National MP Chris Penk has written an extraordinary "book" (in reality, an online rant) about the government's response to Covid-19.
He has done a copy and paste from every discredited source he could find (Taxpayers' Union, former ACT MP Muriel Newman, Simon "Sweden" Thornley, Kiwiblog (!) etc).
Too much nonsense to address in detail here, but the main point is that he has directly contradicted his own party leader. On his first day, Todd Muller described Ardern's handling of the crisis as "impressive", because they know they can't win by fighting public opinion at 90%. They really want to talk about something else.
This is not a mistake, it is the usual National tactic of covering all bases.
As long as one of them is saying it, then their party faithful who agree can be relied upon to support them.
In my opinion, the party faithful are pragmatic, they know that what is said in public is for public consumption, what matters is the intention behind. And that is often very different.
National had a smooth machine for so long that many on the left will assume that there must be a "cunning plan", that they always know what they are doing.
It's often true. It isn't right now. This is definitely not the ground Muller wants to fight on.
Isn't Penk another member of the Rapture Right in National? Our big media outlets refuse to cover how much US-inspired fundamentalists have infiltrated the National party – but at the moment the only way to understand how inept they've suddenly become is to recognise the vanguardism of fundamentalist infiltration of the National party. But these people harbour some seriously loony beliefs and like their numbskull American hero in the White House, they get their information from Fox News.
Generally speaking, I strongly support our media’s policy of regarding MPs private lives as off limits. But these evangelicals use their beliefs to inform radical policy positions well outside the mainstream of NZ life, so to to me that makes them open to discussion. After all, if you were an avowed revolutionary Marxist in the Labour caucus the Herald wouldn’t hesitate to tell the world about that. The last thing the country needs is to wake up the day after an election and then discover a 2 seat majority National + ACT government is being controlled by prosperity doctrine fundies who want to remake NZ in the image of Florida, because the MSM didn't think to mention it before the election.
You have brought up a point worrying me Sanctuary. There is evidence of deep conservative Catholicism in our politics, I think that the most prominent person is Bill English. But how far has it gone through National – I think Jim Bolger is one. Whether he was of the excessive level of preachiness or not, they must support each other of the same religion. Also the Exclusive Brethren has revealed itself to be helpful to National as being the best to serve their own interests.
The various cults that have sprung up to make use of the tax-free status of religion are a worry as they undermine the democratic process of elevating individuals value and rights, and progressive moves to think for oneself and develop our own personality and life achievements. It is hard to free oneself from the oppressive control as the cultish religions seek to contain individuals from make their own life, thoughtfully formed and seeking self-realisation and the good values of humanity.
(Note – Gloriavale is very close to Amish style; very narrow and demanding as to personal freedom, and other cults marry their young ones off at say 17 years, and women can not develop wide skills to gain employment or have a career, as children and domestic life take precedence.)
Taking away the tax-free status of churches and treating them as not-for-profit charities would be a big advantage in retaining our democracy and being able to make rational moves to cope with climate change, a better education so we have informed and actively involved citizens in politics. A move to do this would uncover the depth and width that the semi-religious community has permeated our society, with results that do not lead to its well-being.
Ron Mark is even more stupid after 3 yrs in govt he thinks the police shouldn't be armed and their training with arms is substandard after years in opposition questioning the use of police using the AR 4.
Heard of the 501's Ron the gangs are regularly being busted with large caches of guns including assault rifles.
He does have a point as to why an under-trained young constable needs to stand on a street outside a domestic dispute or traffic infringement with a gun that can fire almost a 1000 rounds a minute.
I reckon it should be fairly easy to achieve peacefully. Just instruct the WH staff to ignore it when he presses his buttons summoning snacks and Diet Coke (btw, it's not working). Then after a couple of hours, send in a robot carrying hamberders and diet coke to loiter outside the Oval Office. When he starts coming for the bait, get the robot to lead him into a waiting limo. Sorted.
The chilling moment for me isn't anything like that – I mean the Pentagon heads couldn't have been clearer in the last week that they will protect the constitution faaaaar deeper than they will protect this current White House occupant.
To me the issue is that Donald Trump still has a reasonable chance of winning a second term as President, and of retaining a majority of the Senate.
That's the moment that the global standing of the United States starts to disintegrate fast, and after that the glaciers of the United Nations, World Trade Organisation, UNESCO, International Monetary Fund, World Bank et al really start to calve off.
It's not an unreasonable scenario to see a full and irreversible liquefaction of the structures that have sustained our relative peace and prosperity for decades.
That's the kind of stuff that really matters to us weeny countries with no power.
Considering the damage Vulgarmort has already wrought and the accelerating trendlines of all the various craptacles he's initiated, I find it all a bit too much to even contemplate the idea of another four years.
What about this scenario of the cold war type, with added nuclear possibilities between India and Pakistan, which looms as a result of Australia adopting Trump-like attitudes then.
I was contemplating that likely scenario the other day and concluded the best way would be to lock him up inside the White house with no access to anything or anyone beyond its walls. When he finally goes troppo, they can remove him to an undisclosed location where he can remain in solitary confinement for the rest of his natural.
Fun fact: Chris Penk's dad was outed for running a letter writing campaign against assisted dying under a pseudonym and his brother runs the far right Maxim Institute. So yeah, we got a real set of bad eggs here.
Because I can see both sides of this debate. At the moment, my thinking doesn't support voting in favour of this proposal, but I am still thinking about it.
I am sorry to hear that. I watched my father die of aggressive lung cancer, he was a whisp of the strong man I knew as a child at his end. We've all got our own stories. How we interpret them informs how we will vote, I guess. I just hope the debate doesn't become a rancorous culture war.
It will be good if people with vote for euthanasia, controlled by good legal measures to ensure right behaviour all through. All it needs is for people to consider other people's wishes and see that it is wise to have that option. Being kind to other people will be of great importance in getting it through. It should not require unhappy experiences to be the reason. Accepting our human limit of time on this planet, and that it has been much extended by others who have improved health measures and have changed the pattern of earlier death, should enable us to make another rational change so that we can then decide when we want to pass on.
The changes made in the world have enabled longer and usually happier lives, though in NZ Maori have not had that full benefit. Now we could have happier deaths if others would just give us that freedom instead of imprisoning us on the planet when that is no longer our choice, or forcing us to take unpleasant decisions if we are forced to an illegal step and commit suicide. It is not fair or reasonable to refuse others their right to determine when and how they will die.
Right, so where will this end? Shall we bulldoze the Savage memorial because he supported the British Empire? How about Truby King, the founder of Plunket? He was a eugenicist who had fairly strong views on the genetic superiority of the British people – should we demolish his mausoleum? How about Marx, should his grave have hs statue on it? Communism killed millions! Should the British destroy all memorials to Clement Attlee, on the grounds of his appalling behaviour in Britain’s African colonies? What about statues of Winston Churchill? Personally I find the current fashion of vilification of James Cook by the left painfully cartoonish and utterly bereft of context. Should I stand by while monuments to probably the greatest navigator of any age (and an enlightened man by the standards of his time) be puled down by hooting mobs of ignoramuses?
Practically ANY statue in NZ erected in the last 150+ years will upset someone. How about we just not go a route of a ridiculous culture war over inanimate objects, that will only ultimately hurt the progressive cause in NZ?
In literary and historical analysis, presentism is the anachronistic introduction of present-day ideas and perspectives into depictions or interpretations of the past. Some modern historians seek to avoid presentism in their work because they consider it a form of cultural bias, and believe it creates a distorted understanding of their subject matter. The practice of presentism is regarded by some as a common fallacy when writing about the past.
But yes … hooting mobs of ignorami will prevail for the moment. City Councillors who appease these calls are probably not fools, they know in private that pulling down old statues is stupid, but most people will do anything for an easy life. When the mob labels you 'racist' people get sacked and cancelled. So down they will come.
Personally I find the current fashion of vilification of James Cook by the left painfully cartoonish
They're not the Left … they're Intersectionals … entirely different kettle of fish.
I see the Woke as a small but highly influential Cult centred within segments of both the New Middle Professional Class & the Upper-Middle Class (amazing just how many are descended from old Establishment families … Auckland Business Elites & South Island Rural Gentry) … attempting to hi-jack the Left … by massively downplaying the centrality of socio-economic disparity while simultaneously comandeering traditional Left moral concerns … racism & so on … then grossly distorting & weaponizing those concerns (with the help of their Gurus like Bishop DiAngelo …. or does she call herself Archbishop now ?) – some are dogmatic true-believers, others are the bully-boys we know all too well on NZ social media … focussed in large part on pursuing their own power & self-interest … albeit assiduously dressed up with this thin veneer of (LOL) "self-less Altruism".
Bad Actors playing Saints. Personal power & prestige enhancement.
Cook conflicts me. Probably more than a bit because I'm the son of a Yorkshireman 🙂
He was a great sailor and navigator, and advanced human knowledge (not just European – the actual observation of the transit of venus was a pretty difficult technical task given the optics of the day). But he was also responsible for a lot of bad shit. but then he was also quite progressive for the day, and I did hear a thing on RNZ ages ago that reckoned his behaviour on the third voyage showed all the signs of mental exhaustion and breakdown. So… complicated. Certainly not "good", but not fucking NB Forrest.
Churchill is a more extreme cause of ambivalence – a complete colonialist prick who gassed civilians and viewed hunting down Irish rebels almost as a game. But without him, Hitler could well have won.
No reason why he shouldn't be celebrated in his own place of birth though .
Maybe the important thing when looking at a statue of Cook could be , because of him my forebears came to NZ and could have a better life.At the expense of my other forebears.(referring to myself.)We all have a problematic history we need to be aware of
If we determine to visit the punishment for the sins of the fathers on generations of the sons, then everything gets torn down. Or at the very least, nothing is immune to the force of that argument.
And as can be easily seen, all cultures have problematic, traumatic history, there is probably no human alive who doesn't have some ancestors who benefited from invasion, slavery and genocide.
But the phrase "Black Lives Matter" is an overloaded message carrying multiple layers of meaning. One of which is it's really only the sins of white people that matter. Everyone else is excused.
I mean, we could just have pretty thorough discussions about whether we have lots of statues to fathers who sinned, but keep pushing that barrow. Not even NASCAR agrees with you.
Police officers are too often overarmed, undertrained, and low on empathy. Some police officers are surely racist and act like it. But it does not follow that white cops routinely kill black people in tense situations out of racist animus. This scenario may seem plausible—I believed it until only a few years ago. But there are times when facts are counterintuitive, and it is important to get the facts right and to analyze them with clear eyes and a clear mind (the enlightening work of criminologist and ex-cop Peter Moskos is helpful in this regard). Rhetoric has a way of straying from reality, and to get where we all want to go, it is reality that we must address.
