As many have mentioned, It is not really about the wall.
It is about Trump seizing ultimate power
From Trump’s statements I still get the feeling that he is still somewhat hesitant to declare a National Emergency. For a person who doesn’t read, I think that even Trump is dimly aware of the enormity of this step and the resonances of history.
It’s like he is waiting for something…..
Is Donald Trump is waiting for some sort of atrocity to be committed by Latin immigrant, (legal or illegal) before he takes that final step of calling a National Emergency?
Even if the waited for atrocity or crime doesn’t occur, it is inevitable that Donald J. Trump will in his capacity as President eventually call a National Emergency.
On declaring a National Emergency Trump’s first order of business will be to immediately end the government shutdown, and order back-pay to all the suspended government workers, even ordering the contractors be paid for this period as well. If he is smart, Trump will also order them all to be paid a bonus and thank them for the forbearance.
This move will shore up and enlarge Trump’s voting base, and further isolate the Democrats.
Cementing Trump’s reputation as champion of the working man.
The US President has no power to rule the country as an absolute monarch.
The emergency power has to relate to a specific emergency (earthquakes, fires, floods, etc) not a device to run the whole country.
On the wall it would fail. The courts would almost certainly say that such an emergency exceeds his powers. There is no wall in the border now, nothing has happened that suddenly create an emergency.
Crisis? What crisis? Seeing a bunch of right-wingers in the Supreme Court render a majority verdict that a constitutional crisis isn’t an emergency would be fun. Bring it on!
What? You don’t think Trump being prevented from building the wall that he was elected to build is a constitutional crisis? Well, okay, gridlock has become normal. But last I heard the electoral mandate was still part of democracy. Delivery of the result is still meant to be the result of democracy. You think that the logic of democracy is no longer valid? You think the Supreme Court will decide that?
The Supreme Court would focus on the meaning of “national emergency”, not campaign promises. The Supreme Court is not going to resolve the shutdown, that is a matter for the executive and the legislature. I reckon something will be done within the next for weeks to get the government up and running again. Eight weeks is an awful long time for both sides to say they won’t blink. Easy to do initially, harder as time goes on.
Of course Trump could declare a national emergency and build as much of the wall as possible before the courts declare the national emergency wrongly declared.
Would a Federal District Court have the power to stop the spending or would the whole thing have to wait till the Supreme Court ruled? if a Federal District Court could declare the declaration of national emergency invalid and stop construction, the case would be heard within a few weeks. Federal District Courts did stop the initial immigration bans within weeks.
I said that since labour was in power the MP’s have sidestepped advocating for communities and now are back from being “inclusive” with the community now.
As most PA office staff are using the excuses that; – quote; – :”the Minister to to busy now”
Labour promised us a “warm, caring, gentle, ‘inclusive’, transparent. government that gave us all a voice to be listened to, before the 2017 election but we see everything but this now.
Is it any surprise? A year or so ago, Stuart Nash made some crude and stupid comments about some prisoners not deserving any rights—and he’s the Minister of Justice. Greg O’Connor, notorious for his defence of the most indefensible and violent police misconduct, is a List M.P. and they also selected—despite many objections from women—Willie Jackson, who said on radio that he’d “put a knife through her heart” if his “missus” ever cheated on him.
But the question has been asked. It got this answer. Enjoy.
“When during the campaign, I would say ‘Mexico is going to pay for it,’ obviously, I never said this, and I never meant they’re gonna write out a check, I said they’re going to pay for it. They are,” he said as he prepared to depart the White House for the southern border.
Cool, thanks. You can see why the full explanation wasn’t broadcast here. The small part I saw at the time was obviously carefully edited to make him seem evasive. Can’t expect the msm to do nuance.
So it’s a semantics thing. Some would call it sophistry, but you can tell by his shrug that he expects people to get his intention. He intends everyone to understand that the trade process will produce the payment. Perfectly logical, but only to those who understand the relation between trade and money – which excludes most media pros.
So he wasn’t trying to con people after all. He just forgot that most people don’t understand that payment is relative to the value of what is obtained in the trading process. He meant Mexico would pay by providing value equivalent to the cost of the wall. I suspect the trade deal he set up and signed with the leaders of Canada & Mexico will deliver that. Time will tell.
Except that money made by trade doesn’t end up in the treasury does it? It ends up in the pockets of businesses trading. And with the drop in tax revenue Trump put through they will find it difficult to recover those monies.
I feel like you didn’t read the linked articles at all, and you’re awfully generous to a man who has twice said “I’m like a smart person”.
True, but the left & right routinely argue that the benefits of trade trickle down, so he’s no different. It ought to have been obvious I read the first link (CNN) since I responded to the evidence there (video clip of Trump explaining the pay thing).
As regards the second, I’ve just done a scan of that and agree that his denial is a lie. I have no intention of being generous to him. His various interpretations of how Mexico will pay reflect his lack of decision about the best way to proceed. He campaigned with an intention, and declared his intent to make them pay. He views that as a promise he must honour. I suspect his support base feels the same, so he’s bound to that commitment.
The left i am aware of doesn’t agree with relying on the ‘trickle down’ benefit of trade. That aside, even if we assume this was his intention all along:
Economists and trade experts we interviewed called the president’s logic misguided.
“Even if we accept conceptually the argument that government revenue attributable to the revised trade agreement constitutes ‘Mexico paying for the wall,’ there are no plausible assumptions of USMCA’s impact that would see government revenue increase by $25 billion,” said Geoffrey Gertz, a fellow in the Global Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institution and a research associate at the Global Economic Governance Programme at the University of Oxford.
