Is it time yet for a 1930s style Mortgage Moratorium?
Or, to save small businessess, and up against it home owners, should we pack it in and let the virus rip?
…..by 1931, it was clear that further intervention was necessary to prevent widespread foreclosures and mortgagee sales.
1936 as successive governments tried to cope with the worsening crisis…..
….Although mortgage relief was frequently discussed at some length by contemporary commentators, and by some historians in the 1950s and 1960s, it has been relegated to a few lines at most in more recent works.'
The Mortgagors and Tenants Further Relief
Act, 1932, gave new rights to mortgagors. Whereas, previously, mortgagors could seek relief only when they were directly threatened by mortgagee action, they could now apply for relief independently of any action taken by a mortgagee.
This Act also extended to lessees the same protection that had been granted to mortgagors,,
The definition of a capitalist is someone who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing.
At the Macro Level;
At lockdown level 3 & 4 lockdown, the banks are still demanding their pound of flesh. While our accounts are being drained by the banks, the population with severely curtailed freedom of movement, peoples and businesses and livelyhoods and ability to earn an income is on hold . The free flow of capital offshore to our foreign owned banks is completely unimpeded. Meanwhile everyone else's accounts, (including the government's) are being drained.
At the Micro level;
This morning at 9am two men wearing bandanas and not proper masks were at my garden gate demanding to entry into my yard to pick up my garden bag.
During the last level 4 & 3 lockdowns, and for weeks after, my garden bag was not collected for months, (despite the fact that it was over flowing). In fact I heard that the garden bag company was very close to being ruined and on the verge of going out of business.
Magically, this time around collecting grass clippings and garden waste is an essential service.
You've got to be kidding me. This is not an essential service.
And this not the only medium to small company that I know is operating as if there is no lockdown. I personally know of three others. Friends and and extended family members have told me that they have been called back to work. When last time they were ordered to stay at home on the government wage subsidy.
Obviously the government wage subsidy is not enough to keep these small companies viable during repeated lockdowns.
If the government are not to abandon their elimination strategy, if lockdowns are not to become farcical. The banks need to be ordered to do their share.
P.S Now I can understand that this company's existence and the jobs of its workers are at stake here, but so is public health.
Meanwhile, here I am hunkering down like a fool, trying to do my civic duty and barely leaving the house.
It may have 'Green' in its name, but I will cancelling my subscription to this service.
With the level 4 lockdown continuing in Auckland – the Auckland City Mission/Te Tāpui Atawhai is reporting a regrettable record.
Since this lockdown began, the Mission, with its partners, has distributed more than 6000 food parcels to Aucklanders needing support….
…..Missioner Helen Robinson says COVID-19 is once again highlighting the increasing incidence of food insecurity and its long-reaching effects in our country.
“Every day we help people who cannot otherwise adequately provide for their families. The demand is even greater than the previous lockdowns,” says Robinson. “People who have not fully recovered from the last lockdown had just been coping. This latest level four change has left many more people no option than to request support such as a food parcel so they can put food on the table.”
A moratorium on rents and mortgages for the period of the lockdown would eliminate food insecurity, and make the lockdown more bearable for tens of thousands of struggling families and small businesses.
It is not like our foreign owned banks can't afford it. They take $3.5 billion out of the country every year.
Food insecurity and high mortgage and rental costs are not just a lockdown problem. Lockdown makes these costs worse.
There is the pre Covid world and the post Covid world. I feel that the full impact of Covid has not yet occurred economically. With some luck there is not a worse variant than Delta to manage.
If anything could earn this government the love of the farmers, it would be a nationwide Moratorium on Mortgages for the period of the crisis. it would certainly undercut farmers support for the right wing 'Groundswell" movement and the National Party. Which would give a big boost to the government's poll ratings.
Not that they should do it for that reason.
The thing is if you are going to lock down a population you should do it, because it is the right thing to do.
I've posted before about the civilian casualties (a family of 10, including children) of this Pentagon-claimed "righteous strike" against a 2nd suicide bomber in Kabul during the evacuations.
A New York Times investigation has now established that the Reaper drone operator that followed the car for hours likely mis-read what he or she was seeing & that the "bomber" was a completely innocent man going about his normal daily business.
Thanks for posting that Gezza, and strangely enough it is the notorious Daily Mail who have given this story the most coverage out of all MSM as far as I can make out…well not strange really, they are are also are the best MSM outlet when it comes to coverage of Assange and Epstein.
'They are so burned we cannot identify their bodies': Grieving relatives' fury over US drone strike targeting ISIS-K that killed six children, including two toddlers aged 2, and four adults
As of April 2021, more than 71,000 Afghan and Pakistani civilians are estimated to have died as a direct result of the war.
The United States military in 2017 relaxed its rules of engagement for airstrikes in Afghanistan, which resulted in a massive increase in civilian casualties.
The CIA has armed and funded Afghan militia groups who have been implicated in grave human rights abuses and killings of civilians.
Afghan land is contaminated with unexploded ordnance, which kills and injures tens of thousands of Afghans, especially children, as they travel and go about their daily chores.
The war has exacerbated the effects of poverty, malnutrition, poor sanitation, lack of access to health care, and environmental degradation on Afghans’ health.
Yes. Doesn't take long on google to find various organisations that have investigated & counted the thousands of innocent people killed by US missile-armed Predator & Reaper drone strikes around different conflict zones. The US military basically doesn't follow up.
There have even been several cases reported where they've made a claim to have assassinated a particular target, only to discover later they got someone else, sometimes a probable militant, other times someone completely innocent.
Their "collateral damage" toll is eye-watering & shameful & never gets covered in their (or our) media.
And Biden's administration is talking up their intention to maintain this "over-the-horizon capability" to strike at terrorists in Afghanistan & elsewhere. 😠
The Russians say they are helping defend the legitimate government of Syria against terrorists & just don't talk about civlians murdered in their joint, savage attacks on medical centres & towns.
And the Israelis remain totally unconcerned about the grossly disproportionate civilian death tolls in their routinely savage reprisals against Hamas & Islamic Jihad unguided rocketing of Israel. They know the world's media's not really looking on any more & that the US will veto any meaningful Security Council punishment.
But neither of these two maintain the pretence that the US constantly does that they are defending the free world with precision "surgical strikes” that are assiduously studied beforehand, & only launched when they have definitively identified a terrorist target in a zone where they always avoid civilian casualties.
Reaper (& the earlier, smaller Predator) drones are usually armed with Hellfire mssiles. This a very brief Military Reaper promo (I've avoided selecting one of the many available YouTube videos of actual strikes on real human targets).
Just from the practice strikes in here you can see how using these damned things kills so many innocent bystanders or passers-by that come onto the scene once the bloody thing's launched.
A 9/11 essential read for anyone who thinks NZ should countenance the self-appointed "world policeman" or for those who need an alternative view of the US consensus that is blithely picked up by the MSM and has shaped the decades since prior to the Vietnam war.
I think I was watching a rare live broadcast of the burning North tower on tv1 on my little black & white tv on a shelf in the kitchen when the 2nd 757 hit the South tower.
I remember thinking, my god. Someone has got straight through the defences of the most powerful militarised country, the ONLY global superpower, in the world, by using their hubris & their own civilian technology in a major trojan horse attack on the American mainland.
Also, while pained at the thoughts of the last moments of the horrified defenceless passengers & occupants of the towers, I thought, detachedly, that this was a stunning feat of arms.
Shock & awe, from a small number of Islamic militants outraged at infidel America's presence & actions in Muslim lands.
Whilst the 9/11 attacks were horrendous. The death, destruction and invasion of sovereign lands killing 100s of thousands of innocent people far outweighs the brutality of twin towers. So much so that I find it very hard to have any sympathy for US citizens.
The US military left their huge military bases in Saudi Arabia after the UN-authorised & Arab-govt-supported first Gulf War (Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait) because the Saudi population was becoming so vocally opposed to their arrogant infidel culturally-offensive presence in the Muslims' holiest land the Saudi Royal Family got really concerned about a possible general revolt if they didn't tell them to go.
It seems to be only when the US service personnel body bag count starts to rise into the thousands that the US public & politicians begin to seriously demand answers as to why their sons & daughters are even fighting in these far-off countries.
The US Military response to the body bag problem has been to develop & utilise stand-off capability as much as possible. It reduced the body count significantly. As well as the disastrous idea of using private security contractors (mercenaries, by anybody else's definition) post-invasions in Iraq – so any losses in those cases didn't officially count as US Military corpses & other casualties.
Their armed Reaper drone programme has taken this to such an extreme I think I've read somewhere that US Reaper operators based in the US itself are now also able to fly some assassination missions in far off countries.
As I've noted, Biden & co have said several times since their panicked Kabul evacuation scramble that they intend to utilise their "Over-the-Horizon capability" to strike at IS & other terrorists in Afghanistan.
