A wee hopeful sign. Maybe even the oil companies now accept they don’t need to waste money looking for new sources since we’re fucked if we burn all the easily extractable oil we already know about.
The latest oil-lease sale in Alaska, which of course was the biggest greatest most tremendous ever, got a “meh” from big oil. Only 0.8% of the offered leases sold, for less than a third of historical average prices and about 0.6% of the prices King Con had budgeted.
Respite from the heat and dry – it’s raining today in Riverton, thank you, Weather Lords!
Nothing suffered in my well-protected garden, but lawns around the region were beginning to wither; pasture too. I’m talking with Tony Murrell on RadioLive at 7:20 this morning, about this and that, hence my early start; gotta coffee-up before I go on air 🙂
Sprinkling of rain here too. Just heard you on the wireless Robert 🙂 A sand beach does sound so much nicer than a sand pit, love your work, enjoy your day.
Robert (2) … can you send some of the wet stuff to Cromwell please. It’s soooo dry here and the wind isn’t helping either! Pleased to hear your garden didn’t suffer too much.
Had a downfall early yesterday morning, but it wasn’t enough to do much good. But then I guess a little is better than nothing.
Cheers
Just a reminder of what other kinds of antisocial behaviour that dude David Tipple gets up to, when he’s not trying to put up a facade of being a fine upstanding citizen.
CONTROVERSIAL gun dealer David Tipple is facing charges over a car chase which saw police officers allegedly pursue a suped-up Nissan at speeds of up to 180km/h.
Tipple who spent 21 months in US jail cells on gun charges in 2002 and 2003 is due to appear at Christchurch District Court on Wednesday, facing charges of reckless driving and failure to stop for police in relation to the June 10 incident.
The Christchurch gunshop owner was arrested after police allegedly chased the Nissan car on roads between Tokoroa and Rotorua.
[…]
Tipple has been in trouble with authorities before.
In 2002, he made international headlines when he was arrested at Los Angeles airport after US Customs officials found 29 guns in his baggage. He was also travelling with 340 rounds of live ammunition.
Tipple was convicted of failing to notify his airline in writing about the guns and sentenced to a year in a New Mexico jail.
A week before he was due to be released, Tipple was extradited to Georgia, where he was held for nine months over charges of illegally buying 363 guns, including rifles, shotguns and pistols.
The charges were eventually dropped and he was allowed to return to New Zealand.
In 1992, he was acquitted of shooting and wounding three burglars who ran from his farm shed after trying to steal motorcycles.
At the trial, the Crown accepted Tipple intended to shoot over the offenders’ heads and had not seen one of them.
Buggar all mention of David tipple in that stuff article at a skim.
Don’t think they are all gun nuts either, our firearm laws have been working extremely well for the law abiding. The police association without fail bangs the regulation drum, even when it is very clear the big problem is criminals and illegal guns, they just have to actually do their job better, and have some firmer penalties for the crims via the courts.
”
In response, Loder cites OIA information showing that of the last 100 firearms-related violent crimes, only two were recorded as involving a military-style semi-automatic. Out of all of these cases, only one offender held a firearms licence.
So the Police Associations’ push to have all firearms registered feels particularly offensive. Why would criminals register illegal firearms?”
Big photo with this caption: “Gun City owner David Tipple: “What is the result of someone having better knowledge of firearms? Do they turn into mass murders or do they turn into better members of society?” “. Further down there’s several paragraphs including this gem: “This week, Tipple remains forthright and unrepentant: ” he argues that training children to use firearms responsibly is a public service. “What is the result of someone having better knowledge of firearms? Do they turn into mass murders or do they turn into better members of society? Isn’t that a better question to ask?” ” . Together with a whole lot of special pleading that because his daughter went to the Olympics in shooting that must make him a special person.
If all firearms get registered, then possession of an unregistered firearm becomes an easy way to identify and put away a particularly nasty kind of criminal. It really doesn’t look like any kind of imposition on a responsible owner.
So the Police Associations’ push to have all firearms registered feels particularly offensive.
The Police Associations’ push to have all firearms registered feels particularly offensive because the owner of the firearm will be held to account by having to explain just how their firearm happened to be in the possession of the offender.
We had individual registration of firearms and have moved to vetting and registering owners as a safer bet.
It’s worked extremely well. Conversely policing and containment of organized crime and gangs has not.
Attempts to license individual guns now would drive many underground.
Personal freedoms ( I wouldn’t use the term rights) should only be curtailed with very good reason lest all our passtimes be regulated to the standards of the bedwetters and hand-wringers.
I sure hope you urban keyboard warriors have been even louder in your call for regulating foreign drivers who actually are killing people.
Registering guns helped a little bit. Registering owners did a bit better. Registering both guns and their owners should work even better.
Better yet in this day of easy big data would be requiring owners to record the location of their guns at all times in a central database. Want to go hunting? Log on before you go and register your plans. Want to take your gun to the range? Log on and register the move before you go.
The only design purpose of a gun is to kill and injure living beings. Given that a gun’s only purpose is to do harm, any concessions allowing private citizens to own and use them should be treated as an awesome privilege and responsibility. As far as I’m concerned, whinging about entirely reasonable measures should be sufficient grounds to revoke that privilege.
no thanks Andre ( not my original wording 🙂 ). And the fact you and others like you think big brother controlling anyones legitimate activities like this is a good idea is a worry.
It shows you don’t want more control you want total control, we know where that leads.
I hope you are pushing for a 5 km/hr speed limit on the open road to eliminate the road toll.
And the fact you and others like you think big brother controlling anyones legitimate activities like this is a good idea is a worry.
It wouldn’t be controlling anyone’s activities. Just holding them responsible for them.
It’s about being a grown up.
That’s nice. But what we need is for a way so that people with guns can show that they’re grown up. Just believing that people are grown up usually results in quite a lot of harm to other other people. greywarshark brought up the case where someone who was ‘grown up’ shot and killed someone because he thought he saw a deer.
But it’s about everyone enjoying their own freedoms without treading on others toes.
And that’s an emotional load of bollocks. No ones curtailing anyone’s freedoms by having better gun control.
Firearms owners are vetted to ensure they are ” grown up” gun registration has zip to do with it, don’t patronize.
I, and greywarshark, gave an example of when one of those ‘grownups’ killed somebody through stupidity.
And, yes, gun registration is part of that ‘grown up’ bit. Being responsible for your actions, such as selling an unlicensed person a gun, is part of being grown up.
So that would be you patronising us and hoping that we’ll believe your BS.
There already is? If your guns are licensed and stored legally and stolen, how is the owner any more or less personally responsible?
No there isn’t. If there was then that person who sold guns to an unlicensed person who then used those guns to kill two people wouldn’t have been able to do so as there would have been an immediate check.
Yes, he broke the law and two people died because he did. the reason why he managed to break the law in the first place was because there wasn’t enough checks. Gun registration adds that needed extra check.
So, licencing both firearms owners and their firearms would be big brother controlling everyone’s activities? Have you raised with your MP the Orwellian nightmare you’re currently being subjected to, of having to have a driver’s licence and licence your vehicles?
No. Logging on and off a data base to let authorities know your whereabouts as suggested by Andre ( or similar bed wetter) is orwellian bullshit though
I’m not personally per se against licensing individual guns thanks for asking. 🙂 I’m against unnecessary or mis targeted regulation. Especially given a) police previously had individual registration and didn’t want it
B) there will be some issues implementing it ( guns underground)
C) police don’t use current information they have on record
D) being individually licensed doesn’t stop theft or gangs or organized crime which are the actual issue
The point is logging the whereabouts of a deadly weapon. Also making it easy to check that when someone is out and about with a deadly weapon that it’s all properly checked and being used for a planned legitimate purpose. Just like cops have checkpoints to check that cars and drivers are licenced and wof’ed.
But with the added recognition that someone going somewhere with a deadly weapon probably has in mind trying to kill something in the near future.
Plus lol at your last paragraph.
It’s about being a grown up.
I don’t like jet skis, I find them noisy, intrusive, they burn fossil fuel and have no purpose other than self entertainment. Every year they kill people. I , like you, could be a wanker and call for them to be logged on a data base and tracked, registered or banned.
But it’s about everyone enjoying their own freedoms without treading on others toes.
The fact you would revoke someone’s firearms license for pointing out some facts certainly tells us a lot about you champ.
Andre
You have to ensure you have full flak jacket on when questioning gun owners and users to protect you from their attempts to bypass your rational sensible points. So I suggest that they will say in aggrieved tones that there is such a thing as target shooting, that is not aimed at a living thing. But then there is the truth that they are all wanting to make a hole in something, which is the basic thing for all shooting really.
But while thinking about projectile casting in a wider way. Besides guns, paint balls, trebuchet (now found on web games), slingshots (David), bowling cricket balls at people and building expertise in fast delivery to 50?km and how to direct the projectile to force a defensive response coupled with a returning attack. There is an inherent right in the minds of some males to be aggressive and accepting it’s possibly deadly and causing destruction. I noticed the lack of true remorse by the shooter who disobeyed the precautionary rule of protection and safety of others and shot dead a woman cleaning her teeth outside a hut.
Oh yeah, I put my nomex undies on before making those kinds of comments. But I really don’t feel the need to respond when others start ad-homming me. Particularly if they don’t respond to points with an actual argument and throw up a strawman instead.
And it seems to me on a straw poll of one that when trying to discuss guns and their control there is some visceral turmoil about lack of personhood for those being controlled. It seems to come from a position of weakness.
Personal freedoms ( I wouldn’t use the term rights) should only be curtailed
Arse. Being held responsible for the weapons you own ain’t curtailing anything.
Attempts to license individual guns now would drive many underground.
So you admit you’re prepared to break laws you find too onerous …righto, crim…
btw, this bed wetting hand wringing urban keyboard warrior has been involved in bird/game/pest, small/smooth/full bore indoor/clay/range shooting and club/range operations off and on for close to sixty years.
there seems more emotion than any actual fact coming from your direction joe90.
After semi autos were registered in nz many went missing to turn up on the black market, its simple fact. Unfortunately for your argument it doesn’t make me a Crim 🙁 just someone who is old enough to have heard pretty much every argument over the years, look at police history: anti registry now pro registry , abd they still don’t use the resources they have.
Unfortunately for your argument it doesn’t make me a Crim
Objecting to legislation that would hold the owners of individual firearms responsible for their weapon’s whereabouts and threatening to break the law if you are held responsible by legislation…
Actually it occurs to me that you really might not be putting 2 and 2 together , I’ll explain:
When semi autos moved to Ecat , a per gun cost to license them was involved. Probably due to this cost, many never got registered and ended up on the black market.
If we do a similar thing now , nit all guns will end up registered for some cost would be an issue, others simple forgetfulness ( minding parents guns etc), so the pool of underground weapons would grow in the short term at least.
Budding crim who objects to being held responsible by threatening to break the the law, won’t take responsibility for it’s utterances, goes all ad hom.
Sad.
edit:
Probably due to this cost, many never got registered and ended up on the black market.
After semi autos were registered in nz many went missing to turn up on the black market, its simple fact. Unfortunately for your argument it doesn’t make me a Crim…
It doesn’t unless you were one of those people who sold or bought a semi-auto on the black market, in which case it very much would make you a crim.
Your argument effectively is that many firearms owners are not only irresponsible, but have no problem with engaging in criminal acts. All thatt tells me is that we need way more rigorous controls on them (both the gun enthusiasts and the guns).
Your argument effectively is that many firearms owners are not only irresponsible, but have no problem with engaging in criminal acts. All thatt tells me is that we need way more rigorous controls on them (both the gun enthusiasts and the guns).
This is how you get bad laws and sub optimal compliance. Bring in unneeded laws because you know better.
No one has refuted the actual points I’ve made, just emotive high horse gibberish.
How does individual gun rego solve the issue of gangs organized crime and theft?
This is how you get bad laws and sub optimal compliance. Bring in unneeded laws because you know better.
More bollocks. How you get suboptimal laws is by not making in the first place and making up excuses as to why it’s all too hard – exactly as you have been.
No one has refuted the actual points I’ve made, just emotive high horse gibberish.
Actually, several people have – several times. You have only come back with meaningless clichés that are simply wrong.
The mistake that you’re making is thinking that laws are made for the majority of people. They’re not. The majority of people will act responsibly and morally without laws.
The laws are made for those, who without laws, will act immorally and irresponsibly. The laws let these people know what actions are acceptable and which aren’t and what the consequences are for acting badly. They remove the excuse that they didn’t know better.
How does individual gun rego solve the issue of gangs organized crime and theft?
It doesn’t. But it does mean that when the police go into a gang headquarters and finds guns that aren’t registered that they can then do something about it. Without laws saying that you can’t have an unregistered gun they can’t.
Straw man says what? A bunch of illegal guns in a gang headquarters and the cops can’t do anything? But if they were registered they could?
Reeeeeally?
I gave you more credit.
A bunch of illegal guns in a gang headquarters and the cops can’t do anything?
How do you determine if they’re illegal?
They may be suspicious but that doesn’t make them illegal. After all, someone in the house may actually have a gun licence for all the guns. And that would make them legal.
Just because it’s a gang headquarters doesn’t mean that they’re breaking the law (and any gang headquarters that actually had illegal arms in it are run by a bunch of amateurs).