My position: I decided to become neither left nor right in 1971. However in respect of values & aspirations I tend to agree with leftists, and the political compass website located me in the exact center of the left/libertarian quadrant (my red dot showed up in the middle of Bernie Sanders’ face).
I take your point regarding those two views from economists. I presume Trump’s economic advisors are supporting his view, but haven’t seen evidence of that. Wouldn’t surprise me if they are also sceptical…
I assume you mean that you decided not to “identify as left or right”. If you value left wing ideas then you are left wing whether you choose to recognise it or not.
One or two others have said that in the past. I regard it as an example of `to a hammer, everything else is a nail’ type of thinking.
Praxis (what I actually do) defines the reality. I critique left-wing and right-wing views and attitudes without any bias. I have a genuinely independent view. That’s why we formed the Greens – to insert the third option into politics.
The Green Party is a good example. While it doesn’t identify as left wing it IS the left wing of New Zealand parliamentary politics.
You keep using “praxis” to mean “practice” but that is not what it means in a political context. Praxis is a Marxist concept and should be understood as the unified whole of theory and practice. It is the two as one in a dialectic. You can’t have praxis if you don’t have theory.
Yes, I agree I to that technical possibility. I’m as likely to have tacit bias as anyone. Probably against both the left and right, inasmuch as their characteristic behaviour makes me feel alienated from them.
“Praxis (from Ancient Greek: πρᾶξις, translit. praxis) is the process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, embodied, or realized. “Praxis” may also refer to the act of engaging, applying, exercising, realizing, or practicing ideas. This has been a recurrent topic in the field of philosophy, discussed in the writings of Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, Francis Bacon, Immanuel Kant, Søren Kierkegaard, Karl Marx, Antonio Gramsci, Martin Heidegger, Hannah Arendt, Paulo Freire, Ludwig von Mises, and many others. It has meaning in the political, educational, spiritual and medical realms.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praxis_(process)
So that general usage, consistent with original and historical usage, is how I use the term. Whatever warping marxists did to that meaning has no obvious relevance nowadays.
As a practical matter, forcing POTUS WRECKS to actually comply with the law requires a bunch of other people to do their jobs and fulfill their duties and responsibilities. Which they mostly have been disinclined to do so far.
Such onerous things, “duties and responsibilities”. Avoiding them is typically human. Having been brought up under the rules of the patriarchy, I recall compulsion having spectacular success most of the time. Highly unfashionable nowadays, so we get the consequences…
He’d need to frame the emergency carefully, and yes that scale of reallocation within DoD would still need approval. I see enough Dems folding to do that.
But even being shown to tilt against the windmills and fail would be easy for him to reframe as an heroic loss to the ‘swamp’.
Government appropriates funds for the military with very specific spending requirements. Similar to our Defence force there are key outputs that we are funded to provide. Any spending that falls outside of those outputs needs to be approved by government.
There are three branches of government in the US. Legislative, executive, and Judicial. They balance against each other. Yes the election of the president included a campaign promise that he would build a wall. The more recent victory in the house for the Democrats included fighting a wall. Both branches are carrying out the will of their voters (to the limited extent that they do in the US). Should they come into conflict over the issue it would come down to the judicial branch to sort it out.
The supreme court can’t create legislation and hence can’t take over government. They can merely act as the referee and when any party goes outside of the rules (the constitution) they can direct that they be stopped.
The president in the US should have no power to rule as an absolute monarch.
however, once the president is supported by either the house or the senate – or in the shitstains case by both, you have effectively a one rule party – as he had over the last two years.
Obama was not great, but he was also not served well by having the house / senate held by republicans who literally abdicated their duty to fund and legislate.
Currently Mitch McConnell or Yertl the turtle is abdicating his duties by not passing any bills who would not receive a 100% support (which is not needed ) or which would not pass the shitstains veto (which they can also override).
so effectively government is currently being drowned in a tub by Republicans as was wished for many years ago by Grover Norquist. Or as Bannon the Ugly stated, i want to be like Lenin, destroy government as we knew it and rebuild it to my likes.
The point in this exercise is not to build a wall – which for the largest part already is build (other then the Rio Grande River area) but to damage government until the patient is dead. And he is doing an awesome job of it.
Whilst I agree with most of what you say, Obama also had both the House and the Senate when he took over as president.
Unfortunately the way their system works means that as soon as you get a new president you get mid terms that require that the House and Senate go into campaign mode straight away. All those in marginal seats tend to go against the new president on legislation to try and win their elections.
And at the time of hte election that is what i stated, its not the shitstain himself, he is what he is a conman – and anyone who was alive in the 70 – now knew that. But i cautioned against the people he was surrounding himself with, that would in the end run the show. And it is thus now.
And for all those that fawn and expect the hi m to do something, he will not. He can’t, he is not disciplined enough, he is a shit negotiator, and he never quite understood that he does not need the republicans or rather the tea party, but the democrats on his side, cause the Tea Party is not there to govern, they are there to loot, slash n burn. Until literally they have legislated themselves back into the 1750 where everyone had no rights unless they were white, male, landowners. But i guess that is also ok for the shitstain considering that he is white, male, landowner and thus good with the 1750s. Everyone else however might not be so happy.,
There is a way out of this shut down and it only requires only a dozen or so Republican senators to do their duty and reopen the government. The Congress has already approved funding for the Govt to continue – including $1.3B for Border security. Trump refused to sign it in. But the Senate has the power to overturn that veto by voting with a super majority that the funding this should proceed into law.
There needs to be more pressure on Republican Senators to do their job. Every day Trump’s stability and coherence is deteriorating. He is now well out of his depth and it falls on the Republicans to do something about it – not only for his sake but for the sake of the country.