No, the actual term "whataboutism" and its equally witless variant "whataboutery" appeared in the last three and a half years. It was, and is still, used as a strategy—a failed strategy— to derail those people impertinent enough to point out that Democrats, especially those in the Clinton/Schumer/Pelosi faction that controls the party, have a history of racism and militarism and voter suppression as vile as the Republicans, and that the United States has not even the slightest moral right to criticise any country for interference in elections of another jurisdiction.
The tu quoque diversion tactic is as old as the hills. The desperate and unconvincing "whataboutery" word is as old as…. Russiagate. And just as intellectually rigorous.
By the way, fifty years ago, a young Bill Clinton was indeed in sight—if you were at Oxford University, where the Rhodes “Scholar”—to use that word in the most generous and indulgent sense possible—-was a forlorn and by all accounts horribly unsuccessful suitor to dozens of young English women.
58% of deaths are white, yet non-Hispanic whites comprise 53% of the population.
37% of deaths are black, yet non-Hispanic blacks comprise 14% of the population.
This is the basis for the BLM claim that racist police kill blacks at a rate 2 -3 times higher than whites.
Yet obviously this is a dubious claim. People do not come into contact with the police at random, especially not in contexts of homicide and/or armed violence when police are very likely to respond with deadly force:
According to the US Department of Justice, African Americans accounted for 52.5% of all homicide offenders from 1980 to 2008, with Whites 45.3% and "Other" 2.2%. The offending rate for African Americans was almost eight times higher than Whites, and the victim rate six times higher. Most homicides were intraracial, with 84% of White victims killed by Whites and 93% of African American victims killed by African Americans
On this basis the simple rate comparisons above change to this:
58% of deaths are white, yet non-Hispanic whites commit 48% of the homicides.
37% of deaths are black, yet non-Hispanic blacks commit 52% of the homicides
On this basis the outcome is completely flipped, it looks like blacks are actually less likely to be shot by the police than whites. Have BLM sold the world a complete crock of shit?
In reality the truth is likely to be somewhere between these two highly simplified views. Many other factors can be introduced and the entire conversation is way more complex than one comment can possibly cover, but the more you look at the data the more McWhorter's conclusion looks to be pretty much on the money.
(This analysis is no substitute for a proper multi-factorial study, but I introduced one the other night, and no-one could be arsed reading it.)
Blacks are less likely to be shot by police than whites, you say? I suggest you ring up NewstalkZB, where there are people who are prepared to listen to such raving lunacy without laughing.
Using murder convictions as a proxy for contact with police to explain that systemic racism doesn't exist is more stupid than literally cut&pasting massive straw man arguments from a right-wing propaganda platform to do the same.
murder convictions as a proxy for contact with police to explain that systemic racism doesn't exist
I'm using murder convictions are a proxy for the likelihood of a particular ethnicity coming into contact with the police, and if that contact goes badly sideways, the possibility of being shot.
After all you still have no answer as to why the male 50% of the population are more than 95% of the police deaths. If population was the correct proxy then you would expect equal numbers of men and women to be killed regardless of ethnicity … but this is obviously not the case. Clearly the different rates of committing violent crime between the sexes is a highly relevant factor.
Yet BLM have used population as their sole proxy to convince the world there is a massive problem with systemic racism in the USA.
I'm using murder convictions are a proxy for the likelihood of a particular ethnicity coming into contact with the police.
After all you still have no answer as to why the male 50% of the population are more than 95% of the police deaths. If population was the correct proxy then you would expect equal numbers of men and women to be killed regardless of ethnicity … but this is obviously not the case.
"The correct proxy". 🙄
So in search of "the correct proxy" you latch onto another product determined by the bias of the system accused of bias.
As for your digression, any explanation of the role of ethnicity and toxic masculinity in a disfunctional society would have to involve a certain amount of intersectionality, and you've repeatedly shown you can't deal with that concept and frankly I have neither the time, inclinition, cache, or words small enough to explain it to you.
Especially when your straw men are big enough to be set fire to by a bunch of hippies at the end of a drugfest.
The theory of intersectionality, now widely embraced by activists, maintains that non-whites, women, and LGBT individuals face systemic oppression whose scope increases according to the number of minority statuses a person holds.
The fewer boxes you check (straight white men don’t check any) the more “privilege” you are deemed to possess. This privilege, which now serves as a sort of intersectional mark of original sin, is invoked to justify silencing any view you disagree with.
It may once have been an useful academic tool in some specialised contexts, but once it escaped into the wild the cult it morphed into something quite different.
So in search of "the correct proxy" you latch onto another product determined by the bias of the system accused of bias.
Which is why you have to do a proper multi-factorial analysis, but I've already shown there is no point in introducing that.
whatever, dude. Quibbling about the denominator tends to make your calls for further research looks like just another tactic to delay accepting the evidence repeatedly caught on camera.
I'm glad that you now know how to search for videos (and even filter out inconvenient search results). Only a few days ago you thought the ability to link to a relevant video was a sign of obsession with the topic.
On the contrary, I was merely responding to your suggestion about 'evidence repeatedly caught on camera'.
And judging by your flippant demeanor it would appear these white lives really didn't matter to you … and certainly not to any of the thousands of protesters tearing the USA apart right now on the basis of a lie.
Yes WW2 was altogether a lot closer than we imagine.
The same applies in the Desert War, that was an extremely close run thing as well.
The same applies in the Battle of the Atlantic. Churchhill at one point had determined to surrender within two weeks, but several last moment technical developments persuaded him not to.
This doesn't take away from the fact that the Russian people sacrificed an entire generation of men on the Eastern front and in doing so crushed the bulk of the German army.
12km … It could also be argued that the delay to the start of the campaign (because the Italians could not take Greece) was a factor.
But for mine the German problem was they could not take cities heavily defended – that would have applied to Moscow as with Leningrad and Stalingrad.
The Stuka and Panzer tag team stumbled against anti-tank and air defence concentrations. When the Russians could take this scenario out into the field – Kursk it was all over.
The Maginot Line might have worked, if the Germans were not able to go around it.
Even if they just laid seige to Moscow, that would have hindered the resupply that got through to Leningrad. And without UK/US supplies coming through Murmansk (because UK surrendered and didn't run the convoys), Leningrad falls. Which frees up the northern thrust to assist one of the other groups (oil or Moscow).
All because the guy who was PM at the time of Dunkirk chose to accept the advice around him and offer terms. Very few periods in history rest on one person's decision and character like that.
The conflict you describe is something I sort of struggle with in regards to artists.
Josh Homme, IMO, is one of the best guitarists, vocalists and songwriters going round at the moment. Great body of work and a fantastic collaborator (PJ Harvey, Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones, Lady Gaga, Iggy Pop).
But there are many stories of him being a total arse of a person. Kicking a photographer in he mouth, tipping the rider table over backstage…
Spike Milligan, comic genius with occasional racist and anti-semite streaks through his work….
We should commission statues to commemorate Maori events as well. Ask Maori artists in each region to design and produce sculptures of famous members from their area….just saying.
That's a bit of an ironic statement, coming just after you have damned others for "painfully cartoonish" vilification.
I'm also uneasy about this move to pull down statues, but I recognise that the protestors are serious and moral thinkers. "Hooting mobs of ignoramuses" applies to certain groups, such as those thugs who gathered in Hamilton last year to heap abuse on the gypsy tourists. It does not apply to demonstrators that you don't approve of them.
TBH, I struggle to summon up a huge amount of sympathy for someone complaining that their two week all expenses paid, all meals supplied, break in the Crowne Plaza doesn't give them a lot of exercise opportunity – let alone put it on the front page of the Herald.
Middle class snowflake syndrome, with a huge helping of white privilege.
Talk about entitlement and "freezing cold " , in AUCKLAND ? . Oh for fucksake, ship her off to do some grape pruning in Central Otago to teach her some humility.
such a wide term then, "middle class" for such a narrow and particular sub-group "aspirational, stand on the poor, often self-employed, one month away from disaster"…
… exactly as I said gsays "sign of poor and confused thinking"
How many of the middle class would fit into your category gsays? Maybe 1%. 5% perhaps. 20% tops maybe? Don’t be so disparaging of the vast majority of our population mr bigot
Wayne, maybe, (I don't know 'cos I'm Pākehā), it's because the lady in question has such issues for her major problem/s, and non-whites have generally somewhat larger issues with which to contend.
I was reading a bit in the paper in which the issue of the death of fictional character, Tony Soprano, was being discussed.
Elsewhere, meanwhile, while I comfortably sit on my patio with my mid-morning coffee eying the news and weather……….. meanwhile, the world continues to dump unimaginable grief and harm and injustice on others because they are ‘other’.
At times like this I am reminded of my childhood, envying a boy at school who had tomato sauce sandwiches while I had ham, walnut and marmite, cheese and tomato. That wasn't white priviege. That was poverty.
Two things. I didn't know then what poverty was like. Secondly, it's analogous- my privilege as the son of a grocer, hence the ham sandwiches, and the privilege of having not to worry about the effects of racial stereotyping, bigotry and hatred.
Learning empathy would help us all.
At primary school I was bullied. The boy who backed me against the rest of the class-mates knew about empathy. He was mocked for his hair style, a 'pudding bowl', cut by his mother as a result of poverty.
well if we can provide prisoners with an hour of exercise we should be able to do this with people in quarantine.. i don't see the issue.
Like, i don't see why they can not have an hour outside – why this can not be organised – heck why this actually has not been implemented already.
Considering that this is an ongoing thing now for the forseeable future, i don't understand why 'outside time' has not been considered, planned for and is available to these guys.
But then yelling snow flake and 'middle class snowflake syndrome with a huge helping of white privilege' is just easier then admitting that locking up people in a room for 14 days with no 'outside' time would be considered cruel and inhumane treatment where this someone locked up in a prison.
I tend to agree. Maybe she is full of her own entitlement too, but nevertheless having to stay in one room for 14 days would be challenging for many. Personally I'd find having to eat catered food for two weeks hard. I hope they're doing better about the exercise for families with kids.
Welcome to CHAZ – the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone
Protesters in Seattle have claimed around six city blocks and declared it a free zone. Police may enter for emergencies only. Trump is pissed, I am intrigued.
