He was born in Guangzhou, a city in southern China, to a wealthy family that lost everything when the communists took power in 1949. He was 12 years old when he fled his village in mainland China, arriving in Hong Kong as a stowaway on a fishing boat.
Like a number of the city’s famed tycoons, he went from a menial role, toiling in a Hong Kong sweatshop, to founding a multi-million dollar empire. From working odd jobs and knitting in a small clothing shop he taught himself English, eventually founding the international clothing brand Giordano. The chain was a huge success.
But when in 1989 China sent in tanks to crush pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, Mr Lai began a new journey as a vocal democracy activist as well as an entrepreneur. He started writing columns criticising the massacre that followed the demonstrations in Beijing and established a publishing house that went on to become one of Hong Kong's most influential.
In recent years masked attackers have firebombed Mr Lai’s house and company headquarters. The 71-year-old has also been the target of an assassination plot. His arrest on Monday is the highest-profile use of the national security law imposed on the territory by Beijing in June.
So we await the regime's decision of whether to take him to China for trial or leave prosecution to the HK govt. If they make the latter choice we may still get some media exposure of the court case – but it may be censored.
China is not communist. We know this because it is not democratic.
Democracy is an essential part of communism. Workers controlling businesses can only be done through democracy and it goes upwards from there to the city and nation state.
China is, presently, anti-democratic.
But, then, so is capitalism – the boss doesn't want the workers telling him what to do but is certainly of the opinion that the workers should do what he tells them.
But his political opponents are, and the regime requires total control of the people.
Lai also wrote an op-ed in the New York Times in May stating that China was repressing Hong Kong with the legislation. “I have always thought I might one day be sent to jail for my publications or for my calls for democracy in Hong Kong,” Lai wrote. “But for a few tweets, and because they are said to threaten the national security of mighty China?
Yes, because the regime is threatened by exercise of the right of free speech. Communists have always been big on using state control to eliminate human rights.
Hmm. You seem to be using communism as if it were an ideal rather than a state practice. Stuart likewise. Viewed as a belief system, that's valid.
In realpolitik though, people apply the label on the basis of practical utility (if it walks like a duck etc). So my usage reflects standard political practice.
Reminds me when I was at uni the Trots, Leninists, Stalinists & Maoists were engaged in four-way sectarian competition over which group were the real communists…
The ideal is the measuring stick. If standard practice doesn't meet the measure in any way, shape or form but calls itself communist then it is obviously misrepresenting itself.
Your usage is empowering people to misrepresent themselves.
People actually empower themselves via misrepresentation: that's the human condition. Why women wear lipstick. Why Labour folk describe themselves as progressive.
The root of this behaviour lies deep within nature itself. Biologists have documented deceit strategies and tactics in many species.
I didn't write that. Both deceit and misrepresentation derive from the same behavioural root, obviously. Think of it as a survival strategy. Haven't you kept up with evolutionary psychology? Since Robert Wright authored The Moral Animal there's been about a quarter-century of follow-through by many contributors.
We realise Dennis, that you reject the content of Communism en bloc, so of course the distinction between states that practiced it to any degree, and those who only pretended to do so is not important to you. But that is as valid as including the DPRK in a discussion of democracy simply because they use the name in the title of their state.
Tbh, Stuart, I'm unaware that any states ever actualised the ideal of communism. Which inclines me to view the ideal as unattainable in practice due to being contrary to human nature. I agree that the ideal seems appealing, in a nebulous way, since I was born an extreme idealist and had to grow a pragmatic side to my character so as to become successful in this society.
I'm far less sanguine Dennis; communists are every bit as 'out of bounds' as are fascists in my book. In the 20th century there were at least six major attempts to implement communist states and each one was a genocidal failure.
People who say that the 'wrong people were in charge' are really just saying that if they had been running the show it would have all turned out good. Which is an delusional conceit, a wet mess of naive idealism, deep intellectual dishonesty and obdurate denial.
The left needs to draw a line under this horribly failed idea called marxism and commit to never doing it again.
To the extent that Communism might have been achievable, much of that had to do with the states claiming to be pursuing it, without putting much effort into doing so. As such it is part of a long tradition of similar attempts at improving government virtue, from Confucianism through Christianity, and Gandhi’s reforms, to the current attempts to form an Islamic state.
Throughout his later life Confucius was pursued by leaders of states for his imprimatur, but had to abandon them as they failed to live up to the ideals they had signed up for. The unprincipled behaviour of these rulers did not invalidate the principles that Confucius had derived, and, but for a certain inconsistency in his writings, the same is true of Marx.
Where communism fails is in its inability to deal with internal failures. In a democracy, the individual is sovereign, and anything that affects them is a legitimate ground to access the representative process (though of course in practice NZ MPs will simply ignore anything that might conceivably reflect badly upon them or their party or require them to get off their spotty bottoms and do anything).
