TPP Just in case you missed it late yesterday, and because Submissions are due by
5pm on Wednesday, 30 March 2016 I am repeating this post.
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith today released a consultation document showing how the Government proposes to implement the intellectual property changes required to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP).
“While most of the provisions are consistent with New Zealand’s existing intellectual property settings, some changes to our laws will be required before we can ratify the final agreement.
“Releasing the consultation document shows how the changes could be implemented and allows for public comment and input before legislation is introduced to Parliament.
“The changes include a revised regime for technological protection measures, or digital locks, patent term extensions in certain situations when there are unreasonable delays in examining the patent or getting regulatory approval, a more extensive performers’ rights regime and new powers for Customs to detain goods that infringe copyright or registered trademarks.
“TPP has been the most widely-consulted Free Trade Agreement in New Zealand’s history and I encourage New Zealanders with an interest in intellectual property to have their say,” Mr Goldsmith says.
The intellectual property changes will be included in a bill covering all domestic legislative changes required to ratify TPP. This bill is expected to be introduced to Parliament this year.
“New Report on Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Deal Raises Serious Concerns about Corporate Misalignment”
BERKELEY, Calif., March 9, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — A new report by the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society at the University of California, Berkeley finds that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the mega-regional trade deal, raises serious concerns about how a world economy reregulated to suit corporate interests would undermine public accountability, transparency, and democratic participation.
Co-authored by john a. powell, Elsadig Elsheikh, and Hossein Ayazi, the Haas Institute’s analysis underscores how the TPP would grant greater transnational corporate influence over the fate of one third of all world trade, with TPP signatory members producing 40 percent of all global economic output.
The TPP’s nuanced provisions will give corporations the power to evade environmental regulations, bypass national courts and override governments, and control workers’ movements throughout the TPP countries.
Since the release of TPP text, debate has emerged over whether the trade deal will, in fact, stimulate economic growth and create jobs or violate labor laws and tank the economies of developing nations. While these discussions address important concerns, they have also overshadowed the deeper implications of the TPP. If it passes, the TPP would threaten key democratic principles, such as transparency and public accountability.
The USA is a degenerate society. That is why people don’t feel safe and have to carry guns. And they are so inward looking that the woman has a photo of her wearing makeup, a chosen outfit with expensive hat and large gun, and considers it a good thing to publish not an example of the endtimes for the country.
And what values has she to teach her wee son. She is bereft of them, living in a nation, that tries to keep it glossy on top but underneath is a simmering lot of sewage which is as full of toxic things as Flint water, and can never be cleansed and drunk safely. Probably the problem is their own polluted drinking water is driving them round the bend.
I’m a bit more hopeful that the increased militancy we’re seeing with gun owners in the US is a sign that they realize their fetish is becoming socially unacceptable and on the way out. Kinda like how smokers got really militant in the 80s and early 90s. Certainly the statistics are clear that there’s fewer gun owners, but the remaining gun owners have a lot more guns.
I had to laugh about my comment above. it reads like some communist propaganda from a story I am reading written by Colin Cotterill which is in Laos, but involve Vietnamese, Thai and Chinese in differing numbers.
Unfortunately I do think this about USA though I’m not a communist, probably more of a humanist. And believing in good for people generally and for oneself is the sort of value that I think is important.
“tragic”? She isn’t dead, and was upright and alert, and the kid probably has minimal understanding (if any) of what happened. And the irony can be cut with a knife.
“tragic” is the 9 year old who was given an uzi on full auto and accidentally killed her instructor because she was too small to handle the recoil.
OneTwo
I recognise your ploy. It gets used regularly by RW here. The emotional content of some tragedy is turned on to high, and swamps every attempt to treat the matter both humanely and rationally. Each ongoing tragedy is received more emotionally, and people are paralysed by grief and stress and cannot be allowed to concentrate on how to prevent the next tragedy.
I’ll drag myself to once again into the fray, against TPPA. Look at the hidden message in the link: It_sour_future. So on top of all the other things I try to do, to help community and keep NZ from being mean, I will do it. Thanks for backgrounding and informing saveNZ.
So is the kid on some sort of committee looking at adoption age law changes or is it just his personal opinion or something? I’m not aware of the context. I have heard there are some odd anomalies around adoption.
No, no context personal to Barclay – the rather large technicality that permits an MP of age 23 to decide (vote) on an issue concerning capacity of someone aged under 25….
That’s a different argument. We’re talking about civilised countries that are pro-choice. Why should men have a say beyond that if a 23 yr old shouldn’t vote on legislation affecting 24/25 yr olds?
Once you have answered the original question about age …… how is that justified? You know, that someone under 25 can decide if people under 25 are capable?
It is a nonsense.
Happy to hear an explanation in justification. Because the answer will surely provide some guidance to your male/abort question too……. come on …….
sheesh weka have you ever studied maths or logic? you have completely and utterly missed the point
let’s leave it for now – I have to rush out shortly and now you have me all confused and will need to be careful I don’t drive the wrong side of the road backwards …
When you come back, just start again. Make the statement about Barclay and then say what the problem is and how it it a problem. If you read back through the thread, you never said.
Lols. I’m still not with you. Are you suggesting an MP should be excluded from voting on age related legislation whether it be adoption, minimum purchase age for alcohol or anything, because of ….their age?
And if theres no such bills before parliament at the moment is your question more hypothetical than anything?
“Metalclad v. Mexico
Toxic waste
Investor win (awarded $16.2 million)
In 1997 Metalclad Corporation, a U.S. waste management firm, launched a NAFTA investor-state dispute against Mexico over the decision of Guadalcazar, a Mexican municipality, not to grant a construction permit for expansion of a toxic waste facility amid concerns of water contamination and other environmental and health hazards. Studies indicated that the site’s soils were very unstable, which could permit toxic waste to infiltrate the subsoil and carry contamination via deeper water sources. The local government had already denied similar permits to the Mexican firm from which Metalclad acquired the facility. Metalclad argued that the decision to deny a permit to it, as a foreign investor operating under NAFTA’s investor rights, amounted to expropriation without compensation, and a denial of NAFTA’s guarantee of “fair and equitable treatment.”
The tribunal ruled in favor of the firm, ordering Mexico to compensate Metalclad for the diminution of its investment’s value. The order to compensate for a “regulatory taking” was premised on the tribunal’s finding that the denial of the construction permit unless and until the site was remediated amounted to an “indirect” expropriation. The tribunal also ruled that Mexico violated NAFTA’s obligation to provide foreign investors “fair and equitable treatment,” because the firm was not granted a “transparent and predictable” regulatory environment. The decision has been described as creating a duty under NAFTA for the Mexican government to walk a foreign investor through the complexities of municipal, state and federal law and to ensure that officials at different levels never give different advice. After a Canadian court slightly modified the compensation amount ordered by the investor-state tribunal, Mexico was required to pay Metalclad more than $16 million.”
Yesterday Bill English admitted on NatRadio that pretty much all dairy farmers have been conducting their business to make money by way of capital gain rather than revenue….
These people need to account for that money in their income tax returns then.
Yes. Depends on how it is treated. Some regimes don’t require realisation before charging, others do. Michael Cullen seemed to think taxing before realisation was ok, personally I think it is a bit nuts.
Of course shortly there will be plenty of losses to counter gains anyway ….
Ha, yep like those people who manage to manufacture disabilities to make claims are simply indulging in ‘good’ income practice. They have clearly learned from Bill English and his types.
On RADIONZ this morning. About keeping young offenders out of the Courts and injustice treadmill.
09:20 How iwi led justice panels are keeping offenders away from crime
Funding is due to soon run out for three iwi led panels, which offer an alternative justice system for low level offenders.
The three panels, in Lower Hutt, Gisborne and Counties Manukau, were set up in 2014, with the objective of diverting low-level offenders away from crime, and keep them out of the criminal justice system.
The Justice Ministry has yet to decide whether it will continue funding them, saying while it appreciates the groundswell of enthusiasm, it has to consider the role and fit of the panels in the wider criminal justice system. Neville Baker is the chair of the Waiwhetu iwi led panel. Asher Hauwaho is the Iwi Liaison Officer for the Lower Hutt police.
Need more money, thank you very much, from the government. This citizen here says that time spent with young people having difficulties, helping them so they overcome their problems and limit reoffending to minor infringements, will save our tax dollars, my tax dollars, at present 15% on everything I buy., plus the cents tax you take off my small savings, and anything you get back from my taxable pension. (Don’t abandon programs for young people who are recidivists. If the offending comes down to really minor offences, it will stop as they get older. Just believe it is a good thing to do to work with them, and keep it going. It will prove a big saving and a big boost to the individual life.)
WhichAt present money received goes mostly on your and your servants’ salaries, and to the pockets of your business class running the prisons, the old people’s homes, and who knows what else you are going to hive off so you are paid for doing nothing useful for we the citizens.
Contemptible curs you are.
edited
Thanx Expat glad that the number of people saying this is growing.
There have been active intelligent rational measures to improve and reduce the numbers in prison for decades, while governments prefer to keep the bogeyman up their sleeves for a possible last minute election frisson.
And an address by Kim Workman 2008 – Refers to another innovator and thinker Judge Andrew Becroft.
The Future of Restorative Justice –Control, Co-option or Co …..
Kim Workman’s address to the 2008 Restorative Justice Aotearoa Conference. Let me first …. alternative justice movement in New Zealand, that has over the years sought to implement ….. Judge Andrew Becroft‟s advocacy for expanding.
Up to $7280 pledged for benighted journalist Bradley Ambrose. Going to 11 pm on Wednesday 16 March in his effort to raise for court fees – $38,000. I think Give a Little gives whatever is raised to the person, others only pay if target is reached. I could be wrong, but I should think anything would be helpful to him. https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/bradelyambrose
There is the link.
Put in a bit and you are doing something to stir things along against this government. The link to the post on The Standard tells more:
A MESSAGE FROM THE QUEEN
To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign
Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
In light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent
candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves,
we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence,
effective immediately. (You should look up ‘revocation’ in the
Oxford English Dictionary.)
Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical
duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except
North Dakota, which she does not fancy).
Your new Prime Minister, David Cameron, will appoint a
Governor for America without the need for further elections.
Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may
be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.
To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the
following rules are introduced with immediate effect:
———————–
1. The letter ‘U’ will be reinstated in words such as ‘colour,’
‘favour,’ ‘labour’ and ‘neighbour.’ Likewise, you will learn to spell
‘doughnut’ without skipping half the letters, and the suffix ‘-ize’
will be replaced by the suffix ‘-ise.’ Generally, you will be expected
to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up
‘vocabulary’).
————————
2. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler
noises such as ”like’ and ‘you know’ is an unacceptable and
inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S.
English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft
spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated
letter ‘u” and the elimination of ‘-ize.’
——————-
3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.
—————–
4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns,
lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers andtherapists shows that you’re not quite ready to be independent.
Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can’t sort
things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then
you’re not ready to shoot grouse.
———————-
5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry
anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a
permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in
public.
———————-
6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will
start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same
time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the
benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will
help you understand the British sense of humour.
——————–
7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have
been calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.
——————-
8. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French
fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato
chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in
animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.
——————-
9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually
beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to
as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance
will be referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable,
as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth
and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British
Commonwealth – see what it did for them. American brands will
be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat’s Urine, so that all can be sold
without risk of further confusion.
———————
10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors
as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast Englishactors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell
attempt English dialect in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an
experience akin to having one’s ears removed with a cheese grater.
———————
11. You will cease playing American football. There is only one
kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave
enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some
similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for
a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour
like a bunch of nancies).
———————
12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to
host an event called the World Series for a game which is not
played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware there
is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You
will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first
to take the sting out of their deliveries.
——————–
13.. You must tell us who killed JFK. It’s been driving us mad.
—————–
14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty’s
Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of
all monies due (backdated to 1776).
—————
15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups,
with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies)
and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.
God Save the Queen!
PS: Only share this with friends who have a good sense of humour
(NOT humor)
I’m just reading Affluenza by Oliver James. I had heard it being bandied about and have come to believe that there is a change that develops when we become affluent and able to stand unsupported. We think we are better and separate from the rest of our society. Hah. James is looking at the process. He calls it the Affluenza Virus. The WHO records that there is a lot of distress in developed countries. James describes it as being caused by the Virus.
He calls it Selfish Capitalism and says – I mean four basic things.
The first is that the success of businesses is judged almost exclusively by their current share price.
The second is a strong drive to privatise public utilities, such as water, gas and electricity, or in the case of America, to keep them in private hands.
The third is that there should be as little regulation of business as possible, with taxation for the rich and very rich so limited that whether to contribute becomes almost a matter of choice.
The fourth is the conviction that consumption and market forces can meet human needs of almost every kind.
America is the apotheosis of Selfish Capitalism, Denmark the nearest thing to its Unselfish opposite.
(That sounds to me how our country is operated. I think our governments have dived into this Selfish thing like Grandpa McDuck dived into his golden money pile!
He writes further that materialism is strong in the poor, because every dollar counts, there is rarely enough, the work is precarious, and everything received can help, if everything isn’t budgeted for, there will be days when there is literally no food etc.
But when there is sufficient and more, and materialism still reigns then society deteriorates.)
The Selfish Virus causes distress like this:
It impedes the meeting of our fundamental human needs: feeling secure, being part of a community, feeling competent, and being autonomous and authentic. A large body of scientific evidence suggests…the Virus impairs the meeting of each need.
You’re a good googler… Have you ever heard the saying about the exception that proves the rule?
Not sure how this helps the issue, but would be keen to see a credible answer to the point above about how an MP aged under 25 can decide (vote) that people under 25 are of insufficient capacity to adopt…
No, don’t avoid the question again. Whether it is a problem or not is separate. And I know you like throwing out the old “don’t what you’re talking about” banana skin but it is a falseity ….
The question again;
How is it that someone aged under 25 can decide (vote) on whether people under 25 are capable or not?
The answer is simple, he’s a legally elected representative and entitled to vote. His age is irrelevant to that. I really don’t get what your problem is.
In other words you’re objecting to something without knowing why. Or you’re being weasly and refusing to say what you think because you know you will get argued with. Neither are hardly the basis for useful political debate.
