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.
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
Nothing more from me today - I'm off to Wellington, to participate in the city's annual roleplaying convention (which has also eaten my time for the whole week, limiting blogging despite there being interesting things happening). Normal bloggage will resume Tuesday. ...
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weaponscame into force today, making the development, possession, use or threat of use of nuclear weapons illegal in international law. Every nuclear-armed state is now a criminal regime. The corporations and scientists who design, build and maintain their illegal weapons are now ...
"Come The Revolution!" The key objective of Bernard Hickey’s revolutionary solution to the housing crisis is a 50 percent reduction in the price of the average family home. This will be achieved by the introduction of Capital Gains, Land, and Wealth taxes, and by the opening up of currently RMA-protected ...
by Daphna Whitmore Twitter and Facebook shutting down Trump’s accounts after his supporters stormed Capitol Hill is old news now but the debates continue over whether the actions against Trump are a good thing or not. Those in favour of banning Trump say Twitter and Facebook are private companies and ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Democrats now control the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives for the first time in a decade, albeit with razor thin Congressional majorities. The last time, in the 111th Congress (2009-2011), House Democrats passed a carbon cap and trade bill, but it died ...
Session thirty-three was highly abbreviated, via having to move house in a short space of time. Oh well. The party decided to ignore the tree-monster and continue the attack on the Giant Troll. Tarsin – flying on a giant summoned bat – dumped some high-grade oil over the ...
Last night I stayed up till 3am just to see then-President Donald Trump leave the White House, get on a plane, and fly off to Florida, hopefully never to return. And when I woke up this morning, America was different. Not perfect, because it never was. Probably not even good, ...
Watching today’s inauguration of Joe Biden as the United States’ 46th president, there’s not a lot in common with the inauguration of Donald Trump just four destructive years ago. Where Trump warned of carnage, Biden dared to hope for unity and decency. But the one place they converge is that ...
Dan FalkBritons who switched on their TVs to “Good Morning Britain” on the morning of Sept. 15, 2020, were greeted by news not from our own troubled world, but from neighboring Venus. Piers Morgan, one of the hosts, was talking about a major science story that had surfaced the ...
Sara LutermanGrowing up autistic in a non-autistic world can be very isolating. We are often strange and out of sync with peers, despite our best efforts. Autistic adults have, until very recently, been largely absent from media and the public sphere. Finding role models is difficult. Finding useful advice ...
Doug JohnsonThe alien-like blooms and putrid stench of Amorphophallus titanum, better known as the corpse flower, draw big crowds and media coverage to botanical gardens each year. In 2015, for instance, around 75,000 people visited the Chicago Botanic Garden to see one of their corpse flowers bloom. More than ...
Getting to Browser Tab Zero so I can reboot the computer is awfully hard when the one open tab is a Table of Contents for the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, and every issue has more stuff I want to read. A few highlights: Gugler et al demonstrating ...
Timothy Ford, University of Massachusetts Lowell and Charles M. Schweik, University of Massachusetts AmherstTo mitigate health inequities and promote social justice, coronavirus vaccines need to get to underserved populations and hard-to-reach communities. There are few places in the U.S. that are unreachable by road, but other factors – many ...
Israel chose to pay a bit over the odds for the Pfizer vaccine to get earlier access. Here’s The Times of Israel from 16 November. American government will be charged $39 for each two-shot dose, and the European bloc even less, but Jerusalem said to agree to pay $56. Israel ...
Orla is a gender critical Marxist in Ireland. She gave a presentation on 15 January 2021 on the connection between postmodern/transgender identity politics and the current attacks on democratic and free speech rights. Orla has been active previously in the Irish Socialist Workers Party and the People Before Profit electoral ...
. . America: The Empire Strikes Back (at itself) Further to my comments in the first part of 2020: The History That Was, the following should be considered regarding the current state of the US. They most likely will be by future historians pondering the critical decades of ...
Nathaniel ScharpingIn March, as the Covid-19 pandemic began to shut down major cities in the U.S., researchers were thinking about blood. In particular, they were worried about the U.S. blood supply — the millions of donations every year that help keep hospital patients alive when they need a transfusion. ...
