His numbers are not accurate but the gist and ultimate question remain to be confronted…
"The one thing they will not do, however, is confront the brutal, but inescapable, truth that there is only one way this planet will be saved from the effects of the 9 billion human-beings living upon its surface; and that is for more than 8 billion of them to disappear. How that might be achieved, and who should take responsibility for achieving it, are questions which, to date, only novelists and science fiction writers have attempted to answer."
Inspired by weka's "Totally Shit Farming" post, here's a quick look at the status of non-cow dairy efforts.
tl;dr, one company has made and sold batches of icecream made from lab-grown whey and casein, and there's others not too far behind. To be sure, the tiny quantities involved make it a publicity stunt rather than a real product. But it's still a big milestone on the way to a real alternative to a cow.
That gives the farming lobby a reason to keep on with practices that can not be supported and avoid improving their approach. I like the idea of having milk from happy cows, given proper conditions and feed, it is a natural way of getting good food. But the ability to force-feed the animals, and manipulate them to the nth degree, take their colostrum, take the calves away from the mothers at an early age etc etc has warped the dairy system.
Having dairy replaced by tech is another step away from the needs of the populace; there is money to be made by making business from spoiling the planet and our traditional systems. It is happening with meat, milk, and further, our money exchange being replaced by electrified cards, and on.
Sure you've got a preference. And you've probably got a price differential point at which you're willing to pay extra to indulge that preference. But the vast majority of consumers? Not so much.
When lab-grown synthesised milk becomes an actual thing, something that's going to get a lot more publicity is how engineered the milk we buy already is. Between the cow and bottle, it's cooked, separated into its constituents, then reformulated back to just barely meet the minimum requirements of whatever category it's sold as. Lab-grown constituents will be just a minor change in that context.
When lab-grown synthesised milk becomes an actual thing, something that's going to get a lot more publicity is how engineered the milk we buy already is. Between the cow and bottle, it's cooked, separated into its constituents, then reformulated back to just barely meet the minimum requirements of whatever category it's sold as. Lab-grown constituents will be just a minor change in that context.
Cooking and pasteurisation aren't quite the same thing, but either can be done in a home kitchen. Full fat milk doesn't get much else done to it afaik, but do share because it's this kind of conflation that leads to people not trusting science.
Full fat milk gets the same separation then add back in treatment reduced fat and skim milk get.
Dairy giant Fonterra has two milk processing plants for local consumption, Palmerston North and in Auckland's Takanini suburb.
Fonterra's general manager of manufacturing operations Brendon Hurst said the first step was the separation of the cream or fat from the milk to add it back in later to ensure every glass of milk tastes the same.
The point is the milk we buy in the supermarket is a manipulated engineered product. It's had a shit load more done to it than just squirted out of a cow, made safe, and put in a bottle.
Forty-odd years ago as a kid doing a milk run I got a tour through the Palmy milk treatment plant. Part of that was tasting a small sample at each step along the way. And every step made a big difference. I'd imagine what was happening then is primitive compared to how it's manipulated now.
pasteurisation and separating cream from milk can be done at home. Homogenisation is a more industrial process but even that I think is a long step from lab dairy.
It's like people who think that splicing genes is the same as selective breeding. If it doesn't matter to you, that's great, you can eat lab dairy. But it will matter to many, and pretending those are all the same kind of tech will create confusion, division and resentment.
Looking back,it seems complex diets from simpler foods,greater (longer work) days, seem to have been a recipe for good health for the working class.
Mid-Victorian working class men and women consumed between 50% and 100% more calories than we do, but because they were so much more physically active than we are today, overweight and obesity hardly existed at the working class level. The working class diet was rich in seasonal vegetables and fruits; with consumption of fruits and vegetables amounting to eight to 10 portions per day. This far exceeds the current national average of around three portions, and the government-recommended five-a-day. The mid-Victorian diet also contained significantly more nuts, legumes, whole grains and omega three fatty acids than the modern diet. Much meat consumed was offal, which has a higher micronutrient density than the skeletal muscle we largely eat today [59]. Prior to the introduction of margarine in the late Victorian period, dietary intakes of trans fats were very low. There were very few processed foods and therefore little hidden salt, other than in bread (Recipes suggest that significantly less salt was then added to meals. At table, salt was not usually sprinkled on a serving but piled at the side of the plate, allowing consumers to regulate consumption in a more controlled way.). The mid-Victorian diet had a lower calorific density and a higher nutrient density than ours. It had a higher content of fibre (including fermentable fibre), and a lower sodium/potassium ratio. In short, the mid-Victorians ate a diet that was not only considerably better than our own, but also far in advance of current government recommendations. It more closely resembles the Mediterranean diet, proven in many studies to promote health and longevity; or even the ‘Paleolithic diet’ recommended by some nutritionists [60].
My uncle (born around WW1 I think) used to do that with his salt, got a lot of ribbing about it that he ignored. I have a context to put his habit in now.
I'll be reading the article. The nutrient density doesn't surprise me, the low levels of animal fat does.
Sure. I'd imagine in a possible future, those who find the distinction important will still be able to buy the boutique product from a cow at enormous price with emission fees, pollution fees, animal welfare fees and so on.
And those that don't care at all, or only care about nutritional value and taste, or can't afford the boutique stuff out of a cow, will end up eating cheese and yoghurt and maybe even directly drinking the stuff that comes from industrial vats.
What I'd like to see is more honesty about lab dairy. That it needs to be presented as being the same as cow's milk suggests there isn't as much acceptance of it as you believe.
Humans are omnivores, we can luckily survive by eating clay.
To me lab grown is the other extreme to industrial farming. As far removed from nature and natural occurance as can be giving a false sense of food security while the planet still is being treated as a rubbish bin.
so yes, ethical farming, less eating, paying the full price of food, paying even the full price of gasoline, and such. Cause us here in the spoiled western world we have not paid the full price on anything in a long time. We like the stuff that we eat, that we wrap our selfs in, that we use to enterain us, that houses us all to be cheap.
Just because humans can eat animal flesh doesn't mean they should.
I am genuinely interested in the ethics of killing an animal to eat it (or paying someone else indirectly to do it), which I'm sure the animal doesn't want, and which is unnecessary given humans can exist perfectly well on a plant-based diet.
The documentary evidence I've seen of animals going to slaughter kind of shows me they are not choosing to have their throats cut. They are sentient beings who feel terror just like we do.
And a balanced plant-based diet is healthy, nutricious and good for the planet. What's not to like about that?
As for the "documentary evidence", yeah nah. Persistent abstract memory, self awareness, reasoned anticipation of future events, and the ability to communicate abstract ideas are all part of a fundamentally different consciousness than biological impulse.
We shouldn't be cruel, but to equate a cow with a human is a moral equivalence that lacks any reasonable foundation.
Humans and all other living things must 'consume' nutrients to live. Some humans have an (over-)abundance of dietary choices, and so we have omnivores, vegetarians, vegans et al.
The known risks associated with 'veganism by choice' are easily mitigated, hence the paucity of reports of human health being compromised by veganism in the OECD.
If human civilisation reverts to a pre-industrial state, then veganism may be a less heathly ‘option’, but at the moment it seems a pretty good OECD option for the health of humans and the planet.
Not a choice I could make (yet), because I enjoy eating bacon, chicken, cheese et al. [dribble drool, slaver slobber] It's a delicious habit that is (on balance) bad for my health, and for the planet, but 'from my cold, dead mouth' and all that, although I’m eating less meat than I used to.
"Vegetarians should take some solace from the fact that meat consumption is declining in half of the countries listed above. Between 2002 and 2009 the amount consumed by US residents fell from 124.8 kilos per person to 120.2, for example, in Luxembourg from 141.7 to 107.9, in New Zealand from 142.1 to 106.7[kilos per person per year] and in Denmark (previously the world's biggest consumers of meat) from 145.9kg to 95.2kg."
Plants don't want to be eaten either, Grey Area. Many go to considerable evolutionary efforts to make it harder to eat them, up to and including making themselves toxic to animals. If you want to live without killing things, you'd better learn how to photosynthesise.
for some reason it brings to mind this lyric and song for me
We walked out – tentacle in hand
You could sense that the earthlings would not understand
They'd go.. nudge nudge …when we got off the bus
Saying it's extra-terrestial – not like us
And it's bad enough with another race
But fuck me… a monster …from outer space
I believe that the ecological cost of mass producing meat is OTT. I think that our western diets are unsustainable. People make their choices to do what they want and they accept their choices – personally I no longer care what anyone else eats – we all make choices. It is a fairness of argument for me re my comment.
Re ethics of argument, Grey Area's argument was that killing animals to eat them is wrong as animals don't want to be killed, so people should eat plants. My counter-argument was that plants also don't want to be killed and it's impossible for humans to live without killing things. In what sense do you consider that counter-argument unfair?
@ PM I think when you said, "If you want to live without killing things, you'd better learn how to photosynthesise." was my tipping point. Extrapolating for effect just a little too far for me. So that's why I responded.
@ Pat – yeah – I believe the inevitability of the changes will make choice moot down the track – still we can future proof by diversifying while we can and moving to as sustainable as we can be. The dietary lifestyle we enjoy now is pretty decadent and the cost so high imo.
@ PM I think when you said, "If you want to live without killing things, you'd better learn how to photosynthesise." was my tipping point.
I think it's a reasonable response. Even if you reject the idea that plants object to being killed, is it wrong to kill a chicken so you can eat it but OK to kill a shitload of mice when you turn your combine harvesters loose on the wheat crop? It isn't currently possible for humans to live without killing things.
that countries import food doesn't mean they have to or that they can't produce food locally. Local food production is largely a function of the relationship between population, geography and climate. Capitalism doesn't care about that because it has fossil fuels and can import and export food at will.
Do you also think that natures predators are also undesirable?…we are nothing more than mammals and we are omnivores, are we to be condemned any more than sharks or lions?…or any other species that ends the existence of another life form
we are nothing more than mammals and we are omnivores, are we to be condemned any more than sharks or lions?
I wouldn't say "nothing more than," but we for sure are omnivorous primates and that means we have a taste for eating other critters, much like sharks or lions.
It's worth keeping in mind that plants are also in evolutionary competition with each other and doing their best to ensure their own survival at the expense of other plant species, same as animals. It just all happens a hell of a lot slower and without all the clawing, biting, bludgeoning etc.
@Weka.lol…didnt you know everything is measured in dollars?….but we can can still infer …and as said that dosnt account for CC nor failed states…which are only going to increase.
The question was are we to be condemned?….your answer didnt address that….so I shall offer one on your behalf…yes we are, as a result of our success we are destined to out compete everything including our environment.
Pat, lol, yes dollars rule. I wondered if one is measuring commodity dollars how useful that is because it will include things like chocolate, coffee and wine.
That CC and war are going to force big changes in food production is an argument for shifting to local food production sooner rather than later.
Why is it not doable? We know that the end of fossil fuels will make transporting food harder. We know that we need more resilient systems. Both those things are within our reach irrespective of how bad CC gets.
Addressing industrial dairying isn't a petty dispute, it's literally about whether humans get to survive in the future, possibly even you and I. Those big, industrial, nature ignoring, FF burning systems are going to crash. How is relocalising food production not a good response to that?
… yes we are, as a result of our success we are destined to out compete everything including our environment.
It does sure look like having self-awareness and the ability to think in abstracts doesn't outweigh being just an upmarket bunch of omnivore primates when it comes down to it. I'll hold off the condemnations until it's clear whether or not we've played ourselves, though.
Its petty because we are creating unnecessary divisions in a society that has little chance of achieving a positive outcome…and it certainly wont if its divided.
The problem is so complicated that the only possible way to address it requires widespread buy in…that is not achieved by attack and demonisation.
Societies are too easily fragmented and as said in other posts long before we are seriously challenged by the physical impacts of CC we will have to avoid the societal conflicts (if we can)
How do we know this is true? Science is demonstrating that plants in forests communicate with each other, including by using other species. They tend and protect via this communication as well as repel. Maybe that's not sentience as we understand it, or maybe we're locked into particular ideas about sentience that stop us seeing other kinds.
It really is an amazing rabbit hole to dive into for a while. It starts to screw with our concepts of "communication" and even what constitutes an "organism" or a "mind", our role in the world and even whether there is a being of "humanity" that is made up of all the interactions of us people. At the root of it all is the conundrum of the observer who sits behind our eyes and other sensory organs.
John Varley's "The Ophiuchi Hotline" has a plotline in which aliens discover the Earth and identify Homo Sapiens not as a fellow sentient species but as a cancerous growth and eradicate it, leaving the occupants of a base on the moon as the last humans. In the novel, the aliens consider whales and dolphins to be Earth's sentient life forms (perhaps reflecting the fact it was written in the 1970s), but it would be equally plausible that they'd consider plants the sentient life forms, given that aliens could be evolved from any kind of life.
I know. I love it. It really stretches my mind. I find myself going 'that can't be right', then going 'well yeah, it could be'. In the end my position is that there are plenty of good reasons to err on the side of caution and not be cruel to anything unnecessarily. We don't have to know for sure if forests are sentient to decide that cutting one down is something serious.
I feel sorry for humans sometimes with our big brains trying to figure out how to be with our particular capacity for perception.
I'm suggesting that living things don't want to be killed, but we don't have much choice about killing them if we want to remain alive ourselves and that applies to eating plants as much as it does to eating animals. If you personally want to designate "has a central nervous system" as a threshold beyond which you won't kill to eat, by all means act on it and eat accordingly. But that designation is as arbitrary as anyone else's.
And in reply to Pyscho Milt upstream (as I don't see a reply button) aboiut mice being killed by a combine harvester Earthling Ed would ask: "Morally, is there a difference between accidentally hitting a dog with your car and purposefully hitting a dog with your car?”. If you say yes, "then by that logic is there morally a difference between an animal accidentally being killed in crop production and an animal purposefully being killed in a slaughterhouse?”.
If it were impossible to drive your car without accidentally hitting a bunch of dogs on your way to your destination, I expect many of us would be put off driving. People give less of a shit about mice and other field critters, on the out-of-sight-out-of-mind principle.
I didn't answer your question, no. The question was essentially a reframing of McFlock's comment further up:
We shouldn't be cruel, but to equate a cow with a human is a moral equivalence that lacks any reasonable foundation.
You've swapped out "cow/human" with "broccoli/chicken" but are making essentially the same argument. I notice that your response to that argument from McFlock was "Totally disagree but let's leave it there." Given that response, why do you assume we'd answer your question?
I wasn't assuming anything. I was busy at work and didn't have the time to challenge the statement that I don't accept. I happened to see some activity around the issue and decided to re-enter the fray.
And anyway that was in response to him this afternoon not you this evening.
Seeing as you have a bit more time, then. My shorthand on the issue for a while now has been "could [animal X] write an essay entitled what I did on my holidays?"
Some mammals and cephalopodes probably could, given the right communication interface. Not all of them, though.
Cows and sheep, I doubt it. And if they can't, even if there's a type of impulse-driven or momentary sentience, it wouldn't exist without farming. If we can give them a reasonably happy life and end it without their anticipation or pain, by several methods of moral accounting (utilitarianism or whatever) I'm not seeing a net negative.
Contrast with slavery, or cannibalism of captive humans. Lots of negatives and suffering for a simple meal or delaying mechanisation.
I mean, theoretically the math might add up, but Kevin would have to make a lots-better-than-Michelin dinner for that to happen. 🙂
My shorthand position is that killing other sentient beings to use them as a food source is immoral, cruel and for those of us in the "West" unnecessary.
I see cows, pigs, sheep, etc as someone, not something. Especially not something for us to use.
They are creatures often with personalities and intelligence and with a capacity to feel emotions like we do.
Humans seem to have such huge capacity to f*ck things up. We use and abuse everything around us and the climate crisis we are in the middle of is mostly the result of that.
So taking off my vegan hat and putting on my climate change one, animal agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and if we are to have any chance of at least slowing climate collapse animal agriculture needs to be hugely reduced and better still eliminated.
I see cows, pigs, sheep, etc as someone, not something.
And if I shared that perspective, I'd probably agree. Or eat people. But I've been around livestock of various types, and didn't see the same spark of humanity that you did.
As for climate change, the main event will always be fossil fuels. Substitutiopn is necessary, and if it's not sufficient then global vegetarianism probably won't be, either.
So limit meat intake in the same way we stop using plastic straws – it might encourage people more powerful than us to address the elephant.
yes the line is arbitrary – because you can live within the choices – so the question is then, what are the factors driving the choices – that is where the morals get really interesting
fairness is another driver – I'm anti capitalism and exploitation
truth also is when I became a vegetarian 39 years ago it was because I couldn't handle the suffering inflicted on the animals – I suppose my species boundary and what falls out of that, is different to science and normal western thought.