Weka he is been cute, from a logic point of view your statement is a circular argument , ie you are asking some one under 25 wether people under 25 are capable, by definition they can’t answer that question because you don’t know if their capable because there under 25?
I think 23 yr olds can be capable of making good MPs so it’s a nonsense argument to me. Vto seems to be arguing some principle and conflating that with his opinion that a young MP can’t do a good job because of their age.
Being an MP at 23 is not the same as adoption. But really the whole discussion is daft because the law as it stands is old and out dated and a report wants it to change to take the discriminatory aspects out. How Barclay would not be competent to vote in that because of his age is beyond me.
Hi weka – red delusion, grindlebottom and mr munro below have said it in slightly different ways that hopefully make sense to you. It was a curiousity, and illogicality.
It is a logical fallacy that the law both allows a person to decide (vote) that a person under 25 is incapable, but be capable enough to make that decision.
That is the problem.
But in further curiousity, it also highlights another discrepancy between our societies ways today and traditional ways borne out over long history …… whereby age was a factor in competency to a far greater extent than it is today. Two examples being – leaders of communities have typically been described as the “elders” (indicating the age factor), and secondly, this particular example whereby past NZ society has deemed people under 25 incapable of adopting.
This is just history. It is curious that we seem to think we are superior to this aspect of human history… time will tell whether we are right today (curiously enough)..
One final aspect – of course in societies past, far fewer people lived to a decent age, so the “elders” may have typically been in their 30’s, or heaven forbid their 20’s.
and one more final aspect – with my too many years on the planet my personal view is that age, combined with thinking (…), adds immeasurably to so very much of life. That time and experience is something that cannot be gained in other ways by most people. I do not value the views of the young on various relevant issues, to anything like the extent I value the views of the elders (subject to cogency etc..). This is my experience … and this would seem to be the experience of much of past societies too, given the prevalence of age in these matters …..
I don’t think he’s making an argument, I think he accepts a 23 year old can and will vote on the issue.
He’s just got it in his head that saying someone under 25 can decide whether someone else under 25 is capable of adopting looks to him like circular reasoning, a logical fallacy of some kind, and he wonders (out of curiosity) what kind it is.
If I’m right, the problem is that it’s a fallacy that this is a logical fallacy.
Hi vto
I think the argument for it is that it is the exception that proves the rule.
But if there were too many under 25’s, when would it stop being an exception? Would it be decided on proportionality, the same percentage in parliament, as the percentage of potentital under 25 voters. There is a lot to take in for someone that young who hasn’t lived long. So that is a mark against too many youth. Also they stop learning I think, and don’t do their own but the thinking bidden by their Party, so starting too young may see a dull old dog or bitch by the time they retire if they stay at heel for too long. One mark against career pollies.
Then again some older people don’t seem to have lived and learned despite all their years. They have set out with their gladstone bag full of precepts and prejudices and never had them washed and ironed throughout their whole lives. Our local MP Nick Smith has been in Parliament since he was a fresh faced youngster and the job has aged him, but I don’t know if it’s added to his wisdom.
I see Stuart M has put up a lively answer. I thought it was simpler than that – that if you say you are making an exception, that implies that there is a rule to which the present matter is different but is being allowed, thus it is being made one exception to the (normal and accepted) rule. Thus, the exception proves the rule.
edited
hi mr grey, I have tried to explain again just above, hopefully makes sense …
Woody Allen gets the last say…
“In my next life I want to live my life backwards. You start out dead and get that out of the way. Then you wake up in an old people’s home feeling better every day. You get kicked out for being too healthy, go collect your pension, and then when you start work, you get a gold watch and a party on your first day. You work for 40 years until you’re young enough to enjoy your retirement. You party, drink alcohol, and are generally promiscuous, then you are ready for high school. You then go to primary school, you become a kid, you play. You have no responsibilities, you become a baby until you are born. And then you spend your last 9 months floating in luxurious spa-like conditions with central heating and room service on tap, larger quarters every day and then Voila! You finish off as an orgasm!”
The exception proves the rule is one of the famous sayings that have come to mean the opposite of what they originally meant. Exceptio probat regulam meant that when you have an apparent exception, you should apply the rule. The convenience to the likes of VTO of this position is it allows him to avoid refutation by what is effectively a selective use of the excluded middle. Something is something, or it is not.
Under 25s are capable of good judgment, or they are not. We have several instances of under 25s with good judgment, so the generalisation is unsound. But qualifying it might redeem it ‘many under 25s are not capable of good judgement’ is probably tenable.
The other inverted saying was Solon’s ‘A moral man is a law unto himself’ – the point being that moral persons are genuinely self-policing to some degree. The modern meaning refers to someone who does whatever they want – like our despicable substitute for a PM.
VTO is pointing to a Cretan liar’s paradox – “All Cretans are liars” says a Cretan, and the expectation is that the statement must be untrue. The paradox only works in an abstract situation because to be a liar only requires occasional lying. Thus a person under 25 could have inadequate judgment but still make the occasional good decision – as seems likely given that the police are now scheduled to investigate Todd Barclay. http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/375835/todd-barclay-electorate-staff-member-talk-police
Crikey, is that a scandal brewing? As Rosie said, bring on Popcorn April. Is that four legal process National will be involved in over the next months?
The question for me is, who decided that you shouldn’t be able to adopt under the age of 25, there are many under 25 who are mature enough to manage the adoption adequately , it’s not the age, it’s the ability to meet the requirements, surely.
In a democracy, as long as your’e old enough to vote then, your view point should not be dismissed.
VTO, I agree with your point to a large extent on this issue, if I was interested in adopting, and under 25, does this guy understand (at 23) the issues surrounding adoption, I see your point as 18 year olds voting on lowering the drinking age.
The point I make above about why there is a need to even make a decision based on age (age of the adopter), it’s discrimination isn’t.
Surely if you meet the necessary requirements for adoption, age is not a consideration, therefore the argument for voting on the question is irrelevant
The issue in the news is that a report is saying the current law (which says you can’t adopt if under 25) is outdated and discriminatory (not just the age issue) and should be changed.
I don’t know what vto’s point is. Barclay may or may not be competent to have a say on this proposed law change, but his age has nothing to do with it.
The law change would remove the prohibition on his particular age to adopt, so him having a say makes sense at that level anyway.
Thanks for answering my question that I asked of vto at round one of this thread, from this morning. I didn’t know whether it was a hypothetical question or related to actual current discussion of adoption law.
Which brings it back round to my question to him which was
“Are you suggesting an MP should be excluded from voting on age related legislation whether it be adoption, minimum purchase age for alcohol or anything, because of ….their age?”
I think, no they shouldn’t be excluded. That in itself would be discrimination.
Hi Rosie, sorry for missing your question earlier.. it raises the same interesting dilemma regarding age restrictions on anything and everything…
people around here seem to be saying that age is immaterial
if that is the case then there are an awful lot of statutes to clear up and remove the discrimination from – alcohol, marriage, sex, war, driving, adoption, school, voting, , ,
what to do?
allow the young to decide these matters for themselves? allow the elders to do the deciding?
it all ends in logical fallacy stew
seriously though, what should we do
Thanks for that, I wasn’t fully aware of the issue, so sounds like perhaps he should have a say and condemn two age discrimination issues at the same time, but regarding Barclay’s competency, in a democracy, he can’t be discriminated against for being incompetent either.
That’s a petition calling for Hoskings to apologise or be sacked for calling returned servicemen morons for having an opion about the flag. Seems important.
Yeah, the petition is important, to counter the absolute stupidity of the man, but he’s not important, anyone with only half a brain would switch off after only listening to him for a few seconds of his dribble, I don’t know anyone who could say he represents their view points, except for maybe the PM.
Thanks. Signed. The guy is a prize jerk, and that was a really offensive thing to say. He should lose his job for a number of reasons, but this is as good as any.
I can’t look at him for a few seconds without my blood pressure going up. A broadcaster should not inspire that reaction in people. A broadcaster should inspire their viewers to have an enquiring mind and a desire to be educated by their investigative journalism…………….
“A broadcaster should inspire their viewers to have an inquiring mind and a desire to be educated by their investigative journalism…………….”
Problem is, who is that broadcaster?, where is that reporter? the free to air ones have gone down the toilet and not even worth watching any more and sky news is Murdoch BS.
When I was their in Jan, I watched “One” news with “Peter whats his face”, how embarrassing, he looked like a possum about to be hit by a car.
It’s a real shame we don’t have a public broadcaster modeled on the Aus ABC, providing balanced points of view for the benefit of the viewers, Q & A on the ABC includes 5 or more commentators from a diverse range of fields, beliefs and political persuasions, and the audience (aprox 200) is made up of a proportional amount of each of the 3 main political parties.
Having said that, Turnbull has replaced some of the key mangers within the ABC, and there has been a slight change in the way in which information is presented in the news, with less criticism of the Govt, you know, change a few of the neutral reporters for ones which are more pro Govt skew.
The great thing about the ABC is that there is NO commercial advertising at all, it’s free to air in digital right across the country with 4 separate channels at a cost annually of aprox $1B.
The ABC serves the needs of the Australian people, not the govt.
It makes sense that slavery and environmental destruction would go hand in hand. In some ways they spring from the same root. Our consumer economy is driven at its most basic level by resource extraction, pulling things from the earth, an extraction that we never actually see. We pull food from the earth, of course, but we also pull our cellphones from the earth, our clothing, our computers, our flat-screen televisions, our cars—it all comes from the earth, ultimately. And pulling things from the earth can be a dirty business. To make our consumer economy hum and grow and instantly gratify, costs are driven down as low as they can go, especially at the bottom of the supply chain; this can lead to abusive conditions for workers and harm to the natural world. Taken to the extreme it means slavery and catastrophic environmental destruction. But all this normally happens far from any prying eyes. It’s a hidden world that keeps its secrets.
[…]
When it comes to global warming, these slaveholders outpace all but the very biggest polluters. Adding together their slave-based deforestation and other CO2-producing crimes leads to a sobering conclusion. If slavery were an American state it would have the population of California and the economic output of the District of Columbia, but it would be the world’s third-largest producer of CO2, after China and the United States. It’s no wonder that we struggle and often fail to stop climate change and reduce the atmospheric carbon count. Slavery, one of the world’s largest greenhouse gas producers, is hidden from us. Environmentalists are right to call for laws and treaties that will apply to the community of nations, but that is not enough. We also have to understand that slavers—who don’t adhere to those laws and treaties—are a leading cause of the natural world’s destruction. And to stop them, we don’t need more laws. We need to end slavery.
What do the shrimp on your plate, the cell phone in your pocket and the rising pollution levels in the developing world have in common? Kevin Bales says, in a word: slavery. Paul Kennedy talks with the author of Blood and Earth: Modern Slavery, Ecocide and the Secret to Saving the World.
Thats one sound reason I only have an old dumb phone, slavery and it’s effects, eg early death for for people that extract cobalt from dangerous mines for the phones (and why I don’t eat shrimps from Vietnam).
And another reason I use an old dumb phone. I’ve never being able to trust the security on smart phones. Hackers will always win.
There are so many benefits to consider by being part of the dumb phone movement. It began as a psycho social issue but it’s really much larger than that.
+100 Rosie…the dumb phones are best imo…my smart phone stays under the chair and turned off…i reckon the apps my daughter loaded it with are bugged…ha ha
The anti-fluoride movement wants to restrict your reading to “just four studies.” They actively ignore or attempt to discredit other relevant studies. Image credit:Censorship in media. For earlier articles in this series see: ...
Not Now, Not Ever, Never! The problem with Labour's leading activists is that there is never a good time for democratic socialism. Never. They are like Saint Augustine who prayed to the Almighty: “Lord, give me chastity and self-control – but not yet.” In the case of Labour "junior officers", however, ...
We are seeing what has been termed “a greater challenge than the crash of 2008” by a growing number of economists and more rational, sane commentators, because whilst that was a shocking exposure of the levels to which hubris had sunk, right down to the blank cheque given those who ...
I am a Kiwi living in Jersey City, New Jersey. Jersey City is the second-largest city in the state and is located directly across the Hudson River from downtown Manhattan. Locals call it New York’s sixth borough. More than 350,000 New Jersey citizens, including myself, commute to New York daily ...
It’s a beautiful autumn afternoon, we need to get out of the house, and so our bubble sets off on a bike ride around our local neighbourhood, Cambridge Park. The bikes come out of the garage, and, being really certain we have a front door key, close the garage door ...
. . April 7: Day 13 of living in lock-down… and unlucky for those who are superstitious. A day when there was a ray of sunshine from an otherwise bleak day of worrying signs. Today, as RNZ reported; Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield reported 54 new confirmed and probable cases ...
So far, universal basic income policies, which see people given a regular income without any conditions, have been trailed only on a small scale. But now, Spain is introducing one nationwide as a response to the pandemic: Spain is to roll out a universal basic income (UBI) “as soon as ...
Paul Connet, head of the anti-fluoride propaganda group, Fluoride Action Network, claims that the IQ of children bottle-fed in fluoridated areas drops by 9 points. But he misrepresented the research. There is no observable effect. For earlier articles in this series see: Part 1: Anti-fluoridation propaganda now relies on only ...
The Queen’s coronavirus broadcast, with its overtones of Winston Churchill and Vera Lynn, prompted me to reflect on the tribulations my parents’ generation suffered during the Second World War – and I imagine that those parallels, given her own wartime experience, were very much in the Queen’s mind as she ...
This is a re-post from Carbon Brief by Dr Christina Schädel Across vast swaths of the northern hemisphere’s higher reaches, frozen ground holds billions of tonnes of carbon. As global temperatures rise, this “permafrost” land is at increasing risk of thawing out, potentially releasing its long-held carbon into the atmosphere. Abrupt permafrost ...
Back in February, the Marlborough District Council increased the mount it charges for LGOIMA requests. I used the LGOIMA to poke into this, and it seems the case for increased charges is unjustified: the supposed increase in request volumes it rests on is an artefact of the Council suddenly deciding ...
