Interesting prediction: "Todd Muller also makes the list for his work first in climate change and now in agriculture. If Bridges misses out on the prime ministership, Muller will be Leader of the Opposition by the end of the year."
"On the Government side, Green leader Shaw made history last year with his Zero Carbon Bill. For all Ardern’s talk of her nuclear-free moment, it is Shaw alone who made that happen. In contrast to the far left of his party, he has actually achieved something radically important and assured its return later this year, another historic achievement."
while the Green Party’s Julie Anne Genter is popular among the public transport crowd, her aversion to roads has delayed major projects for years
Blatant bullshit. This government is still spending billions on roads and as Associate Minister primarily responsible for safety, Genter is not in charge of the overall budgets in any case. Shane's ignorant regurgitation of right-wing talking points reduces his usefulness as a commentator.
Green co-leader James Shaw should similarly remind Eugenie Sage which party she represents and tell her to stop just applying the law on things like foreign investment and get on and change it.
And more lazy ignoring of how much power the Greens actually have in this government to change anything that Winston does not want changed. It’s the same tactic as calling Ardern a do-nothing leader. With friends like Te Pou, who needs enemas.
Todd Muller also makes the list for his work first in climate change and now in agriculture. If Bridges misses out on the prime ministership, Muller will be Leader of the Opposition by the end of the year.
Muller was removed as Nat climate spokesperson for veering too far from his party's preferred stance and cooperating too much with Shaw. Yet next they are going to anoint him as leader? Don't give up that day job..
Yeah, he's typical Labour alright! Enough to make Helen Clark proud. I do agree with both your points. Lines of portfolio responsibility do actually need to be factored into political analysis. There's a reputational risk to ministers who attempt an over-reach. And we don't know the extent to which they do behind the scenes lobbying when it results in lack of success.
Why? Got any evidence for that? Sir Pete's mayor seems to be the problem according to this from Scoop: "Mayor Foster is not seeking a business case for a second Mt Victoria road tunnel." http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=122937
1) Supporting charter schools (ironic as he also supports Tomorrow's School. He and other supporters of charter schools dont get that under charter schools, parents get zero involvement in running schools).
Funny, eh? I quoted Newsroom's description of his Labour insider status deliberately. I presume he got that track record on the basis of the accomplishments you mention. Perhaps it shows that he's slightly to the right of HC…
Sen. Susan Collins is working with a ‘small group’ of GOP senators to allow impeachment witnesses
"House Democrats impeached Republican President Donald Trump on Dec. 18, 2019, but still have not transmitted the impeachment articles to the Senate, preventing the trial from starting. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Friday the articles could be sent over next week.
Also on Friday, Collins told reporters that in Maine that she worked all week with a “fairly small group” of Republican senators and others in the party to try to make sure both House impeachment managers and representatives of Trump can call witnesses during the upcoming trial."
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Australian military was on standby to help firefighters and emergency agencies.
"I've given them very clear instructions that they are to stand ready to move and support immediately,'' Morrison said on Friday. "In the event that they are needed in the wake of what we hope we will not see today, but we must prepare for today.''
well lucky they are on stand by……
The military has already been involved in the unfolding crisis by clearing roads closed by fallen trees, burying dead cattle and sheep and providing fodder to surviving livestock.
but they could be doing so much more…….
A wind change from the south was predicted to hit the village on Friday night which officials fear could blow the flames in a new direction. Nightingale said he and the other firefighters would work to snuff out any spot fires that flare up to try and keep them from spreading. But if conditions became too dangerous, they would need to take shelter at a community hall, a solid structure with about 25,000 litres of water attached to it. Alongside the hall is a cleared, grassy area away from trees and shrubs where people can retreat as a last resort.
"The grass on the oval is very short so there's nothing to carry a strong fire,'' he said. "So that's a survival option, basically. A patch of grass. And if that happened, we'd have trucks and sprinklers going and hoses going, wetting people down. But I would hate it to come to that. Anything but that.''
My partner, the beersies drinking and bbq'ing laughting volunteer firefighter calls this the armageddon scenario – when you have no more options available and are totally out of beer and laughs.
The conservation group WWF-Australia estimates that 1.25 billion wild animals had died during the current fire crisis in addition to livestock losses, which the government expects will exceed 100,000 animals.
I am trying to wrap my mind around the number. I can't.
The majority of estimated losses were reptiles, followed by birds, then mammals such as koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, echidnas and wombats.
"Kangaroos can get away from fires. But a lot get burnt to a crisp stuck in a fence,'' Blanch said.
we need more fences obviously.
Btw, between yesterday to today we had three large fires (New Plymouth, Tauranga and Taupo) plus a whole lot of smaller ones.
that patch of grass defense, is this local firefighters who are willing to risk this because this is the community they live in and they're not going to abandon it? Is the risk in that scenario the heat? Or that the building might catch on fire?
this is when you have no more options to go anywhere because the fire is everywher and you are assembling anything alive on an area that does not risk a full burn and you hose them down to keep them alive.
btw, the fire in taupo is still ongoing, now involving helicopters and diggers.
edit: It is essentially the scenario where everyone runs to the beach and into the water to stay alive.
right, but I took it as firefighters and people who chose to stay rather than having evacuated earlier while they still could. Am wondering if the firefighters chose to stay to protect their community knowing there was a risk they would get trapped there.
no they don't 'choose'. The firefighters are there to fight the fire. Many could actually not get out in time.
look at it this way. You have a 1% chance to survive if you stay on a patch that may not burn and hose yourself down with water or you have a 100% chance of dying in your car while trying to get out. What do you do?
Also, really believe me, the firefighters that i know do not take risks with the life of people in their care. They really don't and maybe we need to stop this train of thought that we can pin this on the firefighters, professionals or voluntaries. They are not responsible for this event, they are trying their hardest to get it under control and save lives.
Also it pays to remember that the firefighter has no water to stand under, he is probably out there beating the flames with a cloth sack so that others have time to stand under the water and stay save.
nah, we'll just have some beers, roast some dead pig and have a laugh.
🙂 While fundraising for a new firetruck or something.
Honestly i have nothing but pity for the families of the dead guys in OZ. Chances are that there is nothing for them to help them over, and chances are that they now get the 'single women with children she can't afford' treatment while applying for benefits. Cause widows (with children) are considered 'single women with children' in our current world. Maybe something to consider?
The cost of deliberately erasing Aboriginal history.
"We're talking about a continent that's adapted to fire [and] they were a people who were here for 50,000 years who used fire as a management tool," he said.
Following European settlement and the displacement of the region's Aboriginal communities, traditional methods of land management ceased.
[…]
Practising 'cool' fire burning at field day
Dr Massy said that meant bringing farmers together with Aboriginal people to learn and practise techniques known as 'cool-burn patch' or 'mosaic' burning.
He recently hosted a Landcare field day on his family's 1,820-hectare sheep and cattle property, and nearly 50 people showed up to learn from Indigenous land manager, Rod Mason.
"It's very important for non-Indigenous people because they're the new land owners now," Mr Mason said.
The traditional method was to use small 'cool fires' to bring on fresh grass that would attract game for hunting.
The effect was to create a landscape over thousands of years which resulted in what the first explorers and settlers described as grassland or open woodland, using terms such as "like a park", as researched recently by award-winning historian, Bill Gammage.
Essentially, the technique involves burning a small patch in mild conditions, such as cool mornings or late afternoons in late autumn and early winter, and when there is little breeze
Yes, this and underfunding the fire department – for the paid fire force, the underfunding and neglect of the volunteer fire services and taking decision making away from the locals is what let to this disaster. And our need for mindless consumption, and our governments that actively promotes mindless consumption.
As far as i can see, Joe and Jane Six Packs and their children are fucked and on their own, and this reality has yet to properly hit. Those who lost their lifelyhood, homes and relatives to the fires already know this. The rest is still burying their heads into the sand, cause change is hard and we don't want to do hard things. .
People living in cars and chicken coops three months after the fire in northern NSW. The woman's story being reported says that the crisis is so large it's understandable they can't get to help everyone, but it's hard to fathom how local councils and NGOs aren't assisting here, or areas outside the fire zones.
do read this. is this the normal response to fires? to leave your people to live in the ashes, supported by crowdfunding appeals? https://t.co/XTVNZOiZrR
its one of the issues i have raised as a 'talking point' a few times now.
How many are homeless? How to handle such a crisis.
How many have lost businesses and are now unemployed? How to handle such a crisis.
How many will be seriously ill due to smoke, pollution and frankly unsanitary living arrangements? How to handle such a crisis.
What about the loan and credit crisis for the people that have lost homes, farms, businesses but have mortgages to pay? Any help available for those that are not farmers? And i say this not to denigrate farmers, but we seem to have funds to bail out farmers any time a natural or man made disaster strikes, but do we have something in place for everyone else?
What about schools? Hospitals, Clinics, etc that burned down.?
And last but least, would we be prepared in NZ were something like this to happen to us?
edit: The local council will have also have to deal with infrastructre burned down, their employees will likewise be without homes, water, electricty, maybe even be voluntary fire fighters.
And do we really now expect NGO’s to take over and do governments Job? Cause if that is the case, Why do we have a government? (I posted a video about an honest review of the OZ fires – yesterdays open mike – and this question was raised, if you have no seen the clip i suggest you do, the ozzie does a better job then i could ever do).
