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
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?
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
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.
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
Sooner or later, like a gym bro flexing in the mirror, like a teen rolling their eyes, like a mansplainer patronisingly clearing his throat, the ACT party will start talking about privatisation.In the eyes of David Seymour and his LinkedIn ACTolytes, there's not a thing in this world that cannot ...
Confession: I used to follow US politics and UK politics - never as closely as this - but enough to identify the broad themes.I stopped following US politics after I came to the somewhat painful realisation that my perception was simply that - a perception. Mountain Tui is a reader-supported ...
Life is cruel, life is toughLife is crazy, then it all turns to dustWe let 'em out, we let 'em inWe'll let 'em know when it's the tipping point. The tipping point.Songwriters: Roland Orzabal / Charlton PettusYesterday, we saw the annual pilgrimage to Rātana, traditionally the first event in our ...
The invitation to comment on the proposed Regulatory Standards Bill opens with Minister David Seymour stating ‘[m]ost of New Zealand's problems can be traced to poor productivity, and poor productivity can be traced to poor regulations’. I shall have little to say about the first proposition except I can think ...
My friend Selwyn Manning and I are wondering what to do with our podcast “A View from Afar.” Some readers will also have tuned into the podcast, which I regularly feature on KP as a media link. But we have some thinking to do about how to proceed, and it ...
Don't try to hide it; love wears no disguiseI see the fire burning in your eyesSong: Madonna and Stephen BrayThis week, the National Party held its annual retreat to devise new slogans, impressing the people who voted for them and making the rest of us cringe at the hollow words, ...
Support my work through a paid subscription, a coffee or reading and sharing. Thank you - I appreciate you all.Luxon’s penchant for “economic growth”Yesterday morning, I warned libertarianism had penetrated the marrow of the NZ Coalition agenda, and highlighted libertarian Peter Thiel’s comments that democracy and freedom are unable to ...
A couple of recent cases suggest that the courts are awarding significant sums for defamation even where the publication is very small. This is despite the new rule that says plaintiffs, if challenged, have to show that the publication they are complaining about has caused them “more then minor harm.” ...
Damages for breaches of the Privacy Act used to be laughable. The very top award was $40,000 to someone whose treatment in an addiction facility was revealed to the media. Not only was it taking an age for the Human Rights Review Tribunal to resolve cases, the awards made it ...
It’s Friday and we’ve got Auckland Anniversary weekend ahead of us so we’ve pulled together a bumper crop of things that caught our attention this week. This post, like all our work, is brought to you by a largely volunteer crew and made possible by generous donations from our readers ...
Long stories short, the six things of interest in the political economy in Aotearoa around housing, climate and poverty on Friday January 24 are:PM Christopher Luxon’s State of the Nationspeech in Auckland yesterday, in which he pledged a renewed economic growth focus;Luxon’s focused on a push to bring in ...
Hi,It’s been ages since I’ve done an AMA on Webworm — and so, as per usual, ask me what you want in the comments section, and over the next few days I’ll dive in and answer things. This is a lil’ perk for paying Webworm members that keep this place ...
I’m trying a new way to do a more regular and timely daily Dawn Choruses for paying subscribers through a live video chat about the day’s key six things @ 6.30 am lasting about 10 minues. This email is the invite to that chat on the substack app on your ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on Donald Trump’s first executive orders to reverse Joe Biden’s emissions reductions policies and pull the United States out of ...
The Prime Minister’s State of the Nation speech yesterday was the kind of speech he should have given a year ago.Finally, we found out why he is involved in politics.Last year, all we heard from him was a catalogue of complaints about Labour.But now, he is redefining National with its ...
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 ...
Aotearoa's science sector is broken. For 35 years it has been run on a commercial, competitive model, while being systematically underfunded. Which means we have seven different crown research institutes and eight different universities - all publicly owned and nominally working for the public good - fighting over the same ...
One of the best speakers I ever saw was Sir Paul Callaghan.One of the most enthusiastic receptions I have ever, ever seen for a speaker was for Sir Paul Callaghan.His favourite topic was: Aotearoa and what we were doing with it.He did not come to bury tourism and agriculture but ...
