Russian invasion driving more disinformation online
A report from Facebook owner Meta finds a big jump this year in disinformation and propaganda linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine
By DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press
8 April 2022, 03:34
…..The report outlined other disinformation efforts tied to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including one involving dozens of fake accounts that spread anti-Ukrainian rhetoric. Another network filed thousands of fake complaints about Ukrainian Facebook users in an effort to get them kicked off the platform. That network hid its activities in a Facebook group supposedly dedicated to cooking.
Even if news sources were not blocked there is still the threat of a person or their family being harmed for speaking out.
War is so ugly for those who are caught up in it. The soldiers and cilvillians who are killed or severely injured. The loss of a home, job, education, no health care and food shortage or starvation. Fear of being tortured or raped or a hidden bomb being activated. Economic collapse and the sight of destroyed buildings and artillery being strewn.
Interesting new interview from Arron Mate' with acques Baud. Former intelligence officer with the Swiss Strategic Intelligence Service who has served in a number of senior security and advisory positions at NATO, the United Nations, and with the Swiss military.
"As the Russia-Ukraine war enters a new phase, former Swiss intelligence officer, senior United Nations official, and NATO advisor Jacques Baud analyzes the conflict and argues that the US and its allies are exploiting Ukraine in a longstanding campaign to bleed its Russian neighbor."
Thanks for your input…it was really insightful…It’s hard to understand why the Ukrainian negotiations teams haven’t scooped you up with such profound and multidimensional insights like that…go figure.
Well it is really that simple. Putin is a despot and a tyrant who decided his approval ratings could do with a boost, just like they got with his invasion of the Crimea, so a nice little week long war of aggression to seize the entire Ukraine was just the ticket.
Only that didn't work out (well he got the polling boost he was after) – the Ukrainians proved to be stubbornly unwilling to be purged and subjugated and lots of other people who happened to have lots of weapons were of a mind to agree with them. The fact that this is also bleeding a Fascist Russia white is a happy bonus.
So if Russia wants out, it can simply stop it’s invasion and pull out of the Ukraine. That’ll mean the end of Putin, but who would shed a tear for that bastard? He is happy to see tens of thousands die in this pointless war for no other reason than to save his own skin.
With negotiators like you, who needs enemies?….interesting how so many arm chair warriors seem so willing to fight an unwinnable war to the last Ukrainian…and bring us all to the edge of WW3 while they are at it…nutters one and all.
You seem to fail to grasp that this war is existential for the Ukraine. Defeat means the extinguishing of their identity, the erasure of their language and culture and the murder or imprisonment and/or exile of it's intelligensia and leadership class. They’ve been down that road before under Stalin and they don’t want it to happen again as long as they can fight and I fully support them in that desire.
They'll keep fighting because it literally is a case of dying on their feet facing the enemy is better than dying kneeling next to a mass grave with a bag over their head.
You are effectively telling to Ukrainians to surrender for their own good. You really are trying to gaslight them. Personally, if they say they are willing to fight to the last man rather than surrender I’ll take them at face value.
And besides, for the Ukraine winning is simply not losing. Everyday they hold out is a day closer to drawing NATO and USA into the fight, or at least getting the weapons they need to drive the Russians back. Zelensky knows this, which is why he spends every day trying to draw the Americans and NATO into the war.
According to Zeihan, the biggest worry for NATO and the US is just how inept the Russian army has been in this conflict. And that it is very clear that any direct conflict between NATO and Russia would result in a rapid, humiliating defeat for Russia.
Therefore, the big fear is, that in such a conflict, the only other option to defeat for Russia would be to go nuclear.
According to Zeihan, Russia's aim, from a strategic standpoint isn't to stop at Ukraine. But if Russia gets its way, it would ideally take over Poland as well, to meet its strategic objective of creating buffer states at its weak points where previous invasions have occurred.
Therefore, the west would prefer to bleed Russia dry or have Ukraine defeat them outright in Ukraine so the feared direct confrontation with NATO doesn't have the opportunity to happen in the first place.
Peter Zeihan is well worth listening to, btw. At the time Crimea was annexed back in 2014, Zeihan predicted a full Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
He based his prediction on the falling birth rates in Russia. He reasoned that Russia needed to take this action by then. Otherwise, its decreasing population would mean it was soon going to be unable to draft sufficient soldiers for its purpose.
Russia would, by this time, probably be relieved by a dirty ceasefire that gave them the Donbas and Mariupol. It is not tenable for Ukraine however, who need their ports to export grain. And of course, the next invasion would be much easier than the current one. Ukraine has little option but to fight.
"You are only looking at the symptoms, not the causes"..are you serious? nearly every thing I post about the war in the Ukraine is about the causes, about historical context…that is exactly what is lacking in all MSM coverage of this conflict…you would think this conflict started six weeks ago out of nowhere.
You reckon they haven't tried talking, negotiations – EU talks, NATO talks. This and that leader going to talk to Putin?
The whole thing's a master plan? GTFO.
You reckon there's been no protests worldwide. No internal protests. No mass arrests.
I reckon your reckons are wildly biased. You simply can't see the monster destroying cities. Because some air brained principle shit that's all in your head.
So tell me what's your option out of this, because talking, so far, has utterly failed.
Putin is clearly a murderous hate filled egomaniacal paranoid delusional asshole. He could be making bank right now, the utter fuckwit. But he's chosen war crimes and genocide, he's cost tens of thousands of lives to 'make his point'. His point being, Ukraine were right to look for protection from that piece of shit.
We can clearly see the world stage, though you are convinced we've all worn our rosy tinted glasses.
Anyone who has established a track record of eliminating political opponents with radiation poisoning ought to be viewed as public enemy #1. Putin has three strikes on that record, so he's out already. However we do need to factor in why Russians selected him in the first place:
The economic reforms of Gorbachev and Yeltsin were so financially and socially painful for the majority of Russians, that by the end of the 1990s the words "democrat" and "reformer" were perceived by many as offensive.