This stand-off capability insulates the US public far too much from the reality of what really happens to the locals in their far-flung wars. And reporters on the ground are either not permitted – or just not safely able – to report the daily horrors – as they did in the Vietnam war.
One further, major worry is that the US – and Russia, & China – are reported to be going hell-for-leather developing & testing autonomous stand-off attack UAVs including AI-equipped armed drones – potentially taking even the current human remote pilot last-minute MISSILE ABORT capability away.
It's looking likely the US will give an emergency use authorisation towards the end of the year. Depending on how our current outbreak plays out and how our approval authorities view the data, we too might start vaccinating all our school-age kids late this year to early next year. Maybe even in time for the start of school next year.
I had my first Covid jab a week ago. Just some pins and needles in the arm where I had the jab for about 30 mins and mild pain in the arm for a couple of hours 6 hours after. The mast cell activation and GAVE which I have made me vaccine hesitant, I over came this. A grandchild age 12 had the Covid jab on the same day. All went well.
Pleased for you Treetop. When one has other conditions it is a cause of anxiety. Our son in Australia, and a number of his Dr's patients, have had severe headaches after Astra Zeneca. He also knows someone who has had covid and says this is a small price to pay, as after the second dose this side effect goes according to the Dr.
I stayed for an hour after the jab just to be sure as a relative could not make it as planned. Usually anything medical does not faze me (tubes/injections).
I had a good laugh to myself post the jab, a man stood up and his track pants were so loose, half of his back side was exposed. He was seated 2 meters directly in front of me with his back facing me.
I would like to know what sort of antibodies I make.
As I have already said…I have no idea if there has been a reply to a comment I have made unless I actively search for one. There is no "Reply" button on the sidebar on my screen. If I do not respond, it is not me giving the single digit salute….even if it where warranted.
As for not commenting about Covid or the vaccines…are you serious?
[comment deleted in part for the second time.
I’m not going to waste more time on you on Covid-19 vaccines. Take the deal (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-01-09-2021/#comment-1813086) or take the ban. You can leave your response anywhere you like; it doesn’t have to be in OM 01-09-2021 and you can do it here in this thread if you wish. If you don’t respond the default will be the ban – Incognito]
Again…and this is also in response to your Mod note from last week…
[comment deleted in part for the third and final time.
As I said before, I’m not going to waste more time on you on Covid-19 vaccines. If you think you can argue your way out of it, you are wrong. I’m starting to suspect that I cannot trust you to keep your part of the bargain, but the deal still stands and time will tell or not. Take it or leave it.
BTW, this is not censoring, it is Moderating. The discussion will continue with or without you regardless – Incognito]
I personally would be very, very interested in reading these arguments.
And in the interest of fairness and transparency, how about not censoring this comment at all…let others decide if I am spreading bullshit.
Because how it is at the moment you seem to be implying (by viciously heavy censoring) that I am quoting shit from some dark- hole nutbar conspiracy site… not the fucking British Broadcasting Corporation. Fffs!
We should not rush into authorizing vaccinations for 12 yr olds and under until the science is out some studies show little benefits. We have time to sit back and make an focused decision.
Just like our roll out being later than everyone else's it has meant we get the maximum benefit.
ie 6 weeks between doses gives longer immunity.the fact we have vaccinated later gives us an 6 months on everyone else which also gives us time to look more closely at the research data.
Let's not be panicked by the bullying of the right wing business first at all Cost's that's cost business more as we have had to have a second lockdown.Collins and Seymour and their groupies will be pushing hard to open up at the earliest date.Our economy did just fine without Tourism.
Robertson needs to fund tourism to change to other types of business for in the longterm tourism is never going to be the same again.
Agree that international tourism looks likely to be a major health risk for many years to come. This will strike some formerly-thriving Māori tourism-related enterprises hard, as well as Pākehā tourist & tourism-dependent ancilliary businesses.
While some can pivot towards encouraging more local tourism it won't make up the gap in numbers & total income.
I think the pressure is going to go the government to open up regardless because of this.
Not sure how Māori tourism operators are thinking on this. Hapu & Iwi spokespeople around the country are understandably vocal & active in protecting their kaumatua & communities. Mārae visits by touring parties have been a welcome source of funds & relationship-building for some.
Which will be no bad thing, if you're right. Unconstrained, cheap & easy tourism has resulted in damage and an incredible amount of littering in some World Heritage sites in various places around the world.
Quite apart from the dangers inherent in allowing hundreds of tourist climbers to swarm Mt Everest, for example, the sheer amount of litter left on that maunga is staggering. Even today in the 'death zone' there are used oxygen cylinders, other climbing bric-a-brack, and some unrecovered bodies.
It's just too difficult and dangerous to try and find and bring them all down. Google "Green Boots".
We really don't have much time to sit back and wait for indefinite rounds of more data gathering for 5 to 11 year olds.
The pressure to open back up and end the use of lockdowns will become too much for the government to stand against very soon after we stop hearing people complaining that they want vaccination and haven't yet been able to get it.
That means covid is going to get in and spread quite widely and quite quickly. Despite the misinformation promoted by some, significant numbers of young kids get very sick and get long-term disabilities or even die from covid. It's imperative to give them as much protection as we can before they get exposed to the virus.
I would like to know if one Pfizer vaccine makes enough antibodies to give protection for the 12 – 18 age group?
I am undecided on children age 5 – 11 being vaccinated. Children in the UK have returned to school and a double blind study needs to be done to determine what the benefit is for children age 5 – 11. Transmission of Covid among children occurs. The teachers would be under strain.
Covid is also hard on parents and caregivers of children. Being a single parent without enough support would not be easy.
Seems to have a disproportionate effect on boys so much so it potentially carries more risk than covid itself for that cohort. At least according to that study.
No easy answers but given vaccination offers good protection from serious illness in adults etc we should and can afford imo to exercise extreme caution in giving it to children.
A few comments on the study referenced by the Guardian piece before the likely rebuttals start coming out in a few days as actual experts respond to it:
It's a dumpster dive in VAERS of the type that VAERS is explicitly not designed for and actual experts warn against.
The lead author Tracy Hoeg has been a long time advocate of basically reopening schools and letting the covid chips fall where they may. Kind of a "plan B" type.
Looking for previous citations, it appears Hoeg frequently appears cited on Children's Health Defense, a notorious source of vaccine misinformation and disinformation.
It appears fairly likely that the article won't make it through peer review. Indeed, it may not be intended to, if the intent is simply to provide an anti-vax talking point. Its work will have already been done.
Given that the methodology of the study appears at odds with accepted good practice, the priors of the author, and that the conclusions are way way at odds with the conclusions of more reputable sources, caution around that article is well warranted.
Here's a piece that examines the risk of the disease versus the vaccine from a better-accepted viewpoint:
It is interesting that you dismiss concerns about the risks of the vaccine for children. In order to protect the children you immediately render some expendable for the greater good. Until we know why, and how many children will react then we should proceed with caution or not proceed at all. If we are simply exchanging one risk for another for the sake of an ideology that the technical solution is best then we need to think again.
I'm not dismissing concerns about the health of children.
However, I am unapologetic about dismissing the evidence-free beliefs in stories fabricated by grifters and the feels and reckons of ignorants that are contradicted by the actual facts and evidence.
tl;dr Kids' perma-snotty noses actually contain a first response system to viruses that are new to them, that adults never used to need so it doesn't get maintained.
Which is all very well. But the situation we're facing is that kids are very likely to be facing a new virus that breaks through this defence and wreaks havoc in enough of them that a strong response is warranted.
We have multiple vaccines that are being checked in these age groups to find appropriate dosages, and whether there are any adverse effects specific to those kids. The question is finding the balance of having enough data to say the risk-benefit is in favour of vaccinating those kids, versus taking a chance on how many of them get damaged or killed by the disease, versus the broader cost to society of maintaining non-vaccine protections such as lockdowns.
Children, "also more quickly produce type 1 interferons, which are crucial for fighting viruses."
Were the snotty nose and the type 1 interferon defence to fail in children there needs to be a back up plan. That would at this point in time be vaccination.
I've now had both. Painless injection, both times. Hardly felt it (trick is, don't look).
The information sheet given to me after the first jab mentioned side effects were more likely to occur after the 2nd one.
Sore/tender upper arm at injection site, & a morning headache the day after, both times. Headache easily dealt to with two ibuprofen at breakfast. No other effects. Went well.
I plan to have the jabs 6 weeks apart to not confuse my already confused immune system. I will give anything a go when it comes to Covid keeping me out of hospital were I to have it and not to increase the work load of the health workers.
I'm thinking we need a surge of testing now in South Auckland to keep elimination alive as an outcome. But how is it done in a way that gets compliance and doesn't appear racist?
