Open mike 10/11/2023

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, November 10th, 2023 - 73 comments
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Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

73 comments on “Open mike 10/11/2023 ”

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  1. Dennis Frank 1
    10 November 2023 at 6:15 am

    We're seeing Labour's blame culture again:

    Newshub has obtained a complaint made to Labour from their mother. She accused Andersen of yelling at her daughter and son on election night, telling them, "Maybe you should have done some more door-knocking" in an aggressive way and making them feel like this was the reason Labour and Andersen lost. The mother also details another time her daughter couldn't volunteer because she was going on a family trip and Andersen allegedly yelled at her on the phone. https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/11/ginny-andersen-doesn-t-deny-bullying-allegations-in-phone-call-with-newshub.html

    In 2020, the mother said her daughter mixed up home addresses and Andersen called her "useless" and "made her feel little", it alleged.

    Newshub was among multiple media outlets which were sent this complaint – the source said they were leaking it because they were unhappy with the Labour leadership's handling of it.

    So this pattern of behaviour has been continuing for three years. Everyone naturally wonders what makes a leftist so nasty. Why default to copying the right when we need a positive alternative? Is self-improvement and character development really impossible for left-wingers? I doubt it.

    Something in their culture makes them want to take the easy way out instead. You'd think Labour's leadership would have learnt from Kiri how to respond to complaints. Apparently not!

    • AB 1.1
      10 November 2023 at 9:36 am

      Nah – just about every workplace has some of this stuff. What we are seeing is a fundamental disjunction that is seldom mentioned – that irreconcilable conflict between highly-pressured modern work and the growing cultural phenomenon of individuals believing they have a right to feel 'empowered'.

      The more cynical among us might think that the promotion of the idea that ’empowerment’ is possible despite being in a position of subordination, is a deliberate attempt to disguise the fact of subordination.

    • Louis 1.2
      10 November 2023 at 11:21 am

      "Outgoing Police Minister Ginny Andersen has said she "doesn't recall" yelling at a teenage volunteer and calling her "useless"

      https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/11/labour-mp-ginny-andersen-doesn-t-outright-rule-out-yelling-at-teenage-volunteer-calling-her-useless.html

    • Gabby 1.3
      10 November 2023 at 11:50 am

      I imagine the things that make leftists angry and the things that make Frankses angry are similar.

    • Barfly 1.4
      10 November 2023 at 12:45 pm

      "In 2020, the mother said her daughter mixed up home addresses and Andersen called her "useless" and "made her feel little", it alleged"

      If that occurred Why the fuck is the individual hanging around for more? Masochism? It's hard for me to understamd why someone would keep going back for more for a volunteer position frankly it beggars belief.

    • ianmac 1.5
      10 November 2023 at 3:11 pm

      Funny how it is potential high flyers in the Labour Party who get accused of "bullying."

      This complaint contains nebulous things like "shouting at" and "blaming." The complaint is from the mother and includes the Election night accusation just 3+ weeks ago. Who leaked the complaint to media? Labour Party? Ginny? And with case in the alleged stage how come the Media, especially Newshub, are so certain of Ginny being guilty?

      This smacks of Dirty Tricks to me.

      • Dennis Frank 1.5.1
        10 November 2023 at 4:33 pm

        My take, reading the subtext, was that it was authentic. Seems like a committed Labour family, to have sustained the volunteering despite the bitching…

        However I sympathise with your scepticism. Once upon a time I naively assumed that anyone who joined the Greens would be ethical! frown

      • Anne 1.5.2
        10 November 2023 at 4:58 pm

        Funny how it is potential high flyers in the Labour Party who get accused of "bullying.

        And they are nearly always Labour women.

        As for the past attempt to smear the Hutt Valley Labour Party's financial arrangements with a union which amounted to a paltry few thousand dollars per annum:

        how much of that $8 billion lodged in the Nat’s campaign kitty was dirty money? It would not surprise me if it was quite a bit.

        Two can play at that game.

    • SPC 1.6
      10 November 2023 at 3:46 pm

      One leftist, all leftist … really?

      • Dennis Frank 1.6.1
        10 November 2023 at 4:28 pm

        Not really, of course. Generalising is just a thing people do, part of human nature. One can often find exceptions to a general rule…

  2. RRM 2
    10 November 2023 at 6:56 am

    Too many gins in Ginny and the mask slips. This doesn't sound very #kind. Gaurav was right.

    https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/301005635/labour-investigates-bullying-complaint-against-mp-ginny-andersen

    And even Labour Party people don't like Helen White, want to see her fail:

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/11/election-2023-amelia-wade-analysis-labour-insider-hopes-helen-white-loses-recount-another-says-she-s-condescending-entitled.html

    Looks like the wheels have completely fallen off. The next Labour PM isn't even in parliament yet.

    • pat 2.1
      10 November 2023 at 7:19 am

      As David Mitchell says (paraphrase) in the attached link…'yes they're all horrible, but the "good ones" are those who maintained stability and didn't play favourites'

    • Visubversa 2.2
      10 November 2023 at 8:16 am

      "Some" Labour people. We also had the "Backbone Club", the "Mike Moore Supporters Club", the "Anybody But Cunliffe" crowd, and a whole collection of past egoists, misfits and wreckers. We survived them – and we will survive this.

    • Barfly 2.3
      10 November 2023 at 8:34 am

      Aw

      "The next Labour PM isn't even in parliament yet."

      Neither is National's it's in recess ya numpty! cheeky

      • Incognito 2.3.1
        10 November 2023 at 9:09 am

        National’s future leaders tend to be ex-CEOs such as the current one who parachuted from above from Air New Zealand into the Party. None other NZ political party follows the vertical trickle-down of power as blatantly as the Nats; it’s in their blood. Unsurprisingly, the number of female MPs in National is low, not to mention the representation of other social groups in the NZ population.

        • alwyn 2.3.1.1
          10 November 2023 at 10:26 am

          "National’s future leaders tend to be ex-CEOs ".

          That is an interesting hypothesis but do you have any evidence for it having occurred at any time prior to Luxon?

          Hamilton? No

          Holland? – No

          Holyoake? No

          Marshall? No

          Muldoon? No

          McLay? No

          Bolger? No

          Shipley? No

          English? No

          Brash? Yes, for a very short period. Broadbank and the Kiwifruit Authority I believe.