The Tertiary Education Union is predicting a “brutal year” for the tertiary sector as 240,000 students and teachers at Te Pūkenga face another year of uncertainty. The Labour Party are holding their caucus retreat, with Chris Hipkins still reflecting on their 2023 election loss and signalling to media that new ...
The Prime Minister’s State of the Nation speech is an exercise in smoke and mirrors which deflects from the reality that he has overseen the worst economic growth in 30 years, said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff. “Luxon wants to “go for growth” but since he and Nicola ...
People get readyThere's a train a-comingYou don't need no baggageYou just get on boardAll you need is faithTo hear the diesels hummingDon't need no ticketYou just thank the LordSongwriter: Curtis MayfieldYou might have seen Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde's speech at the National Prayer Service in the US following Trump’s elevation ...
Long stories short, the six things of interest in the political economy in Aotearoa around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday January 23 are:PM Christopher Luxon’s State of the Nation speech after midday today, which I’ll attend and ask questions at;Luxon is expected to announce “new changes to incentivise research ...
I’m trying a new way to do a more regular and timely daily Dawn Choruses for paying subscribers through a live video chat about the day’s key six things @ 6.30 am lasting about 10 minues. This email is the invite to that chat on the substack app on your ...
Yesterday, Trump pardoned the founder of Silk Road - a criminal website designed to anonymously trade illicit drugs, weapons and services. The individual had been jailed for life in 2015 after an FBI sting.But libertarian interest groups had lobbied Donald Trump, saying it was “government overreach” to imprison the man, ...
The Prime Minister will unveil more of his economic growth plan today as it becomes clear that the plan is central to National’s election pitch in 2026. Christopher Luxon will address an Auckland Chamber of Commerce meeting with what is being billed a “State of the Nation” speech. Ironically, after ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). 2025 has only just begun, but already climate scientists are working hard to unpick what could be in ...
The NZCTU’s view is that “New Zealand’s future productivity to 2050” is a worthwhile topic for the upcoming long-term insights briefing. It is important that Ministers, social partners, and the New Zealand public are aware of the current and potential productivity challenges and opportunities we face and the potential ...
The NZCTU supports a strengthening of the Commerce Act 1986. We have seen a general trend of market consolidation across multiple sectors of the New Zealand economy. Concentrated market power is evident across sectors such as banking, energy generation and supply, groceries, telecommunications, building materials, fuel retail, and some digital ...
The maxim is as true as it ever was: give a small boy and a pig everything they want, and you will get a good pig and a terrible boy.Elon Musk the child was given everything he could ever want. He has more than any one person or for that ...
A food rescue organisation has had to resort to an emergency plea for donations via givealittle because of uncertainty about whether Government funding will continue after the end of June. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Wednesday, January 22: Kairos Food ...
Leo Molloy's recent "shoplifting" smear against former MP Golriz Ghahraman has finally drawn public attention to Auror and its database. And from what's been disclosed so far, it does not look good: The massive privately-owned retail surveillance network which recorded the shopping incident involving former MP Golriz Ghahraman is ...
The defence of common law qualified privilege applies (to cut short a lot of legal jargon) when someone tells someone something in good faith, believing they need to know it. Think: telling the police that the neighbour is running methlab or dobbing in a colleague to the boss for stealing. ...
NZME plans to cut 38 jobs as it reorganises its news operations, including the NZ Herald, BusinessDesk, and Newstalk ZB. It said it planned to publish and produce fewer stories, to focus on those that engage audience. E tū are calling on the Government to step in and support the ...
Data released by Statistics New Zealand today showed that inflation remains unchanged at 2.2%, defying expectations of further declines, said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “While inflation holding steady might sound like good news, the reality is that prices for the basics—like rent, energy, and insurance—are still rising. ...
I never mentioned anythingAbout the songs that I would singOver the summer, when we'd go on tourAnd sleep on floors and drink the bad beerI think I left it unclearSong: Bad Beer.Songwriter: Jacob Starnes Ewald.Last night, I was watching a movie with Fi and the kids when I glanced ...
Last night I spoke about the second inauguration of Donald Trump with in a ‘pop-up’ Hoon live video chat on the Substack app on phones.Here’s the summary of the lightly edited video above:Trump's actions signify a shift away from international law.The imposition of tariffs could lead to increased inflation ...