Has to be done in consultation with Maori & Pasifika community leaders & churches. And saliva testing would seem to be the best, least-invasive way to go, if that can be established to be accurate enuf?
Auckland has been impacted the most due to lockdowns and the number of those with Covid.
I tend to look at who is going to be worse off economically and have their health impacted by Covid the most.
Two facts, those on low incomes and those with health conditons are impacted the most. Testing and vaccinating for Covid reduces the impact.
Every town and city needs to have good access to test and vaccinate for Covid. In the areas with the greatest need eliminate the barriers to get tested and to get vaccinated.
Agree AB. It would seem that the bulk of the Sth Auckland cases are linked to church gathering and general ignorance on the part of some who have not picked up the Covid messages and how to respond to them. Not all the church leaders appear to be proactive in supporting and guiding these people – perhaps for the same reason.
The rest of Auckland cannot continue to tolerate this situation for much longer, and I wonder of there is going to be a requirement for two Auckland levels… one applying to South Auckland and the the rest of Auckland can join the rest of the country. Whether that is even feasible is a moot point.
Of the Pasifika churches in New Zealand, it appears that Samoan churches have in fact been quietly getting on with organising vaccination events etc. Here's just a couple of examples:
Yes Andre the differences are stark. Many churches are doing a wonderful job and all hail to them for their efforts. But others are falling through the cracks and simply not sticking to the rules out of ignorance and poverty. They need to be identified post haste and given extra support and assistance. Of course the moment you do that you will have Seymour and Co. screaming discrimination blah blah, but I think they're reputations are on a downward trend these days.
It's not so much the ones falling through the cracks; when there's attention to spare from just focusing on pushing the maximum numbers through right now, a lot more attention can go to that outreach.
The bigger problem is the outright anti-vax churches, such as Density and City Dimpact. The only viable responses I see to those are mandates and Darwin.
Calling it 'ignorance' downplays the failure of authorities to engage some communities properly – as they were advised to invest in very early on. That is a systemic failure, not a personal one. Too many white organisations in Wellington making policy for populations they have no real idea about.
Churches aren't the problem, plenty of parties happening down south… can see photos of em on Facebook etc…
End of the day successive govts have shat on the communities in South Auckland some are pretty disenfranchised from society at large and wont play by the 'rules'
To get surge testing in South Auckland organised it needs to be done in consultation with Maori & Pasifika community leaders & organisations (which would incude church pastors).
Also hopefully we'll soon be able to use saliva testing instead of the more invasive/uncomfortable nasal swabs.
Nah, not really. A lot of Donnie One-Term's supporters are middle-finger voters that previously never had anyone they were enthusiastic about. Shrub's opinions won't matter in the slightest to them.
As for traditional Repugs, they'll rationalise it away as the insurrectionists weren't really Repugs, so those words don't apply to them.
The Democrats in 2016 had the chance to follow democratic procedures and give people a genuinely popular candidate, proposing popular, decent, centrist policies, who drew far larger numbers to his events than Trump ever did. But the masterminds of the DNC ensured that the candidate put forward was Hillary Clinton.
Yup. A Bernie Presidency would not have gotten all his activists might have wished for – probably a good deal less – but we would not have gotten Trump and everything that's fallen out of that.
And I'm coming to the view that the worst thing about the Trump period was not his erratic, irresponsible, polarising and confronting politics – but that everyone else has adopted the same behaviour in response.
Do you think he'll run again in 2024? By the way, RL, in late 2013, this writer, i.e., moi, predicted Trump would be a one-term president from 2020 to 2024.
If the Republicans fail to put up a candidate with the charisma and intelligence to unite the American people – then yes Trump might well see the door open to a second run.
And while we're on the topic of one term Presidents – it's pretty clear Biden is declining cognitively (the exact facts of this I accept are hard to decode from all the political noise) and it's reasonable to think the chances of a second term for him are less than good.
Scanned through that whole OM – it was both robust and funny. In the intervening 8yrs we've made TS safer but lost something along the way. And not a few good people too. Your prediction I assume was intended as satire – but doesn't life have a way of topping even the best comedians.
It would have been infinitely better for everyone if America had done nothing, absolutely nothing, in response to 9/11,
I recall writing somewhere years back that in response to 9/11 the best thing the US could have done was to mourn it's dead with dignity and then defiantly declare "is that the worst you can do"?
And then in hindsight they should have quietly gone to the Saudi's (who were after all definitively involved in the attack) and demand that the culprits be handed over to justice or something unpleasant might happen.
Bit awkward for them to do that, the Saudis were worth too much to them in arms purchases & financial, diplomatic, military & intelligence collaborations to piss them off or pressure them, I suspect.
Besides which, didn't they know bin Laden was operating out of Afghanistan?
They cruise-missiled Al Qaeda's known training camps there. Then they demanded the Taliban hand him & his associates over to the US for trial.
The Taliban offered to surrender bin Laden to a neutral country as they said they didn't trust the US to give him a fair trial. The US should perhaps have gone with that option, but instead they decided to go & get him & to depose the Taliban regime at the same time via an invasion by another ill-advised "coalition of the willing" of the usualsuspects countries.
They probably should have instead just gone for one or more covert intelligence-based Special Forces operations to kill or capture him. These days they have more capability for this kind of assassination operation via stealth or drone air attacks.
You're not wrong… moderation feels more heavy handed these days. Has shut down some different but valuable view points. Seems to be getting worse recently sorta in tune with how societies heading, tolerance for opposing views is disappearing fast… as is trust in people being able to make up their own minds. Worrying times some friends I have that grew up in communist eastern Europe are getting worried in that they are seeing similar behaviors establish here.
I think moderation first started heading in the this direction when we started shutting down climate change deniers. At the time – and even now – it seemed reasonable and justified to do so. But it was the first big topic where we started moderating on content and not behaviour, and this change has proven to be tricky to manage.
Partly because it's hard to disentangle from the personal views of the moderators, and then again because of scope-creep. Some authors curate their threads quite tightly, others don't at all. I'm reasonably OK with this, especially if OM remains just that – open. There have been some benefits to this, we sometimes get better focused debates without derails and distractions. Sometimes like weka's recent posts on trans issues I've understood that quite strong moderation was justified.
But the trend really discourages me is moderators starting to assume the role of defining 'misinformation'. I know they mean well and I've not been keen to make an issue of it, but if TS heads the way of FB, Twitter and YT and starts regularly constraining the debate to a list of 'approved' topics I think it will be game over here.
He was the worst thing for journalism, for one any hack could say what he liked about Trump as long as it vilified him in some way, and it would be applauded.Any retrograde politician or bad actor could say something nasty true or not about Trump, and that person;s whole questionable career would be instantly sanitised, and the media would bay in approval
His actual suppression of journalism was eclipsed by Obama, who jailed more whistleblowers than any other president
Apart from the exception of Assange, for which he can never be forgiven.But I don’t see Obama or Clinton standing up for Assange either, and Biden perfectly happy to continue with Trump’s decision to prosecute.
If Obama had made a speech carrying the same sentiments would it have been worth more than a bucket of spit? Would it actually have been "Right on!"
The sentiments?
Could a president, a party have survived if he'd said “We love you; you’re very special,” and called them “peaceful people, these were great people” if the Jann 6 mass were foreign rather than domestic people (terrorists.)
As Jennifer Rubin said, "No president could have avoided prosecution if the crowd he inspired to march on the Capitol had been radical Muslims ready to kill elected leaders and stop democracy in its tracks.
In every case, had the terrorists been foreigners, we would have labeled their Republican apologists as anti-American, if not traitorous."
You think someone originally from the Middle East with a microphone encouraging a mass of Muslim people to go to the Capitol to stop the implementation of the electoral aspects of the Constitution would be lauded, supported, defended? You think a mass of Muslims ready to attack and kill elected leaders would be celebrated?
And if the leader said, to and of them, “We love you; you’re very special,” and called them “peaceful people, these were great people” how would he be regarded? Would he and they be praised as 'patriots?'
The great unwashed of America, the Jim Jordans, the Marjorie Taylor Greens, the Josh Hawleys, the Madison Hawthorns would have demanded the horde be gunned down as they went on their mission down Washington Avenue.
So should Cheney & the late Rumsfeld, & Blair. But there's some international law or something that prevents war criminals like these beggars from being charged with war crimes, as they're the leaders of countries.
Or maybe it’s just because no other country is powerful enough to capture and try them.
Rodney Jones from Wigram Capital Advisors spoke to Q+A after addressing the Government's select committee earlier this week about some of his concerns for the current outbreak of the Delta strain, particularly in South Auckland where there has been community transmission.
"What we've experienced this time is actually what we've seen in the rest of the world that in affluent areas and affluent suburbs, outbreaks are brought under control very, very quickly," Jones said.