Having established territory, upon proving they are organised, and capable of committing war crimes of their own – the protesters may be in a position to use the Geneva convention to start charging the GOP and Police with war crimes?
This process may take years, and Trump may kill many people in the interim, but what else can one do in the face of overwhelming stupidity might?
I do think Trump's lost face hiding in his bunker, and his dingbat followers may have lost faith in his support after getting arrested for threatening protesters with chainsaw, longbow and bicycle shorts. But he's capable of anything, and would love to institute martial law.
The protests are far from over, just quieter, and global. I am rooting for the citizens of CHAZ to bring The Hague down on Slump's redneck racist ass.
This is what Labour said before the 2017 election:
“The Government claims it’s not safe to enter the drift and try to get any bodies in there out. That’s not true. Experts, both local and international, say the mine is now stable. We can get those men out, and secure evidence regarding the cause of the explosion. It can be done.
The National Government just wants to wash its hands of the whole thing, and move on. They don’t seem to care no-one has ever faced court for those 29 deaths, or that the families have never got the bodies back to bury.
That’s not the way Kiwis do things. We do right by people. We ensure that, when there is wrongdoing, there is justice. We keep our promises.”
Looks to me like you’re simply trolling here or the ‘oops’ meant that you submitted your comment in accident. Which one is it? You remind me of Judith Collins and I get irritated easily when that happens.
I spend far too much time thinking about covid-19 chronic lung disease might be seen in the years down track. I wonder if the countries that have been overwhelmed by the pandemic have a plan in place for managing the resultant chronic illness (if any). Could be expensive.
yes, had this discussion with the bloke. How many times do you need to get it before it gets you – our guess 3 – 5 years. So if the disease will continue running unfettered and is capable of infecting people more then once the worlds population could take a hit in about 3 – 5 years.
I am so happy i am not a young person trying to start life as an adult in the current shitshow.
Here's a thread about the new Federal Reserve programs that rely on credit ratings. I hope it's helpful to someone out there. I've included citations so it's easy to follow everything in one spot.
After months of living with the coronavirus pandemic, American citizens are well aware of the toll it has taken on the economy: broken supply chains, record unemployment, failing small businesses. All of these factors are serious and could mire the United States in a deep, prolonged recession. But there’s another threat to the economy, too. It lurks on the balance sheets of the big banks, and it could be cataclysmic. Imagine if, in addition to all the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, you woke up one morning to find that the financial sector had collapsed.
[…]
To prevent the next crisis, Congress in 2010 passed the Dodd-Frank Act. Under the new rules, banks were supposed to borrow less, make fewer long-shot bets, and be more transparent about their holdings. The Federal Reserve began conducting “stress tests” to keep the banks in line. Congress also tried to reform the credit-rating agencies, which were widely blamed for enabling the meltdown by giving high marks to dubious CDOs, many of which were larded with subprime loans given to unqualified borrowers. Over the course of the crisis, more than 13,000 CDO investments that were rated AAA—the highest possible rating—defaulted.
The reforms were well intentioned, but, as we’ll see, they haven’t kept the banks from falling back into old, bad habits. After the housing crisis, subprime CDOs naturally fell out of favor. Demand shifted to a similar—and similarly risky—instrument, one that even has a similar name: the CLO, or collateralized loan obligation. A CLO walks and talks like a CDO, but in place of loans made to home buyers are loans made to businesses—specifically, troubled businesses. CLOs bundle together so-called leveraged loans, the subprime mortgages of the corporate world. These are loans made to companies that have maxed out their borrowing and can no longer sell bonds directly to investors or qualify for a traditional bank loan. There are more than $1 trillion worth of leveraged loans currently outstanding. The majority are held in CLOs.
Trump's first campaign rally, in the aftermath of positioning himself squarely against the Black Lives Matter protests, is in the city of the Tulsa race massacre that occurred 99 years ago… and takes place on Juneteenth.
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) June 10, 2020
I'm no master political strategist, but I'd have thought that an opposition party desperately looking for votes could find more productive ideas than "let's immediately open the borders and bring in hundreds of international students to central Auckland, and stick them in quarantine, while there are reports right now of quarantine in central Auckland not working properly".
Removing statues of non-indigenous historical figures and putting them together somewhere as a theme park would be better than just getting rid of them. Like Coronation Park in India, but with more emphasis on the tourist dollar.
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The politics of Waitangi and the Treaty evident over the weekend have moved into a new space. The politics of Waitangi and the Treaty evident over the weekend have moved into a new space. There is a new wave of Maori activism, which sees the Treaty as a living ...
Originally published by The Hill After decades of failure to pass major federal climate legislation, Congress finally broke through last year with the Inflation Reduction Act and its close to $400 billion in clean energy investments. Energy modeling experts estimated that these provisions would help the U.S. cut its carbon pollution ...
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THE (new) Prime Minister said nobody understands what co-governance means, later modified to that there were so many varying interpretations that there was no common understanding. BRIAN EASTON writes: Co-governance cannot be derived from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It does not use the word. It ...
A brief postscript to yesterday’s newsletter…Watching the predawn speeches just now, the reverence of those speaking and the respectful nature of those listening under umbrellas in the dark. I felt a great sadness at the words from Christopher Luxon last evening still in my head. The singing in the dark accompanied ...
by Don Franks While on holiday,I stayed a few days in Scotland with a friend who showed me one of the country’s great working-class achievements. It was a few miles out of central Edinburgh, a huge cantilever bridge across the river Forth. The Forth Bridge was the first major structure ...
Time To Call A Halt: Chris Hipkins knows that iwi leaders possess the means to make life very difficult for his government. Notwithstanding their objections, however, the Prime Minister’s direction of travel – already clearly signalled by his very public demotion of Nanaia Mahuta – must be confirmed by an emphatic and ...
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 29, 2023 thru Sat, Feb 4, 2023. Story of the Week Social change more important than physical tipping points1.5-degree Goal not plausible Photo: CLICCS / Universität Hamburg Limiting global ...
So Long - And Thanks For All The Fish: In the two-and-a-bit years since Jacinda Ardern’s electoral triumph of 2020, virtually every decision she made had gone politically awry. In the minds of many thousands of voters a chilling metamorphosis had taken place. The Faerie Queen had become the Wicked ...
Look at us here on our beautiful islands in the South Pacific at the start of 2023, we have come so far.Ten days ago we saw a Māori Governor General swearing in our new PM and our first Pasifika Deputy PM, ahead of this year’s parliament where they will be ...
The Herald’s headline writers are at it again! A sensible and balanced piece by Liam Dann on the battle against inflation carries a headline that suggests that NZ is doing worse than the rest of the world. Check it out and see for yourself if I am right. Is this ...
Photo by Anna Demianenko on UnsplashTLDR: Here’s my longer reads and listens for the weekend for sharing with The Kaka’s paying subscribers. I’ve opened this one up for all to give everyone a taste of the sorts of extras you get as a full paying subscriber.Subscribe nowDeeper reads and listens ...
Hello from the middle of a long weekend where I’m letting the last few days unspool, not ready, not yet, to give words to the hardest of what we heard.Instead, today, here are some good words from other people.Mother CourageWhen I wrote last year about Mum and Dad’s move to ...
Workers Now is a new slate of candidates contesting this year’s general election. James Robb and Don Franks are the people behind this initiative and they are hoping to put the spotlight on working people’s interests. Both are seasoned activists who have campaigned for workers’ rights over many decades. Here is ...
Buzz from the Beehive Politicians keen to curry favour with Māori tribal leaders have headed north for Waitangi weekend. More than a few million dollars of public funding are headed north, too. Not all of this money is being trumpeted on the Beehive website, the Government’s official website. ...
Insurers face claims of over $500 million for cars, homes and property damaged in the floods. They are already putting up premiums and pulling insurance from properties deemed at high risk of flooding. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: This week in the podcast of our weekly hoon webinar for paying subscribers, ...
Our Cranky Uncle Game can already be played in eight languages: English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish. About 15 more languages are in the works at various stages of completion or have been offered to be done. To kick off the new year, we checked with how ...
The (new) Prime Minister said nobody understands what co-governance means, later modified to that there were so many varying interpretations that there was no common understanding.Co-governance cannot be derived from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It does not use the word. It refers to ‘government’ on ...
It’s that time of the week again when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kaka. Jump on this link for our chat about the week’s news with special guests Auckland Central MP Chloe Swarbrick and Auckland City Councillor Julie Fairey, including:Auckland’s catastrophic floods, which ...
In March last year, in a panic over rising petrol prices caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the government made a poor decision, "temporarily" cutting fuel excise tax by 25 cents a litre. Of course, it turned out not to be temporary at all, having been extended in May, July, ...
This month’s open thread for climate related topics. Please be constructive, polite, and succinct. The post Unforced variations: Feb 2023 first appeared on RealClimate. ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two fresh press releases had been posted when we checked the Beehive website at noon, both of them posted yesterday. In one statement, in the runup to Waitangi Day, Maori Crown Relations Minister Kelvin Davis drew attention to happenings on a Northland battle site in 1845. ...
It’s that time of the week again when I’m on the site for an hour for a chat in an Ask Me Anything with paying subscribers to The Kaka. Jump in for a chat on anything, including:Auckland’s catastrophic floods, which are set to cost insurers and the Government well over ...
Australia’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers (left) has published a 6,000 word manifesto called ‘Capitalism after the Crises’ arguing for ‘values-based capitalism’. Yet here in NZ we hear the same stale old rhetoric unchanged from the 1990s and early 2000s. Photo: Getty ImagesTLDR: The rest of the world is talking about inflation ...
A couple of weeks ago, after NCEA results came out, my son’s enrolment at Auckland Uni for this year was confirmed - he is doing a BSc majoring in Statistics. Well that is the plan now, who knows what will take his interest once he starts.I spent a bit of ...
Kia ora. What a week! We hope you’ve all come through last weekend’s extreme weather event relatively dry and safe. Header image: stormwater ponds at Hobsonville Point. Image via Twitter. The week in Greater Auckland There’s been a storm of information and debate since the worst of the flooding ...
Hi,At 4.43pm yesterday it arrived — a cease and desist letter from the guy I mentioned in my last newsletter. I’d written an article about “WEWE”, a global multi-level marketing scam making in-roads into New Zealand. MLMs are terrible for many of the same reasons megachurches are terrible, and I ...
Time To Call A Halt: Chris Hipkins knows that iwi leaders possess the means to make life very difficult for his government. Notwithstanding their objections, however, the Prime Minister’s direction of travel – already clearly signalled by his very public demotion of Nanaia Mahuta – must be confirmed by an emphatic ...