An interesting article in Stuff a few weeks ago asked a couple of interesting questions in it’s headline, “How big can Auckland get? And how big is too big?“. Unfortunately, the article doesn’t really answer those questions, instead focusing on current growth projections, but there were a few aspects to ...
Today is Donald J Trump’s second inauguration ceremony.I try not to follow too much US news, and yet these developments are noteworthy and somehow relevant to us here.Only hours in, parts of their Project 2025 ‘think/junk tank’ policies — long planned and signalled — are already live:And Elon Musk, who ...
How long is it going to take for the MAGA faithful to realise that those titans of Big Tech and venture capital sitting up close to Donald Trump this week are not their allies, but The Enemy? After all, the MAGA crowd are the angry victims left behind by the ...
California Burning: The veteran firefighters of California and Los Angeles called it “a perfect storm”. The hillsides and canyons were full of “fuel”. The LA Fire Department was underfunded, below-strength, and inadequately-equipped. A key reservoir was empty, leaving fire-hydrants without the water pressure needed for fire hoses. The power companies had ...
The Waitangi Tribunal has been one of the most effective critics of the government, pointing out repeatedly that its racist, colonialist policies breach te Tiriti o Waitangi. While it has no powers beyond those of recommendation, its truth-telling has clearly gotten under the government's skin. They had already begun to ...
I don't mind where you come fromAs long as you come to meBut I don't like illusionsI can't see them clearlyI don't care, no I wouldn't dareTo fix the twist in youYou've shown me eventually what you'll doSong: Shimon Moore, Emma Anzai, Antonina Armato, and Tim James.National Hugging Day.Today, January ...
Is Rwanda turning into a country that seeks regional dominance and exterminates its rivals? This is a contention examined by Dr Michela Wrong, and Dr Maria Armoudian. Dr Wrong is a journalist who has written best-selling books on Africa. Her latest, Do Not Disturb. The story of a political murder ...
The economy isn’t cooperating with the Government’s bet that lower interest rates will solve everything, with most metrics indicating per-capita GDP is still contracting faster and further than at any time since the 1990-96 series of government spending and welfare cuts. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short in ...
Hi,Today is the day sexual assaulter and alleged rapist Donald Trump officially became president (again).I was in a meeting for three hours this morning, so I am going to summarise what happened by sharing my friend’s text messages:So there you go.Welcome to American hell — which includes all of America’s ...
This is a re-post from the Climate BrinkI have a new paper out today in the journal Dialogues on Climate Change exploring both the range of end-of-century climate outcomes in the literature under current policies and the broader move away from high-end emissions scenarios. Current policies are defined broadly as policies in ...
Long story short: I chatted last night with ’s on the substack app about the appointment of Chris Bishop to replace Simeon Brown as Transport Minister. We talked through their different approaches and whether there’s much room for Bishop to reverse many of the anti-cycling measures Brown adopted.Our chat ...
Last night I chatted with Northland emergency doctor on the substack app for subscribers about whether the appointment of Simeon Brown to replace Shane Reti as Health Minister. We discussed whether the new minister can turn around decades of under-funding in real and per-capita terms. Our chat followed his ...
Christopher Luxon is every dismal boss who ever made you wince, or roll your eyes, or think to yourself I have absolutely got to get the hell out of this place.Get a load of what he shared with us at his cabinet reshuffle, trying to be all sensitive and gracious.Dr ...
The text of my submission to the Ministry of Health's unnecessary and politicised review of the use of puberty blockers for young trans and nonbinary people in Aotearoa. ...
Hi,Last night one of the world’s biggest social media platforms, TikTok, became inaccessible in the United States.Then, today, it came back online.Why should we care about a social network that deals in dance trends and cute babies? Well — TikTok represents a lot more than that.And its ban and subsequent ...
Sometimes I wake in the middle of the nightAnd rub my achin' old eyesIs that a voice from inside-a my headOr does it come down from the skies?"There's a time to laugh butThere's a time to weepAnd a time to make a big change"Wake-up you-bum-the-time has-comeTo arrange and re-arrange and ...
Former Health Minister Shane Reti was the main target of Luxon’s reshuffle. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short to start the year in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate: Christopher Luxon fired Shane Reti as Health Minister and replaced him with Simeon Brown, who Luxon sees ...