Communism, by contrast, reposes sovereignty in the Party, which promptly claims to be ineffable. When a problem occurs therefore, like an oil light coming on in one's car, democracy in principle fixes it, while communism accuses the oil light of political unreliability, being a refusenik or a saboteur or whatever, until the whole system suffers a catastrophic failure and seizes up.
One should not lay the determination of the Kim dynasty to be God kings entirely on the dark side of communism's ledger however. Their existence has as much or more to do with the retreat of Japan and the geopolitical interests of neighbouring states as anything Marx or his successors wrote.
Washington, a thin-skinned chief executive, only decided to stay on for a second term to prevent his lieutenants from, as he feared, splitting the country into two parties. To him, political parties spelled disunion.
and
To suppress the challenge of a second party, Washington’s successor, Federalist John Adams, signed into law the Alien and Sedition Acts, making it a federal crime to criticize the president or his administration’s policies.
and
In his turn, when Jefferson became president he instituted what later became known as the spoils system. With his idea of even-handedness, he dismantled the Federalist Party. He fired half of all federal officeholders, the top half. He kept Federalists only in low-level clerical, postal and customs service jobs. Jefferson effectively deprived the Federalists of any chance of rebuilding a power base by excluding them not only from the federal payroll but from political and administrative experience. The Federalists never won another election. Their party died.
Over time the US realised that they couldn't get rid of political parties but their system is such that they can only have two. This is a problem in that most voices aren't heard.
Perhaps what we need is everyone belonging to a political party where they have a say on the policies that that party puts forward. But then we'd need a system which allowed for each party to be able to have at least one representative in parliament.
Both communism and capitalism are idealistic and both operate with a fundamental misunderstanding of human nature….communism could operate in a world entirely populated by cooperative individuals and capitalism in a world of competitors…neither world exists…we live in a world of degrees and compromise.
I'm not especially keen on trials of communism per se, I just don't like to see it blamed for flaws that arise from other causes. Marx's solution wasn't particularly good, and the likes of Marcuse did not improve it. But Marx did elucidate the issues of unfairness that come with unregulated capital.
The acceptability of capitalism is a function of how well regulated it is. NZ's housing crisis is an instance of failure to regulate, and it has unhomed and impoverished a substantial proportion of our population. This must necessarily concern any party or parties that pretend to govern it or us.
Completely agree. I would be inclined to support a pro workers Democracy movement in China/Hong Kong, but certainly not a rightwing privaliged student/ rightwing media based one like the current HK protests. This is Capitalist infighting, certainly nothing to do with the working class.
I know of the "QC" who is acting on behalf of David Wong-Tung.
My family had a brief experience of her some years ago. She also wrote a letter on behalf of an estranged relative which contained falsehoods and threatening language if her client didn't get his way. She came across to me as one of those lawyers who uses professional bullying tactics in order to win her cases. Truth and fair play seem not to be part of her playbook.
Looks like back stabbings and leaks about the internal turmoil are still coming out of the National Party. The hopes they had of putting the crusher in charge to stem the leaks has not worked for them. The news around the selection of its candidate for the Auckland Central seat point to a party still at war within itself. I hope this helps some current blue seats turn red.
That's the thing, Collins isn't in charge, as well as saying "I'm not the leader of the National Party" (wtf???), a few weeks back when asked had she forced everyone in the party to stop leaking, she said no, she just told them if they want to win, stop leaking. She's a pathetic & weak boss.
When the dust finally settles on the COVID crisis, I think one of the aspects that will stand out will be that nations with health systems that are properly integrated with a unified governance model, and have strong medical leadership, will generally do better than those that don't.
In other words, for all the daily briefings and public health orders, the Victorian government simply had no apparatus to actually handle the crisis. The cogs were not connected. It is like a mechanic giving a long and impassioned speech about how your car ought to run only for you to pop the bonnet and discover it has no engine.
A close friend of ours has worked in the health system there all her life. She daily tells us of the contradictions and disconnects she constantly encounters. Poorly implemented procedures and PPE are her biggest gripe. To the extent that from Queensland we are posting down to her N95 masks we can buy off the shelf in Bunnings here, but she cannot access through her employer. All a bit weird really.
Yet at the same time it will be researchers and innovators who will eventually break the back of this crisis, people working with data and evidence who will unlock the secrets and change our thinking.
As an engineer I'm struck by this pandemic as a good example of how our systems need to strike a balance between sufficiently integrated and unified to deal effectively with a crisis, while at the same time the components of it need to adapt and evolve to deal with novel challenges in the environment. This constant tug of war between the need for stability and adaptability is a fundamental feature of our existence, and lies at the heart of our political systems. We might do well to keep this essential frame in mind more often.
If you were watching the AM show this morning around 8.20am, you would have seen the Justice Minister concluding his interview on the cannabis referendum by responding to a question about his personal experience.
