Good morning all. If you have burning questions about keeping your garden soil warm over winter, I’m talking about how that’s done with Tony Murrell on RadioLive at 7:20 am. Given that no one’s commented here at TS yet, I’m guessing most of you will sleep through our garden chat 🙂
OMG the Auditor General is going to investigate the whole of access to drinking water, how irrigators are regulated, drinking water access and climate change, and drinking water access and changing demographics.
Doubt something this big will be reported to Parliament before the election.
But the report i guarantee will lead to major regional council reform, including a pricing regime that’s consistent. It’ll go a long way to forcing central govt conversation about dams and resource rental as well I bet.
I think it is the one who ignores staff who raise issues of serious fraud, then does nothing when said whistleblowers are made obsolete..
that sort of auditor General.
Thanks gsays
But WTF, how can the public have confidence in the government and the public service which is supposed to be stalwart NZs that help pollies keep honest? We need to look at this closely, as the article says, if it can happen with little shock and fanfare, should we be despairing of our wonderful honesty that the loose tongued have been raving on about to Transparency International!
Harrison was a known fraudster whom the Australian police were actively talking to the NZ police about in 2011. She had multiple names. She paid herself over $700,000 on invoices that a trainee accountant would recognise as fraudulent, and which were not supported by either proper contracts or purchase orders. Multiple senior staff warned Matthews about the fraud from 2013 and he did nothing until 2016. Some of those senior staff then lost their jobs, within two months….
Today two former ministry employees have told RNZ News of the “incredible day” their jobs were axed. The whistle-blowers say they alerted senior managers to the fake invoices and dubious travel Harrison was involved with but then were targeted in restructuring she helped lead. They had found, among other things, that Harrison travelled to London to a conference that was cancelled long before she left.
Where was human resources? The Public Service Association? The police? The SFO? The auditor general? The chief executive?
This all happened in a modern New Zealand government ministry. In the full light of day.
Clearly, it’s not Harrison’s fault that the Ministry of Transport did not check her background. It’s not her fault that the NZ police somehow did not do anything effective after being contacted by the Australian police in 2011. It’s not Harrison’s fault that the Ministry pays invoices that are not supported by contracts or purchase orders, it’s not her fault that she can get rid of whistle-blowers by just having them moved or sacked. It’s not her fault she can just fix jobs for her family or fly around the world on a taxpayer ticket. It’s not her fault that the chief executive, and his successor, have consistently refused to properly investigate either what she got away with or the further systemic failings behind the scenes.
In fact if you think about all the middle and senior managers in Wellington and beyond who somehow have the confidence of their chief executive and who might be bullying or conniving their way up the slippery pole – it gets a bit scary.
It’s hard not to talk about workers’ rights without sounding like a socialist but just look at what Harrison did. It’s disgusting. Where does the buck stop and who gets the whistle-blowers their jobs back?
Should Martin Matthews be our auditor general? His mission according to the government website is “Independent Reporting on how your taxes and rates are spent.”
i know i shouldn’t but…
this is in the same basket as mataparae being moved on quickly from head of gcsb to gg. making room for … a close friend of the prime minister.
Tony Veitch (not the partner-bashing 3rd rate broadcaster 3
I have been working for the Labour Party here in ChCh – and will continue to do so – I want to underscore that: anything (well, mostly anything) will be better than this National government.
But – and it’s a big but, the last pamphlet I put in letterboxes said something like:
Fresh faces, Fresh ideas, Fresh policies – so memorable I can’t quite remember if that is exactly what it said, even though I delivered hundreds of them. Frankly, what the fuck does that mean?
Contrast that with the UK Labour slogan – For the Many, Not the Few! It screams class division, it shouts a better deal for the underclass – it says something important and relevant!
We’ve still got a ‘Blairite New Labour in this country – neoliberalism with a smiling face.
The rich have nothing to fear from a NZ Labour government – and I want them to!
I have had 2 in my letterbox. That was one, the other one was Fresh team Fresh ideas Fresh approach. Both leaflets had the message strong plan for New Zealand’s future
Pithily summed-up, OAB and that’s the nub, “talking about themselves”.
Once they start focusing on and talking about us, the voting public, things will change.
@Tony Veitch. If you understand Corbyn’s campaign it was not about class or division. In fact Labour got Kensington one of the richest electorates. It was about fairness and someone trying to make a difference against the odds.
I agree Labour’s messaging could be a lot better and is currently fairly meaningless but their actions are very hopeful from co operation with Greens and getting rid of many Labour Neoliberal MP’s, to being against the TPPA. The fact Little is being sued to try to ruin him shows the lengths being gone too.
People who think that divisive campaigning will work – rich against poor, young against boomers, working class against middle class or rich – it won’t. 65% ok Kiwis are home owners for a start and that put’s them into middle class or wealthy territory straight off.
Labour and Greens need to get the middle class to vote for them as well as the working class and non working or they will not win the election. Since there are so many job losses for example the ‘working’ class are shrinking and shrinking each year.
It does not help if those that benefit the most from a Labour/Green government are the ones denouncing them and telling people not to vote as there is nobody worth voting for. Those ‘lefties’ might as well be campaigning for the Natz – if that is their message – which of course gives them A LOT of MSM attention as it’s the leftie view reinforcing the right messaging to help get the Natz back in. I’m thinking of an interview with Sue Bradford where she said she did not bother voting last election. Yay, now we get the Natz in! Hope beneficiaries are happy with the last three years!
While Labour has been disappointing in the past, the alternative is another 3 years of Natz privatisation, running down of services, basket case of social services, destruction of democracy, destruction of environment, 1% Tory Maori getting control to collaborate with the Natz sell offs, mass surveillance, corruption and sign up of very dubious ‘trade’ agreements that will destroy NZ sovereignty. My guess Natz will have Nukes here, if they get another term, that is, if they have not already, by lying about it to the public. They lie about everything else and get away with it, it’s not stopping, it’s increasing.
Natz will be going for a Trump style anti regulation, removal of the welfare system. Unlike Trump who uses race and terrorism to get his shock through, our government just makes up stuff, changes statistics, gets rid of media that shows real news like Campbell Live, smears opponents and uses propaganda to keep Kiwis thinking all is well and you are alone if you think that something is not quite right.
@SaveNZ – totally agree – and I made the point quite emphatically that I will continue to work to get rid of the bloody Nats!
But I would like to see a genuine appeal by Labour to engage with the million who didn’t vote, by talking equality and fairness, by targeting the fat rich cats who have done so well out of neoliberalism – and I’m not talking about the paper millionaires who are sitting on rising house prices.
A real appeal to socialist principles of a redistribution of the wealth of this country so that everyone gets a fair share!
National are going to propose to run an even more Labour government than they already are.
They will pump-prime the economy with infrastructure spend.
They will continue to shift the lower-end tax brackets.
They will support all parts of NZSuper, Kiwisaver, ACC, EQC, etc.
They will continue New Zealand’s long-settled and consistent direction.
They will accuse the Opposition of division, and having no compelling reasons to change.
@AD – hope that was sarcasm… Natz…
They will pump-prime the economy with infrastructure spend using offshore labour and companies who plan to bring in low wage workers so the profits go offshore, the jobs are not for Kiwis and the imports take up housing, transport and so forth in the middle of major crisis.
They will continue to shift the lower-end tax brackets – Yep beneficiaries got little, low paid workers $1 per week? Wow that will get them out of poverty!
They will support all parts of NZSuper, Kiwisaver, ACC, EQC, – So ACC is more an investment company now, rather than paying out to injured people, EQC again not paying out insurance in a timely manner for many in CHCH, Kiwisaver worth less than before, Natz stopped the Cullen fund leaving super for many in jeopardy.
They will continue New Zealand’s long-settled and consistent direction – yep rising pollution, inequality, climate change denial and low productivity, housing, transport, health and crime crisis…
Hi Tony….
The front cover message reads: Fresh team. Fresh ideas. Fresh approach. Compared to UK Labour nothing like as good. It has a negative… “oh yeah but what kind of fresh? What ideas? What approach? If I were Labour, I would steal UK Labour’s brilliant slogan.
NOTE FOR LABOUR: YOU STAND FOR THE MANY AND NOT THE FEW.
It took us years to cull Labour’s advertising material from four A4 size pages down to one A4 size page. Even that wasn’t good enough. If we can get their slogan down to three words we will have achieved a miracle. 😯
Once again got to agree with you. Apart from catchy slogans, I would like to see Labour address this issue. One of the things that really annoys me is the lack of balance on our media which is beyond their control. It is controlled by the likes of Hoskings Gower and now Garner giving their biased opinions and never do we have an opposing opinion, and the right to answer. The Labour party wants to study what happened in Britain as one of the things I think and I could be wrong that brought out the younger generation to vote was the use of social media like Twitter. Corbyn was not going to get a fair go in the media and the younger generation twittering got him that support. The NZ Labour party has to use this type of medium more and any time there is an adverse comment broadcasted they answer not through the media, but through the likes of Twitter because apart from not getting much chance to answer, when they do, it is twisted around to suit the right wing agenda. Recently on the morning programme Garner and that prat Gower together with that other odious prat Mark whatever giving his tuppence worth was making a lot out of Littles statement on housing, not once did they suggest asking the Double Dipping Dickhead from Dipton why after 8 years we were so short of houses it was all about negative spin against Little. In these such cases, the Labour party must have a large counter argument on the likes of Twitter to reach a wider audience.
The media and their commentators after the UK election have lost all its credibility. And any opinions given should be ignored.
There was a good example of this on Q&A this morning which I turned off. They had some female don’t know her name don’t want to know, another “political” commentator “ who was on Garner’s morning programme the other day waxing lyrically how May was going to win by a large majority, and Corbyn this, and Corbyn that. She was so fucking wrong it wasn’t funny, AND YET THIS MORNING THEY STILL HAD HER ON Q&A FOR ANOTHER OPINION. Do we really want to hear her opinions when they are not credible and politically biased? I don’t and of course, they wheeled out and dusted off our Q&A mascot Frankfurter O sullivan. Hence the turn-off.
Labour to get your message out there and across to the younger generation and the not so young, you have got to use social media outlets more ignore the MSM AND the pollsters as they all have lost the little credibility they had after the UK election.
Presented in a rather negative way but pretty colourful just the same. Not everyone enjoys the bright lights. Some of us would be just as full after a packet of fish and chips as with an expensive 3 course dinner.
The MSM are sore losers. This morning on RNZ sports news there wasn’t one mention (in the sports news I heard) of the Lion’s win over the Crusaders. There was plenty on the Tennis Double’s win and the Team NZ win over Artemis but I waited in vain for the results of the Lions/Crusaders win – what a mean attitude to have – we do not have any maturity and mana when we are defeated in this country.
We don’t have Sky and hadn’t heard the result last night so was looking forward to hearing it – hubby found it for us – shame on RNZ.
It’s just “science” – no calling on the assistance of loa is involved. You’re right though that some of the world seems to be turning its back on science, not to mention rationalism in general. However, that’s not a good thing.
Tell that to Indian farmers. I am still sitting on the fence regarding GM. For me the science is far too young . And many studies are financed by GM corporations. No doubt it offers great benefits if proven safe, especially in medicine.
Y’know, on controversial topics it’s a good idea to check back in every now and then for updated info, rather than relying on a nine year old article as the last word.
For example, here’s just one article that’s checked those claims and found them lacking.
I read that and all I can think is that it’s possible to have done that with non-GMO crops.