Yesterday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced a cabinet reshuffle, which saw Simeon Brown picking up the Health portfolio as it’s been taken off Dr Shane Reti, and Transport has been given to Chris Bishop. Additionally, Simeon’s energy and local government portfolios now sit with Simon Watts. This is very good ...
The sacking of Health Minister Shane Reti yesterday had an air of panic about it. A media advisory inviting journalists to a Sunday afternoon press conference at Premier House went out on Saturday night. Caucus members did not learn that even that was happening until yesterday morning. Reti’s fate was ...
Yesterday’s demotion of Shane Reti was inevitable. Reti’s attempt at a re-assuring bedside manner always did have a limited shelf life, and he would have been a poor and apologetic salesman on the campaign trail next year. As a trained doctor, he had every reason to be looking embarrassed about ...
A listing of 25 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 12, 2025 thru Sat, January 18, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
After another substantial hiatus from online Chess, I’ve been taking it up again. I am genuinely terrible at five-minute Blitz, what with the tight time constraints, though I periodically con myself into thinking that I have been improving. But seeing as my past foray into Chess led to me having ...
Rise up o children wont you dance with meRise up little children come and set me freeRise little ones riseNo shame no fearDon't you know who I amSongwriter: Rebecca Laurel FountainI’m sure you know the go with this format. Some memories, some questions, letsss go…2015A decade ago, I made the ...
In 2017, when Ghahraman was elected to Parliament as a Green MP, she recounted both the highlights and challenges of her role -There was love, support, and encouragement.And on the flipside, there was intense, visceral and unchecked hate.That came with violent threats - many of them. More on that later.People ...
It gives me the biggest kick to learn that something I’ve enthused about has been enough to make you say Go on then, I'm going to do it. The e-bikes, the hearing aids, the prostate health, the cheese puffs. And now the solar power. Yes! Happy to share the details.We ...
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. Can CO2 be ...
The old bastard left his ties and his suitA brown box, mothballs and bowling shoesAnd his opinion so you'd never have to choosePretty soon, you'll be an old bastard tooYou get smaller as the world gets bigThe more you know you know you don't know shit"The whiz man" will never ...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.The Numbers2024 could easily have been National’s “Annus Horribilis” and 2025 shows no signs of a reprieve for our Landlord PM Chris Luxon and his inept Finance Minister Nikki “Noboats” Willis.Several polls last year ...
This Friday afternoon, Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka announced an overhaul of the Waitangi Tribunal.The government has effectively cleared house - appointing 8 new members - and combined with October’s appointment of former ACT leader Richard Prebble, that’s 9 appointees.[I am not certain, but can only presume, Prebble went in ...
The state of the current economy may be similar to when National left office in 2017.In December, a couple of days after the Treasury released its 2024 Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update (HEYFU24), Statistics New Zealand reported its estimate for volume GDP for the previous September 24 quarter. Instead ...
So what becomes of you, my love?When they have finally stripped you ofThe handbags and the gladragsThat your poor old granddadHad to sweat to buy you, babySongwriter: Mike D'aboIn yesterday’s newsletter, I expressed sadness at seeing Golriz Ghahraman back on the front pages for shoplifting. As someone who is no ...
It’s Friday and time for another roundup of things that caught our attention this week. This post, like all our work, is brought to you by a largely volunteer crew and made possible by generous donations from our readers and fans. If you’d like to support our work, you can join ...
Note: This Webworm discusses sexual assault and rape. Please read with care.Hi,A few weeks ago I reported on how one of New Zealand’s richest men, Nick Mowbray (he and his brother own Zuru and are worth an estimated $20 billion), had taken to sharing posts by a British man called ...
The final Atlas Network playbook puzzle piece is here, and it slipped in to Aotearoa New Zealand with little fan fare or attention. The implications are stark.Today, writes Dr Bex, the submission for the Crimes (Countering Foreign Interference) Amendment Bill closes: 11:59pm January 16, 2025.As usual, the language of the ...
Excitement in the seaside village! Look what might be coming! 400 million dollars worth of investment! In the very beating heart of the village! Are we excited and eager to see this happen, what with every last bank branch gone and shops sitting forlornly quiet awaiting a customer?Yes please, apply ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to stand firm and work with allies to progress climate action as Donald Trump signals his intent to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords once again. ...