Sarah L Caddy, University of CambridgeVaccines are a marvel of medicine. Few interventions can claim to have saved as many lives. But it may surprise you to know that not all vaccines provide the same level of protection. Some vaccines stop you getting symptomatic disease, but others stop you ...
Back in 2016, the Portuguese government announced plans to stop burning coal by 2030. But progress has come much quicker, and they're now scheduled to close their last coal plant by the end of this year: The Sines coal plant in Portugal went offline at midnight yesterday evening (14 ...
The Sincerest Form Of Flattery: As anybody with the intestinal fortitude to brave the commentary threads of local news-sites, large and small, will attest, the number of Trump-supporting New Zealanders is really quite astounding. IT’S SO DIFFICULT to resist the temptation to be smug. From the distant perspective of New Zealand, ...
RNZ reports on continued arbitrariness on decisions at the border. British comedian Russell Howard is about to tour New Zealand and other acts allowed in through managed isolation this summer include drag queen RuPaul and musicians at Northern Bass in Mangawhai and the Bay Dreams festival. The vice-president of the ...
As families around the world mourn more than two million people dead from Covid-19, the Plan B academics and their PR industry collaborator continue to argue that the New Zealand government should stop focusing on our managed isolation and quarantine system and instead protect the elderly so that they can ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 10, 2021 through Sat, Jan 16, 2021Editor's ChoiceNASA says 2020 tied for hottest year on record — here’s what you can do to helpPhoto by Michael Held on Unsplash ...
Health authorities in Norway are reporting some concerns about deaths in frail elderly after receiving their COVID-19 vaccine. Is this causally related to the vaccine? Probably not but here are the things to consider. According to the news there have been 23 deaths in Norway shortly after vaccine administration and ...
Happy New Year! No, experts are not concerned that “…one of New Zealand’s COIVD-1( vaccines will fail to protect the country” Here is why. But first I wish to issue an expletive about this journalism (First in Australia and then in NZ). It exhibits utter failure to actually truly consult ...
All nations have shadows; some acknowledge them. For others they shape their image in uncomfortable ways.The staunch Labour supporter was in despair at what her Rogernomics Government was doing. But she finished ‘at least, we got rid of Muldoon’, a response which tells us that then, and today, one’s views ...
Grigori GuitchountsIn November, Springer Nature, one of the world’s largest publishers of scientific journals, made an attention-grabbing announcement: More than 30 of its most prestigious journals, including the flagship Nature, will now allow authors to pay a fee of US$11,390 to make their papers freely available for anyone to read ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gary Yohe, Henry Jacoby, Richard Richels, and Benjamin Santer Imagine a major climate change law passing the U.S. Congress unanimously? Don’t bother. It turns out that you don’t need to imagine it. Get this: The Global Change Research Act of 1990 was passed ...
“They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”WHO CAN FORGET the penultimate scene of the 1956 movie classic, Invasion of the Body Snatchers? The wild-eyed doctor, stumbling down the highway, trying desperately to warn his fellow citizens: “They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”Ostensibly science-fiction, the movie ...
TheOneRing.Net has got its paws on the official synopsis of the upcoming Amazon Tolkien TV series. It’s a development that brings to mind the line about Sauron deliberately releasing Gollum from the dungeons of Barad-dûr. Amazon knew exactly what they were doing here, in terms of drumming up publicity: ...
Since Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration in 1953, US presidents have joined an informal club intended to provide support - and occasionally rivalry - between those few who have been ‘leaders of the free world’. Donald Trump, elected on a promise to ‘drain the swamp’ and a constant mocker of his predecessors, ...
For over a decade commentators have noted the rise of a new brand of explicitly ideological politics throughout the world. By this they usually refer to the re-emergence of national populism and avowedly illiberal approaches to governance throughout the “advanced” democratic community, but they also extend the thought to the ...
The US House of Representatives has just impeached Donald Trump, giving him the dubious honour of being the only US President to be impeached twice. Ten Republicans voted for impeachement, making it the most bipartisan impeachment ever. The question now is whether the Senate will rise to the occasion, and ...