As an example:
Crop biotechnology has reduced agriculture’s environmental impact
• Crop biotechnology has significantly reduced agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions by helping farmers adopt more sustainable practices such as reduced tillage, which decreases the burning of fossil fuels and retains more carbon in the soil. Had biotech crops not been grown in 2015, for example, an additional 26.7 billion kilograms of carbon dioxide would have been emitted into the atmosphere, which is the equivalent of adding 11.9 million cars to the roads.
• From 1996 to 2015, crop biotechnology reduced the spraying of crop protection products by 619 million kilograms, a global reduction of 8.1 per cent. This is equal to more than China’s total crop protection product use each year (3). As a result, farmers who grow biotech crops have reduced the environmental impact associated with their crop protection practices by 18.6 per cent (4).
The first certainly seems like a stretch. Simply cropping and then leaving the fields fallow would achieve the same ends.
The second needs to be compared with non-GMO crops that had no ‘crop protection products’ sprayed on them. The point is that farmers may be using these products because they believe that they need them rather than them actually needing them or simply using more than they have to because of a belief that they need to use more.
The actual link to the study is here. And I’d love to know what “desk research and analysis” is.
Sure, leaving fields fallow also reduces environmental impact. So, you could get the same environmental benefits from non-GMO crops simply by accepting much lower yields. Can you see how that approach might run into problems getting traction?
As for comparing with crops that had no “crop protection products” used on them, what crops would those be? Organic farmers also use pesticides, just not the same ones as non-organic.
So, you could get the same environmental benefits from non-GMO crops simply by accepting much lower yields.
Do they though?
An interesting point was made in an article I read a few years back (may even be linked on this site) that to get those higher yields that GMO producers say that they can get you needed far higher inputs. After all, higher level of growth doesn’t suddenly appear magically.
Can you see how that approach might run into problems getting traction?
Yes I can but considering the higher inputs needed and that those higher inputs are the result of fossil fuel use can you see that it may not be sustainable?
As I say, we need to live in reality but a lot of what we do is delusional as they don’t take into account the entire process and the full physical inputs needed.
As for comparing with crops that had no “crop protection products” used on them, what crops would those be?
The same ones that had “crop protection products” to, you know, compare results.
Organic farmers also use pesticides, just not the same ones as non-organic.
And do they get the same results?
Better results?
What?
We need an actual side by side comparison that takes into account the entire process including recycling.
Squashing a caterpillar between your thumb and forefinger is “applying a pesticide”. The argument goes on and on (and on and on and on). There must be (as is) an approach a person can take to counter/by-pass the problem that Key perfectly described when he said, “I can find another scientist who will counter your scientist…”or whatever it was he slurred out. He was correct. There’s no end to the parsing and countering and often it’s genuinely meant. A person must apply a different measure to all of these issues (GMO, organics, industrial dairying) in order to pick a path they can be sure of. Batting claims back and forward will not do it, imo. Look deeper, listen to the plinking of the waters, feel the ebb and flow in your deepest chambers, the aquifers of your self, to know what it is you believe.
Squashing a caterpillar between your thumb and forefinger is “applying a pesticide”.
And allowing the birds to munch to their hearts content is as well 😈
A person must apply a different measure to all of these issues (GMO, organics, industrial dairying) in order to pick a path they can be sure of.
I like the idea of being sustainable while providing what we need and allowing the environment to prosper evolve. If those were part of the study then we could at least have some confidence in it.
Look deeper, listen to the plinking of the waters, feel the ebb and flow in your deepest chambers, the aquifers of your self, to know what it is you believe.
Belief is what you have when don’t have the facts and we need the facts to make informed decisions.
Thanks, One Two. I believe we can learn to make decisions well and I think there’s a need to mix un-sciency stuff in there in order to give ourselves the best chance of recognising a good path to take when we stumble upon one.
Robert G
Gut instinct when it comes from the heart even – it isn’t enough to formulate a doable plan that is good for people and environment.
But leave heart feeling out, and we have a clear path to AI and the frozen heartland of laissez faire capitalism, which we have now creeping into our lives and numbing our feelings and brain.
But my suggestion is to adopt a style that can be labelled
pragmatic idealism. Each word modulates the other, but in unison they would take us into the future with hope for a decent society surviving. It has be worked at though, what I see is not encouraging and I appreciate much those still who work for practical good outcomes for people plus environment, those two entwined.
Hey, Grey. Good comment. Hearts and minds, eh! Good combo, imo. Did you see the article today about the screeds of plastic flotsam washed up on the beaches of Pitcairn Island? The “ocean is a dumping ground” effect has become too obvious to ignore and while we should be appalled by what’s resulted, I noted a couple of positive aspects; it was reported on. Much of what is happening never sees the light of the media spotlight, or even makes it into our conversations, but this was right there in front of breakfasting New Zealanders. And the island woman in the photograph looked totally p*ssed off. Fishing communities have for a long time now, accepted flotsam and jetsam as a necessary evil, contributing a fair bit of it themselves, but not now. I think the ubiquitousness of the harm we do, the interconnectivity between here and there, us and them, is becoming apparent in a way that it wasn’t till now. In summing up, I’m encouraged, though my brain says, “what on earth have we done?” my heart sings a little song of hope and the cadence is swelling 🙂
I would go with ‘gut’ and the humanistic traits, 9/10…
Gut instinct tells you that the world is flat, the sun moves across the sky and people who are different from you are not to be trusted. As a means of assessing reality, it’s shit. As for “humanistic traits,” a lot of them are definitely not pretty…
Gut? There are more trustworthy sites in the human body than the gut; I’m voting heart. The brain’s a great option-finder, but the heart’s the decision-maker 🙂
Not sure what you’re talking about, Draco but I’ve noticed you repeating comments regarding ‘common sense’..
I made no such reference, so what you’ve proved is that you couldn’t comprehend my comment…
While you’re searching for answers to questions you don’t understand, using methods which are unnecessary, I’m living life using my innate human traits, honed over many, many years. …
While you’re searching for answers to questions you don’t understand, using methods which are unnecessary, I’m living life using my innate human traits, honed over many, many years. …
And getting it badly wrong.
And, no, I didn’t misunderstand what you said. You seriously misunderstood what I said.
Keep repeating your links and mantras…isn’t likely to help, because what I’m referring to went right by you…and you’ve convinced yourself ‘science and tech stuff’ is the path to follow…
Good luck with that..and making decisions on a humanistic level
We each have our level, and are on diffrrent journey’s…
Well, yes. How could leaving your fields fallow not result in a lower yield than using crops that don’t require leaving your fields fallow? Not producing stuff tends to result in lower production than producing stuff does.
We need an actual side by side comparison that takes into account the entire process including recycling.
The question “what would be the least-unsustainable form of agriculture” is a bit broader than the scope of the post.
How could leaving your fields fallow not result in a lower yield than using crops that don’t require leaving your fields fallow?
They still leave the fields fallow – they just do other stuff to them as well like burn them.
The question “what would be the least-unsustainable form of agriculture” is a bit broader than the scope of the post.
No it’s not. In fact, I’d say that it was most definitely within the scope of the post because an unsustainable yield, by definition, cannot be sustained and so making plans on it is an exercise in futility.
Sustainable agriculture is yet to be developed. All the current arguments relating to environmental impacts of different approaches are about more vs less unsustainable – which is a bummer but doesn’t make the arguments an exercise in futility.
Sustainable agriculture has existed well,it is change that disrupted process (self organized criticality)
The Balinese rice fields could serve as an example that under certain conditions it is possible to reach sustainable situations that lead to maximum payoff for all parties, wherein every individual makes free and independent decisions
Sure, agriculture is “sustainable” on a timescale of centuries, even millennia. That’s as true of GMO cropping as it is of Balinese rice farmers. However, humans have been around for hundreds of thousands of years and no agriculture has yet been developed that’s sustainable on those kind of timescales. When it comes to GMOs, all we’re arguing is to what extent different methods reduce the problem of unsustainability.
I agree with Psycho Milt where he says;
“Sustainable agriculture is yet to be developed” and I’d go further and say that I believe it never will. Just because we are using the system doesn’t mean it fits with the “laws” of the natural world and is able to be sustained. Agriculture is not the answer to the question, “How should humans live”.
No explanation of who the four charities are. You have to choose one of the charities and then supply name, address, email address, and post code. Then you get sent a confirmation email. Once you confirm Morgan donates $3 to your charity of choice. You also get an email from TOP with TOP policy aimed at the charity you chose. No unsubscribe option in the email 😉
You can only vote once per email address. Fair enough, but $1million divided by 3 is 333,333. Chances of that many NZers voting on a charity? Will he still donate the full $1million?
Looks like a way to buy an email list. I will be interested to see how it goes and whether NZers will shy away from the whole buying support thing. The difference between political advertising and this is that political advertising at least has the potential to inform people of policies and positions.
I guess this way people get some bang for their taxpayer paid advertising buck. They get to donate to a good cause but have to view a video/email in return.
Morgan has the advantage of being able to bank roll the donations though which isn’t fair. But neither is National getting over $1 million and the largest share from the taxpayer for advertising.
They don’t have to view a video or email in return (or at least I didn’t). They just have to sign up and hand over their email address and postcode. It looks like email harvesting to me and a way to get people through their website. And sure, Morgan has a conscience so he’s good with donating to charity too (although I will be interested to see if he donates the full million). It’s his money, he can spend it however. But I do think it’s another example of his approach. He’s saying on the one hand that the election rules are biased against small parties with no money, then he uses his fortune to garner support for TOP.
So what. Does any political party turn down a donation because it comes from a high net worth individual? Morgan has made no secret of how he is spending his money right from the outset. It’s how our political system works.
Morgan’s strategy has been slammed by Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei as a “gratuitous and cynical way to buy votes”
Donating to well known charities is scarcely cynical or gratuitous. Besides it’s your email address TOP is obtaining … not your vote. Turei should be an experienced enough politician to tell the difference.
1. will the full million be donated? Because that’s the way it’s being promoted.
2. yes, they’re buying emails for $3 a pop. Sure, there is no problem with that, but it’s also up for criticism. That’s how our political system works.
Morgan’s done this sort of thing before. My first encounter with him was well over a decade ago when the Morgan Foundation teamed up with UNICEF to fund village water supply projects in various countries. Essentially he matched dollar for dollar contributions to UNICEF up to a cap of some millions. It worked really well and to this day my automatic payment to UNICEF continues to trickle away, long after Morgan’s cap was exceeded.
Obviously this arrangement is different, but donating to important charities is something Morgan really likes to do with his money. Based on his track record I would argue for his good faith motives in this respect. Whether the $1m cap is reached is entirely up to how many people respond.
Equally he’s pointing out that between them National/Labour/Greens are receiving something in the order of $7m of public funding to have their voices heard in this election. TOP as a newcomer was allocated just 0.5% of this, which is a risible fraction. So he’s come up with this innovative win-win solution that counters this massive imbalance to some degree.
Besides if you really don’t like it, don’t click. That’s how the internet works.
How do you defend yourself against Big Brother saying he’s defending somebody, he doesn’t know who or against what but will think of something, and he wants to know that you aren’t proposing something that will break a law that hasn’t yet been defined, or some protocol that guards against something yet to be decided,
and he/she wants to know what you are saying and, through scrambled, unhealthy synapses in Big Brothers brain, chooses to consider your thoughts to be against security or a law emerging out of Big Brother’s head like an Alien baby?
Simple, they were watching before 911 and it still happened. They were watching in Britain, and it still happened. It does not work, terrorism only ends when you address why it happens, not trying to watch and stop it from happening.