          Key? No

          Bridges? No

          Muller? No

          Collins? No

          Hardly very much of a Trend, is it?

          • Ghostwhowalks 2.3.1.1.1
            10 November 2023 at 5:08 pm

            Key wasnt a CEO , but like Luxon, Muller were corporate ladder climbers, who got near or at the top

    • Louis 2.4
      10 November 2023 at 11:13 am

      Gaurav was proven to have bullied his staff, he was also a headache to PS. The way Amelia and Tova were speaking to Helen White, this looked like a media beat up to me.

      "You guys are really going for me, is there any particular reason?"

      https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/11/election-2023-labour-s-helen-white-still-proud-of-result-despite-just-20-vote-victory-recount-happening.html

      • Incognito 2.4.1
        10 November 2023 at 11:24 am

        FYI, RRM is a RW troll whose natural habitat is over at KB.

      • Anne 2.4.2
        10 November 2023 at 5:13 pm

        "You guys are really going for me, is there any particular reason?"

        Helen White made the stupid claim that she had "done very well" in Mt Albert when she clearly had not. In doing so, she opened up the opportunity for the gotcha journos to "go for her". She should have had the sense to say nothing.

        • Louis 2.4.2.1
          10 November 2023 at 11:19 pm

          I can see why Helen White said that when other safe Labour seats went blue.

          • Anne 2.4.2.1.1
            11 November 2023 at 9:41 am

            The problem with that Louis, Mt Albert was regarded as the safest Labour seat in the country. Most people thought it would be impossible to turn that seat around.

            The last time Mt.Albert came under threat was in 1975 when Muldoon offered a massive superannuation bribe which brought NZ close to bankruptcy nine years later. Even then the margin between the two parties was iirc somewhere between 250 -300 votes.

            • Louis 2.4.2.1.1.1
              11 November 2023 at 1:02 pm

              Covid has turned everything upside down. Auckland's anger over the last lockdown, and as the election showed, Labour seats were not safe. 2020 red wave. 2023 blue wave.

              • Anne …
                11 November 2023 at 7:29 pm

                yes

                To put it bluntly, the majority of the population don't give a tinker's cuss (as my old Dad used to say) about anyone but themselves and who belongs to them.

                • Dave W …
                  15 November 2023 at 10:37 pm

                  Helen White did really well to keep our electorate when cabinet ministers went down with Michael in Mt Roskill, Deborah lost New Lynn for the first time since the electorate was established in 1964. Peeni lost Tāmaki Makarau (although it is suspicious and unfair having a polling booth in the marae that the leading opponent was CEO of).

                  Melissa Lee had more experience and brand recognition than Carlos Chung and Paulo Garcia. But for Helen and her fantastic campaign team's hard work, then there is no question that we would have lost this seat too. Ricardo Menenmendez-March has name recognition and it was disappointing the Greens campaigned so hard for the electorate vote with a two ticks green campaign (unlike Mt Roskill and New Lynn). Some would call that selfish. There were boundary changes and high end housing being completed that also made it harder for Helen than for other Labour MPs – yet she still won!

                  The attacks by media, particularly Amelia Wade at Newshub supported by Jenna Lynch, Tova, and the green party attack blogger Martyn Bradbury on The Daily Blog are disgraceful. Helen's professionalism and skill as a leading lawyer are clearly evident. If Helen was in Wellington, we'd miss her, but she would have easily won Rongotai or Wellington Central. It is just not as easy for us getting votes in Auckland as it is in Wellington!

                  The statistics also show how well Helen did on the party vote. Next door in Epsom we got under 15%! Helen got 27% which is slightly HIGHER than the nationwide average. In surrounding electorates the party vote dropped more than in Mt Albert. Yes the tide was going out swiftly and so heavily in Auckland so we dropped a bit from 48.6% party vote in 2020 to 27.0%. But in New Lynn we dropped even more from 53.3% down to 27.3%, in Te Atatu from 58.1% down to 33.0%, in Mt Roskill down from 55.7% to 30.0%, Kelston 61.9% to 38.0%, Pakuranga 41.8% down to 16.3%, and Takanini 54.5% down to 27.1%. In all of these electorates Helen again outperformed. This is why this media beat up defies the statistics and Helen is absolutely 100% right, that she did very well. It really annoys me them attacking an obviously extremely hard working diligent MP that ran an excellent campaign in the face of attacks from both left and right. I fear the media are making up leaks by not naming the sources – as they will not exist.

                  We are lucky to have patriots like Helen White representing us, and without our brilliant and super-talented campaign team in Mt Albert, then this too would have joined the majority of Auckland electorates in turning blue too.

                  This storm will pass. Helen did brilliantly to hold our electorate in light of everything. Just sticking up to and pushing back to media makes us admire Helen even more. We can only thank Helen so much for her service. We are lucky to have someone of her calibre, that cares about people, worker's rights, a great health & education system, and providing affordable housing.

                  • Anne …
                    17 November 2023 at 9:44 am

                    Only just discovered your comment Dave W.

                    I grew up in Mt Albert and was closely aligned to the Mt. Albert Labour Party in the 1970s and part of the 80s. I shifted to the North Shore in 1984 and lost contact with my former Labour colleagues.

                    Before me, my father and Warren Freer [who was the MP for Mt Albert for 34 years until Helen Clark took over in 1981] were good friends so my ties went back a long way. It seemed inconceivable that Mt Albert could ever fall to the Nats but now that you have explained the back-ground I can see what happened.

                    Since making those comments we have seen further negativity aimed at other women Labour MPs and former Cabinet Ministers. Ginny Anderson is the latest.

                    There seems to be an orchestrated attempt to discredit them, in part perhaps to cover-up for the National Party's less than skillful attempts to organise a coalition government.

  3. lprent 3
    10 November 2023 at 9:57 am

    Hopefully fixed the update problem with TS on mobiles. The update to WordPress 6.4 broke the theme used for the mobile plugin.

    Just trying to clear the offsite cache now to force a update.

    • lprent 3.1
      10 November 2023 at 10:40 am

      Nope. The problem appears to be with the mobile plugin not loading CSS. Pushed it back to the plugin support. Disabled the mobile plugin.