The liberal politicians who had carried out those reforms were seen, at best, as populist losers, at worst, enemies of the people.
After a decade of unpopular reforms — including price liberalization and privatization — and bloody regional conflicts in the post-Soviet space, "stability" and "security" became the most desirable goals of the people.
When American TV presenters ask me today why, according to opinion polls, 83% of Russians support President Vladimir Putin, I know the answer. And it’s a little more complicated than 22 years of government propaganda.
Stanislav Kucher is a journalist and former Russian TV presenter, has previously worked as Editor-in-Chief of the Snob multimedia platform, Chief Political Analyst and Creative Director of Kommersant-fm all-news radio network, Anchor at Sovershenno Sekretno TV channel and Editor-in-Chief of National Geographic Traveler (Russian edition). He lives in New York.
The world's seen plenty of idiots in power who played on circumstances to elevate themselves.
While historical context helps, Putin never was the answer to Russia's problems. Clearly. A history of mismanagement is also not a Russia-centric phenomenon. Blaming history is a weak game. The fascist loves historical grievance to hold as a picture in front of their current psychopathic behaviour.
Putin's not special he's another power drunk fuckwit who believes his own press. Met enough of them, anyone who think's their press is representative of them is a right plonker at best.
Will Putin last as President until 2024 and two 6 year terms after that?
Putin has a master plan otherwise he would not have extended the constitution in April 2021 to run as President for more than two terms and the terms were extended to 6 years each.
When this happened I thought his political ambitions were a warning.
Tenure of an autocrat usually depends on the power base. Random factors such as assassination & ill-health also apply though. As the historical context described by Kucher above suggests, Putin fills a need in the collective psyche of Russians. Therefore his base is extremely broad. Only someone in the Russian hierarchy who can play power games as well as he does can threaten him in that scenario.
There is no single contender to stand up to Putin. He is heavily guarded, he appears to be in good physical health and people would fear the internal intelligence service under his command.
Add to that a couple of other factors. He has likemindedness on his strategy with his second in command – I posted a detailed profile which demonstrated that conclusively a while back. Even more of a hawk than Putin, it showed, couple of years older if I recall correctly.
Usually how it works is betrayal by those somewhat younger in the second level of the power structure, who have developed a consensus that the top guys have lost the plot. A coup requires considerably teamwork and good luck to succeed though, and often is enabled by complacency of those who are confident they have total control. Putin's too shrewd to get that complacent, I suspect.
Like all complex systems though, stasis is vulnerable to tipping points. Military defeat would apply considerable pressure to the power structure. That's why success from his recent pivot is essential.
I tell you one thing, I had no idea how much the Finns and the Balts dislike the Russians until this war occurred. But they really, really don't like Russia.
I suppose they have a fair bit of bitter experience of what it is like living next door to a perennially despotic, reactionary and aggressively expansionist Russian state.
The Finns at least noticed Russia weaponizing refugees by feeding them through their border to the EU. Neutral or friendly countries don't pull stunts like that.
You reckon they haven't tried talking, negotiations – EU talks, NATO talks. This and that leader going to talk to Putin?
This entire article is a must read for an overview of the lead up to this war, written by an ex-NATO officer with insider knowledge. There was plenty of talking over the last 8 years. I posted this a few days ago but it's worth repeating. Adrian has linked to an interview with him further up the page.
… If we cared so much about peace and the Ukraine, why didn’t we encourage the Ukraine to respect the agreements it had signed and that the members of the Security Council had approved?
The Military Situation In The Ukraine (Part Two: The War)
…..In violation of the Minsk Agreements, the Ukraine was conducting air operations in Donbass using drones, including at least one strike against a fuel depot in Donetsk in October 2021. The American press noted this, but not the Europeans; and no one condemned these violations.
In February 2022, events were precipitated. On February 7, during his visit to Moscow, Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed to Vladimir Putin his commitment to the Minsk Agreements, a commitment he would repeat after his meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky the next day. But on February 11, in Berlin, after nine hours of work, the meeting of political advisors of the leaders of the “Normandy format” ended, without any concrete result: the Ukrainians still refused to apply the Minsk Agreements, apparently under pressure from the United States. Vladimir Putin noted that Macron had made empty promises and that the West was not ready to enforce the agreements, as it had been doing for eight years.
Ukrainian preparations in the contact zone continued. The Russian Parliament became alarmed; and on February 15 asked Vladimir Putin to recognize the independence of the Republics, which he refused to do …
Jacques Baud is a former colonel of the General Staff, ex-member of the Swiss strategic intelligence, specialist on Eastern countries. He was trained in the American and British intelligence services. He has served as Policy Chief for United Nations Peace Operations. As a UN expert on rule of law and security institutions, he designed and led the first multidimensional UN intelligence unit in the Sudan. He has worked for the African Union and was for 5 years responsible for the fight, at NATO, against the proliferation of small arms. He was involved in discussions with the highest Russian military and intelligence officials just after the fall of the USSR. Within NATO, he followed the 2014 Ukrainian crisis and later participated in programs to assist the Ukraine.
That was a massively long-winded nothing. Do you really think telling me about The Azov battalion and the Minsk agreements is news?
And all this trotting out of Russian grievance after 2014… GTFO.
Look at just the closing paragraph:
"At the same time, there were reports of sabotage in the Donbass. On 18 January, Donbass fighters intercepted saboteurs, who spoke Polish and were equipped with Western equipment and who were seeking to create chemical incidents in Gorlivka. They could have been CIA mercenaries, led or “advised” by Americans and composed of Ukrainian or European fighters, to carry out sabotage actions in the Donbass Republics.
Ahh, so the Polish speaking CIA mercenaries led or advised by America, who sought to create chemical incidents…
Another Swiss , Guy Mettan, founding member of the Geneva Press Club,ex President of the Geneva Red Cross, Swiss politician ,journalist.
The loss of Swiss neutrality and therefore loss of trust in its institutions.