…
"The cost of this inequality has manifested over a long period of time; the thing with Covid is that the cost appears over three months where you get a Delta outbreak in a part of your community struggles and you can't control it, you can't manage it.
"We're paying the cost today instead of in 30 years time through health spending or prisons."
…
"This has been a consequence of what we did in the 80s and 90s and sorts of reforms we adopted; it meant more inequality and we thought we could live with that but we can't."
As such, Jones said now is the opportunity for New Zealand to seize the much-needed change.
Thirty years ago, Paul McCartney stopped Weird Al Yankovic releasing a parody of “Live and Let Die” by Wings because he thought Yankovic’s parody—"Chicken Pot Pie"— would promote immoral behavior.
…. According to Rolling Stone, Yankovic said “Paul didn’t want me to do it because he’s a strict vegetarian and he didn’t want a parody that condoned the consumption of animal flesh. He said, ‘You can do something else like tofu pot pie.’ I said, ‘No, the chorus of my song will be ‘Bawk-bawk-bawk-bawk’ and tofu doesn’t make any noise. It’s not going to work.”
Some years after that demonstration of concern for moral behaviour, McCartney performed in apartheid Israel….
…. A small group of Palestinians had urged McCartney to call off the show, saying it was supporting the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. A radical Muslim preacher in Lebanon also called on McCartney to cancel the show.
During a visit to the biblical town of Bethlehem on Wednesday, McCartney brushed off the criticism.
"I get criticized everywhere I go, but I don't listen to them," McCartney said. "I'm bringing a message of peace, and I think that's what the region needs."
Remember this? From memory it was released during The Troubles, was deemed too provactive & was banned in England. As a consequence it received no promotion or airplay there.
While he'd never struck me as being politically & socially active as Lennon (who was a deeply flawed individual but knew it) this song was played on Radio Hauraki a few times & I remember thinking that was quite a gutsy stance to take in those times.
… In a furtively short ceremony, overshadowed by Hillary Clinton's confirmation hearings, George Bush awarded Tony Blair and John Howard the presidential medal of freedom, America's highest civilian honour, praising them as "the sort of guys who look you in the eye, keep their word, and tell the truth".
Colombia's president, Alvaro Uribe, also received the award. Wives, Cherie among them, looked on approvingly. …
Does anybody who often posts here know if there's quick way way to access macrons using an ordinary Win 10 laptop keyboard?
I like to try & remember to use them when typing kupu Māori (words) as a means of reinforcing my very limited Te Reo Māori language learning.
It's a piece of cake on my iPad2 as various language accent marks come up when character keys are held briefly before release.
But my now ancient iPad2 requires frequent reboots after posting here once or twice, & switching to the lappy I lose that functionality. I don't want to have to use, say the MS Word app & copy paste after selecting “Insert Symbol”. Takes way too long to find the macrons.
I bought this Lenovo laptop a couple of years back.
(I had to; my previous Compaq spent all night and half a day downloading the free Win 10 OS but, at the last minute during the install self-check, frustratingly announced that my Video card was incompatible with Win 10. So I just carried on using Win 7, which I liked & still prefer to Win 10. But MSoft stopped supporting Win 7 in Jan 2020, meaning no more security patches.)
When I completed the set up of this computer it had some other language for keyboard pre-loaded. Pressing certain keys resulted in a completely different letter appearing. Forget which. It was a baffling & irritating experience. In the end I rang Harvey Norman, where I'd got it from, and got talked through selecting the right keyboard language.
I'm not that tech-savvy, McFlock. Hope loading the Maori language doesn't give me a similar problem. Do I do this in System Settings?
In Firefox I can add the Maori language as an add on.
So spell it with a lower case m which will high light it as mis-spelt. Then when you right click to correct the spelling, select language and then Maori.
First can I apologize to rest of nz for the criminal behaviour of a couple of born to rule a…holes from dorkland endangering your health. Writing from dorkland.
It seems to be a deliberately planned exercise rather than an impulsive event.
Therefore, I hope they get the book thrown at them, that they, as the law allows, spend time on the inside looking out, and having a criminal record restricts there overseas travel. We dont need despicable examples of kiwis representing the face of kiwis offshore
We were wondering how they got shopped. Most of the people I know from Wanaka are firmly in the MAGA (Kiwi version) camp, so unlikely to nark, probably congratulate them. High likelihood they were self entitled enough to park their car in the Hamilton Airport carpark and the plods did a quiet check for plates that came through the checkpoints, ooops….
"An unfounded rumour about the student's death appears to have first popped up on Saturday night and was given a big boost when lawyer and NZ Outdoors Party co-leader Sue Grey, a well-known anti-vaccine activist, posted about it to her followers.
The post attracted over 1400 comments before it was taken down late this morning but has also been cited overseas."
Scott Hamilton also posts: "Alanna Ratna is the latest anti-vax activist to suggest the PM's life is in danger. 'We're going to get you Jacinda. Your future is bleak' she wrote yesterday on fb. Ratna is a doctor & close ally of John Ansell. Like him she believes the covid vaccine is depopulating NZ."
Is it hate speech to say I hate it that there are people like Grey, Ratna and Ansell in the world?
Ansell should take notice of the US antivax covid denial radio talkback host's who are no longer here crying on their death beds wishing they had been vaccinated.
If they are making death threats they should be arrested and hauled into court.
Four of the six Palestinans who recently escaped by tunnelling out of an Israeli maximum security prison have now been recaptured, so far without sparking off another revolt in occupied Palestine. One of them looks the worse for wear after apparently resisting:
Oops. Spoke (typed?) too soon. Aljazeera tv's quick headline news summary just reported that Palestinian militants have fired several missiles into Israel, & that Israel has immediately struck back with their own missiles into Gaza. 😐
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive One minister is talking tough while a colleague – whose ministry had acted tough and drawn a barrage of flak – has shown an official softening. Some ministers are doing what Labour was good at, which is distributing public funds to causes regarded as worthy or ...
A ballot for 4 Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Insurance Contracts Bill (Duncan Webb) Income Tax (Clean Transport FBT Exclusion) Amendment Bill (Julie Anne Genter) Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill (Greg Fleming) Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) ...
One of the strongest narratives about "our" spy agencies is that they are basically institutional traitors, working for foreign powers (or just themselves), without any control or oversight by the elected government. And today, we have yet another report from the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security which explicitly confirms this. ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
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While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
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The unidentified foreign intelligence operation discussed in a scathing report by New Zealand’s Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) last week appears to be a controversial United States intelligence system. The IGIS report said the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) decision to host a foreign system from 2012-2020 was “improper” ...
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On a Thursday in February, at Wellington’s Conservation House, the Conservation Authority, a statutory body advising the eponymous department and minister, Tama Potaka, opened its 195th meeting. Under consideration that afternoon was an agenda item written by Tim Bamford, chief advisor in the Department of Conservation’s biodiversity, heritage and visitors ...
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Is it time yet for a 1930s style Mortgage Moratorium?
Or, to save small businessess, and up against it home owners, should we pack it in and let the virus rip?
…..by 1931, it was clear that further intervention was necessary to prevent widespread foreclosures and mortgagee sales.
1936 as successive governments tried to cope with the worsening crisis…..
….Although mortgage relief was frequently discussed at some length by contemporary commentators, and by some historians in the 1950s and 1960s, it has been relegated to a few lines at most in more recent works.'
The Mortgagors and Tenants Further Relief
Act, 1932, gave new rights to mortgagors. Whereas, previously, mortgagors could seek relief only when they were directly threatened by mortgagee action, they could now apply for relief independently of any action taken by a mortgagee.
This Act also extended to lessees the same protection that had been granted to mortgagors,,
http://www.nzjh.auckland.ac.nz/docs/1987/NZJH_21_2_03.pdf
A business relies on people buying their product or needing their service.
When there is a crisis people tend to restrict what they purchase or use a service when it is really needed.
Is New Zealand in a recession due to Covid?
Most likely and all because we had a travel bubble. Seems that everything has a price.
The definition of a capitalist is someone who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing.
At the Macro Level;
At lockdown level 3 & 4 lockdown, the banks are still demanding their pound of flesh. While our accounts are being drained by the banks, the population with severely curtailed freedom of movement, peoples and businesses and livelyhoods and ability to earn an income is on hold . The free flow of capital offshore to our foreign owned banks is completely unimpeded. Meanwhile everyone else's accounts, (including the government's) are being drained.
At the Micro level;
This morning at 9am two men wearing bandanas and not proper masks were at my garden gate demanding to entry into my yard to pick up my garden bag.
During the last level 4 & 3 lockdowns, and for weeks after, my garden bag was not collected for months, (despite the fact that it was over flowing). In fact I heard that the garden bag company was very close to being ruined and on the verge of going out of business.
Magically, this time around collecting grass clippings and garden waste is an essential service.