This seems to be a major problem with some people. They think just because someone’s in a gang that they’re automatically breaking the law and should be jailed. Oh, and that police officers can automatically tell just by looking at someone that they’re a criminal and that they should be charged straight away.
Actual rule of law requires proof and proper process.
But if they were registered they could?
It would make it easier to determine. Instantaneous in fact. Rather than having to go through a long investigation.
A bunch of illegal guns in a gang headquarters and the cops can’t do anything? But if they were registered they could?
Cops come across illegal weapons during a search. All they’d have on that weapon is a serial number, if it was manufactured legitimately somewhere.
That might track which factory it came from. But with registration of the firearm, the can track who the last owner in NZ was, and trace the firearm back to a burglary. Or ask the registered owner questions, if it wasn’t lost in a burglary. Either way, it provides more information about firearms trafficking networks than “entered NZ 5 years ago, turned up in a search of a dope house”.
If the burgs were resolved, the guns would have been recovered for their legal owners.
It might not prevent firearms being stolen, but it gives you a definite start point for figuring out how the gun ended up being recovered in a raid. Not “I sold it to a guy on trademe” or whatever – you were definitely the last one to have it legitimately, how did it get from your safe to that drug den?
3d printing is basically the 21st centuray equivalent of zip guns: possible, cheap, but pointless unless you’re a kid. But even then it creates a network that can be attacked, a bit like hunting down the p-cooks.
If all firearms get registered, then possession of an unregistered firearm becomes an easy way to identify and put away a particularly nasty kind of criminal. It really doesn’t look like any kind of imposition on a responsible owner.
QFT
Registering of the weapons is so obviously the right thing to do as well as having arms licensing.
DTB
Such calls for registration seem to ignore previous police behavior: ( from wiki)
“Increasing gun crime in the 1960s led to greater police use of registration records, which were generally inaccurate or out-of-date. A project to check the register began in 1967, and found that 66 percent of entries were inaccurate in some way, with many guns not to be found at all. Police thought that the register was largely useless, and that substantial resources would be needed to keep it up-to-date. It was believed that the government would be unlikely to provide the resources required to update the register and that it would be politically difficult to demand registration information from firearm owners. Various new laws were introduced in the 1970s and 80s, proposing more government checks, registration of shotguns (which had been abandoned) and individual licensing.
An internal police report in 1982 criticised the proposals, saying there was no evidence that registration of guns helped to solve crimes, and that registration would use time and money better spent on other police work. This policy was adopted by the government in the 1983 Act.[5]
Arms Act 1983 Edit
The 1983 Arms Act abandoned registration for most long guns, as Parliament felt it was prohibitively expensive and not particularly useful. The philosophy of the new system was to control users, rather than firearms. “
Oh really?
How did the cops rock up to a firearms complaint at Quin Pattersons place in northland and leave without checking, when he had no gun license and a record of stabbing a police officer? Nutter goes on to murder 2.
Having a bunch of numbers on each gun won’t stop the gross incompetence of the police, an issue then and obviously still an issue now
Shifting the goal posts I see. First it was inaccurate records and now it’s police incompetence.
I’m more interested in the fact that someone sold guns to him despite him not having a licence. Gun registration would help prevent that because the change in ownership would have to be recorded – like car registration. If someone tries to sell someone without a licence a gun then that will show up and if they don’t transfer ownership then when a crime happens with the gun involved the previpous owners have to explain how they lost the weapon and didn’t report it. Again, that comes down to having better information systems.
Better information systems can even, to a large degree, prevent incompetence.
This may well be a stupid idea and I just can’t see why yet….
It’s getting cheaper and easier to give items a tag that can be monitored via satellite. eg: I can follow my stolen car on my phone via the chip I stashed up under the dash.
What would happen if every new or registered firearm was required to have such an embedded tag? Authorities would be able to see a number firearms together in a property that has been checked for a secure gunsafe and the occupant a registered and licensed owner, the model/serial numbers of the weapons visible on the screen. The cops would never have a reason to knock on that guy’s door. But if he flips out and is on his way to sort out the guy sleeping with his wife, the cops can monitor his movements if he chooses to take a gun along.
Find an unchipped firearm, big penalties. If it’s a legal model, govt can chip it and sell it. If it can’t be chipped, crush em.
Changes to gun laws stand a better chance of popular buy-in if they’re viewed by the good guys as positive moves and right royal pains in the arse by the Baddies.
It’s not. It’s that they need a good information system which includes gun licences and registered guns.
If the police are sent to an address then all the information about that address should come before them. That’s what a good information system would do including if registered gun/s and owners are at that address or not. If the latter and it’s a firearms complaint then there should be large flashing lights on the display.
If they then fail to read it and act upon the information then it’s incompetence and they should probably be fired. Culture in the police about proper response can also be changed. We change things to make them better and not whinge that it’s just too hard.
It’s already illegal to not report a lost firearm and already illegal to sell to someone without a license.
All the same as I’ve said I’m not against the individual gun licensing per se. Unfortunately when we have tossers who view all guns as evil ( designed to harm) their motive will be to increase compliance costs and try and prevent ownership and this is a step on that path ; hello Andre who would revoke a gun license for not agreeing with him)
Hence if it isn’t a particularly necessary regulation it needs to be justified not moralized in to force.
It’s already illegal to not report a lost firearm and already illegal to sell to someone without a license.
Yep, it is. But is that the only point where we want the checks? Would those two women still be alive if we had a better change of ownership system?
I think we need more checks.
Unfortunately when we have tossers who view all guns as evil ( designed to harm) their motive will be to increase compliance costs and try and prevent ownership and this is a step on that path ;
1. Guns actually are designed to cause harm
2. Considering the price of guns I doubt adding a little more for legal process is going to stop people owning them
Hence if it isn’t a particularly necessary regulation it needs to be justified not moralized in to force.
/facepalm
The morality is the justification.
Or is it that you think carrying out immoral actions is all fine and dandy?
Meh. Hard to see much merit in that. On the other hand, the proposal that was going around for open carry at the Republican National Convention last year could have made quite a spectacle.
i just had my 10 year renewal and was asked if i would let them record the rego no’s on each rifle which i had no problem with , and would go so far as to say any one refusing to let them record them should not have their licence renewed.
The beginnings of a BDS with bells, all the way to Coventry, I hope,
The Trump effect: No longer just rockets from Gaza, but now also a hit to the local economy, as high-tech delegations from Japan and China canceled Thursday their trips to Israel following U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The Chinese delegation cited a travel warning by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, forbidding large groups from traveling to Israel. Japan is concerned about the security situation following Trump’s announcement, and expects the conflict to impact its investment programs in Israel.
The Israeli right is more than happy to overlook the fundamentalists’ apocalyptic end-time beliefs that Jews must convert/be perfected and that Israel fits their prophesies, because they get US support for the Jewish State.
So, red meat for the base….
Of all the possible theological dog-whistles to his evangelical base, this is the biggest. Trump is reminding them that he is carrying out God's will to these Last Days.— Diana Butler Bass (@dianabutlerbass) December 6, 2017
Televangelist Frank Amedia, who leads Touch Heaven Ministries in Ohio, says he was told by God last year that Donald Trump would be the GOP presidential nominee and he believes God “raised up” the real estate mogul to help pave the way for the Second Coming.
Amedia, who is described in a Time magazine report as Trump’s new “liaison for Christian policy,” made the revelation in an interview with Steve Strang, founder of the Pentecostal magazine Charisma.
Trump’s ideas meld perfectly with evangelical apocalyptic expectations as the battle of Armageddon nears. He promises to seize power and to use it for them. He claims he would restore religious liberty to evangelicals. He would prohibit Muslims from entering the country. He would defend Israel at all costs. He would fight abortion by adding conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court. He would rebuild the American military. He would destroy the nation’s enemies. He would keep individual citizens well-armed and prepared for battle.
This is a man, in other words, who is not just seeking to beat Clinton. He is seeking to wage a real-world battle against evangelicals’ enemies and a spiritual battle against the Antichrist.
And this is why Amedia tells all who will listen that to support Trump is to ensure that the United States “stays under the favor of God.” To refuse to support Trump, then, is to defy God.
If Armageddon is coming, and many evangelicals believe it is, there can be no one better to lead the United States than Donald Trump.
and they are milking it flat out via the youtube, unreal, videos abound have been uploaded and created in the last few days pushing that narrative and judging from the views and comments they are lapping it up over there. Check out the flag in the background of this clip, giving the idea that not believing is un-americian.
can’t wait for it to happen here lol, we get all their left behind stuff.
Also their faces when they realise they have been left behind to deal with the mess they have created.
If ever you come across one of these guys just ask ‘what makes you think that you won’t be left behind’. the look of fear is down right funny if it were’nt so sad.
They’re not facts, they’re poll measurements of opinion with a +/- 3.3% margin of error (at 50%).
But there’s some positives for most in this poll, like Ardern clearly ahead on preferred Prime Minister, Labour stil improving, Greens apparently recovering from the party death zone. National should also be happy.
If in a poll of 1,000 people 500 give a certain answer that is a fact. This specific measurement has a measurement error of zero. Assuming that certain criteria are met this sample can be used to predict the mean of the whole population, i.e. as if the whole population was polled. The population mean will lie between the margins of error with 95% confidence. That is a fact too. It does not matter what the question was that they were polling on; (the) facts remain facts.
That majority has grown. The average of the three post-government-formation polls has given National 42.4%, 11% behind the three-way government’s total of 53.4%: Labour 39.3%, Greens 8.6% and New Zealand First 5.5%. A Labour-Green-only combination has a clear 5.5% lead over National.’
I think that most people are likely to still be in wait-and-see mode.
Next week’s mini-budget will give the first real indication of how the Government intends to proceed on the big issues, but that will be in lot of pre-Christmas noise.
Then it’s wait-and-see how the Government kicks off the new year in late January/February, and it will take another month or two to see how that plays out in the polls.
Voting in Parliament depends on the allocation of MPs (seats) as determined by the General Election (closed) on 23 September 2017. If our politics were to be decided by opinion polls we all would be vomiting our guts out (get it?) form the nauseating turbulence and sporadic weightlessness.
“Green recovered from Lab”..? Hey, Labour’s up, not down. Not up much, but up.
We would all have liked a bigger bounce, but given the narrative about a “stolen election”, “coalition of the losers” etc, this is OK. The challenge, of course, is to build on this next year and beyond.
Yes, that’s how I read it too, or were dirty enough on NZ1st for running left to withdraw their support. There will be some that surmised: ‘Jacinda! Oh ok, lets give this a go then.’
That 2% that have left the NZ1st tally, I wonder if they’re people who would be attracted to claims like: “There will be no more sitting on the couch.”
Many thanks to the Australian rugby league for taking the lead and having a Lady’s league competition Ka pai. Maybe NZ rugby union will follow suit and start a Lady’s competition this is what is need to help OUR Lady’s to get equality.
On Q an A I see Jacinda has risen in popularity to 36%,and I say with a logical sceptical process that if the leader rises in popularity that so will her party look at the people on Q an A they can not look straight when they are taking negative about our new coalition government what a national puppet programme it has a blue screen background. Because we are losing faith in these pollsters companies colmar Braunton they are trying to get some Mana back but I say that they are just national puppet to I can see it a mile away and Corin Dan he is a national puppet to muppet Ana to kai
‘The number of children having rotting teeth surgically removed has doubled in the past 10 years, costing the taxpayer $4000 a pop. Many dentists say it’s all down to sugar, especially sugary drinks. Calls for a tax on sugary drinks are mounting, but the previous government wouldn’t entertain the idea. New health minister David Clark says he wants better access to more affordable dental care, less sugar in food and better labelling. Dental Association spokesman Dr Rob Beaglehole sees the effects of sugary drinks every day, having to extract whole sets of teeth from children as young as 18 months.’
Ed
Parent support and regular group meetings of new parents especially mothers where they are taught about nutrition and good health by people of their own ethnicity or those they feel a rapport with, not middle class types preaching down to the masses approach, that would start off with good habits and break peer pressure ideas – if everyone does it then hard to break. It is no doubt a way of pleasing kids, giving them something to calm them. It is finding alternatives, ie if they have a bottle they cart around with them as toddlers just have water in it right from the start.
Yes, that’s my point. The things aren’t at the core of what ails us. It’s what we do with the things that requires our attention.
Coke or Raro are not evil. Fabulous for Birthday parties. Moaning about the availability of dentists as I fill my toddler’s bottle with L&P doesn’t sit squarely with me.
Yes, that’s my point. The things aren’t at the core of what ails us. It’s what we do with the things that requires our attention.
That can’t possibly have been your point. If a bottle of coke is $50 then a sachet of Raro will also be $50 as both are a bottle of sugary drink.
Making both $50 will stop them going off the shelves. The corporations will complain about it for sure but then they don’t actually have the right to poison us.
Coke or Raro are not evil. Fabulous for Birthday parties.
Yeah they are and no they’re not. Much better to serve fruit juice (which is also a sugary drink but it also has other stuff in it which actually makes it a food which neither Raro nor coke is). Or just soda water with some real fruit flavouring but without the sugar.
Moaning about the availability of dentists as I fill my toddler’s bottle with L&P doesn’t sit squarely with me.