By unconditionally backing Ukraine and Europe, we are putting the ICRC’s neutrality and impartiality at risk. The two are inseparable in the eyes of the world. And that is why the ICRC had to respond forcefully to Ukrainian attempts to sabotage its work when it was accused of doing business with the Russians, even though neutrality is at the heart of its mission.
This refers to the Ukrainians alleging that the Red Cross was helping the Russians to deport refugees far into the wastelands of Russia
According to your metrics of neutrality we can now discount any Ukraine/Russia analysts from US,UK, EU, Five eyes,currently participating in the Ukraine war
War is the failure of politics. And the rules are different.
In war we ask men like Scud (almost always the men) to put their lives directly on the line. And even if they do not die, they may well return very broken physically or in spirit. Your recycling of misinformation directly undermines and betrays this sacrifice. You make yourself the enemy.
And don't gaslight us with the 'I only want peace we must negotiate' line. Putin is the aggressor, and has rejected all attempts at diplomacy. That is not negotiation, it is a demand for surrender. It does the enemy's work for him.
You enjoy some margin for error here, some latitude because NZ is far away and not yet feeling the impact. But if you lived in Ukraine – or much of Europe right now – you might find your freedom of speech not so cheap. I would imagine for instance that your 'citizen journalist' hero Patrick Lancaster will never be able to set a free foot in Europe or the UK ever again.
This victim blaming gaslighting has gone on long enough. I understand it is in your nature to challenge the conventional narrative – but even this can go too far.
for Russia ,diplomacy since at least 2007 has met a brick wall.How much better it would have been for Ukraine if it had been encouraged to implement the Minsk accords 2 they signed up to in 2015.
Encouraged by the US to flout the accords, then openly declare there would be no implementation, then declare Crimea would be taken back by force,the build up on the LOC, the accelerated flood of weapons into Ukraine and if we are to believe documents on a computer in retaken territory by the DPR, the determination to take the Donbas by force, essentially signed an end to diplomacy.
Misinformation by the way is very subjective it seems
Reports of CW use in Mariupol that inflamed posters yesterday is not quite so slam dunk today it seems But the visceral reaction will remain
Some misinfo has been retracted, but the Russian tank driving over the civilian car in the streets of Kiev city for instance, was aired twice on our screens , several days apart as if it was totally factual .The first airing being dated within 2 days of the invasion, when Russian tanks were nowhere near Kiev city.This has still not been retracted here, though its been totally exposed as false on France 24
Another was the Ukrainian allegation that the Red Cross was in cahoots with Russia
“The ICRC has not been involved with any forced evacuation, forced transfers of civilians into Russia from Mariupol or any other Ukrainian city…The ICRC does not want to open an office in southern Russia to filter Ukrainians as many reports are alleging. So, that is absolutely false. We are not opening a refugee camp or any other type of camp,” said the spokesman for the ICRC.
Mariupol was one of the Donbas cities to rise up against the 2014 coup.Many residents are Russian speaking, ethnic Russians who have family and long connections in Russia.Common sense tells me their preference would be to evacuate to family in Russia.This is spun as "mass deportations"
Yes, I agree, Patrick Lancaster has got a big target on his back.You should watch some of his videos, you might be surprised .His interviewees don't always reinforce a pro russian viewpoint.They certainly show the misery of war.
And actually thank you for being so polite, even though I know how passionately you feel about this.
“In war we ask men like Scud (almost always the men) to put their lives directly on the line.”
No not ‘we’, not people like me, it’s people like you who tell men like Scud to go to war…and always have.
[FFS! This was a solid discussion thread until you parachuted in and ambushed it with your ‘that shoe doesn’t fit me!’ irrelevance. Stop your flaming BS of accusing others of being warmongers all the time when they’re having mature convo about war but happen to say something that doesn’t agree with you or is not to your liking. You add nothing, you derail, but that’s your way of cancelling them, isn’t it? How would you feel if I derailed you for a while? How would you cope reading those comments, stewing that you cannot comment here with the same old BS and you cannot target your usual suspects? One of these days it is going to happen and that day feels awfully close – Incognito]
As you make little to no sense anymore, and have become a unhinged warmonger, which I suspect was always bubbling just below the surface…..I am happy to oblige you in that request…have a nice war relaxing in your soft armchair in your warm safe house RedLogix.
OK, one final thing…It has been interesting to note that as your lust for war has increased your maturity level has decreased by almost equal amounts..of course this should be hardly surprising, when man allows his most base instincts control his emotions and actions, as yours so clearly has, the result has to be some sort of regression and devolution..also a bit sadly I think, very clearly on display.
Anyway unless you want the last word..from me it’s a final cheerio to you….I will now, as you so delicately put it… “fuck off”
McCarthyism re-emerging stronger than ever in Ukraine policy debates
The stakes are far too high to stand by while practitioners of the new McCarthyism again silence dissent. Advocating a policy of caution and restraint does not imply the slightest sympathy for Vladimir Putin or his war of aggression, and we must not allow reckless, unprincipled hawks to get away with asserting that it does.
No blacklists ( Actually the major tool of the process)
Part of that may be because the spectre of Stalinist communism has receded – contemporary Putin supporters are not idealogues, just ignorant folk who unaccountably sympathize with murderous assholes.
Its a typical attitude at his corporate altitude. How many decades has Public transport operated continuously with a fiscal subsidy now anyway? Of course the return on that is the lower demands on the road network and energy.
I think this clearly explains how Luxon intends to try to run the country fiscally, e.g ideally with both public and private sectors reporting profits, as if this is their primary purpose.
I'm surprised Hosking had to ask Mitchell and Woods what the OCR was. I thought he knew everything. Since he was so keen to know you'd have thought he'd gone on line and checked on there.
Richard Prebble: Inflation nation – debunking reckless Government spending, delusions of ministers
The Herald is currently promoting this as a story – a column by Prebble. This is deliberate misinformation by a MSM outlet. F'in neo-liberal hypocrites.
Inflation at the moment is coming from pandemic global supply disruption, related worker shortages (isolation with omicron spread and border controls) and some because of asset wealth from QE stimulus.