I don't think it's all that different. Vegetarianism is hardly rare in the West, or amongst scientists.
It's a line that is philosophical, spiritual, logical, emotional, practical… everyone draws it in their own place. I'm not sure anyone is in a place to judge anyone else's placement of that line – just whether they're being dicks about it 🙂
Yep I spose the reals dicks will be the meat eaters who chose to not reduce their meat especially when reports like the one below come out. The vegans are the good guys although shrill and annoying.
“We don’t want to tell people what to eat,” says Hans-Otto Pörtner, an ecologist who co-chairs the IPCC’s working group on impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. “But it would indeed be beneficial, for both climate and human health, if people in many rich countries consumed less meat, and if politics would create appropriate incentives to that effect.”
fairness is another driver – I'm anti capitalism and exploitation"
Pretty much mine too. Interesting we come to different conclusions about what that means.
"truth also is when I became a vegetarian 39 years ago it was because I couldn't handle the suffering inflicted on the animals – I suppose my species boundary and what falls out of that, is different to science and normal western thought."
I was vegetarian around the same time. I don't think being vegetarian is at odds with western thought especially in a country like NZ where lots of people care about animals. I do think we are behind in the science though and that care for the wellbeing of ecosystems as a right (rather than just how they serve humans) is going to become more mainstream off the back of the leading edge science.
i find lab 'grown' as gross as the practices of industrial dairy farming.
One of the TV news's had an item last night on an Aus company that's just grown kangaroo meat in a lab – story here.
It was pitched as being a way for billions of humans to have a meat diet without affecting the environment (bullshit detector going off big-time at that point). The process takes stem cells from kangaroo meat, puts them in a "nutrient-rich solution" and waits for the stem cells to make kangaroo meat out of the solution.
So, if billions of people are going to eat this stuff, that's shit-tonnes of "nutrient-rich solution" that has to turn up from somewhere – industrial farming, I hear you say? Surely not…
My wife's only comment: "Wouldn't you cut out the middle-man and just eat the "nutrient-rich solution?”
Hmmm. Matrix comes to mind, where steak was an example of why cypher(?) wanted to live in the machine rather than eat the protein gruel in the "real world".
I guess they won't have kangaroo stem cells in the future…
Would also see off all those boring "Make sure you eat food when you're drinking, never drink alcohol on an empty stomach, etc" messages. Two birds with one stone…
Yeah it'll take a lot of nutrient-rich solution. But most of that nutrient goes into growing the flesh cells we end up eating, rather than most of it going into just keeping a hulking great host alive and walking around and only a tiny bit goes into muscle growth in a live animal. So growing the nutrient feedstock should require a lot less space and inputs than growing all the vegetable matter a live animal needs to produce the same amount of edible "flesh".
Then there's the matter of eliminating the methane emissions from live ruminants. Although roos aren’t ruminants and are pretty low emission critters.
Personally I'll probably be quite happy with just a moderately realistic facsimile of mince for burgers, sausages, salami, spag bol etc. But bacon is going to have to be fkn convincing before the pigs are out of trouble.
Yes, it would certainly make way more sense than growing crops to feed to livestock – but that has to be the stupidest form of agriculture ever invented.
I guess it just irks me that people talk about replacing meat with plant-based alternatives (which is presumably where this nutrient solution comes from – I sure as shit hope they're not getting it by grinding up sea critters) as though creating industrial-scale crop monocultures were some kind of improvement on grazing livestock. If it is an improvement, the improvement's marginal at best.
To a large extent, the potential for improvement comes from eliminating the methane emissions and effluent problems of live animals.
But cows and sheep are also incredible inefficient at turning the calories and protein they're fed into calories and protein available to humans eating them. Around 1% conversion efficiency for calories and maybe 4% for protein. Pork and poultry do a lot better, around 10% for calories and 15 to 20% for protein (as well as emitting a lot less methane).
If vats didn't do a whole lot better, say at least 30% conversion efficiency, then yeah you'd question the point. But since cells in a vat only have to grow, and not sustain a whole bunch of other metabolic processes, the potential has to be there.
As for where the feed comes from, yeah, ground sea critters would be disastrous. But seaweed could be interesting.
Then there's the whole question around the merits of grazing animals in hilly ground not suitable for cropping. Dunno, maybe if the cell vats become a reality, hill country will be where the boutique "real meat" gets produced.
It's fkn hard finding hard info that isn't obviously pushing some sort of barrow. But the numbers presented in these two pieces are about what seems to be the consensus of stuff I've seen elsewhere.
If the vat-grown whey and casein efforts linked above actually come to fruition, what's going to happen to Fonterra?
I'm guessing the commodity milk-powder business – gone. Commodity cheese for pizzas and burgers – gone. What will be left? Boutique products where the customers will really want to believe they come from happy cows lovingly tended to in green grassy pastures. And that business is extremely vulnerable to the kind of shit highlighted today by weka and lprent.
Commodity milk powder exists because milk cant be stored in its natural form and milk powder can. Cows are milked everyday and the fresh milk has to be processed the following day
The commodity milk powder provides the dairy products for 30 mill people outside NZ for all sorts of reasons.
Just a note about Fonterras loss , they are just book keeping writedowns of assets.
Its not a cash loss as they are awash in it , like the paddocks the cows are stuck in over winter
Perhaps you are demonstrating to us that we are alike the cows in that we are awash with money in this country but stuck up to our knees in debt incurred as we just try to get regular food and find a place to lie down.
If my life was wrapped up in Fonterra I think the aspect worthy of attention in the info is the amount of the write down that relates to market share erosion. Start-ups doing it better than NZ's biggest company.
The rise of domestic competition and abroad.
We don't hold many picture cards. That's one of them, we should be leading the world in the milk fields. If Fonterra were the All Blacks, they couldn't beat Mount Albert Grammar.
Great big Brontosaurus that can barely get out of it's own way. So many desks and so few udders. Subsidiaries struggling in prospering centres around the globe.
We should be brilliant at this. We're not even average.
I paid a premium for cheese in Sweden, about 50% more than here. I visited a Swedish dairy farm. For half the year each cow is hand fed in it's own stall in a heated barn. They had their names on their stall doors.
We don't know how lucky we are. We should be creaming it.
The Swedes are cunning socialists. I think it's because they spend 4 months of the year sitting around fires in the freezing dark slamming shots of rocket fuel, sharing their hearts, dreams and Spring plans.
Dairy farmers felt the winter pinch. Many crop farmers face 5 months of a permafrozen farm. They found a solution that works for everybody. It's easy to push a log around on ice, farmers drop trees, trim them, spray their code on the end and leave them beside the road. The co-op truck with a Hiab grapple stopped at the end of the drive, loaded the logs up and took them to the co-op owned processing plant.
Crop farmers on Graso were as concerned about growing Pines as they were corn.
we are worried about this as it seems that the Chinese are unndermining Fonterra so the share price fall will give them the soluution to buy Fonterra as a luididated bussiness asset.
China are playing us to take over our entire farming industry.
Earthquakes are worrying me too as napier had some too recently and we wonder if this is .could be the heating of the 'earth's crust; – and the tectonic plates? https://www.the-science-site.com/crustal-plates.html
I am mostly in the hills above Gisbrone near BOP border, and was born in Auckland in 1944 and raised in Napier 1951 to 1964, didn't you read my posts on the Fox river debarkle?
All us 'Napierites' have very keen knowledge of when the usual swarms of earthquakes do occur with annual frequencies.
This time last week when we were there, it was very odd when the earthquake hit us.
It was at a time when we don't usually expeirience 'swams' of quakes' so that is our concern.
Thanks for your concern.
Shit if I wanted to move from earthquakes I would;
go back to Canada
or my last home Florida
as they don’t have earthquakes,
But Canada's weather is shit
Florida has hurricanes.
So I am good at present above the pollution, noise, and truck gridlock, here in the hinterland of rural NZ hill country.
That reminds me of the promises made when big tobacco excecs were all linned up in front of a congressonal inquiry promising that smokng was safe???
According to the National Research Council, no toxicity data are available for over 39,000 commercially available used chemicals.
And this also;
Approximately 80 million people or three out of every 10, in the United States can expect to contract some form of cancer in their lifetime. The National Cancer Institute has estimated in at least one communique’ that at least 98% of all cancers may be linked to chemical exposures,
According to Lynn Montandon, founder of the Response team for the chemically injured.
Until recently, the Federal Government has concentrated most of its resources on researching cancer and the effects of acute chemical exposures, paying very little attention to the effects of long term low level chemical exposures, or to the neurological, reproductive, developmental, or immunological effects that chemicals may cause. The government is just beginning to look into these non-cancer health risks and the existing research into these other health matters is, on the whole, inadequate and non-existent.
I understand that deep earthquakes in the subducting Pacific Plate such as this one are outside the forecast area which applies only to the (relatively) near surface – approximately to top 20 to 30 km.
The Snares earthquakes are associated with the Puysegur Trench subduction zone where the Australian Plate is descending below the Pacific Plate.
Seddon earhtquakes are likely continuing aftershocks of the 2013 Grassmere quake and/or 2016 Kaikoura quake (several faults in the Cape Campbell area ruptured at the surface in the Kaikoura quake).
Given there are ~20,000 record quakes per year in NZ, its not unusual to have several in a week that are felt to some degree.
If you're interested in where the known acitve faults (on land) are, check out GNS's active faults map: http://data.gns.cri.nz/af
Capitalism finally weaponizes ignorance, and being ignorance, shoots itself. Media moguls setting up fast tracking promedia nra, cc, and now the trifecta, tv personality president, have they no sense. Why are Act members always turning up on tv? first they attacked Greens for not getting into bed with big polluters, now Greens are power starved like 6% down from 10% was a means to demand more. Now I get that we do need balance in tv but just right-wing talking heads, and disgruntaled former Greens, really, is that all they dan find. Seems to me when the ecology, climate, resource limits are hit, or whatever, the media will be the culprits.
Sounds like a good mystery tv series – what was the one with Gillian Anderson in it? Like that. We can put everything on tv like a real Reality Show. Sit and watch things like on The Truman Show. Tonight we are going to have a prison break – who will get away and who will be shot?
The SFO can be dressed like Sherlock Holmes with really giant magnifying glasses and computer nerds tracing people on grids all round town with Tumpson and Clerk giving directions. The miscreants would have the choice of being in the show, or going to Court and paying their own legal fees whether they are found guilty or not.
I can't wait for his next post, probably wanting to ban women licking icecream in the workplace.
And if, in some insane universe that he inhabits, he is actually right, what does that tell us about women wearing black or purple lipstick? I shudder at his possible explanation!
"In the government’s first major piece of legislation mapping out post-EU policy, Environment and Food Secretary Michael Gove is set to present sweeping changes Wednesday to the agriculture sector. Gove's plan will phase out the EU’s sacrosanct direct payment scheme under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which props up farmers' wages based on the amount of land they own, and instead link farmers' payments to environmental standards.
Its a common fallacy that most of the things the EU does are somehow fine and dandy
Theres opportunity under a new Fisheries policy after Brexit to make well overdue changes as well
A new ruling on the ban on prisoner voting delivers a fierce reminder of the need for urgent change. Now it’s over to the government: put up or shut up, writes Andrew Geddis.
In some ways, it tells us nothing we didn’t already know: the legislative ban on prisoners voting enacted in 2010 by National and Act Party MPs is a terrible law that shouldn’t ever have been passed. But in laying out how poorly conceived this law was and just how negatively it affects Māori in particular, He Aha Perā Ai? The Māori Prisoners’ Voting Report, which has just been released by the Waitangi Tribunal, presents us with a fierce reminder of the need for change.
…
So, let’s recap where we are. In the near-decade since its passage, the legislation banning prisoner voting has been called “constitutionally outrageous” by a High Court judge, formally declared to be inconsistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act by the Supreme Court, and now held to be in breach of Treaty principles by the Waitangi Tribunal. And that’s without considering what less impressive people like mere legal academics have said about it.
The law has the formal effect of barring thousands of New Zealanders (disproportionately Māori) from voting at each election, and the practical effect of knocking hundreds from the electoral roll, which they then are highly unlikely to rejoin in the future…
Well if the criminals’ and con-artists that run Corporations are found guilty and not jailed for ’embezlement, cheating, extortion and other offences under (the list below; – some exeptions as it is a US list); then are still allowed to vote, why should we ban any prisoners from voting? https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/view-all-criminal-charges.html
[Deleted long list that was straight from the link provided. Remember that some people read TS on their phone and have to scroll through – Incognito]
Wage theft and the hospitality industry. I think it goes much deeper than that and is across many industries, especially those employing low skilled labour and migrant labour.
The Minister for Regional Economic Development has launched a stinging attack on urban liberals, accusing them of trying to take the fishing industry down….
He said the attacks came from people who did not always understand what was at stake, and the industry had to fight back to protect itself.
Mr Jones said it was not just the fishing industry that was threatened, Māori who had invested much of their economic heritage in the business were threatened too.
"Those of us such as me as a Māori, who have our legacy interests via the treaty in the fishing industry, need to gird our loins and protect ourselves," Mr Jones said.
"Rest assured, there is a largely metropolitan-based power culture, which seeks to do damage to our industry."
Mr Jones said this was a very serious problem to people who had stored their full and final wealth from Treaty settlements in this industry.
Can Shane Jones walk and chew calamari at the same time?
That'd be the same Jones who took Sealord from being NZ's biggest seafood company to no. three or four? Not an expert on fishing by any stretch of the imagination – just a parachutist.
had to larf at Neal Jones dealing to the nationals party squealer Mathew Hooton on 9-noon this morning.
Jones had Hooton on the back foot right from the start and the more he got backed into a corner the more hooton squealed as all his right wing memes and tropes came flying out of his gob unbidden to show the real hooton. not nice.
A report from link picked up from TDB about Indonesia with help from USA JK and Australia (NZ?) and the killing of up to million people, and imprisonment of about million, of 9 August 2019,
Can someone please explain why I see a Reply button on most but not all posts? I've tried three different browsers and get the same result. On my Android mobile I seem to see reply on every post.
Its great to see more attention for OUR Mokopuna future environment but to have a clean environment one needs to clean up poverty aswell no use having a clean environment in one hand and thousands living under the bridge. national made a big mess of our environment and caused a housing short in Aotearoa in 9 years I have see miles of forest turned into Dairy Farm in the central North Island that is not good for the environment. All prosecution for effluent entering our waterways stop .To many things national did negatively to our environment to itemize
. Its great to see alot of Tangata Whenua challenging local council elections post in Hawksbay kia kaha times are changing it happening all around the Motu.
That was a huge beautiful crocodile on the roof of a house during the India monsoon floods great picture.
That is a great phenomenon getting thousands more to give blood awesome Sir Henry
Great To see a shopping mall Goldsmith in America doing things to save our mokopuna future environment.
Nothing wrong with being nice some people think Im weak because I nice .?????.
Great to see the Eco Maori affect is still getting reka .
Ka pai to the Wahine who wrote this story and Kia kaha to the Students Strikes to champion a clean environment for their mokopuna grandchildren .
We will be striking again for climate change
OPINION: Students are taking to the streets, beaches and parks on 27 September, and we're inviting everyone to join us. That's right, this is an intergenerational issue, and you're all invited to put pressure on politicians worldwide to pass bills which will take action to reduce the impacts of climate change.
We want our government and governments worldwide to do everything in their power to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by ending the use of fossil fuels and investing in a regenerative and renewable economy. Additionally, we are asking the government to acknowledge the severity of climate change and declare a climate emergency.
On 24 May, we walked out of school alongside hundreds of thousands of students around the globe. We won't sit and watch our futures disintegrate, and we invite you to join us to strengthen our movement. That's you, reading this column; that's the next person you talk to; that's the waiter who gives you your coffee and the woman sitting in front of you in the car/bus/train, it really is everyone
Climate change isn't just a youth problem, even though it'll hit us the hardest. It's everyone's problem. Everyone has a responsibility to act, in both practical ways and through joining the strike movement on 27 September.
If you have a child, niece, nephew or young person you care about, it's your problem. Do you think they look into their future and imagine travelling to various islands and cities, bays and beaches? Or do they wonder if the sea will have swallowed them by the time they're your age ka kite ano link below.
A avalanche at Mount Cook lets hope that the 5 people caught in the avalanche are all good.
A tornado hit the water front in Tamaki Makau flipping 30 ton yachts tawhirimate is a powerful entity.