Kieren Mitchell; Alice Mouton, Université de Liège; Angela Perri, Durham University, and Laurent Frantz, Ludwig Maximilian University of MunichThanks to the hit television series Game of Thrones, the dire wolf has gained a near-mythical status. But it was a real animal that roamed the Americas for at least 250,000 ...
Tide of tidal data rises Having cast our own fate to include rising sea level, there's a degree of urgency in learning the history of mean sea level in any given spot, beyond idle curiosity. Sea level rise (SLR) isn't equal from one place to another and even at a particular ...
Well, some of those chickens sure came home bigly, didn’t they… and proceeded to shit all over the nice carpet in the Capitol. What we were seeing here are societal forces that have long had difficulty trying to reconcile people to the “idea” of America and the reality of ...
In the wake of Donald Trump's incitement of an assault on the US capitol, Twitter finally enforced its terms of service and suspended his account. They've since followed that up with action against prominent QAnon accounts and Trumpers, including in New Zealand. I'm not unhappy with this: Trump regularly violated ...
Peter S. Ross, University of British ColumbiaThe Arctic has long proven to be a barometer of the health of our planet. This remote part of the world faces unprecedented environmental assaults, as climate change and industrial chemicals threaten a way of life for Inuit and other Indigenous and northern ...
Susan St John makes the case for taxing a deemed rate of return on excessive real estate holdings (after a family home exemption), to redirect scarce housing resources to where they are needed most. Read the full article here ...
I’m less than convinced by arguments that platforms like Twitter should be subject to common carrier regulation preventing them from being able to decide who to keep on as clients of their free services, and who they would not like to serve. It’s much easier to create competition for the ...
The hypocritical actions of political leaders throughout the global Covid pandemic have damaged public faith in institutions and governance. Liam Hehir chronicles the way in which contemporary politicians have let down the public, and explains how real leadership means walking the talk. During the Blitz, when German bombs were ...
Over the years, we've published many rebuttals, blog posts and graphics which came about due to direct interactions with the scientists actually carrying out the underlying research or being knowledgable about a topic in general. We'll highlight some of these interactions in this blog post. We'll start with two memorable ...
Yesterday we had the unseemly sight of a landleech threatening to keep his houses empty in response to better tenancy laws. Meanwhile in Catalonia they have a solution for that: nationalisation: Barcelona is deploying a new weapon in its quest to increase the city’s available rental housing: the power ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters, PhD The 2020 global wildfire season brought extreme fire activity to the western U.S., Australia, the Arctic, and Brazil, making it the fifth most expensive year for wildfire losses on record. The year began with an unprecedented fire event ...
NOTE: This is an excerpt from a digital story – read the full story here.Tess TuxfordKo te Kauri Ko Au, Ko te Au ko Kauri I am the kauri, the kauri is me Te Roroa proverb In Waipoua Forest, at the top of the North Island, New ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Coming attraction: IPCC's upcoming major climate assessmentLook for more emphasis on 'solutions,' efforts by cities, climate equity ... and outlook for emissions cuts in ...
Ringing A Clear Historical Bell: The extraordinary images captured in and around the US Capitol Building on 6 January 2021 mirror some of the worst images of America's past.THERE IS A SCENE in the 1982 movie Missing which has remained with me for nearly 40 years. Directed by the Greek-French ...
To impact or not to impeach? I understand why some of those who are justifiably aghast at Trump’s behaviour over recent days might still counsel against impeaching him for a second time. To impeach him, they argue, would run the risk of making him a martyr in the eyes of ...
The Capitol Building, Washington DC, Wednesday, 6 January 2021. Oh come, my little one, come.The day is almost done.Be at my side, behold the sightOf evening on the land.The life, my love, is hardAnd heavy is my heart.How should I live if you should leaveAnd we should be apart?Come, let me ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 3, 2021 through Sat, Jan 9, 2021Editor's ChoiceAfter the Insurrection: Accountability, Reform, and the Science of Democracy The poisonous lies and enablers of sedition--including Senator Hawley, pictured ...