      I will have a look at it tomorrow and see if I can identify the bug.

      • weka 3.1.1
        10 November 2023 at 12:19 pm

        any chance the commenting fault on the desktop version can be fixed? Still can't reply to comments. Safari on iOS 17.1.1

        I think this is why some people don't use the reply button and just do a new comment.

        • Barfly 3.1.1.1
          10 November 2023 at 12:48 pm

          Reply button working fine for me on chrome

        • lprent 3.1.1.2
          11 November 2023 at 10:20 am

          Hunting around for a testing site that lets me look at a recent iOS (and doesn't want an ongoing subscription).

          I asked my partner, but it appears that her iPhone has developed a fusion with her hand. I might add that I feel this way as well about my S23, but I am in a cafe at present on their internet because a moon boot on my foot is leaving me reluctant to get up and extract the phone from the car.

  4. Sanctuary 4
    10 November 2023 at 11:03 am

    One outcome of the current coalition negotiations is likely to be an extra four billion a year for defense.

    Rumour has it that the navy would like to replace the OPVs and ANZAC frigates with single class of 3-5 new frigates, with the Babcock (who have a presence in NZ) designed Arrow 140 (AKA Type 31) frigate looking like the early favourite. Babcock will offer some tasty local investments to help build these ships.

    The Type 31 is twice as heavy as the ANZAC frigates and 30 metres longer. Get the popcorn out for that debate…

    • Dennis Frank 4.1
      10 November 2023 at 11:42 am

      Imagine if peace-making were given parity with war-making in economic policy, and funded accordingly. An enlightened govt would deploy AI in both necessities.

      I'd like to see a global competition for leading edge tech companies to develop peacemaking AI software. Bill Gates oughta fund it. Structure the thing like a World Cup tournament, so whizzkids get to update the tech in quadriennial cycle.

      It would give leftist govts the opportunity to get runs on the board solving trad problems like the middle east…

      • Francesca 4.1.1
        10 November 2023 at 12:06 pm

        I kind of like the idea, in the absence of human rationality.

        If AI could be programmed with historical fact, a code of fairness, international law, accepted values…oh god, it's not gonna work is it?

        • Dennis Frank 4.1.1.1
          10 November 2023 at 1:38 pm

          historical fact, a code of fairness, international law, accepted values

          A likely tetrad. The working model for this stuff is the one that solved the Cold War: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Evolution_of_Cooperation

          That, however, was binary. The AI must be primed with network theory plus the science of complexity to sort out shit like the middle east.

          That gears your tetrad up into a hexad. I'd toss in magical thinking to end up with a heptad: 7 elements in a design & it works like magic. Obviously one adept at mastery would kick that one in on the sly…

          • Francesca 4.1.1.1.1
            10 November 2023 at 2:50 pm

            i wonder if anyone has gamed that ?

            The problem would be including and entering the data in a non partisan manner

            • lprent 4.1.1.1.1.1
              11 November 2023 at 10:30 am

              Not to mention in a manner that doesn't constrain it in the time dimension.

              Fairness, historical fact, international law, and accepted values all morph like crazy over time. This is why law in most open states that don't make law by clique tends to lag public mores by about 30 years.

              Changes in societal attitude tend to require about that amount of time to diffuse through society enough so the balance point in favour of change tilts to making it into law or precedence.

              Reading the history of common law or legislative change is like looking at changes in local or international concurrences about what is fair, and accepted values. Frequently you see acceptance of 'historical fact' leading or trailing that process.

              • Dennis Frank …
                11 November 2023 at 12:47 pm

                yes damn good comment

                Saturn cycle is 29.5 years (usually gets cited as 30), correlating with the traditional onset of middle age. As a natural archetype it provides structure (Jupiter provides growth, 11.5 year cycle usually cited as 12). Thus these two drive the economy (fear & greed).

                In mass psychology they work like this: Saturn imposes boundaries, Jupiter opportunities, thus divides & multiplications, differentials & integrals. So with law you get outlaws & inlaws, the latter being law-abiding. But folks get bored with binaries so clever buggers usually do both & success depends on timing & situation!

                That morphing effect you mentioned is due to mutable phasing within time cycles, when things are liable to mutate. Science is still stuck on the Einsteinian spacetime paradigm, a century in now, so physics education still lacks comprehension of real time, which is experiential. Biological clocks are acknowledged as real but academic silos prevent physicists learning from them. So dumb buggers still only count time. Qualia are real too, of course, but the penny hasn't yet dropped…

    • Adrian 4.2
      10 November 2023 at 11:59 am

      A while ago a good mate who was ex-navy said anything we can afford or be allowed to have, i.e super secret techo, as a frigate would only be usable in a aircraft carrier screen on the far periphery of the protection screen. I'll check with him again on the details but I had not known that aircraft carriers have up to 12-20 other ships protecting them. In other words it would be a bloody expensive sacrifical lamb on its way to the slaughter. Lets just stick to our knitting and get ships that can do more useful work than be part of a pack.

      • SPC 4.2.1
        10 November 2023 at 3:54 pm

        Sure, have ships that have more than that purpose and not committing to a fight for Taiwan.

        Oz can be defended by land based (air and missile) forces, with subs at the periphery.

      • Ghostwhowalks 4.2.2
        10 November 2023 at 4:42 pm

        Doesnt have 20 ships , maybe 4 or which are all high end destroyers and cruisers

        Carrier has its own planes to defend itself

        • Adrian 4.2.2.1
          10 November 2023 at 5:09 pm

          He said the screen could be 20kms by20kms with frigates etc on the outer.

          • Ghostwhowalks 4.2.2.1.1
            11 November 2023 at 6:33 am

            Thats too close . Most would need to be further than that , but we can see what a US carrier has as its support group now , there are two of them in the Med/Red Sea

            4 Destroyers plus a Cruiser based on the current makeup. The numbers your friend talked about are WW2-Korean War stuff

            'The Ford Carrier Strike Group has a range of capabilities, the senior defense official said. While in the Eastern Mediterranean, the strike group – consisting of Ford, Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG-60) and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116), USS Ramage (DDG-61), USS Carney (DDG-64) and USS Roosevelt (DDG-80)

            https://news.usni.org/2023/10/12/gerald-r-ford-csg-arrives-in-eastern-mediterranean-defense-department-says

    • Ad 4.3
      10 November 2023 at 12:39 pm

      Very interesting rumor.