If on a search for a neoliberal framework worthy of dismantling I think there are few better examples than Coca Cola Inc.
I love my iPhone, it’s a product that assists me. Thanks Apple. But $2 for flavoured water? A corporation that enjoyed popular initial support with the claim that their product relieved fatigue. Drinks laced with cocaine will do that.
Their marketing machine surfs along on it’s wave of perfect 16 year old complexions and promises of an endless Summer. When a corporation is spending more money on getting me to buy their product than the product costs to produce….adjustments are required.
Banning sugary drinks should be a ministry of health priority.
Start at the top of the cliff.
You only need to protect teeth with fluoride if they e been damaged by sugar.
Completely normal seeming American’s, believe that anyone who does not agree with Trump is the devil. Scary stuff, pleased I don’t have to live in US. Must be hard if you are not a believer…
Saying that the lefties play right into the righties hands by being evangelical about globalism and identity politics. Not ok for Israelis to take over Palestinian land and assets but is ok for other Nationalities to arrive in NZ and do that.
Soon the powerful will be damming the water for their cruise ships, dairy farms, water bottling plants and mansion swimming pools and our council, iwi, and government representatives will be holding the towels and saying ‘no problem’, locally born less competitive people, need austerity and to tighten up and of course to pay more taxes and get on those work for dole schemes so they have something to do. Anyone lucky enough to be in a local job should be paying more taxes as there’s so much infrastructure and houses to create for their brave new world.
Environment out the window, because money talks and our leftie representatives will all be saying how great it is so many women are represented in parliament and we can’t say no to a trade agreement, we are exporters (Even though increasingly the exporters are not domiciled in NZ for tax purposes and are exporting profits not physical goods or services or even live here).
Then concentrating on the “global presence” with photo ops and taking about ‘solving poverty’ or ‘climate change’ like John Key rather than the domestic situation which like in Miss world beauty contests has become meaningless like ‘world peace’. Nice words and well meant but not actually having much to do with the beauty pageant.
Meanwhile people with different opinions are denied assess at the border to world events like WHO or 170 environmental defenders murdered. That’s our new democracy. It’s kinda become narrower who democracy applies to these days.
The way I see it our fuel company CEO are m8 with joyce and key and they are deliberately jacking up the price of our fuel so we have less money to spend and retailers will see a drop in income and national will try and ride this as a negative thing to attack our new coalition government Mana. But let’s look for the positive things in this scenario we will use less fuel we will import less fuel so our import export balance will move in our favour as it always does under labour. All so we will consume less goods and this is positive for our country and mother nature our environment Kai kaha
Q and A saying our government is anti immigrants well thats crap they want to control immigration so we get people that won’t displace the local people and will benefit us all WTF Ana to kai
Ah, Christmas has come early; Colman Brunton poll just out: National well in the lead and no bounce for Labour, stagnant, NZ First near the 5 per cent threshold
and the Greens on a mere 7 per cent. So there was no vote for change, the vote was and still is, for National! National will indeed be thrilled, thrilled, thrilled, the majority have endorsed them, once again.
A new govt is supposed to get a big bounce…what happened? oh yes, ‘MMP (Winston) decided’! (instead of the people…).
It seems that the majority of this country is comfortable with homelessness, low wages, high rents, poisoned rivers, privatised water reticulation, closure of the rail network, privatisation, erosion of workers rights, commodification of education, running down of services and the like.
Tanz, a couple of things you need to notice:
1) Labour went up 2.1% (6% of their election result), National are up 1.4% (3% of their election result).
2) All three coalition partners are still over the 5% threshold (although NZF will need to get some wins on the board to show their constituents that they are getting what they campaigned for).
3) (And this is the big one) National need to find a way to play nice with NZF, because they can’t win on their own and ACT are a sick joke.
This misunderstanding of the meaning of the word “majority” really is causing you guys some pain, isn’t it?
I checked on the 10 Commandments list, in the Quran, in the Road Code and in Dr Seuss yet nowhere could I find that a new govt is supposed to get a big bounce.
Actually, it is in the DP Manifesto that used to reside in John Key’s top drawer on the ninth floor with a sham cover labelled Cabinet Manual. Apparently, there a few copies still in circulation …
Good on Lisa Owen from the nation for holding bill to account for his failure to our the vulnerable people of our country. Andrew beercroft well many thanks to him for standing up for the poor valuerable people once again. And there you go the cops not doing there job and the IPCA Covering there ass this poor man was raped probably by pee heads and they just ignore him WTF many thanks to Lisa an the nation for a fear program . Kai Kaha
Hands up everyone who detests NewstalkZB.
Well, there was one bit of good news just before noon on Monday.
NewstalkZB, Monday 4 December 2017
During this show, the cranky Trump-worshipper and science-denier Leighton Smith spends much of his time insisting that the Groper in Chief in Washington is the target of a conspiracy, and a victim of fake news rather than a perpetrator of it.
LEIGHTON SMITH: …. But when you’re talking about the um, the most powerful position in the world, AND it still is, AND it will continue to be for the moment, ahhhmmm, by the way on that point there’s an ANNOUNCEMENT I need to make, ahhhmmm, just a small one in a MINUTE. Ahhhhhm…[extended pause]… THEN, is of interest to ANYBODY who cares about what happens in the world….
…..
My program will come to an eeennnnd…SOON. But not as soon as SOME would HOPE!
….
And this is the sort of thing that CNN, NBC, C—, uuummmm, and ABC have been doing for soooommme… considerable time. Did I miss anybody out? [extended intake of breath] Creating false illusions, reporting things as fact that aren’t, and every time that someth—, that TRUMP calls it fake news, the chances are he’s more correct than otherwise.
Shortly after, this stream of muddled semi-cosciousness is interrupted by a caller, who wants to speak to the great thinker about a leader a little closer to home….
CALLER: I just wonder why New Zealand’s worrying its provincial head about something that’s out of our control, when we have the issue with John Key last week, um, lying about the mass surveillance program, and that got no commentary at all.
LEIGHTON SMITH: Un— about WHAT? Program, WHAT?
CALLER: The mass—-
BEEEP. Burr, Burr…
LEIGHTON SMITH: Arrrggghh. Thanks for nothing. Ahhhm, I had NO IDEA what he was talking about. And I didn’t hang up on him, he went….
Now it’s strange that Leighton Smith should be unaware of that scoop in the Herald last week by its investigative reporter David Fisher, suggesting John Key might have misled New Zealanders in 2014 about his government’s mass surveillance plans. As Leighton Smith went on to say later in his show that day, he works “shoulder to shoulder” with the folks at the Herald and NewstalkZB these days….
LEIGHTON SMITH: Ahhh, in this new building that we’ve now been in for two years, it has actually been a completely different atmosphere. Working in the same environment as people from the Herald, aaahhhhmmm, has been an INTERESTING experience, uh, with some ups and some downs.
And now, you ask, what was this “good news just before noon”? At the end of this show, Smith for once actually said something positive: he announced he’s leaving in one year’s time.
Why didn’t we throw the proverbial kitchen sink at kauri dieback the second we found it, like we did with the fruit fly? The difference is obvious: the fly threatened to decimate a $6 billion industry, whereas a kauri tree is more difficult to put a dollar value on unless it’s in the form of a piece of furniture.
A nice little write-up contrasting the efforts spent on eradicating the threat of the Queensland fruit fly versus dealing with Kauri dieback disease.
I have been to busy to keep up with what happening in our political seen I say prices sugar out of reach for us pour people and this will save our mokos teeth an lower obesity us pour people are to busy trying to stay afloat than have the thought capacity to worry about diet so the state is obliged to step in and help and in the process save millions. joyces m8 at the retails association will kick up a big stink because they worship profits over humanity so________-them and make the changes needed. I agree with Jacinda that because there is not enough money that the priority is to make sure that all our mokos get a good beneficial education that gives them the tools to thrive in our society and in a few years
Concentration on Maori language as this policy of a good for all education will benefit our mokos and our economy. Ka pai
That was awful. I don’t understand why the cop giving the orders wasn’t charged, he looked the most culpable to me.
It looked like a bit of a setup; one guy barking conflicting instructions that a person might find impossible to follow and which could then give others in the squad the excuse to shoot.
Footage of shooting, captured on two police on-body cameras, formed the foundation of the prosecution’s case. The judge did not allow jurors to hear about an etching on the dust cover of the rifle Brailsford used to shoot Shaver, which said “You’re f–ked,” because he felt it was prejudicial.
Footage of shooting, captured on two police on-body cameras, formed the foundation of the prosecution’s case. The judge did not allow jurors to hear about an etching on the dust cover of the rifle Brailsford used to shoot Shaver, which said “You’re f–ked,” because he felt it was prejudicial.
Yes, really. From what I read the cop barking the orders was a sergeant and I assume the squad leader or at least senior. He was not just giving orders to the victim, he also looked to be stating aloud the circumstances under which his squad members had permission to shoot. He got the victim so terrified he didn’t know what the hell he was doing.
I struggle to see anything other than a cop that made a very bad decision under stressful circumstances.
I don’t think he should walk free but locking him up for 10 years is unlikely to change much. Hopefully he’ll be appointed a Town Hall library security role….and a truncheon.
When you’ve had too much to drink and a man with a gun is saying ‘Keep your hands on your head or you will be shot’ it’s easy to forget just how important it is to keep your hands on your head.
*Note to self: When pissed in Vegas, stay in the room.
Even US cops don’t have permission to shoot people simply for disobeying an order. The order has to be legitimate most of what that cop was barking was confusing crap.
My attention has just been drawn to something by “David Mac”, viz., “I struggle to see anything other than a cop that made a very bad decision under stressful circumstances.”
Maybe your complacent and thoughtless view of things would change if someone you cared about was murdered like that.
Yes it’s awful, I’ve never seen such disregard for human life. My stomach is churning. It’s disgusting that humans can treat each other like that. Yes Morrissey, you are right in assuming that I would have an enhanced emotional involvement if it was my brother that was shot.
Well, my friend, I think one thing we could do about it is to be honest and state plainly that the executioner is directly responsible for that killing. You seem to sympathize with him because he was being barked at and bullied by his superior officer. Why did he not simply refuse to obey that fool? Would he have been in any danger at all if he had shown some moral fibre?
By the way, has the learned Chris “Haw Haw” Trotter spoken or written in defence of this jury decision to acquit?
I see a dumb redneck cop that behaved very poorly under very stressful circumstances. Circumstances he was largely responsible for inducing. The best way to get someone to stop yelling is to whisper to them.
You seem quick to stand in judgement Morrissey. I’m doing the best job I can, I think I’m doing ok, I’m trying to address my shortcomings but I live in fear of appearing on your ‘Crap Dad’ list.
Don’t worry, David—unless you’ve moulded a son as cowardly and as obnoxious as Max Key, as vicious and dishonest as Cameron Slater’s slave Carrick Graham or as repulsive and racist as Martin Amis, you’re not going to be on Deadbeat Dads any time soon.
By the way, keep your eyes peeled for No. 7—coming up tomorrow!
I don’t know Max, I’m not sure what’s important to him. If I had my heart set on being a DJ, I wouldn’t mind failing like him. His Dad? Booking 11am inhouse massages with illegal immigrants at Waikiki…who cares.
Obviously there was no getting away from being Prez but it appears to me that Key did what he could to assist his kids to be the people they wished to be. Other than ‘don’t talk with your mouth full’ etc, I think that’s the best gift we can give our kids.
Why is there no mention of nitrates from dairy farms in this article by RNZ?
Cover up?
‘Scientists have collected samples from algae blooms found during an inspection of Lake Taupō swimming sites this weekend.
Algal mats and surface water bloom samples were taken from beaches at Kuratau, Mission Bay, Motutere Bay, Hatepe, Halletts Bay and Whareroa South.
They’ll be analysed by Waikato Regional Council scientists to determine whether any are toxic.
The council said the results should be available this afternoon.
In the meantime people are being urged to avoid algae-affected areas; signs are up at the six beaches concerned.
Contact with the algae mats could cause skin rashes, stomach upsets and respiratory symptoms.
The toxic algal species often multiply to high levels during periods of warm, sunny weather.
In lakes they can form extensive green to black-coloured mats that settle on rocks and the lake floor. Significant clumps sometimes break off and float free, collecting on the water’s edge.
Meanwhile, organisers of this weekend’s Ironman 70.3 Taupō event made a last-minute decision to cancel the swimming portion of the race.’
‘The inaugural Critic and Conscience of Society Award winner and environmental crusader Dr Mike Joy says Wanaka needs to reduce its cow numbers and put a stop to the intensification of the dairy industry if it is to save its waterways.
Dr Joy said a Wanaka vet told him there used to be three cows in Wanaka and he knew them each by name, now there were upwards of 30,000 cows in the area.
“That is the kind of change we’ve had, that is the reality of it, and a lot of Southland cows are being wintered here and they don’t really count in the statistics properly but their s… sure does.”
Dr Joy said the cows were being wintered in Upper Clutha because of the drier climate but the soils around Wanaka were very porous, which allowed pathogens and contaminants to move quickly through the soil and into the waterways. The Massey University academic spoke in Wanaka this week at the invitation of the Lake Wanaka Trust, delivering a public lecture on “The Future of food; our deadly nitrogen and fossil fuel addiction”. In an interview, he said artificial nitrogen made from fossil fuels had allowed cow numbers to double in the past 20 years and quadrupled milk production, but the farmers were not making any more money and the nitrogen was ruining rivers and lowland lakes.