The first one that has to go agree to do his job and comply with the oath he swore is the Turtle. He’s the first obstacle to Congress actually doing its job. I’m not aware of any way of bypassing him beyond the Repugs removing him, which would need at least 27 Repug senators.
If that actually happened that the House bills to reopen the government went to a Senate vote, chances are pretty good it would get 60 votes. But once it got to the White Pride Piper’s desk, he’d likely veto it. The the House and Senate would both need to vote again and pass them with a 2/3 majority, and that’s iffy, needing at least 20 Repug senators and 60 ish (from memory) Repug reps.
Mitch McConnell will not let any bill go to floor in Senate unless he is sure it is being signed by President Shitstain.
He is doing what he did during the Obama years, just the end game here is to show 100% support of the president and nothing less will do.
So congress can get the bill passed with bipartisan support as they have done since they came to power a week ago.
The send the bill to Senate and there it dies. Mitch McConnell would be able to pass the bill with the usual defectors from the Freedom Caucus, but that would be enough to pass it.
If the shitstain were to not sign it or veto it, Congress and Senate could over ride the veto as the Senate would have the support of the Democratic Senators.
So you have the shitstain pulling a tantrum, and you have McConnell wearing headphones not giving a shit.
The US President has no power to rule the country as an absolute monarch.
The emergency power has to relate to a specific emergency (earthquakes, fires, floods, etc) not a device to run the whole country…..
Wrong
…….It would be nice to think that America is protected from the worst excesses of Trump’s impulses by its democratic laws and institutions. After all, Trump can do only so much without bumping up against the limits set by the Constitution and Congress and enforced by the courts. Those who see Trump as a threat to democracy comfort themselves with the belief that these limits will hold him in check…..
……The moment the president declares a “national emergency”—a decision that is entirely within his discretion—more than 100 special provisions become available to him……
……These laws address a broad range of matters, from military composition to agricultural exports to public contracts. For the most part, the president is free to use any of them; the National Emergencies Act doesn’t require that the powers invoked relate to the nature of the emergency……*
……For instance, George W. Bush leveraged the state of emergency after 9/11 to call hundreds of thousands of reservists and members of the National Guard into active duty in Iraq, for a war that had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. Other powers are chilling under any circumstances: Take a moment to consider that during a declared war or national emergency, the president can unilaterally suspend the law that bars government testing of biological and chemical agents on unwitting human subjects……
…….“I think that Google and Twitter and Facebook, they’re really treading on very, very troubled territory. And they have to be careful,” Trump warned. If the government were to take control of U.S. internet infrastructure, Trump could accomplish directly what he threatened to do by regulation: ensure that internet searches always return pro-Trump content as the top results. The government also would have the ability to impede domestic access to particular websites, including social-media platforms. It could monitor emails or prevent them from reaching their destination. It could exert control over computer systems (such as states’ voter databases) and physical devices (such as Amazon’s Echo speakers) that are connected to the internet…..
……under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or ieepa*. Passed in 1977, the law allows the president to declare a national emergency “to deal with any unusual and extraordinary threat”—to national security, foreign policy, or the economy—that “has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States.” …….
……Once a person is “designated” under the order, no American can legally give him a job, rent him an apartment, provide him with medical services, or even sell him a loaf of bread unless the government grants a license to allow the transaction. The patriot Act gave the order more muscle, allowing the government to trigger these consequences merely by opening an investigation into whether a person or group should be designated…..
…… presidents have explored the outer limits of their constitutional emergency authority in a series of directives known as Presidential Emergency Action Documents, or peads. peads*, which originated as part of the Eisenhower administration’s plans to ensure continuity of government in the wake of a Soviet nuclear attack, are draft executive orders, proclamations, and messages to Congress that are prepared in advance of anticipated emergencies. peads* are closely guarded within the government; none has ever been publicly released or leaked. But their contents have occasionally been described in public sources, including FBI memorandums that were obtained through the Freedom of Information Act as well as agency manuals and court records. According to these sources, peads* drafted from the 1950s through the 1970s would authorize not only martial law but the suspension of habeas corpus by the executive branch, the revocation of Americans’ passports, and the roundup and detention of “subversives” identified in an FBI “Security Index” that contained more than 10,000 names.
Less is known about the contents of more recent peads* and equivalent planning documents. But in 1987, The Miami Herald reported that Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North had worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to create a secret contingency plan authorizing “suspension of the Constitution, turning control of the United States over to fema, appointment of military commanders to run state and local governments and declaration of martial law during a national crisis.” A 2007 Department of Homeland Security report lists “martial law” and “curfew declarations” as “critical tasks” that local, state, and federal government should be able to perform in emergencies. In 2008, government sources told a reporter for Radar magazine that a version of the Security Index still existed under the code name Main Core, allowing for the apprehension and detention of Americans tagged as security threats……
……It will fall to Jeff Sessions’s successor as attorney general to decide whether to rein in or expand some of the more frightening features of these peads*. And, of course, it will be up to President Trump whether to actually use them—something no previous president appears to have done……
But will they? Unknown to most Americans, a parallel legal regime allows the president to sidestep many of the constraints that normally apply. The moment the president declares a “national emergency”—a decision that is entirely within his discretion—more than 100 special provisions become available to him. While many of these tee up reasonable responses to genuine emergencies, some appear dangerously suited to a leader bent on amassing or retaining power. For instance, the president can, with the flick of his pen, activate laws allowing him to shut down many kinds of electronic communications inside the United States or freeze Americans’ bank accounts. Other powers are available even without a declaration of emergency, including laws that allow the president to deploy troops inside the country to subdue domestic unrest.