"Well, it pretty much always fell off the back of a truck for me." "Actually, the last time was when I'd just qualified as a lawyer. There were lawyers, QCs and a judge all there and they were passing around a joint."
Duncan quickly moved on. The notion that pillars of the legal establishment might be that enlightened must have spooked him, though he covered it well. Amanda & Mark likewise avoided the implication. Vital to keep up false pretences.
The dominance of National party news and images in Stuff and the Herald leaves you wondering if these outfits are unbiased or actually are Natz alternate facebook.
Trite shite-
"National leader Judith Collins has been speaking to about 200 people at the Lake Taupo Yacht Club. Journalist Matt Bowen has sent through some of the main points:
The RMA would go of if National get in power. “We made a critical mistake of embracing a piece of legislation that is all about stopping people doing things rather than getting them done.”
NZ would not be awash with methamphetamine and gangs if National get in power. “We need to take it seriously and we are.”
On light rail in Auckland. “It’s very light. It will never happen. It’s a mirage.”
On if Labour teams up with the greens following the election: “The greens say tax is love, well I have had too much love over the years.”
I don't think that we should be pandering to marginalised people, I think we should do it because there's something that they can't do in the market place.
[I don’t know which marginalised people you mean, but some of your comments aren’t making a lot of sense and you’re now on my radar as a mod. If you are new here, please read the Policy, and have a think about what you are doing before you comment again. I’m not going to let people troll my posts – weka]
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
"He now seems to think that he can return here from his self-imposed exile with a blatant troll comment.
Sam is wrong about that.
Banned for a year so that we can all recover from the pandemic and prepare for the election without having to endure his inane troll comments that create more work for Moderators – Incognito]"
I don't have time to check if it's the same Sam, But his comments are close enough to trolling that I’m dropping him into the blacklist until I have time to look at what is going on (later in the day).
Reads the same to me. Different ip and/or email – going by the avatart change, but there's certainly a very similar style and post habit going on. Should be an easy deduction going on from here if it is the same person.
I'm sure it won't, and it wouldn't be the first time the banned Sam posted after an enforced time out with a different gravitar. I recall you extending the one from April for another six months at the beginning of May.
What’s wrong with opposing views and free speech? Why does Sam scare you so much? If you don’t agree with him can’t you just ignore him?
[lprent: I’d point out that speech isn’t free here – nor anywhere else. It costs money and time to provide a venue like this.
Speech here is controlled by our policy, the legal structure we’re in and our moderators who are trying to maintain a robust debate within those bounds.
A first comment simply attacking another commenter with a pigfucker question doesn’t help robust debate. It just raises question about how much of a troll you are. I’d suggest reading the policy. ]
A lot of Radionz texts this morning in favour of charging people coming back to NZ pointing out the often disregarded fact that they want to come back here because it is the best place to be in the world during Covid-19 even though we are reasonably poor country.
But they had the money and opportunity to leave which has costed for travel etc. and now there is another cost that has to be covered. Life does not unroll with roses spread in your way and everything you wish arriving on a tray – for most of us. Sometimes things will not be just as you wish. That is all!
Another right-wing group on Facebook! Calling themselves The Team of Six Million is lobbying for the Me Generation. People like this want to turn us into a copy of those countries with fabulously rich top and a large middle class, but a large group of people in grinding poverty and stuck there as an eternally indentured class.
They haven't heard those forecasts about the disappearance of the middle class going on in the world. We are in a new millenium, toddling forward uneasily, dragging our teddies behind us. We haven't the money, so we have to think is the idea from a famous New Zealander who helped science along, but was it good for us in the long run? Now we have to think harder.
National party's shite on the big issues vs the Others published.
Election 2020 – SMC science Q&A with political parties
National can't focus on answering the questions and keeps poking at that useless Labour lot as their solution.
*Smash gangs
* punish youth ( standing in a yacht club)
* our mental health programs really worked
* provide analysis on how we reduce emissions ( because we haven't read the plethora already there)
* don't know- concept black out on support ethnic and gender diversity in the research sector
* address Matauranga Maori…um.. through our partnership schools. didn't read yesterday's news on achievement in private schools.
* cannabis no
*Fresh water – Auckland Auckland the .No shit sherlock..duh..response
"Auckland needs considerable investment in properly separating stormwater and sewage to clean up streams " .
* Pests- We know about science.. we might try some now.
* Biosecurity- vigilence is needed to stop decimating agricultural industries. Yeah we were so vigilant in July 2017 with our action on m.bovis. And Labour is f#king up the Covid border plan again.Probably going to utilise Chris Penks book, Labour’s particular form of lockdown lunacy”, arguing it was too harsh and was unnecessarily extended.
* smoking and vaping.. Labour's dawdling. Perhaps we need an associate minister of health like Dunne to ' speed' them up.