“Our rivers can be saved because they flow, so once you stop polluting them they can come right, but our lowland lakes are so full of nutrients and sediments you virtually can’t save them.”
He said “there has been such a weakening of the legislation in New Zealand that two of the most nutrient-polluted rivers in the world, like the Yangtze and the Mississippi, would get an A or a B under our new standards.”
‘We quit alcohol nearly two years ago and it changed everything’
‘We live in a society where it is normal, or according to some, essential to have a drink to celebrate.
We welcome the weekend in with post-work drinks and take to the dance floor with a wine in hand.
The boys will knock back a few shots and sink a few “cold ones” on a Sunday arvo.
But one couple decided to end their love with alcohol. They weren’t alcoholics, and they lived fairly normal lives to most, but it was the one decision that changed their lives forever.
Her husband dropped 15kg, had glowing skin, crystal clear eyes and higher energy levels.
He decided to continue on the no alcohol buzz, which encouraged Claire to take up the lifestyle change.
“The 100 days turned into 200 and then 300 and then before we knew it, we were living and loving life alcohol-free. We both made the statement that we may never have another sip again. Ever.
“Why? Between the two of us, we’d lost 32kg and felt fast and light on our feet. We gained more hours within each day, as we no longer needed as much sleep. We had the time and energy to spend our weekends bushwalking with the kids, teaching them how to ride their bikes or catch a wave. We had the stamina to run, ride, race, climb, create, teach and meditate with our children,” she wrote.
Despite suffering several big blows – financial losses, deaths in the family and unsettling family dynamics – the couple felt they were able to deal with testing situations calmly, carefully, soberly and without regret.’
Alcohol is NZ’s blindspot. Our blinkers are provided by the international liquor industry, whose advertising make this Class B drug ‘cool’.
The damage it does to our society is massive.
And we tolerate such damage, because we are slaves to marketing.
Yeah, I dunno. I think I might choose Lion or Stella courtesy of the marketing noise but my base desire to have a drink is down to me and my choices.
Hmmm…….we have been manipulated via marketing to varying degrees. eg: in the past a lager might be promoted as ‘The Thirst Quencher’. I should be drinking water to quench my thirst, I’m drinking the lager for a beer buzz… I’ll tell the kids I’m thirsty.
‘New Zealanders have been too tolerant of the risks associated with drinking
to excess. Unbridled commercialisation of alcohol as a commodity in the last
20 years has made the problem worse. New Zealanders now spend an estimated
$85 million a week on alcohol.
The excessive consumption of alcohol by New Zealanders contributes to a range
of serious harms. These harms can be categorised as:
• an array of criminal offences including homicides, assaults, sexual assaults,
domestic violence and public disorder that place heavy and unacceptable
burdens on the New Zealand Police;
• the causative contribution that alcohol consumption makes to a long list of
diseases, including alcohol-related cancers, mental health disorders,
dependence, foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, sexually transmitted infections,
and many others;
• alcohol poisoning and accidental injury due to intoxication, sometimes
causing death. This includes many cases of death in the home and on the
roads. The Accident Compensation Corporation estimates up to 22% of the
claims it receives have alcohol as a contributing factor. These injuries place
a heavy burden on the public health system, particularly on the accident and
emergency departments of New Zealand hospitals. Treating disease and
disability to which alcohol contributes places a further heavy load on the
public health system;
• the catalogue of harms visited upon third parties as a result of others’ excessive
alcohol consumption. These include many victims of crime, victims of
domestic violence and children whose lives are marred, sometimes before
birth, by their dependence on adults who drink to excess;
• the harmful effects on educational outcomes, workplace productivity,
friendships, social life, home life and the financial position of households;1
• the public nuisance: litter, glass, noise, the damage and destruction of property
and the costs associated with rectifying these nuisances.’
It includes a series of comments from regulars. I wonder how we see it all now in the context of the new coalition government.
That whole OpenMike is worthy of preservation. (History.net maybe) For me, it pretty much sums up the consequences of the neo-liberal agenda – whether its Ken Douglas succumbing to treats and trinkets, or Toby rolling in his grave over the temptations his son has succumbed to. Probably the birth of Chardonnay Socialism.
I'm crying laughing…"Alexa… are you connected to the CIA?""Alexa… you are lying to me." – Alex Jones' hard hitting back and forth interview with an Amazon Echo. He's not gonna let it get away with ANYTHING. pic.twitter.com/GxguDBLMST— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) December 9, 2017
I think our new Maori labour mp should use his brain our tepuna gave us and no this that a labour government is good for Maori. So hanging ones washing out in public is not a wise choice as there are many consequences because of this.
One would not expect to have a long career If one carries on like that it’s the people its the people you will benefit our people if you are in parliament for a very long time and labours policy will benefit Maori even if it’s not directly aimed at Maori.
I think that this is a wise thing as it
Takes away a target that national could us as a racial shit stur and all you other Maori mp take notice. Kai Kaha
‘Team NZ is a big business and not necessarily a good business.’
Nice to see someone in the media not falling for Team New Zealand’s bait.
Indeed Rattue’s article includes some truths you never see in the economy section of the paper.
‘The big lie was Rogernomics, the 1980s rush to free enterprise which inferred that health and wealth would trickle down. Ever since, the wealth has been gushing upwards, and real national health has plummeted.
The original America’s Cup dream was actually funded by some of these new frontiersmen, a couple of bankers with – in my view – highly questionable attitudes around society values.’
No, when you live in a little country where the head of the local farming cooperative is earning more than $8m a year and gets an increase to give Beauden Barrett’s goalkicking success rate a decent nudge, all those top dogs are fair game.
Big business will say anything to get its own way — take all inferences the good ship America’s Cup is vital for the country with a big vat of sea salt.’
This article shows more critical thinking than anything you’d read from Hosking, Soper, du Plessis Allen, Garner, Gower, Murphy, Young, Watkins, Tame, ….
Yes this was written in the sports section and actually shows up the bs we’ve been sold for 35 years,
Chris Rattue’s article is worth a thread.
Just read this section alone…..
‘Philosophy, heart, soul, culture and emotion has been replaced by a fake world in the debilitating efficiency age. This includes the pseudo patriotism that lines up before every test match, hand on heart, face grimacing, team mates clutched closely, anthem turned up loud.
But can you tell me again why it is so overwhelmingly important to beat Australia, when I don’t actually feel like that anymore?’
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Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Dehm, Senior lecturer, international migration and refugee law, University of Technology Sydney The High Court unanimously ruled today that the Australian government can keep asylum seekers in immigration detention indefinitely in cases where they do not “voluntarily” cooperate with their own ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Munro, Lecturer, Creative Industries and Digital Media, University of South Australia Twenty-four hours after the release of Macklemore’s pro-Palestine protest song Hind’s Hall on social media on May 7, the video had already notched up over 24 million views. In ...
Failing to anticipate the complexity of the consenting system is being cited as the the current builder's shortcomings, an Infrastructure Commission review says. ...
350 Aotearoa is calling the Environment Select Committee’s decision to allow oral submissions from just 40% of individual, unique submitters who asked to speak to the committee ‘a disgraceful blight to democracy’. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Helal, Assistant Dean (Sustainability), The University of Melbourne Dubai skylineAleksandarPasaric/Pexels Since ancient times, people have built structures that reach for the skies – from the steep spires of medieval towers to the grand domes of ancient cathedrals and mosques. Today ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edward Musole, PhD Law Student, University of New England Girts Ragelis/ShutterstockRecent trends show Australians are increasingly buying wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers. These electronics track our body movements or vital signs to provide data throughout the day, with ...
Papua New Guinea experienced a significant earthquake on 24 March in East Sepik and there has also been recent flooding there and in surrounding provinces. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yousuf Mohammed, Dermatology researcher, The University of Queensland Maridav/Shutterstock You wake up, stagger to the bathroom and gaze into the mirror. No, you’re not imagining it. You’ve developed face wrinkles overnight. They’re sleep wrinkles. Sleep wrinkles are temporary. But as your ...
The Environment Select Committee has just announced that 60 percent of individuals who asked to speak at the hearings will not be heard. This equates to almost 700 people who made individual submissions and more than 1000 more who made a form submission. ...
The Royal New Zealand Ballet is performing Swan Lake around the country. What kind of dream does the ballet sell?Before going to see the Royal New Zealand Ballet perform Swan Lake, I had about as much familiarity with the plot of this ballet as could be expected from having ...
A new poem by Auckland poet Eamonn Tee. High Tide at Local Maxima It is only going to get worse. The streams will be narrow and fickle. The week will bend and buckle like a pot-bellied waist. You will make it to the weekend with one ...
The New Zealand entrepreneur behind beauty business Ethique is gearing up to launch a new eco-venture. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Our thirst for a tasty bevvy is insatiable, but it comes with a hefty plastic price for the planet: 580 billion ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 James by Percival Everett (Mantle, $38) A retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from ...
By Kamna Kumar in Suva Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna stressed the importance of media freedom and its link to the climate and environmental crisis at the 2024 World Press Freedom Day event organised by the University of the South Pacific’s journalism programme. Under the theme “A Planet for ...
Tara Ward previews a new local TV series offering alternative visions of motherhood. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. A woman is clambering up the side of her two-story house, clinging desperately to a drainpipe. Nearby, her child is perched on the ...
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is supportive of the cross-party approach to climate adaptation announced by the Minister of Climate Change today. ...
The Sustainable Business Council (SBC) and Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) welcome today’s announcement from Government around a bipartisan inquiry into an enduring climate adaptation framework for New Zealand. ...
The Free Speech Union welcomes the decision by the Department of Internal Affairs, and Minister Brooke Van Velden, to abandon proposals to further regulate online speech. ...
Its new building in Wellington will not be nearly big enough for all its records, and it has also run out of money to build its new storage facility in Levin. ...
BusinessNZ is congratulating the Minister of Climate Change for his work in achieving cross-party consensus for a way forward on climate adaptation. ...
Recent research reveals the repeal of smokefree measures is not only bad for our health, but also the economy. The Government has repealed various smokefree measures to ensure it keeps collecting $1.2 billion a year in tobacco taxes, in order to pay for tax cuts already being delivered to ...
The club’s surprisingly good season is built on the desire to prove a random A-League YouTuber wrong… and a few other factors.“There’s no way that Wellington Phoenix play finals this year. I can’t see it happening at all.” Those are the words of Lachlan Raeside, an Australian football content ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By César Albarrán-Torres, Senior Lecturer, Department of Media and Communication, Swinburne University of Technology Apple TV+ As one of billions of bilingual individuals in the world, it disappoints me when a film or TV show with characters of a non-English-speaking background is ...
The under-utilised course is a waste of space, and with a little political will, it could be turned into something better. For the duration of her stay in Wellington, my long-suffering cousin listened to me rant about golf courses. They’re bad for the environment: water intensive and pesticide heavy. They ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leah Ruppanner, Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of The Future of Work Lab, Podcast at MissPerceived, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock A recent report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows US fertility rates dropped 2% in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Corderoy, Medical doctor and PhD candidate studying involuntary psychiatric treatment, School of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney shop_py/Shutterstock Picture two people, both suffering from a serious mental illness requiring hospital admission. One was born in Australia, the other in Asia. Hopefully, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Treby, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, RMIT University P.j.Hickox, Shutterstock Peatlands store more carbon per square metre than any other ecosystem on Earth. These waterlogged, mossy bogs beat even dense rainforests for their ability to act as carbon reservoirs. Under the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Goss, Adjunct Associate Professor, Health Research Institute, University of Canberra Government spending on health has been growing so rapidly that a decade ago the then health minister Peter Dutton called it “unmanageable” and “unsustainable”. Health spending grew in real terms by ...
New Zealand's largest electricity distributor is warning the country to hurry up with controls around charging electric vehicles or face unnecessary bills running into the billions. ...
New Zealanders have been asked to conserve energy this morning to combat a possible electricity shortfall, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. A call to conserve power New Zealand is facing a possible electricity shortfall, with people up ...
Writer Rebecca K Reilly breaks down the national book awards. What are the Ockhams?The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are our annual national awards for books published for adults, and have existed in this form since 2016. There are four categories: Fiction, Poetry, General Non-fiction and Illustrated Non-fiction. There ...
Wellington City Council should keep its 34% ownership share in Wellington International Airport, argue Unions Wellington spokespeople Finn Cordwell and Ashok Jacob. Insanity, as the saying goes, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Wellington City Council (WCC) is yet again proposing to dispose ...
New Zealand’s largest book publisher has undergone drastic changes this week, leaving its future role in local publishing uncertain. Two of the most recognisable local publishers in New Zealand are among those restructured out of Penguin Random House, it was announced this week. Head of publishing Claire Murdoch will leave ...
The Black Ferns Sevens appeared to be a mile behind Australia at the halfway point of the 2023-24 SVNS international circuit. Winless in three tournaments, a cup quarter-final exit in Perth was one of their worst results. To add insult to injury, talismanic skipper Sarah Hirini had been ruled out ...
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A wee hopeful sign. Maybe even the oil companies now accept they don’t need to waste money looking for new sources since we’re fucked if we burn all the easily extractable oil we already know about.