. . April 6: Day 12 of living in lock-down… Another day of a near-empty Park N Ride carpark; . . And another day of near-empty Wellington streets; . . . Light traffic on the motorway. No apparent increase in volume. Commercial vehicles sighted; a gravel-hauling truck; McAuley’s Transport; a ...
Imagination By-Pass: Had the Communications Minister, Kris Faafoi (above) taken a firm stand with Bauer, reminding them of their obligations to both their staff and the wider New Zealand public, then a much more favourable outcome may well have ensued. He should have made it clear to the Bauer board ...
We all know that Simon Bridges has, at the best of times, an intermittent relationship with the truth. However you would think that during a pandemic and economic crisis the current opposition leader would pull his head in and start to do the right thing.Obviously leading by example should be ...
Connett promotes Riddell et al (2019) as one of the only four studies one needs to read about fluoridation. But he misunderstands and misrepresents the findings of this study. Image credit: Fluoride Action ...
This is a re-post from Carbon Brief by Dr. Richard Wood and Dr. Laura Jackson Generally, we think of climate change as a gradual process: the more greenhouse gases that humans emit, the more the climate will change. But are there any “points of no return” that commit us to irreversible ...
Last month I wrote my blog on covid-19 pointing out the in our pre Alert Level 4 days that a subject no one had heard here months ago was now dominating the media. An amazing feature of this crisis is how quickly it has swept every other issue aside worldwide. ...
Nick Wilson,1 Ayesha Verrall,1,2 Len Cook,3 Alistair Gray,3 Amanda Kvalsvig,1 Michael Baker,1 (1epidemiologists, 2infectious disease physician, 3statisticians)In this blog, we raise ideas for how New Zealand might optimise testing to both identify cases in the community as part of the COVID-19 elimination strategy, and to confirm when the virus ...
Maybe you’ve seen the graph that says those countries where everyone wears a mask are the ones that have managed to keep Covid-19 under control? The first thing to say about that claim is that those countries also did lots of other things, too – they acted fast, with intense ...
Story of the Week... Editorial of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... North Atlantic's capacity to absorb CO2 overestimated, study suggestsResearch into ocean’s plankton likely to lead to ...
The Treaty on Open Skies is one of the most effective mechanisms for preventing war curently in force. By letting countries make surveillance flights over each others' territory, it eliminates fears that they are secretly preparing for war. So naturally, the US is planning to withdraw from it: The Trump ...
. . April 5: Day eleven of living in lock-down… My one day of rest for the week, and an opportunity to mow my lawns – which I’d been delaying for about three weeks. (On the plus side, the damp micro-climate in my back yard yielded three lovely fresh mushrooms ...
As far as anyone can say, New Zeaand still has a general election scheduled for September 19 this year. The election will be accompanied by two referenda, one of which will ask voters:Do you support the proposed Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill?The official campaign period for the cannabis referendum begins ...
The vast majority of tributes to the Listener hearken back to its glory days, with little reflection on the magazine as it was at its end.I wrote for it, for half the Listener’s life; I have known personally all the editors except the first (mythical) three. From 1978 to 2014 ...
As the world economy slides rapidly towards deep recession there are growing calls for a Universal Benefit coming from some leftists and rightists. Now Finance Minister Grant Robertson is saying it is on the table. This article by a French party Workers Struggle provides analysis of various forms of universal ...
This is the advice from the very top of the anti-fluoride movement – Paul Connett, director of the Fluoride Action Network (FAN). Don’t worry about reading up on all the scientific information “You only have ...
. . April 4: Day 10 of living in lock-down… I wake up to a fine Saturday morning which normally would be like an early Christmas. But it’s Day 10 of Level 4 Lock Down. What will my fellow New Zealanders be doing on a day like this – staying ...
Some time during the night we went over the 850,000 views mark. We might have had our millionth view by the end of this year – certainly by early next year. Most of the people involved in Redline spent years and years producing various small left-wing papers and selling them ...
Comfortably, in the very first round, with an impressive 56% of the votes.I wonder, did members of the Shadow Cabinet start tweeting their resignations during Starmer's victory speech, or is that only a trick the right pull?It is odd how all the talk of how the next leader "needs to ...
One of the key voices in this extraordinary time in which we live is that of University of Otago epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker. Philip Matthews did an an excellent job this weekend of capturing the way he became the man for this moment in a profile for The Press.But one ...
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern addressed the nation today about the decline in daylight New Zealand has been experiencing over the previous few months. She said “As many of you will notice, our attempts to stem the dwindling of the daylight over the last few months have been completely ...
Redline received this article from the KOE a Marxist party in Greece Our friends in the KOE describe here the mounting crisis in Greece and tensions on the Turkish border. As desperate people flee from their homelands which have been ruined after decades of imperialist wars and interventions the people ...
As the first week of Level Four lockdown unfolded, mounting questions grew as to just what was (and was not) allowed under its “rules”. Partly these were driven by some apparently contradictory messagesfrom different authority figures and explanations carried in the media. Partly they reflected a somewhat sketchy legal basis ...
. . April 3: Day 9 of living in lock-down… Another late-start to my work day. Everything is temporarily upended as clients are shuffled around so we can minimise our “bubble” by reducing the number of people we help. One of my colleagues has been removed from his clients; his ...
In order to meet our 2050 carbon target and do our bit to avoid making the Earth uninhabitable, New Zealand needs to decarbonise our economy, replacing fossil fuels with electricity in the energy, industrial and transport sectors. The good news is that it will mean cheaper power for all of ...
For those folk who find my other Lock-Down Diary versions too “negative” or otherwise unpalatable… Here’s a photo of a pretty flower, . . Better? Tomorrow’s Sanitised Version: a cute animal video. . . . =fs= ...
. . April 2: Day eight of living in lock-down… Today, my work day starts late. Our rosters and clients have been dramatically changed, lessening (theoretically) the number of people in our work “bubble”. If just one of us catches covid19 the impact could be considerable as Grey Base Hospital ...
As Aotearoa enters week two of lockdown, it’s clear we’re all still working out what our “bubbles” look like and how to stay in them to stop the spread of Covid-19. New to the government’s Covid-19 website is some good guidance for people living in apartment blocks. Recent decades have ...
“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” Lenin Don’t we all know that feeling now.
Prospect Magazine alerted me to this particularly apt quote. It is a much more evocative quote than Hemingway’s “gradually then suddenly” which is also doing ...
Yesterday was the day the consequences of the lockdown suddenly got very real for many. Firms have been closing and laying people off since the outset of the quarantine but this has mostly been happening out of the public eye. The mass closure of a number of iconic New Zealand ...
Brian Williamson1, Prof Nick Wilson2 (1Economic consultant, UK; 2University of Otago Wellington)In this blog, we outline how a win-win social contract could be forged to address the major dimensions of response to the COVID-19 pandemic when using a mitigation strategy: the particular need to protect older people from high ...
Resuming Normal Service: The Republican Party's nominee for in 1920, Warren Harding, promised the American people: “not heroics, but healing; not nostrums, but normalcy; not revolution, but restoration”. If she wishes to remain our prime minister, then Jacinda Ardern will offer New Zealanders the same.HOW EDUCATED AMERICA snickered when the ...
No Free Society Without A Free And Functioning News Media: If we are to surrender our civil rights to the broader cause of defeating Covid-19, then foreign corporations must, likewise, surrender their right to inflict immense economic and cultural harm on New Zealanders simply because it improves their bottom line.I’M ...
by Daphna Whitmore A third of the world is under lockdown and a clear assessment of this measure to curb the spread of COVID-19 is urgently needed. With any high-stakes decisions it has to be asked what are we dealing with here? Are the measures warranted? Will they achieve their ...
I haven’t done a huge amount in the last few days. I’m reading The Poppy War and I’ve sort of poked at a couple of games – I started SOMA but I’m a wimp and I quit while in the first room after the brain scan. I might try it ...
The swan politicians may be gliding on the water, occasionally snapping at one another. Meanwhile, as the Covid19 crisis illustrates, the officials are desperately paddling below providing the real locomotion. One of the most fatuous recent grandstanding comments (of about a week ago), adding to the public’s anxieties, was ...
Much has been written about the importance of discretion in an emergency situation, and the concerns raised by the potential for it to be exercised arbitrarily. Given the quality of the discussion, there seemed little point in adding to it at any length. In particular, I point to the evidence ...
Today has felt surreal. I was all set to touch base online with my science communication students when a colleague shared the news that Bauer Media would be shutting down its publications immediately. The first link I saw implied it was Woman’s Weekly affected, and even that shocked me. But ...
Bogeymen, Real And Imagined: Is the number of psychopathic and sociopathic individuals in any given society truly as vanishingly small as we like to tell ourselves? Isn’t it more likely that the mass-shooters and serial-killers filling the headlines represent only the tip of a much, much larger iceberg of frightfulness? ...
Outgoing Police Commissioner Mike Bush appeared before the Epidemic Response Committee today, who asked him for the rules police are using to enforce the lockdown. He refused:Police Commissioner Mike Bush has admitted the advice given to Kiwis about what they're able to do during the lockdown hasn't been clear enough. ...
For those folk who find my other Lock-Down Diary versions too “negative” or otherwise unpalatable… Here’s a photo of my cat, . . Better? Tomorrow’s Sanitised Version: a pretty flower. . . . =fs= ...
. . April 1: Day seven of living in lock-down… This morning I had a brief chat with one of my neighbours, “D” (social distance between us, a good three or four metres). I learned he had resigned from his previous job and had been hired by another company – ...
Funnily enough, my thought as I start this post is whether it will be well written enough. Or should that be well enough written? Because so much of what I know about good writing came from my two stints at The Listener, which this morning was shut down due to ...
With normal democratic procedures in abeyance, there were two ways to go. First, it was open for the government to dissolve itself and invite the National Party to join a ministry of national salvation. That would have lessened the democratic deficit of the times by having a team of rivals without ...
Dr Kirsty Ross Children and young people can respond differently in times of distress. This also varies by age and developmental stage, with younger children having more magical and imaginative thinking, and older children having more awareness and knowledge of the issues our communities are facing (which brings up ...
Hungary has been a virtual dictatorship for a decade now, as Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has gradually eroded its democracy. But now, its official, with the passage of an indefinite emergency law allowing rule by decree:Hungary’s parliament has passed a new set of coronavirus measures that includes jail terms for ...
While the economy is on pause under lockdown, the government is beginning to plan how to cope with the post-lockdown, post-tourism, post-export education world we will eventually find ourselves in. They're planning a lot of infrastructure spending as economic stimulus, and have asked for proposals which can start the moment ...
It's my distraction, setting up tiny scenes to photograph. I've got stuck on the Babushka dolls for now. Something about their bubble shape. Something about their never changing, smiling features, suggesting persistent equanimity. Can we get through everything that is being thrown at us and keep at least a tiny ...
. . March 31: Day six of living in lock-down… This time I managed to sleep a little longer and the alarm woke me at the pre-set time: 6.55am. Then remembered I was working a later shift and could’ve slept in. Oh well, there are things to do at home. ...
Image credit:Diamond Harbour School Blogs I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your blog is unexpectedly missing or ...
Yesterday's Horizon poll showing support for a "Yes" vote in this year's cannabis referendum sliding into the majority for the first time in a year looked like good news for reformers – and it probably is. But the result warrants some scrutiny.The poll is the fifth in a series commissioned ...
For almost a week now, every one of us who isn’t an essential worker has been confined to their bubble. We are allowed to go shopping for groceries, to visit the doctor, and to get a bit of exercise if we stay local. The reason we are doing this is ...
The Covid-19 saga will no doubt produce many twists and turns for us before it is finally brought to an end. But one thing it has shown us – and what comfort it should bring us – is that our country’s government is in good hands. I am not thinking ...
In the absence of a vaccine or a cure for a deadly disease, staying home in your bubble is what you do, the concept is not new. To the best of my knowledge last time we did this in NZ was for polio, in the years before a vaccine came ...
The following statement was released on March 28 by the National Network on Cuba, a coalition of 40 groups, based in the United States. In recent weeks, Cuba has deployed hundreds of medical providers to over a dozen countries in Europe, Asia, as well as to their neighbors in Latin ...
This has been a terrible summer for Hector’s dolphins. The first indication was very low numbers of dolphin sightings during late spring and early summer. The Otago University Marine Mammal Research Team has carried out routine dolphin surveys at Banks Peninsula for more than 30 years. In all that time, ...
On March 17, Finance Minister Grant Robertson was quick out of the blocks with an economic rescue package to help businesses through the inevitable recession resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. Robertson had pulled together a scheme in short order that so far seems to have saved many jobs. In his ...
The purpose of the lockdown is to save lives, by reducing the spread of covid-19. We won't know if its really working for another week, but given the devastation that will result if it doesn't - 14,000 dead is the optimistic scenario - its definitely worth trying. But pausing the ...
. . March 30: Day five of living in lock-down… Woke up still in darkness. Alarm hadn’t gone off. Turn to radio clock; it’s a few minutes after 6am… I lie there in the dark, waiting to drift off to sleep… but it ain’t happening. Clock ticks over to 6.55 ...
The story of Les Gray, the public sector psychologist who told the truth about his use of cannabis and set off a storm, has a special place in the lore of cannabis reform in New Zealand.When Paul Shannon interviewed Gray for the 'Dope and Hope' issue of Planet magazine in ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced that New Zealand will enter into transit arrangements with a range of countries to make it easier for each other’s citizens to get home. “There are millions of people around the world stranded ...
From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, our Government has striven to provide calm, clear and consistent communication, including daily press conference updates from the Prime Minister. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters says getting New Zealanders back home and other travellers out of the country is "a nightmare for our embassies, consuls, and staff around the world".Speaking to NewstalkZB's Mike Hosking, the Foreign Minister said that he gave a clear message to people travelling overseas that they ...
The domestic travel ban has been lifted for stranded foreign tourists trying to get to international airports to fly home, after the Coalition Government announced a plan to help the tens of thousands of foreigners stranded here. Foreign Minister Rt. Hon. Winston Peters spoke with RNZ's Susie Ferguson said foreign ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters believes the country is rediscovering its resilience and self-reliance through its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.He says he is heartened that the mass majority of New Zealanders are following lockdown rules and that the government looking at the future, including paying to keep much ...