The Green Party has welcomed the provisional ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, and reiterated its call for New Zealand to push for an end to the unlawful occupation of Palestine. ...
The Green Party welcomes the extension of the deadline for Treaty Principles Bill submissions but continues to call on the Government to abandon the Bill. ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. “The Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. It’s so great to be here and I’m ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges – CEO of the Auckland ...
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. “Invest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced the largest reset of the New Zealand science system in more than 30 years with reforms which will boost the economy and benefit the sector. “The reforms will maximise the value of the $1.2 billion in government funding that goes into ...
Turbocharging New Zealand’s economic growth is the key to brighter days ahead for all Kiwis, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. In the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation Speech in Auckland today, Christopher Luxon laid out the path to the prosperity that will affect all aspects of New Zealanders’ lives. ...
The latest set of accounts show the Government has successfully checked the runaway growth of public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “In the previous government’s final five months in office, public spending was almost 10 per cent higher than for the same period the previous year. “That is completely ...
The Government’s welfare reforms are delivering results with the number of people moving off benefits into work increasing year-on-year for six straight months. “There are positive signs that our welfare reset and the return consequences for job seekers who don't fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find a job ...
Jon Kroll and Aimee McCammon have been appointed to the New Zealand Film Commission Board, Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “I am delighted to appoint these two new board members who will bring a wealth of industry, governance, and commercial experience to the Film Commission. “Jon Kroll has been an ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has hailed a drop in the domestic component of inflation, saying it increases the prospect of mortgage rate reductions and a lower cost of living for Kiwi households. Stats NZ reported today that inflation was 2.2 per cent in the year to December, the second consecutive ...
Two new appointed members and one reappointed member of the Employment Relations Authority have been announced by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden today. “I’m pleased to announce the new appointed members Helen van Druten and Matthew Piper to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) and welcome them to ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has delivered a refreshed team focused on unleashing economic growth to make people better off, create more opportunities for business and help us afford the world-class health and education Kiwis deserve. “Last year, we made solid progress on the economy. Inflation has fallen significantly and now ...
Veterans’ Affairs and a pan-iwi charitable trust have teamed up to extend the reach and range of support available to veterans in the Bay of Plenty, Veterans Minister Chris Penk says. “A major issue we face is identifying veterans who are eligible for support,” Mr Penk says. “Incredibly, we do ...
A host of new appointments will strengthen the Waitangi Tribunal and help ensure it remains fit for purpose, Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka says. “As the Tribunal nears its fiftieth anniversary, the appointments coming on board will give it the right balance of skills to continue its important mahi hearing ...
Almost 22,000 FamilyBoost claims have been paid in the first 15 days of the year, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The ability to claim for FamilyBoost’s second quarter opened on January 1, and since then 21,936 claims have been paid. “I’m delighted people have made claiming FamilyBoost a priority on ...
The Government has delivered a funding boost to upgrade critical communication networks for Maritime New Zealand and Coastguard New Zealand, ensuring frontline search and rescue services can save lives and keep Kiwis safe on the water, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “New Zealand has ...
Mahi has begun that will see dozens of affordable rental homes developed in Gisborne - a sign the Government’s partnership with Iwi is enabling more homes where they’re needed most, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. Mr Potaka attended a sod-turning ceremony to mark the start of earthworks for 48 ...
New Zealand welcomes the ceasefire deal to end hostilities in Gaza, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Over the past 15 months, this conflict has caused incomprehensible human suffering. We acknowledge the efforts of all those involved in the negotiations to bring an end to the misery, particularly the US, Qatar ...
The Associate Minster of Transport has this week told the community that work is progressing to ensure they have a secure and suitable shipping solution in place to give the Island certainty for its future. “I was pleased with the level of engagement the Request for Information process the Ministry ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour says he is proud of the Government’s commitment to increasing medicines access for New Zealanders, resulting in a big uptick in the number of medicines being funded. “The Government is putting patients first. In the first half of the current financial year there were more ...
New Zealand's first-class free trade deal and investment treaty with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been signed. In Abu Dhabi, together with UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, New Zealand Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, witnessed the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and accompanying investment treaty ...