These are not question i raise because i am 'negative' or such, but these are questions that we need to ask if we want to look at the future and have something akin to a plan in place. And frankly i think we here in NZ are no more better prepared and funded for that matter then the guys in OZ. We can look at the immediate handling in CHCH after the earthquakes. It is ok for a few weeks to live in a tent with a Port a Potty, but how long can you expect people to do in case of a large scale disaster such as the devastation caused in Oz?
I agree Sabine, they're important questions and not enough people are asking them yet. I also think that NZ is badly prepared, for a big quake and/or tsunami, and for climate change.
There's a community on the West Coast that is preparing for several months without support after a big Alpine Fault quake. Impressive. I think the 3 days promoted by CD is now woefully inadequate.
I'm not sure if the local council lost its building (and council people lost their homes), but it's not like every community has been that damaged, and certainly the big cities are still intact, so why are they not stepping up? I'm struggling to see the underlying processes that have broken down. But then I thought that about Chch too, especially how the Eastern suburbs were treated.
because the damage is why more and far more spread then we know
because there is no electricty – substations, powerpoles, transforemers etc all burned.
because there is no phone – no communication
because there is no water – water purification, water transport, etc all fucked
because it is mayhem. And because you have cynical bastard that is currently shitting his depends looking at the damage and trying to put a dollar sign on it, same for the insurance companies, same for the banks. And they rather not talk about it.
Seriously, look at the maps and remind yourself that these fires have been ongoing since September now, and we really have no idea about just how bad it is. You don't loose 64 houses in a small outback village (as per the thread above) and wonder why things are not working. And you still have three month of summer – with the worst heat – to come.
Besides, they very well to do people of OZ will not have any of these issues, that is reserved for us humble peasants.
As for us here in NZ, amuse yourself and find out where your local shelter is, or your local assembly place in case of a disaster. Tell me if you find something. Becuase in AKL – where i last checked a few years ago, the message was "Will be advised when the issue arises 🙂 Yeah, right TUI" and in Tauranga when they had the floods two / three years ago my friend wanting to know where to evacuate to was told on the phone by the operator to look up it up, and when she did that the webpage she was advised to use was down.
Processes have to be established before they can fail. We don't have processes in place and i would guess neither do they in Oz.
Reply to Sabine – in a big disaster (probably any big disaster) you pretty much have to look after yourself and those around you in the immediate aftermath at least. I think most people have no idea that there may be no driveable roads, maybe no petrol, no shops or cash only shops, no electricity, water or mobile connections (owing to overload) so like you say – it is important to have some plan in advance for what to do and where to evacuate to.
Re immediate aftermath example, on the day of the Feb 2011 earthquakes in Christchurch (severe earthquake but only seriously affecting about half of Christchurch) my texts both in and out kept repeating for about 10 hours and some people didn't receive my texts til hours later.
Some longer term examples – people were living in the sand dunes at the beach for months afterwards, my neighborhood (and others in the east) had portaloos from September 2010 for months until we were red zoned and then until everyone finally got kicked out in June 2013.
My point being, in a small first world modern city we struggled – we did have a huge amount of help but it takes a long time to get going and a long time to fix (many are still not "fixed" and I know 2 or 3 people who have only just settled their claims last year). So for the short term at least, get a plan, find a place to go to, have access to your hot water cylinder water (get a tap fitted underneath), have an old plug in phone (if you have a landline), keep some cash and keep your community links strong.
How Aboriginal history and technology was deliberately erased by the white settlers in Australia to justify their terra nullius thievery and slaughter of the original inhabitants.
Isaac Batey saw that the hillsides of Melbourne were terraced in the process of yam production and that the tilth of the soil was so light you could run your fingers through it. Mitchell saw these yam fields stretching as far as he could see near Gariwerd (Grampians). He extolled the beauty of these plains assuming that God had made them so that he could ‘discover’ them, not once thinking how peculiar it was for the best soil in the country to have almost no trees. This was a managed field of harvest. George Augustus Robinson saw women stretched across those same fields of horticulture in the process of harvesting the tubers.
Charles Sturt had his life saved in Central Australia when he came upon people who were harvesting a river valley and supplied him with water, from their well, roast duck and cake. Both Mitchell and Sturt described the baked goods as the lightest and sweetest they had ever tasted. How many historians have read those comments and yet not one has considered that it would be in the nation’s commercial and culinary interests to find out the particular grasses from which those flours were made?
E.M. Curr noticed that as he brought the first vehicle into the plains south of Echuca his cart wheels ‘turned up bushels of tubers’. Once again some of Australia’s best soils were almost bereft of trees, the plains having been horticulturally altered to provide permanent harvests of tubers. Unlike Mitchell’s self-indulgent congratulations, Curr was aware who had produced this productivity and later recognised that it was his sheep that destroyed it.
Of course MBA's and bean counters will be behind this.
“This airplane is designed by clowns, who in turn are supervised by monkeys,” one company pilot said in a message to a colleague in 2016, referring to the 737 Max https://t.co/e73frlVrqV
“I just jedi mind tricked this fools. I should be given $1,000 every time I take one of these calls. I save this company a sick amount of $$$$.”
“Would you put your family on a MAX simulator trained aircraft? I wouldn’t.”
“I’ll be shocked if the FAA passes this turd.”
“This is a joke. This airplane is ridiculous.”
“Best part is we are re-starting this whole thing with the 777X with the same supplier and have signed up to an even more aggressive schedule!”
“Jesus, it’s doomed.”
[…]
“I am concerned that if [redacted] chooses to require a Max simulator for its pilots beyond what all other regulators are requiring that it will be creating a difficult and unnecessary training burden for your airline, as well as potentially establish a precedent in your region for other Max customers,” the Boeing pilot wrote in the forwarded message.
An unidentified Boeing employee in a different text message exchange brags about swaying India’s regulator “to make them feel stupid about trying to require any additional training requirements.”
Added the sender: “I just Jedi mind tricked this [sic] fools. I should be given $1000 every time I take one of these calls. I save this company a sick amount of $$$$.”
This is a direct result of underfunding of the FAA and the deregulation of the Aircraft industry and handing the oversight of certification of aircraft to the industry.
WASHINGTON — Seven years ago, an internal government watchdog took a hard look at the part of the Federal Aviation Administration responsible for certifying new Boeing jetliners. The watchdog’s investigation came to some alarming conclusions.
F.A.A. employees viewed their management, the inquiry by the Transportation Department’s inspector general’s office found, as “having too close a relationship with Boeing officials.” F.A.A. managers, the report said, had not always backed efforts by agency employees “to hold Boeing accountable,” and employees feared retaliation for trying to do so.
The part of the F.A.A. under scrutiny, the Transport Airplane Directorate, was led at the time by an aerospace engineer named Ali Bahrami. The next year, he took a job at the Aerospace Industries Association, a trade group whose members include Boeing. In that position, he urged his former agency to allow manufacturers like Boeing to perform as much of the work of certifying new planes as possible.
The question of whether the F.A.A. has gone too far in allowing Boeing to regulate itself has emerged as one of the key issues after the crash of a Boeing 737 Max in Ethiopia this month, the second deadly crash of the new plane in less than five months. The practice is already coming under scrutiny from Congress, and lawmakers are likely to press the F.A.A.’s acting administrator on Wednesday when he appears at a Senate hearing.
Attention Jenny, for the last time, because I am tiring wasting my time on this (and I have no obligation to do this):
You seem to still not understand why you are in Moderation and below is a timeline of relevant stuff.
You are also disconnected from other comments, replies (incl. to your own comments), moderation notes to you, and your comments ending up in Trash. Commenters who are only/largely interested in using TS as medium/platform to hear their own voice and who are or appear to be largely oblivious of the TS community should start their own blog. I don’t care either way.
Besides this, 1) you don’t call out others by giving them incorrect labels, and 2) you don’t interfere with moderation. These are the two main reasons why you ended up and still are in Moderation.
Weka replied a few times to FoRo to get him to explain his comments before moderation started.
2020/01/04 at 8:17 am (comment by FoRo moved to OM & moderated)
2020/01/04 at 12:11 pm (comment by FoRo moved to OM)
2020/01/04 at 1:16 pm (comment by FoRo moderated)
2020/01/05 at 10:55 am (comment by FoRo moved to OM)
On 5 Jan Jenny replied 3 times to FoRo but no response from FoRo.
2020/01/05 at 4:51 pm (Jenny replies to Sacha; moans that FoRo refuses to debate (presumably with Jenny; calls him a troll) – answering/replying to other commenters is not compulsory but responding to Moderation is.
5 January 2020 at 5:14 pm (Incognito replies to Jenny stating that FoRo is not trolling but is trying to explain his position to Weka, i.e. he’s responding to Moderation; Incognito warns Jenny to stay out of Moderation).
2020/01/06 at 10:50 am (Jenny put into Moderation; moans again about FoRo not engaging (with her); calls him a “right wing troll”; does not acknowledge that FoRo was actively being monitored/moderated and that she needs to butt out of moderation).
Jenny makes 13 comments unrelated to her own moderation while in Moderation, which all end up in Trash; doesn’t realise or doesn’t care.