Military intelligence is just that – a military event, virtually useless when put into the civilian sphere.
It was the last Blairight strong hold left in the UK, it is no surprise they did this. None at all, I’d have been more shocked if these wolf had changed to sheep clothing.
Don’t know if you’ve caught any of the links I’ve put up over the past couple of days Adam, but yes, surprised at the sheer brass neck of running an anti-Scottish Government election campaign instead of a Westminster one.
Here’s the witless wonder laying out who she and her party are campaigning against 3 weeks out from election day.
Cool story, bro, but a bit of a shame, for you anyway, to find out the biggest leeching of votes to the conservatives in Scotland came from the SNP itself and not from Scottish Labour.
In fact, out of the seats the conservatives gained from the nationalists, only in three did Labour not increase it’s share of the vote, and even then, their negative percentage was lower than that lost from the SNP itself.
I guess a sound bite makes easier listening than the cold wind of change. Heh.
Gordon
C +29%
SNP -11.8
L +5.9
LD -21.1
Aberdeenshire West & Kincardine
C +19%
SNP -9.1
L +6.5
LD -12.8
Angus
C +16.2%
SNP -15.7
L +4.2
LD +0.5
Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk
C +17.9%
SNP -3.8
L +3.7
LD -14
Dumfries & Galloway
C +13.4%
SNP -9
L -3.8
LD +0.7
Ochil & South Perthshire *
C +20.8%
SNP -10.7
L -8.4
LD +0.7
Stirling *
C +13.9%
SNP -8.9
L -3.4
LD +0.7
Renfrewshire East *
C +18%
SNP -9.3
L -7.3
LD +0.2
Ayr, Carrick & Cumnock *
C +20.3%
SNP -14.7
L -3.4
LD +0.2
These are simply net percentage point changes – they tell us little about the actual swings happening beneath the surface
The final Scots Polling I’ve seen (YouGov, Survation) as well as the Election day Lord Ashcroft polling of the UK as a whole – all suggest the Tories benefited most from Labour defections, followed by swings from the SNP, with Lib Dem-to-Tory swings close behind
A far greater chunk of 2015 Lib Dems swung Tory in Scotland (41% LDs –
compared to 21% of 2015 Labour voters and just 7% of the 2015 SNP constituency – (YouGov) / 29%, 16%, 6% respectively (Survation)) but, of course, Lib Dems made up a much smaller % of the Scots electorate, so their contribution to the Tory surge wasn’t quite as decisive as first appears
Labour’s own surge came courtesy, first and foremost, of SNP defections (SNP voters were almost twice as likely to swing Labour than they were to swing Tory)
Which isn’t necessarily to deny the possibility that SNP-to-Tory swings were the key feature in some individual seats – but that appears not to have been the case across Scotland as a whole
Ad. If you want to read some half decent commentary and analysis, as opposed to just dropping asinine comments into a thread, then try this. (Plenty of links to back up arguments/observations).
Don’t disrespect my heritage because I’ve used the vernacular of the street, so to speak. When in Rome, etc. Bro. 😉
As for the numbers, you can deny them if you want, if that’s what you’re doing, but they’re real and not going to go away.
No talking head can trump cold hard numbers. just look at Banf. That’s cold.
Nobody’s denying that Kezia Dugdale ran against the Scottish Government and not the Westminster one.
Nobody’s denying that suited Ruth Davidson down to the ground (wedge politics).
Nobody’s denying the turnout was down all across Scotland.
Nobody’s denying that Scotland was the only place the Tories made over-all gains.
Nobody’s denying the SNP were going to lose seats no matter what.
Nobody’s denying Kezia Dugdale effectively handed the keys of number 10 to May with her witless bullshit. (Some besides yourself may be)
Some do deny it’s something in the water at SLab HQ that’s produced both “glue head” Kelly as a leader and and now *this* equally weird and hopeless case (both Blairites).
France is offering grants of up to 1.5 million Euro for climate scientists to move there.
To all responsible citizens:
On the 1st of June, President Donald Trump decided to withdraw the United States from the Paris agreement, which gathered more than 190 countries united against climate change.
This decision is unfortunate but it only reinforced our determination. Don’t let it weaken yours.
We are ONE planet and Together, we can make a difference.
France has always led fights for human rights. Today, more than ever, we are determined to lead (and win!) this battle on climate change.
Emmanuel Macron, President of France.
That is so damned cool. The 1.5m Euro is smart thinking, but the “Make our planet great again” meme is absolutely the perfect comeback … and more.
It goes right to the sense of global citizenship I’ve always argued for … and way more importantly … resonates very strongly with so many younger people.
Only a month ago UK Labour did badly in the local elections. The turn around started with the leaking of the manifesto. It had bold and old left policies that were very popular and showed neo liberalism was dead. We are not at that point in our election campaign yet. Let’s hope there is a courageous NZ LP manifesto in production.
While most of this site is having a global wet dream on labours loss in the Uk, labour gains where more about how bad may was not how good labour was. U.K. Electoral boundaries are about to be changed removing 30 labour electorates that no longer have population to support as electorates , Torys Learn fast, the next tory pm won’t be may nor will next Tory campaign beamateur hour, so enjoy your loss my lefty pumpkins while you can, yes you still loss to the most incompetent election campaign ever
[lprent: Since we are talking about incompetents, then please look at yourself in a mirror. You are currently the second biggest timewaster around for moderators.
Select ONE handle and ’email’ address and stick to it. Normally I tend to view people maintaining multiple commenting logins are probably trying to spoof the system here. Which I don’t like. In your case I suspect simple incompetence – which annoys me.
While moderators don’t mind occasionally fixing or releasing typos, you appear to do it every few messages. So to save moderator effort, I’ll give you a day or so to select a combination between handle and email. Then I will select that one as being your only combination. I will change the existing comments to that combo, and consign all emails to autospam.
If I see new ones coming through, then I will just permanently ban you for wasting moderator time. This is your warning and chance to show that as a tory – you can learn very fast. ]
For anyone ignorant of the history of climate science, it had already been understood since 1824 that something in the atmosphere was trapping heat making Earth warmer than it “should be”. It’s been understood since 1861 that CO2 is a big part of that something.
Watch this debate hit our shores very fast.
For all of you activist types with dodgy opinions, and have Facebook or Gmail or Apple accounts:
“Australia will seek cooperation from social media companies such as Apple Inc., Facebook Inc. and Google Inc. to decrypt communication between terrorist groups.
Attorney General George Brandis told Sky News on Sunday the government would consider changes to Australia’s laws to ensure telecommunications and technology firms help authorities decipher suspect messages.
“My concern is the existing laws don’t go far enough in imposing obligations of cooperation upon the corporates,” Brandis said.
I’m just slightly betting that the definition of terrorism gets to expand a wee bit.
Why employ the best fishermen with the best and biggest nets if you’re not going to fish, after all?
If you have good equipment and are paid to do something and find something well sooner rather than later someone will ask if you have been successful. If you haven’t then you’ll hear that you haven’t been trying hard enough, the equipment can’t be up to scratch etc.
There might be a career in inventing things for them to find.
(It should be known that I am a junior in the computing world, but I have learned how people think who sit tapping rather than get outside with those of humanity who do actual physical work. Sorry to lprent and others, but I think we will live to regret the lovely machines that 0 and 1 developed.)
Time for non-parliamentary politics – ie, socialism. Personally, I’ll take social democracy, but only by way of a very short term stepping stone.
Seriously (and I don’t care if a person calls themselves a Marxist or an anarchist, autonomous communist or whatever), it’s time to look through the arguments and thoughts of radicals/progressives/socialists from the late 19th and early 20th century, pick up the wheels they already invented, put a 21st Century body on the chassis, and get a move on.
It’s Sanders last few para’s that put socialism into a global context which truly inspire me. That’s where the wheels will get the 21st century traction you’re looking for.
Well, yeah. He essentially expressed the moral and intellectual core or imperatives of socialism without the using the word socialism 🙂
My sticking point with Sanders (and this applies to Corbyn too), is that he seems to view some some overhauled configuration of current nation state institutions as the way to achieve socialism. And it’s not the way – can’t be the way.
It’s an old argument I know, but early socialists split on that same notion of whether a parliament could deliver socialism. Well, the history is there to look at now.
Besides. Socialism is, and always was, about process not outcomes. So, y’know, my eyes roll when I hear people suggest that some government policy or other is “socialist”. That’s simply not possible.
People getting all enthusiastic about the supposed socialist underpinnings of (say) some government’s housing policy is ardent nonsense that merely indicates they’re willing to throw the terms “socialism” or “socialist” about, without having the faintest idea about what those things are.
‘Labour AHEAD of Tories by six points in stunning new poll as public say Theresa May should resign.
Jeremy Corbyn would be Prime Minister if an election was held tomorrow, according to the pollster which most accurately predicted Thursday’s election result.
A new poll by Survation puts Labour six points ahead of the Tories on 45% of the vote.
The Tories, meanwhile, polled 39% – almost four points below their result in the general election.
It is the first time since Theresa May took power that any poll has put Labour ahead of the Conservatives.’
This might be the longest delay between reading (or in this case re-reading) a work, and actually writing a review of it I have ever managed. Indeed, when I last read these books in December 2022, I was not planning on writing anything about them… but as A Phuulish Fellow ...
Kia Ora,I try to keep most my posts without a paywall for public interest journalism purposes. However, if you can afford to, please consider supporting me as a paid subscriber and/or supporting over at Ko-Fi. That will help me to continue, and to keep spending time on the work. Embarrassingly, ...
There was a time when Google was the best thing in my world. I was an early adopter of their AdWords program and boy did I like what it did for my business. It put rocket fuel in it, is what it did. For every dollar I spent, those ads ...
A while back I was engaged in an unpleasant exchange with a leader of the most well-known NZ anti-vax group and several like-minded trolls. I had responded to a racist meme on social media in which a rightwing podcaster in the US interviewed one of the leaders of the Proud ...
Hi,If you’ve been reading Webworm for a while, you’ll be familiar with Anna Wilding. Between 2020 and 2021 I looked at how the New Zealander had managed to weasel her way into countless news stories over the years, often with very little proof any of it had actually happened. When ...
It's a long white cloud for you, baby; staying together alwaysSummertime in AotearoaWhere the sunshine kisses the water, we will find it alwaysSummertime in AotearoaYeah, it′s SummertimeIt's SummertimeWriters: Codi Wehi Ngatai, Moresby Kainuku, Pipiwharauroa Campbell, Taulutoa Michael Schuster, Rebekah Jane Brady, Te Naawe Jordan Muturangi Tupe, Thomas Edward Scrase.Many of ...
Last year, 292 people died unnecessarily on our roads. That is the lowest result in over a decade and only the fourth time in the last 70 years we’ve seen fewer than 300 deaths in a calendar year. Yet, while it is 292 people too many, with each death being ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob HensonFlames from the Palisades Fire burn a building at Sunset Boulevard amid a powerful windstorm on January 8, 2025 in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The fast-moving wildfire had destroyed thousands of structures and ...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.The Regulatory Standards Bill, as I understand it, seeks to bind parliament to a specific range of law-making.For example, it seems to ensure primacy of individual rights over that of community, environment, te Tiriti ...
Happy New Year!I had a lovely break, thanks very much for asking: friends, family, sunshine, books, podcasts, refreshing swims, barbecues, bike rides. So good to step away from the firehose for a while, to have less Trump and Seymour in your day. Who needs the Luxons in their risible PJs ...