New Zealand can emulate the success of the US after the Great Depression by exploiting our own resources to turn the economy around quickly, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says. Mr. Peters told Magic Talk that New Zealand has an opportunity to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic a "superior, ...
All 45 New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel are either on their way back to New Zealand, or already in the country, according to Defence Minister Ron Mark."Twenty-eight personnel arrived back in New Zealand last week and are in isolation at the Royal New Zealand Air Force base in ...
The COVID-19 situation in New Zealand is moving fast - and to avoid what we've seen overseas - the Government's response must be to move fast too. We're committed to keeping New Zealanders safe and well-informed every step of the way. ...
We know people are feeling anxious about COVID-19. While the situation is serious, New Zealand has a world-class health system and we’re well-prepared to keep New Zealanders safe. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is encouraging New Zealanders overseas to stay where they are amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "We are reaching a point where the best option for most New Zealanders offshore is to shelter in place, by preparing to safely stay where they are.” "This includes following the instructions ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Foreign Minister Winston Peters is encouraging the tens of thousands of New Zealanders travelling overseas to consider sheltering in place, in light of COVID-19. “Since 18 March, we have been warning New Zealanders offshore that the window for flying ...
Hon. Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic DevelopmentThe Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is ramping up support for Tairāwhiti’s wood processing sector to bolster the region’s economy at a time of heightened uncertainty, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today.Following earlier announcements today of a regional support package for ...
All driver licences, WoFs, CoFs, and some vehicle certifications, that expired on or after 1 January 2020 will be valid for up to six months from 10 April 2020, Transport Minister Phil Twyford has announced. “People shouldn’t have to worry about getting fined for having an expired document if driving ...
The Government has today released the report from the Public Inquiry into the Earthquake Commission chaired by Dame Silvia Cartwright. Minister Responsible for the Earthquake Commission Grant Robertson says the Government wants to learn from people’s experiences following the Canterbury earthquakes and other recent natural disasters. “Dame Silvia’s report documents ...
The Government has extended by two weeks till April 27 the amount of time priority groups, such as health workers and those aged over 65, have to get their flu vaccine before it is made available to the wider public. This year’s vaccination campaign is a key component of the ...
Communities stepping up to help New Zealanders stay at home to break the transmission of COVID-19 and save lives have received Government support, said Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni. “Delivering groceries for the elderly who can’t shop online, providing data packs for low income families to keep them connected, and being ...
Across New Zealand 120 sites are taking samples to be tested for COVID-19. 68 community based assessment centres (CBACs) have been established to take samples from people with COVID-19 symptoms. Alongside this, 52 other centres including designated general practices, swabbing centres, and mobile clinics are now testing people for ...
The Ministry of Education is working with partners to develop a package of options so that students can learn at home when Term 2 begins on 15 April, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said today. Supports are also being prepared for households with children under five, to help parents and whānau ...
Māori Television to begin educational te reo programmes Ki te Ao Mārama – a new online learning space Thousands of hard copy learning packs ready for distribution Helpdesk and advice service for kōhanga, kura and wharekura Television, the internet and hard copy learning packs are some of the ways whānau ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced an initial package of support to help the people and the Government of Vanuatu respond to the impact of Tropical Cyclone Harold. “Our Pacific neighbours have been hit by a Category 5 Cyclone at the same time as dealing with the economic impacts ...
Tourism New Zealand to lead work reimagining the way tourism operates in post-COVID-19 world. Ministers to review International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy investment plan. The Government, industry and business are working together to develop a plan for how tourism will operate in a post-COVID-19 world, Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis ...
More New Zealanders are taking up the chance to work in horticulture as the sector keeps New Zealanders fed and in jobs during the COVID-19 Alert Level 4 lockdown. “Our horticulture sector has long been one of New Zealand’s export star performers, contributing around $6 billion a year to our ...
The Provincial Development Unit is working through applications and projects to see where Provincial Growth Fund money can be repurposed for initiatives deemed more critical to fighting the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones says. “We need to be throwing everything we have at ...
The Government’s wage subsidy to protect jobs and keep workers and businesses connected during the lockdown has now supported over a million New Zealanders, with $6.6 billion already paid out. “We’re supporting businesses to pay wages, and stay connected with their workers so that we are all in a better ...
The Government is stepping up efforts to help protect New Zealand’s Pacific communities in the fight against COVID-19. Cabinet has agreed that $17 million will be allocated to support a COVID-19 Pacific Response Package, which will: Support Pacific health and disability services facing increased demand; Ramp up public health messaging ...
“Yesterday evening the Health Minister advised me of his trip to a beach during the lockdown and offered his resignation,” Jacinda Ardern said. “Under normal conditions I would sack the Minister of Health. What he did was wrong, and there are no excuses. “But right now, my priority is our ...
Last night as part of my preparation for the Epidemic Response Committee, I provided the Prime Minister with a complete picture of my activity outside my home during Alert Level 4. That included the fact that on the first weekend of the Alert Level 4 lockdown I drove my family ...
A range of support is being rolled out across New Zealand to help people look after their mental health during COVID-19 Health Minister David Clark said this morning. “COVID-19 has brought a lot of uncertainty into our lives and many of us will be feeling some level of distress or ...
The New Zealand Government has made arrangements to charter a flight for New Zealanders stranded in Peru to depart the country, following agreement with the Chilean government to allow the necessary transit through Chile, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters announced today. “Like many travellers around the world at the moment, ...
Hospital preparations for COVID-19 are well advanced says Health Minister David Clark. “Hospitals across New Zealand are repurposing buildings and training staff to get ready for COVID-19 patients. This gives me confidence that we are well prepared for any potential increase in COVID-19 patients needing hospital level care,” said David ...
The Government will be introducing legislation to make changes to the Companies Act to help companies facing insolvency due to COVID-19 to remain viable and keep New Zealanders in jobs. The temporary changes include: Giving directors of companies facing significant liquidity problems because of COVID-19 a ‘safe harbour’ from insolvency ...
The Government’s plan to cushion the blow of COVID-19 by supporting incomes, jobs and businesses, and position the economy to recover has been backed by another international report. International credit rating agency Moody’s today reaffirmed its highest Aaa credit rating on New Zealand, saying the economy is expected to remain ...
The Government has stepped in to support vital air links to our offshore islands, the Chatham Islands, Great Barrier Island and Motiti Island, Transport Minister Phil Twyford announced today. “As part of our $600 million support package to minimise the impacts of COVID-19 on the aviation sector, the Government has ...
National sports organisations have been given certainty of funding to ensure they can remain viable through the COVID-19 pandemic, Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson announced today. “The global spread of COVID-19 has had a significant impact on sport and recreation in New Zealand, including the cancellation or postponement of ...
Changes have been made to allow butchers to process pork, only for supply to supermarkets or other processors or retailers that are open, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor has announced. “We carefully weighed the risk of allowing butchers to open their shops for retail customers, but the risk of spreading COVID-19 ...
Essential workers who take leave from work to comply with public health guidance are being supported with a leave scheme to ensure they will continue to receive income, say the Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Iain Lees-Galloway and Minister for Social Development, Carmel Sepuloni. A number of essential businesses ...
A Government WhatsApp channel has been launched to help make information more easily accessible and shareable in the fight against COVID-19. Govt.NZ, which is free to use on any mobile device, will carry information and news for the public, businesses, healthcare providers, not for profits and local government. It can ...
The Government has announced a plan to enable the safe, orderly exit of tens of thousands of stranded foreign nationals from New Zealand during the current COVID-19 Alert Level 4 restrictions, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters has said. “When we moved into lockdown a week ago, the ...
Health Minister Dr David Clark says the Government is delivering on its commitment to support general practice doctors and nurses, and pharmacies on the front-line of our fight against COVID-19. "For us to overcome COVID-19, we need community health services such as general practice and community pharmacy to step up ...
Justice Susan Thomas has been appointed Chief High Court Judge, Attorney-General David Parker announced today. She replaces Justice Geoffrey Venning who has resigned from the position. David Parker paid tribute to Justice Venning, who he said had stewarded the High Court very capably over the last five years. “On behalf ...
Businesses can start applying to their banks for loans under the Business Finance Guarantee Scheme set up to support the New Zealand economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’re moving quickly to protect New Zealand businesses, jobs and the economy during this unprecedented global economic shock,” Finance Minister Grant Robertson said. ...
Work is underway looking at measures to speed up consents for development and infrastructure projects during the recovery from COVID 19, to provide jobs and stimulate our economy. Environment Minister David Parker said the COVID-19 pandemic is a serious global crisis that will have a wide ranging and lasting impact ...
Advance payments will be made to transport construction industry contractors to retain the workforce and ensure it is ready to quickly gear up to build projects which will be vital to New Zealand’s COVID-19 economic recovery, Transport Minister Phil Twyford announced today. He said keeping the workforce required to build ...
The Government has tasked a group of industry leaders to seek out infrastructure projects that are ready to start as soon as the construction industry returns to normal to reduce the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford and Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones say. The Infrastructure ...
Work to scale up the health system in preparation for COVID-19 was today outlined by Health Minister David Clark, as he reported back to the new Epidemic Response Committee. “We are well placed to contain the spread of COVID-19. We have taken early and decisive action at our borders, and ...
The Government is refining its COVID-19 essential business guidance to include the distribution of news publications for communities which are hard to reach. The Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media, Kris Faafoi, said the move was in recognition of the importance for New Zealanders who might be harder to ...
The Government is ensuring supermarkets can open on Easter Sunday so we can buy groceries, but stay closed on Good Friday allowing workers to take a break. This provides a balanced approach and ensures we avoid large queues that two days closure may cause. “Supermarkets will be able to open ...
Following the successful conclusion of the Building Partner Capacity (BPC) mission at Taji, New Zealand defence personnel are returning to New Zealand from Iraq, in accordance with the Cabinet decision made in June 2019, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Ron Mark announced today. “New Zealand is very ...
The State of National Emergency to help stop the spread of COVID-19 has been extended for a further seven days, Minister of Civil Defence Peeni Henare said. The initial declaration on March 25 lasted seven days and can be extended as many times as necessary. “Since we went into isolation ...
New Zealand’s ability to go hard and go early in the fight against COVID-19 has been underpinned by strong Government finances and the growing economy heading into this global pandemic, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. The Treasury today released the Crown financial statements for the eight months to the end ...
Health Minister Dr David Clark says 36 new intensive care beds at Christchurch Hospital’s new Hagley building are being fast tracked so they are available for treatment of COVID-19 patients. The Ministry of Health is working with contractor CPB and Canterbury DHB to enable access to the hospital’s ICU, ...
The Government has fast-tracked up to $1 million to help Air New Zealand move urgent freight to and from New Zealand, with the first flight to Shanghai leaving tonight, Transport Minister Phil Twyford announced today. Phil Twyford says it’s crucial that trade in vital goods such as medical supplies and ...
The national lockdown was justifiable to protect the nation's intensive care capacity. But any prolonged lockdown and border closure will cause economic issues that lead to broader, indirect problems for our health and wellbeing, writes Professor Grant Guilford. In a caring society it is right that we do our utmost ...
She’s not a teacher or a fluent speaker – she just wants to practise with you. Join Leonie Hayden as she works through the first four weeks of Scotty Morrison’s Māori Made Easy.Yesterday we were counting things, today we’re counting people. We have different ways of counting each because people aren’t ...
A news item by Māni Dunlop, Māori News Director, has been posted on the RNZ website under the heading Government urged to put Māori at forefront of Covid-19 planning. “Forefront” means the position of greatest importance or prominence. One implication to be drawn from the headline, therefore. is that Māori ...
Women’s Rights Commissioner Saunoamaali’i Karanina Sumeo is encouraging women to seek help immediately if they find themselves in an abusive situation during the COVID-19 isolation. Often, people who were already in an abusive situation will likely ...
COMMENTARY:By Georgie Bright, Australia associate director of Human Rights Watch Even before the coronavirus pandemic, the fragile health system in Papua New Guinea was underfunded and overwhelmed, with high rates of malaria, tuberculosis, and diabetes among its population of more than eight million. Access to hospitals is extremely ...
New home owners will pay tens of thousands of dollars more on their mortgage if they accept a six-month mortgage 'holiday' option. That’s money going to the banks. But should lender and borrower be sharing the pain? There’s always a nagging worry about holidays. They are fun while they last, but ...
An Auckland bus driver tells Leonie Hayden what it’s like to operate under alert level four, and the struggle to secure a safer work environment.Mike moved to New Zealand in 2001. “I’m a Kiwi now,” he says, “and a die-hard unionist.” He’s employed by a large New Zealand bus company ...
The 1pm briefing has become appointment viewing. But it is no substitute for transparent, timely information, even in such extraordinary times, writes Newshub investigations reporter Michael Morrah in this post originally published on Newshub.Like all journalists in New Zealand right now, I’ve been covering stories day after day, all of ...
The Chair of the Earthquake Commission, Sir Michael Cullen, has welcomed Dame Silvia Cartwright’s Report of the Public Inquiry into the Earthquake Commission, released today. “The Report lays out clearly the challenges faced by EQC in responding to ...
With 14 days before the lockdown period is - for now - set to end, big questions remain about how the country is going to be able to stamp out flareups of Covid-19. ...
Environmental groups from across New Zealand have written to the Prime Minister urging the Government to restore Aotearoa in the economic recovery after lockdown. Forest & Bird, Greenpeace, WWF-New Zealand, Generation Zero, EDS and Ecologic ...
We've published a Controller update on Government spending in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. On 25 March 2020, Parliament passed legislation in response to the pandemic authorising the Government to spend up to $52 billion in addition ...
‘It is sobering watching what a country can do if it wants to. Having been told for so long that nothing is possible. These are strange times down the back of the bus, John.’Read more Lockdown Letters here.Dear John KeatsFunny that it’s had to come to this. But when I think ...
By Kelly Vacala in Suva Fiji disaster authorities have lifted movement restrictions imposed yesterday during the height of Severe Tropical Cyclone Harold have been lifted and both Queens and Kings highways are open. However, Covid-19 restrictions remain. Category 5 Harold is now heading for Tonga after leaving a trail ...
The Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry of Education will be taking questions from the opposition in the Epidemic Response Committee meeting. ...