This article, guest authored by Prof. Angela Gallego-Sala & Dr. Julie Loisel, was originally published on the Carbon Brief website on Dec 21, 2020. It is reposted below in its entirety. Click here to access the original article and comments. Peatlands Peatlands are ecosystems unlike any other. Perpetually saturated, their ...
The assault on the US Capitol and constitutional crisis that it has caused was telegraphed, predictable and yet unexpected and confusing. There are several subplots involved: whether the occupation of the Michigan State House in May was a trial run for the attacks on Congress; whether people involved in the ...
On Christmas Eve, child number 1 spotted a crack in a window. It’s a double-glazed window, and inspection showed that the small, horizontal crack was in the outermost pane. It was perpendicular to the frame, about three-quarters of the way up one side. The origins are a mystery. It MIGHT ...
Anne-Marie Broudehoux, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Will the COVID-19 pandemic prompt a shift to healthier cities that focus on wellness rather than functional and economic concerns? This is a hypothesis that seems to be supported by several researchers around the world. In many ways, containment and physical distancing ...
Does the US need to strike a grand bargain with like-minded countries to pool their efforts? What does this tell us about today’s global politics? Perhaps the most remarkable editorial of last year was the cover leader of the London Economist on 19 November 2020. Shortly after Joe Biden was ...
Alexander Gillespie, University of Waikato and Valmaine Toki, University of WaikatoAotearoa New Zealand likes to think it punches above its weight internationally, but there is one area where we are conspicuously falling behind — the number of sites recognised by the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Globally, there are 1,121 ...
An event organised by the Auckland PhilippinesSolidarity group Have a three-course lunch at Nanam Eatery with us! Help support the organic farming of our Lumad communities through the Mindanao Community School Agricultural Foundation. Each ticket is $50. Food will be served on shared plates. To purchase, please email phsolidarity@gmail.com or ...
"Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here." Prisons are places of unceasing emotional and physical violence, unrelieved despair and unforgivable human waste.IT WAS NATIONAL’S Bill English who accurately described New Zealand’s prisons as “fiscal and moral failures”. On the same subject, Labour’s Dr Martyn Findlay memorably suggested that no prison ...
This is a re-post from Inside Climate News by Ilana Cohen. Inside Climate News is a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for the ICN newsletter here. Whether or not people accept the science on Covid-19 and climate change, both global crises will have lasting impacts on health and ...
. . American Burlesque As I write this (Wednesday evening, 6 January), the US Presidential election is all but resolved, confirming Joe Biden as the next President of the (Dis-)United State of America. Trump’s turbulent political career has lasted just four years – one of the few single-term US presidents ...
A growing public housing waiting list and continued increase of house prices must be urgently addressed by Government, Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson said today. ...
The next steps in the Government’s ambitious firearms reform programme to include a three-month buy-back have been announced by Police Minister Poto Williams today. “The last buy-back and amnesty was unprecedented for New Zealand and was successful in collecting 60,297 firearms, modifying a further 5,630 firearms, and collecting 299,837 prohibited ...
The Government has released its Public Housing Plan 2021-2024 which outlines the intention of where 8,000 additional public and transitional housing places announced in Budget 2020, will go. “The Government is committed to continuing its public house build programme at pace and scale. The extra 8,000 homes – 6000 public ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has congratulated President Joe Biden on his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States of America. “I look forward to building a close relationship with President Biden and working with him on issues that matter to both our countries,” Jacinda Ardern said. “New Zealand ...
A major investment to tackle wilding pines in Mt Richmond will create jobs and help protect the area’s unique ecosystems, Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor says. The Mt Richmond Forest Park has unique ecosystems developed on mineral-rich geology, including taonga plant species found nowhere else in the country. “These special plant ...
To further protect New Zealand from COVID-19, the Government is extending pre-departure testing to all passengers to New Zealand except from Australia, Antarctica and most Pacific Islands, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “The change will come into force for all flights arriving in New Zealand after 11:59pm (NZT) on Monday ...