Patrick Reynolds is deputy chair of the Auckland City Centre Advisory Panel and a director of Greater Auckland In 2003, after much argument, including the election of a Mayor in 2001 who ran on stopping it, Britomart train station in downtown Auckland opened. A mere 1km twin track terminating branch ...
For the first time in a decade, a New Zealand Prime Minister is heading to the Middle East. The trip is more than just a courtesy call. New Zealand PMs frequently change planes in Dubai en route to destinations elsewhere. But Christopher Luxon’s visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 5, 2025 thru Sat, January 11, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
The decade between 1952 and the early 1960s was the peak period for the style of music we now call doo wop, after which it got dissolved into soul music, girl groups, and within pop music in general. Basically, doo wop was a form of small group harmonising with a ...
The future teaches you to be aloneThe present to be afraid and coldSo if I can shoot rabbits, then I can shoot fascists…And if you tolerate thisThen your children will be nextSongwriters: James Dean Bradfield / Sean Anthony Moore / Nicholas Allen Jones.Do you remember at school, studying the rise ...
When National won the New Zealand election in 2023, one of the first to congratulate Luxon was tech-billionaire and entrepreneur extraordinaire Elon Musk.And last year, after Luxon posted a video about a trip to Malaysia, Musk came forward again to heap praise on Christopher:So it was perhaps par for the ...
Hi,Today’s Webworm features a new short film from documentary maker Giorgio Angelini. It’s about Luigi Mangione — but it’s also, really, about everything in America right now.Bear with me.Shortly after I sent out my last missive from the fires on Wednesday, one broke out a little too close to home ...
So soon just after you've goneMy senses sharpenBut it always takes so damn longBefore I feel how much my eyes have darkenedFear hangs in a plane of gun smokeDrifting in our roomSo easy to disturb, with a thought, with a whisperWith a careless memorySongwriters: Andy Taylor / John Taylor / ...
Can we trust the Trump cabinet to act in the public interest?Nine of Trump’s closest advisers are billionaires. Their total net worth is in excess of $US375b (providing there is not a share-market crash). In contrast, the total net worth of Trump’s first Cabinet was about $6b. (Joe Biden’s Cabinet ...
Welcome back to our weekly roundup. We hope you had a good break (if you had one). Here’s a few of the stories that caught our attention over the last few weeks. This holiday period on Greater Auckland Since our last roundup we’ve: Taken a look back at ...
Sometimes I feel like I don't have a partnerSometimes I feel like my only friendIs the city I live in, The City of AngelsLonely as I am together we crySong: Anthony Kiedis, Chad Smith, Flea, John Frusciante.A home is engulfed in flames during the Eaton fire in the Altadena area. ...
Open access notablesLarge emissions of CO2 and CH4 due to active-layer warming in Arctic tundra, Torn et al., Nature Communications:Climate warming may accelerate decomposition of Arctic soil carbon, but few controlled experiments have manipulated the entire active layer. To determine surface-atmosphere fluxes of carbon dioxide and ...
It's election year for Wellington City Council and for the Regional Council. What have the progressive councillors achieved over the last couple of years. What were the blocks and failures? What's with the targeting of the mayor and city council by the Post and by central government? Why does the ...
Over the holidays, there was a rising tide of calls for people to submit on National's repulsive, white supremacist Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill, along with a wave of advice and examples of what to say. And it looks like people rose to the occasion, with over 300,000 ...
The lie is my expenseThe scope of my desireThe Party blessed me with its futureAnd I protect it with fireI am the Nina The Pinta The Santa MariaThe noose and the rapistAnd the fields overseerThe agents of orangeThe priests of HiroshimaThe cost of my desire…Sleep now in the fireSongwriters: Brad ...
This is a re-post from the Climate BrinkGlobal surface temperatures have risen around 1.3C since the preindustrial (1850-1900) period as a result of human activity.1 However, this aggregate number masks a lot of underlying factors that contribute to global surface temperature changes over time.These include CO2, which is the primary ...
There are times when movement around us seems to slow down. And the faster things get, the slower it all appears.And so it is with the whirlwind of early year political activity.They are harbingers for what is to come:Video: Wayne Wright Jnr, funder of Sean Plunket, talk growing power and ...
Hi,Right now the power is out, so I’m just relying on the laptop battery and tethering to my phone’s 5G which is dropping in and out. We’ll see how we go.First up — I’m fine. I can’t see any flames out the window. I live in the greater Hollywood area ...
2024 was a tough year for working Kiwis. But together we’ve been able to fight back for a just and fair New Zealand and in 2025 we need to keep standing up for what’s right and having our voices heard. That starts with our Mood of the Workforce Survey. It’s your ...
Time is never time at allYou can never ever leaveWithout leaving a piece of youthAnd our lives are forever changedWe will never be the sameThe more you change, the less you feelSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan.Babinden - Baba’s DayToday, January 8th, 2025, is Babinden, “The Day of the baba” or “The ...
..I/We wish to make the following comments:I oppose the Treaty Principles Bill."5. Act binds the CrownThis Act binds the Crown."How does this Act "bind the Crown" when Te Tiriti o Waitangi, which the Act refers to, has been violated by the Crown on numerous occassions, resulting in massive loss of ...
Everything is good and brownI'm here againWith a sunshine smile upon my faceMy friends are close at handAnd all my inhibitions have disappeared without a traceI'm glad, oh, that I found oohSomebody who I can rely onSongwriter: Jay KayGood morning, all you lovely people. Today, I’ve got nothing except a ...
Welcome to 2025. After wrapping up 2024, here’s a look at some of the things we can expect to see this year along with a few predictions. Council and Elections Elections One of the biggest things this year will be local body elections in October. Will Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Canadians can take a while to get angry – but when they finally do, watch out. Canada has been falling out of love with Justin Trudeau for years, and his exit has to be the least surprising news event of the New Year. On recent polling, Trudeau’s Liberal party has ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Much like 2023, many climate and energy records were broken in 2024. It was Earth’s hottest year on record by a wide margin, breaking the previous record that was set just last year by an even larger margin. Human-caused climate-warming pollution and ...
Submissions on National's racist, white supremacist Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill are due tomorrow! So today, after a good long holiday from all that bullshit, I finally got my shit together to submit on it. As I noted here, people should write their own submissions in their own ...
Ooh, baby (ooh, baby)It's making me crazy (it's making me crazy)Every time I look around (look around)Every time I look around (every time I look around)Every time I look aroundIt's in my faceSongwriters: Alan Leo Jansson / Paul Lawrence L. Fuemana.Today, I’ll be talking about rich, middle-aged men who’ve made ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 29, 2024 thru Sat, January 4, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Hi,The thing that stood out at me while shopping for Christmas presents in New Zealand was how hard it was to avoid Zuru products. Toy manufacturer Zuru is a bit like Netflix, in that it has so much data on what people want they can flood the market with so ...
And when a child is born into this worldIt has no conceptOf the tone of skin it's living inAnd there's a million voicesAnd there's a million voicesTo tell you what you should be thinkingSong by Neneh Cherry and Youssou N'Dour.The moment you see that face, you can hear her voice; ...
While we may not always have quality political leadership, a couple of recently published autobiographies indicate sometimes we strike it lucky. When ranking our prime ministers, retired professor of history Erik Olssen commented that ‘neither Holland nor Nash was especially effective as prime minister – even his private secretary thought ...
Baby, be the class clownI'll be the beauty queen in tearsIt's a new art form, showin' people how little we care (yeah)We're so happy, even when we're smilin' out of fearLet's go down to the tennis court and talk it up like, yeah (yeah)Songwriters: Joel Little / Ella Yelich O ...
Open access notables Why Misinformation Must Not Be Ignored, Ecker et al., American Psychologist:Recent academic debate has seen the emergence of the claim that misinformation is not a significant societal problem. We argue that the arguments used to support this minimizing position are flawed, particularly if interpreted (e.g., by policymakers or the public) as suggesting ...
What I’ve Been Doing: I buried a close family member.What I’ve Been Watching: Andor, Jack Reacher, Xmas movies.What I’ve Been Reflecting On: The Usefulness of Writing and the Worthiness of Doing So — especially as things become more transparent on their own.I also hate competing on any day, and if ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by John Wihbey. A version of this article first appeared on Yale Climate Connections on Nov. 11, 2008. (Image credits: The White House, Jonathan Cutrer / CC BY 2.0; President Jimmy Carter, Trikosko/Library of Congress; Solar dedication, Bill Fitz-Patrick / Jimmy Carter Library; Solar ...
Morena folks,We’re having a good break, recharging the batteries. Hope you’re enjoying the holiday period. I’m not feeling terribly inspired by much at the moment, I’m afraid—not from a writing point of view, anyway.So, today, we’re travelling back in time. You’ll have to imagine the wavy lines and sci-fi sound ...
Completed reads for 2024: Oration on the Dignity of Man, by Giovanni Pico della Mirandola A Platonic Discourse Upon Love, by Giovanni Pico della Mirandola Of Being and Unity, by Giovanni Pico della Mirandola The Life of Pico della Mirandola, by Giovanni Francesco Pico Three Letters Written by Pico ...
Welcome to 2025, Aotearoa. Well… what can one really say? 2024 was a story of a bad beginning, an infernal middle and an indescribably farcical end. But to chart a course for a real future, it does pay to know where we’ve been… so we know where we need ...
Welcome to the official half-way point of the 2020s. Anyway, as per my New Years tradition, here’s where A Phuulish Fellow’s blog traffic came from in 2024: United States United Kingdom New Zealand Canada Sweden Australia Germany Spain Brazil Finland The top four are the same as 2023, ...
Completed reads for December: Be A Wolf!, by Brian Strickland The Magic Flute [libretto], by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Emanuel Schikaneder The Invisible Eye, by Erckmann-Chatrian The Owl’s Ear, by Erckmann-Chatrian The Waters of Death, by Erckmann-Chatrian The Spider, by Hanns Heinz Ewers Who Knows?, by Guy de Maupassant ...
Well, it’s the last day of the year, so it’s time for a quick wrap-up of the most important things that happened in 2024 for urbanism and transport in our city. A huge thank you to everyone who has visited the blog and supported us in our mission to make ...
Leave your office, run past your funeralLeave your home, car, leave your pulpitJoin us in the streets where weJoin us in the streets where weDon't belong, don't belongHere under the starsThrowing light…Song: Jeffery BuckleyToday, I’ll discuss the standout politicians of the last 12 months. Each party will receive three awards, ...
Hi,A lot’s happened this year in the world of Webworm, and as 2024 comes to an end I thought I’d look back at a few of the things that popped. Maybe you missed them, or you might want to revisit some of these essay and podcast episodes over your break ...
Hi,I wanted to share this piece by film editor Dan Kircher about what cinema has been up to in 2024.Dan edited my documentary Mister Organ, as well as this year’s excellent crowd-pleasing Bookworm.Dan adores movies. He gets the language of cinema, he knows what he loves, and writes accordingly. And ...
Without delving into personal details but in order to give readers a sense of the year that was, I thought I would offer the study in contrasts that are Xmas 2023 and Xmas 2024: Xmas 2023 in Starship Children’s Hospital (after third of four surgeries). Even opening presents was an ...
Heavy disclaimer: Alpha/beta/omega dynamics is a popular trope that’s used in a wide range of stories and my thoughts on it do not apply to all cases. I’m most familiar with it through the lens of male-focused fanfic, typically m/m but sometimes also featuring m/f and that’s the situation I’m ...