Prebble is promoting the myth its because of government spending to promote tax cuts to reduce funding to government.
The OCR decision is coming up. The best approach from the RBG is to provide certainty to business – such as 4 increases of .25 to 2% by the end of the year (1.5 by June, 1.75 by September).
Having a preconceived plan for changes to interest rates is of no value. If the RBNZ detects the bottom falling out of the economy they will put rates back down (as they did in 2014).
Sure, but a 0.5 increase will have a serious impact on renewal of mortgages before then. Which is why a smaller increase and signal to the market of a further increase is a valid alternative.
The RBNZ has already signaled OCR price increases for the year,(markets have already priced in 1.25%)
The also signaled that there was a preference for a .5 change at the last meeting (which dissipated under Omicron,as the Nov change that did not happen under delta)
A .5 change would remove any doubt to the Housing market,that the holiday is over.
The US came into day with 8.5% headline inflation,and US markets have priced in 9 increases for the rest of the year,Germany over 7 (with wholesale rates over 22%) so they have large increases to come.
We still have increases into the energy market to come,with electricity distribution yet to enter,increases in road user charges (after the discount period),increased fuel charges due to the biofuel mandate (these will be a lot larger the estimated)
Members noted that annual consumer price inflation is expected to peak around 7 percent in the first half of 2022. The risk of more persistent high inflation expectations has increased. The Committee agreed that their policy ‘path of least regret’ is to increase the OCR by more now, rather than later, to head off rising inflation expectations and minimise any unnecessary volatility in output, interest rates, and the exchange rate in the future. The Committee agreed to a 50 basis point rise in the OCR, consistent with this least regrets analysis.
Strange goings on at the moment in and around Belgorod in Russia, near the border of Ukraine. Also, a Russian staging ground for its assault on Ukraine.
So please tell me what the advantage for Russia is in these false flag attacks?
A false flag attack, like Tonkin Bay and the anthrax attacks are useful to provide a casus belli.Doesn't apply here. Or in the case of say Ukraine, to bring in more arms, no fly zone, money.Doesn't apply here.
Russia is at war , militarily and economically, already.So I fail to see why Russia would do this
Zelensky suggested in an interview that the oil depot was a legitimate military target.
Ukraine has asserted that the Belgorod attack was by a third party.
As a state a false flag attack isn't obviously beneficial. But states may not be the only players. Imagine an oligarch who sold a large amount of fuel offshore, and also to the Russian state. He might be in considerable trouble – until his inventory goes up in smoke and with it the ability to prove what he'd been up to.
Also hope we get a few months of relative normalcy before the new variant shows up here. I was puzzled that masks are no longer necessary in schools but perhaps young immune systems regenerate faster is the explanation…
With regard schools, after tomorrow there's 2 weeks holiday and maybe the thinking is that the downward trend will continue and when our tamariki go back there's less of a threat. The decision will be up to schools I would imagine.
Not just schools. Otago uni sent an email around today basically removing all mandates – vaccine & mask, except where required as a legal minimum.
I'm so amazingly pissed – they added some bullshit about providing support yadda yadda to folks who didn't feel safe with that. Nothing short of a mandate will support them. We have old folks & vulnerable folks of all flavours. Apparently they can all go fuck themselves.
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I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Responding to an Auditor-General's report slamming failures in the administration of the 2023 General Election, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: ...
The Taxpayers’ Union says the Beehive need to lead by example, following reports of more than $50,000 spent upgrading video conferencing equipment and furniture in the Prime Minister’s office. Taxpayers’ Union Campaign Manager, Connor Molloy, ...
An objective list of the 50 most powerful people in New Zealand, as judged by the Spinoff Editorial Board. It’s power list season, baby, and we want in on the action. Sure, there’s the rich list and the powerful “c-suite” list and the young people with power (hmmm) but here, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thalia Anthony, Professor of Law, University of Technology Sydney ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the names of deceased people, and describes ongoing colonial violence towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. First Nations people in Australia ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Macquarie University Netflix Baby Reindeer’s phenomenal success has much to do with its writer and lead, Richard Gadd, who plays Donny in a tender semi-autobiographical account of sexual abuse, harassment and stalking. Gadd’s story has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle KarolinaGrabowska/Pexels If you didn’t have food allergies as a child, is it possible to develop them as an adult? The short answer is yes. But the reasons why are much ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Moon, Professor of History, Auckland University of Technology Ans Westra, self-portrait, c. 1963. National Library ref AWM-0705-F They try but invariably fail – those writers who believe they are capable of encapsulating in prose or verse the essence of ...
Stewart Sowman-Lund looks at the growing concern around the world in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. What’s all this? When Covid-19 arrived on our shores in early 2020, some argued we were too slow, or crucially, ill-prepared for a pandemic. So ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Franco Montalto, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and Director, Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory, Drexel University Water runs into a storm drain in a Los Angeles alley on Aug. 19, 2023, during Tropical Storm Hilary.Citizen of the Planet/Universal Images ...
The inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones has turned up a new witness who says he saw two teenagers and a small child in a high vis vest in the area where the boy’s body was found the day he died. Lachie’s body was discovered face up ...
Stories from the tenancy trenches, featuring spider infestations, cupboard rats and same-sex discrimination. Lucy’s brother was living in a damp 1930s building in Mt Eden where “he had to tie the cupboard doors closed so the rats didn’t get in”. Although he shared custody of his six-year-old son, his property ...
Simeon Brown, Chris Luxon, and Wayne Brown climbed into a hole and announced a plan to solve Auckland’s water woes. This is how it’ll work. New Zealand’s pipes are munted. They’re cracked and leaking, and struggling to handle all the extra poos excreted by our rising population. It’s a big, ...
Opinion: Nicholas Khoo looks at two key points in the high-stakes foreign policy pact debate – and asks if NZ can engage with as little drama as possible. The post Where to next for the Aukus ruckus? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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Opinion: ‘Reference-class forecasting’ is at the heart of improving pricing a project and identifying the expected timeframe but it doesn’t appear to be in use here The post ‘Think fast and act slowly’ is failing big projects appeared first on Newsroom. ...