Open access notables Via PNAS, Ceylan, Anderson & Wood present a paper squarely in the center of the Skeptical Science wheelhouse: Sharing of misinformation is habitual, not just lazy or biased. The signficance statement is obvious catnip: Misinformation is a worldwide concern carrying socioeconomic and political consequences. What drives ...
Mark White from the Left free speech organisation Plebity looks at the disturbing trend of ‘book burning’ on US campuses In the abstract, people mostly agree that book banning is a bad thing. The Nazis did us the favor of being very clear about it and literally burning books, but ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has undergone a stern baptisim of fire in his first week in his new job, but it doesn’t get any easier. Next week, he has a vital meeting in Canberra with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, where he has to establish ...
As PM Chris Hipkins says, it’s a “no brainer” to extend the fuel tax cut, half price public subsidy and the cut to the road user levy until mid-year. A no braoner if the prime purpose is to ease the burden on people struggling to cope with the cost of ...
Buzz from the Beehive Cost-of-living pressures loomed large in Beehive announcements over the past 24 hours. The PM was obviously keen to announce further measures to keep those costs in check and demonstrate he means business when he talks of focusing his government on bread-and-butter issues. His statement was headed ...
Poor Mike Hosking. He has revealed himself in his most recent diatribe to be one of those public figures who is defined, not by who he is, but by who he isn’t, or at least not by what he is for, but by what he is against. Jacinda’s departure has ...
New Zealand is the second least corrupt country on earth according to the latest Corruption Perception Index published yesterday by Transparency International. But how much does this reflect reality? The problem with being continually feted for world-leading political integrity – which the Beehive and government departments love to boast about ...
TLDR: Including my pick of the news and other links in my checks around the news sites since 4am. Paying subscribers can see them all below the fold.In Aotearoa’s political economyBrown vs Fish Read more ...
TLDR: Including my pick of the news and other links in my checks around the news sites since 4am. Paying subscribers can see them all below the fold.In Aotearoa’s political economyBrown vs Fish Read more ...
In other countries, the target-rich cohorts of swinging voters are given labels such as ‘Mondeo Man’, ‘White Van Man,’ ‘Soccer Moms’ and ‘Little Aussie Battlers.’ Here, the easiest shorthand is ‘Ford Ranger Man’ – as seen here parked outside a Herne Bay restaurant, inbetween two SUVs. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / ...
In other countries, the target-rich cohorts of swinging voters are given labels such as ‘Mondeo Man’, ‘White Van Man,’ ‘Soccer Moms’ and ‘Little Aussie Battlers.’ Here, the easiest shorthand is ‘Ford Ranger Man’ – as seen here parked outside a Herne Bay restaurant, inbetween two SUVs. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / ...
Transport Minister and now also Minister for Auckland, Michael Wood has confirmed that the light rail project is part of the government’s policy refocus. Wood said the light rail project was under review as part of a ministerial refocus on key Government projects. “We are undertaking a stocktake about how ...
Sometime before the new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced that this year would be about “bread and butter issues”, National’s finance spokesperson Nicola Willis decided to move from Wellington Central and stand for Ohariu, which spreads across north Wellington from the central city to Johnsonville and Tawa. It’s an ...
They say a week is a long time in politics. For Mayor Wayne Brown, turns out 24 hours was long enough for many of us to see, quite obviously, “something isn’t right here…”. That in fact, a lot was going wrong. Very wrong indeed.Mainly because it turns ...
One of the most effective, and successful, graphics developed by Skeptical Science is the escalator. The escalator shows how global surface temperature anomalies vary with time, and illustrates how "contrarians" tend to cherry-pick short time intervals so as to argue that there has been no recent warming, while "realists" recognise ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTLDR: Here’s a quick roundup of the news today for paying subscribers on a slightly frantic, very wet, and then very warm day. In Aotearoa’s political economy today Read more ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTLDR: Here’s a quick roundup of the news today for paying subscribers on a slightly frantic, very wet, and then very warm day. In Aotearoa’s political economy today Read more ...
Tomorrow we have a funeral, and thank you all of you for your very kind words and thoughts — flowers, even.Our friend Michèle messaged: we never get to feel one thing at a time, us grownups, and oh boy is that ever the truth. Tomorrow we have the funeral, and ...
Lynn and I have just returned from a news conference where Hipkins, fresh from visiting a relief centre in Mangere, was repeatedly challenged to justify the extension of subsidies to create more climate emissions when the effects of climate change had just proved so disastrous. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The ...
Lynn and I have just returned from a news conference where Hipkins, fresh from visiting a relief centre in Mangere, was repeatedly challenged to justify the extension of subsidies to create more climate emissions when the effects of climate change had just proved so disastrous. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The ...
A new Prime Minister, a revitalised Cabinet, and possibly revised priorities – but is the political and, importantly, economic landscape much different? Certainly some within the news media were excited by the changes which Chris Hipkins announced yesterday or – before the announcement – by the prospect of changes in ...
Currently the government's strategy for reducing transport emissions hinges on boosting vehicle fuel-efficiency, via the clean car standard and clean car discount, and some improvements to public transport. The former has been hugely successful, and has clearly set us on the right path, but its also not enough, and will ...
Buzz from the Beehive Before he announced his Cabinet yesterday, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced he would be flying to Australia next week to meet that country’s Prime Minister. And before Kieran McAnulty had time to say “Three Waters” after his promotion to the Local Government portfolio, he was dishing ...
The quarterly labour market statistics were released this morning, showing that unemployment has risen slightly to 3.4%. There are now 99,000 people unemployed - 24,000 fewer than when Labour took office. So, I guess the Reserve Bank's plan to throw people out of work to stop wage rises "inflation", and ...
Another night of heavy rain, flooding, damage to homes, and people worried about where the hell all this water is going to go as we enter day twenty two of rain this year.Honestly if the government can’t sell Three Waters on the back of what has happened with storm water ...
* Dr Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Chris Hipkins continues to be the new broom in Government, re-setting his Government away from its problem areas in his Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, and trying to convince voters that Labour is focused on “bread and butter” issues. The ministers responsible for unpopular ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins continues to be the new broom in Government, re-setting his Government away from its problem areas in his Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, and trying to convince voters that Labour is focused on “bread and butter” issues. The ministers responsible for unpopular reforms in water and DHB centralisation ...
Hi,It’s weird to me that in 2023 we still have people falling for multi-level marketing schemes (MLMs for short). There are Netflix documentaries about them, countless articles, and last year we did an Armchaired and Dangerous episode on them.Then you check a ticketing website like EventBrite and see this shit ...
Nanaia Mahuta fell the furthest in the Cabinet reshuffle. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: PM Chris Hipkins unveiled a Cabinet this afternoon he hopes will show wavering voters that a refreshed Labour Government is focused on ‘bread and butter cost of living’ issues, rather than the unpopular, unwieldy and massively centralising ...
Nanaia Mahuta fell the furthest in the Cabinet reshuffle. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: PM Chris Hipkins unveiled a Cabinet this afternoon he hopes will show wavering voters that a refreshed Labour Government is focused on ‘bread and butter cost of living’ issues, rather than the unpopular, unwieldy and massively centralising ...
Shortly, the absolute state of Wayne Brown. But before that, something I wrote four years ago for the council’s own media machine. It was a day-in-the-life profile of their many and varied and quite possibly unnoticed vital services. We went all over Auckland in 48 hours for the story, the ...
Completed reads for January Lilith, by George MacDonald The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (poem), by Samuel Taylor Coleridge Christabel (poem), by Samuel Taylor Coleridge The Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok, by Anonymous The Lay of Kraka (poem), by Anonymous 1066 and All That, by W.C. Sellar and R.J. ...
Pity the poor Brits. They just can’t catch a break. After years of reporting of lying Boris Johnson, a change to a less colourful PM in Rishi Sunak has resulted in a smooth media pivot to an end-of-empire narrative. The New York Times, no less, amplifies suggestions that Blighty ...
On that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth.Genesis 6:11-12THE TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS that dumped a record-breaking amount of rain on Auckland this anniversary weekend will reoccur with ever-increasing frequency. The planet’s atmosphere is ...
Buzz from the Beehive There has been plenty to keep the relevant Ministers busy in flood-stricken Auckland over the past day or two. But New Zealand, last time we looked, extends north of Auckland into Northland and south of the Bombay Hills all the way to the bottom of the ...
Kia ora e te whānau. Today, we mark the anniversary of the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi - and our commitment to working in partnership with Māori to deliver better outcomes and tackle the big issues, together. ...
We’ve just announced a massive infrastructure investment to kick-start new housing developments across New Zealand. Through our Infrastructure Acceleration Fund, we’re making sure that critical infrastructure - like pipes, roads and wastewater connections - is in place, so thousands more homes can be built. ...
The Green Party is joining more than 20 community organisations to call for an immediate rent freeze in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, after reports of landlords intending to hike rents after flooding. ...
When Chris Hipkins took on the job of Prime Minister, he said bread and butter issues like the cost of living would be the Government’s top priority – and this week, we’ve set out extra support for families and businesses. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to provide direct support to low-income households and to stop subsidising fossil fuels during a climate crisis. ...
The tools exist to help families with surging costs – and as costs continue to rise it is more urgent than ever that we use them, the Green Party says. ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today held their first bilateral meeting in Canberra. It was Chris Hipkins’ first overseas visit since he took office, reflecting the close relationship between New Zealand and Australia. “New Zealand has no closer partner than Australia. I was pleased to ...
New Zealand will immediately provide humanitarian support to those affected by the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. “Aotearoa New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by these earthquakes. Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones affected,” ...
An historic Northland pā site with links to Ngāpuhi chief Hongi Hika is to be handed back to iwi, after collaboration by government, private landowners and local hapū. “It is fitting that the ceremony for the return of the Pākinga Pā site is during Waitangi weekend,” said Regional Development Minister ...
The Government is investing in a suite of initiatives to unlock Māori and Pacific resources, talent and knowledge across the science and research sector, Research, Science and Innovation Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Two new funds – He tipu ka hua and He aka ka toro – set to ...
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta departs for India tomorrow as she continues to reconnect Aotearoa New Zealand to the world. The visit will begin in New Delhi where the Foreign Minister will meet with the Vice President Hon Jagdeep Dhankar and her Indian Government counterparts, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and ...
Over $10 million infrastructure funding to unlock housing in Whangārei The purchase of a 3.279 hectare site in Kerikeri to enable 56 new homes Northland becomes eligible for $100 million scheme for affordable rentals Multiple Northland communities will benefit from multiple Government housing investments, delivering thousands of new homes for ...