Hi,Webworm has been pretty heavy this year — mainly because the world is pretty heavy. But as we sprint (or limp, you choose) through the final days of 2024, I wanted to keep Webworm a little lighter.So today I wanted to look at one of the biggest and weirdest elements ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 22, 2024 thru Sat, December 28, 2024. This week's roundup is the second one published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, ...
We’ll have a climate change ChristmasFrom now until foreverWarming our hearts and mindsAnd planet all togetherSpirits high and oceans higherChestnuts roast on wildfiresIf coal is on your wishlistMerry Climate Change ChristmasSong by Ian McConnellReindeer emissions are not something I’d thought about in terms of climate change. I guess some significant ...
KP continues to putt-putt along as a tiny niche blog that offers a NZ perspective on international affairs with a few observations about NZ domestic politics thrown in. In 2024 there was also some personal posts given that my son was in the last four months of a nine month ...
I can see very wellThere's a boat on the reef with a broken backAnd I can see it very wellThere's a joke and I know it very wellIt's one of those that I told you long agoTake my word I'm a madman, don't you knowSongwriters: Bernie Taupin / Elton JohnIt ...
.Acknowledgement: Tim PrebbleThanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work..With each passing day of bad headlines, squandering tax revenue to enrich the rich, deep cuts to our social services and a government struggling to keep the lipstick on its neo-liberal pig ...
This is from the 36th Parallel social media account (as brief food for thought). We know that Trump is ahistorical at best but he seems to think that he is Teddy Roosevelt and can use the threat of invoking the Monroe Doctrine and “Big Stick” gunboat diplomacy against Panama and ...
Don't you cry tonightI still love you, babyAnd don't you cry tonightDon't you cry tonightThere's a heaven above you, babyAnd don't you cry tonightSong: Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin“Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so”, said possibly the greatest philosopher ever to walk this earth, Douglas Adams.We have entered the ...
Because you're magicYou're magic people to meSong: Dave Para/Molly Para.Morena all, I hope you had a good day yesterday, however you spent it. Today, a few words about our celebration and a look at the various messages from our politicians.A Rockel XmasChristmas morning was spent with the five of us ...
The Green Party welcomes the extension of the deadline for Treaty Principles Bill submissions but continues to call on the Government to abandon the Bill. ...
Complaints about disruptive behaviour now handled in around 13 days (down from around 60 days a year ago) 553 Section 55A notices issued by Kāinga Ora since July 2024, up from 41 issued during the same period in the previous year. Of that 553, first notices made up around 83 ...
The time it takes to process building determinations has improved significantly over the last year which means fewer delays in homes being built, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “New Zealand has a persistent shortage of houses. Making it easier and quicker for new homes to be built will ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden is pleased to announce the annual list of New Zealand’s most popular baby names for 2024. “For the second consecutive year, Noah has claimed the top spot for boys with 250 babies sharing the name, while Isla has returned to the most popular ...
Work is set to get underway on a new bus station at Westgate this week. A contract has been awarded to HEB Construction to start a package of enabling works to get the site ready in advance of main construction beginning in mid-2025, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“A new Westgate ...
Minister for Children and for Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour is encouraging people to use the resources available to them to get help, and to report instances of family and sexual violence amongst their friends, families, and loved ones who are in need. “The death of a ...
Uia te pō, rangahaua te pō, whakamāramatia mai he aha tō tango, he aha tō kāwhaki? Whitirere ki te ao, tirotiro kau au, kei hea taku rātā whakamarumaru i te au o te pakanga mo te mana motuhake? Au te pō, ngū te pō, ue hā! E te kahurangi māreikura, ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says people with diabetes and other painful conditions will benefit from a significant new qualification to boost training in foot care. “It sounds simple, but quality and regular foot and nail care is vital in preventing potentially serious complications from diabetes, like blisters or sores, which can take a long time to heal ...
Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Pharmac David Seymour is pleased to see Pharmac continue to increase availability of medicines for Kiwis with the government’s largest ever investment in Pharmac. “Pharmac operates independently, but it must work within the budget constraints set by the government,” says Mr Seymour. “When this government assumed ...
Mā mua ka kite a muri, mā muri ka ora e mua - Those who lead give sight to those who follow, those who follow give life to those who lead. Māori recipients in the New Year 2025 Honours list show comprehensive dedication to improving communities across the motu that ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden is wishing all New Zealanders a great holiday season as Kiwis prepare for gatherings with friends and families to see in the New Year. It is a great time of year to remind everyone to stay fire safe over the summer. “I know ...
From 1 January 2025, first-time tertiary learners will have access to a new Fees Free entitlement of up to $12,000 for their final year of provider-based study or final two years of work-based learning, Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Targeting funding to the final year of study ...
“As we head into one of the busiest times of the year for Police, and family violence and sexual violence response services, it’s a good time to remind everyone what to do if they experience violence or are worried about others,” Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence ...
A parent shares their experience and fears as public submissions are sought on the use of puberty blockers for gender-affirming care. Both the author and daughter’s names have been changed to protect their privacy.When my daughter Marie was born, everyone, including me, thought she was a boy. She started ...
Thrice thwarted previously, the Act Party’s Regulatory Standards Bill is set to pass in 2025, ushering in a new – and potentially controversial – era for government rule-making. Here’s everything you need to know. Before public submissions for the Treaty principles bill came to a close on Tuesday, a separate ...
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Summer reissue: Adopted in 1834 the first national flag of New Zealand (Te Kara o Te Whakaminenga o Ngā Hapū o Nu Tīreni) symbolises more than just necessity – it represents Māori autonomy and a legacy of self-determination that continues today.The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying ...
Summer reissue: Shortsightedness in kids is skyrocketing overseas. Is New Zealand next? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today.“Hey bro, are you blind now?” ...
While mediator Qatar says a Gaza ceasefire deal is at the closest point it has been in the past few months — adding that many of the obstacles in the negotiations have been ironed out — a special report for Drop Site News reveals the escalation in attacks on Palestinians ...
In our latest in-depth podcast investigation, Fractured, Melanie Reid and her team delve deep into a complex case involving a controversial medical diagnosis and its fallout on a young family. While Fractured is a forensic examination of this case here in New Zealand, the diagnosis that started it all is ...
While last year was termed the ‘year of elections’, 2025 will see some highly significant elections set to take place throughout the world that could have significant impacts on countries, their regions, and the wider global picture.AfricaThe presidential elections in Cameroon this October see the world’s oldest head of state ...
ANALYSIS:By Ali Mirin Indonesia officially joined the BRICS — Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa — consortium last week marking a significant milestone in its foreign relations. In a statement released a day later on January 7, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that this membership reflected Indonesia’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Senior Lecturer of Urban Risk & Resilience, UNSW Sydney Imagine a gathering so large it dwarfs any concert, festival, or sporting event you’ve ever seen. In the Kumbh Mela, a religious festival held in India, millions of Hindu pilgrims come ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra Motortion Films/Shutterstock You may have seen stories the Australian dollar has “plummeted”. Sounds bad. But what does it mean and should you be worried? The most-commonly quoted ...
Summer reissue: Lange and Muldoon clash, two days after the election. Our live updates editor is on the case. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gina Perry, Science historian with a specific interest in the history of social psychology., The University of Melbourne ‘Guards’ with a blindfolded ‘prisoner’.PrisonExp.org A new translation of a 2018 book by French science historian Thibault Le Texier challenges the claims of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Jordan, Professor of Epidemiology, The University of Queensland Peakstock/Shutterstock Many women worry hormonal contraceptives have dangerous side-effects including increased cancer risk. But this perception is often out of proportion with the actual risks. So, what does the research actually say ...
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Good morning all. If you have burning questions about keeping your garden soil warm over winter, I’m talking about how that’s done with Tony Murrell on RadioLive at 7:20 am. Given that no one’s commented here at TS yet, I’m guessing most of you will sleep through our garden chat 🙂
I missed it, I was listening to the bug man on the other channel 🙂 Found the link though if people missed it.
http://www.radiolive.co.nz/home/audio/2017/06/soil-insulation-for-winter-ahead–other-than-composting.html
OMG the Auditor General is going to investigate the whole of access to drinking water, how irrigators are regulated, drinking water access and climate change, and drinking water access and changing demographics.
Doubt something this big will be reported to Parliament before the election.
But the report i guarantee will lead to major regional council reform, including a pricing regime that’s consistent. It’ll go a long way to forcing central govt conversation about dams and resource rental as well I bet.
Forecasting future demand for drinking water – or any resource – is a pretty fundamental part of the AG’s role.
If they weren’t monitoring it (see their 2010 report for example) they wouldn’t be doing their job.
Not sure it’s wise to make guarantees of future change, but 🙂
Agreed, but the R N Z report outlined a much broader brief.
The 2011 report specifically focused on the performance of 4 regional councils around their management of point source pollution of waterways.
Link?
Lancelot.
http://www.oag.govt.nz/2011/freshwater
Thanks Robert: I meant the RNZ article Ad referred to 🙂
Which Auditor General will that be? Has there been a break in the Musical Seats circling yet?
I think it is the one who ignores staff who raise issues of serious fraud, then does nothing when said whistleblowers are made obsolete..
that sort of auditor General.
This man, Peter Newport, says it far better:
https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/22-05-2017/is-fraudster-joanne-harrisons-old-boss-really-fit-to-lead-nzs-top-public-watchdog/
Thanks gsays
But WTF, how can the public have confidence in the government and the public service which is supposed to be stalwart NZs that help pollies keep honest? We need to look at this closely, as the article says, if it can happen with little shock and fanfare, should we be despairing of our wonderful honesty that the loose tongued have been raving on about to Transparency International!
Harrison was a known fraudster whom the Australian police were actively talking to the NZ police about in 2011. She had multiple names. She paid herself over $700,000 on invoices that a trainee accountant would recognise as fraudulent, and which were not supported by either proper contracts or purchase orders. Multiple senior staff warned Matthews about the fraud from 2013 and he did nothing until 2016. Some of those senior staff then lost their jobs, within two months….
Today two former ministry employees have told RNZ News of the “incredible day” their jobs were axed. The whistle-blowers say they alerted senior managers to the fake invoices and dubious travel Harrison was involved with but then were targeted in restructuring she helped lead. They had found, among other things, that Harrison travelled to London to a conference that was cancelled long before she left.
Where was human resources? The Public Service Association? The police? The SFO? The auditor general? The chief executive?
This all happened in a modern New Zealand government ministry. In the full light of day.
Clearly, it’s not Harrison’s fault that the Ministry of Transport did not check her background. It’s not her fault that the NZ police somehow did not do anything effective after being contacted by the Australian police in 2011. It’s not Harrison’s fault that the Ministry pays invoices that are not supported by contracts or purchase orders, it’s not her fault that she can get rid of whistle-blowers by just having them moved or sacked. It’s not her fault she can just fix jobs for her family or fly around the world on a taxpayer ticket. It’s not her fault that the chief executive, and his successor, have consistently refused to properly investigate either what she got away with or the further systemic failings behind the scenes.
In fact if you think about all the middle and senior managers in Wellington and beyond who somehow have the confidence of their chief executive and who might be bullying or conniving their way up the slippery pole – it gets a bit scary.
It’s hard not to talk about workers’ rights without sounding like a socialist but just look at what Harrison did. It’s disgusting. Where does the buck stop and who gets the whistle-blowers their jobs back?