What do a sombrero in Argentina and cognitive driving tests have in common? Don’t worry, we’re not setting up a bad joke. Hinengaro Clinic dementia clinician Gregory Winkelman has the answer on today’s episode of The Detail. “We ask a patient’s spouse or son or daughter: If you went to ...
Wellington long jumper Phoebe Edwards is back and she’s having fun again. Until this year, Edwards, a top athlete in her teens, had never competed as a senior athlete in New Zealand. In March, the 26-year-old won a national long jump title in a lifetime best of 6.28m after ...
After replacing a fifth of their caucus in just four months, the Greens’ opportunity to reset, reshuffle and refocus on the Government is quickly slipping away The post Persistent Green Party scandals delay caucus reset appeared first on Newsroom. ...
I knew Taika Waititi quite well when he was a kid. His mother lived in a tall narrow house in Aro St, and my youngest sister had a similar house two doors along. They were both single mums, they each had a son aged seven. Taika and my nephew Stepan ...
Opinion: “As time passes, knowledge of the circumstances of the August 2016 outbreak will fade and its immediate impact will be lost.” This statement is from the 2017 report of the Official Inquiry into the Havelock North campylobacteriosis outbreak. The then National-led government established the inquiry after the outbreak left ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
By Robin Martin, RNZ News reporter A New Zealand local authority, Whanganui District Council, has passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, condemnation of all acts of violence and terror against civilians on both sides of the conflict and the immediate return of hostages. It comes as ...
Asia Pacific Report The Aotearoa chapter of the Women’s International league for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has appealed to the New Zealand government to call out Israel over the “cruel and barbaric use of force” in Gaza and demand a permanent ceasefire. The league’s open letter was sent to Prime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will invest $566 million over a decade on data, maps and other tools to promote exploration and development in Australia’s resources industry. The project will fund “the first comprehensive map of what’s ...
Asia Pacific Report Following an open letter by Auckland University academics speaking out in support of their students’ right to protest against the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, a group of academics at Otago University have today also called on New Zealand academic institutions to “repair colonial violence” and end ...
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The war on truth continues
Even if news sources were not blocked there is still the threat of a person or their family being harmed for speaking out.
War is so ugly for those who are caught up in it. The soldiers and cilvillians who are killed or severely injured. The loss of a home, job, education, no health care and food shortage or starvation. Fear of being tortured or raped or a hidden bomb being activated. Economic collapse and the sight of destroyed buildings and artillery being strewn.
Interesting new interview from Arron Mate' with acques Baud. Former intelligence officer with the Swiss Strategic Intelligence Service who has served in a number of senior security and advisory positions at NATO, the United Nations, and with the Swiss military.
"As the Russia-Ukraine war enters a new phase, former Swiss intelligence officer, senior United Nations official, and NATO advisor Jacques Baud analyzes the conflict and argues that the US and its allies are exploiting Ukraine in a longstanding campaign to bleed its Russian neighbor."
If Russia doesn't want to be bled white in the Ukraine it could simply stop invading it.
Thanks for your input…it was really insightful…It’s hard to understand why the Ukrainian negotiations teams haven’t scooped you up with such profound and multidimensional insights like that…go figure.
Well it is really that simple. Putin is a despot and a tyrant who decided his approval ratings could do with a boost, just like they got with his invasion of the Crimea, so a nice little week long war of aggression to seize the entire Ukraine was just the ticket.
Only that didn't work out (well he got the polling boost he was after) – the Ukrainians proved to be stubbornly unwilling to be purged and subjugated and lots of other people who happened to have lots of weapons were of a mind to agree with them. The fact that this is also bleeding a Fascist Russia white is a happy bonus.
So if Russia wants out, it can simply stop it’s invasion and pull out of the Ukraine. That’ll mean the end of Putin, but who would shed a tear for that bastard? He is happy to see tens of thousands die in this pointless war for no other reason than to save his own skin.
With negotiators like you, who needs enemies?….interesting how so many arm chair warriors seem so willing to fight an unwinnable war to the last Ukrainian…and bring us all to the edge of WW3 while they are at it…nutters one and all.
You seem to fail to grasp that this war is existential for the Ukraine. Defeat means the extinguishing of their identity, the erasure of their language and culture and the murder or imprisonment and/or exile of it's intelligensia and leadership class. They’ve been down that road before under Stalin and they don’t want it to happen again as long as they can fight and I fully support them in that desire.
They'll keep fighting because it literally is a case of dying on their feet facing the enemy is better than dying kneeling next to a mass grave with a bag over their head.
You are effectively telling to Ukrainians to surrender for their own good. You really are trying to gaslight them. Personally, if they say they are willing to fight to the last man rather than surrender I’ll take them at face value.
And besides, for the Ukraine winning is simply not losing. Everyday they hold out is a day closer to drawing NATO and USA into the fight, or at least getting the weapons they need to drive the Russians back. Zelensky knows this, which is why he spends every day trying to draw the Americans and NATO into the war.
Yes, Peter Zeihan is saying pretty much the same thing.
According to Zeihan, the biggest worry for NATO and the US is just how inept the Russian army has been in this conflict. And that it is very clear that any direct conflict between NATO and Russia would result in a rapid, humiliating defeat for Russia.
Therefore, the big fear is, that in such a conflict, the only other option to defeat for Russia would be to go nuclear.
According to Zeihan, Russia's aim, from a strategic standpoint isn't to stop at Ukraine. But if Russia gets its way, it would ideally take over Poland as well, to meet its strategic objective of creating buffer states at its weak points where previous invasions have occurred.
Therefore, the west would prefer to bleed Russia dry or have Ukraine defeat them outright in Ukraine so the feared direct confrontation with NATO doesn't have the opportunity to happen in the first place.