The latest oil-lease sale in Alaska, which of course was the biggest greatest most tremendous ever, got a “meh” from big oil. Only 0.8% of the offered leases sold, for less than a third of historical average prices and about 0.6% of the prices King Con had budgeted.
https://www.salon.com/2017/12/09/sale-of-arctic-oil-leases-goes-bust_partner/
Respite from the heat and dry – it’s raining today in Riverton, thank you, Weather Lords!
Nothing suffered in my well-protected garden, but lawns around the region were beginning to wither; pasture too. I’m talking with Tony Murrell on RadioLive at 7:20 this morning, about this and that, hence my early start; gotta coffee-up before I go on air 🙂
Sprinkling of rain here too. Just heard you on the wireless Robert 🙂 A sand beach does sound so much nicer than a sand pit, love your work, enjoy your day.
Cheers, Cinny. Enjoy the rain!
Robert (2) … can you send some of the wet stuff to Cromwell please. It’s soooo dry here and the wind isn’t helping either! Pleased to hear your garden didn’t suffer too much.
Had a downfall early yesterday morning, but it wasn’t enough to do much good. But then I guess a little is better than nothing.
Cheers
Oh fuck. Gun nuts in New Zealand seem to want to take a leaf out of the NRA book.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/99636184/frustrated-at-moves-to-tighten-gun-controls-firearms-owners-are-mobilising
Just a reminder of what other kinds of antisocial behaviour that dude David Tipple gets up to, when he’s not trying to put up a facade of being a fine upstanding citizen.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11743823
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11534286
Dang, cheers for the links Andre, david tipple seems to think he is above the law.
The prick
thinks he’sis above the law,14:43, Jan 31 2009
CONTROVERSIAL gun dealer David Tipple is facing charges over a car chase which saw police officers allegedly pursue a suped-up Nissan at speeds of up to 180km/h.
Tipple who spent 21 months in US jail cells on gun charges in 2002 and 2003 is due to appear at Christchurch District Court on Wednesday, facing charges of reckless driving and failure to stop for police in relation to the June 10 incident.
The Christchurch gunshop owner was arrested after police allegedly chased the Nissan car on roads between Tokoroa and Rotorua.
[…]
Tipple has been in trouble with authorities before.
In 2002, he made international headlines when he was arrested at Los Angeles airport after US Customs officials found 29 guns in his baggage. He was also travelling with 340 rounds of live ammunition.
Tipple was convicted of failing to notify his airline in writing about the guns and sentenced to a year in a New Mexico jail.
A week before he was due to be released, Tipple was extradited to Georgia, where he was held for nine months over charges of illegally buying 363 guns, including rifles, shotguns and pistols.
The charges were eventually dropped and he was allowed to return to New Zealand.
In 1992, he was acquitted of shooting and wounding three burglars who ran from his farm shed after trying to steal motorcycles.
At the trial, the Crown accepted Tipple intended to shoot over the offenders’ heads and had not seen one of them.
He was acquitted on all charges.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-news/latest-edition/583893/Reckless-driving-sees-gun-dealer-in-the-docks-again
Just the sort of person you wouldn’t want behind a pea-shooter!
The sort of person that Acts ‘Three Strikes Law’ would have put permanently behind bars – if any of the charges had stuck.
Thing is, he’s obviously the type of person who does need to be behind bars permanently for the safety of society.
Precisely!
Buggar all mention of David tipple in that stuff article at a skim.
Don’t think they are all gun nuts either, our firearm laws have been working extremely well for the law abiding. The police association without fail bangs the regulation drum, even when it is very clear the big problem is criminals and illegal guns, they just have to actually do their job better, and have some firmer penalties for the crims via the courts.
”
In response, Loder cites OIA information showing that of the last 100 firearms-related violent crimes, only two were recorded as involving a military-style semi-automatic. Out of all of these cases, only one offender held a firearms licence.
So the Police Associations’ push to have all firearms registered feels particularly offensive. Why would criminals register illegal firearms?”
Big photo with this caption: “Gun City owner David Tipple: “What is the result of someone having better knowledge of firearms? Do they turn into mass murders or do they turn into better members of society?” “. Further down there’s several paragraphs including this gem: “This week, Tipple remains forthright and unrepentant: ” he argues that training children to use firearms responsibly is a public service. “What is the result of someone having better knowledge of firearms? Do they turn into mass murders or do they turn into better members of society? Isn’t that a better question to ask?” ” . Together with a whole lot of special pleading that because his daughter went to the Olympics in shooting that must make him a special person.
If all firearms get registered, then possession of an unregistered firearm becomes an easy way to identify and put away a particularly nasty kind of criminal. It really doesn’t look like any kind of imposition on a responsible owner.
The Police Associations’ push to have all firearms registered feels particularly offensive because the owner of the firearm will be held to account by having to explain just how their firearm happened to be in the possession of the offender.
tifify
/
Yep, that too.
3.2.1.1 @ Keepcalmcarryon
We had individual registration of firearms and have moved to vetting and registering owners as a safer bet.
It’s worked extremely well. Conversely policing and containment of organized crime and gangs has not.
Attempts to license individual guns now would drive many underground.
Personal freedoms ( I wouldn’t use the term rights) should only be curtailed with very good reason lest all our passtimes be regulated to the standards of the bedwetters and hand-wringers.
I sure hope you urban keyboard warriors have been even louder in your call for regulating foreign drivers who actually are killing people.
Registering guns helped a little bit. Registering owners did a bit better. Registering both guns and their owners should work even better.
Better yet in this day of easy big data would be requiring owners to record the location of their guns at all times in a central database. Want to go hunting? Log on before you go and register your plans. Want to take your gun to the range? Log on and register the move before you go.
The only design purpose of a gun is to kill and injure living beings. Given that a gun’s only purpose is to do harm, any concessions allowing private citizens to own and use them should be treated as an awesome privilege and responsibility. As far as I’m concerned, whinging about entirely reasonable measures should be sufficient grounds to revoke that privilege.
no thanks Andre ( not my original wording 🙂 ). And the fact you and others like you think big brother controlling anyones legitimate activities like this is a good idea is a worry.
It shows you don’t want more control you want total control, we know where that leads.
I hope you are pushing for a 5 km/hr speed limit on the open road to eliminate the road toll.
It wouldn’t be controlling anyone’s activities. Just holding them responsible for them.
That’s nice. But what we need is for a way so that people with guns can show that they’re grown up. Just believing that people are grown up usually results in quite a lot of harm to other other people. greywarshark brought up the case where someone who was ‘grown up’ shot and killed someone because he thought he saw a deer.
And that’s an emotional load of bollocks. No ones curtailing anyone’s freedoms by having better gun control.
Bollocks to that. Firearms owners are vetted to ensure they are ” grown up” gun registration has zip to do with it, don’t patronize.
I, and greywarshark, gave an example of when one of those ‘grownups’ killed somebody through stupidity.
And, yes, gun registration is part of that ‘grown up’ bit. Being responsible for your actions, such as selling an unlicensed person a gun, is part of being grown up.
So that would be you patronising us and hoping that we’ll believe your BS.
So you’ve decided that to be grown up, firearms should be individually licensed. Yes that is the definition of patronizing
No. Being grown up means being responsible but that the society needs a way to hold people responsible for their actions.
There already is? If your guns are licensed and stored legally and stolen, how is the owner any more or less personally responsible?
No there isn’t. If there was then that person who sold guns to an unlicensed person who then used those guns to kill two people wouldn’t have been able to do so as there would have been an immediate check.
Yes, he broke the law and two people died because he did. the reason why he managed to break the law in the first place was because there wasn’t enough checks. Gun registration adds that needed extra check.
So, licencing both firearms owners and their firearms would be big brother controlling everyone’s activities? Have you raised with your MP the Orwellian nightmare you’re currently being subjected to, of having to have a driver’s licence and licence your vehicles?
No. Logging on and off a data base to let authorities know your whereabouts as suggested by Andre ( or similar bed wetter) is orwellian bullshit though
So, no problem licencing gun owners and guns then, just don’t monitor their movements? Sounds fine to me – what’s all the argument about, then?
I’m not personally per se against licensing individual guns thanks for asking. 🙂 I’m against unnecessary or mis targeted regulation. Especially given a) police previously had individual registration and didn’t want it
B) there will be some issues implementing it ( guns underground)
C) police don’t use current information they have on record
D) being individually licensed doesn’t stop theft or gangs or organized crime which are the actual issue
The point is logging the whereabouts of a deadly weapon. Also making it easy to check that when someone is out and about with a deadly weapon that it’s all properly checked and being used for a planned legitimate purpose. Just like cops have checkpoints to check that cars and drivers are licenced and wof’ed.
But with the added recognition that someone going somewhere with a deadly weapon probably has in mind trying to kill something in the near future.
I take it you are vegan Andre?
Plus lol at your last paragraph.
It’s about being a grown up.
I don’t like jet skis, I find them noisy, intrusive, they burn fossil fuel and have no purpose other than self entertainment. Every year they kill people. I , like you, could be a wanker and call for them to be logged on a data base and tracked, registered or banned.
But it’s about everyone enjoying their own freedoms without treading on others toes.
The fact you would revoke someone’s firearms license for pointing out some facts certainly tells us a lot about you champ.
In a world of bylaws, they are.
Let’s be more like Auckland oh please 😀
It’s not America
You’re not in America
Your logic, as usual is incorrect because it’s not logical
It’s emotional!
An entire ad hominem post one two!
Inserting an actual argument in there might help things along a bit 🙂
Not to mention getting up to speed with the actual hierarchy of decision making.
Firstly – no it wasnt
It’s observational…and relevant to Andres circumstances…
Secondly – You’re doing just fine and have the perinent bases covered…
It’s time for your reality check.
To put it bluntly, feelings provide the basis for human reason…
Abusive, anonymous blog poster who accuses others of being ‘cowardly’ , using bare faced projection…
Is now offering ‘reality checks’
Quintessential hypocrisy
And almost a complete lack of awareness
Sure, whatever.
Now though, when you post vacuous drivel about the relationship between emotions and logic, you won’t have your ignorance to use as an excuse.
Andre
You have to ensure you have full flak jacket on when questioning gun owners and users to protect you from their attempts to bypass your rational sensible points. So I suggest that they will say in aggrieved tones that there is such a thing as target shooting, that is not aimed at a living thing. But then there is the truth that they are all wanting to make a hole in something, which is the basic thing for all shooting really.
But while thinking about projectile casting in a wider way. Besides guns, paint balls, trebuchet (now found on web games), slingshots (David), bowling cricket balls at people and building expertise in fast delivery to 50?km and how to direct the projectile to force a defensive response coupled with a returning attack. There is an inherent right in the minds of some males to be aggressive and accepting it’s possibly deadly and causing destruction. I noticed the lack of true remorse by the shooter who disobeyed the precautionary rule of protection and safety of others and shot dead a woman cleaning her teeth outside a hut.
Oh yeah, I put my nomex undies on before making those kinds of comments. But I really don’t feel the need to respond when others start ad-homming me. Particularly if they don’t respond to points with an actual argument and throw up a strawman instead.
And it seems to me on a straw poll of one that when trying to discuss guns and their control there is some visceral turmoil about lack of personhood for those being controlled. It seems to come from a position of weakness.
Arse. Being held responsible for the weapons you own ain’t curtailing anything.
So you admit you’re prepared to break laws you find too onerous …righto, crim…
btw, this bed wetting hand wringing urban keyboard warrior has been involved in bird/game/pest, small/smooth/full bore indoor/clay/range shooting and club/range operations off and on for close to sixty years.
there seems more emotion than any actual fact coming from your direction joe90.
After semi autos were registered in nz many went missing to turn up on the black market, its simple fact. Unfortunately for your argument it doesn’t make me a Crim 🙁 just someone who is old enough to have heard pretty much every argument over the years, look at police history: anti registry now pro registry , abd they still don’t use the resources they have.
Objecting to legislation that would hold the owners of individual firearms responsible for their weapon’s whereabouts and threatening to break the law if you are held responsible by legislation…
…walks like a duck, quacks like a duck..
I never threatened anything. Re read my post. Shame there is no eye roll emoji
Saying attempts to license individual guns now would drive many underground sounds awfully like a threat to break the law.
Only if you are mentally impaired
Actually it occurs to me that you really might not be putting 2 and 2 together , I’ll explain:
When semi autos moved to Ecat , a per gun cost to license them was involved. Probably due to this cost, many never got registered and ended up on the black market.
If we do a similar thing now , nit all guns will end up registered for some cost would be an issue, others simple forgetfulness ( minding parents guns etc), so the pool of underground weapons would grow in the short term at least.
Budding crim who objects to being held responsible by threatening to break the the law, won’t take responsibility for it’s utterances, goes all ad hom.
Sad.
edit:
Apologist, too.
Ok mentally impaired it is
Got nothing, huh.
Weak.
Let’s not bother to pass laws, because killer dogs, bad drivers, gangsters will just go underground 🙄
After semi autos were registered in nz many went missing to turn up on the black market, its simple fact. Unfortunately for your argument it doesn’t make me a Crim…
It doesn’t unless you were one of those people who sold or bought a semi-auto on the black market, in which case it very much would make you a crim.