Should Martin Matthews be our auditor general? His mission according to the government website is “Independent Reporting on how your taxes and rates are spent.”
i know i shouldn’t but…
this is in the same basket as mataparae being moved on quickly from head of gcsb to gg. making room for … a close friend of the prime minister.
I have been working for the Labour Party here in ChCh – and will continue to do so – I want to underscore that: anything (well, mostly anything) will be better than this National government.
But – and it’s a big but, the last pamphlet I put in letterboxes said something like:
Fresh faces, Fresh ideas, Fresh policies – so memorable I can’t quite remember if that is exactly what it said, even though I delivered hundreds of them. Frankly, what the fuck does that mean?
Contrast that with the UK Labour slogan – For the Many, Not the Few! It screams class division, it shouts a better deal for the underclass – it says something important and relevant!
We’ve still got a ‘Blairite New Labour in this country – neoliberalism with a smiling face.
The rich have nothing to fear from a NZ Labour government – and I want them to!
It’s a pretty slack leaflet, eh. Labour talking about themselves.
Maybe they have a housing one planned: “New builders, new concepts, new architects”.
Or a homelessness pamphlet saying. “New benches, new blankets, new sprinklers”.
It’s important that they connect with the things that affect their constituents, after all 😈
I thought it was “better housing, better health, better education”
Or something.
I have had 2 in my letterbox. That was one, the other one was Fresh team Fresh ideas Fresh approach. Both leaflets had the message strong plan for New Zealand’s future
“Labour talking about themselves.”
Pithily summed-up, OAB and that’s the nub, “talking about themselves”.
Once they start focusing on and talking about us, the voting public, things will change.
Yeah, we already had one “New Labour” and look how that turned out.
@Tony Veitch. If you understand Corbyn’s campaign it was not about class or division. In fact Labour got Kensington one of the richest electorates. It was about fairness and someone trying to make a difference against the odds.
I agree Labour’s messaging could be a lot better and is currently fairly meaningless but their actions are very hopeful from co operation with Greens and getting rid of many Labour Neoliberal MP’s, to being against the TPPA. The fact Little is being sued to try to ruin him shows the lengths being gone too.
People who think that divisive campaigning will work – rich against poor, young against boomers, working class against middle class or rich – it won’t. 65% ok Kiwis are home owners for a start and that put’s them into middle class or wealthy territory straight off.
Labour and Greens need to get the middle class to vote for them as well as the working class and non working or they will not win the election. Since there are so many job losses for example the ‘working’ class are shrinking and shrinking each year.
It does not help if those that benefit the most from a Labour/Green government are the ones denouncing them and telling people not to vote as there is nobody worth voting for. Those ‘lefties’ might as well be campaigning for the Natz – if that is their message – which of course gives them A LOT of MSM attention as it’s the leftie view reinforcing the right messaging to help get the Natz back in. I’m thinking of an interview with Sue Bradford where she said she did not bother voting last election. Yay, now we get the Natz in! Hope beneficiaries are happy with the last three years!
While Labour has been disappointing in the past, the alternative is another 3 years of Natz privatisation, running down of services, basket case of social services, destruction of democracy, destruction of environment, 1% Tory Maori getting control to collaborate with the Natz sell offs, mass surveillance, corruption and sign up of very dubious ‘trade’ agreements that will destroy NZ sovereignty. My guess Natz will have Nukes here, if they get another term, that is, if they have not already, by lying about it to the public. They lie about everything else and get away with it, it’s not stopping, it’s increasing.
Natz will be going for a Trump style anti regulation, removal of the welfare system. Unlike Trump who uses race and terrorism to get his shock through, our government just makes up stuff, changes statistics, gets rid of media that shows real news like Campbell Live, smears opponents and uses propaganda to keep Kiwis thinking all is well and you are alone if you think that something is not quite right.
Here’s an interesting article. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jun/10/naomi-klein-now-fight-back-against-politics-fear-shock-doctrine-trump
@SaveNZ – totally agree – and I made the point quite emphatically that I will continue to work to get rid of the bloody Nats!
But I would like to see a genuine appeal by Labour to engage with the million who didn’t vote, by talking equality and fairness, by targeting the fat rich cats who have done so well out of neoliberalism – and I’m not talking about the paper millionaires who are sitting on rising house prices.
A real appeal to socialist principles of a redistribution of the wealth of this country so that everyone gets a fair share!
National will do nothing of the kind.
National are going to propose to run an even more Labour government than they already are.
They will pump-prime the economy with infrastructure spend.
They will continue to shift the lower-end tax brackets.
They will support all parts of NZSuper, Kiwisaver, ACC, EQC, etc.
They will continue New Zealand’s long-settled and consistent direction.
They will accuse the Opposition of division, and having no compelling reasons to change.
@AD – hope that was sarcasm… Natz…
They will pump-prime the economy with infrastructure spend using offshore labour and companies who plan to bring in low wage workers so the profits go offshore, the jobs are not for Kiwis and the imports take up housing, transport and so forth in the middle of major crisis.
They will continue to shift the lower-end tax brackets – Yep beneficiaries got little, low paid workers $1 per week? Wow that will get them out of poverty!
They will support all parts of NZSuper, Kiwisaver, ACC, EQC, – So ACC is more an investment company now, rather than paying out to injured people, EQC again not paying out insurance in a timely manner for many in CHCH, Kiwisaver worth less than before, Natz stopped the Cullen fund leaving super for many in jeopardy.
They will continue New Zealand’s long-settled and consistent direction – yep rising pollution, inequality, climate change denial and low productivity, housing, transport, health and crime crisis…
Hi Tony….
The front cover message reads: Fresh team. Fresh ideas. Fresh approach. Compared to UK Labour nothing like as good. It has a negative… “oh yeah but what kind of fresh? What ideas? What approach? If I were Labour, I would steal UK Labour’s brilliant slogan.
NOTE FOR LABOUR: YOU STAND FOR THE MANY AND NOT THE FEW.
true but that’s still a strong slogan indicating a break with Labour of the recent past and an intention to do things differently.
Thanks Anne – at least I got the ‘Fresh’ part right. But you are correct – Fresh – compared to what?
You realise that slogan was used by Goff in the 2011 election? And before that by Tony Blair?
which slogan? (there’s two in Anne’s comment).
“Standing for the many, not the few” was used by BLP when it was led by Tony Blair and by Phil Goff in the 2011 election.
I don’t think it was the slogan that made people vote for Corbyn and Labour.
Labour – Just Better
Would probably work far better than the overly complicated stuff that they seem to come out with.
Only Just Better.
All improvements gratefully received.
[Im not sure why but all your comments go into moderation GWS. We clear them as quickly as we can … MS]
Agree with DTB.
It took us years to cull Labour’s advertising material from four A4 size pages down to one A4 size page. Even that wasn’t good enough. If we can get their slogan down to three words we will have achieved a miracle. 😯
Better housing better health better education is no good? But it targets what Labour is focusing on for this election.
Answer to Tony @ 7.42 am
Once again got to agree with you. Apart from catchy slogans, I would like to see Labour address this issue. One of the things that really annoys me is the lack of balance on our media which is beyond their control. It is controlled by the likes of Hoskings Gower and now Garner giving their biased opinions and never do we have an opposing opinion, and the right to answer. The Labour party wants to study what happened in Britain as one of the things I think and I could be wrong that brought out the younger generation to vote was the use of social media like Twitter. Corbyn was not going to get a fair go in the media and the younger generation twittering got him that support. The NZ Labour party has to use this type of medium more and any time there is an adverse comment broadcasted they answer not through the media, but through the likes of Twitter because apart from not getting much chance to answer, when they do, it is twisted around to suit the right wing agenda. Recently on the morning programme Garner and that prat Gower together with that other odious prat Mark whatever giving his tuppence worth was making a lot out of Littles statement on housing, not once did they suggest asking the Double Dipping Dickhead from Dipton why after 8 years we were so short of houses it was all about negative spin against Little. In these such cases, the Labour party must have a large counter argument on the likes of Twitter to reach a wider audience.
The media and their commentators after the UK election have lost all its credibility. And any opinions given should be ignored.
There was a good example of this on Q&A this morning which I turned off. They had some female don’t know her name don’t want to know, another “political” commentator “ who was on Garner’s morning programme the other day waxing lyrically how May was going to win by a large majority, and Corbyn this, and Corbyn that. She was so fucking wrong it wasn’t funny, AND YET THIS MORNING THEY STILL HAD HER ON Q&A FOR ANOTHER OPINION. Do we really want to hear her opinions when they are not credible and politically biased? I don’t and of course, they wheeled out and dusted off our Q&A mascot Frankfurter O sullivan. Hence the turn-off.
Labour to get your message out there and across to the younger generation and the not so young, you have got to use social media outlets more ignore the MSM AND the pollsters as they all have lost the little credibility they had after the UK election.
Corbyn’s secrets…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3199550/Take-No-Jeremy-liked-night-eating-cold-beans-cat-called-Harold-Wilson-Corbyn-s-wife-reveals.html
Presented in a rather negative way but pretty colourful just the same. Not everyone enjoys the bright lights. Some of us would be just as full after a packet of fish and chips as with an expensive 3 course dinner.
The MSM are sore losers. This morning on RNZ sports news there wasn’t one mention (in the sports news I heard) of the Lion’s win over the Crusaders. There was plenty on the Tennis Double’s win and the Team NZ win over Artemis but I waited in vain for the results of the Lions/Crusaders win – what a mean attitude to have – we do not have any maturity and mana when we are defeated in this country.
We don’t have Sky and hadn’t heard the result last night so was looking forward to hearing it – hubby found it for us – shame on RNZ.
I suspected the claims GM hadn’t increased crop yields were bullshit – turns out they were: 20-year GMO report card: Biotech shrinks ag’s ecological impact, increased farm income $167 billion.
Confirmation bias!
‘Genetic Literacy Project: Science not ideology’…
Not that you can help the genes interhited..can you?
The world is turning its back on ‘voodoo science’, and will continue to do so..
It’s just “science” – no calling on the assistance of loa is involved. You’re right though that some of the world seems to be turning its back on science, not to mention rationalism in general. However, that’s not a good thing.
Tell that to Indian farmers. I am still sitting on the fence regarding GM. For me the science is far too young . And many studies are financed by GM corporations. No doubt it offers great benefits if proven safe, especially in medicine.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1082559/The-GM-genocide-Thousands-Indian-farmers-committing-suicide-using-genetically-modified-crops.html
In the mean time, I will continue with my link to Erzulie.
Y’know, on controversial topics it’s a good idea to check back in every now and then for updated info, rather than relying on a nine year old article as the last word.
For example, here’s just one article that’s checked those claims and found them lacking.
http://www.acsh.org/news/2017/01/07/vandana-shivas-myth-busted-monsanto-didnt-cause-farmer-suicides-india-10696
You are right. I was more interested in the crop failures, not the toppings. I will use a better article.
I read that and all I can think is that it’s possible to have done that with non-GMO crops.
As an example:
The first certainly seems like a stretch. Simply cropping and then leaving the fields fallow would achieve the same ends.
The second needs to be compared with non-GMO crops that had no ‘crop protection products’ sprayed on them. The point is that farmers may be using these products because they believe that they need them rather than them actually needing them or simply using more than they have to because of a belief that they need to use more.
The actual link to the study is here. And I’d love to know what “desk research and analysis” is.
Sure, leaving fields fallow also reduces environmental impact. So, you could get the same environmental benefits from non-GMO crops simply by accepting much lower yields. Can you see how that approach might run into problems getting traction?