The latest NZIER Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion, which shows the highest level of general business confidence since 2021, is a sign the economy is moving in the right direction, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “When businesses have the confidence to invest and grow, it means more jobs and higher ...
Events over the last few weeks have highlighted the importance of strong biosecurity to New Zealand. Our staff at the border are increasingly vigilant after German authorities confirmed the country's first outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in nearly 40 years on Friday in a herd of water buffalo ...
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee reminds the public that they now have an opportunity to have their say on the rewrite of the Arms Act 1983. “As flagged prior to Christmas, the consultation period for the Arms Act rewrite has opened today and will run through until 28 February 2025,” ...
Complaints about disruptive behaviour now handled in around 13 days (down from around 60 days a year ago) 553 Section 55A notices issued by Kāinga Ora since July 2024, up from 41 issued during the same period in the previous year. Of that 553, first notices made up around 83 ...
The time it takes to process building determinations has improved significantly over the last year which means fewer delays in homes being built, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “New Zealand has a persistent shortage of houses. Making it easier and quicker for new homes to be built will ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden is pleased to announce the annual list of New Zealand’s most popular baby names for 2024. “For the second consecutive year, Noah has claimed the top spot for boys with 250 babies sharing the name, while Isla has returned to the most popular ...
Work is set to get underway on a new bus station at Westgate this week. A contract has been awarded to HEB Construction to start a package of enabling works to get the site ready in advance of main construction beginning in mid-2025, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“A new Westgate ...
Minister for Children and for Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour is encouraging people to use the resources available to them to get help, and to report instances of family and sexual violence amongst their friends, families, and loved ones who are in need. “The death of a ...
By Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson For Doddy Morris, a journalist with the Vanuatu Daily Post, the 7.3 magnitude earthquake that struck Vanuatu last month on December 17, 2024, was more than just a story — it was a personal tragedy. Amid the chaos, Morris learned his brother, an Anglican priest, had ...
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation has misled the Australian Parliament and is liable to prosecution — not that government will lift a finger to enforce the law, reports Michael West Media.SPECIAL REPORT:By Michael West Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation has misled the Australian Parliament. In a submission to the Senate, ...
Opinion: Architecture has the power to shape our lives, not only in our homes and workplaces but in the public spaces that we all share. Civic architecture – our public libraries, train stations, swimming pools, schools, and other community facilities – is more than just functional infrastructure.These buildings are the ...
Asia Pacific Report A co-founder of a national Palestinian solidarity network in Aotearoa New Zealand today praised the “heroic” resilience and sacrifice of the people of Gaza in the face of Israel’s ruthless attempt to destroy the besieged enclave of more than 2 million people. Speaking at the first solidarity ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Neale Daniher, a campaigner in the fight against motor neurone disease and a former champion Essendon footballer, is the 2025 Australian of the Year, Himself a sufferer from the deadly disease Daniher, 63, who ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Peter Dutton has chosen a dark horse in naming David Coleman for the key shadow foreign affairs portfolio, in a reshuffle that also seeks to boost the opposition’s credentials with women. Coleman has been ...
By Harry Pearl of BenarNews Vanuatu’s top lawyer has called out the United States for “bad behavior” after newly inaugurated President Donald Trump withdrew the world’s biggest historic emitter of greenhouse gasses from the Paris Agreement for a second time. The Pacific nation’s Attorney-General Arnold Loughman, who led Vanuatu’s landmark ...
ACT leader David Seymour is being slammed for his "extreme right-wing policies" after saying Aotearoa needs to get past its "squeamishness" about privatisation. ...
By Moera Tuilaepa-Taylor, RNZ Pacific manager RNZ International (RNZI) began broadcasting to the Pacific region 35 years ago — on 24 January 1990, the same day the Auckland Commonwealth Games opened. Its news bulletins and programmes were carried by a brand new 100kW transmitter. The service was rebranded as RNZ ...
If you believe Prime Minister Chris Luxon economic growth will solve our problems and, if this is not just around the corner, it is at least on the horizon. It won’t be too long before things are “awesome” again. If you believe David Seymour the country is beset by much greater ...
Opinion: New Zealand’s universities are failing to prepare students for the entrepreneurial realities of the modern economy. That is a key finding of the Science System Advisory Group report released Thursday as part of the Government’s major science sector overhaul.The report highlights major gaps in entrepreneurship and industry-focused training. PhD ...