This edifice of extraordinary powers has historically rested on the assumption that the president will act in the country’s best interest when using them. With a handful of noteworthy exceptions, this assumption has held up. But what if a president, backed into a corner and facing electoral defeat or impeachment, were to declare an emergency for the sake of holding on to power? In that scenario, our laws and institutions might not save us from a presidential power grab. They might be what takes us down.
“False Acquisitions the likes of which have never been seen before!”
Stupid, militantly ignorant, nearly illiterate—and he’s President.
In the early hours of Tuesday Sept. 25th last year, Donald Trump looked away from Fox News for a minute and tapped out the following piece of shit. An hour later he deleted it, but it’s worth looking at it here so we can, yet again, appreciate just what calibre of intellect occupies the Oval Office….
The Democrats are working hard to destroy a wonderful man, and a man who has the potential to be one of our greatest Supreme Court Justices ever, with an array of False Acquisitions the likes of which have never been seen before!
Deleted after 1 hour at 2:01 AM on 25 Sep.
No kidding? I hadn’t noticed. I’ve long thought everyone apart from me considers themselves normal kiwis – such a relief to be wrong about that!
This Damien chap has a problem with “warriors battling against a Patriarchal Military Industrial Colonial Racist Rape Culture that, even if it ever existed, died long ago.” The problem is that they have infested the msm: “In desperation the media has taken these entitled preening self-obsessed flotsam and given them all by-lines and Twitter accounts.”
“Their ideas dominate, almost to the exclusion of all other voices. They are, even if they do not know it, in power, if not in office. They define the parameters of allowable discourse and define what is permissible yet fail to see their own power. Their identity is wrapped up in fighting the system, having failed to see that, today, they are the system.”
He ought to have quoted the Who from 1974: “meet the new boss, same as the old boss”. And “a parting on the left, Is now a parting on the right, and the beards have all grown longer overnight”. https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/who/wontgetfooledagain.html
He reckons it “pathetic the way our titans of industry refuse to confront the manufactured hysteria of 25-year-old journalism majors.” “Business, individuals and academics should, indeed have a responsibility, to push back against this monoculture for to fail to is to surrender much of what has we hold to be valuable.”
The prospect of one part of the establishment polarising against another is interesting. He’s not advocating war, just push-back. Farrar & Slater can’t cope.
The twin-fork style? Rare, indeed. Youngsters seem to have been big on the patriarchal look since a couple of years ago (but not the attitudes that accompanied it). So hard to tell if that’s the usual reversion to the 19th century, or a more novel revival of the biblical style.
Merely cyclical fashion @ Dennis, nothing as deep or meaningful.
There have been attempts already, but I’m waiting for the neo-grunge era.
The Sallies and St Vincent de Paul might start to do a roaring trade
As I go to sleep at night Dennis, I imagine you as the warrior and voice of reason on Gallery with Brian Edwards (and his darling wife as a Commissioning Editor) in a debate between Wayne Mapp and someone like Pablo.
Better still a ‘conversation going forward’ (as opposed to a discussion) between
Green Party Co-leaders. Marama on the very-Left in reclamation mode, with James on the middle right protesting he’s not really a cunt.
It could go on forever, but unfortunately they’ll run out of time
Trudeau does a number on the Saudis in their ongoing spat. Pictures of a smiling and “very brave new Canadian” must infuriate major US ally and one of the worst patriarchal regimes and societies in the world.
An excellent summation by independent American journalist Abby Martin on all the ways Trump has ramped up the US war machine in the past two years.
An interesting question is whether “war monger” Hillary Clinton would even have gotten close to achieving as much. People are still using the “Hillary would have been just as bad” meme, But at the end of the day, this is pure speculation that will never been proven in reality, whereas Trump has proved to be the military nightmare that so many on the Left as well as Right argued Clinton would be.
Well, I watched it for 2.5 minutes and she still hadn’t produced any evidence to validate her thesis. Propaganda works just like advertising. If you can’t hook ’em in the first 30 seconds, you’re wasting your time.
Leftists preaching to the converted yet again. 🙄 Any unbiased observer will deduce that pulling US troops out of Syria & Afghanistan makes Trump anti-imperialist. Real US imperialists were livid, and bitched at him in the media about it.
Life in the leftist bubble seems to induce this type of delusional thinking. If she had evidence he was starting different wars elsewhere, she would have led with that news! Any half-way competent msm presenter, director, or producer, knows that!
He has already peddled back on pulling toops out. He has openly stated he would like to remove troops (under check and balances ) and replace these with mercenaries.
He has yet to stop selling weapons, pull out from anywhere, stop the drone bombing, etc etc etc, he has had the house and the senate for two years and he did nothing.
Can you explain that?
Cause life in the bublle seems to induce this type of delusional thinking.
yep, non so blind as those that don’t want to see.
The shitstain is not gonna stop war as war is literally the only business he has left to make money on. And that is what all of this is about. Making money. War is a racket and the shitstain wants his cuts. After all that is what this presidenting business is all about.
If the shitstain would have wanted to end wars and bring peace he could have done so for two years, yet the only meaningful legislation he and his enablers in congress and senate signed was a tax reform bill that reduced his tax rate even further soon IRS will just send him checks for farting about.
I judge him on what he actually does. It seems to work better than judging him on what he says. The notion that I’d be inclined to switch to judging him on the basis of a bunch of media stories about what media pros think he intends to do is a strange one!
Cause he has done nothing in the two years that he had with full support of the House and Senate held by the Republicans.
The only thing he got from his enablers was a tax cut. That is the sum total of his achievements.
I don’t actually listen to the shitstain, but i read what he says, and you know what? He has not pulled troops out of anywhere. He has not stopped any bombings of Yemen, He has not stopped selling weapons to Saudi Arabia so that they can continue bombing Yemen. He has not stopped North Korea from developing their nuclear weapons. He has systematically dismantled even the tiniest little bit of environmental legislation passed under presidents before him, and not only Obama. EPA is gutted for all its worth, but hey its all good right?