Today’s EQC report urges the country’s natural disaster insurer to prepare for the next “big one”. David Williams reports The Canterbury earthquakes killed 185 people, and damaged 180,000 houses, some of which still haven’t been adequately repaired. Or re-repaired. But they also did something else. They shook people’s confidence in the ...
KiwiSaver funds invested solely in ethical companies are outperforming other funds amidst market volatility. An analysis of returns for the first quarter of 2020 shows growth funds were on average down more than 12 percent, but growth funds that were ethically invested lost on under 8 percent. Conservative and balanced ...
An Auckland small business owner says he's paying full price for broadband in an empty factory and it is not fair. Steve has been wrangling with Spark for days arguing it should share in the pain of thousands of its customers. He runs a small manufacturing business with a handful ...
Paywave limits will increase to $200 to reduce physical contact with PIN pads during the Covid-19 pandemic. Previously only transactions of $80 or less were able to be completed without a PIN using a contactless card. After a pilot, Payments NZ will progressively roll out the new higher contactless payment ...
The Overstory, the winnner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, is an engulfing, worldview-shifting novel about climate catastrophe and hope, writes Susan Wardell. (Photographs are from a photo essay on kauri dieback by Michelle Hyslop; captions by Andrea Ewing). The year before last, I spent the month of January hugging ...
US death toll jumps 779 in a day; WTO warns global trade could drop by 13-33%; Trump says WHO biased towards China; WHO boss says finger-pointing just results in 'many more body bags'US toll surges: The United States is standing out in the Coid-19 numbers count with more than ...
By Sri Krishnamurthi, contributing editor of Pacific Media Watch After some weeks of heavy criticism of Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape’s government amid the Covid-19 pandemic, support for the administration has come from a surprising quarter – one of the media. Scott Waide is the Lae bureau ...
NZX50 back over 10k again as Mainfreight keeps its profit forecast with just single digit fall in sales, while Tilt Renewables' big payday helps Infratil pay a dividendPushing higher: The NZX50 finally managed to close above the key 10,000 level for the first time in almost a month, finishing ...
A philanthropist known for funding the construction of the Wellington Children’s Hospital is supporting the Council of Licenced Firearms Owners’ (COLFO) campaign against the Arms Legislation Bill. Mark Dunajtschik has endorsed COLFO’s campaign ...
The lockdown may be set to end in two weeks but region-based restrictions are still likely to be in place by the time of the general election, Justice Minister Andrew Little says. ...
The opposition doubts the public will be ready for an election in September; and the National Party insists Covid-19 contact tracing is failing to find too many people or is too slow. ...
As the government starts to work on how it can move the country on at some point from its current Alert Level-4 status, the other political parties will be starting to think about how they can re-enter the fray and normal political debate can resume. ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has spoken of the "huge tensions" between looking after the health of New Zealanders but also saving the country's economy. ...
Covid-19: Ministry of Education reveals support plans for distance learning; and Coronavirus: Flight Centre to close 58 New Zealand stores, 300 jobs to go. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Milne, Senior Lecturer, Resources, Environment and Development, Australian National University The world faces profound disruption. For Australians who lived through the most horrific fire season on record, there has been no time to recover. The next crisis is now upon us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW It has been said we are “at war” with the COVID-19 coronavirus. I’m not drawn to martial metaphors, but that’s not wrong. Another way to put it is that we, as a society, are in a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adele Wessell, Associate Professor in History, Southern Cross University The washing, drying, ironing, airing, pushing baby in his pram – these can all take on a different aspect if done with figure consciousness … Stretch to the ceiling Relax to the ...
Most banks are increasing the contactless threshold for Paywave and Paypass cards, but most are still charging the high credit fees that discourage dairies from using them More paywave transactions will be made contactless after banks raise the threshold for keypad-free transactions from $80 to $200 today. Payments NZ Chief ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Quarantine announcement expected today for arrivals, John Tamihere accused of test-seeking dishonesty, and Cyclone Harold smashes Pacific.An announcement is expected today on mandatory 14-day quarantine for all arrivals at the border, in an effort to prevent outbreaks of Covid-19. That comes ...
Auckland’s new electorate of Flat Bush* will be given the opportunity to have New Conservative’s Deputy Leader fight for their needs and wants. Elliot Ikilei has both lived and worked in or around the electorate for over a decade, with close ...
The lockdown may be set to end in two weeks but region-based restrictions are still likely to be in place by the time of the general election, Justice Minister Andrew Little says. ...
Kiwi Wealth's online share and fund trading platform Hatch has never been so busy. GM Kristen Lunman talks to Bernard Hickey about why tens of thousands of New Zealanders are now trading stocks in US markets. General Manager and Co-Founder of Hatch Kristen Lunmen has never been busier helping ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. For updated official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The ...
Steve Braunias reviews Madeleine Chapman's new biography of Jacinda Ardern on Kindle (available in all good bookstores when all good bookstores reopen after the lockdown.) And then there was the time I popped in to see Jacinda Ardern for a cup of tea during those strange, dreamy weeks when New ...
When and how to start loosening anti-virus controls is a vexed question in countries around the world, writes Rod Oram Fighting Covid-19 remains the absolute priority for governments and citizens. But pressure is building to allow more social movement and economic activity along the way. Once again China is ...
MediaRoom: Inside the pressure building on the Government to step in and save news media businesses before it's too late. For months, some parts of the news media have been sending out SOS messages publicly and in intense lobbying in the shadows of bureaucracy for urgent Government financial and regulatory ...
Professor of Public Health Grant Schofield asks what happens if the lockdown doesn't work, and argues it's time to be looking at a mitigation strategy Yesterday morning my teenage boys Sam and Jackson were out riding their bikes. The police pulled them over to question them about what they were doing and where ...
If you think the lockdown is the perfect time to start an exercise regime, LockerRoom writer Ashley Stanley has a warning for you. It was the fifth day after I decided to exercise, and my body was still a painful reminder of my ridiculous thinking, yet again. I had ...
As many transition to unfamiliar systems as part of working from home, being vigilant about cyber security has never been more important, writes Victoria University of Wellington's Val Hooper The past few weeks have been tumultuous as the majority of us have scampered and scrabbled to get organised for, and come ...
As schools move their teaching online, we must be cautious of the risk of amplifying our shameful record of inequalities across the education system, writes Victoria University of Wellington's Louise Starkey When schools begin teaching again it will be through a distance mode. New Zealand has a long history of distance ...
There is a great deal of anxiety about Covid-19 but in many ways we're much better off than we would be after a natural disaster: the water will keep flowing, the power will stay on, the sewers will keep working. The University of Auckland's Bill McKay makes a case for city ...
Bulk testing of samples could be the way forward for coronavirus surveillance in New Zealand, reports Mirjam Guesgen.With the number of completed coronavirus tests in New Zealand breaking 4,000 in a day on Tuesday, scientists are looking at more efficient tests to push that number even higher.By testing samples from ...
By RNZ News Social media misinformation about Covid-19 is putting Pacific communities in New Zealand at particular risk, government advisers say. The government announced a $17 million package toward building an awareness campaign in Pacific languages, as well as support for health providers. Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa identified ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marilyn McMahon, Deputy Dean, School of Law, Deakin University A distinctive feature of the prosecution of Cardinal George Pell is that the former choirboy who accused him of sexual abuse (known in the High Court as Complainant “A”) was regarded as a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Darren Palmer, Associate professor, Deakin University The law on what we can and can’t do during the coronavirus outbreak is changing on an almost hourly basis. Some of what is written now might be overtaken by the shifts in the pandemic powers ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cassandra Mudgway, Senior Lecturer in Law, Auckland University of Technology As millions of people are moving work and social interactions online to protect themselves from COVID-19, existing online safety measures may not be enough to deal with a surge in harassment and ...
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says the primary sector will play a critical role in NZ’s economic recovery once the country emerges from the Covid-19 lockdown. It is the first time (at least within Point of Order’s close surveillance of the issue) that a coalition minister has acknowledged how the pandemic ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Doughney, Emeritus professor, Victoria University The loss of international students due to COVID-19 restrictions, and predicted second semester declines, will see universities lose between A$3 and 4.5 billion, according to Universities Australia. The higher education sector was dealt another blow this ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brian Oliver, Research Leader in Respiratory cellular and molecular biology at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research and Professor, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney Harry Potter author JK Rowling says a breathing technique has helped her coronavirus-like respiratory symptoms, a ...
8 April 2020 This media release summarises changes to the operation of the courts entering week of COVID-19 alert level 4. It also looks ahead to how the courts will operate in the short and medium term under alert restrictions. Courts to function ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Glasziou, Professor of Medicine, Bond University Should members of the public be wearing face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic? It’s a controversial question, with different countries and authorities giving different advice. We have reviewed the results of more than a dozen ...
The Government is moving to safeguard businesses from insolvency with 'safe harbour' legislation for directors’ liabilities and a business debt hibernation regime. Practically, the business debt hibernation regime will see company directors seeking ...
This Passover, we won’t be attending synagogue, we won’t be participating in large raucous dinners and sharing our food with our extended family and friends, we won’t be welcoming strangers into our homes, as Jewish people are instructed to do, writes Juliet Moses.Tonight, on what is hopefully the halfway point ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brad Elphinstone, Lecturer in psychology., Swinburne University of Technology The same week social distancing measures were announced in Australia (March 16 – March 22), sales of game consoles leaped 285.6%. Prior to this, sales were declining month on month. We’ve also seen ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Harris, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, UNSW As part of the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, all elective surgeries across Australia have been temporarily cancelled. Elective surgery is non-urgent surgery people choose (elect) to have: things like cataract surgery, joint replacement, ...
Infratil and Wellington Council are preparing to lend Wellington Airport funds to help it cope with a traffic collapse because of Covid-19 restrictions, DIleepa Fonseka reports from Infratil's update to investors Wellington City Council and listed investment firm Infratil are preparing a loan to support Wellington Airport, which has seen ...
The latest in our new series of charts, graphics and data visualisations by Chris McDowall.This work is entirely funded by the generosity of The Spinoff MembersThese posts collate the most recent statistics and present them as charts and maps. The Ministry of Health typically publishes data updates in the early ...
After two weeks of lockdown, police are no longer taking "I didn't know the rules" as a valid excuse, Marc Daalder reports Two weeks into the nationwide lockdown, the police are starting to take non-compliance seriously. The number of prosecutions nearly tripled in 24 hours and 76 new breaches of ...
As the Ministry of Social Development struggles to cope with unprecedented inquiries due to Covid-19, Child Poverty Action Group is calling for the Government to fix our broken welfare system and redesign it so all New Zealanders, but particularly ...
Fijian authorities are scrambling to ensure Cyclone Harold doesn’t make the country’s Covid-19 crisis worse, Teuila Fuatai reports. As Cyclone Harold hits Fiji, authorities have issued physical distancing and sanitation guidelines for evacuation centres. Lashing rain and strong winds caused widespread flooding, power outages and damage to homes and buildings ...
The Government has announced a $88 million package to help students adjust to the new normal of learning from home Thousands of modems and internet-ready devices are being sent to households around the country, in a bid to bridge the digital divide before children resume their studies at home next ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christine Jenkins, Professor, Respiratory Medicine, UNSW Sydney and Clinical Professor at the University of Sydney, George Institute for Global Health The new respiratory coronavirus COVID-19 is particularly worrying for the 2.7 million Australians who already suffer from asthma. That’s roughly one in ...
By Maggie Boyle of FBC News Fiji disaster authorities have put the whole of Viti Levu island on restricted movement due to TC Harold. Director for National Disaster Management Vasiti Soko confirmed the step had been taken as a precautionary measure. Soko said everyone except emergency services were to ...
By Wansolwarastaff Fiji now has 15 coronavirus cases after a single new case has been confirmed by Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama. The new case was one of 25 samples that were tested at the molecular lab and is the husband of an existing patient from Lautoka – the Zumba ...
Māori will likely make up the worst unemployment figures in the forthcoming economic recession. Things can’t go back to the way they were, writes Joshua Hitchcock.Our world has changed. While it is too early to know with any certainty what the full impact of this crisis will be on Māori, ...
Open mike 10/03/2016 
Open mike is your post.