As for comparing with crops that had no “crop protection products” used on them, what crops would those be? Organic farmers also use pesticides, just not the same ones as non-organic.
Do they though?
An interesting point was made in an article I read a few years back (may even be linked on this site) that to get those higher yields that GMO producers say that they can get you needed far higher inputs. After all, higher level of growth doesn’t suddenly appear magically.
Yes I can but considering the higher inputs needed and that those higher inputs are the result of fossil fuel use can you see that it may not be sustainable?
As I say, we need to live in reality but a lot of what we do is delusional as they don’t take into account the entire process and the full physical inputs needed.
The same ones that had “crop protection products” to, you know, compare results.
And do they get the same results?
Better results?
What?
We need an actual side by side comparison that takes into account the entire process including recycling.
Squashing a caterpillar between your thumb and forefinger is “applying a pesticide”. The argument goes on and on (and on and on and on). There must be (as is) an approach a person can take to counter/by-pass the problem that Key perfectly described when he said, “I can find another scientist who will counter your scientist…”or whatever it was he slurred out. He was correct. There’s no end to the parsing and countering and often it’s genuinely meant. A person must apply a different measure to all of these issues (GMO, organics, industrial dairying) in order to pick a path they can be sure of. Batting claims back and forward will not do it, imo. Look deeper, listen to the plinking of the waters, feel the ebb and flow in your deepest chambers, the aquifers of your self, to know what it is you believe.
And allowing the birds to munch to their hearts content is as well 😈
I like the idea of being sustainable while providing what we need and allowing the environment to prosper evolve. If those were part of the study then we could at least have some confidence in it.
Belief is what you have when don’t have the facts and we need the facts to make informed decisions.
Belief can be what you choose when you realise that collecting facts from all corners doesn’t answer your questions.
Aptly put, Robert
As an observation, the belief in ‘science’ or the ability to answer ‘questions’ using ‘evidence’ or ‘facts’, is taken too literally…
The irony is, in itself, that is an ideological belief system of its own…
I would go with ‘gut’ and the humanistic traits, 9/10…
Thanks, One Two. I believe we can learn to make decisions well and I think there’s a need to mix un-sciency stuff in there in order to give ourselves the best chance of recognising a good path to take when we stumble upon one.
Robert G
Gut instinct when it comes from the heart even – it isn’t enough to formulate a doable plan that is good for people and environment.
But leave heart feeling out, and we have a clear path to AI and the frozen heartland of laissez faire capitalism, which we have now creeping into our lives and numbing our feelings and brain.
But my suggestion is to adopt a style that can be labelled
pragmatic idealism. Each word modulates the other, but in unison they would take us into the future with hope for a decent society surviving. It has be worked at though, what I see is not encouraging and I appreciate much those still who work for practical good outcomes for people plus environment, those two entwined.
Hey, Grey. Good comment. Hearts and minds, eh! Good combo, imo. Did you see the article today about the screeds of plastic flotsam washed up on the beaches of Pitcairn Island? The “ocean is a dumping ground” effect has become too obvious to ignore and while we should be appalled by what’s resulted, I noted a couple of positive aspects; it was reported on. Much of what is happening never sees the light of the media spotlight, or even makes it into our conversations, but this was right there in front of breakfasting New Zealanders. And the island woman in the photograph looked totally p*ssed off. Fishing communities have for a long time now, accepted flotsam and jetsam as a necessary evil, contributing a fair bit of it themselves, but not now. I think the ubiquitousness of the harm we do, the interconnectivity between here and there, us and them, is becoming apparent in a way that it wasn’t till now. In summing up, I’m encouraged, though my brain says, “what on earth have we done?” my heart sings a little song of hope and the cadence is swelling 🙂
I would go with ‘gut’ and the humanistic traits, 9/10…
Gut instinct tells you that the world is flat, the sun moves across the sky and people who are different from you are not to be trusted. As a means of assessing reality, it’s shit. As for “humanistic traits,” a lot of them are definitely not pretty…
Yeah, but the gut has more nerve endings than the brain 😉
Gut? There are more trustworthy sites in the human body than the gut; I’m voting heart. The brain’s a great option-finder, but the heart’s the decision-maker 🙂
Absolutely agree, Robert…
Heart is the purest form of directional information..
When it’s understood, and regularly exercised…
Most do not understand, because it’s been ‘schooled’ out of them…
Regular re-connection can soon re-tune the conductors…
That, One Two, or ask your wife for advice 🙂
Indeed Robert, indeed!
Common sense isn’t
Which you’ve just proved again.
9/10 going with ‘gut’ instinct is just wrong.
Not sure what you’re talking about, Draco but I’ve noticed you repeating comments regarding ‘common sense’..
I made no such reference, so what you’ve proved is that you couldn’t comprehend my comment…
While you’re searching for answers to questions you don’t understand, using methods which are unnecessary, I’m living life using my innate human traits, honed over many, many years. …
And loving it!
And getting it badly wrong.
And, no, I didn’t misunderstand what you said. You seriously misunderstood what I said.
Gut instinct is generally wrong:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/4-reasons-you-should-never-listen-to-your-gut-a6713931.html
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/shadow-boxing/201303/trust-your-gut-not-so-fast
https://hbr.org/2003/05/dont-trust-your-gut (tossing coins is more effective at getting financial returns from the ‘market’ than going finance trader like Key)
http://maryellenotoole.com/2011/09/top-10-reasons-not-to-go-with-your-gut/
Common sense isn’t.
“ And getting it badly wrong”…
Am I, Draco…really..
How would you know?
Keep repeating your links and mantras…isn’t likely to help, because what I’m referring to went right by you…and you’ve convinced yourself ‘science and tech stuff’ is the path to follow…
Good luck with that..and making decisions on a humanistic level
We each have our level, and are on diffrrent journey’s…
Do they though?
Well, yes. How could leaving your fields fallow not result in a lower yield than using crops that don’t require leaving your fields fallow? Not producing stuff tends to result in lower production than producing stuff does.
We need an actual side by side comparison that takes into account the entire process including recycling.
The question “what would be the least-unsustainable form of agriculture” is a bit broader than the scope of the post.
They still leave the fields fallow – they just do other stuff to them as well like burn them.
No it’s not. In fact, I’d say that it was most definitely within the scope of the post because an unsustainable yield, by definition, cannot be sustained and so making plans on it is an exercise in futility.
Sustainable agriculture is yet to be developed. All the current arguments relating to environmental impacts of different approaches are about more vs less unsustainable – which is a bummer but doesn’t make the arguments an exercise in futility.
Sustainable agriculture has existed well,it is change that disrupted process (self organized criticality)
The Balinese rice fields could serve as an example that under certain conditions it is possible to reach sustainable situations that lead to maximum payoff for all parties, wherein every individual makes free and independent decisions
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-06-fractal-patterns-yeild-optimal-harvests.html#jCp
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2017/05/31/1605369114
Baks paper here on SOC.
http://www.johnboccio.com/courses/Physics120_2008/docs/btw.pdf
Thanks for playing
Sure, agriculture is “sustainable” on a timescale of centuries, even millennia. That’s as true of GMO cropping as it is of Balinese rice farmers. However, humans have been around for hundreds of thousands of years and no agriculture has yet been developed that’s sustainable on those kind of timescales. When it comes to GMOs, all we’re arguing is to what extent different methods reduce the problem of unsustainability.
I agree with Psycho Milt where he says;
“Sustainable agriculture is yet to be developed” and I’d go further and say that I believe it never will. Just because we are using the system doesn’t mean it fits with the “laws” of the natural world and is able to be sustained. Agriculture is not the answer to the question, “How should humans live”.
+111
Another reason I feel uncomfortable with TOP, and Morgan as politician,
Morgan tweets,
“Gareth Morgan @garethmorgannz 35m35 minutes ago
Gareth Morgan donates $1 million to charity to protest political ad allowances | http://Stuff.co.nz
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/93506706/gareth-morgan-donates-1-million-to-charity-to-protest-political-ad-allowances”
https://twitter.com/garethmorgannz/status/873683301013356544
Sounds great right?
Here’s the link https://vote.top.org.nz/
No explanation of who the four charities are. You have to choose one of the charities and then supply name, address, email address, and post code. Then you get sent a confirmation email. Once you confirm Morgan donates $3 to your charity of choice. You also get an email from TOP with TOP policy aimed at the charity you chose. No unsubscribe option in the email 😉
You can only vote once per email address. Fair enough, but $1million divided by 3 is 333,333. Chances of that many NZers voting on a charity? Will he still donate the full $1million?
Looks like a way to buy an email list. I will be interested to see how it goes and whether NZers will shy away from the whole buying support thing. The difference between political advertising and this is that political advertising at least has the potential to inform people of policies and positions.
The four charities that have been selected are Women’s Refuge, Conservation Volunteers, KidsCan and Lifeline
From your first link.
Obviously. But there is no explanation of what those are on the voting page.
They are all very high profile charities.
I guess this way people get some bang for their taxpayer paid advertising buck. They get to donate to a good cause but have to view a video/email in return.
Morgan has the advantage of being able to bank roll the donations though which isn’t fair. But neither is National getting over $1 million and the largest share from the taxpayer for advertising.
They don’t have to view a video or email in return (or at least I didn’t). They just have to sign up and hand over their email address and postcode. It looks like email harvesting to me and a way to get people through their website. And sure, Morgan has a conscience so he’s good with donating to charity too (although I will be interested to see if he donates the full million). It’s his money, he can spend it however. But I do think it’s another example of his approach. He’s saying on the one hand that the election rules are biased against small parties with no money, then he uses his fortune to garner support for TOP.
So what. Does any political party turn down a donation because it comes from a high net worth individual? Morgan has made no secret of how he is spending his money right from the outset. It’s how our political system works.
Morgan’s strategy has been slammed by Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei as a “gratuitous and cynical way to buy votes”
Donating to well known charities is scarcely cynical or gratuitous. Besides it’s your email address TOP is obtaining … not your vote. Turei should be an experienced enough politician to tell the difference.
1. will the full million be donated? Because that’s the way it’s being promoted.
2. yes, they’re buying emails for $3 a pop. Sure, there is no problem with that, but it’s also up for criticism. That’s how our political system works.
Morgan’s done this sort of thing before. My first encounter with him was well over a decade ago when the Morgan Foundation teamed up with UNICEF to fund village water supply projects in various countries. Essentially he matched dollar for dollar contributions to UNICEF up to a cap of some millions. It worked really well and to this day my automatic payment to UNICEF continues to trickle away, long after Morgan’s cap was exceeded.
Obviously this arrangement is different, but donating to important charities is something Morgan really likes to do with his money. Based on his track record I would argue for his good faith motives in this respect. Whether the $1m cap is reached is entirely up to how many people respond.
Equally he’s pointing out that between them National/Labour/Greens are receiving something in the order of $7m of public funding to have their voices heard in this election. TOP as a newcomer was allocated just 0.5% of this, which is a risible fraction. So he’s come up with this innovative win-win solution that counters this massive imbalance to some degree.
Besides if you really don’t like it, don’t click. That’s how the internet works.
Wow, so the time is coming when you can’t even talk to Yanks now.
How do you defend yourself against Big Brother saying he’s defending somebody, he doesn’t know who or against what but will think of something, and he wants to know that you aren’t proposing something that will break a law that hasn’t yet been defined, or some protocol that guards against something yet to be decided,
and he/she wants to know what you are saying and, through scrambled, unhealthy synapses in Big Brothers brain, chooses to consider your thoughts to be against security or a law emerging out of Big Brother’s head like an Alien baby?