Mike the Pigeon Valley fire was huge you say it started by a farmer plowing his paddock with heavy disks which created sparks.
The People of Papatuanuku need to combat climate change to help our Pacific Island cousins it is their biggest threat to a happy healthy future.
The New Zealand Airforce needs to have the equipment to patrol the Pacific Ocean we have a huge Tangata area to patrol the new Aircraft being delivered in 2023 is needed to protect our fisheries and tangata who end up in strife in Tangaroa.
I do think that the commercial mussels spat catches need to respect the environment that they catch their spat from they should have vehicles that have tyers that spread their load to save our tuatua . This is how the neanderthal capitalist work they thrash a resource till it collapses this happened to tuatua wet fish fisheries I also have great concern about the Manuka honey industry on the East Coast there are hives everywhere on the coast they wonder why they have had 2 to 3 bad seasons it because they are over exploiting the resource.
Awesome that the Coalition Government is investing to fixing Rotoruas museum there would be some great taonga in their care to display to the public.
In Porirua the state housing they pull down functional whare to cramm flash new housing any intelligent person will know that the rents will go up too cover the cost of the building of the whare capitalism ways are most salespeople tell you what you want to here .
Lyndon PEE is a powerful poison that takes control of the user who can be manipulated to do just about anything we need more advertising to educate te tangata about the crap it great that this program is happening in Te Taiwhiti the crap is making a big mess up there.
A lot of people don't understand that A warm whare is a healthy whare Eco Maori say a education program needs to be run about the effects of a cold damp whare has on te tamariki respiratory system it's not good Eco Maori always has a warm WHARE.
The statistic mess is from simons time in Parliament along with many others kia ora.
The Australian idiot who stabbed people they are being empowered by people who use hate to gain power.
People who go to WAR often suffer mental trauma .The Pilots whos autobiography book that the Wahine was describing him being cold in nature no hugging ect.
I see all the moves that you try to manipulate me just wasting your time and money.
You would think that a organization like Cambridge Analytical would use the data they harvest off the internet would be used for good purposes like governments planning for the future .
You know its ridiculous that humanity has not learnt by its mistakes we discovered a resource and exploit it till it collapses or nearly collapses thrown our arms in the AIR and make all the excuses in the Papatuanuku to push the blame to others as to WHY the resources collapse. I have seen it with fishing farming Honey many other valuable species and resources are over exploiting by humanity. What should happen is when a resource is discovered the planing should be put in place to harvest it sustainably from the START not the AMBULANCES at the bottom of the hill that we have going down at the MINUTE. You see we might be still catching fishes but the amount of diesel burned to catch te ika will have gone up 50 % from 30 years ago the fishermen wanted to have horses power limits to control the fisherys instead of the quota system that would have limited the catch effort on the fishery you see it is basically horse power that catches fish .The fishermen would be able to buy and sell the right to the use of horses power to catch fish that system would have limited the pressure on our fisheries to what it was 30 years ago.
But the corrupted money men got their way and a dump ass Quoter system was implemented that can be exploited very easily by the crooked MAN big fail Aotearoa Quoter management system .
The bureaucrats, for whose convenience it was introduced, will stick to it come hell or highwater of course, but it seems that both are coming fairly soon now.
I say a national statement to protect our precious whenua that produces our food from housing development good on you David Te Atua is not making anymore.
That is the way people with power have to be held accountable for their abuse of power and abuseing people The opera singer Placido Domingo.
That shows that Aotearoa was a land of the giants with another discovery of a giant penguin in Aotearoa .
A nuclear accident in Russia we should not be wasting precious resources on weapons of mass destruction but I get it yin yan it's about the balance of power.
Good Idea having a online petition to get Jacinda to visit Ihumatao I think it's about time Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa got a win
I don't think that there should be a problem in The Tauranga whenua Waitangi treaty settlement's Its a fact that Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa lost millions of hectares of whenua.
I am sure that the mussel spat harvester are just chasing the $$$$$$$ without considering the effects that there actions have on the environment I know someone who is in that industry.
I think it's good that our Armed personnel the Army and Navy are covered by Accident Compensation Corporation who paid for their accidents before the Army and Navy that is stupid they are KIWIs that is the reason why we have some ex personnel not getting the correct help they needed.
Kia Ora to the Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa living in Australia awesome that you are keeping our culture going strong in Australia Te manawa ora teaching te raku ka pai I know those whanau names We need to keep our cultural pumping and pass it on to our mokopuna in a stronger state that is one of my main goals .ka pai to Jess in Uawa winning the Great Ideas for life Awesome Ideas Mana Wahine
Lets hope that they come up with smart simple solutions in the Pacific Island form Government meeting in Tuvalu to help them survive prosperously on their own whenua that means coming up with solutions for them to create their own wealth to teach a person to ika is better than giving the person a ika
Its called showing respect for our biggest tradeing partner that is what Jacinda is doing she not stupid. But Eca Maori wants Australia to be committed to slow down and stop their use of COAL.
The tide has changed on Global warming sea level rising human caused climate change. Russell the Bird shoe man gave a excellent opinion. Once Business Figure Out that the Green Industry is the next big Gold rush The changes we need to make as a society will speed up real fast thats part of capitalism The tipping point is just around the corner but WHANAU don’t let up keep championing for a Clean Green Environment for Our Mokopuna. Yes Australia needs to do more once they figure out that a bet on Carbon is a losing bet. The Green Energy Revolution has Started they will be rushing to catch up to Aotearoa we need to embrace 5 G technology to help generate a Clean Green society.
Pukana man is doing great in Cricket its was great that Aotearoa Cricket and Pukana man managed to sort out their differences and keep him playing for us Mark.
I think it's stupid that the prison system is giving that Idiot more publicity trying to get a new law that will take rights away from all the other prisoners when they have laws to control the Christchurch idiots communications this stuff up is just giving him more publicity.
If you want to be treated respectfully one must do the same it's not rocket science Newshub.
Herbs Song For Freedom movie gets Nation Wide Release Today I will go and watch the movie. Music is great for the Wairua I have to set me up a 12 volt radio system. Those dawn raids of the past in Papatuanuku was a politican trying to use HATE to gain votes he didn't care about the lives he ruined Ilolahia ka pai great name Herbs original manager.
Kia kaha Greta we all know whom is a puppet in Reality keep up your great mahi championing a clean healthy environment for our next generation
Greta Thunberg sets sail for New York on zero-carbon yacht
Climate activist begins voyage from Plymouth to Trump’s US with father and two-man crew
On white-crested swells under leaden skies, the teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg has set sail from Plymouth on arguably her most daunting challenge yet.
A two-week crossing of the Atlantic during hurricane season in a solar-powered yacht is the first obstacle, but it is unlikely to be the toughest in an odyssey through the Americas over many months
This will be both the ultimate gap year and a journey into the heart of climate darkness: first to the United States of president Donald Trump, who has promised to pull out of the Paris climate agreement, and then down to South America, possibly including Brazil where president Jair Bolsonaro is overseeing a surge of Amazon deforestation.
In between, the 16-year-old Swede will add her increasingly influential voice to appeals for deeper emissions cuts at two crucial global gatherings: the Climate Action Summit in New York on 23 September and the the UN climate conference in Santiago in early December.
The reception awaiting her on the other side is likely to be mixed, with the climate issue a polarising point in US politics
In a taste of the hostility that is likely to come from supporters of the fossil fuel industry, Steve Milloy, a Fox News contributor and former member of the Trump transition team, described Thunberg on Twitter earlier this week as “the ignorant teenage climate puppet
The Minister has apologized to the Papatuanuku because some of the prison staff drop the ball and let this idiot post inappropriate letters. The Prison Director should resign anyone with a brain will know that any letters that he writes and gets to post could gain publicity I agree prison guards are corrupt.
trump playing the bully with the might of the USA behind him is a cause for concern the stock market dropping.
Its great that our government has stepped in to clean up another national mess The Christchurch earthquake shambles repairs giving the people money to fix the shoddy repairs made when national was in government so there whare can pass a inspection to get insurance.
Allan Jones is just a neanderthal he is trying to boost his ratings making statements like that he should retired and let someone from the next generation have his mic ma te wa he probably has a lump of coal under his bed.
The Casson Whanau its hard to figure out and find people who you can trust there are people who are just hustlers and don't care about the damage they do to others whanau.
That's wise The Provenance Growth Fund investing in giving tangata whenua Technology skills that is the low carbon industry that could quite easily beat the dairy industry in export income.
Its cool to see the hearing impaired getting taught tangata whenua O Aotearoa te reo and cultural awesome.
Ka kite ano my device cursor starts jumping all over the place when I write too Te Ao Maori News the sandflys are trying to stop me posting to Maori TV
The travails of National MP Sam Uffindell are bad news for the National party in more ways than one. The obvious question is as to how an applicant with such a disreputable history could have secured the nomination as the National candidate in the Tauranga by-election. National’s vetting procedures seem ...
The “A View from Afar” podcast with Selwyn Manning and I resumed after a months hiatus. We discussed the PRC-Taiwan tensions in the wake of Nancy Pelosi’s visit and what pathways, good and bad, may emerge from the escalation of hostilities between the mainland and island. You can find it ...
A ballot for one member's bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Crown Minerals (Prohibition of Mining) Amendment Bill (Eugenie Sage) The bill is pitched as protecting conservation land, and it does immediately do that. But it also goes further, doing exactly what it ...
Sam Uffindell’s defenders keep reminding us that he was only 16 at the time of the King’s College incident, and haven’t we all done things in our teens that, as adults, we look back on with shame and embarrassment? True. Let’s be honest. Haven’t we all at one time or ...
Our media insists on telling us that Ukraine is a unified country suffering aggression from its neighbour the Russian Federation. But it is hardly unified. A violent civil war has raged there since the overthrow of the democratically elected government in February 2014. This civil war arose from deep ...
If National causes yet another by-election to be held in Tauranga, not only will it cost the taxpayers another unnecessary $1m for the taxpayers after Simon Bridges called it quits earlier in the year, but National will also pay a big price in terms of its reputation and integrity. A ...
Representing Pakeha Racism: The important thing to remember about Rob Muldoon, and the racist policies with which his name is associated, is that he drew his power from the hundreds-of-thousands of anxious, angry, and yes – racist – Pakeha who voted for him, and that his most effective campaign slogan was: “New Zealand the ...
I remember feeling anxious before making the phone call, although not at anxious I might have expected. But what sticks most in my mind is how the phone call ended. It was the late 1990s. I was deputy editor of the NZ Listener and I had to ring a guy ...
National is dripping “blue blood” again. The revelations over Sam Uffindell’s violent assault indicate that the National Party under Christopher Luxon hasn’t quite shed the toxicity and internal damage of the last few years. The crises besetting the party have recently been well documented in journalist Andrea Vance’s new book ...
Most of us believe in redemption and atonement… But the timing, the nature and the semantics of Sam Uffindell‘s apology for his role in a gang that beat a younger kid (reportedly) with wooden bed legs, has left much to be desired. The victim seems pretty clear about the motivation ...
Yesterday the news broke that newly elected National MP Sam Uffindell was asked to leave private Auckland school King’s College at the end of his fifth form year after being part of a group that viciously beat a younger student one night. There are many elements to this latest political ...
You’ve got to wonder why the National Party knowingly hid information from the public about their newest MP, Sam Uffindell. Surely they must’ve realised that their secret would eventually leak into the public domain. New Zealand is far too small for cover-ups of this kind to be effective.Despite his violent ...
Back in the 1990s, Tony Blair rebranded The British Labour Party as “New Labour”, to try and draw a line under past failures. It’s as if Christopher Luxon is attempting to follow suit, and launch “New National” at the moment – a party that’s fresh-looking, has made some big breaks ...
Back in June Sam Uffindell was elected to parliament in the Tauranga by-election. Turns out he's a bully who beat a kid with a bed-leg at school: The National Party’s newest MP, Sam Uffindell, was asked to leave his exclusive boarding school after viciously beating a younger student late ...
The Justice Committee has called for submissions on the Electoral Amendment Bill. Submissions are due by Wednesday, 31 August 2022, and can be made at the link above. The bill improves disclosure of party finances, lowering the declaration threshold to $5,000 and requiring parties to disclose their annual financial statements. ...
Laughing With The Poor Folks - Or At Them? Christopher Luxon took rapper LunchMoney Lewis’s lyrics at their face value. “Bills”, as heard by Luxon, is a cri-de-cœur from a hard-working man determined to pull himself and his family up by their own bootstraps. It simply wouldn’t occur to him ...
On the rare occasions when it ever gets asked, the public keeps rejecting tax cuts as such, as a policy priority. It keeps saying it wants tax levels to either stay the same or be increased, so that public services can be maintained, or even (perish the thought) improved. In ...
Europe has been baking in a heatwave, of course. Not so much this part of the world, which benefits by still being in Winter (though let’s just say I am not looking forward to January 2023). Not that it’s been a particularly cold Winter – we haven’t had one ...
The Wagner Group is a private military company – effectively mercenaries. It has been used for the military activity of the Russian Federation in various parts of the world. Currently, it is operating in Ukraine and apparently has a reputation as a very brave and effective force in the ...
I have said this in other forums, but here is the deal: PRC military exercises after Pelosi’s visit are akin to male gorillas who run around thrashing branches and beating their chests when annoyed, disturbed or seeking to show dominance. They are certainly dangerous and not to be ignored, but ...
From July 7 to 26 we tried something new on our Facebook page by sharing one Cranky Uncle cartoon each day for 20 days in a row. There were two reasons for doing this: firstly, we wanted to ensure that at least one post would get published each day while I was ...
Too many commentators on current price pressures have not understood that this time it is very different from the 1970s. Their prescriptions may accelerate inflation.The New Zealand economy is experiencing an external price shock arising from the Covid pandemic and the Ukrainian invasion compounded by related supply chain difficulties. It ...
During the years of the Key government one hardy perennial of political journalism was that whenever the Labour Opposition would suggest a policy alternative to the status quo, the hard bitten response from the Gallery realists would be “But how’re you gonna pay for it?” National in Opposition has been ...
In The Wizard’s Garden: George Dunlop Leslie, 1904IT ALL SEEMS so long ago now, and, to be fair, in human terms, 48 years is a long time. New Zealand was a different country in 1974. Someone unafraid of courting controversy might say it had achieved “Peak Pakeha”. Although the Labour Government of ...
Proximate Cause: Tellingly, it was Helen Clark who was seated close by when, earlier this week, Jacinda Ardern delivered a speech carefully crafted to keep New Zealand’s dairy exports heading China’s way. Photo by PolitikPURISTS WOULD ARGUE that New Zealand’s foreign policy should not be determined by who its Prime Minister ...
We have a new clip out of The Rings of Power. It sees Galadriel and the affectionately nicknamed Gigwit* venturing into dark places in search of evil. At fifty-odd seconds, it also constitutes the longest single piece of show dialogue we have seen thus far. *An acronym. “Galadriel Is ...
Rising To The Challenge: Te Pāti Māori is reassuring the angry and the alienated that in 2023 voting will make a difference. Aotearoa is changing. Pakeha – especially young Pakeha – are changing. The racism is still there, of course, heightened, it would seem, by the prospect of Labour, the ...
"CAGW." A thing? With its provocative title and remarks grounded in respected published research, the perspective Climate Endgame: Exploring catastrophic climate change scenarios just published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has caused a few ripples reaching into popular media. "Endgame" and "catastrophic" lean hard in the direction of "pay ...
In the past there's been a few interesting data points about the New Zealand Intelligence Community's desire to covertly manipulate public opinion through media and academic mouthpieces. In 2015 the Council for Civil Liberties revealed the existence of an NZIC "Strategic Communications Group" tasked with persuading the public that spying ...
Inflation is through the roof, and "coincidentally" so is oil company profiteering. UN Secretary-General António Guterres calls it what it is: grotesque: The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has described the record profits of oil and gas companies as immoral and urged governments to introduce a windfall tax, using ...
What on earth is going on with the main opposition parties at the moment? Both National and ACT have been making numerous flip-flops and miscommunications, clearly indicating that they aren’t a viable alternative to the current Labour led Government.Of particular note is the duplicitous reasoning given for why they support ...
A ballot for two member's bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Housing Infrastructure (GST-sharing) Bill (Brooke van Velden) Prohibition on Seabed Mining Legislation Amendment Bill (Debbie Ngarewa-Packer) Ngarewa-Packer's bill looks likely to start a shitfight with Labour, and not just because the ...
As you might have noticed, I have an on-going interest in working my way through old and intellectually influential reading material. Occasionally I even share my thoughts on it, which allows me to take a break from my generally-dominant Tolkien analysis. Well, today I thought I would take a ...