So i am not sure what you are judging him on, maybe his Golf Game?
Yes, those are valid points. In regard to pulling the troops out, I’m assuming there’s an official time-frame to implement that. So we ought to reserve judgment awhile. I hope you aren’t mistaking me for someone pro-Trump. I just prefer to avoid bias, give credit where due, disagree with criticism that seems inaccurate.
It is true that I appreciate his anti-establishment stance. That’s what has made it hard for him in respect of legislation. Other Republicans are as much enemies as friends, and their support has been slow and conditional.
The man with the golden shitter is the anti establishment idea.
Much like the Mafia, these guys too are anti establishment.
Surely any time now he will drain the swamp, and make life better for the fearful, much maligned, abused, neglected white working male with economic anxiety.
One tax cut at a time.
I was going to watch the All Blacks v Ireland game in 3013 but after 2.5 minutes it was still 0-0 so gave up.
Apparently it was won 24-22 in the 82nd minute after a try was scored in a movement which involved most of one team multiple times. No substance from the outset though meant it was a nothing event, not worth watching.
no she would have not simply due to the fact that she would have had to content with a republican held congress and senate – as did Obama.
Chances are also as the left is not as disciplined when it comes to voting that the democrats would have not won the house in the mid terms she would still be stuck with Rebulicans everywhere.
And that is why quite a few and me included would have voted for her – holding nose and all that – rather then vote for the orange shitstain who has surrounded himself with some of the worst people a political party could potentially house.
But it is now done, the shitstain will in the end be worse the Hillary could have ever been, why? Because no one will ever hold him to account. And considering that the shitstain is lazy, intellectually and physically, has no interest in learning and adjusting ones views but rather wants to be mentally masturbated by arsekissers and boot lickers he will never ever be what he always was, a fraud, a conman, a racist, a misogynist etc etc etc . He will never bring peace to anyone or anywhere, he will not make the US great, but rather cause in the end a civil war which consider that the US is a nuclear country with a lot of bigoted end times obsessed religious nutters, could be interesting for the rest of the planet.
With Germany’s far right AfD now campaigning for Germany to exit the EU, the EU now has an existential fight on its hands.
Success by AfD in the EU elections together with other nationalists could simply explode the entire EU project.
They are likely to be hugely successful in these elections.
The left can now start to imagine a world without the EU – the strongest civilising force in trade, law, environment and human rights that the world has had in 70 years.
.
Anything called the “Empire Files” is hardly independent. Though I guess you mean independent as in not employed by a major news media organisation.
Anyway I viewed the item. It is way overblown. Trump has increased defence expenditure, but that is basically on new multi-billion dollar ships. It will be years before they are delivered. Overseas deployments have hardly changed since the Obama era.
In fact the major combat deployment in Syria is in a wind down. The one major change is the US policy toward Iran, but I don’t believe that will result in war. It is possible, but unlikely. In contrast the situation in the Korean peninsula is headed toward peace. As for China, US military policy is basically a continuation of the Obama policy. On that issue Republicans and Democrats have a singular view. Though will the left side of the Democrats want a new policy? Too hard to tell at the moment.
And again, it must be the democrats that don’t want peace, right? Cause ………….never mind that the republicans have held the house and senate under obama and did jack shit, have held the house and senate under the shitstain and did jack shit, but hey the democrats took the house back a week ago, so let the blame game begin.
What you are saying Wayne is that the conservatives would be so good at running things were it not for the left, and then they run things, and the government gets shut down three times in one year, no war was stopped, no troops have been recalled, the bombs and drones keep on falling, war sales increase, trade wars for shits n giggles, north korea still building its bombs, china still enlarging its territory by building islands and so on.
You are a faithful water carrier that at least can be said about you.
The ongoing saga of the KC-46 Peagasus Tankers has been very interesting from the start and it shows just much clout the US Arms manufactures have. The Airbus Tanker (which won the contact to supply the USAF with new Tankers until Boeing threw its toys out of its cot) is far superior on so many levels it’s not funny and the basic design of the Boeing Aircraft is basically old technology (mid to late 80’s).
The Brits have complained about the technology in RC-135 Airseeker’s that replaced the Nimrod R2’s, but the Poms can’t replace more superior Brit technology because Boeing holds the IP rights and they won’t release the IP because they will lose money on any future upgrades and it’s the same for the P8. The Brits were hoping to replace the Yank stuff on the P8 for the MR4 Nimrod design equipment which again was far superior to the Yank design equipment. Hence why I’m a little bit concerned with the NZG/ MOD buying the P8 as any RNZAF upgrade in the future may have to be done in Australia as they have a very large footprint in Oz? Instead of here in NZ because Boeing holds the IP and NZ will be restricted to what it can do to the P8 as it would be the Boeing way or the Highway. Unlike with the old P3’s that RNZAF have upgraded over the years which has in turn generated money for Safe Air as nations that use the P3 have use Safe Air knowledge to maintain the own P3 due too outside the square thinking of the RNZAF and NZ MOD.
Considering the quality of the advice you seemed to accept with little question during your time as Minister of Defence, Wayne, I would seriously question your critical acumen.
Is there a more laughable public figure
in New Zealand than Bob McCoskrie?
Think of the really outré figures in this country. It’s not that big a list. There are the unspeakably evil (Garth “The Knife” McVicar, Allan Titford), the plain silly (David Seymour), the foolish (Jordan Williams), the mad (Cameron Slater), the bad (Nevil “Breivik” Gibson), and the sad (Christine “Spankin'” Rankin).