You've got to be kidding me. This is not an essential service.
And this not the only medium to small company that I know is operating as if there is no lockdown. I personally know of three others. Friends and and extended family members have told me that they have been called back to work. When last time they were ordered to stay at home on the government wage subsidy.
Obviously the government wage subsidy is not enough to keep these small companies viable during repeated lockdowns.
If the government are not to abandon their elimination strategy, if lockdowns are not to become farcical. The banks need to be ordered to do their share.
P.S Now I can understand that this company's existence and the jobs of its workers are at stake here, but so is public health.
Meanwhile, here I am hunkering down like a fool, trying to do my civic duty and barely leaving the house.
It may have 'Green' in its name, but I will cancelling my subscription to this service.
Everything has a price. Their price is my custom.
It is not just businesses that need relief.
A moratorium on rents and mortgages for the period of the lockdown would eliminate food insecurity, and make the lockdown more bearable for tens of thousands of struggling families and small businesses.
It is not like our foreign owned banks can't afford it. They take $3.5 billion out of the country every year.
Food insecurity and high mortgage and rental costs are not just a lockdown problem. Lockdown makes these costs worse.
There is the pre Covid world and the post Covid world. I feel that the full impact of Covid has not yet occurred economically. With some luck there is not a worse variant than Delta to manage.
If anything could earn this government the love of the farmers, it would be a nationwide Moratorium on Mortgages for the period of the crisis. it would certainly undercut farmers support for the right wing 'Groundswell" movement and the National Party. Which would give a big boost to the government's poll ratings.
Not that they should do it for that reason.
The thing is if you are going to lock down a population you should do it, because it is the right thing to do.
I've posted before about the civilian casualties (a family of 10, including children) of this Pentagon-claimed "righteous strike" against a 2nd suicide bomber in Kabul during the evacuations.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0DF7LX_pW0
A New York Times investigation has now established that the Reaper drone operator that followed the car for hours likely mis-read what he or she was seeing & that the "bomber" was a completely innocent man going about his normal daily business.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/10/world/asia/us-air-strike-drone-kabul-afghanistan-isis.html
Thanks for posting that Gezza, and strangely enough it is the notorious Daily Mail who have given this story the most coverage out of all MSM as far as I can make out…well not strange really, they are are also are the best MSM outlet when it comes to coverage of Assange and Epstein.
'They are so burned we cannot identify their bodies': Grieving relatives' fury over US drone strike targeting ISIS-K that killed six children, including two toddlers aged 2, and four adults
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9940633/Pictured-Ten-Afghan-family-members-killed-drone-strike-ISIS-K-targets.html
Of course the cost of 9/11 to the Afghan people is rarely mentioned…
Costs of War Project
As of April 2021, more than 71,000 Afghan and Pakistani civilians are estimated to have died as a direct result of the war.
The United States military in 2017 relaxed its rules of engagement for airstrikes in Afghanistan, which resulted in a massive increase in civilian casualties.
The CIA has armed and funded Afghan militia groups who have been implicated in grave human rights abuses and killings of civilians.
https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/costs/human/civilians/afghan
Afghan land is contaminated with unexploded ordnance, which kills and injures tens of thousands of Afghans, especially children, as they travel and go about their daily chores.
The war has exacerbated the effects of poverty, malnutrition, poor sanitation, lack of access to health care, and environmental degradation on Afghans’ health.
Yes. Doesn't take long on google to find various organisations that have investigated & counted the thousands of innocent people killed by US missile-armed Predator & Reaper drone strikes around different conflict zones. The US military basically doesn't follow up.
There have even been several cases reported where they've made a claim to have assassinated a particular target, only to discover later they got someone else, sometimes a probable militant, other times someone completely innocent.
Their "collateral damage" toll is eye-watering & shameful & never gets covered in their (or our) media.
And Biden's administration is talking up their intention to maintain this "over-the-horizon capability" to strike at terrorists in Afghanistan & elsewhere. 😠
It's ok though, because the act of being murdered by a yankistani drone makes you a terrorist.
The Russians & Israelis are just as bad.
The Russians say they are helping defend the legitimate government of Syria against terrorists & just don't talk about civlians murdered in their joint, savage attacks on medical centres & towns.
And the Israelis remain totally unconcerned about the grossly disproportionate civilian death tolls in their routinely savage reprisals against Hamas & Islamic Jihad unguided rocketing of Israel. They know the world's media's not really looking on any more & that the US will veto any meaningful Security Council punishment.
But neither of these two maintain the pretence that the US constantly does that they are defending the free world with precision "surgical strikes” that are assiduously studied beforehand, & only launched when they have definitively identified a terrorist target in a zone where they always avoid civilian casualties.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wm4h1dA8ORo
Reaper (& the earlier, smaller Predator) drones are usually armed with Hellfire mssiles. This a very brief Military Reaper promo (I've avoided selecting one of the many available YouTube videos of actual strikes on real human targets).
Just from the practice strikes in here you can see how using these damned things kills so many innocent bystanders or passers-by that come onto the scene once the bloody thing's launched.
Using them in narrow city streets is criminal.
A 9/11 essential read for anyone who thinks NZ should countenance the self-appointed "world policeman" or for those who need an alternative view of the US consensus that is blithely picked up by the MSM and has shaped the decades since prior to the Vietnam war.
Indeed.
I think I was watching a rare live broadcast of the burning North tower on tv1 on my little black & white tv on a shelf in the kitchen when the 2nd 757 hit the South tower.
I remember thinking, my god. Someone has got straight through the defences of the most powerful militarised country, the ONLY global superpower, in the world, by using their hubris & their own civilian technology in a major trojan horse attack on the American mainland.
Also, while pained at the thoughts of the last moments of the horrified defenceless passengers & occupants of the towers, I thought, detachedly, that this was a stunning feat of arms.
Shock & awe, from a small number of Islamic militants outraged at infidel America's presence & actions in Muslim lands.
Whilst the 9/11 attacks were horrendous. The death, destruction and invasion of sovereign lands killing 100s of thousands of innocent people far outweighs the brutality of twin towers. So much so that I find it very hard to have any sympathy for US citizens.
Two wrongs have never ever made a right
The US military left their huge military bases in Saudi Arabia after the UN-authorised & Arab-govt-supported first Gulf War (Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait) because the Saudi population was becoming so vocally opposed to their arrogant infidel culturally-offensive presence in the Muslims' holiest land the Saudi Royal Family got really concerned about a possible general revolt if they didn't tell them to go.
It seems to be only when the US service personnel body bag count starts to rise into the thousands that the US public & politicians begin to seriously demand answers as to why their sons & daughters are even fighting in these far-off countries.
The US Military response to the body bag problem has been to develop & utilise stand-off capability as much as possible. It reduced the body count significantly. As well as the disastrous idea of using private security contractors (mercenaries, by anybody else's definition) post-invasions in Iraq – so any losses in those cases didn't officially count as US Military corpses & other casualties.
Their armed Reaper drone programme has taken this to such an extreme I think I've read somewhere that US Reaper operators based in the US itself are now also able to fly some assassination missions in far off countries.
As I've noted, Biden & co have said several times since their panicked Kabul evacuation scramble that they intend to utilise their "Over-the-Horizon capability" to strike at IS & other terrorists in Afghanistan.
This stand-off capability insulates the US public far too much from the reality of what really happens to the locals in their far-flung wars. And reporters on the ground are either not permitted – or just not safely able – to report the daily horrors – as they did in the Vietnam war.
One further, major worry is that the US – and Russia, & China – are reported to be going hell-for-leather developing & testing autonomous stand-off attack UAVs including AI-equipped armed drones – potentially taking even the current human remote pilot last-minute MISSILE ABORT capability away.
Here's a simple easy to read explainer of what's happening to extend the Pfizer vaccine to 5 – 11 year olds.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2021/09/10/fdas-dr-peter-marks-explains-authorizing-covid-vaccines-children/8276288002/
It's looking likely the US will give an emergency use authorisation towards the end of the year. Depending on how our current outbreak plays out and how our approval authorities view the data, we too might start vaccinating all our school-age kids late this year to early next year. Maybe even in time for the start of school next year.
I had my first Covid jab a week ago. Just some pins and needles in the arm where I had the jab for about 30 mins and mild pain in the arm for a couple of hours 6 hours after. The mast cell activation and GAVE which I have made me vaccine hesitant, I over came this. A grandchild age 12 had the Covid jab on the same day. All went well.
Pleased for you Treetop. When one has other conditions it is a cause of anxiety. Our son in Australia, and a number of his Dr's patients, have had severe headaches after Astra Zeneca. He also knows someone who has had covid and says this is a small price to pay, as after the second dose this side effect goes according to the Dr.
I stayed for an hour after the jab just to be sure as a relative could not make it as planned. Usually anything medical does not faze me (tubes/injections).