According to preliminary results announced by Belarus' Central Election Commission, Lukashenko took 80% of the vote, with Tikhanovskaya coming in second with 10%. But Tikhanovskaya disputed those figures. She said that her campaign staff had seen results from more than 50 polling stations and that her share of the vote exceeded Lukashenko's by many times.
Stopped when I read "Nationwide House Arrest" in the first paragraph. Anything with such a cartoonish understanding of the notions of freedom, consent and collective action isn't worth the time.
AB agree I limit the number of daft things I read. The future is a serious matter, freedom is something to conserve and it comes in different modes to be narrowed or widened as appropriate.
OK – sorry for being unnecessarily rude. But if sticking one's tongue in one's cheek means un-ironically using the language of libertarian nutters, it might be worth reconsidering.
Its a conversation thats rather pointless when it relies on an imaginary situation….when (or if) there is a vaccine and its efficacy is known then an informed discussion can take place.
Compared to the 250,000+ motorcycle dickheads converging on South Dakota. What is it with Americans and their absolutely massive social distancing! I was just waiting in line at the bank, I think NZrs naturally socially distance, no one wants to be in anyone elses space.
Some Sun Tzu quotes on how to approach Australian politicians.
Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.
Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.
The art of war is of vital importance to the state. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
You got a fast carAnd I want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterYesterday’s newsletter, Trust In Me, on the report of abuse in state care, and by religious organisations, between 1950 and 2019, coupled with the hypocrisy of Christopher Luxon ...
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others. At ...
Despite having no bars or other designated spaces for lesbians, Auckland boasts a small but mighty lesbian museum. So how did it get here? The past 18 months has brought increasing hostility towards the queer community across Aotearoa. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s anti-trans rally in Tamaki Makaurau last March led to a ...
Poneke Antifascist Coalition has invited Wellingtonians to stand in solidarity with the Kanak people at 12pm today outside the French Embassy in Wellington. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee White, Senior Lecturer and Horizon Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney Australia was slow to introduce minimum building standards for energy efficiency. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) only came into force in 2003. Older homes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Sherwood, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney The past century of human-induced warming has increased rainfall variability over 75% of the Earth’s land area – particularly over Australia, Europe and eastern North America, new research shows. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Heynen, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Energy, The University of Queensland A temporary stadium in the Champ-de-Mars, ParisEkaterina Pokrovsky/Shutterstock As Paris prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the sustainability of the event is coming under scrutiny. The organisers have promoted ...
A night of karaoke and community in a pub that feels like a memory. You’d barely even notice it, unless you knew to look. Tucked away behind a liquor store on busy Constable Street is the capital’s last great pub. Newtown Sports Bar is an emblem of the pub culture ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Wright, Professor in Marine Geology, University of Canterbury Louise Corcoran/Getty Images The decline in the number of doctoral candidates at New Zealand universities is a worrying sign for the country’s effort to build a knowledge-based economy. Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laurie Berg, Associate Professor, University of Technology Sydney defotoberg/Shutterstock Migrant worker exploitation is entrenched in workplaces across Australia. Tragically, a deep fear of immigration consequences means most unlawful employer conduct goes unreported. On Wednesday, however, the government officially launched a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania Paris is about to host its third summer Olympics. While we don’t yet know what the legacy of this year’s games will be, let’s take the opportunity to reflect on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, Deputy Director, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Griffith University In the wake of the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump, there were calls from bothsides of US politics, as well as internationally, to reduce the brutal, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keith Rathbone, Senior Lecturer, Modern European History and Sports History, Macquarie University Two high-profile assaults on Australians in Paris have raised concerns about security ahead of the Olympic Games. On Saturday evening, a young woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by a ...
Dying is inevitable and, so it seems, is it costing a lot, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.The cost of dying ...
The government took Joyce Harris's first baby and sent her off to a girls' home. Half a century on - and out of oceans of hurt - it asked her to be a mother figure. ...
It’s the deadliest fictional town in the country, but which death has been the most bonkers? Alex Casey looks back at 10 seasons of The Brokenwood Mysteries to find out. Warning: The following ranking story contains famous New Zealand actors appearing to be dead (not alive). The Spinoff has been ...
Water cremation is the biggest thing to happen to the death industry in the last 100 years. Alex Casey meets the people trying to bring it to Aotearoa. Through a set of mirrored doors down the industrial end of Christchurch’s St Asaph Street, death is getting a new lease on ...
The Department of Conservation is in greater need of a commissioner than Health NZ, a veteran scientist says The post The risks and rewards of remaking DoC appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Communists vs capitalist: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-53718901
So we await the regime's decision of whether to take him to China for trial or leave prosecution to the HK govt. If they make the latter choice we may still get some media exposure of the court case – but it may be censored.
China is not communist. We know this because it is not democratic.
Democracy is an essential part of communism. Workers controlling businesses can only be done through democracy and it goes upwards from there to the city and nation state.