And then there is Bob “Hairbrush” McCoskrie. Despite calling himself a Christian, he’s notorious for advocating the beating of children. He reckons using a hairbrush as a weapon to hit an infant is godly.
But in the following bizarre post, he seems to have decided that any physical force is a bad thing. What’s he smoking? And, no, I do NOT want a puff of it….
A Mormon Moron. The next big Story will be a push back on the inquiry into sexual abuse in religion. Fringe cult Church’s with Patriarchal leadership have much higher levels of sexual abuse ie the Exclusive Brethren 27% of their children are abused.
Na he used to be a Methodist but hived off with some of the congregation of his former church when the Methodist church of New Zealand said it was OK for a gay person to be a minister if the church concerned was happy with it.
Money system mismanagement through not applying the right incentives at the right time seems to be a regular thing. Also too much connectedness, amounting to a syndicate of banks, led to the spread of a what would otherwise have been a localised difficulty.
In 1836, directors of the Bank of England noticed that the Bank’s monetary reserves had declined precipitously in recent years, possibly because of poor wheat harvests that forced Great Britain to import much of its food.[5]
To compensate, the directors indicated that they would gradually raise interest rates from 3 to 5 percent. The conventional financial theory held that banks should raise interest rates and curb lending when faced with low monetary reserves. Raising interest rates, according to the laws of supply and demand, was supposed to attract species since money generally flows where it will generate the greatest return (assuming equal risk among possible investments).
In the open economy of the 1830s, characterized by free trade and relatively weak trade barriers, the monetary policies of the hegemonic power – in this case, Great Britain – were transmitted to the rest of the interconnected global economic system, included the U.S. The result was that as the Bank of England raised interest rates, major banks in the United States were forced to do the same.[6]
Get out of Iraq. Get out of Pakistan. Get out of Afghanistan.
Get out of Yemen. Get out of Syria.
Saying “the US was stabilizing in opposition to the state” is like saying “the serial killer nurse was stabilizing her patients by injecting air into their arteries.”
“My job title is Executive Support and Research. It’s a pretty complex job: I balance the diary, conduct research, produce comms material and do pretty much anything else my MP needs. This includes managing and responding to traditional letters and emails; it also means dealing with the wonderful world of Facebook messages – the one part of her social media where my MP has relinquished control to me.”
For this person, the experiential difference produced by gender was a shock, and it seems to have motivated the writer to publicise what female politicians are likely to encounter from the public. After discussing examples, he concludes with this:
“There are some simple things we as men can do to change this really nasty culture. We can look at our own actions for starters and how they impact the lives of others. Don’t be a fuckwit. If you’ve been a creep in the past, learn from it. Help your friends do the same if they need it. That might look like just giving them friendly advice on how to Tinder without being a dick, or you know, maybe suggesting they don’t try and hit on members of parliament via Facebook.”
Gabbard was one of 47 Democrats who voted to stop refugees from Syria and Iraq from entering the United States and called for non-Muslim refugees from the Middle East to be given priority.
Gabbard’s also besties with far-right-wing Netanyahu/Trump apologist Shmuley Boteach and top GOP donor Miriam Adelson and David Duke, alt-right leader Richard Spencer and Steve Bannon all reckon she’s the bomb, too.
Heh. My kid is looking for a Linux laptop. His grandpa is taking a round trip to the US soon. So I told him to check out getting it delivered to rellies in the US and have grandpa bring it back.
Looks like it’s going to be quite a bit cheaper to have it shipped to NZ. Because if it’s delivered to a US address, Drumpf tariffs apply, but those tariffs don’t apply when it’s shipped here.
Yeah. But that happens regardless of whether it’s shipped in or carried back in person. In theory anyway. My kid is quite rule-compliance-oriented so he would have issues with grandpa trying to get it in without paying the GST.
But you can put Linux on any laptop. Surely he knows this. Why does he need to get it delivered to the US considering they’re just about exclusively made in Asian countries?
1) Firstly, banking has been practising versions of it for a long time, and look how well it has worked out for that industry.
2) The problem is not so much accumulated capital, as it is accumulated capital that is not good or capable to much else in society other than more accumulation, that is to say accumulated capital rather than being an asset to the real economy, it is a liability.
I’m not sure a capital gains tax really does much to change that current dynamic.
Doesn’t work, far too easy to shift financial transactions offshore. The success of the this type of tax depends upon retaining the trades that happen within the next, debt and bond markets; as the revenue generated from point of sale transactions is simply not enough without these big capital markets.
The article details how this failed in Sweden when tried.
“A new analysis, published Thursday in the journal Science, found that the oceans are heating up 40 percent faster on average than a United Nations panel estimated five years ago. The researchers also concluded that ocean temperatures have broken records for several straight years.” https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/10/climate/ocean-warming-climate-change.html
“2018 is going to be the warmest year on record for the Earth’s oceans,” said Zeke Hausfather, an energy systems analyst at the independent climate research group Berkeley Earth and an author of the study. “As 2017 was the warmest year, and 2016 was the warmest year.”
“As the planet has warmed, the oceans have provided a critical buffer. They have slowed the effects of climate change by absorbing 93 percent of the heat trapped by the greenhouse gases humans pump into the atmosphere.”
“Our best estimate is that the rate of warming since the 1970s is about 40 per cent faster than was reported in the estimates published in the last IPCC report,” Dr Hausfather said. In the period between 1991 to 2010, the ocean warmed, on average, more than five times faster than in the 1971 to 1990 period, according to the research.” https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2019-01-11/ocean-warming-accelerating-faster-than-thought-science/10693080
“This latest analysis, headed by Lijing Cheng from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, looked at four different studies published since 2013, that used improved statistical and analytical methods to estimate historic warming. Each of these studies independently came to the same conclusion, according to Dr Hausfather.”