I had a good laugh to myself post the jab, a man stood up and his track pants were so loose, half of his back side was exposed. He was seated 2 meters directly in front of me with his back facing me.
I would like to know what sort of antibodies I make.
[comment deleted in full.
You need to respond to this: https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-01-09-2021/#comment-1813086 – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 9:40 am.
[comment deleted in part for the second time.
I’m not going to waste more time on you on Covid-19 vaccines. Take the deal (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-01-09-2021/#comment-1813086) or take the ban. You can leave your response anywhere you like; it doesn’t have to be in OM 01-09-2021 and you can do it here in this thread if you wish. If you don’t respond the default will be the ban – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 12:51 pm.
Again…and this is also in response to your Mod note from last week…
[comment deleted in part for the third and final time.
As I said before, I’m not going to waste more time on you on Covid-19 vaccines. If you think you can argue your way out of it, you are wrong. I’m starting to suspect that I cannot trust you to keep your part of the bargain, but the deal still stands and time will tell or not. Take it or leave it.
BTW, this is not censoring, it is Moderating. The discussion will continue with or without you regardless – Incognito]
I personally would be very, very interested in reading these arguments.
And in the interest of fairness and transparency, how about not censoring this comment at all…let others decide if I am spreading bullshit.
Because how it is at the moment you seem to be implying (by viciously heavy censoring) that I am quoting shit from some dark- hole nutbar conspiracy site… not the fucking British Broadcasting Corporation. Fffs!
See my Moderation note @ 3:48 pm.
We should not rush into authorizing vaccinations for 12 yr olds and under until the science is out some studies show little benefits. We have time to sit back and make an focused decision.
Just like our roll out being later than everyone else's it has meant we get the maximum benefit.
ie 6 weeks between doses gives longer immunity.the fact we have vaccinated later gives us an 6 months on everyone else which also gives us time to look more closely at the research data.
Let's not be panicked by the bullying of the right wing business first at all Cost's that's cost business more as we have had to have a second lockdown.Collins and Seymour and their groupies will be pushing hard to open up at the earliest date.Our economy did just fine without Tourism.
Robertson needs to fund tourism to change to other types of business for in the longterm tourism is never going to be the same again.
Agree that international tourism looks likely to be a major health risk for many years to come. This will strike some formerly-thriving Māori tourism-related enterprises hard, as well as Pākehā tourist & tourism-dependent ancilliary businesses.
While some can pivot towards encouraging more local tourism it won't make up the gap in numbers & total income.
I think the pressure is going to go the government to open up regardless because of this.
Not sure how Māori tourism operators are thinking on this. Hapu & Iwi spokespeople around the country are understandably vocal & active in protecting their kaumatua & communities. Mārae visits by touring parties have been a welcome source of funds & relationship-building for some.
I think the wealthy will still travel as they will afford the time and the money the remaining systems will cost.
Others will do the work / learn and stay.
Maori Tourism will become more targetted at this market imo, as will others.
We will have fewer tourists for longer periods. Quality not quantity.
Which will be no bad thing, if you're right. Unconstrained, cheap & easy tourism has resulted in damage and an incredible amount of littering in some World Heritage sites in various places around the world.
Quite apart from the dangers inherent in allowing hundreds of tourist climbers to swarm Mt Everest, for example, the sheer amount of litter left on that maunga is staggering. Even today in the 'death zone' there are used oxygen cylinders, other climbing bric-a-brack, and some unrecovered bodies.
It's just too difficult and dangerous to try and find and bring them all down. Google "Green Boots".
We really don't have much time to sit back and wait for indefinite rounds of more data gathering for 5 to 11 year olds.
The pressure to open back up and end the use of lockdowns will become too much for the government to stand against very soon after we stop hearing people complaining that they want vaccination and haven't yet been able to get it.
That means covid is going to get in and spread quite widely and quite quickly. Despite the misinformation promoted by some, significant numbers of young kids get very sick and get long-term disabilities or even die from covid. It's imperative to give them as much protection as we can before they get exposed to the virus.
Outside of kids with pre existing conditions I think we need to be really damn careful with vaccinating the young.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/10/boys-more-at-risk-from-pfizer-jab-side-effect-than-covid-suggests-study
I was aware of the Myocarditis risk in teenagers.
I would like to know if one Pfizer vaccine makes enough antibodies to give protection for the 12 – 18 age group?
I am undecided on children age 5 – 11 being vaccinated. Children in the UK have returned to school and a double blind study needs to be done to determine what the benefit is for children age 5 – 11. Transmission of Covid among children occurs. The teachers would be under strain.
Covid is also hard on parents and caregivers of children. Being a single parent without enough support would not be easy.
Seems to have a disproportionate effect on boys so much so it potentially carries more risk than covid itself for that cohort. At least according to that study.
No easy answers but given vaccination offers good protection from serious illness in adults etc we should and can afford imo to exercise extreme caution in giving it to children.
When it comes to children/teenagers the research needs to be througher.
It is about the efficacy and duration of antibodies from one jab. People under 18 do get Covid and require hospitalisation.
A few comments on the study referenced by the Guardian piece before the likely rebuttals start coming out in a few days as actual experts respond to it:
It's a dumpster dive in VAERS of the type that VAERS is explicitly not designed for and actual experts warn against.
The lead author Tracy Hoeg has been a long time advocate of basically reopening schools and letting the covid chips fall where they may. Kind of a "plan B" type.
Looking for previous citations, it appears Hoeg frequently appears cited on Children's Health Defense, a notorious source of vaccine misinformation and disinformation.
It appears fairly likely that the article won't make it through peer review. Indeed, it may not be intended to, if the intent is simply to provide an anti-vax talking point. Its work will have already been done.
Given that the methodology of the study appears at odds with accepted good practice, the priors of the author, and that the conclusions are way way at odds with the conclusions of more reputable sources, caution around that article is well warranted.
Here's a piece that examines the risk of the disease versus the vaccine from a better-accepted viewpoint:
https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/what-does-it-mean-to-be-anti-vaccine/
It is interesting that you dismiss concerns about the risks of the vaccine for children. In order to protect the children you immediately render some expendable for the greater good. Until we know why, and how many children will react then we should proceed with caution or not proceed at all. If we are simply exchanging one risk for another for the sake of an ideology that the technical solution is best then we need to think again.
I'm not dismissing concerns about the health of children.
However, I am unapologetic about dismissing the evidence-free beliefs in stories fabricated by grifters and the feels and reckons of ignorants that are contradicted by the actual facts and evidence.
Children having Covid and fighting it off, I decided to look up very recent science on this.
26/08/2021 Scientific American Unraveling the Mystery of Why Children Are Better Protected From Covid than Adults.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.scientificamerican.com/article/unraveling-the-mystery-of-why-children-are-better-protected-from-covid-adults/%3famp=true
Sorry a problem with the link.
Link that works:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/unraveling-the-mystery-of-why-children-are-better-protected-from-covid-than-adults/
tl;dr Kids' perma-snotty noses actually contain a first response system to viruses that are new to them, that adults never used to need so it doesn't get maintained.
Which is all very well. But the situation we're facing is that kids are very likely to be facing a new virus that breaks through this defence and wreaks havoc in enough of them that a strong response is warranted.
We have multiple vaccines that are being checked in these age groups to find appropriate dosages, and whether there are any adverse effects specific to those kids. The question is finding the balance of having enough data to say the risk-benefit is in favour of vaccinating those kids, versus taking a chance on how many of them get damaged or killed by the disease, versus the broader cost to society of maintaining non-vaccine protections such as lockdowns.
Thanks for the fix up.
In the link
Children, "also more quickly produce type 1 interferons, which are crucial for fighting viruses."
Were the snotty nose and the type 1 interferon defence to fail in children there needs to be a back up plan. That would at this point in time be vaccination.
I've now had both. Painless injection, both times. Hardly felt it (trick is, don't look).
The information sheet given to me after the first jab mentioned side effects were more likely to occur after the 2nd one.
Sore/tender upper arm at injection site, & a morning headache the day after, both times. Headache easily dealt to with two ibuprofen at breakfast. No other effects. Went well.
I plan to have the jabs 6 weeks apart to not confuse my already confused immune system. I will give anything a go when it comes to Covid keeping me out of hospital were I to have it and not to increase the work load of the health workers.
Anyone here not had their first shot yet, that intends to get one?
I'm thinking we need a surge of testing now in South Auckland to keep elimination alive as an outcome. But how is it done in a way that gets compliance and doesn't appear racist?
Has to be done in consultation with Maori & Pasifika community leaders & churches. And saliva testing would seem to be the best, least-invasive way to go, if that can be established to be accurate enuf?
[e-mail address corrected]
(Sorry Mod. Mucked up my email addy)
Auckland has been impacted the most due to lockdowns and the number of those with Covid.