China is, presently, anti-democratic.
But, then, so is capitalism – the boss doesn't want the workers telling him what to do but is certainly of the opinion that the workers should do what he tells them.
China is not communist
But his political opponents are, and the regime requires total control of the people.
Yes, because the regime is threatened by exercise of the right of free speech. Communists have always been big on using state control to eliminate human rights.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/300079006/owner-of-a-hong-kong-newspaper-thats-often-critical-of-chinas-communist-party-government-arrested-under-new-security-law
No they haven't. People who called themselves communists have. There's a difference.
Democracy, human rights – these things are essential to communism. If a nation or a person denies them then they are not communist.
Quite right – totalitarian might be a better term – those states that like ancient Persia required submission of their subjects.
Hmm. You seem to be using communism as if it were an ideal rather than a state practice. Stuart likewise. Viewed as a belief system, that's valid.
In realpolitik though, people apply the label on the basis of practical utility (if it walks like a duck etc). So my usage reflects standard political practice.
Reminds me when I was at uni the Trots, Leninists, Stalinists & Maoists were engaged in four-way sectarian competition over which group were the real communists…
The ideal is the measuring stick. If standard practice doesn't meet the measure in any way, shape or form but calls itself communist then it is obviously misrepresenting itself.
Your usage is empowering people to misrepresent themselves.
People actually empower themselves via misrepresentation: that's the human condition. Why women wear lipstick. Why Labour folk describe themselves as progressive.
The root of this behaviour lies deep within nature itself. Biologists have documented deceit strategies and tactics in many species.
Women wearing lipstick is a deceit strategy!? What Wikipedia page did you get that from?
I didn't write that. Both deceit and misrepresentation derive from the same behavioural root, obviously. Think of it as a survival strategy. Haven't you kept up with evolutionary psychology? Since Robert Wright authored The Moral Animal there's been about a quarter-century of follow-through by many contributors.
O’kay, and Judith Collins is not the Leader of the National Party.
Of course, it was Pat McGrath who wrote it first.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pat-McGrath-LiquiLUST-007-Duo/dp/B0784HN5XM
Beats Wikipedia hands down.
We realise Dennis, that you reject the content of Communism en bloc, so of course the distinction between states that practiced it to any degree, and those who only pretended to do so is not important to you. But that is as valid as including the DPRK in a discussion of democracy simply because they use the name in the title of their state.
Tbh, Stuart, I'm unaware that any states ever actualised the ideal of communism. Which inclines me to view the ideal as unattainable in practice due to being contrary to human nature. I agree that the ideal seems appealing, in a nebulous way, since I was born an extreme idealist and had to grow a pragmatic side to my character so as to become successful in this society.
I'm far less sanguine Dennis; communists are every bit as 'out of bounds' as are fascists in my book. In the 20th century there were at least six major attempts to implement communist states and each one was a genocidal failure.
People who say that the 'wrong people were in charge' are really just saying that if they had been running the show it would have all turned out good. Which is an delusional conceit, a wet mess of naive idealism, deep intellectual dishonesty and obdurate denial.
The left needs to draw a line under this horribly failed idea called marxism and commit to never doing it again.
To the extent that Communism might have been achievable, much of that had to do with the states claiming to be pursuing it, without putting much effort into doing so. As such it is part of a long tradition of similar attempts at improving government virtue, from Confucianism through Christianity, and Gandhi’s reforms, to the current attempts to form an Islamic state.
Throughout his later life Confucius was pursued by leaders of states for his imprimatur, but had to abandon them as they failed to live up to the ideals they had signed up for. The unprincipled behaviour of these rulers did not invalidate the principles that Confucius had derived, and, but for a certain inconsistency in his writings, the same is true of Marx.
Where communism fails is in its inability to deal with internal failures. In a democracy, the individual is sovereign, and anything that affects them is a legitimate ground to access the representative process (though of course in practice NZ MPs will simply ignore anything that might conceivably reflect badly upon them or their party or require them to get off their spotty bottoms and do anything).
Communism, by contrast, reposes sovereignty in the Party, which promptly claims to be ineffable. When a problem occurs therefore, like an oil light coming on in one's car, democracy in principle fixes it, while communism accuses the oil light of political unreliability, being a refusenik or a saboteur or whatever, until the whole system suffers a catastrophic failure and seizes up.
One should not lay the determination of the Kim dynasty to be God kings entirely on the dark side of communism's ledger however. Their existence has as much or more to do with the retreat of Japan and the geopolitical interests of neighbouring states as anything Marx or his successors wrote.
That sounds remarkably like the US:
and
and
Over time the US realised that they couldn't get rid of political parties but their system is such that they can only have two. This is a problem in that most voices aren't heard.
Perhaps what we need is everyone belonging to a political party where they have a say on the policies that that party puts forward. But then we'd need a system which allowed for each party to be able to have at least one representative in parliament.