Your argument effectively is that many firearms owners are not only irresponsible, but have no problem with engaging in criminal acts. All thatt tells me is that we need way more rigorous controls on them (both the gun enthusiasts and the guns).
QFT
This is how you get bad laws and sub optimal compliance. Bring in unneeded laws because you know better.
No one has refuted the actual points I’ve made, just emotive high horse gibberish.
How does individual gun rego solve the issue of gangs organized crime and theft?
More bollocks. How you get suboptimal laws is by not making in the first place and making up excuses as to why it’s all too hard – exactly as you have been.
Actually, several people have – several times. You have only come back with meaningless clichés that are simply wrong.
The mistake that you’re making is thinking that laws are made for the majority of people. They’re not. The majority of people will act responsibly and morally without laws.
The laws are made for those, who without laws, will act immorally and irresponsibly. The laws let these people know what actions are acceptable and which aren’t and what the consequences are for acting badly. They remove the excuse that they didn’t know better.
It doesn’t. But it does mean that when the police go into a gang headquarters and finds guns that aren’t registered that they can then do something about it. Without laws saying that you can’t have an unregistered gun they can’t.
Straw man says what? A bunch of illegal guns in a gang headquarters and the cops can’t do anything? But if they were registered they could?
Reeeeeally?
I gave you more credit.
How do you determine if they’re illegal?
They may be suspicious but that doesn’t make them illegal. After all, someone in the house may actually have a gun licence for all the guns. And that would make them legal.
Just because it’s a gang headquarters doesn’t mean that they’re breaking the law (and any gang headquarters that actually had illegal arms in it are run by a bunch of amateurs).
This seems to be a major problem with some people. They think just because someone’s in a gang that they’re automatically breaking the law and should be jailed. Oh, and that police officers can automatically tell just by looking at someone that they’re a criminal and that they should be charged straight away.
Actual rule of law requires proof and proper process.
It would make it easier to determine. Instantaneous in fact. Rather than having to go through a long investigation.
Cops come across illegal weapons during a search. All they’d have on that weapon is a serial number, if it was manufactured legitimately somewhere.
That might track which factory it came from. But with registration of the firearm, the can track who the last owner in NZ was, and trace the firearm back to a burglary. Or ask the registered owner questions, if it wasn’t lost in a burglary. Either way, it provides more information about firearms trafficking networks than “entered NZ 5 years ago, turned up in a search of a dope house”.
Possibly, Mcflock although it didn’t stop the guns being stolen or 3 d printed.
How is the police burglary resolution rate these days?
If the burgs were resolved, the guns would have been recovered for their legal owners.
It might not prevent firearms being stolen, but it gives you a definite start point for figuring out how the gun ended up being recovered in a raid. Not “I sold it to a guy on trademe” or whatever – you were definitely the last one to have it legitimately, how did it get from your safe to that drug den?
3d printing is basically the 21st centuray equivalent of zip guns: possible, cheap, but pointless unless you’re a kid. But even then it creates a network that can be attacked, a bit like hunting down the p-cooks.
I always think it is important to contain the number of tipples.
QFT
Registering of the weapons is so obviously the right thing to do as well as having arms licensing.
DTB
Such calls for registration seem to ignore previous police behavior: ( from wiki)
“Increasing gun crime in the 1960s led to greater police use of registration records, which were generally inaccurate or out-of-date. A project to check the register began in 1967, and found that 66 percent of entries were inaccurate in some way, with many guns not to be found at all. Police thought that the register was largely useless, and that substantial resources would be needed to keep it up-to-date. It was believed that the government would be unlikely to provide the resources required to update the register and that it would be politically difficult to demand registration information from firearm owners. Various new laws were introduced in the 1970s and 80s, proposing more government checks, registration of shotguns (which had been abandoned) and individual licensing.
An internal police report in 1982 criticised the proposals, saying there was no evidence that registration of guns helped to solve crimes, and that registration would use time and money better spent on other police work. This policy was adopted by the government in the 1983 Act.[5]
Arms Act 1983 Edit
The 1983 Arms Act abandoned registration for most long guns, as Parliament felt it was prohibitively expensive and not particularly useful. The philosophy of the new system was to control users, rather than firearms. “
You may not have noticed but it’s no longer the 1960s and that we have better information systems now.
Oh really?
How did the cops rock up to a firearms complaint at Quin Pattersons place in northland and leave without checking, when he had no gun license and a record of stabbing a police officer? Nutter goes on to murder 2.
Having a bunch of numbers on each gun won’t stop the gross incompetence of the police, an issue then and obviously still an issue now
Shifting the goal posts I see. First it was inaccurate records and now it’s police incompetence.
I’m more interested in the fact that someone sold guns to him despite him not having a licence. Gun registration would help prevent that because the change in ownership would have to be recorded – like car registration. If someone tries to sell someone without a licence a gun then that will show up and if they don’t transfer ownership then when a crime happens with the gun involved the previpous owners have to explain how they lost the weapon and didn’t report it. Again, that comes down to having better information systems.
Better information systems can even, to a large degree, prevent incompetence.
Assuming police check their records of course.
If your argument was the police need good records, then it’s pretty clear they don’t utilize the records they have, hope that’s clear.
What is clear is that you are talking twaddle.
Thanks for your valuable contribution
This may well be a stupid idea and I just can’t see why yet….
It’s getting cheaper and easier to give items a tag that can be monitored via satellite. eg: I can follow my stolen car on my phone via the chip I stashed up under the dash.
What would happen if every new or registered firearm was required to have such an embedded tag? Authorities would be able to see a number firearms together in a property that has been checked for a secure gunsafe and the occupant a registered and licensed owner, the model/serial numbers of the weapons visible on the screen. The cops would never have a reason to knock on that guy’s door. But if he flips out and is on his way to sort out the guy sleeping with his wife, the cops can monitor his movements if he chooses to take a gun along.
Find an unchipped firearm, big penalties. If it’s a legal model, govt can chip it and sell it. If it can’t be chipped, crush em.
Changes to gun laws stand a better chance of popular buy-in if they’re viewed by the good guys as positive moves and right royal pains in the arse by the Baddies.
It’s not. It’s that they need a good information system which includes gun licences and registered guns.
If the police are sent to an address then all the information about that address should come before them. That’s what a good information system would do including if registered gun/s and owners are at that address or not. If the latter and it’s a firearms complaint then there should be large flashing lights on the display.
If they then fail to read it and act upon the information then it’s incompetence and they should probably be fired. Culture in the police about proper response can also be changed. We change things to make them better and not whinge that it’s just too hard.
Fully agree with most of that
It’s already illegal to not report a lost firearm and already illegal to sell to someone without a license.
All the same as I’ve said I’m not against the individual gun licensing per se. Unfortunately when we have tossers who view all guns as evil ( designed to harm) their motive will be to increase compliance costs and try and prevent ownership and this is a step on that path ; hello Andre who would revoke a gun license for not agreeing with him)
Hence if it isn’t a particularly necessary regulation it needs to be justified not moralized in to force.
Yep, it is. But is that the only point where we want the checks? Would those two women still be alive if we had a better change of ownership system?
I think we need more checks.
1. Guns actually are designed to cause harm
2. Considering the price of guns I doubt adding a little more for legal process is going to stop people owning them
/facepalm
The morality is the justification.
Or is it that you think carrying out immoral actions is all fine and dandy?
brilliant thank you.
It’s about inflicting your morals on others.
The least nice side of ” left” politics.
Couldn’t we send these morons to the Auckland Islands and just let them shoot each other until there’s none of them left?
Meh. Hard to see much merit in that. On the other hand, the proposal that was going around for open carry at the Republican National Convention last year could have made quite a spectacle.
i just had my 10 year renewal and was asked if i would let them record the rego no’s on each rifle which i had no problem with , and would go so far as to say any one refusing to let them record them should not have their licence renewed.
Scary stuff
Fact Check: MSNBC’s Palestinian loss of land map
http://mondoweiss.net/2015/10/check-msnbcs-palestinian/
The beginnings of a BDS with bells, all the way to Coventry, I hope,
The Trump effect: No longer just rockets from Gaza, but now also a hit to the local economy, as high-tech delegations from Japan and China canceled Thursday their trips to Israel following U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The Chinese delegation cited a travel warning by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, forbidding large groups from traveling to Israel. Japan is concerned about the security situation following Trump’s announcement, and expects the conflict to impact its investment programs in Israel.
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.827864
Why Trump did it… 50 million Evangelicals in the US believe that when the world ends, they all get swept up to heaven.
The self-fulfilling evangelical death cult prophesy that pushed Trump into declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2017/12/08/the-self-fulfilling-evangelical-death-cult-prophesy-that-pushed-trump-into-declaring-jerusalem-the-capital-of-israel/
The Israeli right is more than happy to overlook the fundamentalists’ apocalyptic end-time beliefs that Jews must convert/be perfected and that Israel fits their prophesies, because they get US support for the Jewish State.
So, red meat for the base….
https://theconversation.com/why-trumps-evangelical-supporters-welcome-his-move-on-jerusalem-88775
….and tRump is the man.
Televangelist Frank Amedia, who leads Touch Heaven Ministries in Ohio, says he was told by God last year that Donald Trump would be the GOP presidential nominee and he believes God “raised up” the real estate mogul to help pave the way for the Second Coming.
Amedia, who is described in a Time magazine report as Trump’s new “liaison for Christian policy,” made the revelation in an interview with Steve Strang, founder of the Pentecostal magazine Charisma.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/televangelist-frank-amedia-god-donald-trump-second-coming-164922/
Trump’s ideas meld perfectly with evangelical apocalyptic expectations as the battle of Armageddon nears. He promises to seize power and to use it for them. He claims he would restore religious liberty to evangelicals. He would prohibit Muslims from entering the country. He would defend Israel at all costs. He would fight abortion by adding conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court. He would rebuild the American military. He would destroy the nation’s enemies. He would keep individual citizens well-armed and prepared for battle.
This is a man, in other words, who is not just seeking to beat Clinton. He is seeking to wage a real-world battle against evangelicals’ enemies and a spiritual battle against the Antichrist.
And this is why Amedia tells all who will listen that to support Trump is to ensure that the United States “stays under the favor of God.” To refuse to support Trump, then, is to defy God.
If Armageddon is coming, and many evangelicals believe it is, there can be no one better to lead the United States than Donald Trump.
https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/donald-trump-the-herald-of-evangelicals-end-times/
and they are milking it flat out via the youtube, unreal, videos abound have been uploaded and created in the last few days pushing that narrative and judging from the views and comments they are lapping it up over there. Check out the flag in the background of this clip, giving the idea that not believing is un-americian.
PS love that graphic they used on TDB.
can’t wait for it to happen here lol, we get all their left behind stuff.
Also their faces when they realise they have been left behind to deal with the mess they have created.
If ever you come across one of these guys just ask ‘what makes you think that you won’t be left behind’. the look of fear is down right funny if it were’nt so sad.
And sure enough.
https://www.thelocal.se/20171209/anti-semitic-chants-reported-at-malm-demonstration
https://www.timesofisrael.com/firebombs-hurled-at-synagogue-in-sweden-after-protest-march-over-jerusalem/
The first post-election Colmar Brunton poll (they now poll 50% mobile phones):
– National 46% (election 44.4%)
– Labour 39% (election 36.9%)
– NZ First 5% (election 7.2%)
– Greens 7% (election 6.3%)
– TOP 1% (election 2.4%)
– Maori Party 1% (election 1.2%)
– ACT NR (election 0.5%)
Is New Zealand heading in the right direction?
– Right direction 51%
– Wrong direction 26%
– Don’t know 27%
Preferred Prime Minister:
– Jacinda Ardern 37%
– Bill English 28%
– Winston Peters 5%
3 key facts
39% + 5% + 7% = 51% vs National’s 46%
51% say New Zealand heading in the right direction
Bill at 28%….
They’re not facts, they’re poll measurements of opinion with a +/- 3.3% margin of error (at 50%).
But there’s some positives for most in this poll, like Ardern clearly ahead on preferred Prime Minister, Labour stil improving, Greens apparently recovering from the party death zone. National should also be happy.
If in a poll of 1,000 people 500 give a certain answer that is a fact. This specific measurement has a measurement error of zero. Assuming that certain criteria are met this sample can be used to predict the mean of the whole population, i.e. as if the whole population was polled. The population mean will lie between the margins of error with 95% confidence. That is a fact too. It does not matter what the question was that they were polling on; (the) facts remain facts.
They’re facts in the same way that a jury decision is a fact – beyond reasonable doubt.
‘Poll: Voters broadly say yes to new government
That majority has grown. The average of the three post-government-formation polls has given National 42.4%, 11% behind the three-way government’s total of 53.4%: Labour 39.3%, Greens 8.6% and New Zealand First 5.5%. A Labour-Green-only combination has a clear 5.5% lead over National.’
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/345867/poll-voters-broadly-say-yes-to-new-government
I think that’s a bit presumptuous.
I think that most people are likely to still be in wait-and-see mode.
Next week’s mini-budget will give the first real indication of how the Government intends to proceed on the big issues, but that will be in lot of pre-Christmas noise.
Then it’s wait-and-see how the Government kicks off the new year in late January/February, and it will take another month or two to see how that plays out in the polls.
Just reporting the poll of polls.