The Government is supporting one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most significant historic sites, the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, as it continues to recover from the impacts of COVID-19. “The Waitangi Treaty Grounds are a taonga that we should protect and look after. This additional support will mean people can continue to ...
A memorial event at a key battle site in the New Zealand land wars is an important event to mark the progress in relations between Māori and the Crown as we head towards Waitangi Day, Minister for Te Arawhiti Kelvin Davis said. The Battle of Ohaeawai in June 1845 saw ...
More Police officers are being deployed to the frontline with the graduation of 54 new constables from the Royal New Zealand Police College today. The graduation ceremony for Recruit Wing 362 at Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua was the first official event for Stuart Nash since his reappointment as Police ...
The Government is unlocking an additional $700,000 in support for regions that have been badly hit by the recent flooding and storm damage in the upper North Island. “We’re supporting the response and recovery of Auckland, Waikato, Coromandel, Northland, and Bay of Plenty regions, through activating Enhanced Taskforce Green to ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has welcomed the announcement that Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, will visit New Zealand this month. “Princess Anne is travelling to Aotearoa at the request of the NZ Army’s Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals, of which she is Colonel in Chief, to ...
A new Government and industry strategy launched today has its sights on growing the value of New Zealand’s horticultural production to $12 billion by 2035, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said. “Our food and fibre exports are vital to New Zealand’s economic security. We’re focussed on long-term strategies that build on ...
25 cents per litre petrol excise duty cut extended to 30 June 2023 – reducing an average 60 litre tank of petrol by $17.25 Road User Charge discount will be re-introduced and continue through until 30 June Half price public transport fares extended to the end of June 2023 saving ...
The strong economy has attracted more people into the workforce, with a record number of New Zealanders in paid work and wages rising to help with cost of living pressures. “The Government’s economic plan is delivering on more better-paid jobs, growing wages and creating more opportunities for more New Zealanders,” ...
The Government is providing a further $1 million to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced today. “Cabinet today agreed that, given the severity of the event, a further $1 million contribution be made. Cabinet wishes to be proactive ...
The new Cabinet will be focused on core bread and butter issues like the cost of living, education, health, housing and keeping communities and businesses safe, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has announced. “We need a greater focus on what’s in front of New Zealanders right now. The new Cabinet line ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins will travel to Canberra next week for an in person meeting with Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. “The trans-Tasman relationship is New Zealand’s closest and most important, and it was crucial to me that my first overseas trip as Prime Minister was to Australia,” Chris Hipkins ...
The Government is providing establishment funding of $100,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. “We moved quickly to make available this funding to support Aucklanders while the full extent of the damage is being assessed,” Kieran McAnulty ...
As the Mayor of Auckland has announced a state of emergency, the Government, through NEMA, is able to step up support for those affected by flooding in Auckland. “I’d urge people to follow the advice of authorities and check Auckland Emergency Management for the latest information. As always, the Government ...
Ka papā te whatitiri, Hikohiko ana te uira, wāhi rua mai ana rā runga mai o Huruiki maunga Kua hinga te māreikura o te Nota, a Titewhai Harawira Nā reira, e te kahurangi, takoto, e moe Ka mōwai koa a Whakapara, kua uhia te Tai Tokerau e te kapua pōuri ...
Carmel Sepuloni, Minister for Social Development and Employment, has activated Enhanced Taskforce Green (ETFG) in response to flooding and damaged caused by Cyclone Hale in the Tairāwhiti region. Up to $500,000 will be made available to employ job seekers to support the clean-up. We are still investigating whether other parts ...
The 2023 General Election will be held on Saturday 14 October 2023, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “Announcing the election date early in the year provides New Zealanders with certainty and has become the practice of this Government and the previous one, and I believe is best practice,” Jacinda ...
Jacinda Ardern has announced she will step down as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party. Her resignation will take effect on the appointment of a new Prime Minister. A caucus vote to elect a new Party Leader will occur in 3 days’ time on Sunday the 22nd of ...
By Ian Chute in Suva Fijian Broadcasting Corporation (FBC) board chairman Ajay Bhai Amrit says he has receipts to prove former FBC chief executive officer Riyaz Sayed-Khaiyum received an annual package of $387,790 including benefits and entitlements. He said this worked out to $32,315 a month and that the board ...
PNG Post-Courier PNG Defence Force Commander Major-General Mark Goina says “appropriate force” will be dealt to the gunmen who ambushed and wounded two soldiers in Saugurap, Enga Province, last week. In a statement Major-General Goina said: “A section from the PNGDF contingent deployed in Enga Province were on routine duty, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes “Word from The Hill”, where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation’s politics team. In this podcast Michelle and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe.Lukas Coch/AAP Australia’s cash rate has hit 3.35%, after the Reserve Bank raised interest rates for the ninth time in a row – and signalled ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hannah Della Bosca, PhD Candidate and Research Assistant at Sydney Environment Institute, University of Sydney Shutterstock While the days of overt climate denial are mostly over, there’s a distinct form of denial emerging in its stead. You may have experienced ...
A potential cyclone that could bring more severe wet weather to the upper North Island is now forecast to form a day earlier, Stuff reports. Due to ideal cyclone-formation conditions over the Coral Sea, a low south of the Solomon Islands has a high chance of turning into a cyclone ...
Author I.S. Belle reveals the top five influences on her debut LGBT horror/paranormal YA novel, Zombabe.Zombabe is a LGBT found family horror/paranormal YA about a group of friends putting down an ancient evil inextricably linked to their sleepy town of Bulldeen, Maine. Does all of that bring anything to ...
New Zealand prime minister Chris Hipkins and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese are holding a joint press conference in Canberra. Watch live here. ...
The New Zealand government is providing $1.5 million in humanitarian support to those affected by destructive earthquakes in Turkey and Syria last night, foreign minister Nanaia Mahuta has announced. The contribution of $1m to Turkey and $500,000 to Syria will be made via the International Federation of Red Cross and ...
In a state-of-the-nation-style lunchtime speech in Auckland today, the leader of the Act Party has taken aim at both major party leaders. “Throughout this speech,” David Seymour told supporters at the Maritime Museum, “I will do my best to differentiate between the Chrisses, but it may not be easy.” Seymour ...
In Canberra Chris Hipkins has met with Australia’s Anthony Albanese in Canberra, exchanging a few brief words to gathered reporters before heading inside for a closed doors meeting. Hipkins was driven into the courtyard of Parliament House, where he was greeted by Albanese in person. “Welcome prime minister,” said Albanese. A beaming ...
The acclaimed fashion designer has been crowned the ‘undisputed king of the frock’ – but with identical dresses widely available on fast fashion outlets, questions are being asked about his design practices.This story was first published on Stuff. He has been described as the “knight of New Zealand fashion”, his ...
In Canberra New Zealand’s media pack has arrived at Australia’s parliament ahead of this afternoon’s visit from prime minister Chris Hipkins. The PM will be met by his counterpart Anthony Albanese in the courtyard of parliament house, before heading inside for a closed doors meeting. Following the 45 minute meeting, ...
Two new funding initiatives, totalling $22 million, have been approved by Cabinet today to help ensure the cultural sector has the “certainty and support to thrive”, announced Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage. $10 million of Covid-19 recovery funding will support established arts, cultural and diversity festivals, while $12 ...
New Zealand Politics Daily is a collation of the most prominent issues being discussed in New Zealand. It is edited by Dr Bryce Edwards of The Democracy Project. Items of interest and importance todayWAITANGI, CO-GOVERNANCE, THREE WATERS Thomas Cranmer: Waitangi Day and the quiet revolution Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Waitangi in 2023: Plenty ...
ACT leader David Seymour has delivered a speech painting National and Labour as two sides of the same coin, and calling co-governance a "culture war". ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Quigley, Associate Professor of Earthquake Science, The University of Melbourne Mustafa Karali / AP A pair of huge earthquakes have struck in Turkey, leaving more than 3,000 people dead and unknown numbers injured or displaced. The first quake, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kalinda Griffiths, Scientia lecturer, UNSW Sydney Getty/Marianne Purdie Cancer figures provide stark evidence of the gap between the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous people in Australia. The difference is confronting – and it’s increasing over ...
NZ Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have used a joint media conference to affirm the nations' relationship is that of "family". ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Alcohol bans are being reimposed on Northern Territory Indigenous communities, as the federal and territory governments grapple with intractable problems in Alice Springs and elsewhere in the NT. The situation in Alice Springs and the ...
I was told to avoid gluten. I was told it was all in my head. When 10% of women experience endometriosis, why does it take so long for its classic symptoms to be recognised? It was 2011 when I had my first period. It felt like a very exciting moment ...
In Canberra Chris Hipkins has touched down in Australia’s capital – his first overseas visit since becoming prime minister just three weeks ago. After disembarking from the Airforce Boeing, Hipkins was greeted by his former caucus colleague and current high commissioner to Australia, Dame Annette King. The pair hugged on ...
The rise of TikTok-inspired ‘algospeak’ is making online communication even more of a nightmare, writes SYSCA‘s Lucy Blakiston.This is an excerpt from the Shit You Should Care About daily newsletter – sign up here.Content warning: sexual assault The other day I was chatting with a friend about algospeak – ...
School, finally, is back this week in the nation’s largest city to howls of relief from many parents and (one hopes) some students also. Yet the resumption of normal service shouldn’t obscure a curious inconsistency. The past few weeks have shown ...
MediaRoom column: On the eve of a Cabinet decision on the fate of the proposed public broadcasting merger, questions emerge over the engagement by the TVNZ chief executive of two former National government aides to change the narrative and push TVNZ's view on the Government's plan Within weeks of taking over ...
Olivia Sisson performs a good old-fashioned cost comparison – and it might change the way you buy your veges.The price of food in New Zealand is shocking. So, how to cope? The recommendations are starting to feel like the avo-toast-flat-white trope. Cut those items out and there it is, ...
An early morning fire at an egg-laying farm in Orini, Waikato yesterday has claimed the lives of at least 50,000 hens. The farm is operated by New Zealand’s largest egg producer Zeagold, the country’s biggest egg producer, whose eggs are sold under ...
The Natural and Built Environment Bill and Spatial Planning Bill will make resource management issues worse and should be withdrawn, Federated Farmers has told the Environment Select Committee. "Farmers agree the costly, slow and unpredictable processes ...