I tend to look at who is going to be worse off economically and have their health impacted by Covid the most.
Two facts, those on low incomes and those with health conditons are impacted the most. Testing and vaccinating for Covid reduces the impact.
Every town and city needs to have good access to test and vaccinate for Covid. In the areas with the greatest need eliminate the barriers to get tested and to get vaccinated.
Their own Pasifika community leaders have been calling out for it for a while.
Let the virtue signallers rage.
Agree AB. It would seem that the bulk of the Sth Auckland cases are linked to church gathering and general ignorance on the part of some who have not picked up the Covid messages and how to respond to them. Not all the church leaders appear to be proactive in supporting and guiding these people – perhaps for the same reason.
The rest of Auckland cannot continue to tolerate this situation for much longer, and I wonder of there is going to be a requirement for two Auckland levels… one applying to South Auckland and the the rest of Auckland can join the rest of the country. Whether that is even feasible is a moot point.
Of the Pasifika churches in New Zealand, it appears that Samoan churches have in fact been quietly getting on with organising vaccination events etc. Here's just a couple of examples:
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/05/coronavirus-church-ministers-help-in-push-to-get-pacific-people-vaccinated.html
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/446611/pacific-vaccination-event-with-wedding-atmosphere-attracts-1000-people
Which makes it tragically ironic that the latest outbreak has hit them so hard.
Yes Andre the differences are stark. Many churches are doing a wonderful job and all hail to them for their efforts. But others are falling through the cracks and simply not sticking to the rules out of ignorance and poverty. They need to be identified post haste and given extra support and assistance. Of course the moment you do that you will have Seymour and Co. screaming discrimination blah blah, but I think they're reputations are on a downward trend these days.
It's not so much the ones falling through the cracks; when there's attention to spare from just focusing on pushing the maximum numbers through right now, a lot more attention can go to that outreach.
The bigger problem is the outright anti-vax churches, such as Density and City Dimpact. The only viable responses I see to those are mandates and Darwin.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/shows/2021/08/coronavirus-why-are-almost-a-quarter-of-kiwis-still-vaccine-hesitant.html
Calling it 'ignorance' downplays the failure of authorities to engage some communities properly – as they were advised to invest in very early on. That is a systemic failure, not a personal one. Too many white organisations in Wellington making policy for populations they have no real idea about.
This right here. (the Collins zoom interviewer)
https://twitter.com/cmalietoabrown/status/1434416779158188037
Yeah, maybe he should start to follow his own supposed principles and “values”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9KHs0FIJIg
All class.
Churches aren't the problem, plenty of parties happening down south… can see photos of em on Facebook etc…
End of the day successive govts have shat on the communities in South Auckland some are pretty disenfranchised from society at large and wont play by the 'rules'
How would you propose to split off suburbs in auckland when everyone goes every which way for work or business.
How about we shut auckland airport and divert all flights to ohakea or chch, let them carry the load for a while. (Tongue in cheek here)
There will be a reason why Ohakea or Burnham is not being used. Personnel would be doing MIQ from Ohakea and Burnham.
To get surge testing in South Auckland organised it needs to be done in consultation with Maori & Pasifika community leaders & organisations (which would incude church pastors).
Also hopefully we'll soon be able to use saliva testing instead of the more invasive/uncomfortable nasal swabs.
(Sorry Mod. Mucked up my email addy)
Shoutout to Jane Campion for winning the Best Director prize at the Venice Film Festival.
Film was: The Power of the Dog.
Also starring: Central Otago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpRzGl792tk
We've seen the movie..
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2021/09/covid-19-thirteen-gorillas-contract-virus-at-us-zoo-more-to-undergo-testing.html
Interesting rhetorical step for President Bush to equate AlQaeda and the MAGA supporters who stormed Congress on March 6th this year.
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/11/politics/george-w-bush-9-11-speech-domestic-violent-extremism/index.html
At minimum it puts the extremist end of Trump's supporters into a very difficult box.
Nah, not really. A lot of Donnie One-Term's supporters are middle-finger voters that previously never had anyone they were enthusiastic about. Shrub's opinions won't matter in the slightest to them.
As for traditional Repugs, they'll rationalise it away as the insurrectionists weren't really Repugs, so those words don't apply to them.
The Democrats in 2016 had the chance to follow democratic procedures and give people a genuinely popular candidate, proposing popular, decent, centrist policies, who drew far larger numbers to his events than Trump ever did. But the masterminds of the DNC ensured that the candidate put forward was Hillary Clinton.
Yup. A Bernie Presidency would not have gotten all his activists might have wished for – probably a good deal less – but we would not have gotten Trump and everything that's fallen out of that.
And I'm coming to the view that the worst thing about the Trump period was not his erratic, irresponsible, polarising and confronting politics – but that everyone else has adopted the same behaviour in response.
Do you think he'll run again in 2024? By the way, RL, in late 2013, this writer, i.e., moi, predicted Trump would be a one-term president from 2020 to 2024.
. https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-31122013/#comment-751510
If the Republicans fail to put up a candidate with the charisma and intelligence to unite the American people – then yes Trump might well see the door open to a second run.
And while we're on the topic of one term Presidents – it's pretty clear Biden is declining cognitively (the exact facts of this I accept are hard to decode from all the political noise) and it's reasonable to think the chances of a second term for him are less than good.
Scanned through that whole OM – it was both robust and funny. In the intervening 8yrs we've made TS safer but lost something along the way. And not a few good people too. Your prediction I assume was intended as satire – but doesn't life have a way of topping even the best comedians.
Very astute comments, my friend. Much appreciated.
The kind of ridiculous hysteria around Trump and his "deplorables" does not look good for political divisions in the US healing any time soon
https://caityjohnstone.medium.com/twenty-years-of-phony-tears-about-9-11-a7926cd95e36
From the linked article:
It would have been infinitely better for everyone if America had done nothing, absolutely nothing, in response to 9/11,
I recall writing somewhere years back that in response to 9/11 the best thing the US could have done was to mourn it's dead with dignity and then defiantly declare "is that the worst you can do"?
And then in hindsight they should have quietly gone to the Saudi's (who were after all definitively involved in the attack) and demand that the culprits be handed over to justice or something unpleasant might happen.
Bit awkward for them to do that, the Saudis were worth too much to them in arms purchases & financial, diplomatic, military & intelligence collaborations to piss them off or pressure them, I suspect.
Besides which, didn't they know bin Laden was operating out of Afghanistan?
They cruise-missiled Al Qaeda's known training camps there. Then they demanded the Taliban hand him & his associates over to the US for trial.
The Taliban offered to surrender bin Laden to a neutral country as they said they didn't trust the US to give him a fair trial. The US should perhaps have gone with that option, but instead they decided to go & get him & to depose the Taliban regime at the same time via an invasion by another ill-advised "coalition of the willing" of the usual suspects countries.
They probably should have instead just gone for one or more covert intelligence-based Special Forces operations to kill or capture him. These days they have more capability for this kind of assassination operation via stealth or drone air attacks.
You're not wrong… moderation feels more heavy handed these days. Has shut down some different but valuable view points. Seems to be getting worse recently sorta in tune with how societies heading, tolerance for opposing views is disappearing fast… as is trust in people being able to make up their own minds. Worrying times some friends I have that grew up in communist eastern Europe are getting worried in that they are seeing similar behaviors establish here.
I think moderation first started heading in the this direction when we started shutting down climate change deniers. At the time – and even now – it seemed reasonable and justified to do so. But it was the first big topic where we started moderating on content and not behaviour, and this change has proven to be tricky to manage.
Partly because it's hard to disentangle from the personal views of the moderators, and then again because of scope-creep. Some authors curate their threads quite tightly, others don't at all. I'm reasonably OK with this, especially if OM remains just that – open. There have been some benefits to this, we sometimes get better focused debates without derails and distractions. Sometimes like weka's recent posts on trans issues I've understood that quite strong moderation was justified.
But the trend really discourages me is moderators starting to assume the role of defining 'misinformation'. I know they mean well and I've not been keen to make an issue of it, but if TS heads the way of FB, Twitter and YT and starts regularly constraining the debate to a list of 'approved' topics I think it will be game over here.
Not so much game over as echo chamber… some will be completely happy with that I guess. Shame really
I totally agree with you RL re Trump
He was the worst thing for journalism, for one any hack could say what he liked about Trump as long as it vilified him in some way, and it would be applauded.Any retrograde politician or bad actor could say something nasty true or not about Trump, and that person;s whole questionable career would be instantly sanitised, and the media would bay in approval
His actual suppression of journalism was eclipsed by Obama, who jailed more whistleblowers than any other president
Apart from the exception of Assange, for which he can never be forgiven.But I don’t see Obama or Clinton standing up for Assange either, and Biden perfectly happy to continue with Trump’s decision to prosecute.