Golriz Ghahraman's Electoral (Strengthening Democracy) Amendment Bill will probably face its first reading today. And three months after it was introduced - pissing on the "as soon as practicable" requirement of Standing Order 269 - it has received a section 7 report from Attorney-General David Parker stating that its proposed ...
There's an interesting select committee report out today, from the Petitions Committee on the Petition of Conrad Petersen: The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA). The petitioner raises some concerns about the slowness of the IPCA process and its lack of oversight, and suggests some solutions. The committee doesn't seem keen ...
Today is a Member's Day, but likely to be a boring one. There's no general debate today, and instead the House will move right into the third reading of the Canterbury Regional Council (Ngāi Tahu Representation) Bill, which will add unelected, inherently conflicted Ngai Tahu representatives to ECan. Then there's ...
That gormlessly glum picture of Christopher Luxon in Samoa graphically tells us what kind of image New Zealand would be projecting abroad if there’s a change of government next year. The glumness is understandable. For months, National and ACT had been dog whistling to the bigots who oppose the creation ...
There is no corruption in New Zealand. At least that’s what authorities want the public to believe. For decades now our system of political finance regulation has been portrayed as highly rigorous, ensuring our politicians cannot be bought. Unfortunately, that’s just not true. Although politicians and officials have claimed tight ...
Pundits have come out of the woodwork to defend the Greens co-leader, after he was stripped of his leadership last week by unhappy party members. The defences have all stuck to basically the same script: Shaw is a successful leader and minister who’s handed the party big victories in politics ...
Meghan Murphy talks with Batya Ungar-Sargon the author of Bad News: How Woke Media Is Undermining Democracy. The book charts the trajectory of journalism in the US as it shifted from being a blue collar occupation producing the penny press for the masses, to a profession for Ivy League university ...
Co-Leaders? The uncomfortable truth is: not the Army, not the Police, not the Spooks, and not even a combination of all three, could defeat the scale and violence of White Supremacist and Māori Nationalist resistance which the imposition of radical decolonisation – or its racism-inspired defeat – would unleash upon ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob Henson and Jeff Masters Torrents of rain that began before dawn on Tuesday, July 26, gave St. Louis, Missouri, its highest calendar-day total since records began in 1873. And the deadly event is just the latest example of a well-established trend ...
Completed reads for July: The Prince, by Niccolo MachiavelliFaust, Part I, by Johann Wolfgang von GoetheFaust, Part II, by Johann Wolfgang von GoetheParadise Lost, by John MiltonParadise Regained, by John MiltonThe NibelungenliedAgricola, by TacitusGermania, by TacitusDialogue on Orators, by TacitusThe Gods of Pegana, by Lord DunsanyTime and the Gods, ...
A couple of weeks ago the High Court exposed a loophole in our electoral donations law, enabling corrupt parties to take in unlimited amounts of secret money and explicitly sell policy to the rich. Pretty obviously, this is unacceptable in a country which wants to call itself a democracy, and ...
This morning, National’s deputy leader Nicola Willis managed to get top of the bulletin news coverage by pointing out that some Kiwis living abroad might receive the government’s cost of living payment. Quelle horreur. What is the problem here? Inflation is a global problem, and Kiwis living abroad may be ...
Beyond Fixing? The critical question confronting New Zealanders is whether we any longer have the resources to repair our physical and human infrastructure?WHO WILL MAKE the New Zealand of the next 50 years? We had better hope that, whoever they are, they make a better job of it than those ...
Today’s speech by Jacinda Ardern to the China Business Summit in Auckland was full of soothing words for Beijing. The headline-grabber was Ardern’s comment that ‘a few plans are afoot’ for New Zealand ministers to return to China – and that the Prime Minister herself hopes to return to the ...
Rule-Breaker? It is easy to see why poor James Shaw found himself brutally deposed as the Greens’ co-leader. By seeking the responsibilities of leadership – and exercising them – he violated the first rule of Green Party governance. Then, by accepting the limitations of the Green Party’s electoral mandate (7.8 ...
After the incredibly sad story about the deaths of over 50 Ukrainian POWs in a Ukrainian missile attack on the prison they were housed in (see Over 50 POWs killed. A military accident or a cynical war crime?)I came across the heartwarming story about another Ukrainian POW. It’s about a ...
British mercenary Aiden Aslin, now a prisoner in the Donetsk People’s Republic, expressed real concern that he may die from the Ukrainian shelling of Donetsk. He has experienced many missile attacks that came close to the prison.Is he still alive? Understandably, we are always shocked about the losses ...
Politics is largely reported as theatre: tragedy and comedy, thriller and farce. Andrea Vance captures it all very successfully in Blue Blood. But it is the politics of personality, not of policy – of the impact of government on the people’s wellbeing. Even so, we can see from the book ...
This year the government finally got its clean car feebate scheme into place. But there's a problem: it's been too successful: Transport Minister Michael Wood will shortly review the cost of the fees and rebates in the Government's "feebate" scheme after the runaway success of the policy has meant ...
Given how the pandemic has disrupted the sporting calendar, no-one would begrudge our elite athletes their chance to compete at international level. What with the war in Ukraine and the cost of living, there are also not many ‘good news” stories out there. So… I suppose the strenuous efforts the ...
Everybody Having A Say: Democracy commands us to look outward; it demands our trust; it tells us what is expected of our humanity; it elevates the collective above the self; it celebrates the things we have in common; it defines our morals and values; it calculates what we owe one ...
Even right-wing commentators have, over recent days, and jusrifiably enough, been taking the National leader, Christopher Luxon, to task. They have lambasted him over his soft-shoe shuffle over abortion, for bad-mouthing New Zealand business while he was overseas, and for pretending to be in Te Puke while he was actually ...
So, now we know for sure. The “protesters” who defiled the grounds of parliament and who (according to their own account) intended to create in three of our major cities “maximum disruption and inconvenience” to other citizens, are not interested in democracy – indeed, quite the contrary. Their objective, quite ...
The issue with Christopher Luxon’s social media post talking about his day in Te Puke when he was in Hawaii is it’s fake news. He has since apologised for the mistake. But this doesn’t negate its impact. This mistake, misstep, gaffe or whatever you like to call it, is about ...
Over the last couple of years there has been a disturbing trend of new legislation containing secrecy clauses, which effectively make it illegal for affected government bodies to disclose information under the Official Information Act. Some of these are re-enacting old legislation from the pre- or early-OIA era (in which ...
Allegations of political corruption are once again at the heart of a new High Court trial this week. The trial follows straight on from the “not guilty” verdict for those running the New Zealand First Foundation. And this latest trial is once again about whether wealthy businesspeople and political parties ...
Ukrainian operation to steal Russian military aircraft exposed [English edit] Representatives of the Ukrainian special services offered up to $2 million for hijacking Russian military aircraft, as well as European passports for the pilots and their families. In order to gain trust, Ukrainians shared information they were not allowed ...
Struck Down: As James Shaw saved the pure Greens from themselves in 2017, they resented him. As he secured the Climate Change portfolio for his party, they suspected him. As he achieved cross-party support for crucial climate change legislation, they condemned him. And, as he was white, and male, and ...
If nothing else, some of the media treatment of the Luxon lu’au has reeked of a double standard. If Jacinda Ardern – or any of her Cabinet Ministers – had been holidaying in Hawaii while their social media imagery was depicting them working hard on the public’s behalf in Te ...
The Emissions Trading Scheme is broken. Stuffed with free allocations and rigged with a "cost containment reserve" which floods the market any time prices get "too high" (for a definition of "too high" set in a different world), its basicly served as a machanism to subsidise the production of the ...
Following months of work by the Green Party and community and environmental organisations, Parliament will have the opportunity to pass legislation to protect public conservation land and waters from mining. ...
New evidence released today by Alcohol Healthwatch shows there’s never been a better time for Parliament to pass Green Party MP Chlöe Swarbrick’s Alcohol Harm Minimisation Bill. ...
We’re helping more Kiwis into work, to help support whānau, grow our skilled workforce and secure our economy for future generations. During our time in Government, we’ve delivered record low unemployment rates, as well as a steady fall in the number of New Zealanders receiving a main benefit, and we’re ...
The Green Party once again calls on the Government to ban bottom trawling on all seamounts following the release of an industry white paper on so-called ‘sustainable’ trawling. ...
Urgent reform is essential to ensure disabled people have equal access to the care and support they need, the Green Party says in response to a new report that challenges politicians to fix the current system. ...
COVID-19 is here to stay and so the Government needs to put in place long-term protection measures, including mandatory ventilation standards, the Green Party says. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to overhaul the Recognised Seasonal Employers scheme in the wake of revelations of shocking human rights violations. ...
The Green Party is calling for a cross-party commitment to guaranteeing at least a living wage and safe working conditions to people seeking employment, instead of continuing benefit sanctions. ...
The Green Party is once again calling on the Government to announce its support for a moratorium on deep sea mining, and to support a member’s bill going to select committee. ...
The Government must take steps to ensure that the way we build our homes is helping to meet New Zealand’s climate change targets, the Green Party said. ...
The Government’s employment initiatives led by the Ministry of Social Development must guarantee liveable incomes and fair working conditions, the Green Party says. ...
New Zealanders deserve a health system that works for everyone, no matter who you are or where you live. Our Government has a plan to make this a reality, and we’re taking the next steps. We now have thousands more health professionals, such as doctors and nurses, working in New ...
During her time as Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern has navigated New Zealand through unprecedented times. Through it all, she’s become known as someone who leads with kindness, compassion and strength, while keeping the wellbeing of Kiwis at the heart of her approach. To celebrate five years of Jacinda leading the ...
Since taking office in 2017, our Government has worked hard to lift wages and make life more affordable for New Zealanders, as we move forward with our plan to grow a secure economy for all. ...
The Government must use the opportunity of the Electoral Amendment Bill in Parliament to close the loophole in the political donations regime, the Green Party says. ...
Thanks to political pressure from the Green Party and the more than 900 personal stories of birth injury and trauma delivered to Minister Sepuloni, more injuries have been added to the ACC birth injuries bill. ...
Supporting New Zealanders is at the heart of our approach as a Government, and we’re working hard to tackle the big issues Kiwis are facing. While long term challenges like child poverty won’t be solved overnight, we’re putting in place policies that make a real difference for New Zealanders. Here ...
Delegates at the AGM of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand have voted to retain Marama Davidson as Green Party co-leader and to re-open nominations for the other co-leader position. ...
International tourism recovery well underway with higher level of overseas visitor arrivals than previously expected UK and US card spend already back at pre-COVID levels Visitors staying in New Zealand longer and spending more compared to 2019 Govt support throughout pandemic helped tourism sector prepare for return of international ...
The Ministry for Ethnic Communities has released its first strategy, setting out the actions it will take over the next few years to achieve better wellbeing outcomes for ethnic communities Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities Priyanca Radhakrishnan announced today. “The Strategy that has been released today sets out ...
The Prime Minister has officially opened the Hawke’s Bay Regional Aquatic Centre today saying it is a huge asset to the region and to the country. “This is a world class facility which will be able to host national and international events including the world championships. With a 10-lane Olympic ...
The Associate Minister of Education, Aupito William Sio, has today announced the recipients of the Tulī Takes Flight scholarships which were a key part of last year’s Dawn Raids apology. The scholarships are a part of the goodwill gesture of reconciliation to mark the apology by the New Zealand Government ...
96% of estimated menstruating students receive free period products 2085 schools involved 1200 dispensers installed Supports cost of living, combats child poverty, helps increase attendance Associate Minister of Education Jan Tinetti today hailed the free period products in schools, Ikura | Manaakitia te whare tangata, a huge success, acknowledging ...
The Tourism Industry Transformation Plan outlines key actions to improve the sector This includes a Tourism and Hospitality Accord to set employment standards Developing cultural competency within the workforce Improving the education and training system for tourism Equipping business owners and operators with better tools and enabling better work ...
Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications Dr David Clark welcomes Google Cloud’s decision to make New Zealand a cloud region. “This is another major vote of confidence for New Zealand’s growing digital sector, and our economic recovery from COVID 19,” David Clark said. “Becoming a cloud region will mean ...
A package of changes to NCEA and University Entrance announced today recognise the impact COVID-19 has had on senior secondary students’ assessment towards NCEA in 2022, says Associate Minister of Education Jan Tinetti. “We have heard from schools how significant absences of students and teachers, as a result of COVID-19, ...
Te Reo Māori tauparapara… Tapatapa tū ki te Rangi! Ki te Whei-ao! Ki te Ao-mārama Tihei mauri ora! Stand at the edge of the universe! of the spiritual world! of the physical world! It is the breath of creation Formal acknowledgments… [Your Highness Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II and Masiofo] ...
The Government’s commitment to combatting firearms violence has reached another significant milestone today with the passage of the Firearms Prohibition Order Legislation Bill, Police Minister Chris Hipkins says. The new law helps to reduce firearm-related crime by targeting possession, use, or carriage of firearms by people whose actions and behaviours ...
Minister for Veterans, Hon Meka Whaitiri sends her condolences to the last Battle for Crete veteran. “I am saddened today to learn of the passing of Cyril Henry Robinson known as Brant Robinson, who is believed to be the last surviving New Zealand veteran of the Battle for Crete, Meka ...
Legislation to repeal the ‘Three Strikes’ law has passed its third reading in Parliament. “The Three Strikes Legislation Repeal Bill ends an anomaly in New Zealand’s justice system that dictates what sentence judges must hand down irrespective of relevant factors,” Justice Minister Kiri Allan said. “The three strikes law was ...
Work is under way on preliminary steps to improve the Government’s support for survivors of abuse in care while a new, independent redress system is designed, Public Service Minister Chris Hipkins says. These steps – recommended by the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry – include rapid payments for ...
Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki Online Forum 77 years ago today, an atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. Three days earlier, on the 6th of August 1945, the same fate had befallen the people of Hiroshima. Tens of thousands died instantly. In the years that followed 340,000 ...
An agreement signed today between the New Zealand and United States governments will provide new opportunities for our space sector and closer collaboration with NASA, Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash said. Stuart Nash signed the Framework Agreement with United States Deputy Secretary of State, Wendy Sherman. The signing ...
An agreement signed today between New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the United States’ Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will strengthen global emergency management capability, says Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty. “The Government is committed to continually strengthening our emergency management system, and this Memorandum of Cooperation ...
New Zealand will remain at the Orange traffic light setting, while hospitalisations remain elevated and pressure on the health system continues through winter. “There’s still significant pressure on hospitals from winter illnesses, so our current measures have an ongoing role to play in reducing the number of COVID-19 cases and ...
Streets will soon be able to be transformed from unsafe and inaccessible corridors to vibrant places for all transport modes thanks to new legislation proposed today, announced Transport Minister Michael Wood. “We need to make it safe, quicker and more attractive for people to walk, ride and take public transport ...
More young minds eyeing food and fibre careers is the aim of new Government support for agricultural and horticultural science teachers in secondary schools, Agriculture and Rural Communities Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. The Government is committing $1.6 million over five years to the initiative through the Ministry for Primary ...
Kākāpō numbers have increased from 197 to 252 in the 2022 breeding season, and there are now more of the endangered parrots than there have been for almost 50 years, Conservation Minister Poto Williams announced today. The flightless, nocturnal parrot is a taonga of Ngāi Tahu and a species unique ...
The relationship between Aotearoa New Zealand and Malaysia is to be elevated to the status of a Strategic Partnership, to open up opportunities for greater co-operation and connections in areas like regional security and economic development. Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta met her Malaysian counterpart Dato’ Saifuddin Abdullah today during a ...
With additional trains operating across the network, powered by the Government’s investment in rail, there is need for a renewed focus on rail safety, Transport Minister Michael Wood emphasised at the launch of Rail Safety Week 2022. “Over the last five years the Government has invested significantly to improve level ...
The Foreign Minister has wrapped up a series of meetings with Indo-Pacific partners in Cambodia which reinforced the need for the region to work collectively to deal with security and economic challenges. Nanaia Mahuta travelled to Phnom Penh for a bilateral meeting between ASEAN foreign ministers and Aotearoa New Zealand, ...
Kia ora koutou Firstly, thank you to the President of the Criminal Bar Association, Fiona Guy Kidd QC, for her invitation to attend the annual conference this weekend albeit unfortunately she is unable to attend, I’m grateful to the warm welcome both Chris Wilkinson-Smith (Vice-President, Whanganui) and Adam Simperingham (Vice-President, Gisborne) ...