      Any source to follow up?

      Just in case there's a bid coming up.

      • Sanctuary 4.3.1
        10 November 2023 at 2:00 pm

        Discussion of the RFI here (closes 15th November)

        https://www.navalnews.com/event-news/indo-pacific-2023/2023/10/new-zealand-contemplates-how-to-best-manage-a-small-fleet-of-ships/

        Babcock's confirmation of a formal offer for the Type 31/Arrowhead 140. It isn't clear to me if this is an unsolicited offer.

        https://www.navaltoday.com/2023/11/01/babcock-offers-arrowhead-140-frigate-design-to-new-zealand/

        A potential early pointer will be the Seasprite replacement, as the SH-2G is running into serviceability issues and looks like it may need to be retired earlier than anticipated. Anything in the AW101/SH-60 class would imply a vessel big enough to operate such helicopters.

        https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/new-naval-helicopter-planned-for-new-zealand

        The Type 31/Arrowhead 140 is (apart from the sticker price – which will still be a LOT cheaper than the A$45 billion the Australians are spending on the AEGIS capable Hunter class to replace their ANZAC class frigates) an attractive offer. An easy fit for the Calliope dock, it has multi-mission modules, a VLS system compatible with all the most modern guided weapons and, above all, a crew of 80-100 which is a lot less than the 162 required on an ANZAC frigate. You could have three T31/A140 frigates for the same crewing cost of two ANZACs.

        • Ad 4.3.1.1
          10 November 2023 at 3:16 pm

          Helpful pointers thankyou.

          Just in case NZF gets its coalition order in fast.

          • Ghostwhowalks 4.3.1.1.1
            10 November 2023 at 4:48 pm

            Ignore the costings for Australia frigates. Thats full life costs over 30 years. Build and buy cost is a fraction of that

            See the NZ buy of P-8 planes . US Navy contracts made public for every annual contract shows them buying ( for US and other countries) them for US$140 mill each

            'Five years ago, on 2 July 2018, Cabinet approved the acquisition of four Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to replace the aging P-3K2 Orion aircraft – a $2.34 billion, once in a generation investment.

            https://www.defence.govt.nz/the-latest/story/fourth-and-final-p-8a-poseidon-lands-in-new-zealand

            Actual cost to buy 4 from public information US contracts is more like US$500 mill

            • Macro 4.3.1.1.1.1
              11 November 2023 at 11:14 am

              Through life cost for any major defence equipment buy is essential. No good buying a ship if you then can't maintain it in subsequent years because there is no money, or you can't train personnel to service the equipment, or operate it. Auusies know this that is why they include that figure in the overall buy. Private companies just want the sale so don't factor in these ongoing costs.

              • Ghostwhowalks …
                12 November 2023 at 12:48 pm

                Hospitals and schools are the same , but we only compare the ' built cost ' there.

                $1 bill doesnt go very far in the health system , over 25 years does it

        • pat 4.3.1.2
          10 November 2023 at 4:15 pm

          Why is it that with all the specification/operational requirements, consultation with those in Defence and independent experts, frequently existing units in operation already…sometimes for years….that we appear to almost always buy dogs, whether it be ships, armoured vehicles, helicopters, weapons systems etc.

          And it's usually within a relatively short period of time that we discover the fact.

          • Ghostwhowalks 4.3.1.2.1
            10 November 2023 at 4:51 pm

            Mostly disinformation spread by rival manufacturers who didnt get the business.

            They are complex equipment and need proper maintenance, money that often isnt made available or cut after a few years.

            • pat 4.3.1.2.1.1
              10 November 2023 at 5:36 pm

              Im basing my opinion on the numerous reports (usually) emanating from NZD itself….its a regular occurrence that some years after a major purchase a MoD report comes out listing the reasons why the purchase was the wrong one.

              • pat …
                10 November 2023 at 5:55 pm

                We appear to be regularly wise AFTER the event….perhaps some of that wisdom is needed prior?

              • Macro …
                11 November 2023 at 11:05 am

                As a general rule NZ Govt's, of whatever colour, always buy the cheapest option.

                I have been involved in the scoping and costing for replacement vessels as a Staff Officer on the Naval Staff for a period of around 8 years. I remember the acquisition of the Brooke Marine Lake class Patrol Craft in the 1970's. They were designed for Atlantic sea states, Pacific Ocean wave lengths are different and the new Partrol Craft were just not up to the task. Personal injury to crews grew at an alarming rate because of the craft tossing about in seas they were simply not designed to handle. The Admiral arranged for the four patrol craft to vist Wellington to show them off to the general public and the politicians of the time. A short trip around the harbour was organised including a short peak into Cook Strait.

                We had been requesting the Govt for hard living allowance for the crews for the Patrol Craft for some time prior. That short trip was sufficient to get the approval for the hard living allowance approved that day laugh

    • Bearded Git 4.4
      10 November 2023 at 2:48 pm

      That is four billion wasted that could be used to fix up the public health system.

      • Ghostwhowalks 4.4.1
        10 November 2023 at 4:53 pm

        Its an RFI , a wish list for 15 years away …maybe

        The frigates just finished a major update – known as half life, and its not like they even spend half their time at sea. So plenty of time if or when a new build is on the cards

  5. Muttonbird 5
    10 November 2023 at 11:46 am

    Britain is on edge this week in the lead up to a planned march in support of Palestine on Saturday, Armistice Day.

    The Home Secretary, Cruella Braverman, in breach of ministerial code, took out an article in The Times accusing the Met Police of bias for not shutting down the march. She also compared what she called the hate march with 'those we see in Northern Ireland'.

    Sky's senior Ireland correspondent explains that part, somewhat brutally:

    https://twitter.com/bmay/status/1722696060819124684?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1722696060819124684%7Ctwgr%5Ea73849ab6cba64bb5611788357d9ecc48d26bd85%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theforum365.com%2Findex.php%3Fapp%3Dcoremodule%3Dsystemcontroller%3Dembedurl%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fbmay%2Fstatus%2F1722696060819124684%3Fs%3D20

    • Bearded Git 5.1
      10 November 2023 at 2:51 pm

      Braverman is history. If Sunak signed off on her Times letter criticising the police for favouring the Left (what alternative reality is this?) then Sunak could be gone too.