Three polls since the election, two from Roy Morgan, doesn’t give a poll-of-polls much to go on.
I recognise irony when I see it 😉
Indeed it does. But if NZF drop a point the. You are down to 46 all.
Not a lot of wiggle room there for the government. And this is when they are supposed to get the post election bounce.
Oh well perhaps a vogue photo shoot will help.
Voting in Parliament depends on the allocation of MPs (seats) as determined by the General Election (closed) on 23 September 2017. If our politics were to be decided by opinion polls we all would be vomiting our guts out (get it?) form the nauseating turbulence and sporadic weightlessness.
Sorta looks like NZ1 went back? to Natz and Green recovered from Lab.
“Green recovered from Lab”..? Hey, Labour’s up, not down. Not up much, but up.
We would all have liked a bigger bounce, but given the narrative about a “stolen election”, “coalition of the losers” etc, this is OK. The challenge, of course, is to build on this next year and beyond.
OOPs!!
that tells me that only 2% of nzf supporters like the nats , that must be why winston went left
Yes, that’s how I read it too, or were dirty enough on NZ1st for running left to withdraw their support. There will be some that surmised: ‘Jacinda! Oh ok, lets give this a go then.’
That 2% that have left the NZ1st tally, I wonder if they’re people who would be attracted to claims like: “There will be no more sitting on the couch.”
@pete george hopefully this will entice National to keep Bill as leader.
I think it’s likely to reduce the chances of thoughts on alternative leaders over the holidays.
I think that English is probably good for another 6-12 months.
Many thanks to the Australian rugby league for taking the lead and having a Lady’s league competition Ka pai. Maybe NZ rugby union will follow suit and start a Lady’s competition this is what is need to help OUR Lady’s to get equality.
On Q an A I see Jacinda has risen in popularity to 36%,and I say with a logical sceptical process that if the leader rises in popularity that so will her party look at the people on Q an A they can not look straight when they are taking negative about our new coalition government what a national puppet programme it has a blue screen background. Because we are losing faith in these pollsters companies colmar Braunton they are trying to get some Mana back but I say that they are just national puppet to I can see it a mile away and Corin Dan he is a national puppet to muppet Ana to kai
ON RNZ this morning at 10 a.m.
‘The number of children having rotting teeth surgically removed has doubled in the past 10 years, costing the taxpayer $4000 a pop. Many dentists say it’s all down to sugar, especially sugary drinks. Calls for a tax on sugary drinks are mounting, but the previous government wouldn’t entertain the idea. New health minister David Clark says he wants better access to more affordable dental care, less sugar in food and better labelling. Dental Association spokesman Dr Rob Beaglehole sees the effects of sugary drinks every day, having to extract whole sets of teeth from children as young as 18 months.’
diet for sure will have an impact, but also lack of access to dentists and specialist. Also costs.
To go to a specialist dentist in NZ you might as well offer your firstborn as an offering to Baal.
Ed
Parent support and regular group meetings of new parents especially mothers where they are taught about nutrition and good health by people of their own ethnicity or those they feel a rapport with, not middle class types preaching down to the masses approach, that would start off with good habits and break peer pressure ideas – if everyone does it then hard to break. It is no doubt a way of pleasing kids, giving them something to calm them. It is finding alternatives, ie if they have a bottle they cart around with them as toddlers just have water in it right from the start.
Coke at $50 a bottle would see those sachets of fine sugar cordial powder flying off the shelves. The elephant is in our mouths.
We’ve got to stop filling the tanks of our organic Ferraris with Kero.
And what makes those sachets of flavoured sugar any less of a sugary drink?
Yes, that’s my point. The things aren’t at the core of what ails us. It’s what we do with the things that requires our attention.
Coke or Raro are not evil. Fabulous for Birthday parties. Moaning about the availability of dentists as I fill my toddler’s bottle with L&P doesn’t sit squarely with me.
That can’t possibly have been your point. If a bottle of coke is $50 then a sachet of Raro will also be $50 as both are a bottle of sugary drink.
Making both $50 will stop them going off the shelves. The corporations will complain about it for sure but then they don’t actually have the right to poison us.
Yeah they are and no they’re not. Much better to serve fruit juice (which is also a sugary drink but it also has other stuff in it which actually makes it a food which neither Raro nor coke is). Or just soda water with some real fruit flavouring but without the sugar.
Now that is a valid point.
Interesting documentary on Coca Cola
If on a search for a neoliberal framework worthy of dismantling I think there are few better examples than Coca Cola Inc.
I love my iPhone, it’s a product that assists me. Thanks Apple. But $2 for flavoured water? A corporation that enjoyed popular initial support with the claim that their product relieved fatigue. Drinks laced with cocaine will do that.
Their marketing machine surfs along on it’s wave of perfect 16 year old complexions and promises of an endless Summer. When a corporation is spending more money on getting me to buy their product than the product costs to produce….adjustments are required.
Fluoridation should be a ministry of health requirement, too, not a local authority option.
Banning sugary drinks should be a ministry of health priority.
Start at the top of the cliff.
You only need to protect teeth with fluoride if they e been damaged by sugar.
Sugar is in everything, not just drinks.
Yes, drinks need to be addressed, but our low natural fluoride levels in water are like our low iodine levels in everything else.
Completely normal seeming American’s, believe that anyone who does not agree with Trump is the devil. Scary stuff, pleased I don’t have to live in US. Must be hard if you are not a believer…
Saying that the lefties play right into the righties hands by being evangelical about globalism and identity politics. Not ok for Israelis to take over Palestinian land and assets but is ok for other Nationalities to arrive in NZ and do that.
Soon the powerful will be damming the water for their cruise ships, dairy farms, water bottling plants and mansion swimming pools and our council, iwi, and government representatives will be holding the towels and saying ‘no problem’, locally born less competitive people, need austerity and to tighten up and of course to pay more taxes and get on those work for dole schemes so they have something to do. Anyone lucky enough to be in a local job should be paying more taxes as there’s so much infrastructure and houses to create for their brave new world.
Environment out the window, because money talks and our leftie representatives will all be saying how great it is so many women are represented in parliament and we can’t say no to a trade agreement, we are exporters (Even though increasingly the exporters are not domiciled in NZ for tax purposes and are exporting profits not physical goods or services or even live here).
Then concentrating on the “global presence” with photo ops and taking about ‘solving poverty’ or ‘climate change’ like John Key rather than the domestic situation which like in Miss world beauty contests has become meaningless like ‘world peace’. Nice words and well meant but not actually having much to do with the beauty pageant.
Meanwhile people with different opinions are denied assess at the border to world events like WHO or 170 environmental defenders murdered. That’s our new democracy. It’s kinda become narrower who democracy applies to these days.
+1
Great summary of 2017.
The way I see it our fuel company CEO are m8 with joyce and key and they are deliberately jacking up the price of our fuel so we have less money to spend and retailers will see a drop in income and national will try and ride this as a negative thing to attack our new coalition government Mana. But let’s look for the positive things in this scenario we will use less fuel we will import less fuel so our import export balance will move in our favour as it always does under labour. All so we will consume less goods and this is positive for our country and mother nature our environment Kai kaha
Q and A saying our government is anti immigrants well thats crap they want to control immigration so we get people that won’t displace the local people and will benefit us all WTF Ana to kai
“Anti immigrant” is such a loaded bullshit #dirtypolitics lie.
Pro sustainability, Pro Kiwi workers, Anti homelessness, Anti overpopulation, etc.
Ah, Christmas has come early; Colman Brunton poll just out: National well in the lead and no bounce for Labour, stagnant, NZ First near the 5 per cent threshold
and the Greens on a mere 7 per cent. So there was no vote for change, the vote was and still is, for National! National will indeed be thrilled, thrilled, thrilled, the majority have endorsed them, once again.
A new govt is supposed to get a big bounce…what happened? oh yes, ‘MMP (Winston) decided’! (instead of the people…).
HUH TANZ
Majority >50% still
And all within margin of error too.
Long wait till 2020.
Doesn’t really matter, does it – you’re stuck with ‘the good guys’ for another 3 years, he he
It seems that the majority of this country is comfortable with homelessness, low wages, high rents, poisoned rivers, privatised water reticulation, closure of the rail network, privatisation, erosion of workers rights, commodification of education, running down of services and the like.
Sad really.
Bill English 28%
Jacinda Ardern 38%
Long wait ’til 2026.
Rumour has it that Neil Armstrong always entered a home with his left foot first and always wiped his feet.
Tanz, a couple of things you need to notice:
1) Labour went up 2.1% (6% of their election result), National are up 1.4% (3% of their election result).
2) All three coalition partners are still over the 5% threshold (although NZF will need to get some wins on the board to show their constituents that they are getting what they campaigned for).
3) (And this is the big one) National need to find a way to play nice with NZF, because they can’t win on their own and ACT are a sick joke.
This misunderstanding of the meaning of the word “majority” really is causing you guys some pain, isn’t it?
‘The majority have endorsed them’
46 % is not above half.
This may help you understand some simple Maths.
No, they’re still losing.
Zzzz……
instead of the people
NZ1 voters are not people..
Latest poll = early Christmas
Tanz, be more honest with yourself
I checked on the 10 Commandments list, in the Quran, in the Road Code and in Dr Seuss yet nowhere could I find that a new govt is supposed to get a big bounce.
Good one!
Actually, it is in the DP Manifesto that used to reside in John Key’s top drawer on the ninth floor with a sham cover labelled Cabinet Manual. Apparently, there a few copies still in circulation …
Good on Lisa Owen from the nation for holding bill to account for his failure to our the vulnerable people of our country. Andrew beercroft well many thanks to him for standing up for the poor valuerable people once again. And there you go the cops not doing there job and the IPCA Covering there ass this poor man was raped probably by pee heads and they just ignore him WTF many thanks to Lisa an the nation for a fear program . Kai Kaha
Now they are harassing my wife on the way to Rotorua what low down ass holes they are kai kaha
Hands up everyone who detests NewstalkZB.
Well, there was one bit of good news just before noon on Monday.
NewstalkZB, Monday 4 December 2017
During this show, the cranky Trump-worshipper and science-denier Leighton Smith spends much of his time insisting that the Groper in Chief in Washington is the target of a conspiracy, and a victim of fake news rather than a perpetrator of it.
LEIGHTON SMITH: …. But when you’re talking about the um, the most powerful position in the world, AND it still is, AND it will continue to be for the moment, ahhhmmm, by the way on that point there’s an ANNOUNCEMENT I need to make, ahhhmmm, just a small one in a MINUTE. Ahhhhhm…[extended pause]… THEN, is of interest to ANYBODY who cares about what happens in the world….
…..
My program will come to an eeennnnd…SOON. But not as soon as SOME would HOPE!
….
And this is the sort of thing that CNN, NBC, C—, uuummmm, and ABC have been doing for soooommme… considerable time. Did I miss anybody out? [extended intake of breath] Creating false illusions, reporting things as fact that aren’t, and every time that someth—, that TRUMP calls it fake news, the chances are he’s more correct than otherwise.
Shortly after, this stream of muddled semi-cosciousness is interrupted by a caller, who wants to speak to the great thinker about a leader a little closer to home….
CALLER: I just wonder why New Zealand’s worrying its provincial head about something that’s out of our control, when we have the issue with John Key last week, um, lying about the mass surveillance program, and that got no commentary at all.
LEIGHTON SMITH: Un— about WHAT? Program, WHAT?
CALLER: The mass—-
BEEEP. Burr, Burr…
LEIGHTON SMITH: Arrrggghh. Thanks for nothing. Ahhhm, I had NO IDEA what he was talking about. And I didn’t hang up on him, he went….
Now it’s strange that Leighton Smith should be unaware of that scoop in the Herald last week by its investigative reporter David Fisher, suggesting John Key might have misled New Zealanders in 2014 about his government’s mass surveillance plans. As Leighton Smith went on to say later in his show that day, he works “shoulder to shoulder” with the folks at the Herald and NewstalkZB these days….
LEIGHTON SMITH: Ahhh, in this new building that we’ve now been in for two years, it has actually been a completely different atmosphere. Working in the same environment as people from the Herald, aaahhhhmmm, has been an INTERESTING experience, uh, with some ups and some downs.
And now, you ask, what was this “good news just before noon”? At the end of this show, Smith for once actually said something positive: he announced he’s leaving in one year’s time.
You can put your hands down now.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018624577/making-plans-for-leighton
A nice little write-up contrasting the efforts spent on eradicating the threat of the Queensland fruit fly versus dealing with Kauri dieback disease.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/99648794/nadine-higgins-quibbling-over-cost-while-a-killer-runs-amok
I have been to busy to keep up with what happening in our political seen I say prices sugar out of reach for us pour people and this will save our mokos teeth an lower obesity us pour people are to busy trying to stay afloat than have the thought capacity to worry about diet so the state is obliged to step in and help and in the process save millions. joyces m8 at the retails association will kick up a big stink because they worship profits over humanity so________-them and make the changes needed. I agree with Jacinda that because there is not enough money that the priority is to make sure that all our mokos get a good beneficial education that gives them the tools to thrive in our society and in a few years
Concentration on Maori language as this policy of a good for all education will benefit our mokos and our economy. Ka pai
Dotard is addled.
https://twitter.com/GideonResnick/status/939539376643739648/photo/1
Let’s do this for Helen Kelly and all those that find themselves in a similar position
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2017/12/09/when-it-comes-to-legalising-medicinal-cannabis-what-would-helen-kelly-do/
Cops get to kill.