2020/01/11 at 12:21 am (in Trash; Jenny asks how long ban is for – has already been explained to her; reckons she’s in “good company” (!?) if ban is permanent; takes a swipe at RedLogix and FoRo).
Yep. I'm pretty much over spending my time chasing people up to respond to moderation. Regulars here should know by now that if their comments don't appear they need to go back and look for their last comment and see the moderation note attached. Responding to that will get moderators to sort things out. Spamming the Trash folder (or trying to litigate there) won't. In the end it all comes down to not wasting moderator time (I'd rather be writing posts).
I've seen the claim several places, but does anyone have video or a reliable news source confirming Trump adviser Sean Hannity said on-air, online, or on radio that Iran was about to be hit by B52s shortly before an Iranian battery allegedly mistook an airliner for a US warplane?
(I ask because no country, having been told by the leader of a geopolitical foe that it could be bombed at any time, would fail to monitor the communications of a top adviser to that leader who happened to be *on-air* at the time of a potential airstrike. So this *does* matter.)
VIDEO/ OK, here it is…and…{*sigh*}… JFC—I hate this. It's bad. Bad because he did what folks said, there's no doubt Iran was watching, and based on the Trump-Hannity history of near-daily contact it's possible his source for this fake news was POTUS. https://t.co/yYbBLTkHZJ
n the hours after the missile strikes, US terrorist forces' warplanes around the country increased, and some reports of air strikes targeting strategic centers in the country were reported to numerous defense units and targets on some radar plates. It has caused more sensitivity in air defense units.
In such critical conditions, the Ukrainian Airlines departs from Imam Khomeini Airport and, while in rotation, was in close proximity to a sensitive military center of the IRGC and in a height and shape of a hostile aircraft. In these circumstances, the plane was accidentally hit by a human error, which unfortunately results in the martyrdom of dear compatriots and the death of a number of foreign nationals.
The Armed Forces General Staff sends condolences to the families of missing persons of other countries and apologizes for the human error, ensures that this will not happen again by carrying out major reforms in operational processes at armed forces level to make such errors impossible and immediately report it to the Armed Forces Judicial Organization to deal with the errors committed legally.
snip
After the USS Vincennes in 1989 shot down Iran Air Flight 655 and killed 290 people, including many children, the U.S. government denied any culpability. George H. W. Bush, the vice president of the United States at the time, commented: "I will never apologize for the United States – I don't care what the facts are… I'm not an apologize-for-America kind of guy." Despite its "error" the crew was given medals and the captain was even awarded a Legion of Merit "for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service as commanding officer …".
i agree with B's comment that the Iranian officer most likely will not receive a medal.
After initial denials US officials lied through their teeth, asserting the airliner was rapidly descending and was headed toward the Vincennes in an attack profile, when in fact their own onboard systems recorded the airliner climbing and other US warships in the area had identified the aircraft as civilian and that the flight was well within a recognized international air corridor.
A month after the loss of 290 lives VP Bush declared
I will never apologize for the United States — I don’t care what the facts are. … I’m not an apologize-for-America kind of guy
and despite mealy mouthed notes of regret for the loss of human lives, the US has never formally apologized or acknowledged wrongdoing.
To rub in the salt, the Vincennes crew were awarded combat ribbons with no acknowledgement of the incident and it took eight years before any compensation was offered to the victims families.
In the days immediately following the incident, US President Ronald Reagan issued a written diplomatic note to the Iranian government, expressing deep regret.[11]
Maybe you should get the wikipedia page altered to suit.
Probably not your cup of tea music wise joe90 but a anarchist mate was at one of their concerts recently, and the place got flooded with police who shut them down when they started playing this song.
Been talking with mates in Russia and Putin is freaking out over popular music at the moment. Little Big, IC3PEAK and others are having concerts pulled even before they play. His control not as solid as it once was, especially with the youth.
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Workers Now is a new slate of candidates contesting this year’s general election. James Robb and Don Franks are the people behind this initiative and they are hoping to put the spotlight on working people’s interests. Both are seasoned activists who have campaigned for workers’ rights over many decades. Here is ...
Buzz from the Beehive Politicians keen to curry favour with Māori tribal leaders have headed north for Waitangi weekend. More than a few million dollars of public funding are headed north, too. Not all of this money is being trumpeted on the Beehive website, the Government’s official website. ...
Insurers face claims of over $500 million for cars, homes and property damaged in the floods. They are already putting up premiums and pulling insurance from properties deemed at high risk of flooding. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: This week in the podcast of our weekly hoon webinar for paying subscribers, ...
Our Cranky Uncle Game can already be played in eight languages: English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish. About 15 more languages are in the works at various stages of completion or have been offered to be done. To kick off the new year, we checked with how ...
The (new) Prime Minister said nobody understands what co-governance means, later modified to that there were so many varying interpretations that there was no common understanding.Co-governance cannot be derived from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It does not use the word. It refers to ‘government’ on ...
It’s that time of the week again when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kaka. Jump on this link for our chat about the week’s news with special guests Auckland Central MP Chloe Swarbrick and Auckland City Councillor Julie Fairey, including:Auckland’s catastrophic floods, which ...
In March last year, in a panic over rising petrol prices caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the government made a poor decision, "temporarily" cutting fuel excise tax by 25 cents a litre. Of course, it turned out not to be temporary at all, having been extended in May, July, ...
This month’s open thread for climate related topics. Please be constructive, polite, and succinct. The post Unforced variations: Feb 2023 first appeared on RealClimate. ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two fresh press releases had been posted when we checked the Beehive website at noon, both of them posted yesterday. In one statement, in the runup to Waitangi Day, Maori Crown Relations Minister Kelvin Davis drew attention to happenings on a Northland battle site in 1845. ...
It’s that time of the week again when I’m on the site for an hour for a chat in an Ask Me Anything with paying subscribers to The Kaka. Jump in for a chat on anything, including:Auckland’s catastrophic floods, which are set to cost insurers and the Government well over ...
Australia’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers (left) has published a 6,000 word manifesto called ‘Capitalism after the Crises’ arguing for ‘values-based capitalism’. Yet here in NZ we hear the same stale old rhetoric unchanged from the 1990s and early 2000s. Photo: Getty ImagesTLDR: The rest of the world is talking about inflation ...
A couple of weeks ago, after NCEA results came out, my son’s enrolment at Auckland Uni for this year was confirmed - he is doing a BSc majoring in Statistics. Well that is the plan now, who knows what will take his interest once he starts.I spent a bit of ...
Kia ora. What a week! We hope you’ve all come through last weekend’s extreme weather event relatively dry and safe. Header image: stormwater ponds at Hobsonville Point. Image via Twitter. The week in Greater Auckland There’s been a storm of information and debate since the worst of the flooding ...
Hi,At 4.43pm yesterday it arrived — a cease and desist letter from the guy I mentioned in my last newsletter. I’d written an article about “WEWE”, a global multi-level marketing scam making in-roads into New Zealand. MLMs are terrible for many of the same reasons megachurches are terrible, and I ...
Time To Call A Halt: Chris Hipkins knows that iwi leaders possess the means to make life very difficult for his government. Notwithstanding their objections, however, the Prime Minister’s direction of travel – already clearly signalled by his very public demotion of Nanaia Mahuta – must be confirmed by an emphatic ...
Open access notables Via PNAS, Ceylan, Anderson & Wood present a paper squarely in the center of the Skeptical Science wheelhouse: Sharing of misinformation is habitual, not just lazy or biased. The signficance statement is obvious catnip: Misinformation is a worldwide concern carrying socioeconomic and political consequences. What drives ...
Mark White from the Left free speech organisation Plebity looks at the disturbing trend of ‘book burning’ on US campuses In the abstract, people mostly agree that book banning is a bad thing. The Nazis did us the favor of being very clear about it and literally burning books, but ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has undergone a stern baptisim of fire in his first week in his new job, but it doesn’t get any easier. Next week, he has a vital meeting in Canberra with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, where he has to establish ...
As PM Chris Hipkins says, it’s a “no brainer” to extend the fuel tax cut, half price public subsidy and the cut to the road user levy until mid-year. A no braoner if the prime purpose is to ease the burden on people struggling to cope with the cost of ...
Buzz from the Beehive Cost-of-living pressures loomed large in Beehive announcements over the past 24 hours. The PM was obviously keen to announce further measures to keep those costs in check and demonstrate he means business when he talks of focusing his government on bread-and-butter issues. His statement was headed ...
Poor Mike Hosking. He has revealed himself in his most recent diatribe to be one of those public figures who is defined, not by who he is, but by who he isn’t, or at least not by what he is for, but by what he is against. Jacinda’s departure has ...
New Zealand is the second least corrupt country on earth according to the latest Corruption Perception Index published yesterday by Transparency International. But how much does this reflect reality? The problem with being continually feted for world-leading political integrity – which the Beehive and government departments love to boast about ...
TLDR: Including my pick of the news and other links in my checks around the news sites since 4am. Paying subscribers can see them all below the fold.In Aotearoa’s political economyBrown vs Fish Read more ...
TLDR: Including my pick of the news and other links in my checks around the news sites since 4am. Paying subscribers can see them all below the fold.In Aotearoa’s political economyBrown vs Fish Read more ...