The irony had not escaped me. But at least formally, the individual's franchise remains determinate in Trumpistan.
Both communism and capitalism are idealistic and both operate with a fundamental misunderstanding of human nature….communism could operate in a world entirely populated by cooperative individuals and capitalism in a world of competitors…neither world exists…we live in a world of degrees and compromise.
As long as it lasts
I'm not especially keen on trials of communism per se, I just don't like to see it blamed for flaws that arise from other causes. Marx's solution wasn't particularly good, and the likes of Marcuse did not improve it. But Marx did elucidate the issues of unfairness that come with unregulated capital.
The acceptability of capitalism is a function of how well regulated it is. NZ's housing crisis is an instance of failure to regulate, and it has unhomed and impoverished a substantial proportion of our population. This must necessarily concern any party or parties that pretend to govern it or us.
China is considered state-capitalism as far as I am aware
Completely agree. I would be inclined to support a pro workers Democracy movement in China/Hong Kong, but certainly not a rightwing privaliged student/ rightwing media based one like the current HK protests. This is Capitalist infighting, certainly nothing to do with the working class.
Communism is as much a failure as pure capitalism you can't fight Nature where greed is an inbuilt survival instinct where the Strongest survive .
Communism is just a word for utopic ideology where no one is supposed to compete .
Capitalism is the winner takes all monopoly
[Fixed typo in user name]
[Fixed typo in user name]
That's just it – greed isn't an inbuilt survival instinct.
In fact, it is greed that destroys societies and it is working together that brought us to the top of the food chain.
Do you really want to try and survive in the wilderness by yourself? No fangs, no teeth, no claws, weaker per body weight than any other animal?
If we were actually catering to our natural instincts we wouldn't have capitalism because our natural instincts tell us to work together.
Judith Collins’s husband, David Wong-Tung is threatening to sue Newsroom for defamation.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/wong-tung-threatens-to-sue-newsroom
A shame judges can't order remedial reading lessons.
I know of the "QC" who is acting on behalf of David Wong-Tung.
My family had a brief experience of her some years ago. She also wrote a letter on behalf of an estranged relative which contained falsehoods and threatening language if her client didn't get his way. She came across to me as one of those lawyers who uses professional bullying tactics in order to win her cases. Truth and fair play seem not to be part of her playbook.
Not uncommon among some lawyers I know.
Looks like back stabbings and leaks about the internal turmoil are still coming out of the National Party. The hopes they had of putting the crusher in charge to stem the leaks has not worked for them. The news around the selection of its candidate for the Auckland Central seat point to a party still at war within itself. I hope this helps some current blue seats turn red.
https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/out-of-controversy-a-candidate/ar-BB17N91z
That's the thing, Collins isn't in charge, as well as saying "I'm not the leader of the National Party" (wtf???), a few weeks back when asked had she forced everyone in the party to stop leaking, she said no, she just told them if they want to win, stop leaking. She's a pathetic & weak boss.
Another one of Codger's little jokes. She will have her little joke.
When the dust finally settles on the COVID crisis, I think one of the aspects that will stand out will be that nations with health systems that are properly integrated with a unified governance model, and have strong medical leadership, will generally do better than those that don't.
It seems that it is no accident that Victoria is the state which is struggling at the moment.
A close friend of ours has worked in the health system there all her life. She daily tells us of the contradictions and disconnects she constantly encounters. Poorly implemented procedures and PPE are her biggest gripe. To the extent that from Queensland we are posting down to her N95 masks we can buy off the shelf in Bunnings here, but she cannot access through her employer. All a bit weird really.
Yet at the same time it will be researchers and innovators who will eventually break the back of this crisis, people working with data and evidence who will unlock the secrets and change our thinking.
As an engineer I'm struck by this pandemic as a good example of how our systems need to strike a balance between sufficiently integrated and unified to deal effectively with a crisis, while at the same time the components of it need to adapt and evolve to deal with novel challenges in the environment. This constant tug of war between the need for stability and adaptability is a fundamental feature of our existence, and lies at the heart of our political systems. We might do well to keep this essential frame in mind more often.
If you were watching the AM show this morning around 8.20am, you would have seen the Justice Minister concluding his interview on the cannabis referendum by responding to a question about his personal experience.
"Well, it pretty much always fell off the back of a truck for me." "Actually, the last time was when I'd just qualified as a lawyer. There were lawyers, QCs and a judge all there and they were passing around a joint."
Duncan quickly moved on. The notion that pillars of the legal establishment might be that enlightened must have spooked him, though he covered it well. Amanda & Mark likewise avoided the implication. Vital to keep up false pretences.
Yep DF, that has always bugged me, the hypocrisy.
Like there were no gay judges before homosexual law reform.
The dominance of National party news and images in Stuff and the Herald leaves you wondering if these outfits are unbiased or actually are Natz alternate facebook.