“There’s been four different estimates of ocean-heat content published since the 2013 IPCC report,” he said. “They all show more warming than previous projections.”
Some of us are, eh? I think we now have strong evidence that the IPCC has been too conservative. Still, the younger generations are the only ones likely to still be here when thing get out of control.
Those still voting National currently look like the most endangered species. Not so much boiled frogs as frogs on the road chanting in unison “you do not exist” at the approaching global-warming steamroller. Well, to be technically correct, diesel-roller.
I’d like a bit more information about the Christchurch chase involving 3 young men in a car running from police, and then crashing into a tree; all are dead I think.
They reached a speed of 135 kmh but what speed were they travelling at when he police first got on their tail?
I think some psychological discussion needs to go on here. The police becoming involved, once they start to try to outrun them, their adrenalin is pumping, this is not reasoned policing. It does not endear people to the police force, who don’t seem to be involved with the citizens at any age which puts the police in a positive light around the country. Individuals yes, but I feel that meeting targets is more important than good relationships with people.
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
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 ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
Tinting car windows offers numerous benefits, including enhanced privacy, reduced glare, UV protection, and a more stylish look for your vehicle. However, the cost of window tinting can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help you understand how much you can expect to ...
The pungent smell of gasoline in your car can be an alarming and potentially dangerous problem. Not only is the odor unpleasant, but it can also indicate a serious issue with your vehicle’s fuel system. In this article, we will explore the various reasons why your car may smell like ...
Tree sap can be a sticky, unsightly mess on your car’s exterior. It can be difficult to remove, but with the right techniques and products, you can restore your car to its former glory. Understanding Tree Sap Tree sap is a thick, viscous liquid produced by trees to seal wounds ...
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. ...
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. ...
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. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University laurello/Shutterstock Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia’s forests were kept open through frequent burning by ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With Jim Chalmers’s third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief – beyond the tax cuts – although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As ...
Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Wilmot, Senior Lecturer, Film, Deakin University Among the many Australian who served during the second world war, there is a small group of people whose stories remain largely untold. These are the Muslim men and women who, while small in number, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Saunders, PhD Candidate, University of Canberra There has been much analysis and praise of Justice Michael Lee’s recent judgement in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Channel Ten. Many people were openly relieved to read Lee’s “forensic” and “nuanced” application of law ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Gibbs, Program Director for the Bachelor of Education, Griffith University zEdward_Indy/Shutterstock Around one in 20 people has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It’s one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and often continues into adulthood. ADHD is diagnosed ...
The Fairer Future coalition of anti-poverty groups say Whaikaha must be properly funded going forward, and that to argue that poor financial management of the new Ministry is a red herring by the Prime Minister. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is today congratulating Hon. Paul Goldsmith on his appointment as Minister for Media and Communications and urges him to rule out state intervention in the private media sector. ...
Asia Pacific Report The West Papuan resistance OPM leader has condemned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden, accusing their countries of “six decades of treachery” over Papuan independence. The open letter was released today by OPM chairman Jeffrey P Bomanak on the eve of ANZAC Day ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits and quirks of New Zealanders at large. This week: writer and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024, Lauren Groff.The book I wish I’d writtenIf I wish I’d written a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Fechner, Research Fellow, Social Marketing, Griffith University mavo/Shutterstock Imagine having dinner at a restaurant. The menu offers plant-based meat alternatives made mostly from vegetables, mushrooms, legumes and wheat that mimic meat in taste, texture and smell. Despite being given that ...
“Three Strikes is a dead-end policy proposed by a dead-end government. The Three Strikes law ignores the causes of crime, instead just brutalising people already crushed by the cost of living.” ...
By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist An Australian-born judge in Kiribati could well face deportation later this week after a tribunal ruling that he should be removed from his post. The tribunal’s report has just been tabled in the Kiribati Parliament and is due to be debated by MPs ...
With its clear mandate for police use, political nuances, and nuanced public trust, Denmark's insights provide valuable considerations for Australia and New Zealand. ...
Books editor Claire Mabey reviews poet Louise Wallace’s debut novel. A famous poet once said to me that he’s always suspicious when a poet publishes a novel. I never really understood why but maybe it’s something to do with cheating on your first form. Louise Wallace is a poet. She’s ...
For a few months at the turn of the millennium, TrueBliss burned bright as the biggest pop stars in the country. Alex Casey chats to two superfans who still hold the flame. During a humble backyard wedding in Nelson, 1999, one of the cordially invited guests had to excuse themselves ...
How will the recent wave of job cuts impact ethnic diversity in the media? In November last year, I was working a very busy day in the newsroom of a large online news site, interviewing whānau about their concerns over the imminent closure of one of the few puna reo ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruth Knight, Researcher, Queensland University of Technology Have you ever felt sick at work? Perhaps you had food poisoning or the flu. Your belly hurt, or you felt tired, making it hard to concentrate and be productive. How likely would you be ...
Despite heavy criticism and an ongoing select committee process, the Police Minister says the Government will forge ahead with a ban on gang patches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Whiting, Lecturer – Creative Industries, University of South Australia Shutterstock Everyone has a favourite band, or a favourite composer, or a favourite song. There is some music which speaks to you, deeply; and other music which might be the current ...
A new survey says ‘outlook not great’ for those charged with building infrastructure, while RMA changes delight farmers and depress environmentalists, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. First RMA changes announced ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also ...
A leaked document shows the Canterbury/Waitaha arm of health agency Te Whatu Ora is scurrying to save $13.3 million by July. The “financial sustainability target”, which was “allocated” to Waitaha, is consistent with what’s happening in other districts, says Sarah Dalton, executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. ...