Peter Zeihan is well worth listening to, btw. At the time Crimea was annexed back in 2014, Zeihan predicted a full Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
He based his prediction on the falling birth rates in Russia. He reasoned that Russia needed to take this action by then. Otherwise, its decreasing population would mean it was soon going to be unable to draft sufficient soldiers for its purpose.
Russia would, by this time, probably be relieved by a dirty ceasefire that gave them the Donbas and Mariupol. It is not tenable for Ukraine however, who need their ports to export grain. And of course, the next invasion would be much easier than the current one. Ukraine has little option but to fight.
‘
Pick a side, Eh Adrian
Blood thirsty imperialist conflicts are going to break out.
You are only looking at the symptoms, not the causes, military experts do what they do discuss tactics and strategies for fighting wars.
https://news.usni.org/2022/03/27/carrier-uss-abraham-lincoln-uss-miguel-keith-operating-in-south-china-sea
To stop war we need to untangle the root cause of imperialist conflicts and war.
An economy that demands endless growth.
The same with stopping climate change.
"You are only looking at the symptoms, not the causes"..are you serious? nearly every thing I post about the war in the Ukraine is about the causes, about historical context…that is exactly what is lacking in all MSM coverage of this conflict…you would think this conflict started six weeks ago out of nowhere.
What you post Adrian is all about the superpower maneuvering leading up to war, and then you pick a side.
The fact is whatever the maneuvering of the West toward Russia, this was still a war of choice. And Russia is the aggressor.
You reckon they haven't tried talking, negotiations – EU talks, NATO talks. This and that leader going to talk to Putin?
The whole thing's a master plan? GTFO.
You reckon there's been no protests worldwide. No internal protests. No mass arrests.
I reckon your reckons are wildly biased. You simply can't see the monster destroying cities. Because some air brained principle shit that's all in your head.
So tell me what's your option out of this, because talking, so far, has utterly failed.
Putin is clearly a murderous hate filled egomaniacal paranoid delusional asshole. He could be making bank right now, the utter fuckwit. But he's chosen war crimes and genocide, he's cost tens of thousands of lives to 'make his point'. His point being, Ukraine were right to look for protection from that piece of shit.
We can clearly see the world stage, though you are convinced we've all worn our rosy tinted glasses.
Anyone who has established a track record of eliminating political opponents with radiation poisoning ought to be viewed as public enemy #1. Putin has three strikes on that record, so he's out already. However we do need to factor in why Russians selected him in the first place:
The world's seen plenty of idiots in power who played on circumstances to elevate themselves.
While historical context helps, Putin never was the answer to Russia's problems. Clearly. A history of mismanagement is also not a Russia-centric phenomenon. Blaming history is a weak game. The fascist loves historical grievance to hold as a picture in front of their current psychopathic behaviour.
Putin's not special he's another power drunk fuckwit who believes his own press. Met enough of them, anyone who think's their press is representative of them is a right plonker at best.
Will Putin last as President until 2024 and two 6 year terms after that?
Putin has a master plan otherwise he would not have extended the constitution in April 2021 to run as President for more than two terms and the terms were extended to 6 years each.
When this happened I thought his political ambitions were a warning.
Tenure of an autocrat usually depends on the power base. Random factors such as assassination & ill-health also apply though. As the historical context described by Kucher above suggests, Putin fills a need in the collective psyche of Russians. Therefore his base is extremely broad. Only someone in the Russian hierarchy who can play power games as well as he does can threaten him in that scenario.
There is no single contender to stand up to Putin. He is heavily guarded, he appears to be in good physical health and people would fear the internal intelligence service under his command.
Add to that a couple of other factors. He has likemindedness on his strategy with his second in command – I posted a detailed profile which demonstrated that conclusively a while back. Even more of a hawk than Putin, it showed, couple of years older if I recall correctly.
Usually how it works is betrayal by those somewhat younger in the second level of the power structure, who have developed a consensus that the top guys have lost the plot. A coup requires considerably teamwork and good luck to succeed though, and often is enabled by complacency of those who are confident they have total control. Putin's too shrewd to get that complacent, I suspect.
Like all complex systems though, stasis is vulnerable to tipping points. Military defeat would apply considerable pressure to the power structure. That's why success from his recent pivot is essential.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/05/vladimir-putin-passes-law-that-may-keep-him-in-office-until-2036
The liberal politicians who had carried out those reforms were seen, at best, as populist losers, at worst, enemies of the people.
Also true of neoliberal Labour – Roger Douglas poisoned their voter well for a generation.
I tell you one thing, I had no idea how much the Finns and the Balts dislike the Russians until this war occurred. But they really, really don't like Russia.
I suppose they have a fair bit of bitter experience of what it is like living next door to a perennially despotic, reactionary and aggressively expansionist Russian state.
The Finns at least noticed Russia weaponizing refugees by feeding them through their border to the EU. Neutral or friendly countries don't pull stunts like that.
This entire article is a must read for an overview of the lead up to this war, written by an ex-NATO officer with insider knowledge. There was plenty of talking over the last 8 years. I posted this a few days ago but it's worth repeating. Adrian has linked to an interview with him further up the page.
The Military Situation In The Ukraine (Part Two: The War)
https://www.thepostil.com/the-military-situation-in-the-ukraine/
That was a massively long-winded nothing. Do you really think telling me about The Azov battalion and the Minsk agreements is news?
And all this trotting out of Russian grievance after 2014… GTFO.
Look at just the closing paragraph:
"At the same time, there were reports of sabotage in the Donbass. On 18 January, Donbass fighters intercepted saboteurs, who spoke Polish and were equipped with Western equipment and who were seeking to create chemical incidents in Gorlivka. They could have been CIA mercenaries, led or “advised” by Americans and composed of Ukrainian or European fighters, to carry out sabotage actions in the Donbass Republics.
Ahh, so the Polish speaking CIA mercenaries led or advised by America, who sought to create chemical incidents…
No really, GTFO.
Another Swiss , Guy Mettan, founding member of the Geneva Press Club,ex President of the Geneva Red Cross, Swiss politician ,journalist.