      • Ghostwhowalks 5.1.1
        10 November 2023 at 4:39 pm

        What about commemerating the British servicemen killed by the Jewish terrorist militias during Mandate for Palestine period

        Due to the violence Britain had to station 100,000 troops there after the war, and eventually gave up handing the problem over to the UN – who thought partition to mostly new arrivals was a good idea , after a rigged UN general assembly vote ( Thailand voted No , the delegation was recalled and vote changed allowing it to pass 60% majority

        • Bearded Git 5.1.1.1
          11 November 2023 at 2:55 pm

          Wow I didn't know about that rigging Ghost.

          I do know my mother was always bitter towards the Israelis because they had killed many British troops in bomb attacks during the period you talk about above. I read somewhere the other day the Zionists blew up a synagogue during the same period, and blamed it on the Palestinians, doubtless to curry favour and support from the USA.

    • UncookedSelachimorpha 6.1
      10 November 2023 at 2:53 pm

      It is ok, certainly this is true I think:

      In fact, Israel’s ongoing industrial-scale slaughter and nationwide repression of the Palestinians, in retaliation of Hamas’s gruesome October 7 attacks in southern Israel, is both utterly criminal and terribly foolish. Israel has tried to live by the sword for the past 75 years, but it has sowed more of the same insecurity, infamy and anger. Repeating the same strategy again and again and expecting different results is indeed stupid.

      The article does downplay wrong-doing by Arabs (e.g. the above single sentence is the only mention of hamas' recent terrorist attack) and to say "If anything, the Jews have historically been the victims of racism for centuries…" betrays serious bias – in fact Jews have clearly and obviously been victims of centuries of appalling abuse, not least being the main victims of one of the worst single acts of genocide to date.

      There is not one mention of what hamas could offer – e.g. return hostages, implement a ceasefire etc. The author has written numerous articles criticising Israel and its war crimes since October 7th, but wrote only a single article (on October 7th) about the hamas atrocities – in which he made no criticism of hamas or condemnation of their appalling war crimes / crimes against humanity, but instead admiringly portrayed their despicable acts as heroic military action against Israel.

      He expressed no concern that such an attack would obviously make the current Israeli attacks likely. What did he think would happen?

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  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #37 2024

    Open access notables Early knowledge but delays in climate actions: An ecocide case against both transnational oil corporations and national governments, Hauser et al., Environmental Science & Policy: Cast within the wide context of investigating the collusion at play between powerful political-economic actors and decision-makers as monopolists and debates about ‘the modern ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 hours ago
  • What it is

    I liked what Kieran McAnulty had to say about the Treaty Principles bill this morning so much I've written it down and copied it out for you. He was saying that rather than let this piece of ordure spend six months in Select Committee, the Prime Minister could stop making such ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 hours ago
  • A government-funded hate campaign

    Cabinet discussed National's constitutionally and historically illiterate "Treaty Principles Bill" this week, and decided to push on with it. The bill will apparently receive a full six month select committee process - unlike practically every other policy this government has pushed, and despite the fact that if the government is ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 hours ago
  • How Substack works to take (some) craziness out of America’s elections

    I spoke with Substack co-founder yesterday, just before the Trump-Harris debate, about how Substack is doing its thing during the US elections. He talks in particular about how Substack’s focus on paid subscriptions rather than ads has made political debate on the platform calmer, simpler, deeper and more satisfying ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    9 hours ago
  • Kamala Harris Did Something Unthinkable

    Hi,Yesterday me and a bunch of friends gathered in front of the TV, ate tortillas, drank wine, and watched the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.Some of you may have joined in on the live Webworm chat where we shared thoughts, jokes and memes — and a basic glee ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    9 hours ago
  • Kamala Harris Did Something Unthinkable

    Hi,Yesterday me and a bunch of friends gathered in front of the TV, ate tortillas, drank wine, and watched the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.Some of you may have joined in on the live Webworm chat where we shared thoughts, jokes and memes — and a basic glee ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    9 hours ago
  • Kamala Harris Did Something Unthinkable

    Hi,Yesterday me and a bunch of friends gathered in front of the TV, ate tortillas, drank wine, and watched the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.Some of you may have joined in on the live Webworm chat where we shared thoughts, jokes and memes — and a basic glee ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    9 hours ago
  • David Seymour is such a loser

    For paid subscribersNot content with siphoning off $230,000,000 of taxpayers money for his hobby projects - and telling everyone his passion is education and early childcare - an intersection painfully coincidental to the interests of wealthy private families like Sean Plunkett’s1 backers, the Wright Family, Seymour is back in the ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    9 hours ago
  • Cross-party consensus: there’s no pipeline without good faith

    There’s been a lot of talk recently about a cross-party agreement to develop a pipeline for infrastructure, including transport. Last month, outgoing CRL boss Sean Sweeney talked about the importance of securing an enduring infrastructure programme. He outlined the high costs of the relentless political flip-flopping of priorities, which drives ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    14 hours ago
  • Voters love this climate policy they’ve never heard of

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk The Inflation Reduction Act is the Biden administration’s signature climate law and the largest U.S. government investment in reducing climate pollution to date. Among climate advocates, the policy is well-known and celebrated, but beyond that, only a minority of Americans ...
    Skeptical Science
    14 hours ago
  • ACC wants to administer inflation at more than double the RBNZ’s target rate

    ACC levies are set to rise at more than double the inflation rate targeted by the RBNZ. Photo: Lynn GrievesonKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, September 12:The state-owned monopoly for accident insurance wants ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    14 hours ago
  • Harris vs Trump

    We’ve been selected to rock your asses 'til midnightThis is my term, I've shaved off my perm, but it's alrightI solemnly swear to uphold the ConstitutionGot a rock 'n' roll problem? Well we got a solutionLet us be who we am, and let us kick out the jams, yeahKick out ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    15 hours ago
  • Treaty Bill “a political stunt”