Extension of Aotearoa Touring Programme supporting domestic musicians The Programme has supported more than 1,700 shows and over 250 artists New Zealand Music Commission estimates that around 200,000 Kiwis have been able to attend shows as a result of the programme The Government is hitting a high note, with ...
Minister of Defence Peeni Henare will depart tomorrow for Solomon Islands to attend events commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal. While in Solomon Islands, Minister Henare will also meet with Solomon Islands Minister of National Security, Correctional Services and Police Anthony Veke to continue cooperation on security ...
The Government is partnering with Ngāi Tahu Farming Limited and Ngāi Tūāhuriri on a whole-farm scale study in North Canterbury to validate the science of regenerative farming, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. The programme aims to scientifically evaluate the financial, social and environmental differences between regenerative and conventional practices. ...
52.5% of people on public boards are women Greatest ever percentage of women Improved collection of ethnicity data “Women’s representation on public sector boards and committees is now 52.5 percent, the highest ever level. The facts prove that diverse boards bring a wider range of knowledge, expertise and skill. ...
I am honoured to support the 2022 Women in Governance Awards, celebrating governance leaders, directors, change-makers, and rising stars in the community, said Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio. For the second consecutive year, MPP is proudly sponsoring the Pacific Governance Leader category, recognising Pacific women in governance and presented to ...
Today Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash turned the sod for the new Whakatāne Commercial Boat Harbour, cut the ribbon for the revitalised Whakatāne Wharf, and inspected work underway to develop the old Whakatāne Army Hall into a visitor centre, all of which are part of the $36.8 million ...
New Zealanders are not getting a fair deal on some key residential building supplies and while the Government has already driven improvements in the sector, a Commerce Commission review finds that changes are needed to make it more competitive. “New Zealand is facing the same global cost of living and ...
Mana in Mahi reaches a milestone surpassing 5,000 participants 75 per cent of participants who had been on a benefit for two or more years haven’t gone back onto a benefit 89 per cent who have a training pathway are working towards a qualification at NZQA level 3 or ...
The Government has invested $7.7 million in a research innovation hub which was officially opened today by Minister of Research, Science and Innovation Dr Ayesha Verrall. The new facility named Te Pā Harakeke Flexible Labs comprises 560 square metres of new laboratory space for research staff and is based at ...
Unemployment has remained near record lows thanks to the Government’s economic plan to support households and businesses through the challenging global environment, resulting in more people in work and wages rising. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate was 3.3 percent in the June quarter, with 96,000 people classed out ...
Action to address the risks identified in the 2020 climate change risk assessment, protecting lives, livelihoods, homes, businesses and infrastructure A joined up approach that will support community-based adaptation with national policies and legislation Providing all New Zealanders with information about local climate risks via a new online data ...
Māori with mental health and addiction challenges have easier access to care thanks to twenty-nine Kaupapa Māori primary mental health and addiction services across Aotearoa, Associate Minister of Health Peeni Henare says. “Labour is the first government to take mental health seriously for all New Zealanders. We know that Māori ...
A Bill which updates New Zealand’s statistics legislation for the 21st century has passed its third and final reading today, Minister of Statistics David Clark said. The Data and Statistics Act replaces the Statistics Act, which has been in effect since 1975. “In the last few decades, national data and ...
The Accessibility for New Zealanders Bill has passed its first reading in Parliament today, marking a significant milestone to improve the lives of disabled people. “The Bill aims to address accessibility barriers that prevent disabled people, tāngata whaikaha and their whānau, and others with accessibility needs from living independently,” said ...
Kia ora koutou, da jia hao It’s great to be back at this year’s China Business Summit. I would first like to acknowledge Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, former Prime Minister Helen Clark, His Excellency Ambassador Wang Xiaolong, and parliamentary colleagues both current and former the Right Honourable Winston Peters, the ...
Narrowing the expenses considered by lenders Relaxing the assumptions that lenders were required to make about credit cards and buy-now pay-later schemes. Helping make debt refinancing or debt consolidation more accessible if appropriate for borrowers The Government is clarifying the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance (CCCFA) Regulations, to ensure ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dallas Rogers, Head of Urbanism and Associate Professor of Urban Studies, School of Architecture, Design and Planning, University of Sydney The redevelopment of the 22-hectare Barangaroo precinct on Sydney Harbour has long been a masterclass in poor urban development governance and lack ...
The Aotearoa Vapers Community Advocacy (AVCA) is encouraging Kiwis to make a submission on the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Bill by 24 August. They say getting tough on tobacco is well overdue. Now with Parliament’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hannah Dahlen, Professor of Midwifery, Associate Dean Research and HDR, Midwifery Discipline Leader, Western Sydney University Shutterstock The tragic case of Annie Moylan, who died in Melbourne in 2017 from sepsis, when 18 weeks pregnant, has put a spotlight on ...
A View from Afar – In this podcast, political scientist Paul Buchanan and Selwyn Manning analyse hostilities and the pathway ahead for Taiwan, China, Asia Pacific nations and the United States of America. Buchanan and Manning examine why hostilities have intensified, what defence and pre-emptive security moves have been ...
An award-winning Rotorua-based app development company Salt + Tonic have released its voter engagement solution to the public, enabling all local district councils to bring a future-focused and technology driven solution to voter engagement to their ...
When a Royal New Zealand Air Force C130 Hercules broke down in Vanuatu this week there was a certain irony in the event. It left Defence Minister Peeni Henare stranded in the Solomon Islands capital, Honiara, where he had been leading a delegation of 30 New Zealanders, including officials from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Chinese reaction to United States Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit further escalated tensions in our region, as China becomes more bellicose in language and action. On Wednesday, China’s Ambassador Xiao Qian spoke at ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist), The Conversation Shawn Thew/EPA/AP On June 24, the US Supreme Court denied a constitutional right to an abortion, overturning its Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. I covered this and two other late June right-wing ...
By Tom Peters, Socialist Equality Group 10 August 2022 Original url: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/08/10/fxcj-a10.html COVID-19 is now the leading cause of death in New Zealand, equal with heart disease. The New Zealand Herald reported on August 7 that in the week ending 17 July, 120 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven W. Salisbury, PhD; Associate Professor, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland Herschel Hoffmeyer/Shutterstock For the first time, we have shown that a soft heel pad was crucial to how sauropod dinosaurs supported their immense weight, according to ...
Grassroots sports on Saturday afternoon with the family - it’s a key weekend ingredient for many New Zealanders and one we want to enjoy free from the advertising of harmful, addictive substances. The recently drawn Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Harm Minimisation) ...
The latest Ipsos Global Advisor study found that the vast majority of New Zealanders recognise that cycling plays an important role in the reduction of carbon emissions (84%) and traffic reduction (73%). However, 42% of New Zealanders are still more ...
The experimental weekly series provides an early indicator of employment and labour market changes in a more timely manner than the monthly employment indicators series. Key facts The 6-day series includes jobs with a pay period equal to or less than ...
There was a provisional net migration loss of 11,500 people in the 12 months ended June 2022, the 16th month in a row that an annual net migration loss has occurred, Stats NZ said today. There were 49,200 migrant arrivals and 60,700 migrant departures ...
Embattled National MP Sam Uffindell was put on notice for living in one of North Dunedin's filthiest flats, described as a haven for vermin and disease by health inspectors. ...
Former National Party leader Simon Bridges has given evidence in a trial over alleged concealed political donations, agreeing Jami-Lee Ross became a political kamikaze. ...
“The peace movement is deeply concerned about rumours that the Labour Government is considering joining the US military alliance with Australia and the UK, called AUKUS,” said Valerie Morse, a member of the Cancel RIMPAC Coalition. The visit ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Apisalome Movono, Senior Lecturer in Development Studies, Massey University Getty Images With Samoa fully reopening its borders on August 1, another Pacific country moved tentatively forwards after two years of border closures and little or no international tourism. But opening ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Power, Associate Professor and Principal Research Fellow at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University The recent global outbreak of monkeypox largely among men who have sex with men has raised concerns homophobia will undermine effective ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Reem Abbas, Research Fellow, Auckland University of Technology Shutterstock/Joseph Sorrentino New Zealand’s healthcare policies for migrants rate among the top five countries globally. Yet research shows persistent health inequities among women and children with migrant and refugee backgrounds. The ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mary Woessner, Lecturer in Clinical Exercise and Research Fellow, Institute for Health and Sport (iHeS), Victoria University, Victoria University Lars Bo Nielsen/Unsplash, CC BY-SA Every week millions of Australian children play community sport. Participating in community sport can improve children’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Downie, Associate Professor, Australian National University Getty If politics moves slowly, climate politics often feels like it doesn’t move at all. Yet at the weekend, US senators worked through the night to accomplish something they have failed to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Fraser, Senior Researcher in Antarctic Remote Sensing, University of Tasmania Esmee van Wijk, Author provided As Antarctica’s slow rivers of ice hit the sea, they float, forming ice shelves. These shelves extend the glaciers into the ocean until they ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Burton, Lecturer, Theatre, University of Southern Queensland Jason LaVeris/ Getty If you felt the world stop turning for a moment in July, it’s because Beyoncé dropped her new album, Renaissance. Rolling Stone has described her as the world’s ...
The government is forging ahead with legislation to restructure how Oranga Tamariki is monitored despite overwhelming opposition that has seen a National MP storm out of Parliament. ...
Pacific Media Watch newsdesk Amnesty International and Civicus have called on the Fiji government to drop contempt of court charges against a lawyer in Fiji for exercising his right to freedom of expression. On 27 June 2022, Fiji’s Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum filed charges for contempt of court against senior lawyer ...
Opinion - The accusations against MP Sam Uffindell are showing National leader Christopher Luxon that driving a strong team culture doesn't just mean just celebrating the wins, but also dealing with the difficult situations fairly and decisively. ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup: Is Tauranga headed towards yet another by-election?Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. If National causes yet another by-election to be held in Tauranga, not only will it cost the taxpayers another unnecessary $1m for the taxpayers after Simon Bridges called it quits earlier in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Di Winkler, Adjunct Associate Professor, La Trobe University Shutterstock Eighteen months ago, a Melbourne woman named Leila had a stroke and went to a local hospital. After medical support over a few weeks, Leila was ready to be discharged from ...
A View from Afar – In this podcast, political scientist Paul Buchanan and Selwyn Manning will analyse hostilities and the pathway ahead for Taiwan, China, Asia Pacific nations and the United States of America. Buchanan and Manning will examine why hostilities have intensified, what defence and pre-emptive security moves ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Flavio Macau, Associate Dean – School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University Klaus Nielsen/Pexels , CC BY-SA Australia is experiencing a national egg shortage. Prices are rising and supermarket stocks are patchy. Some cafes are reportedly serving breakfast with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Broom, Professor of Sociology & Director, Sydney Centre for Healthy Societies, The University of Sydney., University of Sydney Since news of Olivia Newton-John’s death this week, many have paid tribute to her character, humble nature and cultural significance. She also ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Paul Miller/AAP New analysis this week found strong fuel efficiency standards would have saved Australia A$5.9 billion in fuel costs and emissions equal to a year’s worth of domestic flights ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Broom, Professor of Sociology & Director, Sydney Centre for Healthy Societies, The University of Sydney., University of Sydney Since news of Olivia Newton-John’s death this week, many have paid tribute to her character, humble nature and cultural significance. She also ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter McNeil, Distinguished Professor of Design History, UTS, University of Technology Sydney Throughout his career, Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake, who has died of cancer at 84, rejected terms like “fashion”. But his work allowed much of the world to reimagine ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. This morning, RNZ played the following story: Health stats show 87 people have died in their homes from Covid-19 since March, which references New Zealand’s ...
Green Party MP Chlöe Swarbrick says she is frustrated that her bill to ban alcohol sponsorship in sports is not receiving the backing of the government, despite the presence of overwhelming evidence. ...
By Gorethy Kenneth of the PNG Post-Courier in Port Moresby In a historic first, the Papua New Guinea Parliament has installed Pangu Pati leader and Tari-Pori MP James Marape by a unanimous majority as the country’s ninth Prime Minister. Immediately, in his address to the House and streamed live to ...
By Geraldine Panapasa, editor-in-chief of Wansolwara Newsin Suva Addressing the training development deficit in the Fiji media industry can stem journalist attrition and improve coverage of election reporting in the country, says University of the South Pacific journalism coordinator Dr Shailendra Singh. Speaking during last week’s launch of the National ...
Buzz from the Beehive Some ministers commemorated historical events in the latest press statements from the Beehive while others pointed to New Zealand’s role in the space age and to technological developments around the digital economy and data storage in the cloud. Three statements were related to events in the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karlo Doroc, PhD Candidate in Decision Science, Centre for Brain, Mind and Markets, The University of Melbourne Unsplash/Susan Q Yin Nobel laureate economist Richard Thaler famously quipped: People aren’t dumb, the world is hard. Indeed, we routinely ...
Flexible workshops designed to help students understand the impacts of climate change, and how they can make a difference Keep New Zealand Beautiful, an iconic not-for-profit organisation that this year celebrates its 55 year milestone, has today launched ...
“Numbers are dropping in the New Zealand Defence Force as personnel are faced with poor pay, poor dwellings, and poor leadership from the Minister,” says ACT’s Defence spokesperson Dr James McDowall. “NZDF is experiencing increasing attrition ...
Christopher Luxon says member of his staff was told about the red flags around candidate Sam Uffindell during the campaign for the Tauranga by-election ...
Christopher Luxon says a member of his staff was told about the red flags around candidate Sam Uffindell during the campaign for the Tauranga by-election. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Huon pine in TasmaniaShutterstock When you think of “conifers”, tall, conical shaped trees often found in public parks or front yards may spring to mind. But ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union has written to the Finance and Expenditure Committee on behalf of the more than 65,000 New Zealanders who took the time to submit on the Water Services Entities Bill (Three Waters) through our submission tool. “We learnt ...
The National Party's new president has admitted its candidate selection process could be improved, after its Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell was suspended over bullying allegations. ...
A top US diplomat says New Zealand could eventually become a member of the AUKUS defence alliance, highlighting the country's strategic importance. ...
National Party leader Christopher Luxon says work has already been done to reset the culture within the party and in improving its candidate selection process. ...
“James Shaw has doubled down on his Government’s assurance that existing land use will continue on Significant Natural Areas (SNAs),” says ACT’s Primary Industries spokesperson Mark Cameron. “Responding to written parliamentary questions from ...
To celebrate 90 years of supporting disabled people into employment opportunities, Workbridge has launched a new book, Taking Charge: The Story of Workbridge. Workbridge has a proud history as an independent disability-owned and led organisation, delivering ...
Kelvin Hastie – best known for starting New Zealand's first predator free community – has announced that he will run for the mayor of Wellington. "What we need now is unity," says Hastie, something that he ignited in the community when ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andy Marks, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Strategy, Government and Alliances, Western Sydney University The 1973 Watergate Committee hearings ran for 51 days. The televised revelations drew a huge audience. The pressure built with slow, devastating intensity, devouring then US President Richard Nixon’s agenda, eventually ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karin Hammarberg, Senior Research Fellow, Global and Women’s Health, School of Public Health & Preventive Medicine, Monash University Jeffery Erhunse/Unsplash Egg freezing is promoted as an empowering option for women who want to stop the biological clock and improve their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Penelope Jones, Research Fellow in Environmental Health, University of Tasmania Shutterstock Savanna burning projects in northern Australia provide economic benefits to Indigenous communities and claim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But our research suggests smoke from these projects is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Sciberras, Associate Professor, Deakin University Simeon Frank/Unsplash COVID lockdowns and home schooling seemed never-ending for a lot of families. But there were some silver linings. Our new research published in two papers looked at children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sian Mitchell, Lecturer, Film, Television and Animation, Deakin University Warner Bros Batgirl has become the latest film to be added to a growing list of movies we will never get to see. The US$90 million film had been shot and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Howe, Research Fellow, University of Auckland Getty Images Routine childhood immunisations have dropped so dramatically globally during the COVID-19 pandemic that the World Health Organization and UNICEF are raising the alarm. Internationally, 25 million children in 2021 alone ...
Sam Uffendell should resign or be sacked and a new election held at National's expense. The NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party demand the National Party sack newly elected Sam Uffendell and pay for a new election giving the people of Tauranga a fair vote ...
When I was a student at Otago I enjoyed a student lifestyle, which included drinking and, at times, smoking marijuana. While in second year a number of flatmates fell out – and two of the flatmates left midway through the year. I reject any accusation ...
National MP Sam Uffindell has been stood down from the party's caucus while an investigation is carried out into further allegations of bullying raised by RNZ. ...