In other countries, the target-rich cohorts of swinging voters are given labels such as ‘Mondeo Man’, ‘White Van Man,’ ‘Soccer Moms’ and ‘Little Aussie Battlers.’ Here, the easiest shorthand is ‘Ford Ranger Man’ – as seen here parked outside a Herne Bay restaurant, inbetween two SUVs. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / ...
In other countries, the target-rich cohorts of swinging voters are given labels such as ‘Mondeo Man’, ‘White Van Man,’ ‘Soccer Moms’ and ‘Little Aussie Battlers.’ Here, the easiest shorthand is ‘Ford Ranger Man’ – as seen here parked outside a Herne Bay restaurant, inbetween two SUVs. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / ...
Transport Minister and now also Minister for Auckland, Michael Wood has confirmed that the light rail project is part of the government’s policy refocus. Wood said the light rail project was under review as part of a ministerial refocus on key Government projects. “We are undertaking a stocktake about how ...
Sometime before the new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced that this year would be about “bread and butter issues”, National’s finance spokesperson Nicola Willis decided to move from Wellington Central and stand for Ohariu, which spreads across north Wellington from the central city to Johnsonville and Tawa. It’s an ...
They say a week is a long time in politics. For Mayor Wayne Brown, turns out 24 hours was long enough for many of us to see, quite obviously, “something isn’t right here…”. That in fact, a lot was going wrong. Very wrong indeed.Mainly because it turns ...
One of the most effective, and successful, graphics developed by Skeptical Science is the escalator. The escalator shows how global surface temperature anomalies vary with time, and illustrates how "contrarians" tend to cherry-pick short time intervals so as to argue that there has been no recent warming, while "realists" recognise ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTLDR: Here’s a quick roundup of the news today for paying subscribers on a slightly frantic, very wet, and then very warm day. In Aotearoa’s political economy today Read more ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTLDR: Here’s a quick roundup of the news today for paying subscribers on a slightly frantic, very wet, and then very warm day. In Aotearoa’s political economy today Read more ...
Tomorrow we have a funeral, and thank you all of you for your very kind words and thoughts — flowers, even.Our friend Michèle messaged: we never get to feel one thing at a time, us grownups, and oh boy is that ever the truth. Tomorrow we have the funeral, and ...
Lynn and I have just returned from a news conference where Hipkins, fresh from visiting a relief centre in Mangere, was repeatedly challenged to justify the extension of subsidies to create more climate emissions when the effects of climate change had just proved so disastrous. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The ...
Lynn and I have just returned from a news conference where Hipkins, fresh from visiting a relief centre in Mangere, was repeatedly challenged to justify the extension of subsidies to create more climate emissions when the effects of climate change had just proved so disastrous. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The ...
A new Prime Minister, a revitalised Cabinet, and possibly revised priorities – but is the political and, importantly, economic landscape much different? Certainly some within the news media were excited by the changes which Chris Hipkins announced yesterday or – before the announcement – by the prospect of changes in ...
Currently the government's strategy for reducing transport emissions hinges on boosting vehicle fuel-efficiency, via the clean car standard and clean car discount, and some improvements to public transport. The former has been hugely successful, and has clearly set us on the right path, but its also not enough, and will ...
Buzz from the Beehive Before he announced his Cabinet yesterday, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced he would be flying to Australia next week to meet that country’s Prime Minister. And before Kieran McAnulty had time to say “Three Waters” after his promotion to the Local Government portfolio, he was dishing ...
The quarterly labour market statistics were released this morning, showing that unemployment has risen slightly to 3.4%. There are now 99,000 people unemployed - 24,000 fewer than when Labour took office. So, I guess the Reserve Bank's plan to throw people out of work to stop wage rises "inflation", and ...
Another night of heavy rain, flooding, damage to homes, and people worried about where the hell all this water is going to go as we enter day twenty two of rain this year.Honestly if the government can’t sell Three Waters on the back of what has happened with storm water ...
* Dr Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Chris Hipkins continues to be the new broom in Government, re-setting his Government away from its problem areas in his Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, and trying to convince voters that Labour is focused on “bread and butter” issues. The ministers responsible for unpopular ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins continues to be the new broom in Government, re-setting his Government away from its problem areas in his Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, and trying to convince voters that Labour is focused on “bread and butter” issues. The ministers responsible for unpopular reforms in water and DHB centralisation ...
Hi,It’s weird to me that in 2023 we still have people falling for multi-level marketing schemes (MLMs for short). There are Netflix documentaries about them, countless articles, and last year we did an Armchaired and Dangerous episode on them.Then you check a ticketing website like EventBrite and see this shit ...
Nanaia Mahuta fell the furthest in the Cabinet reshuffle. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: PM Chris Hipkins unveiled a Cabinet this afternoon he hopes will show wavering voters that a refreshed Labour Government is focused on ‘bread and butter cost of living’ issues, rather than the unpopular, unwieldy and massively centralising ...
Nanaia Mahuta fell the furthest in the Cabinet reshuffle. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: PM Chris Hipkins unveiled a Cabinet this afternoon he hopes will show wavering voters that a refreshed Labour Government is focused on ‘bread and butter cost of living’ issues, rather than the unpopular, unwieldy and massively centralising ...
Shortly, the absolute state of Wayne Brown. But before that, something I wrote four years ago for the council’s own media machine. It was a day-in-the-life profile of their many and varied and quite possibly unnoticed vital services. We went all over Auckland in 48 hours for the story, the ...
Completed reads for January Lilith, by George MacDonald The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (poem), by Samuel Taylor Coleridge Christabel (poem), by Samuel Taylor Coleridge The Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok, by Anonymous The Lay of Kraka (poem), by Anonymous 1066 and All That, by W.C. Sellar and R.J. ...
Pity the poor Brits. They just can’t catch a break. After years of reporting of lying Boris Johnson, a change to a less colourful PM in Rishi Sunak has resulted in a smooth media pivot to an end-of-empire narrative. The New York Times, no less, amplifies suggestions that Blighty ...
Kia ora e te whānau. Today, we mark the anniversary of the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi - and our commitment to working in partnership with Māori to deliver better outcomes and tackle the big issues, together. ...
We’ve just announced a massive infrastructure investment to kick-start new housing developments across New Zealand. Through our Infrastructure Acceleration Fund, we’re making sure that critical infrastructure - like pipes, roads and wastewater connections - is in place, so thousands more homes can be built. ...
The Green Party is joining more than 20 community organisations to call for an immediate rent freeze in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, after reports of landlords intending to hike rents after flooding. ...
When Chris Hipkins took on the job of Prime Minister, he said bread and butter issues like the cost of living would be the Government’s top priority – and this week, we’ve set out extra support for families and businesses. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to provide direct support to low-income households and to stop subsidising fossil fuels during a climate crisis. ...
The tools exist to help families with surging costs – and as costs continue to rise it is more urgent than ever that we use them, the Green Party says. ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today held their first bilateral meeting in Canberra. It was Chris Hipkins’ first overseas visit since he took office, reflecting the close relationship between New Zealand and Australia. “New Zealand has no closer partner than Australia. I was pleased to ...
New Zealand will immediately provide humanitarian support to those affected by the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. “Aotearoa New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by these earthquakes. Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones affected,” ...
An historic Northland pā site with links to Ngāpuhi chief Hongi Hika is to be handed back to iwi, after collaboration by government, private landowners and local hapū. “It is fitting that the ceremony for the return of the Pākinga Pā site is during Waitangi weekend,” said Regional Development Minister ...
The Government is investing in a suite of initiatives to unlock Māori and Pacific resources, talent and knowledge across the science and research sector, Research, Science and Innovation Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Two new funds – He tipu ka hua and He aka ka toro – set to ...
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta departs for India tomorrow as she continues to reconnect Aotearoa New Zealand to the world. The visit will begin in New Delhi where the Foreign Minister will meet with the Vice President Hon Jagdeep Dhankar and her Indian Government counterparts, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and ...
Over $10 million infrastructure funding to unlock housing in Whangārei The purchase of a 3.279 hectare site in Kerikeri to enable 56 new homes Northland becomes eligible for $100 million scheme for affordable rentals Multiple Northland communities will benefit from multiple Government housing investments, delivering thousands of new homes for ...
The Government is supporting one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most significant historic sites, the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, as it continues to recover from the impacts of COVID-19. “The Waitangi Treaty Grounds are a taonga that we should protect and look after. This additional support will mean people can continue to ...
A memorial event at a key battle site in the New Zealand land wars is an important event to mark the progress in relations between Māori and the Crown as we head towards Waitangi Day, Minister for Te Arawhiti Kelvin Davis said. The Battle of Ohaeawai in June 1845 saw ...
More Police officers are being deployed to the frontline with the graduation of 54 new constables from the Royal New Zealand Police College today. The graduation ceremony for Recruit Wing 362 at Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua was the first official event for Stuart Nash since his reappointment as Police ...
The Government is unlocking an additional $700,000 in support for regions that have been badly hit by the recent flooding and storm damage in the upper North Island. “We’re supporting the response and recovery of Auckland, Waikato, Coromandel, Northland, and Bay of Plenty regions, through activating Enhanced Taskforce Green to ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has welcomed the announcement that Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, will visit New Zealand this month. “Princess Anne is travelling to Aotearoa at the request of the NZ Army’s Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals, of which she is Colonel in Chief, to ...