That was awful. I don’t understand why the cop giving the orders wasn’t charged, he looked the most culpable to me.
It looked like a bit of a setup; one guy barking conflicting instructions that a person might find impossible to follow and which could then give others in the squad the excuse to shoot.
The thug was charged, tried and found not guilty.
Footage of shooting, captured on two police on-body cameras, formed the foundation of the prosecution’s case. The judge did not allow jurors to hear about an etching on the dust cover of the rifle Brailsford used to shoot Shaver, which said “You’re f–ked,” because he felt it was prejudicial.
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/mesa-breaking/2017/12/07/philip-brailsford-verdict-daniel-shaver-killing/927052001/
The shooter wasn’t the person doing the talking.
Read it again.
There’s nothing to read, I made the opinion that the cop giving the orders was the most culpable. You keep linking to the cop who fired the shots.
A man pleading for his life was killed but the cop barking orders was more culpable than the cop who shot him to death, Really?.
Yes, really. From what I read the cop barking the orders was a sergeant and I assume the squad leader or at least senior. He was not just giving orders to the victim, he also looked to be stating aloud the circumstances under which his squad members had permission to shoot. He got the victim so terrified he didn’t know what the hell he was doing.
I struggle to see anything other than a cop that made a very bad decision under stressful circumstances.
I don’t think he should walk free but locking him up for 10 years is unlikely to change much. Hopefully he’ll be appointed a Town Hall library security role….and a truncheon.
When you’ve had too much to drink and a man with a gun is saying ‘Keep your hands on your head or you will be shot’ it’s easy to forget just how important it is to keep your hands on your head.
*Note to self: When pissed in Vegas, stay in the room.
I struggle to see anything but an execution.
Even US cops don’t have permission to shoot people simply for disobeying an order. The order has to be legitimate most of what that cop was barking was confusing crap.
My attention has just been drawn to something by “David Mac”, viz., “I struggle to see anything other than a cop that made a very bad decision under stressful circumstances.”
Maybe your complacent and thoughtless view of things would change if someone you cared about was murdered like that.
Yes it’s awful, I’ve never seen such disregard for human life. My stomach is churning. It’s disgusting that humans can treat each other like that. Yes Morrissey, you are right in assuming that I would have an enhanced emotional involvement if it was my brother that was shot.
Phew. Now, what are we going to do about it?
Well, my friend, I think one thing we could do about it is to be honest and state plainly that the executioner is directly responsible for that killing. You seem to sympathize with him because he was being barked at and bullied by his superior officer. Why did he not simply refuse to obey that fool? Would he have been in any danger at all if he had shown some moral fibre?
By the way, has the learned Chris “Haw Haw” Trotter spoken or written in defence of this jury decision to acquit?
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-19072013/#comment-664870
You see an executioner.
I see a dumb redneck cop that behaved very poorly under very stressful circumstances. Circumstances he was largely responsible for inducing. The best way to get someone to stop yelling is to whisper to them.
You seem quick to stand in judgement Morrissey. I’m doing the best job I can, I think I’m doing ok, I’m trying to address my shortcomings but I live in fear of appearing on your ‘Crap Dad’ list.
Don’t worry, David—unless you’ve moulded a son as cowardly and as obnoxious as Max Key, as vicious and dishonest as Cameron Slater’s slave Carrick Graham or as repulsive and racist as Martin Amis, you’re not going to be on Deadbeat Dads any time soon.
By the way, keep your eyes peeled for No. 7—coming up tomorrow!
I don’t know Max, I’m not sure what’s important to him. If I had my heart set on being a DJ, I wouldn’t mind failing like him. His Dad? Booking 11am inhouse massages with illegal immigrants at Waikiki…who cares.
Obviously there was no getting away from being Prez but it appears to me that Key did what he could to assist his kids to be the people they wished to be. Other than ‘don’t talk with your mouth full’ etc, I think that’s the best gift we can give our kids.
For some police forces, yelling conflicting orders might be an actual tactic (see list point 4).
The idea being that it disorients the person so they can’t form a plan. Apparently, it disorients them so much they get shot.
Why is there no mention of nitrates from dairy farms in this article by RNZ?
Cover up?
‘Scientists have collected samples from algae blooms found during an inspection of Lake Taupō swimming sites this weekend.
Algal mats and surface water bloom samples were taken from beaches at Kuratau, Mission Bay, Motutere Bay, Hatepe, Halletts Bay and Whareroa South.
They’ll be analysed by Waikato Regional Council scientists to determine whether any are toxic.
The council said the results should be available this afternoon.
In the meantime people are being urged to avoid algae-affected areas; signs are up at the six beaches concerned.
Contact with the algae mats could cause skin rashes, stomach upsets and respiratory symptoms.
The toxic algal species often multiply to high levels during periods of warm, sunny weather.
In lakes they can form extensive green to black-coloured mats that settle on rocks and the lake floor. Significant clumps sometimes break off and float free, collecting on the water’s edge.
Meanwhile, organisers of this weekend’s Ironman 70.3 Taupō event made a last-minute decision to cancel the swimming portion of the race.’
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/345868/scientists-collect-lake-taupo-algae-samples
Dairy intensification effects questioned.
‘The inaugural Critic and Conscience of Society Award winner and environmental crusader Dr Mike Joy says Wanaka needs to reduce its cow numbers and put a stop to the intensification of the dairy industry if it is to save its waterways.
Dr Joy said a Wanaka vet told him there used to be three cows in Wanaka and he knew them each by name, now there were upwards of 30,000 cows in the area.
“That is the kind of change we’ve had, that is the reality of it, and a lot of Southland cows are being wintered here and they don’t really count in the statistics properly but their s… sure does.”
Dr Joy said the cows were being wintered in Upper Clutha because of the drier climate but the soils around Wanaka were very porous, which allowed pathogens and contaminants to move quickly through the soil and into the waterways. The Massey University academic spoke in Wanaka this week at the invitation of the Lake Wanaka Trust, delivering a public lecture on “The Future of food; our deadly nitrogen and fossil fuel addiction”. In an interview, he said artificial nitrogen made from fossil fuels had allowed cow numbers to double in the past 20 years and quadrupled milk production, but the farmers were not making any more money and the nitrogen was ruining rivers and lowland lakes.
“Our rivers can be saved because they flow, so once you stop polluting them they can come right, but our lowland lakes are so full of nutrients and sediments you virtually can’t save them.”
He said “there has been such a weakening of the legislation in New Zealand that two of the most nutrient-polluted rivers in the world, like the Yangtze and the Mississippi, would get an A or a B under our new standards.”
https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/wanaka/dairy-intensification-effects-questioned
‘We quit alcohol nearly two years ago and it changed everything’
‘We live in a society where it is normal, or according to some, essential to have a drink to celebrate.
We welcome the weekend in with post-work drinks and take to the dance floor with a wine in hand.
The boys will knock back a few shots and sink a few “cold ones” on a Sunday arvo.
But one couple decided to end their love with alcohol. They weren’t alcoholics, and they lived fairly normal lives to most, but it was the one decision that changed their lives forever.
Her husband dropped 15kg, had glowing skin, crystal clear eyes and higher energy levels.
He decided to continue on the no alcohol buzz, which encouraged Claire to take up the lifestyle change.
“The 100 days turned into 200 and then 300 and then before we knew it, we were living and loving life alcohol-free. We both made the statement that we may never have another sip again. Ever.
“Why? Between the two of us, we’d lost 32kg and felt fast and light on our feet. We gained more hours within each day, as we no longer needed as much sleep. We had the time and energy to spend our weekends bushwalking with the kids, teaching them how to ride their bikes or catch a wave. We had the stamina to run, ride, race, climb, create, teach and meditate with our children,” she wrote.
Despite suffering several big blows – financial losses, deaths in the family and unsettling family dynamics – the couple felt they were able to deal with testing situations calmly, carefully, soberly and without regret.’
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11956912
I wonder if we’ll evolve into a civilisation that finds pleasure only in things that are good for us. It’s the logical pursuit.
“Oh no wine for me thanks, have you got any honey flavoured waterfall run-off?”
As humans go, we have a long a history of digging stuff that isn’t very good for us, our feet on our mortality accelerators.
Alcohol is NZ’s blindspot. Our blinkers are provided by the international liquor industry, whose advertising make this Class B drug ‘cool’.
The damage it does to our society is massive.
And we tolerate such damage, because we are slaves to marketing.
Yeah, I dunno. I think I might choose Lion or Stella courtesy of the marketing noise but my base desire to have a drink is down to me and my choices.
Hmmm…….we have been manipulated via marketing to varying degrees. eg: in the past a lager might be promoted as ‘The Thirst Quencher’. I should be drinking water to quench my thirst, I’m drinking the lager for a beer buzz… I’ll tell the kids I’m thirsty.
You can add “cars” to that category.
Well, good for them. How is it news, exactly?
This is why it is news.
‘New Zealanders have been too tolerant of the risks associated with drinking
to excess. Unbridled commercialisation of alcohol as a commodity in the last
20 years has made the problem worse. New Zealanders now spend an estimated
$85 million a week on alcohol.
The excessive consumption of alcohol by New Zealanders contributes to a range
of serious harms. These harms can be categorised as:
• an array of criminal offences including homicides, assaults, sexual assaults,
domestic violence and public disorder that place heavy and unacceptable
burdens on the New Zealand Police;
• the causative contribution that alcohol consumption makes to a long list of
diseases, including alcohol-related cancers, mental health disorders,
dependence, foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, sexually transmitted infections,
and many others;
• alcohol poisoning and accidental injury due to intoxication, sometimes
causing death. This includes many cases of death in the home and on the
roads. The Accident Compensation Corporation estimates up to 22% of the
claims it receives have alcohol as a contributing factor. These injuries place
a heavy burden on the public health system, particularly on the accident and
emergency departments of New Zealand hospitals. Treating disease and
disability to which alcohol contributes places a further heavy load on the
public health system;
• the catalogue of harms visited upon third parties as a result of others’ excessive
alcohol consumption. These include many victims of crime, victims of
domestic violence and children whose lives are marred, sometimes before
birth, by their dependence on adults who drink to excess;
• the harmful effects on educational outcomes, workplace productivity,
friendships, social life, home life and the financial position of households;1
• the public nuisance: litter, glass, noise, the damage and destruction of property
and the costs associated with rectifying these nuisances.’
http://www.lawcom.govt.nz/sites/default/files/projectAvailableFormats/NZLC%20R114.pdf
Not sure how, but I stumbled on this:
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-01-02-2012/
It includes a series of comments from regulars. I wonder how we see it all now in the context of the new coalition government.
That whole OpenMike is worthy of preservation. (History.net maybe) For me, it pretty much sums up the consequences of the neo-liberal agenda – whether its Ken Douglas succumbing to treats and trinkets, or Toby rolling in his grave over the temptations his son has succumbed to. Probably the birth of Chardonnay Socialism.
God! it was/is gorgeous.
Auckland fuel pipeline shut down – again.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/99715168/auckland-airport-fuel-pipeline-shut-down
Time for a back up pipeline or will she be right?
Barking.
https://twitter.com/TimRunsHisMouth/status/939398055610191872
I think our new Maori labour mp should use his brain our tepuna gave us and no this that a labour government is good for Maori. So hanging ones washing out in public is not a wise choice as there are many consequences because of this.
One would not expect to have a long career If one carries on like that it’s the people its the people you will benefit our people if you are in parliament for a very long time and labours policy will benefit Maori even if it’s not directly aimed at Maori.
I think that this is a wise thing as it
Takes away a target that national could us as a racial shit stur and all you other Maori mp take notice. Kai Kaha
‘Team NZ is a big business and not necessarily a good business.’
Nice to see someone in the media not falling for Team New Zealand’s bait.
Indeed Rattue’s article includes some truths you never see in the economy section of the paper.
‘The big lie was Rogernomics, the 1980s rush to free enterprise which inferred that health and wealth would trickle down. Ever since, the wealth has been gushing upwards, and real national health has plummeted.
The original America’s Cup dream was actually funded by some of these new frontiersmen, a couple of bankers with – in my view – highly questionable attitudes around society values.’
No, when you live in a little country where the head of the local farming cooperative is earning more than $8m a year and gets an increase to give Beauden Barrett’s goalkicking success rate a decent nudge, all those top dogs are fair game.
Big business will say anything to get its own way — take all inferences the good ship America’s Cup is vital for the country with a big vat of sea salt.’
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11956948
This article shows more critical thinking than anything you’d read from Hosking, Soper, du Plessis Allen, Garner, Gower, Murphy, Young, Watkins, Tame, ….
Yes this was written in the sports section and actually shows up the bs we’ve been sold for 35 years,
Chris Rattue’s article is worth a thread.
Just read this section alone…..
‘Philosophy, heart, soul, culture and emotion has been replaced by a fake world in the debilitating efficiency age. This includes the pseudo patriotism that lines up before every test match, hand on heart, face grimacing, team mates clutched closely, anthem turned up loud.
But can you tell me again why it is so overwhelmingly important to beat Australia, when I don’t actually feel like that anymore?’