sabine. To use a (sort of) oxymoron; happy, in a sad sort of way.
So, agreed. New Zealander's are very accustomed to it, rich and poor. And they are so unlikely to break the habit any time soon.
Wheels, (and perhaps nuts as well)!
I Question these figures to as Cat poo thing YEA RIGHT get off the grass
Questions remain over Māui threat plan cost
Ongoing drama surrounds the Māui and Hector's dolphin threat management plan, with worries key information is not being made public promptly
The way costs were calculated for fishing bans to protect Māui and Hector’s dolphins is under review – but will go to Government ministers before the public is told
For one year, stopping set-netting in 14,600 square km off the west coast of the North Island, the draft plan estimates a reduction of total economic value of $16.8m.This is based on the lost revenue of what the fish sells for, as well as value from processing and supply.
Yeoman’s estimation of the value of the fishery is substantially lower, at $1.1m.
With only 63 Māui dolphins remaining, the stakes are high for the sub-species. The threat management plan proposes human-induced deaths of Māui dolphins need to be reduced to as “near as practicable to zero”.
It hasn't just been economists querying numbers. Scientists have disagreed with a calculation regarding the impact of toxoplasmosis on Māui dolphins. The plan estimates two Māui dolphin die each year due to the disease, making it more lethal to the species than commercial fishing. This was based on analysis of dead dolphins and interpreting what's found in dead dolphins to what is happening with live dolphins
Ka kite Ano link below
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/10/15/859096/hold-maui-dolphin
Kia Ora 1 News.
That's is cool the Japan Rugby fan painting the rugby Jersey on his skin and becoming a celebrity in the process.
Minority culture being treated very badly in America no guns Condolences to Miss Jefferson whanau for their loss.
I seen the launch of that Manuka Honey Branded product that's being sold in Harrods Britain.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
Awsome a Maori centred $ 80 million building being built in Rotorua
Awsome that some schools are getting more putea especially the Maori ones everyone knows we are pohara.
I''' our netball team is in good form
Mana Wahine Te Wahine sports stars are shining bright now Kia Kaha
Ka kite Ano