Trite shite-
"National leader Judith Collins has been speaking to about 200 people at the Lake Taupo Yacht Club. Journalist Matt Bowen has sent through some of the main points:
The RMA would go of if National get in power. “We made a critical mistake of embracing a piece of legislation that is all about stopping people doing things rather than getting them done.”
NZ would not be awash with methamphetamine and gangs if National get in power. “We need to take it seriously and we are.”
On light rail in Auckland. “It’s very light. It will never happen. It’s a mirage.”
On if Labour teams up with the greens following the election: “The greens say tax is love, well I have had too much love over the years.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300078917/live-jacinda-ardern-judith-collins-hit-the-election-trail?cid=app-android
I don't think that we should be pandering to marginalised people, I think we should do it because there's something that they can't do in the market place.
[I don’t know which marginalised people you mean, but some of your comments aren’t making a lot of sense and you’re now on my radar as a mod. If you are new here, please read the Policy, and have a think about what you are doing before you comment again. I’m not going to let people troll my posts – weka]
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
mod note for you.
Is that censorship weka? Gabby doesn’t make a lot of sense often.
Nope
Woodhouse lying again can't front media Collins has to make excuses for her strong team.
Homeless man returning from Melbourne had to stay in quarantine.
Collins on the back foot trying to look tough .
How many cars did she crush
Tough on gangs when she was minister not. National cut police numbers by 800.
Key was going to wipe out the scourge of P. Not even.
Not new it would appear.
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-09-04-2020/#comment-1700202
"He now seems to think that he can return here from his self-imposed exile with a blatant troll comment.
Sam is wrong about that.
Banned for a year so that we can all recover from the pandemic and prepare for the election without having to endure his inane troll comments that create more work for Moderators – Incognito]"
I don't have time to check if it's the same Sam, But his comments are close enough to trolling that I’m dropping him into the blacklist until I have time to look at what is going on (later in the day).
Nope, different Sam AFAIK. The other one is still commenting on the TDB and full of praise of TS. \sarc
The current Sam may want to read the TS Policy; it might save us all some time …
Reads the same to me. Different ip and/or email – going by the avatart change, but there's certainly a very similar style and post habit going on. Should be an easy deduction going on from here if it is the same person.
I have no evidence so I won’t take immediate action. If they’re indeed the same then it won’t take long …
I'm sure it won't, and it wouldn't be the first time the banned Sam posted after an enforced time out with a different gravitar. I recall you extending the one from April for another six months at the beginning of May.
What’s wrong with opposing views and free speech? Why does Sam scare you so much? If you don’t agree with him can’t you just ignore him?
[lprent: I’d point out that speech isn’t free here – nor anywhere else. It costs money and time to provide a venue like this.
Speech here is controlled by our policy, the legal structure we’re in and our moderators who are trying to maintain a robust debate within those bounds.
A first comment simply attacking another commenter with a pigfucker question doesn’t help robust debate. It just raises question about how much of a troll you are. I’d suggest reading the policy. ]
Ah, I see you’ve met the SYSOP 😀
I figured a holier than thou commenter deserved a holier than thou lecture…
There’s no baptism like baptism by fire.
A lot of Radionz texts this morning in favour of charging people coming back to NZ pointing out the often disregarded fact that they want to come back here because it is the best place to be in the world during Covid-19 even though we are reasonably poor country.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/423224/kiwis-overseas-unhappy-about-unfair-managed-isolation-charges
But they had the money and opportunity to leave which has costed for travel etc. and now there is another cost that has to be covered. Life does not unroll with roses spread in your way and everything you wish arriving on a tray – for most of us. Sometimes things will not be just as you wish. That is all!
Another right-wing group on Facebook! Calling themselves The Team of Six Million is lobbying for the Me Generation. People like this want to turn us into a copy of those countries with fabulously rich top and a large middle class, but a large group of people in grinding poverty and stuck there as an eternally indentured class.
They haven't heard those forecasts about the disappearance of the middle class going on in the world. We are in a new millenium, toddling forward uneasily, dragging our teddies behind us. We haven't the money, so we have to think is the idea from a famous New Zealander who helped science along, but was it good for us in the long run? Now we have to think harder.
They're a very mixed group – my cousin is in it. A lot of stranded folk, or those with disrupted travel alongside the entitled ones.
Agree grey. It's too much
https://twitter.com/AotearoanJames/status/1292736826461974528?s=20
I think the government should stop charging Tax to these people, if these returning citizens are currently non-resident tax payers.
Playing into the rights agenda.
Our people overseas are facing unemployment most likely homelessness.
To charge them to come home would be inhumane.
[Corrected a different typo in user name]
[Corrected a different typo in user name]
Yeah, there are research costs, this going to take time. What are you trying to do here? solve everything all in one go?
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
I hear on the radio that National will "create a new group to tackle gangs"
A new "Red Squad?"