Bay Conservation Cadets launched with first intake Supported with $3.5 million grant Part of $1.245b Jobs for Nature programme to accelerate recover from Covid Cadets will learn skills to protect and enhance environment Environment Minister David Parker today welcomed the first intake of cadets at the launch of the Bay ...
The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health. “Following confirmation of the Cook Islands’ COVID ...
Jobs for Nature funding is being made available to conservation groups and landowners to employ staff and contractors in a move aimed at boosting local biodiversity-focused projects, Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan has announced. It is estimated some 400-plus jobs will be created with employment opportunities in ecology, restoration, trapping, ...
The Government has approved an exception class for 1000 international tertiary students, degree level and above, who began their study in New Zealand but were caught offshore when border restrictions began. The exception will allow students to return to New Zealand in stages from April 2021. “Our top priority continues ...
Today’s deal between Meridian and Rio Tinto for the Tiwai smelter to remain open another four years provides time for a managed transition for Southland. “The deal provides welcome certainty to the Southland community by protecting jobs and incomes as the region plans for the future. The Government is committed ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appointed Anna Curzon to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). The leader of each APEC economy appoints three private sector representatives to ABAC. ABAC provides advice to leaders annually on business priorities. “ABAC helps ensure that APEC’s work programme is informed by business community perspectives ...
The Government’s prudent fiscal management and strong policy programme in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic have been acknowledged by the credit rating agency Fitch. Fitch has today affirmed New Zealand’s local currency rating at AA+ with a stable outlook and foreign currency rating at AA with a positive ...
The Government is putting in place a suite of additional actions to protect New Zealand from COVID-19, including new emerging variants, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “Given the high rates of infection in many countries and evidence of the global spread of more transmissible variants, it’s clear that ...
$36 million of Government funding alongside councils and others for 19 projects Investment will clean up and protect waterways and create local jobs Boots on the ground expected in Q2 of 2021 Funding part of the Jobs for Nature policy package A package of 19 projects will help clean up ...
The commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Ruapekapeka represents an opportunity for all New Zealanders to reflect on the role these conflicts have had in creating our modern nation, says Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Kiri Allan. “The Battle at Te Ruapekapeka Pā, which took ...
Babies born with tongue-tie will be assessed and treated consistently under new guidelines released by the Ministry of Health, Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Around 5% to 10% of babies are born with a tongue-tie, or ankyloglossia, in New Zealand each year. At least half can ...
The prisoner disorder event at Waikeria Prison is over, with all remaining prisoners now safely and securely detained, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says. The majority of those involved in the event are members of the Mongols and Comancheros. Five of the men are deportees from Australia, with three subject to ...
Travellers from the United Kingdom or the United States bound for New Zealand will be required to get a negative test result for COVID-19 before departing, and work is underway to extend the requirement to other long haul flights to New Zealand, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today. “The new PCR test requirement, foreshadowed last ...
In a historic corner of Dunedin, startup culture is thriving. Catherine McGregor visited the city’s Warehouse Precinct to meet the people driving the movement. When Jason and Kate Lindsey bought the four storey building now known as Petridish, it was an absolute wreck. Once home to a thriving hat and textiles ...
Summer reissue: The Fold’s very first guest is back to tell Duncan Greive how she pulled off the media deal of the year.The chaotic couple of weeks which finally saw the end of the Stuff-NZME saga were riveting and strange, replete with stock exchange announcements, legal challenges and finally the ...
Chris Liddell has dropped his candidacy to become director-general of the Paris-based OECD. Without support from the Ardern government and vilified in the media as somehow being involved in the encouragement by Donald Trump of the Washington riots, he plainly saw he had little chance of crowning his stellar career ...
Tara Ward hands out her first impression roses as she dives deep into the sea of single men vying to win The Bachelorette NZ’s heart. While the world burns in a searing fireball of unpredictability, we can take comfort in the fact that some things never change. The heart still yearns, ...
People from all around New Zealand will be converging on the super-secret Waihopai satellite interception spybase, in Marlborough, on Saturday January 30th. ...