Asia Pacific Report newsdesk Papua New Guinea’s incumbent leader, James Marape, has been returned to the top job as the country’s ninth prime minister, reports the ABC’s Port Moresby correspondent Natalie Whiting. “Marape was voted in as prime minister unopposed, with unanimous support from all MPs present in the first ...
RNZ News New research details the extent of racism, othering and tokenism faced by Māori and Pacific postgraduate students in Aotearoa New Zealand. The paper, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, was based off responses of 43 Māori and Pacific students in science, technology, engineering, ...
RNZ Pacific Pacific athletes have won a total of 13 medals at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, split among six nations. Samoa won the region’s only gold, through weightlifter Don Opolenge and the nation’s lifters also won three silver medals. They also gained a silver in boxing. Fiji won four ...
Inside America's Meddling Machine: NED, the US-Funded Org Interfering in Elections Across the Globe
His numbers are not accurate but the gist and ultimate question remain to be confronted…
"The one thing they will not do, however, is confront the brutal, but inescapable, truth that there is only one way this planet will be saved from the effects of the 9 billion human-beings living upon its surface; and that is for more than 8 billion of them to disappear. How that might be achieved, and who should take responsibility for achieving it, are questions which, to date, only novelists and science fiction writers have attempted to answer."
https://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/101146/chris-trotter-deconstructs-arguments-used-eco-warriors-and-questions-how-much-they
Inspired by weka's "Totally Shit Farming" post, here's a quick look at the status of non-cow dairy efforts.
tl;dr, one company has made and sold batches of icecream made from lab-grown whey and casein, and there's others not too far behind. To be sure, the tiny quantities involved make it a publicity stunt rather than a real product. But it's still a big milestone on the way to a real alternative to a cow.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/16/perfect-day-foods-made-ice-cream-from-real-dairy-grown-in-lab.html
https://www.thestar.com.my/business/smebiz/2019/07/22/forget-synthetic-meat-lab-grown-dairy-is-here
That gives the farming lobby a reason to keep on with practices that can not be supported and avoid improving their approach. I like the idea of having milk from happy cows, given proper conditions and feed, it is a natural way of getting good food. But the ability to force-feed the animals, and manipulate them to the nth degree, take their colostrum, take the calves away from the mothers at an early age etc etc has warped the dairy system.
Having dairy replaced by tech is another step away from the needs of the populace; there is money to be made by making business from spoiling the planet and our traditional systems. It is happening with meat, milk, and further, our money exchange being replaced by electrified cards, and on.
i find lab 'grown' as gross as the practices of industrial dairy farming.
i really would like to go to ethical organic farming.
this to me is just simply the other extreme of the same scale.
Sure you've got a preference. And you've probably got a price differential point at which you're willing to pay extra to indulge that preference. But the vast majority of consumers? Not so much.
When lab-grown synthesised milk becomes an actual thing, something that's going to get a lot more publicity is how engineered the milk we buy already is. Between the cow and bottle, it's cooked, separated into its constituents, then reformulated back to just barely meet the minimum requirements of whatever category it's sold as. Lab-grown constituents will be just a minor change in that context.
https://milk.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000658
http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/national/resource/permeate-%E2%80%93-everything-you-need-know-about-milk-standardisation
Cooking and pasteurisation aren't quite the same thing, but either can be done in a home kitchen. Full fat milk doesn't get much else done to it afaik, but do share because it's this kind of conflation that leads to people not trusting science.
and once we get over the idiocy of avoid animal fats, more people will want full fat milk again.
Full fat milk gets the same separation then add back in treatment reduced fat and skim milk get.
Homogenisation and Standardisation.. 'town supply' has had it for decades
how does that differ from historical separation of cream from milk?
(leave homogenisation out for now, because it's weird, just shake the bottle)
The point is the milk we buy in the supermarket is a manipulated engineered product. It's had a shit load more done to it than just squirted out of a cow, made safe, and put in a bottle.
Forty-odd years ago as a kid doing a milk run I got a tour through the Palmy milk treatment plant. Part of that was tasting a small sample at each step along the way. And every step made a big difference. I'd imagine what was happening then is primitive compared to how it's manipulated now.
pasteurisation and separating cream from milk can be done at home. Homogenisation is a more industrial process but even that I think is a long step from lab dairy.
It's like people who think that splicing genes is the same as selective breeding. If it doesn't matter to you, that's great, you can eat lab dairy. But it will matter to many, and pretending those are all the same kind of tech will create confusion, division and resentment.
Looking back,it seems complex diets from simpler foods,greater (longer work) days, seem to have been a recipe for good health for the working class.
Mid-Victorian working class men and women consumed between 50% and 100% more calories than we do, but because they were so much more physically active than we are today, overweight and obesity hardly existed at the working class level. The working class diet was rich in seasonal vegetables and fruits; with consumption of fruits and vegetables amounting to eight to 10 portions per day. This far exceeds the current national average of around three portions, and the government-recommended five-a-day. The mid-Victorian diet also contained significantly more nuts, legumes, whole grains and omega three fatty acids than the modern diet. Much meat consumed was offal, which has a higher micronutrient density than the skeletal muscle we largely eat today [59]. Prior to the introduction of margarine in the late Victorian period, dietary intakes of trans fats were very low. There were very few processed foods and therefore little hidden salt, other than in bread (Recipes suggest that significantly less salt was then added to meals. At table, salt was not usually sprinkled on a serving but piled at the side of the plate, allowing consumers to regulate consumption in a more controlled way.). The mid-Victorian diet had a lower calorific density and a higher nutrient density than ours. It had a higher content of fibre (including fermentable fibre), and a lower sodium/potassium ratio. In short, the mid-Victorians ate a diet that was not only considerably better than our own, but also far in advance of current government recommendations. It more closely resembles the Mediterranean diet, proven in many studies to promote health and longevity; or even the ‘Paleolithic diet’ recommended by some nutritionists [60].
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2672390/
that was interesting!
My uncle (born around WW1 I think) used to do that with his salt, got a lot of ribbing about it that he ignored. I have a context to put his habit in now.
I'll be reading the article. The nutrient density doesn't surprise me, the low levels of animal fat does.
Victorian margarine though, what?
Sure. I'd imagine in a possible future, those who find the distinction important will still be able to buy the boutique product from a cow at enormous price with emission fees, pollution fees, animal welfare fees and so on.
And those that don't care at all, or only care about nutritional value and taste, or can't afford the boutique stuff out of a cow, will end up eating cheese and yoghurt and maybe even directly drinking the stuff that comes from industrial vats.
What I'd like to see is more honesty about lab dairy. That it needs to be presented as being the same as cow's milk suggests there isn't as much acceptance of it as you believe.
Do you mean ethical organic farming of animals?
yes.
Humans are omnivores, we can luckily survive by eating clay.
To me lab grown is the other extreme to industrial farming. As far removed from nature and natural occurance as can be giving a false sense of food security while the planet still is being treated as a rubbish bin.
so yes, ethical farming, less eating, paying the full price of food, paying even the full price of gasoline, and such. Cause us here in the spoiled western world we have not paid the full price on anything in a long time. We like the stuff that we eat, that we wrap our selfs in, that we use to enterain us, that houses us all to be cheap.
Just because humans can eat animal flesh doesn't mean they should.
I am genuinely interested in the ethics of killing an animal to eat it (or paying someone else indirectly to do it), which I'm sure the animal doesn't want, and which is unnecessary given humans can exist perfectly well on a plant-based diet.
Besides the blatant anthropomorphising, that's a pretty loose use of "perfectly well".
Both of which I stand behind.
The documentary evidence I've seen of animals going to slaughter kind of shows me they are not choosing to have their throats cut. They are sentient beings who feel terror just like we do.
And a balanced plant-based diet is healthy, nutricious and good for the planet. What's not to like about that?
Taste and texture.
As for the "documentary evidence", yeah nah. Persistent abstract memory, self awareness, reasoned anticipation of future events, and the ability to communicate abstract ideas are all part of a fundamentally different consciousness than biological impulse.
We shouldn't be cruel, but to equate a cow with a human is a moral equivalence that lacks any reasonable foundation.
Totally disagree so let's leave it there.
fair call.
Humans and all other living things must 'consume' nutrients to live. Some humans have an (over-)abundance of dietary choices, and so we have omnivores, vegetarians, vegans et al.
The known risks associated with 'veganism by choice' are easily mitigated, hence the paucity of reports of human health being compromised by veganism in the OECD.
If human civilisation reverts to a pre-industrial state, then veganism may be a less heathly ‘option’, but at the moment it seems a pretty good OECD option for the health of humans and the planet.
Not a choice I could make (yet), because I enjoy eating bacon, chicken, cheese et al. [dribble drool, slaver slobber] It's a delicious habit that is (on balance) bad for my health, and for the planet, but 'from my cold, dead mouth' and all that, although I’m eating less meat than I used to.
Jaeeezusss! 106.7 kilos a year? 2 kilos a week? Maybe Psycho Milt is chowing down that roughly 1 1/2 kilos a week I'm not eating.
I seem to be getting through half a kilo a week just in bacon for breakfast, so yeah, probably eating a few people's shares…
…which I'm sure the animal doesn't want…
Plants don't want to be eaten either, Grey Area. Many go to considerable evolutionary efforts to make it harder to eat them, up to and including making themselves toxic to animals. If you want to live without killing things, you'd better learn how to photosynthesise.
A broccopalypse or maybe a caulicaust lol
It's funny how the idea of differentiating what one consumes is extrapolated into living without killing things – what's with that?
for some reason it brings to mind this lyric and song for me
We walked out – tentacle in hand
You could sense that the earthlings would not understand
They'd go.. nudge nudge …when we got off the bus
Saying it's extra-terrestial – not like us
And it's bad enough with another race
But fuck me… a monster …from outer space
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6emQpBXe5Y
I spose I see us all as earthlings
is the issue what one consumes or what dies so that one might live?
I believe that the ecological cost of mass producing meat is OTT. I think that our western diets are unsustainable. People make their choices to do what they want and they accept their choices – personally I no longer care what anyone else eats – we all make choices. It is a fairness of argument for me re my comment.
As a global trade, and the gearing required to bring it together, you're probably correct – Way too high an environmental cost.
For a local market only, surely consumption can continue with a much better carbon footprint and improved standards.
Re ethics of argument, Grey Area's argument was that killing animals to eat them is wrong as animals don't want to be killed, so people should eat plants. My counter-argument was that plants also don't want to be killed and it's impossible for humans to live without killing things. In what sense do you consider that counter-argument unfair?
Far more than our western diets is unsustainable….the problem is in providing a viable alternative and the transition…and equitably
@ Al1en – needs verses wants I suppose
@ PM I think when you said, "If you want to live without killing things, you'd better learn how to photosynthesise." was my tipping point. Extrapolating for effect just a little too far for me. So that's why I responded.
@ Pat – yeah – I believe the inevitability of the changes will make choice moot down the track – still we can future proof by diversifying while we can and moving to as sustainable as we can be. The dietary lifestyle we enjoy now is pretty decadent and the cost so high imo.
I'm similar marty. It's fairness for humans globally, but also fairness for other life forms.
The more people eat local the more this will become apparent. So many people don't understand what it takes to grow good food and do that fairly.
Sadly eating locally dosnt solve it…there are too many locations that require imported food and therein lies one of the problems
where are you thinking needs imported food?
the uk for one…but if you like we could research the number of locations that are net food importers
P.S.
quick search reveals
https://www.indexmundi.com/blog/index.php/2013/02/19/food-exports-and-imports-worldwide/
and none of this accounts for CC…or failed states
@ PM I think when you said, "If you want to live without killing things, you'd better learn how to photosynthesise." was my tipping point.
I think it's a reasonable response. Even if you reject the idea that plants object to being killed, is it wrong to kill a chicken so you can eat it but OK to kill a shitload of mice when you turn your combine harvesters loose on the wheat crop? It isn't currently possible for humans to live without killing things.
that countries import food doesn't mean they have to or that they can't produce food locally. Local food production is largely a function of the relationship between population, geography and climate. Capitalism doesn't care about that because it has fossil fuels and can import and export food at will.
Pat that link appears to be measuring $ not things like calories or nutrients.
@ Psycho Milt
Do you also think that natures predators are also undesirable?…we are nothing more than mammals and we are omnivores, are we to be condemned any more than sharks or lions?…or any other species that ends the existence of another life form
we are nothing more than mammals and we are omnivores, are we to be condemned any more than sharks or lions?
I wouldn't say "nothing more than," but we for sure are omnivorous primates and that means we have a taste for eating other critters, much like sharks or lions.
It's worth keeping in mind that plants are also in evolutionary competition with each other and doing their best to ensure their own survival at the expense of other plant species, same as animals. It just all happens a hell of a lot slower and without all the clawing, biting, bludgeoning etc.
@Weka.lol…didnt you know everything is measured in dollars?….but we can can still infer …and as said that dosnt account for CC nor failed states…which are only going to increase.
@ PM….thats all very well but dosnt address my point.
Sorry, in that case I haven't understood what you were saying. Could you dumb it down for me?
The question was are we to be condemned?….your answer didnt address that….so I shall offer one on your behalf…yes we are, as a result of our success we are destined to out compete everything including our environment.
Pat, lol, yes dollars rule. I wondered if one is measuring commodity dollars how useful that is because it will include things like chocolate, coffee and wine.
That CC and war are going to force big changes in food production is an argument for shifting to local food production sooner rather than later.
7.8 billion and growing…it aint doable.
We are witnessing how humans cope with a resource constrained world….we dont.
All of our petty disputes about how we farm etc are symptomatic of a problem that we cannot solve.
Long before rising sea levels or non habitable heat undoes us we will will destroy each other
Why is it not doable? We know that the end of fossil fuels will make transporting food harder. We know that we need more resilient systems. Both those things are within our reach irrespective of how bad CC gets.
Addressing industrial dairying isn't a petty dispute, it's literally about whether humans get to survive in the future, possibly even you and I. Those big, industrial, nature ignoring, FF burning systems are going to crash. How is relocalising food production not a good response to that?
The question was are we to be condemned?
…
… yes we are, as a result of our success we are destined to out compete everything including our environment.
It does sure look like having self-awareness and the ability to think in abstracts doesn't outweigh being just an upmarket bunch of omnivore primates when it comes down to it. I'll hold off the condemnations until it's clear whether or not we've played ourselves, though.
Its petty because we are creating unnecessary divisions in a society that has little chance of achieving a positive outcome…and it certainly wont if its divided.
The problem is so complicated that the only possible way to address it requires widespread buy in…that is not achieved by attack and demonisation.
Societies are too easily fragmented and as said in other posts long before we are seriously challenged by the physical impacts of CC we will have to avoid the societal conflicts (if we can)
Animals are sentient beings and while plants are alive they are not sentient.
Are you suggesting that boiling a live chicken and a head of broccoli are the same thing?
How do we know this is true? Science is demonstrating that plants in forests communicate with each other, including by using other species. They tend and protect via this communication as well as repel. Maybe that's not sentience as we understand it, or maybe we're locked into particular ideas about sentience that stop us seeing other kinds.
It really is an amazing rabbit hole to dive into for a while. It starts to screw with our concepts of "communication" and even what constitutes an "organism" or a "mind", our role in the world and even whether there is a being of "humanity" that is made up of all the interactions of us people. At the root of it all is the conundrum of the observer who sits behind our eyes and other sensory organs.
John Varley's "The Ophiuchi Hotline" has a plotline in which aliens discover the Earth and identify Homo Sapiens not as a fellow sentient species but as a cancerous growth and eradicate it, leaving the occupants of a base on the moon as the last humans. In the novel, the aliens consider whales and dolphins to be Earth's sentient life forms (perhaps reflecting the fact it was written in the 1970s), but it would be equally plausible that they'd consider plants the sentient life forms, given that aliens could be evolved from any kind of life.
Or even the earth itself as a life form, and our destruction of biodiversity (and ther biological interactions therein) as a literal brain cancer.
McFLock at 8.18pm.
I know. I love it. It really stretches my mind. I find myself going 'that can't be right', then going 'well yeah, it could be'. In the end my position is that there are plenty of good reasons to err on the side of caution and not be cruel to anything unnecessarily. We don't have to know for sure if forests are sentient to decide that cutting one down is something serious.
I feel sorry for humans sometimes with our big brains trying to figure out how to be with our particular capacity for perception.
I'm suggesting that living things don't want to be killed, but we don't have much choice about killing them if we want to remain alive ourselves and that applies to eating plants as much as it does to eating animals. If you personally want to designate "has a central nervous system" as a threshold beyond which you won't kill to eat, by all means act on it and eat accordingly. But that designation is as arbitrary as anyone else's.
