Open mike 11/01/2025
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6:00 am, January 11th, 2025 - 19 comments
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The Pacific profiles series shines a light on Pacific people in Aotearoa doing interesting and important work in their communities, as nominated by members of the public. Today, Grace Colcord, Shea Wātene and Devyn Baileh, co-founders of Brown Town. All photos by Geoffery Matautia. Brown Town is an Ōtautahi community ...22 hours ago
- ‘You belong to the people’: Kura Forrester on becoming Ferndale famous
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- Newsroom daily quiz, Saturday 18 January
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('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.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Saturday 18 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...23 hours ago
- Daily crossword, Saturday 18 January
.wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-title { font-size: 1.2em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .entry-meta { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; align-items: center; margin-top: 0.5em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-meta { font-size: 0.8em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .avatar { height: 25px; width: 25px; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .post-thumbnail{ margin: 0; margin-bottom: 0.25em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .post-thumbnail img { height: auto; width: 100%; ...23 hours ago
- A soul-destroying attempt to report scam Facebook ads
From dubious health claims to too-good-to-be-true deals to bizarre clickbait confessions from famous people, scam ads are filling Facebook feeds, sucking users in and ripping them off. So why won’t Meta do anything about it? I’ve had a Facebook account since 2006, when it first became available to the ...23 hours ago
- Vanuatu one month on: aftershocks, a no-go zone and anxiety
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor in Port Vila Today marks one month since a 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck Vanuatu’s capital, Port Vila, claiming 14 lives, injuring more than 200 people, and displacing thousands more. Downtown Port Vila remains a no-go zone. Star Wharf, the international port, is still out of ...1 day ago
- To those in power, treat others with dignity
A year out from leaving the bear pit that is the pinnacle of our democracy, I have returned to something familiar. A working life in litigation, mainly in employment law, has brought me full circle, refreshed old skills and exposed me to some realities and values which have stunned me.But ...1 day ago
- The Secret Diary of .. horoscopes (part 2)
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- ‘The complicated zone where the beautiful and the damned collide’: remembering David Lynch
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney The acclaimed American filmmaker David Lynch has died at the age of 78. While a cause of death has yet to be publicly announced, Lynch, a lifelong tobacco enthusiast, revealed ...1 day ago
- What should I do if I can’t see a psychiatrist?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Monika Ferguson, Senior Lecturer in Mental Health, University of South Australia People presenting at emergency with mental health concerns are experiencing the longest wait times in Australia for admission to a ward, according to a new report from the Australasian College of ...1 day ago
- Minister overhauls Waitangi Tribunal membership
The Minister for Māori Development has appointed eight new members to the Waitangi Tribunal. ...1 day ago
- Taller tennis players have a natural advantage – but shorter athletes shouldn’t despair
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- Pacific media perspectives featured by authors in new communication book
Asia Pacific Report Four researchers and authors from the Asia-Pacific region have provided diverse perspectives on the media in a new global book on intercultural communication. The Sage Handbook of Intercultural Communication published this week offers a global, interdisciplinary, and contextual approach to understanding the complexities of intercultural communication in ...1 day ago
- What is an oligarchy, and is the United States poised to become one?
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- Why is one half of Mars so different to the other? ‘Marsquakes’ may have just revealed the answe...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hrvoje Tkalčić, Professor, Head of Geophysics, Director of Warramunga Array, Australian National University A map showing the ‘Martian dichotomy’: the southern highlands are in yellows and oranges, the northern lowlands in blues and greens. NASA / JPL / USGS Mars is home ...2 days ago
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- What Twin Peaks meant to 10-year-old me
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jess Melbourne-Thomas, Transdisciplinary Researcher & Knowledge Broker, CSIRO ‘Cod logs’ placed in the Mary River can give fish a safe place to shelter. © Caitlin Jones, Burnett Mary Regional Group (BMRG) Australia’s natural environment is changing rapidly as the world warms, and ...2 days ago
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- Climate change is forcing us to rethink our sense
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Talia Fell, PhD Candidate, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland The Los Angeles wildfires are causing the devastating loss of people’s homes. From A-list celebrities such as Paris Hilton to an Australian family living in LA, thousands ...2 days ago - The specialist removing insects from ears at least once a week
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GEEZ
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world-news/360545082/trump-will-be-sentenced-his-hush-money-case-days-he-returns-white-house
Remember a lot of of people cheat on their partners, so the fact they voted for a cheater who tried to cover it up isn't anything really,
It's why people vote for Trump at all is the big question
The Regulatory Standards Bill submissions are closing very soon. This Monday 13th. Where is the well paid political opposition on this? Seemingly fucking nowhere….
Seems Its Left to lone voices.
Stand Up. Fight back !
Some of the many negative impacts of the Regulatory Standards Bill on New Zealanders:
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO2501/S00021/act-now-on-the-proposed-regulatory-standards-bill.htm
Indeed ! And I acknowledge you (and others on The Standard) have previously drawn attention to this and provided good Links on same.