Simple, they were watching before 911 and it still happened. They were watching in Britain, and it still happened. It does not work, terrorism only ends when you address why it happens, not trying to watch and stop it from happening.
Military intelligence is just that – a military event, virtually useless when put into the civilian sphere.
Military “intelligence” is a well known oxymoron.
Was reading a pretty poor analysis on the UK election and this just jumped out like the proverbial dog’s bollocks.
This is Kezia Dugdale (Scottish Labour) on Ruth Davidson (Tory)
“I’m sure she’ll be slightly concerned this Tory resurgence in Scotland is partly down to the borrowed vote from the pro-unionists.”
You getting that? The leader of the Scottish Labour Party is reiterating that Scottish Labour punted for the Tories.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jun/10/alex-salmond-nicola-sturgeon-snp-conservatives-scottish-independence
You sound surprised Bill.
It was the last Blairight strong hold left in the UK, it is no surprise they did this. None at all, I’d have been more shocked if these wolf had changed to sheep clothing.
Don’t know if you’ve caught any of the links I’ve put up over the past couple of days Adam, but yes, surprised at the sheer brass neck of running an anti-Scottish Government election campaign instead of a Westminster one.
Here’s the witless wonder laying out who she and her party are campaigning against 3 weeks out from election day.
Cool story, bro, but a bit of a shame, for you anyway, to find out the biggest leeching of votes to the conservatives in Scotland came from the SNP itself and not from Scottish Labour.
In fact, out of the seats the conservatives gained from the nationalists, only in three did Labour not increase it’s share of the vote, and even then, their negative percentage was lower than that lost from the SNP itself.
I guess a sound bite makes easier listening than the cold wind of change. Heh.
Gordon
C +29%
SNP -11.8
L +5.9
LD -21.1
Aberdeenshire West & Kincardine
C +19%
SNP -9.1
L +6.5
LD -12.8
Angus
C +16.2%
SNP -15.7
L +4.2
LD +0.5
Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk
C +17.9%
SNP -3.8
L +3.7
LD -14
Dumfries & Galloway
C +13.4%
SNP -9
L -3.8
LD +0.7
Ochil & South Perthshire *
C +20.8%
SNP -10.7
L -8.4
LD +0.7
Stirling *
C +13.9%
SNP -8.9
L -3.4
LD +0.7
Renfrewshire East *
C +18%
SNP -9.3
L -7.3
LD +0.2
Ayr, Carrick & Cumnock *
C +20.3%
SNP -14.7
L -3.4
LD +0.2
No edit, but it’s five seats, though the point is still made.
Moray
C +16%
SNP -10.7
L +1
LD -0.6
Banff & Buchan
C +19.2%
SNP -21.1
L +3.7
LD -1.7
These are simply net percentage point changes – they tell us little about the actual swings happening beneath the surface
The final Scots Polling I’ve seen (YouGov, Survation) as well as the Election day Lord Ashcroft polling of the UK as a whole – all suggest the Tories benefited most from Labour defections, followed by swings from the SNP, with Lib Dem-to-Tory swings close behind
A far greater chunk of 2015 Lib Dems swung Tory in Scotland (41% LDs –
compared to 21% of 2015 Labour voters and just 7% of the 2015 SNP constituency – (YouGov) / 29%, 16%, 6% respectively (Survation)) but, of course, Lib Dems made up a much smaller % of the Scots electorate, so their contribution to the Tory surge wasn’t quite as decisive as first appears
Labour’s own surge came courtesy, first and foremost, of SNP defections (SNP voters were almost twice as likely to swing Labour than they were to swing Tory)
Which isn’t necessarily to deny the possibility that SNP-to-Tory swings were the key feature in some individual seats – but that appears not to have been the case across Scotland as a whole
Great to see a Scottish specialist thank you.
Scottish, Labour and a Unionist. Can’t be all bad then.
Scottish he says? Using the term ‘bro’?! Uh-huh.
Ad. If you want to read some half decent commentary and analysis, as opposed to just dropping asinine comments into a thread, then try this. (Plenty of links to back up arguments/observations).
Otherwise, carry on.
Don’t disrespect my heritage because I’ve used the vernacular of the street, so to speak. When in Rome, etc. Bro. 😉
As for the numbers, you can deny them if you want, if that’s what you’re doing, but they’re real and not going to go away.
No talking head can trump cold hard numbers. just look at Banf. That’s cold.
Nobody’s denying the numbers.
Nobody’s denying that Kezia Dugdale ran against the Scottish Government and not the Westminster one.
Nobody’s denying that suited Ruth Davidson down to the ground (wedge politics).
Nobody’s denying the turnout was down all across Scotland.
Nobody’s denying that Scotland was the only place the Tories made over-all gains.
Nobody’s denying the SNP were going to lose seats no matter what.
Nobody’s denying Kezia Dugdale effectively handed the keys of number 10 to May with her witless bullshit. (Some besides yourself may be)
Some do deny it’s something in the water at SLab HQ that’s produced both “glue head” Kelly as a leader and and now *this* equally weird and hopeless case (both Blairites).
Russian, Israel, Arab hip-hop. It just works…
Oh, just another all girl Indonesian metal band doing a SlipKnot cover. Hijabs included.
And an acoustic Chilis cover, too.
In other election news,the French get to decide if Macron is a Macron or a Micron.
8,000 candidates for 577 jobs.
https://www.thelocal.fr/20170609/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-french-parliamentary-elections
heh
https://twitter.com/jimwaterson/status/873294357264297985
France is offering grants of up to 1.5 million Euro for climate scientists to move there.
To all responsible citizens:
On the 1st of June, President Donald Trump decided to withdraw the United States from the Paris agreement, which gathered more than 190 countries united against climate change.
This decision is unfortunate but it only reinforced our determination. Don’t let it weaken yours.
We are ONE planet and Together, we can make a difference.
France has always led fights for human rights. Today, more than ever, we are determined to lead (and win!) this battle on climate change.
Emmanuel Macron, President of France.
https://www.makeourplanetgreatagain.fr/home
https://www.makeourplanetgreatagain.fr/
That is so damned cool. The 1.5m Euro is smart thinking, but the “Make our planet great again” meme is absolutely the perfect comeback … and more.
It goes right to the sense of global citizenship I’ve always argued for … and way more importantly … resonates very strongly with so many younger people.
Only a month ago UK Labour did badly in the local elections. The turn around started with the leaking of the manifesto. It had bold and old left policies that were very popular and showed neo liberalism was dead. We are not at that point in our election campaign yet. Let’s hope there is a courageous NZ LP manifesto in production.
While most of this site is having a global wet dream on labours loss in the Uk, labour gains where more about how bad may was not how good labour was. U.K. Electoral boundaries are about to be changed removing 30 labour electorates that no longer have population to support as electorates , Torys Learn fast, the next tory pm won’t be may nor will next Tory campaign beamateur hour, so enjoy your loss my lefty pumpkins while you can, yes you still loss to the most incompetent election campaign ever
[lprent: Since we are talking about incompetents, then please look at yourself in a mirror. You are currently the second biggest timewaster around for moderators.
Select ONE handle and ’email’ address and stick to it. Normally I tend to view people maintaining multiple commenting logins are probably trying to spoof the system here. Which I don’t like. In your case I suspect simple incompetence – which annoys me.
While moderators don’t mind occasionally fixing or releasing typos, you appear to do it every few messages. So to save moderator effort, I’ll give you a day or so to select a combination between handle and email. Then I will select that one as being your only combination. I will change the existing comments to that combo, and consign all emails to autospam.
If I see new ones coming through, then I will just permanently ban you for wasting moderator time. This is your warning and chance to show that as a tory – you can learn very fast. ]
105 years ago.
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ROTWKG19120814.2.56.5?query=coal%20consumption
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/rodney-and-otamatea-times-waitemata-and-kaipara-gazette/1912/8/14/7
edit: Snopes has the backstory
http://www.snopes.com/1912-article-global-warming/
For anyone ignorant of the history of climate science, it had already been understood since 1824 that something in the atmosphere was trapping heat making Earth warmer than it “should be”. It’s been understood since 1861 that CO2 is a big part of that something.
https://skepticalscience.com/cshistory.php
May’s post election poll headache.
http://mailchi.mp/survation/post-election-poll-for-the-mail-on-sunday-1118541
Very interesting thanks
Watch this debate hit our shores very fast.
For all of you activist types with dodgy opinions, and have Facebook or Gmail or Apple accounts:
“Australia will seek cooperation from social media companies such as Apple Inc., Facebook Inc. and Google Inc. to decrypt communication between terrorist groups.
Attorney General George Brandis told Sky News on Sunday the government would consider changes to Australia’s laws to ensure telecommunications and technology firms help authorities decipher suspect messages.
“My concern is the existing laws don’t go far enough in imposing obligations of cooperation upon the corporates,” Brandis said.
https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-06-09/trump-can-accept-payments-from-foreign-governments-u-s-argues
I’m just slightly betting that the definition of terrorism gets to expand a wee bit.
Why employ the best fishermen with the best and biggest nets if you’re not going to fish, after all?
If you have good equipment and are paid to do something and find something well sooner rather than later someone will ask if you have been successful. If you haven’t then you’ll hear that you haven’t been trying hard enough, the equipment can’t be up to scratch etc.
There might be a career in inventing things for them to find.
(It should be known that I am a junior in the computing world, but I have learned how people think who sit tapping rather than get outside with those of humanity who do actual physical work. Sorry to lprent and others, but I think we will live to regret the lovely machines that 0 and 1 developed.)
Get right to the end … a powerful message.
Time for non-parliamentary politics – ie, socialism. Personally, I’ll take social democracy, but only by way of a very short term stepping stone.
Seriously (and I don’t care if a person calls themselves a Marxist or an anarchist, autonomous communist or whatever), it’s time to look through the arguments and thoughts of radicals/progressives/socialists from the late 19th and early 20th century, pick up the wheels they already invented, put a 21st Century body on the chassis, and get a move on.
It’s Sanders last few para’s that put socialism into a global context which truly inspire me. That’s where the wheels will get the 21st century traction you’re looking for.
Well, yeah. He essentially expressed the moral and intellectual core or imperatives of socialism without the using the word socialism 🙂
My sticking point with Sanders (and this applies to Corbyn too), is that he seems to view some some overhauled configuration of current nation state institutions as the way to achieve socialism. And it’s not the way – can’t be the way.
It’s an old argument I know, but early socialists split on that same notion of whether a parliament could deliver socialism. Well, the history is there to look at now.
Besides. Socialism is, and always was, about process not outcomes. So, y’know, my eyes roll when I hear people suggest that some government policy or other is “socialist”. That’s simply not possible.
People getting all enthusiastic about the supposed socialist underpinnings of (say) some government’s housing policy is ardent nonsense that merely indicates they’re willing to throw the terms “socialism” or “socialist” about, without having the faintest idea about what those things are.
‘Labour AHEAD of Tories by six points in stunning new poll as public say Theresa May should resign.
Jeremy Corbyn would be Prime Minister if an election was held tomorrow, according to the pollster which most accurately predicted Thursday’s election result.
A new poll by Survation puts Labour six points ahead of the Tories on 45% of the vote.
The Tories, meanwhile, polled 39% – almost four points below their result in the general election.
It is the first time since Theresa May took power that any poll has put Labour ahead of the Conservatives.’
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/most-accurate-pollster-suggests-labour-10602762