The anti-fluoride movement wants to restrict your reading to “just four studies.” They actively ignore or attempt to discredit other relevant studies. Image credit: Censorship in media. For earlier articles in this series see: ... 4 hours ago
Not Now, Not Ever, Never! The problem with Labour's leading activists is that there is never a good time for democratic socialism. Never. They are like Saint Augustine who prayed to the Almighty: “Lord, give me chastity and self-control – but not yet.” In the case of Labour "junior officers", however, ...5 hours ago
52 Articles Physical science of global warming & effects Sensitivity of ice flow to uncertainty in flow law parameters in an idealized one-dimensional geometry (open access) Observations & observational methods of global warming & effects Will heat stress take its toll on milk production in China? Uncoupled El Niño ...7 hours ago
We are seeing what has been termed “a greater challenge than the crash of 2008” by a growing number of economists and more rational, sane commentators, because whilst that was a shocking exposure of the levels to which hubris had sunk, right down to the blank cheque given those who ...17 hours ago
I am a Kiwi living in Jersey City, New Jersey. Jersey City is the second-largest city in the state and is located directly across the Hudson River from downtown Manhattan. Locals call it New York’s sixth borough. More than 350,000 New Jersey citizens, including myself, commute to New York daily ...20 hours ago
It’s a beautiful autumn afternoon, we need to get out of the house, and so our bubble sets off on a bike ride around our local neighbourhood, Cambridge Park. The bikes come out of the garage, and, being really certain we have a front door key, close the garage door ...22 hours ago
. . April 7: Day 13 of living in lock-down… and unlucky for those who are superstitious. A day when there was a ray of sunshine from an otherwise bleak day of worrying signs. Today, as RNZ reported; Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield reported 54 new confirmed and probable cases ...1 day ago
So far, universal basic income policies, which see people given a regular income without any conditions, have been trailed only on a small scale. But now, Spain is introducing one nationwide as a response to the pandemic: Spain is to roll out a universal basic income (UBI) “as soon as ...1 day ago
The Queen’s coronavirus broadcast, with its overtones of Winston Churchill and Vera Lynn, prompted me to reflect on the tribulations my parents’ generation suffered during the Second World War – and I imagine that those parallels, given her own wartime experience, were very much in the Queen’s mind as she ...1 day ago
We all know that Simon Bridges has, at the best of times, an intermittent relationship with the truth. However you would think that during a pandemic and economic crisis the current opposition leader would pull his head in and start to do the right thing.Obviously leading by example should be ...2 days ago
Connett promotes Riddell et al (2019) as one of the only four studies one needs to read about fluoridation. But he misunderstands and misrepresents the findings of this study. Image credit: Fluoride Action ... 2 days ago
Last month I wrote my blog on covid-19 pointing out the in our pre Alert Level 4 days that a subject no one had heard here months ago was now dominating the media. An amazing feature of this crisis is how quickly it has swept every other issue aside worldwide. ...3 days ago
As the world economy slides rapidly towards deep recession there are growing calls for a Universal Benefit coming from some leftists and rightists. Now Finance Minister Grant Robertson is saying it is on the table. This article by a French party Workers Struggle provides analysis of various forms of universal ...4 days ago
This is the advice from the very top of the anti-fluoride movement – Paul Connett, director of the Fluoride Action Network (FAN). Don’t worry about reading up on all the scientific information “You only have ... 4 days ago
Comfortably, in the very first round, with an impressive 56% of the votes.I wonder, did members of the Shadow Cabinet start tweeting their resignations during Starmer's victory speech, or is that only a trick the right pull?It is odd how all the talk of how the next leader "needs to ...4 days ago
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern addressed the nation today about the decline in daylight New Zealand has been experiencing over the previous few months. She said “As many of you will notice, our attempts to stem the dwindling of the daylight over the last few months have been completely ...5 days ago
We must root out the traitors among us! ...6 days ago
I haven’t done a huge amount in the last few days. I’m reading The Poppy War and I’ve sort of poked at a couple of games – I started SOMA but I’m a wimp and I quit while in the first room after the brain scan. I might try it ...7 days ago
Image credit: Diamond Harbour School Blogs I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your blog is unexpectedly missing or ... 1 week ago
The following statement was released on March 28 by the National Network on Cuba, a coalition of 40 groups, based in the United States. In recent weeks, Cuba has deployed hundreds of medical providers to over a dozen countries in Europe, Asia, as well as to their neighbors in Latin ...1 week ago
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced that New Zealand will enter into transit arrangements with a range of countries to make it easier for each other’s citizens to get home. “There are millions of people around the world stranded ...2 days ago
From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, our Government has striven to provide calm, clear and consistent communication, including daily press conference updates from the Prime Minister. ...4 days ago
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The scale of what we face right now is unlike anything we have ever seen before. Overcoming it is our common purpose. ...2 weeks ago
All driver licences, WoFs, CoFs, and some vehicle certifications, that expired on or after 1 January 2020 will be valid for up to six months from 10 April 2020, Transport Minister Phil Twyford has announced. “People shouldn’t have to worry about getting fined for having an expired document if driving ...2 hours ago
The national lockdown was justifiable to protect the nation's intensive care capacity. But any prolonged lockdown and border closure will cause economic issues that lead to broader, indirect problems for our health and wellbeing, writes Professor Grant Guilford. In a caring society it is right that we do our utmost ...35 mins ago
She’s not a teacher or a fluent speaker – she just wants to practise with you. Join Leonie Hayden as she works through the first four weeks of Scotty Morrison’s Māori Made Easy.Yesterday we were counting things, today we’re counting people. We have different ways of counting each because people aren’t ...39 mins ago
A news item by Māni Dunlop, Māori News Director, has been posted on the RNZ website under the heading Government urged to put Māori at forefront of Covid-19 planning. “Forefront” means the position of greatest importance or prominence. One implication to be drawn from the headline, therefore. is that Māori ...42 mins ago
Women’s Rights Commissioner Saunoamaali’i Karanina Sumeo is encouraging women to seek help immediately if they find themselves in an abusive situation during the COVID-19 isolation. Often, people who were already in an abusive situation will likely ...43 mins ago
COMMENTARY: By Georgie Bright, Australia associate director of Human Rights Watch Even before the coronavirus pandemic, the fragile health system in Papua New Guinea was underfunded and overwhelmed, with high rates of malaria, tuberculosis, and diabetes among its population of more than eight million. Access to hospitals is extremely ...43 mins ago
New home owners will pay tens of thousands of dollars more on their mortgage if they accept a six-month mortgage 'holiday' option. That’s money going to the banks. But should lender and borrower be sharing the pain? There’s always a nagging worry about holidays. They are fun while they last, but ...54 mins ago
With 14 days before the lockdown period is - for now - set to end, big questions remain about how the country is going to be able to stamp out flareups of Covid-19. ...2 hours ago
Today’s EQC report urges the country’s natural disaster insurer to prepare for the next “big one”. David Williams reports The Canterbury earthquakes killed 185 people, and damaged 180,000 houses, some of which still haven’t been adequately repaired. Or re-repaired. But they also did something else. They shook people’s confidence in the ...3 hours ago
KiwiSaver funds invested solely in ethical companies are outperforming other funds amidst market volatility. An analysis of returns for the first quarter of 2020 shows growth funds were on average down more than 12 percent, but growth funds that were ethically invested lost on under 8 percent. Conservative and balanced ...3 hours ago
An Auckland small business owner says he's paying full price for broadband in an empty factory and it is not fair. Steve has been wrangling with Spark for days arguing it should share in the pain of thousands of its customers. He runs a small manufacturing business with a handful ...3 hours ago
Paywave limits will increase to $200 to reduce physical contact with PIN pads during the Covid-19 pandemic. Previously only transactions of $80 or less were able to be completed without a PIN using a contactless card. After a pilot, Payments NZ will progressively roll out the new higher contactless payment ...3 hours ago
US death toll jumps 779 in a day; WTO warns global trade could drop by 13-33%; Trump says WHO biased towards China; WHO boss says finger-pointing just results in 'many more body bags' US toll surges: The United States is standing out in the Coid-19 numbers count with more than ...4 hours ago
NZX50 back over 10k again as Mainfreight keeps its profit forecast with just single digit fall in sales, while Tilt Renewables' big payday helps Infratil pay a dividend Pushing higher: The NZX50 finally managed to close above the key 10,000 level for the first time in almost a month, finishing ...4 hours ago
The opposition doubts the public will be ready for an election in September; and the National Party insists Covid-19 contact tracing is failing to find too many people or is too slow. ...4 hours ago
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has spoken of the "huge tensions" between looking after the health of New Zealanders but also saving the country's economy. ...4 hours ago
Covid-19: Ministry of Education reveals support plans for distance learning; and Coronavirus: Flight Centre to close 58 New Zealand stores, 300 jobs to go. ...4 hours ago
Most banks are increasing the contactless threshold for Paywave and Paypass cards, but most are still charging the high credit fees that discourage dairies from using them More paywave transactions will be made contactless after banks raise the threshold for keypad-free transactions from $80 to $200 today. Payments NZ Chief ...5 hours ago
Kiwi Wealth's online share and fund trading platform Hatch has never been so busy. GM Kristen Lunman talks to Bernard Hickey about why tens of thousands of New Zealanders are now trading stocks in US markets. General Manager and Co-Founder of Hatch Kristen Lunmen has never been busier helping ...7 hours ago
Steve Braunias reviews Madeleine Chapman's new biography of Jacinda Ardern on Kindle (available in all good bookstores when all good bookstores reopen after the lockdown.) And then there was the time I popped in to see Jacinda Ardern for a cup of tea during those strange, dreamy weeks when New ...7 hours ago
When and how to start loosening anti-virus controls is a vexed question in countries around the world, writes Rod Oram Fighting Covid-19 remains the absolute priority for governments and citizens. But pressure is building to allow more social movement and economic activity along the way. Once again China is ...7 hours ago
MediaRoom: Inside the pressure building on the Government to step in and save news media businesses before it's too late. For months, some parts of the news media have been sending out SOS messages publicly and in intense lobbying in the shadows of bureaucracy for urgent Government financial and regulatory ...7 hours ago
Professor of Public Health Grant Schofield asks what happens if the lockdown doesn't work, and argues it's time to be looking at a mitigation strategy Yesterday morning my teenage boys Sam and Jackson were out riding their bikes. The police pulled them over to question them about what they were doing and where ...7 hours ago
If you think the lockdown is the perfect time to start an exercise regime, LockerRoom writer Ashley Stanley has a warning for you. It was the fifth day after I decided to exercise, and my body was still a painful reminder of my ridiculous thinking, yet again. I had ...7 hours ago
As many transition to unfamiliar systems as part of working from home, being vigilant about cyber security has never been more important, writes Victoria University of Wellington's Val Hooper The past few weeks have been tumultuous as the majority of us have scampered and scrabbled to get organised for, and come ...7 hours ago
As schools move their teaching online, we must be cautious of the risk of amplifying our shameful record of inequalities across the education system, writes Victoria University of Wellington's Louise Starkey When schools begin teaching again it will be through a distance mode. New Zealand has a long history of distance ...7 hours ago
There is a great deal of anxiety about Covid-19 but in many ways we're much better off than we would be after a natural disaster: the water will keep flowing, the power will stay on, the sewers will keep working. The University of Auckland's Bill McKay makes a case for city ...7 hours ago
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says the primary sector will play a critical role in NZ’s economic recovery once the country emerges from the Covid-19 lockdown. It is the first time (at least within Point of Order’s close surveillance of the issue) that a coalition minister has acknowledged how the pandemic ...18 hours ago
Infratil and Wellington Council are preparing to lend Wellington Airport funds to help it cope with a traffic collapse because of Covid-19 restrictions, DIleepa Fonseka reports from Infratil's update to investors Wellington City Council and listed investment firm Infratil are preparing a loan to support Wellington Airport, which has seen ...21 hours ago
After two weeks of lockdown, police are no longer taking "I didn't know the rules" as a valid excuse, Marc Daalder reports Two weeks into the nationwide lockdown, the police are starting to take non-compliance seriously. The number of prosecutions nearly tripled in 24 hours and 76 new breaches of ...21 hours ago
Fijian authorities are scrambling to ensure Cyclone Harold doesn’t make the country’s Covid-19 crisis worse, Teuila Fuatai reports. As Cyclone Harold hits Fiji, authorities have issued physical distancing and sanitation guidelines for evacuation centres. Lashing rain and strong winds caused widespread flooding, power outages and damage to homes and buildings ...22 hours ago
The Government has announced a $88 million package to help students adjust to the new normal of learning from home Thousands of modems and internet-ready devices are being sent to households around the country, in a bid to bridge the digital divide before children resume their studies at home next ...22 hours ago
TPP Just in case you missed it late yesterday, and because
Submissions are due by
5pm on Wednesday, 30 March 2016 I am repeating this post.
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/consulting-tpp%E2%80%99s-intellectual-property-implementation
To read the consultation document and provide a submission go to http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/business/intellectual-property/tpp-intellectual-property-chapter/implementation-consultation.
(my bold and italics)
Goodie bags FFS! Like a child’s birthday party!
“TPP representatives walk away with NZ goodie bag”
Why is taxpayers’ money being spent on an agreement designed to transfer some of the taxpayers’ rights to large foreign corporations? Did the corporations provide any money for this or just the taxpayer? OIA request?
Read more: http://www.newshub.co.nz/politics/tpp-representatives-walk-away-with-nz-goodie-bag-2016030923#ixzz42QrXfeuC
“New Report on Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Deal Raises Serious Concerns about Corporate Misalignment”
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-report-on-trans-pacific-partnership-trade-deal-raises-serious-concerns-about-corporate-misalignment-300233471.html
Karma.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3484064/Pro-gun-poster-girl-shot-four-year-old-son-driving-Florida-boy-pistol-seat-truck.html
The USA is a degenerate society. That is why people don’t feel safe and have to carry guns. And they are so inward looking that the woman has a photo of her wearing makeup, a chosen outfit with expensive hat and large gun, and considers it a good thing to publish not an example of the endtimes for the country.
And what values has she to teach her wee son. She is bereft of them, living in a nation, that tries to keep it glossy on top but underneath is a simmering lot of sewage which is as full of toxic things as Flint water, and can never be cleansed and drunk safely. Probably the problem is their own polluted drinking water is driving them round the bend.
I’m a bit more hopeful that the increased militancy we’re seeing with gun owners in the US is a sign that they realize their fetish is becoming socially unacceptable and on the way out. Kinda like how smokers got really militant in the 80s and early 90s. Certainly the statistics are clear that there’s fewer gun owners, but the remaining gun owners have a lot more guns.
I had to laugh about my comment above. it reads like some communist propaganda from a story I am reading written by Colin Cotterill which is in Laos, but involve Vietnamese, Thai and Chinese in differing numbers.
Unfortunately I do think this about USA though I’m not a communist, probably more of a humanist. And believing in good for people generally and for oneself is the sort of value that I think is important.
🙂 After reading your posts for a few years grey, I’d agree you’re a humanist.
A thoughtful and reflective humanist.
Thanks Rosie. I think your judgment would be right. I hadn’t thought much about it, except I knew what I didn’t like, which narrowed things down.
And TC I will. I never did see it originally, and hey it isn’t out of date by the sounds of it.
Go and watch ‘bowling for columbine’ , 14 years old now.
Moore does a subtle and effective job of highlighting some of the reasons for a gun toting society that lives in fear of each other.
Gloating over a tragic event. That is what you have done
“tragic”? She isn’t dead, and was upright and alert, and the kid probably has minimal understanding (if any) of what happened. And the irony can be cut with a knife.
“tragic” is the 9 year old who was given an uzi on full auto and accidentally killed her instructor because she was too small to handle the recoil.
OneTwo
I recognise your ploy. It gets used regularly by RW here. The emotional content of some tragedy is turned on to high, and swamps every attempt to treat the matter both humanely and rationally. Each ongoing tragedy is received more emotionally, and people are paralysed by grief and stress and cannot be allowed to concentrate on how to prevent the next tragedy.
C’mon Folks – make sure you make a submission on TPP. The MSM are publicising that only a few people are opposed and protesting at the Roadshows….