New police minister Stuart Nash has met with new health minister Ayesha Verrall to talk about the issue with the aim of preventing ram raids. Nash wants to speed up the scheduled reduction of dairies that can sell cigarettes. Nash made the comments at a police graduation ceremony in Porirua last ...
It’s Tuesday, February 7 and welcome to a special edition of The Spinoff’s live updates. Stewart Sowman-Lund will be on the ground in Canberra today as PM Chris Hipkins meets with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese. What you need to know Chris Hipkins will meet Australian PM ...
Politicking by politicians was less overt but whether there was less politics probably depends on your definition of the word and what lay beneath the optics, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Why is it becoming harder to achieve debt-free status? Money Sweetspot is a new company that uses compassion and incentives to help people pay off their debts. Co-founder Sasha Lockley talks to Simon about using gamification to increase financial literacy, breaking the cycle of poverty, and how she intends to ...
Prime minister Chris Hipkins is heading to Australia today for his first face-to-face meeting with an international leader. He’ll be meeting with Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese during his single-day visit to Canberra. The Spinoff live updates will be on the ground in Australia as the meeting takes place and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By C Raina MacIntyre, Professor of Global Biosecurity, NHMRC Principal Research Fellow, Head, Biosecurity Program, Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney Pexels/Uriel Mont The question of whether and to what extent face masks work to prevent respiratory infections such as COVID and influenza ...
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National MP Chris Penk has written an extraordinary "book" (in reality, an online rant) about the government's response to Covid-19.
He has done a copy and paste from every discredited source he could find (Taxpayers' Union, former ACT MP Muriel Newman, Simon "Sweden" Thornley, Kiwiblog (!) etc).
Too much nonsense to address in detail here, but the main point is that he has directly contradicted his own party leader. On his first day, Todd Muller described Ardern's handling of the crisis as "impressive", because they know they can't win by fighting public opinion at 90%. They really want to talk about something else.
Nobody told Penk, it seems.
This is not a mistake, it is the usual National tactic of covering all bases.
As long as one of them is saying it, then their party faithful who agree can be relied upon to support them.
In my opinion, the party faithful are pragmatic, they know that what is said in public is for public consumption, what matters is the intention behind. And that is often very different.
I disagree. Neale Jones sums it up.
National had a smooth machine for so long that many on the left will assume that there must be a "cunning plan", that they always know what they are doing.
It's often true. It isn't right now. This is definitely not the ground Muller wants to fight on.
OK. Happy to consider that National is just stupid.
it really is a choice between bad or stupid or a combination fo the two, innit…
Isn't Penk another member of the Rapture Right in National? Our big media outlets refuse to cover how much US-inspired fundamentalists have infiltrated the National party – but at the moment the only way to understand how inept they've suddenly become is to recognise the vanguardism of fundamentalist infiltration of the National party. But these people harbour some seriously loony beliefs and like their numbskull American hero in the White House, they get their information from Fox News.
Generally speaking, I strongly support our media’s policy of regarding MPs private lives as off limits. But these evangelicals use their beliefs to inform radical policy positions well outside the mainstream of NZ life, so to to me that makes them open to discussion. After all, if you were an avowed revolutionary Marxist in the Labour caucus the Herald wouldn’t hesitate to tell the world about that. The last thing the country needs is to wake up the day after an election and then discover a 2 seat majority National + ACT government is being controlled by prosperity doctrine fundies who want to remake NZ in the image of Florida, because the MSM didn't think to mention it before the election.
You have brought up a point worrying me Sanctuary. There is evidence of deep conservative Catholicism in our politics, I think that the most prominent person is Bill English. But how far has it gone through National – I think Jim Bolger is one. Whether he was of the excessive level of preachiness or not, they must support each other of the same religion. Also the Exclusive Brethren has revealed itself to be helpful to National as being the best to serve their own interests.
The various cults that have sprung up to make use of the tax-free status of religion are a worry as they undermine the democratic process of elevating individuals value and rights, and progressive moves to think for oneself and develop our own personality and life achievements. It is hard to free oneself from the oppressive control as the cultish religions seek to contain individuals from make their own life, thoughtfully formed and seeking self-realisation and the good values of humanity.
(Note – Gloriavale is very close to Amish style; very narrow and demanding as to personal freedom, and other cults marry their young ones off at say 17 years, and women can not develop wide skills to gain employment or have a career, as children and domestic life take precedence.)
Taking away the tax-free status of churches and treating them as not-for-profit charities would be a big advantage in retaining our democracy and being able to make rational moves to cope with climate change, a better education so we have informed and actively involved citizens in politics. A move to do this would uncover the depth and width that the semi-religious community has permeated our society, with results that do not lead to its well-being.
This removal of the ' tax free status" for religions is something I believe should happen.
It has often been used to push a particular point of view. Who else can promulgate their ideas at no cost?
I agree greywarshark… not an even playing field.
Oh dear…
Ron Mark is even more stupid after 3 yrs in govt he thinks the police shouldn't be armed and their training with arms is substandard after years in opposition questioning the use of police using the AR 4.
Heard of the 501's Ron the gangs are regularly being busted with large caches of guns including assault rifles.
NZ first is desperately sabotaging to get over 5%
He does have a point as to why an under-trained young constable needs to stand on a street outside a domestic dispute or traffic infringement with a gun that can fire almost a 1000 rounds a minute.
Yes, I heard the interview and I agreed with him.
At least get your fact straight when you try to make an argument.
NZ Police are only armed with semi auto guns not fully auto guns
Don't be dismissive about whether guns are semi auto or full auto. It's a slippery slide that responsible people are concerned about, rightly.
So they've not gone for the law enforcement selective fire version which would give them a three-round burst or fully automatic capability?
Tricledrown, we do not want Policing through fear mongering. It will end badly.
Training is hugely important.
Training for how to shoot and electrically shock people? Disarm them.
… the police shouldn't be armed
+1.

It's now becoming an open topic of conversation as to what to do if the DumpsterFuhrer refuses to leave when his time's up.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/joe-biden-remove-trump-from-the-white-house_n_5ee21f1ec5b6843ba6f808cf
I reckon it should be fairly easy to achieve peacefully. Just instruct the WH staff to ignore it when he presses his buttons summoning snacks and Diet Coke (btw, it's not working). Then after a couple of hours, send in a robot carrying hamberders and diet coke to loiter outside the Oval Office. When he starts coming for the bait, get the robot to lead him into a waiting limo. Sorted.
The chilling moment for me isn't anything like that – I mean the Pentagon heads couldn't have been clearer in the last week that they will protect the constitution faaaaar deeper than they will protect this current White House occupant.
To me the issue is that Donald Trump still has a reasonable chance of winning a second term as President, and of retaining a majority of the Senate.
That's the moment that the global standing of the United States starts to disintegrate fast, and after that the glaciers of the United Nations, World Trade Organisation, UNESCO, International Monetary Fund, World Bank et al really start to calve off.
It's not an unreasonable scenario to see a full and irreversible liquefaction of the structures that have sustained our relative peace and prosperity for decades.
That's the kind of stuff that really matters to us weeny countries with no power.
Ad, stop it! Please.
Considering the damage Vulgarmort has already wrought and the accelerating trendlines of all the various craptacles he's initiated, I find it all a bit too much to even contemplate the idea of another four years.
What about this scenario of the cold war type, with added nuclear possibilities between India and Pakistan, which looms as a result of Australia adopting Trump-like attitudes then.
https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2020/06/taking-back-our-eyes.html
We need to form new alliances and not give in to the lowest common denominator.
I was contemplating that likely scenario the other day and concluded the best way would be to lock him up inside the White house with no access to anything or anyone beyond its walls. When he finally goes troppo, they can remove him to an undisclosed location where he can remain in solitary confinement for the rest of his natural.
Ahhhh… beautiful dreams.
Fun fact: Chris Penk's dad was outed for running a letter writing campaign against assisted dying under a pseudonym and his brother runs the far right Maxim Institute. So yeah, we got a real set of bad eggs here.
http://www.gisborneherald.co.nz/opinion/column/20190122/euthanasia-and-the-eighth-commandment/
P.S. Auckland University has really become a hothouse for right wing cranks, hasn't it!
You're not a crank because you're against the euthenasia bill.
It's a better bill than when it started, but it's still a pig.
Actually I will probably vote against the end of life bill in the referendum.
What makes him a candidate for right wing crankery is the clearly disingenuous attempts to hoodwink the public with his letter writing campaign.
You must know whether you will vote for or against the bill Sanc-why the “probably”?
Because I can see both sides of this debate. At the moment, my thinking doesn't support voting in favour of this proposal, but I am still thinking about it.
Both my brothers died horribly from cancer I hope the bill passes so that I have the option to not suffer as much as they did.
I am sorry to hear that. I watched my father die of aggressive lung cancer, he was a whisp of the strong man I knew as a child at his end. We've all got our own stories. How we interpret them informs how we will vote, I guess. I just hope the debate doesn't become a rancorous culture war.
It will be good if people with vote for euthanasia, controlled by good legal measures to ensure right behaviour all through. All it needs is for people to consider other people's wishes and see that it is wise to have that option. Being kind to other people will be of great importance in getting it through. It should not require unhappy experiences to be the reason. Accepting our human limit of time on this planet, and that it has been much extended by others who have improved health measures and have changed the pattern of earlier death, should enable us to make another rational change so that we can then decide when we want to pass on.
The changes made in the world have enabled longer and usually happier lives, though in NZ Maori have not had that full benefit. Now we could have happier deaths if others would just give us that freedom instead of imprisoning us on the planet when that is no longer our choice, or forcing us to take unpleasant decisions if we are forced to an illegal step and commit suicide. It is not fair or reasonable to refuse others their right to determine when and how they will die.
Strongly agree with you Barfly.
Yes Barfly. My Aunt had to go to hell and back with lung cancer. I know what I believe. We help animals, yet let humans suffer. It should be a choice.
Brassed-off journalist turns up the heat in Cook's kitchen.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/121794135/make-better-door-knobs-what-statues-of-old-victors-mean-to-me
Right, so where will this end? Shall we bulldoze the Savage memorial because he supported the British Empire? How about Truby King, the founder of Plunket? He was a eugenicist who had fairly strong views on the genetic superiority of the British people – should we demolish his mausoleum? How about Marx, should his grave have hs statue on it? Communism killed millions! Should the British destroy all memorials to Clement Attlee, on the grounds of his appalling behaviour in Britain’s African colonies? What about statues of Winston Churchill? Personally I find the current fashion of vilification of James Cook by the left painfully cartoonish and utterly bereft of context. Should I stand by while monuments to probably the greatest navigator of any age (and an enlightened man by the standards of his time) be puled down by hooting mobs of ignoramuses?