A new Government and industry strategy launched today has its sights on growing the value of New Zealand’s horticultural production to $12 billion by 2035, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said. “Our food and fibre exports are vital to New Zealand’s economic security. We’re focussed on long-term strategies that build on ...
25 cents per litre petrol excise duty cut extended to 30 June 2023 – reducing an average 60 litre tank of petrol by $17.25 Road User Charge discount will be re-introduced and continue through until 30 June Half price public transport fares extended to the end of June 2023 saving ...
The strong economy has attracted more people into the workforce, with a record number of New Zealanders in paid work and wages rising to help with cost of living pressures. “The Government’s economic plan is delivering on more better-paid jobs, growing wages and creating more opportunities for more New Zealanders,” ...
The Government is providing a further $1 million to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced today. “Cabinet today agreed that, given the severity of the event, a further $1 million contribution be made. Cabinet wishes to be proactive ...
The new Cabinet will be focused on core bread and butter issues like the cost of living, education, health, housing and keeping communities and businesses safe, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has announced. “We need a greater focus on what’s in front of New Zealanders right now. The new Cabinet line ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins will travel to Canberra next week for an in person meeting with Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. “The trans-Tasman relationship is New Zealand’s closest and most important, and it was crucial to me that my first overseas trip as Prime Minister was to Australia,” Chris Hipkins ...
The Government is providing establishment funding of $100,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. “We moved quickly to make available this funding to support Aucklanders while the full extent of the damage is being assessed,” Kieran McAnulty ...
As the Mayor of Auckland has announced a state of emergency, the Government, through NEMA, is able to step up support for those affected by flooding in Auckland. “I’d urge people to follow the advice of authorities and check Auckland Emergency Management for the latest information. As always, the Government ...
Ka papā te whatitiri, Hikohiko ana te uira, wāhi rua mai ana rā runga mai o Huruiki maunga Kua hinga te māreikura o te Nota, a Titewhai Harawira Nā reira, e te kahurangi, takoto, e moe Ka mōwai koa a Whakapara, kua uhia te Tai Tokerau e te kapua pōuri ...
Carmel Sepuloni, Minister for Social Development and Employment, has activated Enhanced Taskforce Green (ETFG) in response to flooding and damaged caused by Cyclone Hale in the Tairāwhiti region. Up to $500,000 will be made available to employ job seekers to support the clean-up. We are still investigating whether other parts ...
The 2023 General Election will be held on Saturday 14 October 2023, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “Announcing the election date early in the year provides New Zealanders with certainty and has become the practice of this Government and the previous one, and I believe is best practice,” Jacinda ...
Jacinda Ardern has announced she will step down as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party. Her resignation will take effect on the appointment of a new Prime Minister. A caucus vote to elect a new Party Leader will occur in 3 days’ time on Sunday the 22nd of ...
AI writing tools are free, easy to use and already everywhere. But is it cheating to use them to help write an essay? Shanti Mathias spoke to New Zealand academics about AI’s place in education.When California company Open AI released its ChatGPT tool to the public last November, social ...
Chris Hipkins’ first overseas trip as prime minister heralded few surprises. But, as Stewart Sowman-Lund reports from Canberra, that’s exactly what he will have wanted. It’s been just two weeks since Chris Hipkins was sworn in as prime minister, a fortnight that has seen him deal with devastating flooding, formalise ...
The Green Party wants the government to double the maximum amount it is paying out to flood-affected Aucklanders, through the Civil Defence payments. ...
The money the health system has to fight Covid-19 in the first half of 2023 is less than half of what it had in the second half of 2022, Marc Daalder reports Staff on the Covid-19 response have been terminated or quietly reassigned to other health issues as funding to ...
Bow and arrow hunting There was a certain time of year I really used to live for: camping over the Christmas break. I was 15 in the Christmas of 1976 and up to that point I'd shot a heap of goats and smaller game, but the thought of maybe getting ...
International education used to be a massive earner for New Zealand. With the borders finally open, are foreign students returning? Macleans College in East Auckland used to have more international students than any other school in the country. Then, the pandemic hit and turned it upside down. Principal Steve Hargreaves doesn't ...
Meg Parsons and Iresh Jayawardena explain why managing climate risk is a complex social justice issue Commentary and coverage of the floods in Auckland has so far focused on the severity of the flood, loss of life and injuries, damage to buildings, homes, roads and other infrastructure, on the number of people ...
A successful Minister for Auckland could foreshadow a substantially revised Cities and Regions government focusOpinion: There’s little doubt Auckland is in need of substantial ministering. It’s not just the biblical-scale deluge and resulting significant damage the region has experienced. It’s the historical sins of omission and some of commission ...
Chris Hipkins’ first offshore trip as leader went without a hitch, albeit with a low bar to clear. The challenge now is ensuring that Australian rhetoric around expat rights becomes reality, while Hipkins himself needs to figure out his own foreign policy agenda. Sam Sachdeva reports, in Canberra. Given the ...
Felicity Goodyear-Smith looks back at just how political the issue of abortion was in New Zealand On Wednesday March 25, 2020 New Zealand moved to nationwide self-isolation in response to the Covid 19 pandemic. Unless essential, there were to be no face-to-face primary care consultations. I work full-time as a professor of general ...
From purging possums and saving kiwi, to leading the Tui and turning out for the Blues, rugby record breaker Krysten Cottrell has a fascinating combination of careers, Suzanne McFadden discovers. Krysten Cottrell spends her week deep in the bush of the Kaweka Range, searching for dead rats and possums - and then ...
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By Ian Chute in Suva Fijian Broadcasting Corporation (FBC) board chairman Ajay Bhai Amrit says he has receipts to prove former FBC chief executive officer Riyaz Sayed-Khaiyum received an annual package of $387,790 including benefits and entitlements. He said this worked out to $32,315 a month and that the board ...
PNG Post-Courier PNG Defence Force Commander Major-General Mark Goina says “appropriate force” will be dealt to the gunmen who ambushed and wounded two soldiers in Saugurap, Enga Province, last week. In a statement Major-General Goina said: “A section from the PNGDF contingent deployed in Enga Province were on routine duty, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes “Word from The Hill”, where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation’s politics team. In this podcast Michelle and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe.Lukas Coch/AAP Australia’s cash rate has hit 3.35%, after the Reserve Bank raised interest rates for the ninth time in a row – and signalled ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hannah Della Bosca, PhD Candidate and Research Assistant at Sydney Environment Institute, University of Sydney Shutterstock While the days of overt climate denial are mostly over, there’s a distinct form of denial emerging in its stead. You may have experienced ...
A potential cyclone that could bring more severe wet weather to the upper North Island is now forecast to form a day earlier, Stuff reports. Due to ideal cyclone-formation conditions over the Coral Sea, a low south of the Solomon Islands has a high chance of turning into a cyclone ...
Author I.S. Belle reveals the top five influences on her debut LGBT horror/paranormal YA novel, Zombabe.Zombabe is a LGBT found family horror/paranormal YA about a group of friends putting down an ancient evil inextricably linked to their sleepy town of Bulldeen, Maine. Does all of that bring anything to ...
New Zealand prime minister Chris Hipkins and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese are holding a joint press conference in Canberra. Watch live here. ...
The New Zealand government is providing $1.5 million in humanitarian support to those affected by destructive earthquakes in Turkey and Syria last night, foreign minister Nanaia Mahuta has announced. The contribution of $1m to Turkey and $500,000 to Syria will be made via the International Federation of Red Cross and ...
In a state-of-the-nation-style lunchtime speech in Auckland today, the leader of the Act Party has taken aim at both major party leaders. “Throughout this speech,” David Seymour told supporters at the Maritime Museum, “I will do my best to differentiate between the Chrisses, but it may not be easy.” Seymour ...
In Canberra Chris Hipkins has met with Australia’s Anthony Albanese in Canberra, exchanging a few brief words to gathered reporters before heading inside for a closed doors meeting. Hipkins was driven into the courtyard of Parliament House, where he was greeted by Albanese in person. “Welcome prime minister,” said Albanese. A beaming ...
The acclaimed fashion designer has been crowned the ‘undisputed king of the frock’ – but with identical dresses widely available on fast fashion outlets, questions are being asked about his design practices.This story was first published on Stuff. He has been described as the “knight of New Zealand fashion”, his ...
In Canberra New Zealand’s media pack has arrived at Australia’s parliament ahead of this afternoon’s visit from prime minister Chris Hipkins. The PM will be met by his counterpart Anthony Albanese in the courtyard of parliament house, before heading inside for a closed doors meeting. Following the 45 minute meeting, ...
Two new funding initiatives, totalling $22 million, have been approved by Cabinet today to help ensure the cultural sector has the “certainty and support to thrive”, announced Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage. $10 million of Covid-19 recovery funding will support established arts, cultural and diversity festivals, while $12 ...
New Zealand Politics Daily is a collation of the most prominent issues being discussed in New Zealand. It is edited by Dr Bryce Edwards of The Democracy Project. Items of interest and importance todayWAITANGI, CO-GOVERNANCE, THREE WATERS Thomas Cranmer: Waitangi Day and the quiet revolution Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Waitangi in 2023: Plenty ...