    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon appears to have given ACT Leader David Seymour more than he has been admitting in the proposals to go forward with a Treaty Principles Bill.All along, Luxon has maintained that the Government is proceeding with the Bill to honour the coalition agreement.But that is quite specific.It ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    17 hours ago
  • An average 219 NZers migrated each day in July

    Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, September 11:Annual migration of New Zealanders rose to a record-high 80,963 in the year to the end of July, which is more than double its pre-Covid levels.Two ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • What you’re wanting to win more than anything is The Narrative

    Hubris is sitting down on election day 2016 to watch that pig Trump get his ass handed to him, and watching the New York Times needle hover for a while over Hillary and then move across to Trump where it remains all night to your gathering horror and dismay. You're ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • National’s automated lie machine

    The government has a problem: lots of people want information from it all the time. Information about benefits, about superannuation, ACC coverage and healthcare, taxes, jury service, immigration - and that's just the routine stuff. Responding to all of those queries takes a lot of time and costs a lot ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • Christopher Luxon: A Man of “Faith” and “Compassion” Speaks on the Treaty Pr...

    Synopsis: Today - we explore two different realities. One where National lost. And another - which is the one we are living with here. Note: the footnote on increased fees/taxes may be of interest to some readers.Article open.Subscribe nowIt’s an alternate timeline.Yesterday as news broke that the central North Island ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 day ago
  • Member’s Day

    Today is a Member's Day. First up is the third reading of Dan Bidois' Fair Trading (Gift Card Expiry) Amendment Bill, which will be followed by the committee stage of Deborah Russell's Family Proceedings (Dissolution for Family Violence) Amendment Bill. This will be followed by the second readings of Katie ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • Northern Expressway Boondoggle

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has been soaring high with his hubris of getting on and building motorways but some uncomfortable realities are starting to creep in. Back in July he announced that the government was pushing on with a Northland Expressway using an “accelerated delivery strategy” The Coalition Government is ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    2 days ago
  • Never Enough

    However much I'm falling downNever enoughHowever much I'm falling outNever, never enough!Whatever smile I smile the mostNever enoughHowever I smile I smile the mostSongwriters: Robert James Smith / Simon Gallup / Boris Williams / Porl ThompsonToday in Nick’s Kōrero:A death in the Emergency Department at Rotorua Hospital.A sad homecoming and ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Question Two of The Kākā Project of 2026 for 2050 (TKP 26/50)

    Kia ora.Last month I proposed restarting The Kākā Project work done before the 2023 election as The Kākā Project of 2026 for 2050 (TKP 26/50), aiming to be up and running before the 2025 Local Government elections, and then in a finalised form by the 2026 General Elections.A couple of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Why is God Obsessed with Spanking?

    Hi,If you’ve read Webworm for a while, you’ll be aware that I’ve spent a lot of time writing about horrific, corrupt megachurches and the shitty men who lead them.And in all of this writing, I think some people have this idea that I hate Christians or Christianity. As I explain ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Inside the public service

    In 2023, there were 63,117 full-time public servants earning, on average, $97,200 a year each. All up, that is a cost to the Government of $6.1 billion a year. It’s little wonder, then, that the public service has become a political whipping boy castigated by the Prime Minister and members ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • New Models Show Stronger Atlantic Hurricanes, and More of Them

    This is a re-post from This is Not Cool Here’s an example of some of the best kind of climate reporting, especially in that it relates to impacts that will directly affect the audience. WFLA in Tampa conducted a study in collaboration with the Department of Energy, analyzing trends in ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • Where ever do they find these people?

    A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, is how Winston Churchill described the Soviet Union in 1939.  How might the great man have described the 2024 government of New Zealand, do we think? I can't imagine he would have thought them all that mysterious or enigmatic. I think ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Motorway madness

    How mad is National's obsession with roads? One of their pet projects - a truck highway to Whangārei - is going to eat 10% of our total infrastructure budget for the next 25 years: Official advice from the Infrastructure Commission shows the government could be set to spend 10 ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Our transport planning system is fundamentally broken

    Ever since Wayne Brown became mayor (nearly two years ago now) he’s been wanting to progress an “integrated transport plan” with the government – which sounded a lot like the previous Auckland Transport Alignment Project (ATAP) with just a different name. It seems like a fair bit of work progressed ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago
  • Thou Shalt Not Steal

    And they taught usWhoa-oh, black woman, thou shalt not stealI said, hey, yeah, black man, thou shalt not stealWe're gonna civilise your black barbaric livesAnd we teach you how to kneelBut your history couldn't hide the genocideThe hypocrisy to us was realFor your Jesus said you're supposed to giveThe oppressed ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • How mismanagement, not wind and solar energy, causes blackouts

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections In February 2021, several severe storms swept across the United States, culminating with one that the Weather Channel unofficially named Winter Storm Uri. In Texas, Uri knocked out power to over 4.5 million homes and 10 million people. Hundreds of Texans died as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • The ‘Infra Boys’ Highway to Budget Hell

    Chris Bishop has enthusiastically dubbed himself and Simeon Brown “the Infra Boys”, but they need to take note of the sums around their roading dreams. Photo: Lynn GrievesonMōrena. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, September ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Media Link: “AVFA” on the politics of desperation.

    In this podcast Selwyn Manning and I talk about what appears to be a particular type of end-game in the long transition to systemic realignment in international affairs, in which the move to a new multipolar order with different characteristics … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    3 days ago
  • The cost of flying blind

    Just over two years ago, when worries about immediate mass-death from covid had waned, and people started to talk about covid becoming "endemic", I asked various government agencies what work they'd done on the costs of that - and particularly, on the cost of Long Covid. The answer was that ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Seymour vs The Clergy

    For paid subscribers“Aotearoa is not as malleable as they think,” Lynette wrote last week on Homage to Simeon Brown:In my heart/mind, that phrase ricocheted over the next days, translating out to “We are not so malleable.”It gave me comfort. I always felt that we were given an advantage in New ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Unstoppable Minister McKee

    All smiles, I know what it takes to fool this townI'll do it 'til the sun goes downAnd all through the nighttimeOh, yeahOh, yeah, I'll tell you what you wanna hearLeave my sunglasses on while I shed a tearIt's never the right timeYeah, yeahSong by SiaLast night there was a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Could outdoor dining revitalise Queen Street?