The loss of Swiss neutrality and therefore loss of trust in its institutions.
This refers to the Ukrainians alleging that the Red Cross was helping the Russians to deport refugees far into the wastelands of Russia
https://www.schweizer-standpunkt.ch/news-detailansicht-en-international/zelenskymania-and-switzerland-s-ruined-image.html
Yup, dude's neutral.
/
Russian citizenship was granted to Mettan by Yeltsin administration.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Mettan
Currently residing in Geneva
According to your metrics of neutrality we can now discount any Ukraine/Russia analysts from US,UK, EU, Five eyes,currently participating in the Ukraine war
@Francesca
War is the failure of politics. And the rules are different.
In war we ask men like Scud (almost always the men) to put their lives directly on the line. And even if they do not die, they may well return very broken physically or in spirit. Your recycling of misinformation directly undermines and betrays this sacrifice. You make yourself the enemy.
And don't gaslight us with the 'I only want peace we must negotiate' line. Putin is the aggressor, and has rejected all attempts at diplomacy. That is not negotiation, it is a demand for surrender. It does the enemy's work for him.
You enjoy some margin for error here, some latitude because NZ is far away and not yet feeling the impact. But if you lived in Ukraine – or much of Europe right now – you might find your freedom of speech not so cheap. I would imagine for instance that your 'citizen journalist' hero Patrick Lancaster will never be able to set a free foot in Europe or the UK ever again.
This victim blaming gaslighting has gone on long enough. I understand it is in your nature to challenge the conventional narrative – but even this can go too far.
War is the failure of politics
Yes and the impact is devastating.
Sorry Red,
for Russia ,diplomacy since at least 2007 has met a brick wall.How much better it would have been for Ukraine if it had been encouraged to implement the Minsk accords 2 they signed up to in 2015.
Encouraged by the US to flout the accords, then openly declare there would be no implementation, then declare Crimea would be taken back by force,the build up on the LOC, the accelerated flood of weapons into Ukraine and if we are to believe documents on a computer in retaken territory by the DPR, the determination to take the Donbas by force, essentially signed an end to diplomacy.
Misinformation by the way is very subjective it seems
Reports of CW use in Mariupol that inflamed posters yesterday is not quite so slam dunk today it seems But the visceral reaction will remain
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/12/did-russia-really-use-chemical-weapons-mariupol-ukraine-expert-remain-sceptical
Some misinfo has been retracted, but the Russian tank driving over the civilian car in the streets of Kiev city for instance, was aired twice on our screens , several days apart as if it was totally factual .The first airing being dated within 2 days of the invasion, when Russian tanks were nowhere near Kiev city.This has still not been retracted here, though its been totally exposed as false on France 24
Another was the Ukrainian allegation that the Red Cross was in cahoots with Russia
https://www.voanews.com/a/disinformation-campaign-targeting-icrc-in-ukraine-harmful-to-conflict-victims/6506312.html
Mariupol was one of the Donbas cities to rise up against the 2014 coup.Many residents are Russian speaking, ethnic Russians who have family and long connections in Russia.Common sense tells me their preference would be to evacuate to family in Russia.This is spun as "mass deportations"
Yes, I agree, Patrick Lancaster has got a big target on his back.You should watch some of his videos, you might be surprised .His interviewees don't always reinforce a pro russian viewpoint.They certainly show the misery of war.
And actually thank you for being so polite, even though I know how passionately you feel about this.
Maybe you are a diplomat after all Red!!
“In war we ask men like Scud (almost always the men) to put their lives directly on the line.”
No not ‘we’, not people like me, it’s people like you who tell men like Scud to go to war…and always have.
[FFS! This was a solid discussion thread until you parachuted in and ambushed it with your ‘that shoe doesn’t fit me!’ irrelevance. Stop your flaming BS of accusing others of being warmongers all the time when they’re having mature convo about war but happen to say something that doesn’t agree with you or is not to your liking. You add nothing, you derail, but that’s your way of cancelling them, isn’t it? How would you feel if I derailed you for a while? How would you cope reading those comments, stewing that you cannot comment here with the same old BS and you cannot target your usual suspects? One of these days it is going to happen and that day feels awfully close – Incognito]
Fuck off
As you make little to no sense anymore, and have become a unhinged warmonger, which I suspect was always bubbling just below the surface…..I am happy to oblige you in that request…have a nice war relaxing in your soft armchair in your warm safe house RedLogix.
Diddums.
OK, one final thing…It has been interesting to note that as your lust for war has increased your maturity level has decreased by almost equal amounts..of course this should be hardly surprising, when man allows his most base instincts control his emotions and actions, as yours so clearly has, the result has to be some sort of regression and devolution..also a bit sadly I think, very clearly on display.
Anyway unless you want the last word..from me it’s a final cheerio to you….I will now, as you so delicately put it… “fuck off”
Pathetic, Red.
Mod note
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2022/04/11/mccarthyism-re-emerging-stronger-than-ever-in-ukraine-policy-debates/
McCarthyism re-emerging stronger than ever in Ukraine policy debates
Orly? McCarthy destroyed careers – all the Putin Dupes are getting is the occasional mild rebuke.
No dead (Rosenbergs)
None imprisoned (150 under McCarthyism)
No blacklists ( Actually the major tool of the process)
Part of that may be because the spectre of Stalinist communism has receded – contemporary Putin supporters are not idealogues, just ignorant folk who unaccountably sympathize with murderous assholes.
”Public transport ultimately 'can't be subsidised or underwritten' – Christopher Luxon.”
headline on RNZ this morning
This from someone whose only claim to fame was to run a totally underwritten and publicly subsidised business.
Its a typical attitude at his corporate altitude. How many decades has Public transport operated continuously with a fiscal subsidy now anyway? Of course the return on that is the lower demands on the road network and energy.
I think this clearly explains how Luxon intends to try to run the country fiscally, e.g ideally with both public and private sectors reporting profits, as if this is their primary purpose.