Practically ANY statue in NZ erected in the last 150+ years will upset someone. How about we just not go a route of a ridiculous culture war over inanimate objects, that will only ultimately hurt the progressive cause in NZ?
+100
Yup. Presentism.
But yes … hooting mobs of ignorami will prevail for the moment. City Councillors who appease these calls are probably not fools, they know in private that pulling down old statues is stupid, but most people will do anything for an easy life. When the mob labels you 'racist' people get sacked and cancelled. So down they will come.
Exactly, lets only make history about what happened since the last change of ideology.
It ends where where the evil that was interr'd with their bones doesn't outweigh the good that lives after them, in the eyes of the people.
They're not the Left … they're Intersectionals … entirely different kettle of fish.
I see the Woke as a small but highly influential Cult centred within segments of both the New Middle Professional Class & the Upper-Middle Class (amazing just how many are descended from old Establishment families … Auckland Business Elites & South Island Rural Gentry) … attempting to hi-jack the Left … by massively downplaying the centrality of socio-economic disparity while simultaneously comandeering traditional Left moral concerns … racism & so on … then grossly distorting & weaponizing those concerns (with the help of their Gurus like Bishop DiAngelo …. or does she call herself Archbishop now ?) – some are dogmatic true-believers, others are the bully-boys we know all too well on NZ social media … focussed in large part on pursuing their own power & self-interest … albeit assiduously dressed up with this thin veneer of (LOL) "self-less Altruism".
Bad Actors playing Saints. Personal power & prestige enhancement.
While I agree with the vibe of yr comment, the notion Cook was the greatest navigator of any age, seems to be a whitewashing of history.
The Pacifica navigators that got here before Cook did so without tools at his disposal.
Cook conflicts me. Probably more than a bit because I'm the son of a Yorkshireman 🙂
He was a great sailor and navigator, and advanced human knowledge (not just European – the actual observation of the transit of venus was a pretty difficult technical task given the optics of the day). But he was also responsible for a lot of bad shit. but then he was also quite progressive for the day, and I did hear a thing on RNZ ages ago that reckoned his behaviour on the third voyage showed all the signs of mental exhaustion and breakdown. So… complicated. Certainly not "good", but not fucking NB Forrest.
Churchill is a more extreme cause of ambivalence – a complete colonialist prick who gassed civilians and viewed hunting down Irish rebels almost as a game. But without him, Hitler could well have won.
No answers here – torn both ways.
About the only honest response you can have
No reason why he shouldn't be celebrated in his own place of birth though .
Maybe the important thing when looking at a statue of Cook could be , because of him my forebears came to NZ and could have a better life.At the expense of my other forebears.(referring to myself.)We all have a problematic history we need to be aware of
If we determine to visit the punishment for the sins of the fathers on generations of the sons, then everything gets torn down. Or at the very least, nothing is immune to the force of that argument.
And as can be easily seen, all cultures have problematic, traumatic history, there is probably no human alive who doesn't have some ancestors who benefited from invasion, slavery and genocide.
But the phrase "Black Lives Matter" is an overloaded message carrying multiple layers of meaning. One of which is it's really only the sins of white people that matter. Everyone else is excused.
I mean, we could just have pretty thorough discussions about whether we have lots of statues to fathers who sinned, but keep pushing that barrow. Not even NASCAR agrees with you.
Well I'd be a lot more convinced if BLM demonstrated the same anguish over the 5000 – 6000 blacks who kill each other annually, and the fact that blacks are 52% of all homicide perpetrators than the relative handful of unarmed black victims at the hands of the police … black and white:
So the Black Lives Matter protestors don't experience anguish over black violence? What evidence do you have to back up that remarkable allegation?
Actually rather than the tiresome point scoring, how about reading the article I linked to. John McWhorter isn't some random dude on the internet.
Actually rather than the tiresome point scoring
Ummm, never mind, as you were.
McWhorter is not a lot superior to "some random dude on the internet." He's an Obama cultist, and not a serious academic.
I'm not convinced you'd ever be convinced beyond your limitless whataboutism..
"Whataboutism"—another contribution to philosophical discourse, courtesy of the doomed Hillary Clinton campaign.
Also see “Russian bots”, “Russian masterminds”, “Steele Dossier”, “Luke Harding”, “resistance”.
Nope, it's 50-odd years old.
No, the actual term "whataboutism" and its equally witless variant "whataboutery" appeared in the last three and a half years. It was, and is still, used as a strategy—a failed strategy— to derail those people impertinent enough to point out that Democrats, especially those in the Clinton/Schumer/Pelosi faction that controls the party, have a history of racism and militarism and voter suppression as vile as the Republicans, and that the United States has not even the slightest moral right to criticise any country for interference in elections of another jurisdiction.
Jeebus mate, MF even did the homework and provided you with a link. 50+ years old and not a Clinton in sight.
The tu quoque diversion tactic is as old as the hills. The desperate and unconvincing "whataboutery" word is as old as…. Russiagate. And just as intellectually rigorous.
By the way, fifty years ago, a young Bill Clinton was indeed in sight—if you were at Oxford University, where the Rhodes “Scholar”—to use that word in the most generous and indulgent sense possible—-was a forlorn and by all accounts horribly unsuccessful suitor to dozens of young English women.
OK let's go back to the core BLM grievance, that racist white police are mass murdering blacks at a rate far higher than whites.
The question is what rate comparison are they using?
From the stats linked to for 2019 show a total of 634 office involved shootings. On a simple population basis
58% of deaths are white, yet non-Hispanic whites comprise 53% of the population.
37% of deaths are black, yet non-Hispanic blacks comprise 14% of the population.
This is the basis for the BLM claim that racist police kill blacks at a rate 2 -3 times higher than whites.
Yet obviously this is a dubious claim. People do not come into contact with the police at random, especially not in contexts of homicide and/or armed violence when police are very likely to respond with deadly force:
On this basis the simple rate comparisons above change to this:
58% of deaths are white, yet non-Hispanic whites commit 48% of the homicides.
37% of deaths are black, yet non-Hispanic blacks commit 52% of the homicides
On this basis the outcome is completely flipped, it looks like blacks are actually less likely to be shot by the police than whites. Have BLM sold the world a complete crock of shit?
In reality the truth is likely to be somewhere between these two highly simplified views. Many other factors can be introduced and the entire conversation is way more complex than one comment can possibly cover, but the more you look at the data the more McWhorter's conclusion looks to be pretty much on the money.
(This analysis is no substitute for a proper multi-factorial study, but I introduced one the other night, and no-one could be arsed reading it.)
Blacks are less likely to be shot by police than whites, you say? I suggest you ring up NewstalkZB, where there are people who are prepared to listen to such raving lunacy without laughing.
Using murder convictions as a proxy for contact with police to explain that systemic racism doesn't exist is more stupid than literally cut&pasting massive straw man arguments from a right-wing propaganda platform to do the same.
murder convictions as a proxy for contact with police to explain that systemic racism doesn't exist
I'm using murder convictions are a proxy for the likelihood of a particular ethnicity coming into contact with the police, and if that contact goes badly sideways, the possibility of being shot.
After all you still have no answer as to why the male 50% of the population are more than 95% of the police deaths. If population was the correct proxy then you would expect equal numbers of men and women to be killed regardless of ethnicity … but this is obviously not the case. Clearly the different rates of committing violent crime between the sexes is a highly relevant factor.
Yet BLM have used population as their sole proxy to convince the world there is a massive problem with systemic racism in the USA.
"The correct proxy". 🙄
So in search of "the correct proxy" you latch onto another product determined by the bias of the system accused of bias.
As for your digression, any explanation of the role of ethnicity and toxic masculinity in a disfunctional society would have to involve a certain amount of intersectionality, and you've repeatedly shown you can't deal with that concept and frankly I have neither the time, inclinition, cache, or words small enough to explain it to you.
Especially when your straw men are big enough to be set fire to by a bunch of hippies at the end of a drugfest.
Frankly, the thought of discussing gender and ethnicity with you at the same time is the fucking definition of futility.
The theory of intersectionality, now widely embraced by activists, maintains that non-whites, women, and LGBT individuals face systemic oppression whose scope increases according to the number of minority statuses a person holds.
The fewer boxes you check (straight white men don’t check any) the more “privilege” you are deemed to possess. This privilege, which now serves as a sort of intersectional mark of original sin, is invoked to justify silencing any view you disagree with.
It may once have been an useful academic tool in some specialised contexts, but once it escaped into the wild the cult it morphed into something quite different.
So in search of "the correct proxy" you latch onto another product determined by the bias of the system accused of bias.
Which is why you have to do a proper multi-factorial analysis, but I've already shown there is no point in introducing that.
whatever, dude. Quibbling about the denominator tends to make your calls for further research looks like just another tactic to delay accepting the evidence repeatedly caught on camera.
Video like this?
Or this?
I'm glad that you now know how to search for videos (and even filter out inconvenient search results). Only a few days ago you thought the ability to link to a relevant video was a sign of obsession with the topic.
In another 50 years you might even be "woke".
On the contrary, I was merely responding to your suggestion about 'evidence repeatedly caught on camera'.
And judging by your flippant demeanor it would appear these white lives really didn't matter to you … and certainly not to any of the thousands of protesters tearing the USA apart right now on the basis of a lie.
The ego you have to assume that someone's attitudes to you somehow reflects their attitudes on anything other than you is absolutely trumpian.
But without him, Hitler could well have won.
???? I think that if you did a little serious reading, you might find that the Russians were the decisive factor in the defeat of Hitler.
I think you'll find hitler might have taken moscow (and Stalin) if he was fighting a one-front war with no arctic convoys supplying the Soviets.
Wasn’t it something like 12km?
Yes WW2 was altogether a lot closer than we imagine.
The same applies in the Desert War, that was an extremely close run thing as well.
The same applies in the Battle of the Atlantic. Churchhill at one point had determined to surrender within two weeks, but several last moment technical developments persuaded him not to.
This doesn't take away from the fact that the Russian people sacrificed an entire generation of men on the Eastern front and in doing so crushed the bulk of the German army.
12km … It could also be argued that the delay to the start of the campaign (because the Italians could not take Greece) was a factor.
But for mine the German problem was they could not take cities heavily defended – that would have applied to Moscow as with Leningrad and Stalingrad.
The Stuka and Panzer tag team stumbled against anti-tank and air defence concentrations. When the Russians could take this scenario out into the field – Kursk it was all over.