Strike Force Raptor?
Raids mentioned as the modus operandi.
No new ideas yet.. just churning out old failed divisive stuff.
National party's shite on the big issues vs the Others published.
Election 2020 – SMC science Q&A with political parties
National can't focus on answering the questions and keeps poking at that useless Labour lot as their solution.
*Smash gangs
* punish youth ( standing in a yacht club)
* our mental health programs really worked
* provide analysis on how we reduce emissions ( because we haven't read the plethora already there)
* don't know- concept black out on support ethnic and gender diversity in the research sector
* address Matauranga Maori…um.. through our partnership schools. didn't read yesterday's news on achievement in private schools.
* cannabis no
*Fresh water – Auckland Auckland the .No shit sherlock..duh..response
"Auckland needs considerable investment in properly separating stormwater and sewage to clean up streams " .
* Pests- We know about science.. we might try some now.
* Biosecurity- vigilence is needed to stop decimating agricultural industries. Yeah we were so vigilant in July 2017 with our action on m.bovis. And Labour is f#king up the Covid border plan again.Probably going to utilise Chris Penks book, Labour’s particular form of lockdown lunacy”, arguing it was too harsh and was unnecessarily extended.
* smoking and vaping.. Labour's dawdling. Perhaps we need an associate minister of health like Dunne to ' speed' them up.
https://www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2020/08/11/election-2020-qa/
Of course, a landslide.
/
https://twitter.com/AmichaiStein1/status/1292768831543414785
https://twitter.com/LinkeviciusL/status/1292898802928627712
According to preliminary results announced by Belarus' Central Election Commission, Lukashenko took 80% of the vote, with Tikhanovskaya coming in second with 10%. But Tikhanovskaya disputed those figures. She said that her campaign staff had seen results from more than 50 polling stations and that her share of the vote exceeded Lukashenko's by many times.
https://www.npr.org/2020/08/10/900903506/belarus-elections-end-with-landslide-winner-and-massive-protests
https://twitter.com/felix_light/status/1292937597262733314
https://twitter.com/ASLuhn/status/1292941515501768707
Masks – which are best.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-8611963/N95s-offer-best-protection-coronavirus-neck-fleeces-trap-infectious-particles.html
On what New Zealand might be facing a couple of years down the track:
https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2020/08/11/after-the-virus-new-zealands-sticky-situation/
Stopped when I read "Nationwide House Arrest" in the first paragraph. Anything with such a cartoonish understanding of the notions of freedom, consent and collective action isn't worth the time.
thanks for parsing AB, indeed. "Freeeeeeeeedom!!!!"
AB agree I limit the number of daft things I read. The future is a serious matter, freedom is something to conserve and it comes in different modes to be narrowed or widened as appropriate.
FFS, it was a tongue-in-cheek exaggeration. The article is in favour of the Government measures.
OK – sorry for being unnecessarily rude. But if sticking one's tongue in one's cheek means un-ironically using the language of libertarian nutters, it might be worth reconsidering.
Its a conversation thats rather pointless when it relies on an imaginary situation….when (or if) there is a vaccine and its efficacy is known then an informed discussion can take place.
Anything prior is mere speculation
Just saw a report on NBC Night News about the Navajo Nation "Flattening the curve", how they're doing better because they are following science and experts, no big social gatherings,curfews, 100% mask compliance. Another angle https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/watch-how-the-navajo-nation-rallies-to-support-its-community-in-the-face-of-covid-19/ar-BB17NgR9?li=BBnbcA1
Compared to the 250,000+ motorcycle dickheads converging on South Dakota. What is it with Americans and their absolutely massive social distancing! I was just waiting in line at the bank, I think NZrs naturally socially distance, no one wants to be in anyone elses space.
Far out
I knew Sturgis was big, but never realised just how big.
From Wiki.
"Attendance highest: 739,000 (2015)[1]"
Check out the images Chris T, just insane (for us introverts anyway, hell!).
lemmings find cliff
https://twitter.com/mattesontv/status/1292699974782849026
Dr Bloomfield is the people's hero
https://twitter.com/Kiwi_things/status/1293030582474039299?s=20
Judith still on the campaign trail using we can do it better on border control.
Paul Henry says in Herald today
Henry said he was happy to be back in New Zealand and praised the workers managing the isolation facilities.
"New Zealand's lovely, just arriving back, the whole system is just a well-oiled machine. The people involved it in are spectacular."
The 60-year-old called the process "absolutely faultless".https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=12355635
Yet another paywall on Labour info today.
Suck on that lemon !
I’m not sure slagging NZ off to the Aussie’s is ever a good move?
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/judith-collins-tells-aussie-media-nz-government-useless-has-achieved-almost-nothing
Some Sun Tzu quotes on how to approach Australian politicians.
Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.
Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.
The art of war is of vital importance to the state. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.
https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/sun_tzu_717950