Bush's analysis of anything is not worth a bucket of spit. Shouldn't he be in prison?
Bush saying it may not be worth a bucket of spit.
If Obama had made a speech carrying the same sentiments would it have been worth more than a bucket of spit? Would it actually have been "Right on!"
The sentiments?
Could a president, a party have survived if he'd said “We love you; you’re very special,” and called them “peaceful people, these were great people” if the Jann 6 mass were foreign rather than domestic people (terrorists.)
As Jennifer Rubin said, "No president could have avoided prosecution if the crowd he inspired to march on the Capitol had been radical Muslims ready to kill elected leaders and stop democracy in its tracks.
In every case, had the terrorists been foreigners, we would have labeled their Republican apologists as anti-American, if not traitorous."
You were doing well until "As Jennifer Rubin said…"
https://twitter.com/willmenaker/status/1163873361786822656?lang=en
You were doing well until you said "You were…"
You think someone originally from the Middle East with a microphone encouraging a mass of Muslim people to go to the Capitol to stop the implementation of the electoral aspects of the Constitution would be lauded, supported, defended? You think a mass of Muslims ready to attack and kill elected leaders would be celebrated?
And if the leader said, to and of them, “We love you; you’re very special,” and called them “peaceful people, these were great people” how would he be regarded? Would he and they be praised as 'patriots?'
The great unwashed of America, the Jim Jordans, the Marjorie Taylor Greens, the Josh Hawleys, the Madison Hawthorns would have demanded the horde be gunned down as they went on their mission down Washington Avenue.
“Shouldn’t [Bush] be in prison?”
So should Cheney & the late Rumsfeld, & Blair. But there's some international law or something that prevents war criminals like these beggars from being charged with war crimes, as they're the leaders of countries.
Or maybe it’s just because no other country is powerful enough to capture and try them.
Thoughtful interview this morning about how Covid highlights social inequity. (12m clip) https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/were-paying-cost-expert-says-inequality-adding-nzs-covid-issues
A response..
https://twitter.com/ArbyHyde/status/1436810480450822144
Wouldn't a reset be great?
The reset under this government is only that dealt by fate through restricting international engagement to the digital world.
National would have done pretty much the same.
Saw that interview.
It was excellent.
Moral Leaders of Our Time. No. 1: Paul McCartney
Thirty years ago, Paul McCartney stopped Weird Al Yankovic releasing a parody of “Live and Let Die” by Wings because he thought Yankovic’s parody—"Chicken Pot Pie"— would promote immoral behavior.
Some years after that demonstration of concern for moral behaviour, McCartney performed in apartheid Israel….
Moral Leaders of Our Time is compiled and presented by Hector Stoop, for Daisycutter Sports Inc.
Dunno, M.
Remember this? From memory it was released during The Troubles, was deemed too provactive & was banned in England. As a consequence it received no promotion or airplay there.
While he'd never struck me as being politically & socially active as Lennon (who was a deeply flawed individual but knew it) this song was played on Radio Hauraki a few times & I remember thinking that was quite a gutsy stance to take in those times.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r0zGVVcsbPg
Moral Leaders of Our Time. No. 2: George W. Bush
https://twitter.com/BeschlossDC/status/1436708314323243009
https://twitter.com/willmenaker/status/1163873361786822656?lang=en
Moral Leaders of Our Time is compiled and presented by Hector Stoop, for Daisycutter Sports Inc.
Does anybody who often posts here know if there's quick way way to access macrons using an ordinary Win 10 laptop keyboard?
I like to try & remember to use them when typing kupu Māori (words) as a means of reinforcing my very limited Te Reo Māori language learning.
It's a piece of cake on my iPad2 as various language accent marks come up when character keys are held briefly before release.
But my now ancient iPad2 requires frequent reboots after posting here once or twice, & switching to the lappy I lose that functionality. I don't want to have to use, say the MS Word app & copy paste after selecting “Insert Symbol”. Takes way too long to find the macrons.
You can install the NZ-Māori keyboard if you add the Māori language using the main settings.
After adding the keyboard you can type macrons by tapping the tilde (~) key then the vowel, so "ā" is "~" then "a".
Thanks. I'll look into that.
I bought this Lenovo laptop a couple of years back.
(I had to; my previous Compaq spent all night and half a day downloading the free Win 10 OS but, at the last minute during the install self-check, frustratingly announced that my Video card was incompatible with Win 10. So I just carried on using Win 7, which I liked & still prefer to Win 10. But MSoft stopped supporting Win 7 in Jan 2020, meaning no more security patches.)
When I completed the set up of this computer it had some other language for keyboard pre-loaded. Pressing certain keys resulted in a completely different letter appearing. Forget which. It was a baffling & irritating experience. In the end I rang Harvey Norman, where I'd got it from, and got talked through selecting the right keyboard language.
I'm not that tech-savvy, McFlock. Hope loading the Maori language doesn't give me a similar problem. Do I do this in System Settings?
In Firefox I can add the Maori language as an add on.
So spell it with a lower case m which will high light it as mis-spelt. Then when you right click to correct the spelling, select language and then Maori.
I've got MS Edge and Chrome browsers, Brigid. I mostly use Chrome on this laptop.
Used to have Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome on my previous Win 7 lappy, but I can't be bothered loading more browsers onto this one.
https://twitter.com/jce_pc/status/1436813351816876036?s=21
Auckland couple leaves level 4 with essential worker exemptions, then fly from Hamilton to their holiday home in Wanaka! RNZ news at 5.
Self-centred entitled rich pricks, endangering the South Island!
National or Act supporters?
Probably Act at this stage
A Socialist country like Vietnam deals with such acts of selfishness strictly.
Le Van Tri, 28, got 5 years jail for "spreading dangerous infectious diseases."
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/vietnamese-man-jailed-5-years-spreading-coronavirus-2021-09-06/
A flight attendant received a two-year suspended jail term for 'breaking COVID-19 quarantine rules and spreading the virus to others.'
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/vietnam-sentences-flight-attendant-spreading-coronavirus-2021-03-30/
First can I apologize to rest of nz for the criminal behaviour of a couple of born to rule a…holes from dorkland endangering your health. Writing from dorkland.
It seems to be a deliberately planned exercise rather than an impulsive event.
Therefore, I hope they get the book thrown at them, that they, as the law allows, spend time on the inside looking out, and having a criminal record restricts there overseas travel. We dont need despicable examples of kiwis representing the face of kiwis offshore
I think we all understand a few a holes are not representatives of Auckland.
We were wondering how they got shopped. Most of the people I know from Wanaka are firmly in the MAGA (Kiwi version) camp, so unlikely to nark, probably congratulate them. High likelihood they were self entitled enough to park their car in the Hamilton Airport carpark and the plods did a quiet check for plates that came through the checkpoints, ooops….
They'll probably be in court next week lawyered up and in the meantime free to enjoy spring in Wanaka.
One is the son of a high ranking official so of course they will go for permanent name suppression.
I say name and shame them!
High-ranking official's son charged after flying to Wānaka during lockdown | Stuff.co.nz
Anti-vaxx trash are flat out doxxing the kid, too.
https://twitter.com/SikotiHamiltonR/status/1436883410929127426
"An unfounded rumour about the student's death appears to have first popped up on Saturday night and was given a big boost when lawyer and NZ Outdoors Party co-leader Sue Grey, a well-known anti-vaccine activist, posted about it to her followers.
The post attracted over 1400 comments before it was taken down late this morning but has also been cited overseas."
Scott Hamilton also posts: "Alanna Ratna is the latest anti-vax activist to suggest the PM's life is in danger. 'We're going to get you Jacinda. Your future is bleak' she wrote yesterday on fb. Ratna is a doctor & close ally of John Ansell. Like him she believes the covid vaccine is depopulating NZ."
Is it hate speech to say I hate it that there are people like Grey, Ratna and Ansell in the world?
Ratna can surely expect a friendly visit from security oriented officials at this point.
Ansell should take notice of the US antivax covid denial radio talkback host's who are no longer here crying on their death beds wishing they had been vaccinated.
If they are making death threats they should be arrested and hauled into court.
Four of the six Palestinans who recently escaped by tunnelling out of an Israeli maximum security prison have now been recaptured, so far without sparking off another revolt in occupied Palestine. One of them looks the worse for wear after apparently resisting:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7SGzmtbcUJM
Oops. Spoke (typed?) too soon. Aljazeera tv's quick headline news summary just reported that Palestinian militants have fired several missiles into Israel, & that Israel has immediately struck back with their own missiles into Gaza. 😐
Tulsi at her progressive best.
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https://twitter.com/EoinHiggins_/status/1436778091980931084
She didn't mention the US funding of islamist groups interestingly.
So it was white supremacists who flew the planes – I just knew the official story didn't make sense!