ACT leader David Seymour has delivered a speech painting National and Labour as two sides of the same coin, and calling co-governance a "culture war". ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Quigley, Associate Professor of Earthquake Science, The University of Melbourne Mustafa Karali / AP A pair of huge earthquakes have struck in Turkey, leaving more than 3,000 people dead and unknown numbers injured or displaced. The first quake, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kalinda Griffiths, Scientia lecturer, UNSW Sydney Getty/Marianne Purdie Cancer figures provide stark evidence of the gap between the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous people in Australia. The difference is confronting – and it’s increasing over ...
NZ Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have used a joint media conference to affirm the nations' relationship is that of "family". ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Alcohol bans are being reimposed on Northern Territory Indigenous communities, as the federal and territory governments grapple with intractable problems in Alice Springs and elsewhere in the NT. The situation in Alice Springs and the ...
I was told to avoid gluten. I was told it was all in my head. When 10% of women experience endometriosis, why does it take so long for its classic symptoms to be recognised? It was 2011 when I had my first period. It felt like a very exciting moment ...
In Canberra Chris Hipkins has touched down in Australia’s capital – his first overseas visit since becoming prime minister just three weeks ago. After disembarking from the Airforce Boeing, Hipkins was greeted by his former caucus colleague and current high commissioner to Australia, Dame Annette King. The pair hugged on ...
The rise of TikTok-inspired ‘algospeak’ is making online communication even more of a nightmare, writes SYSCA‘s Lucy Blakiston.This is an excerpt from the Shit You Should Care About daily newsletter – sign up here.Content warning: sexual assault The other day I was chatting with a friend about algospeak – ...
School, finally, is back this week in the nation’s largest city to howls of relief from many parents and (one hopes) some students also. Yet the resumption of normal service shouldn’t obscure a curious inconsistency. The past few weeks have shown ...
MediaRoom column: On the eve of a Cabinet decision on the fate of the proposed public broadcasting merger, questions emerge over the engagement by the TVNZ chief executive of two former National government aides to change the narrative and push TVNZ's view on the Government's plan Within weeks of taking over ...
Olivia Sisson performs a good old-fashioned cost comparison – and it might change the way you buy your veges.The price of food in New Zealand is shocking. So, how to cope? The recommendations are starting to feel like the avo-toast-flat-white trope. Cut those items out and there it is, ...
An early morning fire at an egg-laying farm in Orini, Waikato yesterday has claimed the lives of at least 50,000 hens. The farm is operated by New Zealand’s largest egg producer Zeagold, the country’s biggest egg producer, whose eggs are sold under ...
The Natural and Built Environment Bill and Spatial Planning Bill will make resource management issues worse and should be withdrawn, Federated Farmers has told the Environment Select Committee. "Farmers agree the costly, slow and unpredictable processes ...
New police minister Stuart Nash has met with new health minister Ayesha Verrall to talk about the issue with the aim of preventing ram raids. Nash wants to speed up the scheduled reduction of dairies that can sell cigarettes. Nash made the comments at a police graduation ceremony in Porirua last ...
It’s Tuesday, February 7 and welcome to a special edition of The Spinoff’s live updates. Stewart Sowman-Lund will be on the ground in Canberra today as PM Chris Hipkins meets with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese. What you need to know Chris Hipkins will meet Australian PM ...
Politicking by politicians was less overt but whether there was less politics probably depends on your definition of the word and what lay beneath the optics, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Why is it becoming harder to achieve debt-free status? Money Sweetspot is a new company that uses compassion and incentives to help people pay off their debts. Co-founder Sasha Lockley talks to Simon about using gamification to increase financial literacy, breaking the cycle of poverty, and how she intends to ...
Prime minister Chris Hipkins is heading to Australia today for his first face-to-face meeting with an international leader. He’ll be meeting with Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese during his single-day visit to Canberra. The Spinoff live updates will be on the ground in Australia as the meeting takes place and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By C Raina MacIntyre, Professor of Global Biosecurity, NHMRC Principal Research Fellow, Head, Biosecurity Program, Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney Pexels/Uriel Mont The question of whether and to what extent face masks work to prevent respiratory infections such as COVID and influenza ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Mackinnon, Professor and Director, Centre for Clean Energy Technologies and Practices, Queensland University of Technology Superconducting cables transmit electicity without lossesShutterstock For most of us, transmitting power is an invisible part of modern life. You flick the switch and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Munro, Professor, Faculty of Education and Arts, Australian Catholic University Shutterstock Many students are returning to school this year face a renewed focus on grammar. Just before Christmas, the NSW curriculum was overhauled to include the “explicit teaching of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Debra Dudek, Associate professor, School of Arts and Humanities, Edith Cowan University Universal Life is full of surprises – some pleasant and some painful – but there can be no surprises without expectations. We expect the sun to come up ...
News stories have honed in on the fact Wayne Brown and his staff were left off a ‘vital’ email distribution list on the night of the Auckland floods. But internal emails from the mayor’s chief of staff show he was getting regular briefings from officials.Internal council emails obtained by ...
In a reality shaped by climate crisis, how do you think and feel about the changed present – and the changing future – without spiralling into despair?In the midst of a flood there’s not much time to think about the future. But when the water recedes, the reality of ...
06 Feb The news today of the death of 75,000 chickens at an egg farm in Waikato is yet another outrageous and avoidable tragedy. “The fact that so many hens died in this fire in the Waikato is a testament to the systemic neglect and disregard ...
Lawmakers are being urged to bridge the legal and scientific divide over braided rivers. David Williams reports What is a river? More particularly, what is a braided river? An expert group known as The Land The Law Forgot is urging politicians considering the Natural and Built Environment Bill – one ...
As Auckland copes with unprecedented flooding, Mairi Jay points to lessons from extreme weather events in British Columbia that could be vitally important for policy-makers and administrators here “Expect extreme weather events” the climate scientists tell us. But sometimes the extreme is beyond our imagining. On Thursday January 26, New Zealand’s Met Service predicted ...
UK and US deals for NZ novels Three of the best New Zealand novels of recent years are about to be published in the UK and the US. All three books – She's a Killer by Kirsten McDougall, Greta and Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly, and The New Animals ...
Confidence from US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell kept markets buoyant. But mortgage payments and job losses could dampen consumer spending in NZ ...
Someone left the Swift out in the rain - insurance agents are overloaded with calls about flood-damaged vehicles It’s been a big week for testing the submarining abilities of the family station wagon. Thousands of cars around the upper North Island have been written off following the devastating floods of ...
The first of the air force's new Poseidon aircraft has landed in New Zealand. But is this the sort of workhorse the military needs? Our old heroes of the Air Force, the P-3 Orions, have retired after 56 years of service - and the first of the flash new Poseidon ...
Chris Hipkins’ first overseas trip as Prime Minister comes on relatively friendly territory. But while there have been marked improvements in the trans-Tasman relationship since a change in Canberra, there is still plenty to discuss, as Sam Sachdeva writes In many ways, it is fitting Chris Hipkins should make Australia the ...
Fiordland National Park is the crowning jewel of our national parks and arguably our greatest tourist magnet. But conservationists warn that marine life has been put at risk because the park’s waters are unprotected. Heidi Bendikson’s investigation shows they are right. Tourists on the 'M.V Sinbad' clamber to the bow to ...
Loading...(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. ...
RNZ News New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has described today’s Waitangi Day dawn service as moving and says he welcomes the shift away from a focus on politics. Hundreds of people gathered before dawn to commemorate 183 years since Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed. Hipkins said the national ...
Shane Te Pou is a former candidate, campaign manager and executive member of the Labour Party. He previews election 2020: https://www.newsroom.co.nz/@politics/2020/01/08/976532/the-stars-the-safe-pairs-of-hands-and-the-disasters
Interesting prediction: "Todd Muller also makes the list for his work first in climate change and now in agriculture. If Bridges misses out on the prime ministership, Muller will be Leader of the Opposition by the end of the year."
"On the Government side, Green leader Shaw made history last year with his Zero Carbon Bill. For all Ardern’s talk of her nuclear-free moment, it is Shaw alone who made that happen. In contrast to the far left of his party, he has actually achieved something radically important and assured its return later this year, another historic achievement."
Blatant bullshit. This government is still spending billions on roads and as Associate Minister primarily responsible for safety, Genter is not in charge of the overall budgets in any case. Shane's ignorant regurgitation of right-wing talking points reduces his usefulness as a commentator.
And more lazy ignoring of how much power the Greens actually have in this government to change anything that Winston does not want changed. It’s the same tactic as calling Ardern a do-nothing leader. With friends like Te Pou, who needs enemas.
Muller was removed as Nat climate spokesperson for veering too far from his party's preferred stance and cooperating too much with Shaw. Yet next they are going to anoint him as leader? Don't give up that day job..
I wasn't all that impressed either. Get the feeling he is just repeating current MSM political credo.
Lazy thinking, basically.
Yeah, he's typical Labour alright! Enough to make Helen Clark proud. I do agree with both your points. Lines of portfolio responsibility do actually need to be factored into political analysis. There's a reputational risk to ministers who attempt an over-reach. And we don't know the extent to which they do behind the scenes lobbying when it results in lack of success.