No-one answered my question. You reacted but you didn't respond. Bit like plants actually.
And in reply to Pyscho Milt upstream (as I don't see a reply button) aboiut mice being killed by a combine harvester Earthling Ed would ask: "Morally, is there a difference between accidentally hitting a dog with your car and purposefully hitting a dog with your car?”. If you say yes, "then by that logic is there morally a difference between an animal accidentally being killed in crop production and an animal purposefully being killed in a slaughterhouse?”.
If it were impossible to drive your car without accidentally hitting a bunch of dogs on your way to your destination, I expect many of us would be put off driving. People give less of a shit about mice and other field critters, on the out-of-sight-out-of-mind principle.
I didn't answer your question, no. The question was essentially a reframing of McFlock's comment further up:
We shouldn't be cruel, but to equate a cow with a human is a moral equivalence that lacks any reasonable foundation.
You've swapped out "cow/human" with "broccoli/chicken" but are making essentially the same argument. I notice that your response to that argument from McFlock was "Totally disagree but let's leave it there." Given that response, why do you assume we'd answer your question?
I wasn't assuming anything. I was busy at work and didn't have the time to challenge the statement that I don't accept. I happened to see some activity around the issue and decided to re-enter the fray.
And anyway that was in response to him this afternoon not you this evening.
Seeing as you have a bit more time, then. My shorthand on the issue for a while now has been "could [animal X] write an essay entitled what I did on my holidays?"
Some mammals and cephalopodes probably could, given the right communication interface. Not all of them, though.
Cows and sheep, I doubt it. And if they can't, even if there's a type of impulse-driven or momentary sentience, it wouldn't exist without farming. If we can give them a reasonably happy life and end it without their anticipation or pain, by several methods of moral accounting (utilitarianism or whatever) I'm not seeing a net negative.
Contrast with slavery, or cannibalism of captive humans. Lots of negatives and suffering for a simple meal or delaying mechanisation.
I mean, theoretically the math might add up, but Kevin would have to make a lots-better-than-Michelin dinner for that to happen. 🙂
My shorthand position is that killing other sentient beings to use them as a food source is immoral, cruel and for those of us in the "West" unnecessary.
I see cows, pigs, sheep, etc as someone, not something. Especially not something for us to use.
They are creatures often with personalities and intelligence and with a capacity to feel emotions like we do.
Humans seem to have such huge capacity to f*ck things up. We use and abuse everything around us and the climate crisis we are in the middle of is mostly the result of that.
So taking off my vegan hat and putting on my climate change one, animal agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and if we are to have any chance of at least slowing climate collapse animal agriculture needs to be hugely reduced and better still eliminated.
We can't afford it anymore.
And if I shared that perspective, I'd probably agree. Or eat people. But I've been around livestock of various types, and didn't see the same spark of humanity that you did.
As for climate change, the main event will always be fossil fuels. Substitutiopn is necessary, and if it's not sufficient then global vegetarianism probably won't be, either.
So limit meat intake in the same way we stop using plastic straws – it might encourage people more powerful than us to address the elephant.
yes the line is arbitrary – because you can live within the choices – so the question is then, what are the factors driving the choices – that is where the morals get really interesting
what are your drivers?
the footprint of the choice is important
buying local is important
fairness is another driver – I'm anti capitalism and exploitation
truth also is when I became a vegetarian 39 years ago it was because I couldn't handle the suffering inflicted on the animals – I suppose my species boundary and what falls out of that, is different to science and normal western thought.
I don't think it's all that different. Vegetarianism is hardly rare in the West, or amongst scientists.
It's a line that is philosophical, spiritual, logical, emotional, practical… everyone draws it in their own place. I'm not sure anyone is in a place to judge anyone else's placement of that line – just whether they're being dicks about it 🙂
Yep I spose the reals dicks will be the meat eaters who chose to not reduce their meat especially when reports like the one below come out. The vegans are the good guys although shrill and annoying.
That's quite nice framing by Hans-Otto Pörtner I think
meh
Thinking more of the monomaniacs, but each to their own
"the footprint of the choice is important
buying local is important
fairness is another driver – I'm anti capitalism and exploitation"
Pretty much mine too. Interesting we come to different conclusions about what that means.
"truth also is when I became a vegetarian 39 years ago it was because I couldn't handle the suffering inflicted on the animals – I suppose my species boundary and what falls out of that, is different to science and normal western thought."
I was vegetarian around the same time. I don't think being vegetarian is at odds with western thought especially in a country like NZ where lots of people care about animals. I do think we are behind in the science though and that care for the wellbeing of ecosystems as a right (rather than just how they serve humans) is going to become more mainstream off the back of the leading edge science.
i find lab 'grown' as gross as the practices of industrial dairy farming.
One of the TV news's had an item last night on an Aus company that's just grown kangaroo meat in a lab – story here.
It was pitched as being a way for billions of humans to have a meat diet without affecting the environment (bullshit detector going off big-time at that point). The process takes stem cells from kangaroo meat, puts them in a "nutrient-rich solution" and waits for the stem cells to make kangaroo meat out of the solution.
So, if billions of people are going to eat this stuff, that's shit-tonnes of "nutrient-rich solution" that has to turn up from somewhere – industrial farming, I hear you say? Surely not…
My wife's only comment: "Wouldn't you cut out the middle-man and just eat the "nutrient-rich solution?”
Hmmm. Matrix comes to mind, where steak was an example of why cypher(?) wanted to live in the machine rather than eat the protein gruel in the "real world".
I guess they won't have kangaroo stem cells in the future…
Mixed with alcohol that would make a great breakfast for those who want to forget, even before the day has produced the unforgettables.
Would also see off all those boring "Make sure you eat food when you're drinking, never drink alcohol on an empty stomach, etc" messages. Two birds with one stone…
Yeah it'll take a lot of nutrient-rich solution. But most of that nutrient goes into growing the flesh cells we end up eating, rather than most of it going into just keeping a hulking great host alive and walking around and only a tiny bit goes into muscle growth in a live animal. So growing the nutrient feedstock should require a lot less space and inputs than growing all the vegetable matter a live animal needs to produce the same amount of edible "flesh".
Then there's the matter of eliminating the methane emissions from live ruminants. Although roos aren’t ruminants and are pretty low emission critters.
Personally I'll probably be quite happy with just a moderately realistic facsimile of mince for burgers, sausages, salami, spag bol etc. But bacon is going to have to be fkn convincing before the pigs are out of trouble.
Yes, it would certainly make way more sense than growing crops to feed to livestock – but that has to be the stupidest form of agriculture ever invented.
I guess it just irks me that people talk about replacing meat with plant-based alternatives (which is presumably where this nutrient solution comes from – I sure as shit hope they're not getting it by grinding up sea critters) as though creating industrial-scale crop monocultures were some kind of improvement on grazing livestock. If it is an improvement, the improvement's marginal at best.
To a large extent, the potential for improvement comes from eliminating the methane emissions and effluent problems of live animals.
But cows and sheep are also incredible inefficient at turning the calories and protein they're fed into calories and protein available to humans eating them. Around 1% conversion efficiency for calories and maybe 4% for protein. Pork and poultry do a lot better, around 10% for calories and 15 to 20% for protein (as well as emitting a lot less methane).
If vats didn't do a whole lot better, say at least 30% conversion efficiency, then yeah you'd question the point. But since cells in a vat only have to grow, and not sustain a whole bunch of other metabolic processes, the potential has to be there.
As for where the feed comes from, yeah, ground sea critters would be disastrous. But seaweed could be interesting.
Then there's the whole question around the merits of grazing animals in hilly ground not suitable for cropping. Dunno, maybe if the cell vats become a reality, hill country will be where the boutique "real meat" gets produced.
It's fkn hard finding hard info that isn't obviously pushing some sort of barrow. But the numbers presented in these two pieces are about what seems to be the consensus of stuff I've seen elsewhere.
https://www.ewg.org/meateatersguide/a-meat-eaters-guide-to-climate-change-health-what-you-eat-matters/climate-and-environmental-impacts/
https://www.wri.org/blog/2016/04/sustainable-diets-what-you-need-know-12-charts
Fonterra posts another massive loss at $-675 million
And more to come next year.
Do we have anyone in this government who can forcefully represent the whole interests of New Zealand to Fonterra?
This is not a business we can let die.
If the vat-grown whey and casein efforts linked above actually come to fruition, what's going to happen to Fonterra?
I'm guessing the commodity milk-powder business – gone. Commodity cheese for pizzas and burgers – gone. What will be left? Boutique products where the customers will really want to believe they come from happy cows lovingly tended to in green grassy pastures. And that business is extremely vulnerable to the kind of shit highlighted today by weka and lprent.
Commodity milk powder exists because milk cant be stored in its natural form and milk powder can. Cows are milked everyday and the fresh milk has to be processed the following day
The commodity milk powder provides the dairy products for 30 mill people outside NZ for all sorts of reasons.
Just a note about Fonterras loss , they are just book keeping writedowns of assets.
Its not a cash loss as they are awash in it , like the paddocks the cows are stuck in over winter
Perhaps you are demonstrating to us that we are alike the cows in that we are awash with money in this country but stuck up to our knees in debt incurred as we just try to get regular food and find a place to lie down.
If my life was wrapped up in Fonterra I think the aspect worthy of attention in the info is the amount of the write down that relates to market share erosion. Start-ups doing it better than NZ's biggest company.
The rise of domestic competition and abroad.
We don't hold many picture cards. That's one of them, we should be leading the world in the milk fields. If Fonterra were the All Blacks, they couldn't beat Mount Albert Grammar.
Great big Brontosaurus that can barely get out of it's own way. So many desks and so few udders. Subsidiaries struggling in prospering centres around the globe.
We should be brilliant at this. We're not even average.
I paid a premium for cheese in Sweden, about 50% more than here. I visited a Swedish dairy farm. For half the year each cow is hand fed in it's own stall in a heated barn. They had their names on their stall doors.
We don't know how lucky we are. We should be creaming it.
The Swedes are cunning socialists. I think it's because they spend 4 months of the year sitting around fires in the freezing dark slamming shots of rocket fuel, sharing their hearts, dreams and Spring plans.
Dairy farmers felt the winter pinch. Many crop farmers face 5 months of a permafrozen farm. They found a solution that works for everybody. It's easy to push a log around on ice, farmers drop trees, trim them, spray their code on the end and leave them beside the road. The co-op truck with a Hiab grapple stopped at the end of the drive, loaded the logs up and took them to the co-op owned processing plant.
Crop farmers on Graso were as concerned about growing Pines as they were corn.
Ad,,
we are worried about this as it seems that the Chinese are unndermining Fonterra so the share price fall will give them the soluution to buy Fonterra as a luididated bussiness asset.
China are playing us to take over our entire farming industry.
Write down in investments in Australia, Venezuela and Brazil as well as the sell off of Tip Top in NZ . So not just China.
Fonterra is a strange mix of being a Coop and a shareholding company – almost entirely in shares only dairy farmers can own.
The Coop side doesnt make a profit and returns all its earnings to farmers through the milk price.
Normally the payments to farmers each would be 90% or more milk price and the rest 'share dividend'
Maybe someone can look at the accounts in detail and see what share of revenue is Fonterra Coop and how much is Fonterra Ltd
How much of the write down of investments have resulted from the illegal US sanctions that have been inflicted on Venezuela?
The economic collapse ..? Almost all I would think.
Its weird but the US gets all worked up when Russia even thinks of wielding its massive gas exports as an economic weapon.
In fact they want Europe to buy US CNG at higher prices.
https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2018/11/16/why-america-struggles-to-sell-lng-in-europe
That's the kind of joint venture they can get behind, where they take over the joint.
Well Fonterra should learn the lesson=$8,000,000 p.annum is NOT the going rate for TALENT!
Earthquakes – just looking. One felt locally, a little jolt.
https://www.geonet.org.nz/earthquake/statistics
Three weeks ago – more than 24 weak or light
Two weeks ago – 19 w or l.
Today – 5.2 at Mot is regarded as a light earthquake.
6 in last 24 hours.
I noticed south of Snares Island, south of NZ mentioned; I hadn't noticed before.
4th and 5th August 5.6 and 6.3 south of Snares
29 July 4.6 south of Snares
27 July 4.5 "
18 July 5.1 "
18 July 4.6 "
17 July 4.7 "
I noticed that Seddon was continuing in the listings.
Napier had some recently ?
have you just moved there as they are very regular events, like all the other towns along the east coast.
maybe you should have moved to Northland where they are infrequent compared to Napier
Nah Dukeofurl.
I am mostly in the hills above Gisbrone near BOP border, and was born in Auckland in 1944 and raised in Napier 1951 to 1964, didn't you read my posts on the Fox river debarkle?
All us 'Napierites' have very keen knowledge of when the usual swarms of earthquakes do occur with annual frequencies.
This time last week when we were there, it was very odd when the earthquake hit us.
It was at a time when we don't usually expeirience 'swams' of quakes' so that is our concern.
Thanks for your concern.
Shit if I wanted to move from earthquakes I would;
go back to Canada
or my last home Florida
as they don’t have earthquakes,
But Canada's weather is shit
Florida has hurricanes.
So I am good at present above the pollution, noise, and truck gridlock, here in the hinterland of rural NZ hill country.
Bloody new lambs wake me up though now.
The Motueka eq was within the forecast parameters ie a 99% probability of a m5-m5.9.within 12 months of the forecast.
https://www.geonet.org.nz/earthquake/forecast/
Well we won't be putting the forecasters in prison like the Italians did then?
Should've locked up the politicians etc behind that decision.
Ignorant #$%^&*! with no understanding of science & its uncertainties seeking to deflect from there own failings…
Poission;
That reminds me of the promises made when big tobacco excecs were all linned up in front of a congressonal inquiry promising that smokng was safe???
According to the National Research Council, no toxicity data are available for over 39,000 commercially available used chemicals.
And this also;
Approximately 80 million people or three out of every 10, in the United States can expect to contract some form of cancer in their lifetime. The National Cancer Institute has estimated in at least one communique’ that at least 98% of all cancers may be linked to chemical exposures,
According to Lynn Montandon, founder of the Response team for the chemically injured.
Until recently, the Federal Government has concentrated most of its resources on researching cancer and the effects of acute chemical exposures, paying very little attention to the effects of long term low level chemical exposures, or to the neurological, reproductive, developmental, or immunological effects that chemicals may cause. The government is just beginning to look into these non-cancer health risks and the existing research into these other health matters is, on the whole, inadequate and non-existent.
I understand that deep earthquakes in the subducting Pacific Plate such as this one are outside the forecast area which applies only to the (relatively) near surface – approximately to top 20 to 30 km.
The Snares earthquakes are associated with the Puysegur Trench subduction zone where the Australian Plate is descending below the Pacific Plate.
Seddon earhtquakes are likely continuing aftershocks of the 2013 Grassmere quake and/or 2016 Kaikoura quake (several faults in the Cape Campbell area ruptured at the surface in the Kaikoura quake).
Given there are ~20,000 record quakes per year in NZ, its not unusual to have several in a week that are felt to some degree.
If you're interested in where the known acitve faults (on land) are, check out GNS's active faults map: http://data.gns.cri.nz/af
Capitalism finally weaponizes ignorance, and being ignorance, shoots itself. Media moguls setting up fast tracking promedia nra, cc, and now the trifecta, tv personality president, have they no sense. Why are Act members always turning up on tv? first they attacked Greens for not getting into bed with big polluters, now Greens are power starved like 6% down from 10% was a means to demand more. Now I get that we do need balance in tv but just right-wing talking heads, and disgruntaled former Greens, really, is that all they dan find. Seems to me when the ecology, climate, resource limits are hit, or whatever, the media will be the culprits.
The SFO clears Thompson and Clark.
Somehow i knew they would.
Now up next the SFO and the investigation into the National parties donation scandal.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/08/12/surprise-surprise-the-sfo-clears-thompson-clark-spying-heres-the-real-reason-why/
Sounds like a good mystery tv series – what was the one with Gillian Anderson in it? Like that. We can put everything on tv like a real Reality Show. Sit and watch things like on The Truman Show. Tonight we are going to have a prison break – who will get away and who will be shot?
The SFO can be dressed like Sherlock Holmes with really giant magnifying glasses and computer nerds tracing people on grids all round town with Tumpson and Clerk giving directions. The miscreants would have the choice of being in the show, or going to Court and paying their own legal fees whether they are found guilty or not.
Lol. Steven Molyneuax equates lipstick to an erection and channels his compatriot and stablemate Jordan Petersen's virulent hatred of women.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=12257679
Women had fun in the Twitter comments!