In its Thursday editorial the NZ Herald speaks an important truth: “Investment important to stay on track”. This won’t have startled its more literate readers but in its text it notes the strong result in the latest Global Dairy Trade auction, which prompted Westpac to raise its forecast for dairy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Craig Mark, Professor, Faculty of International Studies, Kyoritsu Women’s University With the spread of COVID-19 steadily worsening in Japan since the onset of winter — daily records for infections and deaths continue to be broken — the fate of the Tokyo Summer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Taylor, Early Career Research Leader, Emerging Viruses, Inflammation and Therapeutics Group, Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University All eyes are on COVID-19 vaccines, with Australia’s first expected to be approved for use shortly. But their development in record time, without compromising ...
Yesterday’s government announcement on new state housing is a pathetic response to the biggest housing crisis in New Zealand since the 1940s. At a time when the country needs an industrial-scale state house building programme, the government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Obadiah Mulder, PhD Candidate in Computational Biology, University of Southern California Australia is in the midst of tropical cyclone season. As we write, a cyclone is forming off Western Australia’s Pilbara coast, and earlier in the week Queenslanders were bracing for a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lynette Vernon, School of Education – VC Research Fellow, Edith Cowan University When the holidays end, barring a fresh outbreak of COVID-19, teenagers across Australia will head back to school. Some will bounce out of bed well before the alarm goes off, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW In an age of hyperpartisan politics, the Biden presidency offers a welcome centrism that might help bridge the divides. But it is also Biden’s economic centrism that offers a chance to cut through what has become ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gary Mortimer, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of Technology Twenty years ago, on January 25 2001, a virtually unknown German supermarket chain quietly opened its first stores in Australia. The two stores – one in Sydney’s inner-west suburb of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liz Giuffre, Senior Lecturer in Communication, University of Technology Sydney Bluey is easily the most successful Australian television show of the last decade. A record-breaking success for its local broadcaster the ABC, as well as production partners BBC Studios and Screen Australia, ...
*This article first appeared on RNZ and is republished with permissionIt will take $3 million to clean up 1 million litres of abandoned toxic waste from a property in Ruakaka - three times more than the last big chemical clean-up undertaken by government agencies A two-year mission to clean up 1 million ...
*This article first appeared on RNZ and is republished with permission. The action Biden took on just his first afternoon in office demonstrates a radical shift in priority for the US when it comes to its efforts to combat the climate crisis. It could put more pressure on New Zealand to step up. ...
Ban Bomb Day event at the New Brighton Pier, 9am, on January 22nd, 2021 January 22nd, 2021, marks the first day the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) Enters into Force and becomes international law. Aotearoa NZ is one of the ...
This week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by Steve BrauniasFICTION 1 Tell Me Lies by J.P. Pomare (Hachette, $29.99) Every January, there's a new best-selling crime thriller by the New Zealand-born author who lives in Melbourne. Pomare is ...
Our approach so far in trying to end what Dr Collin Tukuitonga describes as a 'racist' disease - rheumatic fever - has not worked. It's time we try something new, he writes. Acute rheumatic fever and the rheumatic heart disease it causes, long-known as a disease of poverty, is a blight on ...
New Zealand triple-code star, Anna Harrison, can't stop returning to the courts - whether it's netball or beach volleyball. She tells Ashley Stanley what keeps drawing her back. The day before Anna Harrison leaps back into netball, she will have one more hit-out at another of her favourite old sports ...
The lights are burning into the night at the New York Yacht Club's America's Cup base as they race to fix their damaged boat. And Suzanne McFadden discovers something surprising may emerge. Out of American Magic’s calamity may come opportunity - for even more speed. While the lights burn bright ...
New to sailing? With the Prada Cup resuming this weekend, here’s how to bluff your way into sounding like a pro. When I was 10, my mum made my brother and I join the local sailing club. It was a favourite pastime of families in Kerikeri, and my brother was actually ...
A formal complaint to the UN, signed by a NZ Muslim group, says France’s Islamophobic laws and policies are entrenching discrimination and breaching human rights laws. The Khadija Leadership Network has joined a global coalition of Muslim organisations to formally complain about the French government’s systemic entrenchment of Islamophobia and discrimination against ...