The Maginot Line might have worked, if the Germans were not able to go around it.
Even if they just laid seige to Moscow, that would have hindered the resupply that got through to Leningrad. And without UK/US supplies coming through Murmansk (because UK surrendered and didn't run the convoys), Leningrad falls. Which frees up the northern thrust to assist one of the other groups (oil or Moscow).
All because the guy who was PM at the time of Dunkirk chose to accept the advice around him and offer terms. Very few periods in history rest on one person's decision and character like that.
The conflict you describe is something I sort of struggle with in regards to artists.
Josh Homme, IMO, is one of the best guitarists, vocalists and songwriters going round at the moment. Great body of work and a fantastic collaborator (PJ Harvey, Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones, Lady Gaga, Iggy Pop).
But there are many stories of him being a total arse of a person. Kicking a photographer in he mouth, tipping the rider table over backstage…
Spike Milligan, comic genius with occasional racist and anti-semite streaks through his work….
We should commission statues to commemorate Maori events as well. Ask Maori artists in each region to design and produce sculptures of famous members from their area….just saying.
… hooting mobs of ignoramuses…
That's a bit of an ironic statement, coming just after you have damned others for "painfully cartoonish" vilification.
I'm also uneasy about this move to pull down statues, but I recognise that the protestors are serious and moral thinkers. "Hooting mobs of ignoramuses" applies to certain groups, such as those thugs who gathered in Hamilton last year to heap abuse on the gypsy tourists. It does not apply to demonstrators that you don't approve of them.
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-relentless-taunting-of-gypsy.html
White privilege in action example #45,981,098:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12339243
TBH, I struggle to summon up a huge amount of sympathy for someone complaining that their two week all expenses paid, all meals supplied, break in the Crowne Plaza doesn't give them a lot of exercise opportunity – let alone put it on the front page of the Herald.
Middle class snowflake syndrome, with a huge helping of white privilege.
Talk about entitlement and "freezing cold " , in AUCKLAND ? . Oh for fucksake, ship her off to do some grape pruning in Central Otago to teach her some humility.
You sound a little cranky yourself this morning.
It's bloody cold outside pruning and only going to get colder. I hate winter.
She was given a platform on Morning Report today as well. She has a sort of "Don't You Know who I Am!" quality about her. Poor little muppet.
Middle Class snowflake maybe, but why is it also "white privilege"?
but lower class and upper class in particular are also snowflakes… why always pick on the middle class? sign of poor and confused thinking i think
I like to use the middle class term to describe the aspirational, stand on the poor, often self-employed members of the precariat.
Those that are just one month or one contract away from falling amongst those that they so readily dismiss.
such a wide term then, "middle class" for such a narrow and particular sub-group "aspirational, stand on the poor, often self-employed, one month away from disaster"…
… exactly as I said gsays "sign of poor and confused thinking"
How many of the middle class would fit into your category gsays? Maybe 1%. 5% perhaps. 20% tops maybe? Don’t be so disparaging of the vast majority of our population mr bigot
Judging by the amount of votes the Nats and act get, the number is way over 20%.
The reaction and dumping of Metira Turei showed the 'Me first and the gimmee gimmee' attitude is common amongst us.
Greed or unwillingness to share is one of the biggest challenges we face.
"Don’t be so disparaging of the vast majority of our population mr bigot" Irony much.
Wayne, maybe, (I don't know 'cos I'm Pākehā), it's because the lady in question has such issues for her major problem/s, and non-whites have generally somewhat larger issues with which to contend.
I was reading a bit in the paper in which the issue of the death of fictional character, Tony Soprano, was being discussed.
Elsewhere, meanwhile, while I comfortably sit on my patio with my mid-morning coffee eying the news and weather……….. meanwhile, the world continues to dump unimaginable grief and harm and injustice on others because they are ‘other’.
At times like this I am reminded of my childhood, envying a boy at school who had tomato sauce sandwiches while I had ham, walnut and marmite, cheese and tomato. That wasn't white priviege. That was poverty.
Two things. I didn't know then what poverty was like. Secondly, it's analogous- my privilege as the son of a grocer, hence the ham sandwiches, and the privilege of having not to worry about the effects of racial stereotyping, bigotry and hatred.
Learning empathy would help us all.
At primary school I was bullied. The boy who backed me against the rest of the class-mates knew about empathy. He was mocked for his hair style, a 'pudding bowl', cut by his mother as a result of poverty.
I see the connection.
But she got dizzy walking in circles, poor dear.
well if we can provide prisoners with an hour of exercise we should be able to do this with people in quarantine.. i don't see the issue.
Like, i don't see why they can not have an hour outside – why this can not be organised – heck why this actually has not been implemented already.
Considering that this is an ongoing thing now for the forseeable future, i don't understand why 'outside time' has not been considered, planned for and is available to these guys.
But then yelling snow flake and 'middle class snowflake syndrome with a huge helping of white privilege' is just easier then admitting that locking up people in a room for 14 days with no 'outside' time would be considered cruel and inhumane treatment where this someone locked up in a prison.
I tend to agree. Maybe she is full of her own entitlement too, but nevertheless having to stay in one room for 14 days would be challenging for many. Personally I'd find having to eat catered food for two weeks hard. I hope they're doing better about the exercise for families with kids.
Welcome to CHAZ – the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone
Protesters in Seattle have claimed around six city blocks and declared it a free zone. Police may enter for emergencies only. Trump is pissed, I am intrigued.
Having established territory, upon proving they are organised, and capable of committing war crimes of their own – the protesters may be in a position to use the Geneva convention to start charging the GOP and Police with war crimes?
This process may take years, and Trump may kill many people in the interim, but what else can one do in the face of overwhelming
stupiditymight?I do think Trump's lost face hiding in his bunker, and his dingbat followers may have lost faith in his support after getting arrested for threatening protesters with chainsaw, longbow and bicycle shorts. But he's capable of anything, and would love to institute martial law.
The protests are far from over, just quieter, and global. I am rooting for the citizens of CHAZ to bring The Hague down on Slump's redneck racist ass.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2020/06/12/on-the-seattle-commune/
Looks like it might be all over
Faster than the Berlin Spartacists
This is what Labour said before the 2017 election:
“The Government claims it’s not safe to enter the drift and try to get any bodies in there out. That’s not true. Experts, both local and international, say the mine is now stable. We can get those men out, and secure evidence regarding the cause of the explosion. It can be done.
The National Government just wants to wash its hands of the whole thing, and move on. They don’t seem to care no-one has ever faced court for those 29 deaths, or that the families have never got the bodies back to bury.
That’s not the way Kiwis do things. We do right by people. We ensure that, when there is wrongdoing, there is justice. We keep our promises.”
https://www.labour.org.nz/promises_to_pike_families_must_be_kept
Oooops !!!!!!!
Looks to me like you’re simply trolling here or the ‘oops’ meant that you submitted your comment in accident. Which one is it? You remind me of Judith Collins and I get irritated easily when that happens.
ouch
https://blockclubchicago.org/2020/06/11/disturbing-photo-shows-what-coronavirus-can-do-to-your-lungs/
the pic of the lung is quite something.
I second that "ouch" with a "ewww – bubbles? How bubbles?"
Nasty!
I spend far too much time thinking about covid-19 chronic lung disease might be seen in the years down track. I wonder if the countries that have been overwhelmed by the pandemic have a plan in place for managing the resultant chronic illness (if any). Could be expensive.
yes, had this discussion with the bloke. How many times do you need to get it before it gets you – our guess 3 – 5 years. So if the disease will continue running unfettered and is capable of infecting people more then once the worlds population could take a hit in about 3 – 5 years.
I am so happy i am not a young person trying to start life as an adult in the current shitshow.
The banks have done it again.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1248321023407034368.html
After months of living with the coronavirus pandemic, American citizens are well aware of the toll it has taken on the economy: broken supply chains, record unemployment, failing small businesses. All of these factors are serious and could mire the United States in a deep, prolonged recession. But there’s another threat to the economy, too. It lurks on the balance sheets of the big banks, and it could be cataclysmic. Imagine if, in addition to all the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, you woke up one morning to find that the financial sector had collapsed.
[…]
To prevent the next crisis, Congress in 2010 passed the Dodd-Frank Act. Under the new rules, banks were supposed to borrow less, make fewer long-shot bets, and be more transparent about their holdings. The Federal Reserve began conducting “stress tests” to keep the banks in line. Congress also tried to reform the credit-rating agencies, which were widely blamed for enabling the meltdown by giving high marks to dubious CDOs, many of which were larded with subprime loans given to unqualified borrowers. Over the course of the crisis, more than 13,000 CDO investments that were rated AAA—the highest possible rating—defaulted.
The reforms were well intentioned, but, as we’ll see, they haven’t kept the banks from falling back into old, bad habits. After the housing crisis, subprime CDOs naturally fell out of favor. Demand shifted to a similar—and similarly risky—instrument, one that even has a similar name: the CLO, or collateralized loan obligation. A CLO walks and talks like a CDO, but in place of loans made to home buyers are loans made to businesses—specifically, troubled businesses. CLOs bundle together so-called leveraged loans, the subprime mortgages of the corporate world. These are loans made to companies that have maxed out their borrowing and can no longer sell bonds directly to investors or qualify for a traditional bank loan. There are more than $1 trillion worth of leveraged loans currently outstanding. The majority are held in CLOs.
http://archive.li/sckLP (The Atlantic)
Loud and clear.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/06/trump-juneteenth-tulsa-rally-is-worlds-least-subtle-dog-whistle
I'm no master political strategist, but I'd have thought that an opposition party desperately looking for votes could find more productive ideas than "let's immediately open the borders and bring in hundreds of international students to central Auckland, and stick them in quarantine, while there are reports right now of quarantine in central Auckland not working properly".
Repeat: "immediately".
National's "plan", announced today
Hmm if we were to believe the current daily figures out of China we should be looking to open up a 'bubble' very shortly…
Of course if you believe those figures, I've got a very nice bridge going cheap…
How do you spell racism? Answer: NYPD.
http://normanfinkelstein.com/2020/06/04/rage-against-the-machine/
Removing statues of non-indigenous historical figures and putting them together somewhere as a theme park would be better than just getting rid of them. Like Coronation Park in India, but with more emphasis on the tourist dollar.
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lseih/2019/06/20/coronation-park-and-the-forgotten-statues-of-the-british-raj/
Brilliant! Put Captain Hamilton and the rest of those anti-heroes in to a Kiwi version of Mme Tussaud's Chamber of Horrors.