He's typical Labour's too left all right fraxie.
Bullshit to your bullshit.
You can thank her for the second Mt Vic tunnel that isn’t happening.
Why? Got any evidence for that? Sir Pete's mayor seems to be the problem according to this from Scoop: "Mayor Foster is not seeking a business case for a second Mt Victoria road tunnel." http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=122937
Sequencing of one part of a bigger regional programme, sure. Not cancelled. The rest of the claim is regurgitated bullshit.
Shane Te Pou is on record as:
1) Supporting charter schools (ironic as he also supports Tomorrow's School. He and other supporters of charter schools dont get that under charter schools, parents get zero involvement in running schools).
2) Supporting mining in national parks.
Just as an FYI
Funny, eh? I quoted Newsroom's description of his Labour insider status deliberately. I presume he got that track record on the basis of the accomplishments you mention. Perhaps it shows that he's slightly to the right of HC…
And you’re on record as saying that a man who walked into WINZ offices and shot innocent employees dead should be held up as a hero.
just as a FYI
[FFS, James! Address the content. Do not start a flame war with an attack on a commenter. You must be itching for another ban – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 5:42 PM.
Sen. Susan Collins is working with a ‘small group’ of GOP senators to allow impeachment witnesses
"House Democrats impeached Republican President Donald Trump on Dec. 18, 2019, but still have not transmitted the impeachment articles to the Senate, preventing the trial from starting. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Friday the articles could be sent over next week.
Also on Friday, Collins told reporters that in Maine that she worked all week with a “fairly small group” of Republican senators and others in the party to try to make sure both House impeachment managers and representatives of Trump can call witnesses during the upcoming trial."
https://www.theepochtimes.com/sen-susan-collins-working-with-small-group-of-gop-senators-to-allow-impeachment-witnesses_3200320.html
https://www.theepochtimes.com/resolution-to-submit-trump-impeachment-articles-to-the-senate-could-be-introduced-next-week-pelosi_3200175.html
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/118724735/australians-leave-homes-as-heat-winds-escalate-fire-danger
well lucky they are on stand by……
but they could be doing so much more…….
My partner, the beersies drinking and bbq'ing laughting volunteer firefighter calls this the armageddon scenario – when you have no more options available and are totally out of beer and laughs.
I am trying to wrap my mind around the number. I can't.
we need more fences obviously.
Btw, between yesterday to today we had three large fires (New Plymouth, Tauranga and Taupo) plus a whole lot of smaller ones.
So far we have been very lucky.
that patch of grass defense, is this local firefighters who are willing to risk this because this is the community they live in and they're not going to abandon it? Is the risk in that scenario the heat? Or that the building might catch on fire?
this is when you have no more options to go anywhere because the fire is everywher and you are assembling anything alive on an area that does not risk a full burn and you hose them down to keep them alive.
btw, the fire in taupo is still ongoing, now involving helicopters and diggers.
edit: It is essentially the scenario where everyone runs to the beach and into the water to stay alive.
right, but I took it as firefighters and people who chose to stay rather than having evacuated earlier while they still could. Am wondering if the firefighters chose to stay to protect their community knowing there was a risk they would get trapped there.
no they don't 'choose'. The firefighters are there to fight the fire. Many could actually not get out in time.
look at it this way. You have a 1% chance to survive if you stay on a patch that may not burn and hose yourself down with water or you have a 100% chance of dying in your car while trying to get out. What do you do?
Also, really believe me, the firefighters that i know do not take risks with the life of people in their care. They really don't and maybe we need to stop this train of thought that we can pin this on the firefighters, professionals or voluntaries. They are not responsible for this event, they are trying their hardest to get it under control and save lives.
Also it pays to remember that the firefighter has no water to stand under, he is probably out there beating the flames with a cloth sack so that others have time to stand under the water and stay save.
are you following the NZ fires online somewhere?
my partner is a voluntary firefighter and we get the updates of all the fires.
And when the beeper goes, i wave him goodbye and hope he comes home in one piece.
As all of us 'spouses' do.
And frankly we have been so lucky so far.
That must be scary.
it’s a hell of a job they do. Can’t be easy for those at home either.
nah, we'll just have some beers, roast some dead pig and have a laugh.
🙂 While fundraising for a new firetruck or something.
Honestly i have nothing but pity for the families of the dead guys in OZ. Chances are that there is nothing for them to help them over, and chances are that they now get the 'single women with children she can't afford' treatment while applying for benefits. Cause widows (with children) are considered 'single women with children' in our current world. Maybe something to consider?
The cost of deliberately erasing Aboriginal history.
"We're talking about a continent that's adapted to fire [and] they were a people who were here for 50,000 years who used fire as a management tool," he said.
Following European settlement and the displacement of the region's Aboriginal communities, traditional methods of land management ceased.
[…]
Practising 'cool' fire burning at field day
Dr Massy said that meant bringing farmers together with Aboriginal people to learn and practise techniques known as 'cool-burn patch' or 'mosaic' burning.
He recently hosted a Landcare field day on his family's 1,820-hectare sheep and cattle property, and nearly 50 people showed up to learn from Indigenous land manager, Rod Mason.
"It's very important for non-Indigenous people because they're the new land owners now," Mr Mason said.
The traditional method was to use small 'cool fires' to bring on fresh grass that would attract game for hunting.
The effect was to create a landscape over thousands of years which resulted in what the first explorers and settlers described as grassland or open woodland, using terms such as "like a park", as researched recently by award-winning historian, Bill Gammage.
Essentially, the technique involves burning a small patch in mild conditions, such as cool mornings or late afternoons in late autumn and early winter, and when there is little breeze
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-24/monaro-farmers-use-aboriginal-cool-burn-fires-to-recover/7440824?
Yes, this and underfunding the fire department – for the paid fire force, the underfunding and neglect of the volunteer fire services and taking decision making away from the locals is what let to this disaster. And our need for mindless consumption, and our governments that actively promotes mindless consumption.
As far as i can see, Joe and Jane Six Packs and their children are fucked and on their own, and this reality has yet to properly hit. Those who lost their lifelyhood, homes and relatives to the fires already know this. The rest is still burying their heads into the sand, cause change is hard and we don't want to do hard things. .
People living in cars and chicken coops three months after the fire in northern NSW. The woman's story being reported says that the crisis is so large it's understandable they can't get to help everyone, but it's hard to fathom how local councils and NGOs aren't assisting here, or areas outside the fire zones.
its one of the issues i have raised as a 'talking point' a few times now.
How many are homeless? How to handle such a crisis.
How many have lost businesses and are now unemployed? How to handle such a crisis.
How many will be seriously ill due to smoke, pollution and frankly unsanitary living arrangements? How to handle such a crisis.
What about the loan and credit crisis for the people that have lost homes, farms, businesses but have mortgages to pay? Any help available for those that are not farmers? And i say this not to denigrate farmers, but we seem to have funds to bail out farmers any time a natural or man made disaster strikes, but do we have something in place for everyone else?
What about schools? Hospitals, Clinics, etc that burned down.?
And last but least, would we be prepared in NZ were something like this to happen to us?
edit: The local council will have also have to deal with infrastructre burned down, their employees will likewise be without homes, water, electricty, maybe even be voluntary fire fighters.
And do we really now expect NGO’s to take over and do governments Job? Cause if that is the case, Why do we have a government? (I posted a video about an honest review of the OZ fires – yesterdays open mike – and this question was raised, if you have no seen the clip i suggest you do, the ozzie does a better job then i could ever do).
These are not question i raise because i am 'negative' or such, but these are questions that we need to ask if we want to look at the future and have something akin to a plan in place. And frankly i think we here in NZ are no more better prepared and funded for that matter then the guys in OZ. We can look at the immediate handling in CHCH after the earthquakes. It is ok for a few weeks to live in a tent with a Port a Potty, but how long can you expect people to do in case of a large scale disaster such as the devastation caused in Oz?
I agree Sabine, they're important questions and not enough people are asking them yet. I also think that NZ is badly prepared, for a big quake and/or tsunami, and for climate change.
There's a community on the West Coast that is preparing for several months without support after a big Alpine Fault quake. Impressive. I think the 3 days promoted by CD is now woefully inadequate.
I'm not sure if the local council lost its building (and council people lost their homes), but it's not like every community has been that damaged, and certainly the big cities are still intact, so why are they not stepping up? I'm struggling to see the underlying processes that have broken down. But then I thought that about Chch too, especially how the Eastern suburbs were treated.
because the fires are ongoing.
because the damage is why more and far more spread then we know
because there is no electricty – substations, powerpoles, transforemers etc all burned.
because there is no phone – no communication
because there is no water – water purification, water transport, etc all fucked
because it is mayhem. And because you have cynical bastard that is currently shitting his depends looking at the damage and trying to put a dollar sign on it, same for the insurance companies, same for the banks. And they rather not talk about it.
Seriously, look at the maps and remind yourself that these fires have been ongoing since September now, and we really have no idea about just how bad it is. You don't loose 64 houses in a small outback village (as per the thread above) and wonder why things are not working. And you still have three month of summer – with the worst heat – to come.
Besides, they very well to do people of OZ will not have any of these issues, that is reserved for us humble peasants.