Summer reissue: Join Michèle A’Court, Alex Casey, Leonie Hayden and a lineup of incredibly successful New Zealand women as they confront their imposter syndrome once and for all. First published 20 October, 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members ...
With criticism from National piling on over the property market, the prime minister has detailed when the government will make housing announcements. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marco Rizzi, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Western Australia Some Australians could be receiving a COVID-19 vaccine within weeks. Amid the continued spread of the virus and emergence of highly contagious variants, the federal government has accelerated the start of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Euan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University Australia’s Threatened Species Strategy — a five-year plan for protecting our imperilled species and ecosystems — fizzled to an end last year. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Lecturer, General Dentist & PhD Candidate, The University of Queensland Baby teeth, or milk teeth, act like lighthouses to guide the adult ones to their correct destination. A baby tooth will become wobbly and fall out because the adult tooth ...
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he’s joined by Simon Coley, co-founder of All Good and Karma Drinks.Bananas are one of the ...
Tackling topics such as rugby and body image, Stuff’s latest podcast shines a much-needed light on Aotearoa’s complex relationship with masculinity, writes Trevor McKewen, author of the book Real Men Wear Black.I wasn’t sure what to think when two episodes of the new local podcast He’ll Be Right landed in ...
The Rainforest Alliance reveals that 68%* of Kiwis say the COVID-19 pandemic has made them more conscious about environmental and social sustainability issues. Seventy two percent* state that they have been trying to make more sustainable purchasing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tama Leaver, Professor of Internet Studies, Curtin University The inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, has raised concerns that Australia’s proposed News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code could fundamentally break the internet as we know it. His concerns ...
ANALYSIS:By Scott Lucas, University of Birmingham Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire destroying everything in its path Two weeks after the storming of the US Capitol by the followers of his predecessor, in the middle of an out-of-control pandemic that has killed more than 400,000 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Cantrell, Lecturer, Creative Writing & English Literature, University of Southern Queensland Described as “the world’s greatest storyteller”, Roald Dahl is frequently ranked as the best children’s author of all time by teachers, authors and librarians. However, the new film adaptation of ...
Peak housing body, Community Housing Aotearoa (CHA) welcomes the updated Public Housing Plan announced today by Minister Woods, and the commitment by this Government to fix New Zealand’s housing crisis. The 8,000 additional homes are a significant ...
Having recently walked much of the South Island stretch of Te Araroa, Kirsten O’Regan reflects on the magnificent landscapes and interesting characters she encountered along the way.On our 36th day of walking, we climb through the fire-blackened hills above Ohau, stopping to examine heat-disfigured trail markers. Fresh green shoots have ...
Miss Torta in central Auckland is putting the spotlight on a snack that’s commonplace in Mexico, but until now relatively unknown in New Zealand.You’ve heard of a torta, but what is it, exactly? Well, depending on the cuisine it can mean a flatbread, cake, tart, sweet pie, savoury pie or ...
Two of three ministerial statements from the Beehive have been released in the name of the PM over the past two days. The more important, insofar as it involves political action that will affect the wellbeing of significant numbers of Kiwis, was the release of the government’s Public Housing Plan ...
Jacinda Ardern has reminded Labour MPs "ongoing vigilance" will be required in 2021 to avoid another Covid outbreak, admitting she held her breath over the summer break. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zareh Ghazarian, Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, Monash University Despite many young Australians having a deep interest in political issues, most teenagers have a limited understanding about their nation’s democratic system. Results from the 2019 National Assessment Program – Civics and ...
Pinged $65 for overstaying 10 minutes in a parking block? Put away your hard-earned cash and read this first.Hopefully, by now, I’ve already established myself at The Spinoff as the resident tightarse, determined to avoid all unfair and unnecessary punishments (see: oversize baggage charges). Today, I’m focusing my attention on ...
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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.
http://www.rethinking.org.nz/images/newsletter%20PDF/Issue%2048/080927_The_Future_of_Restorative_Justice.pdf
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’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1Qt6a-v
(definitely say “NO” to the TPPA!)
ooops …see link below
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1Qt6a-vaNM
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