    This is a guest post by Ben van Bruggen of The Urban Room,.An earlier version of this post appeared on LinkedIn. All images are by Ben. Have you noticed that there’s almost nowhere on Queen Street that invites you to stop, sit outside and enjoy a coffee, let alone ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    4 days ago
  • Hipkins challenges long-held Labour view Government must stay below 30% of GDP

    Hipkins says when considering tax settings and the size of government, the big question mark is over what happens with the balance between the size of the working-age population and the growing number of Kiwis over the age of 65. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Your invite to Webworm Chat (a bit like Reddit)

    Hi,One of the things I love the most about Webworm is, well, you. The community that’s gathered around this lil’ newsletter isn’t something I ever expected when I started writing it four years ago — now the comments section is one of my favourite places on the internet. The comments ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • Seymour’s Treaty bill making Nats nervous

    A delay in reappointing a top civil servant may indicate a growing nervousness within the National Party about the potential consequences of David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill. Dave Samuels is waiting for reappointment as the Chief Executive of Te Puni Kokiri, but POLITIK understands that what should have been a ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #36

    A listing of 34 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, September 1, 2024 thru Sat, September 7, 2024. Story of the week Our Story of the Week is about how peopele are not born stupid but can be fooled ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • Time for a Change

    You act as thoughYou are a blind manWho's crying, crying 'boutAll the virgins that are dyingIn your habitual dreams, you knowSeems you need more sleepBut like a parrot in a flaming treeI know it's pretty hard to seeI'm beginning to wonderIf it's time for a changeSong: Phil JuddThe next line ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Six.

    The “double shocks” in post Cold War international affairs. The end of the Cold War fundamentally altered the global geostrategic context. In particular, the end of the nuclear “balance of terror” between the USA and USSR, coupled with the relaxation … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Buried deep

    Here's a bike on Manchester St, Feilding. I took this photo on Friday night after a very nice dinner at the very nice Vietnamese restaurant, Saigon, on Manchester Street.I thought to myself, Manchester Street? Bicycle? This could be the very spot.To recap from an earlier edition: on a February night ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies, Excerpt Five.

    Military politics as a distinct “partial regime.” Notwithstanding their peripheral status, national defense offers the raison d’être of the combat function, which their relative vulnerability makes apparent, so military forces in small peripheral democracies must be very conscious of events … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    5 days ago
  • Leadership for Dummies

    If you’re going somewhere, do you maybe take a bit of an interest in the place? Read up a bit on the history, current events, places to see - that sort of thing? Presumably, if you’re taking a trip somewhere, it’s for a reason. But what if you’re going somewhere ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Home again

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Share Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Dead even tie for hottest August ever

    Long stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer:The month of August was 1.49˚C warmer than pre-industrial levels, tying with 2023 for the warmest August ever, according ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 7

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate science on rising temperatures and the debate about how to responde to climate disinformation; and special guest ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Have We an Infrastructure Deficit?

    An Infrastructure New Zealand report says we are keeping up with infrastructure better than we might have thought from the grumbling. But the challenge of providing for the future remains.I was astonished to learn that the quantity of our infrastructure has been keeping up with economic growth. Your paper almost ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    6 days ago
  • Councils reject racism

    Last month, National passed a racist law requiring local councils to remove their Māori wards, or hold a referendum on them at the 2025 local body election. The final councils voted today, and the verdict is in: an overwhelming rejection. Only two councils out of 45 supported National's racist agenda ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Homage to Simeon Brown

    Open to all - happy weekend ahead, friends.Today I just want to be petty. It’s the way I imagine this chap is -Not only as a political persona. But his real-deal inner personality, in all its glory - appears to be pure pettiness & populist driven.Sometimes I wonder if Simeon ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • Government of deceit

    When National cut health spending and imposed a commissioner on Te Whatu Ora, they claimed that it was necessary because the organisation was bloated and inefficient, with "14 layers of management between the CEO and the patient". But it turns out they were simply lying: Health Minister Shane Reti’s ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • The professionals actually think and act like our Government has no fiscal crisis at all

    Treasury staff at work: The demand for a new 12-year Government bond was so strong, Treasury decided to double the amount of bonds it sold. Photo: Lynn GrievesonMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, September ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 6-September-2024

    Welcome to another Friday and another roundup of stories that caught our eye this week. As always, this and every post is brought to you by the Greater Auckland crew. If you like our work and you’d like to see more of it, we invite you to join our regular ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    7 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies; Excerpt Four.

    Internal versus external security. Regardless of who rules, large countries can afford to separate external and internal security functions (even if internal control functions predominate under authoritarian regimes). In fact, given the logic of power concentration and institutional centralization of … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    7 days ago
  • A Hole In The River

    There's a hole in the river where her memory liesFrom the land of the living to the air and skyShe was coming to see him, but something changed her mindDrove her down to the riverThere is no returnSongwriters: Neil Finn/Eddie RaynerThe king is dead; long live the queen!Yesterday was a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago
  • Bright Blue His Jacket Ain’t But I Love This Fellow: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power E...

    My conclusion last week was that The Rings of Power season two represented a major improvement in the series. The writing’s just so much better, and honestly, its major problems are less the result of the current episodes and more creatures arising from season one plot-holes. I found episode three ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    7 days ago
  • Who should we thank for the defeat of the Nazis

    As a child in the 1950s, I thought the British had won the Second World War because that’s what all our comics said. Later on, the films and comics told me that the Americans won the war. In my late teens, I found out that the Soviet Union ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    1 week ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #36 2024

    Open access notables Diurnal Temperature Range Trends Differ Below and Above the Melting Point, Pithan & Schatt, Geophysical Research Letters: The globally averaged diurnal temperature range (DTR) has shrunk since the mid-20th century, and climate models project further shrinking. Observations indicate a slowdown or reversal of this trend in recent decades. ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm

    Photo by Jenny Bess on UnsplashCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with special guests:5.00 pm - 5.10 pm - Bernard and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Media Link: Discussing the NZSIS Security Threat Report.