As for us here in NZ, amuse yourself and find out where your local shelter is, or your local assembly place in case of a disaster. Tell me if you find something. Becuase in AKL – where i last checked a few years ago, the message was "Will be advised when the issue arises 🙂 Yeah, right TUI" and in Tauranga when they had the floods two / three years ago my friend wanting to know where to evacuate to was told on the phone by the operator to look up it up, and when she did that the webpage she was advised to use was down.
Processes have to be established before they can fail. We don't have processes in place and i would guess neither do they in Oz.
Reply to Sabine – in a big disaster (probably any big disaster) you pretty much have to look after yourself and those around you in the immediate aftermath at least. I think most people have no idea that there may be no driveable roads, maybe no petrol, no shops or cash only shops, no electricity, water or mobile connections (owing to overload) so like you say – it is important to have some plan in advance for what to do and where to evacuate to.
Re immediate aftermath example, on the day of the Feb 2011 earthquakes in Christchurch (severe earthquake but only seriously affecting about half of Christchurch) my texts both in and out kept repeating for about 10 hours and some people didn't receive my texts til hours later.
Some longer term examples – people were living in the sand dunes at the beach for months afterwards, my neighborhood (and others in the east) had portaloos from September 2010 for months until we were red zoned and then until everyone finally got kicked out in June 2013.
My point being, in a small first world modern city we struggled – we did have a huge amount of help but it takes a long time to get going and a long time to fix (many are still not "fixed" and I know 2 or 3 people who have only just settled their claims last year). So for the short term at least, get a plan, find a place to go to, have access to your hot water cylinder water (get a tap fitted underneath), have an old plug in phone (if you have a landline), keep some cash and keep your community links strong.
How Aboriginal history and technology was deliberately erased by the white settlers in Australia to justify their terra nullius thievery and slaughter of the original inhabitants.
Isaac Batey saw that the hillsides of Melbourne were terraced in the process of yam production and that the tilth of the soil was so light you could run your fingers through it. Mitchell saw these yam fields stretching as far as he could see near Gariwerd (Grampians). He extolled the beauty of these plains assuming that God had made them so that he could ‘discover’ them, not once thinking how peculiar it was for the best soil in the country to have almost no trees. This was a managed field of harvest. George Augustus Robinson saw women stretched across those same fields of horticulture in the process of harvesting the tubers.
Charles Sturt had his life saved in Central Australia when he came upon people who were harvesting a river valley and supplied him with water, from their well, roast duck and cake. Both Mitchell and Sturt described the baked goods as the lightest and sweetest they had ever tasted. How many historians have read those comments and yet not one has considered that it would be in the nation’s commercial and culinary interests to find out the particular grasses from which those flours were made?
E.M. Curr noticed that as he brought the first vehicle into the plains south of Echuca his cart wheels ‘turned up bushels of tubers’. Once again some of Australia’s best soils were almost bereft of trees, the plains having been horticulturally altered to provide permanent harvests of tubers. Unlike Mitchell’s self-indulgent congratulations, Curr was aware who had produced this productivity and later recognised that it was his sheep that destroyed it.
http://archive.li/Vi9vR
Of course MBA's and bean counters will be behind this.
Some of the most notable messages:
[…]
“I am concerned that if [redacted] chooses to require a Max simulator for its pilots beyond what all other regulators are requiring that it will be creating a difficult and unnecessary training burden for your airline, as well as potentially establish a precedent in your region for other Max customers,” the Boeing pilot wrote in the forwarded message.
An unidentified Boeing employee in a different text message exchange brags about swaying India’s regulator “to make them feel stupid about trying to require any additional training requirements.”
Added the sender: “I just Jedi mind tricked this [sic] fools. I should be given $1000 every time I take one of these calls. I save this company a sick amount of $$$$.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-10/-incredibly-damning-boeing-messages-show-employee-unease-on-max
This is a direct result of underfunding of the FAA and the deregulation of the Aircraft industry and handing the oversight of certification of aircraft to the industry.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/26/us/politics/boeing-faa.html
Attention Jenny, for the last time, because I am tiring wasting my time on this (and I have no obligation to do this):
You seem to still not understand why you are in Moderation and below is a timeline of relevant stuff.
You are also disconnected from other comments, replies (incl. to your own comments), moderation notes to you, and your comments ending up in Trash. Commenters who are only/largely interested in using TS as medium/platform to hear their own voice and who are or appear to be largely oblivious of the TS community should start their own blog. I don’t care either way.
Besides this, 1) you don’t call out others by giving them incorrect labels, and 2) you don’t interfere with moderation. These are the two main reasons why you ended up and still are in Moderation.
Weka replied a few times to FoRo to get him to explain his comments before moderation started.
2020/01/04 at 8:17 am (comment by FoRo moved to OM & moderated)
2020/01/04 at 12:11 pm (comment by FoRo moved to OM)
2020/01/04 at 1:16 pm (comment by FoRo moderated)
2020/01/05 at 10:55 am (comment by FoRo moved to OM)
On 5 Jan Jenny replied 3 times to FoRo but no response from FoRo.
2020/01/05 at 4:51 pm (Jenny replies to Sacha; moans that FoRo refuses to debate (presumably with Jenny; calls him a troll) – answering/replying to other commenters is not compulsory but responding to Moderation is.
5 January 2020 at 5:14 pm (Incognito replies to Jenny stating that FoRo is not trolling but is trying to explain his position to Weka, i.e. he’s responding to Moderation; Incognito warns Jenny to stay out of Moderation).
2020/01/06 at 10:50 am (Jenny put into Moderation; moans again about FoRo not engaging (with her); calls him a “right wing troll”; does not acknowledge that FoRo was actively being monitored/moderated and that she needs to butt out of moderation).
Jenny makes 13 comments unrelated to her own moderation while in Moderation, which all end up in Trash; doesn’t realise or doesn’t care.
2020/01/11 at 12:21 am (in Trash; Jenny asks how long ban is for – has already been explained to her; reckons she’s in “good company” (!?) if ban is permanent; takes a swipe at RedLogix and FoRo).
I feel tired just reading that.
Sorry. Sleep on it 😉
Yep. I'm pretty much over spending my time chasing people up to respond to moderation. Regulars here should know by now that if their comments don't appear they need to go back and look for their last comment and see the moderation note attached. Responding to that will get moderators to sort things out. Spamming the Trash folder (or trying to litigate there) won't. In the end it all comes down to not wasting moderator time (I'd rather be writing posts).
and so it goes,
Iran admitted to accidentally shooting down the plane. From Al Jazeera.
More news forthcoming.
This year is gonna be so interesting.
This week has been an interesting year.
(I ask because no country, having been told by the leader of a geopolitical foe that it could be bombed at any time, would fail to monitor the communications of a top adviser to that leader who happened to be *on-air* at the time of a potential airstrike. So this *does* matter.)
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1215337524064915456.html
this is a good summary
i agree with B's comment that the Iranian officer most likely will not receive a medal.
Thanks Sabine. Read the Stuff article 5 mins ago and my immediate reaction:
If the US accidently shot down an Iranian plane with a missile they would never own up to it.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/world/middle-east/118731355/iran-says-it-unintentionally-shot-down-ukrainian-jetliner
If the US accidently shot down an Iranian plane with a missile they would never own up to it.
The USS Vincennes incident with Iran Air Flight 655 suggests otherwise.
After initial denials US officials lied through their teeth, asserting the airliner was rapidly descending and was headed toward the Vincennes in an attack profile, when in fact their own onboard systems recorded the airliner climbing and other US warships in the area had identified the aircraft as civilian and that the flight was well within a recognized international air corridor.
A month after the loss of 290 lives VP Bush declared
and despite mealy mouthed notes of regret for the loss of human lives, the US has never formally apologized or acknowledged wrongdoing.
To rub in the salt, the Vincennes crew were awarded combat ribbons with no acknowledgement of the incident and it took eight years before any compensation was offered to the victims families.
Maybe you should get the wikipedia page altered to suit.
Yes. That was what I was thanking Sabine for. 😉
I read Stuff piece prior to seeing Sabine's post and thought… now the US wouldn't own up to it would they. Forgot about 1989 incident.
Should add… neither do the Russians own up to it:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48691488
Probably not your cup of tea music wise joe90 but a anarchist mate was at one of their concerts recently, and the place got flooded with police who shut them down when they started playing this song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBG3Gdt5OGs&ab_channel=IC3PEAK
Been talking with mates in Russia and Putin is freaking out over popular music at the moment. Little Big, IC3PEAK and others are having concerts pulled even before they play. His control not as solid as it once was, especially with the youth.
Relatively quick admission and apology for a tragic error. Good.
From the Summer Newsroom: Rod Oram exposes Judith Collins (again).
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/10/20/865053/national-climate-crisis?fbclid=IwAR3pRZLNrjjKY3vBAxZf8cQwdjbcBbYWYQIp6nsoBwh5umRExSJhcqnMS6k
Sigh. Judith is quite capable of exposing herself without anyone else's help, and I bet lots of folk wish she would (mostly male, I suspect)… 😎
Dude, seriously?
What Milt said.
Ew.
Not best praxis.
https://loudwomen.org/2018/01/23/best-praxis-10-question-interview/
*Cough cough*
There's always one, isn't there? You're shameless, Pucky.