I can't wait for his next post, probably wanting to ban women licking icecream in the workplace.
And if, in some insane universe that he inhabits, he is actually right, what does that tell us about women wearing black or purple lipstick? I shudder at his possible explanation!
[Different e-mail address?]
UK 'Conservative Home' newslinks for 11th August 2019
https://www.conservativehome.com/frontpage/2019/08/145979.html
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/boris-johnson-pledges-2-5bn-for-10-000-new-prison-beds-8d7nh0gmf
Interesting ..
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/aug/10/dominic-cummings-owns-farm-got-eu-subsidy
"In the government’s first major piece of legislation mapping out post-EU policy, Environment and Food Secretary Michael Gove is set to present sweeping changes Wednesday to the agriculture sector. Gove's plan will phase out the EU’s sacrosanct direct payment scheme under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which props up farmers' wages based on the amount of land they own, and instead link farmers' payments to environmental standards.
Isnt that a good thing ?
https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-presents-post-brexit-plans-for-agriculture/
Its a common fallacy that most of the things the EU does are somehow fine and dandy
Theres opportunity under a new Fisheries policy after Brexit to make well overdue changes as well
Hey, the screaming skull is smashing the system from inside! Fight the paua!
Important in so many ways
https://www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz/news/tribunal-releases-report-on-maori-prisoners-voting-rights/
With Diana and Unity, too.
Margaret Thatcher liked Pinochet I think!
Australian snow event has local bouncing for joy.
Giving the prisoners the vote eh?
Well if the criminals’ and con-artists that run Corporations are found guilty and not jailed for ’embezlement, cheating, extortion and other offences under (the list below; – some exeptions as it is a US list); then are still allowed to vote, why should we ban any prisoners from voting?
https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/view-all-criminal-charges.html
[Deleted long list that was straight from the link provided. Remember that some people read TS on their phone and have to scroll through – Incognito]
Will light rail be the new Passchendaele for public transport passengers.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-12/pedestrian-hit-by-canberra-light-rail/11404506
Trains vs brains in NZ.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ll4icg2x3ftq6sx/Near%20miss%20media%20reel.mp4?dl=0
Wage theft and the hospitality industry. I think it goes much deeper than that and is across many industries, especially those employing low skilled labour and migrant labour.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/114853237/wage-theft-has-become-a-business-model-in-the-hospitality-industry
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/396504/metropolitan-based-power-culture-targeting-fishing-industry-jones
The Minister for Regional Economic Development has launched a stinging attack on urban liberals, accusing them of trying to take the fishing industry down….
He said the attacks came from people who did not always understand what was at stake, and the industry had to fight back to protect itself.
Mr Jones said it was not just the fishing industry that was threatened, Māori who had invested much of their economic heritage in the business were threatened too.
"Those of us such as me as a Māori, who have our legacy interests via the treaty in the fishing industry, need to gird our loins and protect ourselves," Mr Jones said.
"Rest assured, there is a largely metropolitan-based power culture, which seeks to do damage to our industry."
Mr Jones said this was a very serious problem to people who had stored their full and final wealth from Treaty settlements in this industry.
Can Shane Jones walk and chew calamari at the same time?
Thats Jones being the glove puppet Sooty. With all those big donors expecting fighting talk…and they got it.
That'd be the same Jones who took Sealord from being NZ's biggest seafood company to no. three or four? Not an expert on fishing by any stretch of the imagination – just a parachutist.
had to larf at Neal Jones dealing to the nationals party squealer Mathew Hooton on 9-noon this morning.
Jones had Hooton on the back foot right from the start and the more he got backed into a corner the more hooton squealed as all his right wing memes and tropes came flying out of his gob unbidden to show the real hooton. not nice.
Indonesia has interesting history.https://asiapacificreport.nz/2019/08/09/the-bloody-1965-66-slaughter-behind-indonesias-mass-killings-secrecy/
A report from link picked up from TDB about Indonesia with help from USA JK and Australia (NZ?) and the killing of up to million people, and imprisonment of about million, of 9 August 2019,
https://asiapacificreport.nz/2019/08/09/the-bloody-1965-66-slaughter-behind-indonesias-mass-killings-secrecy/
Can someone please explain why I see a Reply button on most but not all posts? I've tried three different browsers and get the same result. On my Android mobile I seem to see reply on every post.
@Lprent may know.
Kia Ora The Am Show.
Tamki Makaru had a couple of tawhirimate nights
Its great to see more attention for OUR Mokopuna future environment but to have a clean environment one needs to clean up poverty aswell no use having a clean environment in one hand and thousands living under the bridge. national made a big mess of our environment and caused a housing short in Aotearoa in 9 years I have see miles of forest turned into Dairy Farm in the central North Island that is not good for the environment. All prosecution for effluent entering our waterways stop .To many things national did negatively to our environment to itemize
. Its great to see alot of Tangata Whenua challenging local council elections post in Hawksbay kia kaha times are changing it happening all around the Motu.
That was a huge beautiful crocodile on the roof of a house during the India monsoon floods great picture.
That is a great phenomenon getting thousands more to give blood awesome Sir Henry
Great To see a shopping mall Goldsmith in America doing things to save our mokopuna future environment.
Nothing wrong with being nice some people think Im weak because I nice .?????.
Great to see the Eco Maori affect is still getting reka .
Ka kite ano
Ka pai to the Wahine who wrote this story and Kia kaha to the Students Strikes to champion a clean environment for their mokopuna grandchildren .
We will be striking again for climate change
OPINION: Students are taking to the streets, beaches and parks on 27 September, and we're inviting everyone to join us. That's right, this is an intergenerational issue, and you're all invited to put pressure on politicians worldwide to pass bills which will take action to reduce the impacts of climate change.
I know, you're probably thinking "again, really?" and so are we. You'd think millions of people marching, rallying, lobbying, protesting and even a couple climbing buildings would be enough to get governments worldwide to actually treat this issue as a crisis, but apparently it's not. So we're going again
We want our government and governments worldwide to do everything in their power to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by ending the use of fossil fuels and investing in a regenerative and renewable economy. Additionally, we are asking the government to acknowledge the severity of climate change and declare a climate emergency.
On 24 May, we walked out of school alongside hundreds of thousands of students around the globe. We won't sit and watch our futures disintegrate, and we invite you to join us to strengthen our movement. That's you, reading this column; that's the next person you talk to; that's the waiter who gives you your coffee and the woman sitting in front of you in the car/bus/train, it really is everyone
Climate change isn't just a youth problem, even though it'll hit us the hardest. It's everyone's problem. Everyone has a responsibility to act, in both practical ways and through joining the strike movement on 27 September.
If you have a child, niece, nephew or young person you care about, it's your problem. Do you think they look into their future and imagine travelling to various islands and cities, bays and beaches? Or do they wonder if the sea will have swallowed them by the time they're your age ka kite ano link below.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/114926802/we-will-be-striking-again-for-climate-change
Some Eco Maori music for the minute.
Some Eco Maori music for the minute.
Kia Ora Newshub.
A avalanche at Mount Cook lets hope that the 5 people caught in the avalanche are all good.
A tornado hit the water front in Tamaki Makau flipping 30 ton yachts tawhirimate is a powerful entity.
Mike the Pigeon Valley fire was huge you say it started by a farmer plowing his paddock with heavy disks which created sparks.
The People of Papatuanuku need to combat climate change to help our Pacific Island cousins it is their biggest threat to a happy healthy future.
The New Zealand Airforce needs to have the equipment to patrol the Pacific Ocean we have a huge Tangata area to patrol the new Aircraft being delivered in 2023 is needed to protect our fisheries and tangata who end up in strife in Tangaroa.
Ka kite ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
I do think that the commercial mussels spat catches need to respect the environment that they catch their spat from they should have vehicles that have tyers that spread their load to save our tuatua . This is how the neanderthal capitalist work they thrash a resource till it collapses this happened to tuatua wet fish fisheries I also have great concern about the Manuka honey industry on the East Coast there are hives everywhere on the coast they wonder why they have had 2 to 3 bad seasons it because they are over exploiting the resource.
Awesome that the Coalition Government is investing to fixing Rotoruas museum there would be some great taonga in their care to display to the public.
In Porirua the state housing they pull down functional whare to cramm flash new housing any intelligent person will know that the rents will go up too cover the cost of the building of the whare capitalism ways are most salespeople tell you what you want to here .
Lyndon PEE is a powerful poison that takes control of the user who can be manipulated to do just about anything we need more advertising to educate te tangata about the crap it great that this program is happening in Te Taiwhiti the crap is making a big mess up there.
A lot of people don't understand that A warm whare is a healthy whare Eco Maori say a education program needs to be run about the effects of a cold damp whare has on te tamariki respiratory system it's not good Eco Maori always has a warm WHARE.
Ka kite Ano.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Great tune… loved this performance of Dylan's "Hard Rain"… seems to fit with the weather and the topic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=941PHEJHCwU
That was choice thanks roblogic
speaking of great covers..this one still stands..
Well, all kudos to those in South Auckland… they've done their people proud,… pacifist, benevolent and upholding their culture.
They've conducted themselves well. Faultless.
There's hope yet.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Kia Ora The Am Show.
The statistic mess is from simons time in Parliament along with many others kia ora.
The Australian idiot who stabbed people they are being empowered by people who use hate to gain power.
People who go to WAR often suffer mental trauma .The Pilots whos autobiography book that the Wahine was describing him being cold in nature no hugging ect.
I see all the moves that you try to manipulate me just wasting your time and money.
You would think that a organization like Cambridge Analytical would use the data they harvest off the internet would be used for good purposes like governments planning for the future .
You know its ridiculous that humanity has not learnt by its mistakes we discovered a resource and exploit it till it collapses or nearly collapses thrown our arms in the AIR and make all the excuses in the Papatuanuku to push the blame to others as to WHY the resources collapse. I have seen it with fishing farming Honey many other valuable species and resources are over exploiting by humanity. What should happen is when a resource is discovered the planing should be put in place to harvest it sustainably from the START not the AMBULANCES at the bottom of the hill that we have going down at the MINUTE. You see we might be still catching fishes but the amount of diesel burned to catch te ika will have gone up 50 % from 30 years ago the fishermen wanted to have horses power limits to control the fisherys instead of the quota system that would have limited the catch effort on the fishery you see it is basically horse power that catches fish .The fishermen would be able to buy and sell the right to the use of horses power to catch fish that system would have limited the pressure on our fisheries to what it was 30 years ago.
But the corrupted money men got their way and a dump ass Quoter system was implemented that can be exploited very easily by the crooked MAN big fail Aotearoa Quoter management system .
Ka kite ano
You're dead right about the QMS – the tide has gone out on that nonsense bigtime.
The bureaucrats, for whose convenience it was introduced, will stick to it come hell or highwater of course, but it seems that both are coming fairly soon now.
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute.
Kia Ora Newshub.
I say a national statement to protect our precious whenua that produces our food from housing development good on you David Te Atua is not making anymore.
That is the way people with power have to be held accountable for their abuse of power and abuseing people The opera singer Placido Domingo.
That shows that Aotearoa was a land of the giants with another discovery of a giant penguin in Aotearoa .
A nuclear accident in Russia we should not be wasting precious resources on weapons of mass destruction but I get it yin yan it's about the balance of power.
Ka kite ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
Good Idea having a online petition to get Jacinda to visit Ihumatao I think it's about time Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa got a win
I don't think that there should be a problem in The Tauranga whenua Waitangi treaty settlement's Its a fact that Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa lost millions of hectares of whenua.
I am sure that the mussel spat harvester are just chasing the $$$$$$$ without considering the effects that there actions have on the environment I know someone who is in that industry.
I think it's good that our Armed personnel the Army and Navy are covered by Accident Compensation Corporation who paid for their accidents before the Army and Navy that is stupid they are KIWIs that is the reason why we have some ex personnel not getting the correct help they needed.
Kia Ora to the Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa living in Australia awesome that you are keeping our culture going strong in Australia Te manawa ora teaching te raku ka pai I know those whanau names We need to keep our cultural pumping and pass it on to our mokopuna in a stronger state that is one of my main goals .ka pai to Jess in Uawa winning the Great Ideas for life Awesome Ideas Mana Wahine
Ka kite ano
Kia Ora The Am Show.
Lets hope that they come up with smart simple solutions in the Pacific Island form Government meeting in Tuvalu to help them survive prosperously on their own whenua that means coming up with solutions for them to create their own wealth to teach a person to ika is better than giving the person a ika
Its called showing respect for our biggest tradeing partner that is what Jacinda is doing she not stupid. But Eca Maori wants Australia to be committed to slow down and stop their use of COAL.
The tide has changed on Global warming sea level rising human caused climate change. Russell the Bird shoe man gave a excellent opinion. Once Business Figure Out that the Green Industry is the next big Gold rush The changes we need to make as a society will speed up real fast thats part of capitalism The tipping point is just around the corner but WHANAU don’t let up keep championing for a Clean Green Environment for Our Mokopuna. Yes Australia needs to do more once they figure out that a bet on Carbon is a losing bet. The Green Energy Revolution has Started they will be rushing to catch up to Aotearoa we need to embrace 5 G technology to help generate a Clean Green society.
Pukana man is doing great in Cricket its was great that Aotearoa Cricket and Pukana man managed to sort out their differences and keep him playing for us Mark.
I think it's stupid that the prison system is giving that Idiot more publicity trying to get a new law that will take rights away from all the other prisoners when they have laws to control the Christchurch idiots communications this stuff up is just giving him more publicity.
If you want to be treated respectfully one must do the same it's not rocket science Newshub.
Herbs Song For Freedom movie gets Nation Wide Release Today I will go and watch the movie. Music is great for the Wairua I have to set me up a 12 volt radio system. Those dawn raids of the past in Papatuanuku was a politican trying to use HATE to gain votes he didn't care about the lives he ruined Ilolahia ka pai great name Herbs original manager.
Ka kite ano
Kia kaha Greta we all know whom is a puppet in Reality keep up your great mahi championing a clean healthy environment for our next generation
Greta Thunberg sets sail for New York on zero-carbon yacht
Climate activist begins voyage from Plymouth to Trump’s US with father and two-man crew
On white-crested swells under leaden skies, the teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg has set sail from Plymouth on arguably her most daunting challenge yet.
A two-week crossing of the Atlantic during hurricane season in a solar-powered yacht is the first obstacle, but it is unlikely to be the toughest in an odyssey through the Americas over many months
This will be both the ultimate gap year and a journey into the heart of climate darkness: first to the United States of president Donald Trump, who has promised to pull out of the Paris climate agreement, and then down to South America, possibly including Brazil where president Jair Bolsonaro is overseeing a surge of Amazon deforestation.
In between, the 16-year-old Swede will add her increasingly influential voice to appeals for deeper emissions cuts at two crucial global gatherings: the Climate Action Summit in New York on 23 September and the the UN climate conference in Santiago in early December.
The reception awaiting her on the other side is likely to be mixed, with the climate issue a polarising point in US politics
In a taste of the hostility that is likely to come from supporters of the fossil fuel industry, Steve Milloy, a Fox News contributor and former member of the Trump transition team, described Thunberg on Twitter earlier this week as “the ignorant teenage climate puppet
Ka kite ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/14/greta-thunberg-sets-sail-plymouth-climate-us-trump
oops – old OM
Kia Ora Newshub.
The Minister has apologized to the Papatuanuku because some of the prison staff drop the ball and let this idiot post inappropriate letters. The Prison Director should resign anyone with a brain will know that any letters that he writes and gets to post could gain publicity I agree prison guards are corrupt.
trump playing the bully with the might of the USA behind him is a cause for concern the stock market dropping.
Its great that our government has stepped in to clean up another national mess The Christchurch earthquake shambles repairs giving the people money to fix the shoddy repairs made when national was in government so there whare can pass a inspection to get insurance.
Allan Jones is just a neanderthal he is trying to boost his ratings making statements like that he should retired and let someone from the next generation have his mic ma te wa he probably has a lump of coal under his bed.
Ka kite ano.
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
Ka pai to the Pee that was seized in Vags
The Casson Whanau its hard to figure out and find people who you can trust there are people who are just hustlers and don't care about the damage they do to others whanau.
That's wise The Provenance Growth Fund investing in giving tangata whenua Technology skills that is the low carbon industry that could quite easily beat the dairy industry in export income.
Its cool to see the hearing impaired getting taught tangata whenua O Aotearoa te reo and cultural awesome.
Ka kite ano my device cursor starts jumping all over the place when I write too Te Ao Maori News the sandflys are trying to stop me posting to Maori TV