I first met Neve at a house party in Mount Maunganui. She was tall, blonde and tanned. An influencer typecast. She wore a string of pearls and a shell necklace that sat around her collarbones, and a silk dress that barely passed her crotch. Her hair was in tight curls—I ...
The Angry LeftSummer in New Zealand, and what does Christopher Luxon do about it? He goes fishing. Unbelievable.And worse, he does it in a boat. How tone-deaf is that? There he is, fishing, at sea, in a boat that would be better put to some practical use, like housing. How ...
A Complete Unknown may be fictionalised but it gets the key parts right. What is biography for? Especially the biopic, in which years and people and facts must be compressed into a mass-audience-friendly, sub-three-hour format. And what does biography do with an artist as immortal, inimitable and unwilling as Bob ...
The pool is a summery delight for swimmers and a smart move from the mayor. Last week I walked through Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter, commando and braless. After smugly setting off that morning for my second swim at the Karanga Plaza pool, dubbed Browny’s Pool by mayor Wayne Brown, I realised ...
Following his headline act in the Christchurch Buskers Festival, Alex Casey chats to Sam Wills about spending two decades as the elusive Tape Face. It’s a Thursday night at The Isaac Theatre Royal in Ōtautahi, and the fly swats, rubbish bags, and coat hangers littered across the stage make it ...
In my late 50s, I discovered long-distance hiking – and woke up to a new life infused with the rhythms of nature. The Spinoff Essay showcases the best essayists in Aotearoa, on topics big and small. Made possible by the generous support of our members.It began innocuously, just before my ...
The comedian and actor takes us through his life in television, including the British sitcom that changed his life and the trauma of 80s Telethons. You may know him best as Murray from Flight of the Conchords, or Stede Bonnet from Our Flag Means Death, but Rhys Darby is taking ...
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. Nearly every piece of advice or social trend can be boiled down to encouraging people to say “yes” more or “no” more. Dating advice has a foundation of saying yes, putting yourself out there, being open to new people and possibilities. The ...
Asia Pacific Report The Fijians for Palestine Solidarity Network (FPSN) and its allies have called for “justice and accountability” over Israel’s 15 months of genocide and war crimes. The Pacific-based network met in a solidarity gathering last night in the capital Suva hosted by the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre and ...
Analysis - There needs to be recognition of the significant risks associated with focusing on mining and tourism, Glenn Banks and Regina Scheyvens write. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Andriana Syvanych/Shutterstock Most of us are fortunate that, when we turn on the tap, clean, safe and high-quality water comes out. But a senate inquiry ...
Analysis: Try as they might, Christopher Luxon and his partners in NZ First have been unable to distance themselves from the division caused by the Treaty Principles Bill, hampering the potential for further progress in areas where the Prime Minister believes the Crown and tangata whenua can collaborate.While the celebration ...
The Treaty Principles Bill continues to dog the National Party despite Luxon's repeated efforts to communicate the legislation will not go beyond second reading. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julia Richardson, Professor of Human Resource Management, Head of School of Management, Curtin University Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock US President Donald Trump has called time on working from home. An executive order signed on the first day of his presidency this week requires all ...
The prime minister says he can mend the relationship with Māori after the bill is voted down, and he would refuse a future referendum in the next election's coalition negotiations. ...
Forest & Bird will continue to support New Zealanders to oppose these destructive activities and reminds the Prime Minister that in 2010, 40,000 people marched down Queen Street, demanding that high-value conservation land be protected from mining. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Glenn Banks, Professor of Geography, School of People, Environment and Planning, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University Getty Images Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s state-of-the-nation address yesterday focused on growth above all else. We shouldn’t rush to judgement, but at least ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Minister for Health and Medical Services has declared an HIV outbreak. Dr Ratu Atonio Rabici Lalabalavu announced 1093 new HIV cases from the period of January to September 2024. “This declaration reflects the alarming reality that HIV is evolving faster than our current services can cater for,” ...
Acting PSA National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons says the ACT proposals would take money from public services and funnel it towards private providers. Privatisation will inevitably mean syphoning money off from providing services for all to pay profits ...
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