Thanks
The bill has yet to be drafted for its first reading in parliament
https://www.regulation.govt.nz/assets/Publication-Documents/Have-your-say-on-the-proposed-Regulatory-Standards-Bill-final.pdf
Thanks for putting up those Links….straight forward. Might help some do it before Monday 13th.
Important !
Latest diversionary tactic by The Post:
https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/360544925/midnight-deadline-looms-submissions-beneficiary-bill
A half-page item headlined "Concerns Over Tight Time Frames On Bills" which sounds promising, but actually devotes most of the space to one bill (the Social Security Amendment Bill – important, of course, but only one of many).
The TSB and its time-extension are referred to in the closing (very short) paragraphs, while the RSB gets a single passing mention only in the last sentence of all.
You really do have to suspect a deliberate conspiracy of near-silence.
No. This is The Minister of Regulations seeking submissions before the drafting of a bill.
I might refer to him and his agenda when making a submission on the anti-stalking legislation (Feb 13).
It’s becoming obvious that Meta and Zuckerberg are falsely alleging that fact-checkers were responsible for censorship and that Meta itself was doing all the censoring. [NB fact-checking and censorship are distinctly different]
https://www.poynter.org/ifcn/2025/an-open-letter-to-mark-zuckerberg-from-the-worlds-fact-checkers-nine-years-later/
Flooding the zone.The oligarchy will do whatever it takes to pollute information and turn everything into meaningless noise.
When Elon Musk launched his latest crusade against Wikipedia this Christmas Eve, it wasn’t just another of the billionaire’s frequent Twitter tantrums. His gripes about the community-written encyclopedia expose something far more significant: the growing efforts by America’s most powerful right-wing figures to rewrite and control the flow of information. While Musk’s involvement began with grievances about his own coverage on the website, his recent attacks reveal his growing role in this broader campaign to delegitimize Wikipedia, and the right’s frustration with platforms that remain resilient against such control.
https://www.citationneeded.news/elon-musk-and-the-rights-war-on-wikipedia/
Wikipedia, an organized and evolving repository of all human knowledge, relies on an army of anonymous volunteer editors to keep running. Wiki editors spend hours of their lives tweaking entries, fighting with each other, and attempting to create a clear picture of the truth online. According to leaked documents obtained by Forward, the Heritage Foundation is planning to “identify and target” those anonymous editors.
https://gizmodo.com/the-people-behind-project-2025-want-to-reveal-the-identities-of-wikipedia-editors-2000547511
The kids are being radicalised and what's coming won't be pretty.
Ethel Cain appeared to share her thoughts about the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last month. In a series of Instagram Story posts on Friday, the musician used the hashtag “#KillMoreCEOs” in response to a post about money in politics being “the root of our dysfunction.”
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ethel-cain-unitedhealthcare-ceo-killing-luigi-mangione-1235232140/
And one of the first things assange said when released was that wikipedia wasa bullitin board for the CIA . He would know doncha think joe ?
I missed this RNZ news item earlier, but it's on today's midday news.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/top/538572/frustrating-and-distressing-doc-appeals-for-information-after-seabirds-killed
Whether or not the seabirds are a protected species is irrelevant. This behaviour demonstrates brazen cruelty and ignorance. As one of the boats is easily identifiable, hopefully the participants can be traced and face consequences – maybe some voluntary work for DOC?
Sudan
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/10/africa/sudan-genocide-explained/index.html
and Chad
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/09/africa/chads-presidential-palace-attacked-intl/index.html
At least we have a functioning nation state and for most, there is only a risk of a post modern form of oppression (should they dissent).
There is more than a little bit of inevitably about this.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/10/uk-first-glyphosate-resistant-weed-found-kent-farm
Bayer had been enjoying good news recently with the news that the PTB in OZ, reckon there isn't enough evidence linking glyphosate with Non-Hodgkins for the class action to succeed.
https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/news/bayer-claims-another-glyphosate-victory/
This is another example us humans not making the change that's needed until it's too late.
Second that second round of chemo me one spray last yr six months chemo for non hodg remission second spray silly me afta getting sick garden gets out of control so spray again an wouldnt ya know here we go again !!! Was my condition made pos by the jab cause aint like i never sprayed before tho i was total purist one upon a time til i came up against climbing asparagus .dont have the answers mite live mite die but im goin back to being a purist when it comes to glyphosate .
Even more reason to speak out against removing restrictive GMO legislation: the main reason is to allow entry for big-farma Glyphosphate resistant crops.
.
Jan. 10, 2025
Sam Moore, the tenor half of the scorching soul duo Sam & Dave — known for indelible hits like “Soul Man,” “Hold On, I’m Comin’” and “I Thank You” — died on Friday. He was 89.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/10/arts/music/sam-moore-dead.html