Clearly he cant even discern the nonsense coming out his mouth. A smiling mouthpiece but I have not detected a very big brain, not once.
I am beginning to worry Luxon is a bit thick.
Sanc-I think he should avoid head to head TV debates with Jacinda.
He can't cope with her in QT in parliament – she'll carve him into little bits in any head to head election debate!
Mark Mitchell and Megan Woods did not know the OCR or the unemployment rate today when asked by Hosking on Newstalk ZB.
These people are either wanting to run the country, or are already running the country and they do not know these basic economic measures.
That is frightening.
Here is a link to it that has only just become available on the NZ Herald. Wasn't there when I did the original comment.
Government minister unable to correctly quote official cash rate – NZ Herald
I'm surprised Hosking had to ask Mitchell and Woods what the OCR was. I thought he knew everything. Since he was so keen to know you'd have thought he'd gone on line and checked on there.
I see what you did there! Very amusing.
The Herald is currently promoting this as a story – a column by Prebble. This is deliberate misinformation by a MSM outlet. F'in neo-liberal hypocrites.
Inflation at the moment is coming from pandemic global supply disruption, related worker shortages (isolation with omicron spread and border controls) and some because of asset wealth from QE stimulus.
Prebble is promoting the myth its because of government spending to promote tax cuts to reduce funding to government.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/richard-prebble-inflation-nation-debunking-reckless-government-spending-delusions-of-ministers/6UNWT2HQ32MN3IJOVPLK5UHTNY/
Herald applies useful idiot theory to infotainment. Prebble puts up hand, "Hey, me!"
The OCR decision is coming up. The best approach from the RBG is to provide certainty to business – such as 4 increases of .25 to 2% by the end of the year (1.5 by June, 1.75 by September).
https://www.oneroof.co.nz/news/41238
The only question today is will it be a 0.25 increase or a 0.5 increase.
Either way, our mortgage rates will be increasing.
And someone needs to send a memo to Megan Woods after the decision so as housing minister she actually knows what the rate is!
The RBG moved it to 1.5%, so given 4 more reviews it could go way higher than 2% by the end of the year.
It will place some pressure on those on floating rates and those set to renew.
Having a preconceived plan for changes to interest rates is of no value. If the RBNZ detects the bottom falling out of the economy they will put rates back down (as they did in 2014).
Sure, but a 0.5 increase will have a serious impact on renewal of mortgages before then. Which is why a smaller increase and signal to the market of a further increase is a valid alternative.
The RBNZ has already signaled OCR price increases for the year,(markets have already priced in 1.25%)
The also signaled that there was a preference for a .5 change at the last meeting (which dissipated under Omicron,as the Nov change that did not happen under delta)
A .5 change would remove any doubt to the Housing market,that the holiday is over.
The US came into day with 8.5% headline inflation,and US markets have priced in 9 increases for the rest of the year,Germany over 7 (with wholesale rates over 22%) so they have large increases to come.
We still have increases into the energy market to come,with electricity distribution yet to enter,increases in road user charges (after the discount period),increased fuel charges due to the biofuel mandate (these will be a lot larger the estimated)
OCR increase by.5,War on inflation starts.
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/news/2022/04/monetary-tightening-brought-forward
Least regrets consensus.
Clear signals for Fiscal policy constraints.
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/news/2022/04/monetary-tightening-brought-forward
Strange goings on at the moment in and around Belgorod in Russia, near the border of Ukraine. Also, a Russian staging ground for its assault on Ukraine.
Firstly, an arms depot mysteriously exploded recently.
Then helicopters of unknown origin attacked a fuel depot in the area.
And now, a a key rail bridge for supplying the Russian war effort has somehow ended up as a twisted mess of rubbish.
It would probably be a good idea if the Russians stopped all these false-flag attacks on their own critical logistics.
So please tell me what the advantage for Russia is in these false flag attacks?
A false flag attack, like Tonkin Bay and the anthrax attacks are useful to provide a casus belli.Doesn't apply here. Or in the case of say Ukraine, to bring in more arms, no fly zone, money.Doesn't apply here.
Russia is at war , militarily and economically, already.So I fail to see why Russia would do this
Zelensky suggested in an interview that the oil depot was a legitimate military target.
I was being flippant. I didn't seriously believe the Russians would be doing this stuff themselves. I should have included a smiley face.
I don't think even the Russians are stupid enough to do be destroying their own logistics. They have been having enough trouble with that now.
Ukraine has asserted that the Belgorod attack was by a third party.
As a state a false flag attack isn't obviously beneficial. But states may not be the only players. Imagine an oligarch who sold a large amount of fuel offshore, and also to the Russian state. He might be in considerable trouble – until his inventory goes up in smoke and with it the ability to prove what he'd been up to.
Traffic light goes orange: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300565072/covid19-all-of-new-zealand-to-move-to-orange-traffic-light-setting
As all kiwi motorists know, that means speed up. Particularly in Auckland.
Yay! I won my orange chocolate egg bet
Hope it's a big one.
Also hope we get a few months of relative normalcy before the new variant shows up here. I was puzzled that masks are no longer necessary in schools but perhaps young immune systems regenerate faster is the explanation…
With regard schools, after tomorrow there's 2 weeks holiday and maybe the thinking is that the downward trend will continue and when our tamariki go back there's less of a threat. The decision will be up to schools I would imagine.
Or it's maybe more difficult to control a class if you're constantly telling people to mask up, so either the rule gets ignored or you lose the rule?
Not an ideal public health policy on its own, but then that's why these things go through cabinet: the full range of considerations come in.
Fuck normalcy, though. Not yet.
Schools are always so keen to implement their own pathetic little rules. Other peoples rules not so much.
Not just schools. Otago uni sent an email around today basically removing all mandates – vaccine & mask, except where required as a legal minimum.
I'm so amazingly pissed – they added some bullshit about providing support yadda yadda to folks who didn't feel safe with that. Nothing short of a mandate will support them. We have old folks & vulnerable folks of all flavours. Apparently they can all go fuck themselves.