    I was interviewed by Mike Hosking at NewstalkZB and a few other media outlets about the NZSIS Security Threat Report released recently. I have long advocated for more transparency, accountability and oversight of the NZ Intelligence Community, and although the … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 week ago
  • How do I make this better for people who drive Ford Rangers?

    Home, home again to a long warm embrace. Plenty of reasons to be glad to be back.But also, reasons for dejection.You, yes you, Simeon Brown, you odious little oik, you bible thumping petrol-pandering ratfucker weasel. You would be Reason Number One. Well, maybe first among equals with Seymour and Of-Seymour ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • A missed opportunity

    The government introduced a pretty big piece of constitutional legislation today: the Parliament Bill. But rather than the contentious constitutional change (four year terms) pushed by Labour, this merely consolidates the existing legislation covering Parliament - currently scattered across four different Acts - into one piece of legislation. While I ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Nicola Willis Seeks New Sidekick To Help Fix NZ’s Economy

    Synopsis:Nicola Willis is seeking a new Treasury Boss after Dr Caralee McLiesh’s tenure ends this month. She didn’t listen to McLiesh. Will she listen to the new one?And why is Atlas Network’s Taxpayers Union chiming in?Please consider subscribing or supporting my work. Thanks, Tui.About CaraleeAt the beginning of July, Newsroom ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Inflation alive and kicking in our land of the long white monopolies

    The golden days of profit continue for the the Foodstuffs (Pak’n’Save and New World) and Woolworths supermarket duopoly. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, September 5:The Groceries Commissioner has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The thermodynamics of electric vs. internal combustion cars

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler I love thermodynamics. Thermodynamics is like your mom: it may not tell you what you can do, but it damn well tells you what you can’t do. I’ve written a few previous posts that include thermodynamics, like one on air capture of ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Three.

    The notion of geopolitical  “periphery.” The concept of periphery used here refers strictly to what can be called the geopolitical periphery. Being on the geopolitical periphery is an analytic virtue because it makes for more visible policy reform in response … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 week ago
  • Venus Hum

    Fill me up with soundThe world sings with me a million smiles an hourI can see me dancing on my radioI can hear you singing in the blades of grassYellow dandelions on my way to schoolBig Beautiful Sky!Song: Venus Hum.Good morning, all you lovely people, and welcome to the 700th ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • I Went to a Creed Concert

    Note: The audio attached to this Webworm compliments today’s newsletter. I collected it as I met people attending a Creed concert. Their opinions may differ to mine. Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 week ago
  • Government migration policy backfires; thousands of unemployed nurses

    The country has imported literally thousands of nurses over the past few months yet whether they are being employed as nurses is another matter. Just what is going on with HealthNZ and it nurses is, at best, opaque, in that it will not release anything but broad general statistics and ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 week ago
  • A Time For Unity.

    Emotional Response: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon addresses mourners at the tangi of King Tuheitia on Turangawaewae Marae on Saturday, 31 August 2024.THE DEATH OF KING TUHEITIA could hardly have come at a worse time for Maoridom. The power of the Kingitanga to unify te iwi Māori was demonstrated powerfully at January’s ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • Climate Change: Failed again

    National's tax cut policies relied on stealing revenue from the ETS (previously used to fund emissions reduction) to fund tax cuts to landlords. So how's that going? Badly. Today's auction failed again, with zero units (of a possible 7.6 million) sold. Which means they have a $456 million hole in ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Two.

    A question of size. Small size generally means large vulnerability. The perception of threat is broader and often more immediate for small countries. The feeling of comparative weakness, of exposure to risk, and of potential intimidation by larger powers often … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 week ago
  • Nicola Willis’s Very Unserious Bungling of the Kiwirail Interislander Cancellation

    Open to all with kind thanks to all subscribers and supporters.Today, RNZ revealed that despite MFAT advice to Nicola Willis to be very “careful and deliberate” in her communications with the South Korean government, prior to any public announcement on cancelling Kiwirail’s i-Rex, Willis instead told South Korea 26 minutes ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Satisfying the Minister’s Speed Obsession

    The Minister of Transport’s speed obsession has this week resulted in two new consultations for 110km/h speed limits, one in Auckland and one in Christchurch. There has also been final approval of the Kapiti Expressway to move to 110km/h following an earlier consultation. While the changes will almost certainly see ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    1 week ago
  • What if we freed up our streets, again?

    This guest post is by Tommy de Silva, a local rangatahi and freelance writer who is passionate about making the urban fabric of Tāmaki Makaurau-Auckland more people-focused and sustainable. New Zealand’s March-April 2020 Level 4 Covid response (aka “lockdown”) was somehow both the best and worst six weeks of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    1 week ago

  • New Bill to crack down on youth vaping

    The coalition Government has introduced legislation to tackle youth vaping, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill (No 2) is aimed at preventing youth vaping.  “While vaping has contributed to a significant fall in our smoking rates, the rise in youth vaping ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 hours ago
  • Interest in agricultural and horticultural products regulatory review welcomed

    Regulation Minister David Seymour, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds, and Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard have welcomed interest in the agricultural and horticultural products regulatory review. The review by the Ministry for Regulation is looking at how to speed up the process to get farmers and growers access to the safe, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Bill to allow online charity lotteries passes first reading

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government is moving at pace to ensure lotteries for charitable purposes are allowed to operate online permanently. Charities fundraising online, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust and local hospices will continue to do ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • Tax exempt threshold changes to benefit startups

    Technology companies are among the startups which will benefit from increases to current thresholds of exempt employee share schemes, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Revenue Minister Simon Watts say. Tax exempt thresholds for the schemes are increasing as part of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2024-25, Emergency ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • Getting the healthcare you need, when you need it

    The path to faster cancer treatment, an increase in immunisation rates, shorter stays in emergency departments and quick assessment and treatments when you are sick has been laid out today. Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has revealed details of how the ambitious health targets the Government has set will be ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • Targeted supports to accelerate reading

    The coalition Government is delivering targeted and structured literacy supports to accelerate learning for struggling readers. From Term 1 2025, $33 million of funding for Reading Recovery and Early Literacy Support will be reprioritised to interventions which align with structured approaches to teaching. “Structured literacy will change the way children ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Survivors invited to Abuse in Care national apology

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