The current closing date for public submissions on the TPP is Friday March 11th.
http://itsourfuture.org.nz/take-action/
I’ll drag myself to once again into the fray, against TPPA. Look at the hidden message in the link: It_sour_future. So on top of all the other things I try to do, to help community and keep NZ from being mean, I will do it. Thanks for backgrounding and informing saveNZ.
We want our taxpayers money going on health and schools, not Kangaroo IDS court lawyers….
http://www.isdscorporateattacks.org/#!basics/c66t
Server now up to date.
Thanks.You are the best!
So Todd Barclay is of sufficient age, 23 years, to decide that those under a certain age, 25 years, are not eligible to adopt.
how does that work?
cuckoo cuckoo
Hey, alllllmost 26
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_Barclay
All good then, except that the point above still stands.
People under 25 can decide whether people under 25 are of insufficient capacity.
Clearly a gigantic nonsense. But in existence. And the gigantic nonsense is supported by many people around here ….
Just pointing out the technicality vto.
So is the kid on some sort of committee looking at adoption age law changes or is it just his personal opinion or something? I’m not aware of the context. I have heard there are some odd anomalies around adoption.
No, no context personal to Barclay – the rather large technicality that permits an MP of age 23 to decide (vote) on an issue concerning capacity of someone aged under 25….
hence the cuckoos in la-la land
Oh, good, male MPs won’t be voting on abortion law any more. Excellent.
except when it is a male being aborted of course
That’s a different argument. We’re talking about civilised countries that are pro-choice. Why should men have a say beyond that if a 23 yr old shouldn’t vote on legislation affecting 24/25 yr olds?
You can’t have it both ways.
conflator conflatee conflataaarrrr…. yeeaahh…. tra la la la life goes on
giving up so soon vto?
that’s not what conflating means btw. I made a straight out comparison. Feel free to explain why it’s invalid if you can.
Yours was the different argument weka.
Once you have answered the original question about age …… how is that justified? You know, that someone under 25 can decide if people under 25 are capable?
It is a nonsense.
Happy to hear an explanation in justification. Because the answer will surely provide some guidance to your male/abort question too……. come on …….
You think it’s a nonsense but you haven’t said why. Go on, have a go and see if you can explain your thinking.
It’s justified because (I’m assuming) anyone aged 18 or older can stand for parliament.
sheesh weka have you ever studied maths or logic? you have completely and utterly missed the point
let’s leave it for now – I have to rush out shortly and now you have me all confused and will need to be careful I don’t drive the wrong side of the road backwards …
When you come back, just start again. Make the statement about Barclay and then say what the problem is and how it it a problem. If you read back through the thread, you never said.
Lols. I’m still not with you. Are you suggesting an MP should be excluded from voting on age related legislation whether it be adoption, minimum purchase age for alcohol or anything, because of ….their age?
And if theres no such bills before parliament at the moment is your question more hypothetical than anything?
I really liked the cuckoo’s btw. Nice touch. 😀
“Metalclad v. Mexico
Toxic waste
Investor win (awarded $16.2 million)
In 1997 Metalclad Corporation, a U.S. waste management firm, launched a NAFTA investor-state dispute against Mexico over the decision of Guadalcazar, a Mexican municipality, not to grant a construction permit for expansion of a toxic waste facility amid concerns of water contamination and other environmental and health hazards. Studies indicated that the site’s soils were very unstable, which could permit toxic waste to infiltrate the subsoil and carry contamination via deeper water sources. The local government had already denied similar permits to the Mexican firm from which Metalclad acquired the facility. Metalclad argued that the decision to deny a permit to it, as a foreign investor operating under NAFTA’s investor rights, amounted to expropriation without compensation, and a denial of NAFTA’s guarantee of “fair and equitable treatment.”
The tribunal ruled in favor of the firm, ordering Mexico to compensate Metalclad for the diminution of its investment’s value. The order to compensate for a “regulatory taking” was premised on the tribunal’s finding that the denial of the construction permit unless and until the site was remediated amounted to an “indirect” expropriation. The tribunal also ruled that Mexico violated NAFTA’s obligation to provide foreign investors “fair and equitable treatment,” because the firm was not granted a “transparent and predictable” regulatory environment. The decision has been described as creating a duty under NAFTA for the Mexican government to walk a foreign investor through the complexities of municipal, state and federal law and to ensure that officials at different levels never give different advice. After a Canadian court slightly modified the compensation amount ordered by the investor-state tribunal, Mexico was required to pay Metalclad more than $16 million.”
http://www.isdscorporateattacks.org/#!environment/c1wa0
Thanx for that important info savenNZ What we ‘The Gullibles’ need to know.
Crikey. Fined $16million for acting to protect a water supply and no appeal allowed. TPPA beware!
Yesterday Bill English admitted on NatRadio that pretty much all dairy farmers have been conducting their business to make money by way of capital gain rather than revenue….
These people need to account for that money in their income tax returns then.
and not be dirty tax-dodging bludgers ….
Bill English said it, not me…
will IRD ignore this?
Isn’t the capital gain only realised when they sell up ?
Yes. Depends on how it is treated. Some regimes don’t require realisation before charging, others do. Michael Cullen seemed to think taxing before realisation was ok, personally I think it is a bit nuts.
Of course shortly there will be plenty of losses to counter gains anyway ….
Probably realised when they go out and borrow huge amounts more money on the farm.
vto
No, silly. It’s just ‘good’ business practice!
Ha, yep like those people who manage to manufacture disabilities to make claims are simply indulging in ‘good’ income practice. They have clearly learned from Bill English and his types.
On RADIONZ this morning. About keeping young offenders out of the Courts and injustice treadmill.
09:20 How iwi led justice panels are keeping offenders away from crime
Funding is due to soon run out for three iwi led panels, which offer an alternative justice system for low level offenders.
The three panels, in Lower Hutt, Gisborne and Counties Manukau, were set up in 2014, with the objective of diverting low-level offenders away from crime, and keep them out of the criminal justice system.
The Justice Ministry has yet to decide whether it will continue funding them, saying while it appreciates the groundswell of enthusiasm, it has to consider the role and fit of the panels in the wider criminal justice system. Neville Baker is the chair of the Waiwhetu iwi led panel. Asher Hauwaho is the Iwi Liaison Officer for the Lower Hutt police.
Need more money, thank you very much, from the government. This citizen here says that time spent with young people having difficulties, helping them so they overcome their problems and limit reoffending to minor infringements, will save our tax dollars, my tax dollars, at present 15% on everything I buy., plus the cents tax you take off my small savings, and anything you get back from my taxable pension. (Don’t abandon programs for young people who are recidivists. If the offending comes down to really minor offences, it will stop as they get older. Just believe it is a good thing to do to work with them, and keep it going. It will prove a big saving and a big boost to the individual life.)
WhichAt present money received goes mostly on your and your servants’ salaries, and to the pockets of your business class running the prisons, the old people’s homes, and who knows what else you are going to hive off so you are paid for doing nothing useful for we the citizens.
Contemptible curs you are.
edited
Link to justice diversion system. Worth backing! Positive and fruitful policy.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/201792645
Good points greywarshark, basic, fundamentaly good economics, prevention as opposed to reaction, I doubt whether the govt sees it that way.
Thanx Expat glad that the number of people saying this is growing.
There have been active intelligent rational measures to improve and reduce the numbers in prison for decades, while governments prefer to keep the bogeyman up their sleeves for a possible last minute election frisson.
links:
Rethinking Crime and Punishment
http://www.rethinking.org.nz/Default.aspx?page=3613
and
Restorative justice – Victim, Offender, Community
http://www.restorativejustice.org.nz/cms/WhoWeAre/tabid/65/Default.aspx
And an address by Kim Workman 2008 – Refers to another innovator and thinker Judge Andrew Becroft.
The Future of Restorative Justice –Control, Co-option or Co …..
Kim Workman’s address to the 2008 Restorative Justice Aotearoa Conference. Let me first …. alternative justice movement in New Zealand, that has over the years sought to implement ….. Judge Andrew Becroft‟s advocacy for expanding.
Up to $7280 pledged for benighted journalist Bradley Ambrose. Going to 11 pm on Wednesday 16 March in his effort to raise for court fees – $38,000. I think Give a Little gives whatever is raised to the person, others only pay if target is reached. I could be wrong, but I should think anything would be helpful to him.
https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/bradelyambrose
There is the link.
Put in a bit and you are doing something to stir things along against this government. The link to the post on The Standard tells more:
+1
The disability hate-speech enabler is on Radio NZ’s Panel today. I suppose they have to have him on to keep their funding.
A MESSAGE FROM THE QUEEN
To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign
Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
In light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent
candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves,
we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence,
effective immediately. (You should look up ‘revocation’ in the
Oxford English Dictionary.)
Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical
duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except
North Dakota, which she does not fancy).
Your new Prime Minister, David Cameron, will appoint a
Governor for America without the need for further elections.
Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may
be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.
To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the
following rules are introduced with immediate effect:
———————–
1. The letter ‘U’ will be reinstated in words such as ‘colour,’
‘favour,’ ‘labour’ and ‘neighbour.’ Likewise, you will learn to spell
‘doughnut’ without skipping half the letters, and the suffix ‘-ize’
will be replaced by the suffix ‘-ise.’ Generally, you will be expected
to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up
‘vocabulary’).
————————
2. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler
noises such as ”like’ and ‘you know’ is an unacceptable and
inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S.
English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft
spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated
letter ‘u” and the elimination of ‘-ize.’
——————-
3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.
—————–
4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns,
lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers andtherapists shows that you’re not quite ready to be independent.
Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can’t sort
things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then
you’re not ready to shoot grouse.
———————-
5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry
anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a
permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in
public.
———————-
6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will
start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same
time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the
benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will
help you understand the British sense of humour.
——————–
7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have
been calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.
——————-
8. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French
fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato
chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in
animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.
——————-
9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually
beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to
as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance
will be referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable,
as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth
and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British
Commonwealth – see what it did for them. American brands will
be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat’s Urine, so that all can be sold
without risk of further confusion.
———————
10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors
as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast Englishactors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell
attempt English dialect in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an
experience akin to having one’s ears removed with a cheese grater.
———————
11. You will cease playing American football. There is only one
kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave
enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some
similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for
a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour
like a bunch of nancies).
———————
12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to
host an event called the World Series for a game which is not
played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware there
is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You
will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first
to take the sting out of their deliveries.
——————–
13.. You must tell us who killed JFK. It’s been driving us mad.
—————–
14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty’s
Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of
all monies due (backdated to 1776).
—————
15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups,
with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies)
and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.
God Save the Queen!
PS: Only share this with friends who have a good sense of humour
(NOT humor)
Like
LOL
😀 😀 😀
just another reason why I think Kiwis will stick with the flag
yup
I’m just reading Affluenza by Oliver James. I had heard it being bandied about and have come to believe that there is a change that develops when we become affluent and able to stand unsupported. We think we are better and separate from the rest of our society. Hah. James is looking at the process. He calls it the Affluenza Virus. The WHO records that there is a lot of distress in developed countries. James describes it as being caused by the Virus.
He calls it Selfish Capitalism and says – I mean four basic things.
The first is that the success of businesses is judged almost exclusively by their current share price.
The second is a strong drive to privatise public utilities, such as water, gas and electricity, or in the case of America, to keep them in private hands.
The third is that there should be as little regulation of business as possible, with taxation for the rich and very rich so limited that whether to contribute becomes almost a matter of choice.
The fourth is the conviction that consumption and market forces can meet human needs of almost every kind.
America is the apotheosis of Selfish Capitalism, Denmark the nearest thing to its Unselfish opposite.
(That sounds to me how our country is operated. I think our governments have dived into this Selfish thing like Grandpa McDuck dived into his golden money pile!
He writes further that materialism is strong in the poor, because every dollar counts, there is rarely enough, the work is precarious, and everything received can help, if everything isn’t budgeted for, there will be days when there is literally no food etc.
But when there is sufficient and more, and materialism still reigns then society deteriorates.)
The Selfish Virus causes distress like this:
Here’s an example of a brilliant young woman being an excellent MP at age 20. See, it can be done.
Mhairi Black’s maiden speech,
You’re a good googler… Have you ever heard the saying about the exception that proves the rule?
Not sure how this helps the issue, but would be keen to see a credible answer to the point above about how an MP aged under 25 can decide (vote) that people under 25 are of insufficient capacity to adopt…
Why don’t you start with explaining why you think it’s a problem? Then we’d know what you are talking about.
No, don’t avoid the question again. Whether it is a problem or not is separate. And I know you like throwing out the old “don’t what you’re talking about” banana skin but it is a falseity ….
The question again;
How is it that someone aged under 25 can decide (vote) on whether people under 25 are capable or not?
The answer is simple, he’s a legally elected representative and entitled to vote. His age is irrelevant to that. I really don’t get what your problem is.
it is a circular logic thing
maybe there are bigger brains around here who can pinpoint the descriptor for this …
In other words you’re objecting to something without knowing why. Or you’re being weasly and refusing to say what you think because you know you will get argued with. Neither are hardly the basis for useful political debate.
no no not at all – just looking for the technical description of this phenomenon which will help you understand it . Later
oks.
Weka he is been cute, from a logic point of view your statement is a circular argument , ie you are asking some one under 25 wether people under 25 are capable, by definition they can’t answer that question because you don’t know if their capable because there under 25?
I think 23 yr olds can be capable of making good MPs so it’s a nonsense argument to me. Vto seems to be arguing some principle and conflating that with his opinion that a young MP can’t do a good job because of their age.
Being an MP at 23 is not the same as adoption. But really the whole discussion is daft because the law as it stands is old and out dated and a report wants it to change to take the discriminatory aspects out. How Barclay would not be competent to vote in that because of his age is beyond me.
Hi weka – red delusion, grindlebottom and mr munro below have said it in slightly different ways that hopefully make sense to you. It was a curiousity, and illogicality.
It is a logical fallacy that the law both allows a person to decide (vote) that a person under 25 is incapable, but be capable enough to make that decision.
That is the problem.
But in further curiousity, it also highlights another discrepancy between our societies ways today and traditional ways borne out over long history …… whereby age was a factor in competency to a far greater extent than it is today. Two examples being – leaders of communities have typically been described as the “elders” (indicating the age factor), and secondly, this particular example whereby past NZ society has deemed people under 25 incapable of adopting.
This is just history. It is curious that we seem to think we are superior to this aspect of human history… time will tell whether we are right today (curiously enough)..
One final aspect – of course in societies past, far fewer people lived to a decent age, so the “elders” may have typically been in their 30’s, or heaven forbid their 20’s.
and one more final aspect – with my too many years on the planet my personal view is that age, combined with thinking (…), adds immeasurably to so very much of life. That time and experience is something that cannot be gained in other ways by most people. I do not value the views of the young on various relevant issues, to anything like the extent I value the views of the elders (subject to cogency etc..). This is my experience … and this would seem to be the experience of much of past societies too, given the prevalence of age in these matters …..
… now back to my weetbix
It’s a kind of authority-based hypocrisy, as far as I can judge.
Basically, I have the power of the establishment on my side so I can tell you what to do or not do.
I don’t think he’s making an argument, I think he accepts a 23 year old can and will vote on the issue.
He’s just got it in his head that saying someone under 25 can decide whether someone else under 25 is capable of adopting looks to him like circular reasoning, a logical fallacy of some kind, and he wonders (out of curiosity) what kind it is.
If I’m right, the problem is that it’s a fallacy that this is a logical fallacy.
Hi vto
I think the argument for it is that it is the exception that proves the rule.
But if there were too many under 25’s, when would it stop being an exception? Would it be decided on proportionality, the same percentage in parliament, as the percentage of potentital under 25 voters. There is a lot to take in for someone that young who hasn’t lived long. So that is a mark against too many youth. Also they stop learning I think, and don’t do their own but the thinking bidden by their Party, so starting too young may see a dull old dog or bitch by the time they retire if they stay at heel for too long. One mark against career pollies.
Then again some older people don’t seem to have lived and learned despite all their years. They have set out with their gladstone bag full of precepts and prejudices and never had them washed and ironed throughout their whole lives. Our local MP Nick Smith has been in Parliament since he was a fresh faced youngster and the job has aged him, but I don’t know if it’s added to his wisdom.
I see Stuart M has put up a lively answer. I thought it was simpler than that – that if you say you are making an exception, that implies that there is a rule to which the present matter is different but is being allowed, thus it is being made one exception to the (normal and accepted) rule. Thus, the exception proves the rule.
edited
In the case of Nick Smith .. er what wisdom?
Nick Smith is a good Minister, by National standards.
hi mr grey, I have tried to explain again just above, hopefully makes sense …
Woody Allen gets the last say…
“In my next life I want to live my life backwards. You start out dead and get that out of the way. Then you wake up in an old people’s home feeling better every day. You get kicked out for being too healthy, go collect your pension, and then when you start work, you get a gold watch and a party on your first day. You work for 40 years until you’re young enough to enjoy your retirement. You party, drink alcohol, and are generally promiscuous, then you are ready for high school. You then go to primary school, you become a kid, you play. You have no responsibilities, you become a baby until you are born. And then you spend your last 9 months floating in luxurious spa-like conditions with central heating and room service on tap, larger quarters every day and then Voila! You finish off as an orgasm!”
@vto
Thanks for Woody Allen I’ve grabbed that for further reading. Seems like a gem, that will amuse me for some years even.
“Have you ever heard the saying about the exception that proves the rule?”
Marilyn Waring
Jacinda Ardern
Gareth Hughes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_of_the_House#New_Zealand
Someone else can comment on the global list as to whether any of the myriad of young politicians were any good,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_of_the_House
The exception proves the rule is one of the famous sayings that have come to mean the opposite of what they originally meant. Exceptio probat regulam meant that when you have an apparent exception, you should apply the rule. The convenience to the likes of VTO of this position is it allows him to avoid refutation by what is effectively a selective use of the excluded middle. Something is something, or it is not.
Under 25s are capable of good judgment, or they are not. We have several instances of under 25s with good judgment, so the generalisation is unsound. But qualifying it might redeem it ‘many under 25s are not capable of good judgement’ is probably tenable.
The other inverted saying was Solon’s ‘A moral man is a law unto himself’ – the point being that moral persons are genuinely self-policing to some degree. The modern meaning refers to someone who does whatever they want – like our despicable substitute for a PM.
VTO is pointing to a Cretan liar’s paradox – “All Cretans are liars” says a Cretan, and the expectation is that the statement must be untrue. The paradox only works in an abstract situation because to be a liar only requires occasional lying. Thus a person under 25 could have inadequate judgment but still make the occasional good decision – as seems likely given that the police are now scheduled to investigate Todd Barclay. http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/375835/todd-barclay-electorate-staff-member-talk-police
Crikey, is that a scandal brewing? As Rosie said, bring on Popcorn April. Is that four legal process National will be involved in over the next months?
The question for me is, who decided that you shouldn’t be able to adopt under the age of 25, there are many under 25 who are mature enough to manage the adoption adequately , it’s not the age, it’s the ability to meet the requirements, surely.
In a democracy, as long as your’e old enough to vote then, your view point should not be dismissed.
VTO, I agree with your point to a large extent on this issue, if I was interested in adopting, and under 25, does this guy understand (at 23) the issues surrounding adoption, I see your point as 18 year olds voting on lowering the drinking age.
The point I make above about why there is a need to even make a decision based on age (age of the adopter), it’s discrimination isn’t.
Surely if you meet the necessary requirements for adoption, age is not a consideration, therefore the argument for voting on the question is irrelevant
The issue in the news is that a report is saying the current law (which says you can’t adopt if under 25) is outdated and discriminatory (not just the age issue) and should be changed.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/politics/375768/call-reform-adoption-laws
I don’t know what vto’s point is. Barclay may or may not be competent to have a say on this proposed law change, but his age has nothing to do with it.
The law change would remove the prohibition on his particular age to adopt, so him having a say makes sense at that level anyway.
Thanks for answering my question that I asked of vto at round one of this thread, from this morning. I didn’t know whether it was a hypothetical question or related to actual current discussion of adoption law.
Which brings it back round to my question to him which was
“Are you suggesting an MP should be excluded from voting on age related legislation whether it be adoption, minimum purchase age for alcohol or anything, because of ….their age?”
I think, no they shouldn’t be excluded. That in itself would be discrimination.
Good reminder of Mhairi Black btw. She’s a star.
Hi Rosie, sorry for missing your question earlier.. it raises the same interesting dilemma regarding age restrictions on anything and everything…
people around here seem to be saying that age is immaterial
if that is the case then there are an awful lot of statutes to clear up and remove the discrimination from – alcohol, marriage, sex, war, driving, adoption, school, voting, , ,
what to do?
allow the young to decide these matters for themselves? allow the elders to do the deciding?
it all ends in logical fallacy stew
seriously though, what should we do
Weka
Thanks for that, I wasn’t fully aware of the issue, so sounds like perhaps he should have a say and condemn two age discrimination issues at the same time, but regarding Barclay’s competency, in a democracy, he can’t be discriminated against for being incompetent either.
Can this guy go any lower?https://www.change.org/p/tv-one-and-seven-sharp-mike-hosking-s-seven-sharp-host-called-nz-returned-servicemen-morons-we-want-an-apology?recruiter=
Don’t listen to, or watch him, the only ones who do are wankers.
That’s a petition calling for Hoskings to apologise or be sacked for calling returned servicemen morons for having an opion about the flag. Seems important.
Yeah, the petition is important, to counter the absolute stupidity of the man, but he’s not important, anyone with only half a brain would switch off after only listening to him for a few seconds of his dribble, I don’t know anyone who could say he represents their view points, except for maybe the PM.
True, I don’t watch him. I think the petition deserved to be highlighted separately to that.
Does anybody?
At seven I’m on The Daily Blog for some ‘real’ discussion on problems of this country,
Isn’t everybody?
Can you please link to today’s one?
I don’t even watch tv, got this off a facebook feed.
Mark, I didn’t mean to imply “you” fitted the description I detailed.
No problem Expat.
The only time I watched his show was the online version when Jane Kelsey shot him down in flames over the TPP. That was fun.
He really is a thicko. She’s a joy to watch.
+1
Thanks. Signed. The guy is a prize jerk, and that was a really offensive thing to say. He should lose his job for a number of reasons, but this is as good as any.
That is his job ! Red neck ranting and shilling for national.
He uses his arrogant smug persona as a substitute for the intellectual rigour long gone from tvnz and enjoys the backing of besties jk.
Oh I know, but it’s up to us to not tolerate it.
I can’t look at him for a few seconds without my blood pressure going up. A broadcaster should not inspire that reaction in people. A broadcaster should inspire their viewers to have an enquiring mind and a desire to be educated by their investigative journalism…………….
Oh wait…………..
Rosie
“A broadcaster should inspire their viewers to have an inquiring mind and a desire to be educated by their investigative journalism…………….”
Problem is, who is that broadcaster?, where is that reporter? the free to air ones have gone down the toilet and not even worth watching any more and sky news is Murdoch BS.
When I was their in Jan, I watched “One” news with “Peter whats his face”, how embarrassing, he looked like a possum about to be hit by a car.
It’s a real shame we don’t have a public broadcaster modeled on the Aus ABC, providing balanced points of view for the benefit of the viewers, Q & A on the ABC includes 5 or more commentators from a diverse range of fields, beliefs and political persuasions, and the audience (aprox 200) is made up of a proportional amount of each of the 3 main political parties.
Having said that, Turnbull has replaced some of the key mangers within the ABC, and there has been a slight change in the way in which information is presented in the news, with less criticism of the Govt, you know, change a few of the neutral reporters for ones which are more pro Govt skew.
The great thing about the ABC is that there is NO commercial advertising at all, it’s free to air in digital right across the country with 4 separate channels at a cost annually of aprox $1B.
The ABC serves the needs of the Australian people, not the govt.
‘ ‘That’s horse sh*t!’: FBI can already unlock iPhone without Apple’s help – Snowden’
https://www.rt.com/usa/335054-snowden-apple-fbi-fight/
‘FBI changes rules on accessing NSA data on Americans, but won’t say how’
https://www.rt.com/usa/335058-fbi-nsa-rules-americans-surveillance/
‘Pentagon admits using drones to spy on Americans’
https://www.rt.com/usa/335068-pentagon-drones-spy-americans/
I saw that earlier and thought the FBI can’t hack an iphone, yeah right.
Or maybe it’s like NZ’s SIS who don’t have the fancy gear and so have to team up with the GCSB now 😉
Better than Icke! ( who is stupid and boring)
….Something to watch late at night if you cant sleep…to get yourself really paranoid
( but I dont agree with what they said about Queenie…it was a nasty fib!)
‘JFK to 911 Everything Is A Rich Man’s Trick’
(definitely say “NO” to the TPPA!)
ooops …see link below
Oh dear, How embarrassing for ISIS.
An insider has leaked a list of jihadi recruits to Sky News in Britain.
Full details of 22,00 of them. Edward Snowden would have been proud of this, I suppose.
http://news.sky.com/story/1656777/is-registration-forms-identify-22000-jihadis
So the US UK controllers and agents made a ‘mistake’
Some propganda is easier to identify
A primer on slavery today.
It makes sense that slavery and environmental destruction would go hand in hand. In some ways they spring from the same root. Our consumer economy is driven at its most basic level by resource extraction, pulling things from the earth, an extraction that we never actually see. We pull food from the earth, of course, but we also pull our cellphones from the earth, our clothing, our computers, our flat-screen televisions, our cars—it all comes from the earth, ultimately. And pulling things from the earth can be a dirty business. To make our consumer economy hum and grow and instantly gratify, costs are driven down as low as they can go, especially at the bottom of the supply chain; this can lead to abusive conditions for workers and harm to the natural world. Taken to the extreme it means slavery and catastrophic environmental destruction. But all this normally happens far from any prying eyes. It’s a hidden world that keeps its secrets.
[…]
When it comes to global warming, these slaveholders outpace all but the very biggest polluters. Adding together their slave-based deforestation and other CO2-producing crimes leads to a sobering conclusion. If slavery were an American state it would have the population of California and the economic output of the District of Columbia, but it would be the world’s third-largest producer of CO2, after China and the United States. It’s no wonder that we struggle and often fail to stop climate change and reduce the atmospheric carbon count. Slavery, one of the world’s largest greenhouse gas producers, is hidden from us. Environmentalists are right to call for laws and treaties that will apply to the community of nations, but that is not enough. We also have to understand that slavers—who don’t adhere to those laws and treaties—are a leading cause of the natural world’s destruction. And to stop them, we don’t need more laws. We need to end slavery.
http://blog.longreads.com/2016/03/08/your-phone-was-made-by-slaves-a-primer-on-the-secret-economy/
Also – an interview with the author.
What do the shrimp on your plate, the cell phone in your pocket and the rising pollution levels in the developing world have in common? Kevin Bales says, in a word: slavery. Paul Kennedy talks with the author of Blood and Earth: Modern Slavery, Ecocide and the Secret to Saving the World.
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/blood-and-earth-kevin-bales-1.3442119
Thats one sound reason I only have an old dumb phone, slavery and it’s effects, eg early death for for people that extract cobalt from dangerous mines for the phones (and why I don’t eat shrimps from Vietnam).
This from the Sydney Morning Herald today – haven’t seen it reported this side of the Tasman as yet though. http://www.smh.com.au/technology/consumer-security/malware-hijacks-big-four-australian-banks-apps-steals-twofactor-sms-codes-20160309-gnf528.html
Don’t do your banking from your phone!
And another reason I use an old dumb phone. I’ve never being able to trust the security on smart phones. Hackers will always win.
There are so many benefits to consider by being part of the dumb phone movement. It began as a psycho social issue but it’s really much larger than that.
+100 Rosie…the dumb phones are best imo…my smart phone stays under the chair and turned off…i reckon the apps my daughter loaded it with are bugged…ha ha
Any update on when the case of a prominent northland man is to be heard in the courts ?
Just thought of this when I was reading about M&M vs Nats