A look at the state of the previous government’s affordable housing scheme, and what could come next.Remind me: What’s KiwiBuild again?First announced in 2012, KiwiBuild was a flagship policy of the Labour Party heading into both its 2014 and 2017 election campaigns. With Jacinda Ardern as prime minister, ...
Labour in opposition will be shocked to learn which party had six years in power but squandered any chance to make real change. Grant Robertson’s valedictory speech was a predictably entertaining trip down memory lane. The acid-tongued incoming Otago University chancellor administered a sick burn to the coalition government. He ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Wednesday 24 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
The following interview with former Green Party MP Sue Kedgley came about because she features in the new memoir Hine Toa by activist Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku; the two knew each other at the University of Auckland in the early 70s, when they were both took on leadership roles in the ...
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is seen some as its ‘silicon shield’ against invasion – but how will overseas expansion affect that protection? The post The state of Taiwan’s silicon shield appeared first on Newsroom. ...
There’s relief for building owners bending under the weight of earthquake strengthening rules – and costs – that came into force seven years ago. Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk has announced a scheduled 2027 review of the earthquake-prone building regulations will now start this year. Owners will also get ...
Opinion: It has been announced that nine percent of roles at Oranga Tamariki will be disestablished, presumably to help fund the tax cuts promised by the coalition Government. I am reminded of the graphics used to illustrate pandemic events, where five thousand people are standing in a field and then ...
After more than two sleepless days, running through savage terrain, Greig Hamilton didn’t know if he was going to finish one of the most gruelling psychological assaults in sport. He was metres away from the finish line, a yellow gate made famous in a Netflix documentary; a race he’d dreamed ...
COMMENTARY:By Murray Horton New Zealand needs to get tough with Israel. It’s not as if we haven’t done so before. When NZ authorities busted a Mossad operation in Auckland 20 years ago, the government didn’t say: “Oh well, Israel has the right to defend itself.” No, it arrested, prosecuted, ...
NEWSMAKERS:By Vijay Narayan, news director of FijiVillage Blessed to be part of the University of Fiji (UniFiji) faculty to continue to teach and mentor those who want to join our noble profession, and to stand for truth and justice for the people of the country. I was privileged to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Lowry, Ice Sheet & Climate Modeller, GNS Science Hugh Chittock/Antarctica New Zealand, CC BY-SA As the climate warms and Antarctica’s glaciers and ice sheets melt, the resulting rise in sea level has the potential to displace hundreds of millions of ...
The government's plan to reintroduce a three strikes regime is being strongly opposed by lawyers, who argue there is no evidence it reduces crime or helps people rehabilitate. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Jerker B. Svantesson, Professor specialising in Internet law, Bond University Do Australian courts have the right to decide what foreign citizens, located overseas, view online on a foreign-owned platform? Anyone inclined to answer “yes” to this question should perhaps also ask ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giovanni E Ferreira, NHMRC Emerging Leader Research Fellow, Institute of Musculoskeletal Health, University of Sydney Last week in a post on X, owner of the platform Elon Musk recommended people look into disc replacement if they’re experiencing severe neck or back pain. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University anek.soowannaphoom/Shutterstock NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey caught the headlines yesterday, courtesy of a blistering speech condemning the latest GST carve-up. New South Wales, he claimed, would be A$11.9 billion worse off over the ...
While police are "broadly in favour", the government's proposed anti-gang laws are facing pushback from lawyers, rights groups and former gang members. ...
While police are "broadly in favour", the government's proposed anti-gang laws are facing pushback from lawyers, rights groups and former gang members. ...
By Miriam Zarriga in Port Moresby Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has arrived at Kokoda Station, Northern province, at the start of his state visit to Papua New Guinea. Both Albanese and Prime Minister James Marape will meet with the locals and the Northern Provincial government before they begin their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Wallace, Professor, School of Politics Economics & Society, Faculty of Business Government & Law, University of Canberra Shutterstock An important principle was invoked by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week in defence of the government’s Future Made in Australia industry ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Security forces reinforcements were sent from France ahead of two rival marches in the capital Nouméa today, at the same time and only two streets away one from the other. One march, called by Union Calédonienne party (a component of the ...
A poll last August found that just 16% of New Zealanders oppose bringing back the ‘Three Strikes’ law. The nationwide poll of 1,000 New Zealanders was commissioned by Family First NZ and carried out by Curia Market Research. ...
The solo show from Ana Scotney is both sprawling and intimate, and a must-see, writes Mad Chapman. In the opening moments of Scattergun: After the Death of Rūaumoko, writer and performer Ana Scotney lays out the groundwork, literally. Silently moving around the square stage, Scotney is not so much dancing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Burridge, Professor of Linguistics, Monash University Who makes the words? Why are trees called trees and why are shoes called shoes and who makes the names? – Elliot, age 5, Eltham, Victoria Good question Elliot! Let’s start with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne at amRawpixel.com/Shutterstock Roles of health professionals are still unfortunately often stuck in the past. That is, before the ...
COMMENTARY:By Malcolm Evans Last week’s leaked New York Times staff directive, as to what words can and cannot be used to describe the carnage Israel is raining on Palestinians, is proof positive, since those reports are published verbatim here in New Zealand, that our understanding of the conflict is ...
In the case of New Zealand, the results confirm that there is no popular support for the vicious austerity program being imposed by the National Party-led government, which is backed in all fundamental respects by the opposition Labour Party. ...
The US gets closer to its Reichstag moment.
As many have mentioned, It is not really about the wall.
It is about Trump seizing ultimate power
From Trump’s statements I still get the feeling that he is still somewhat hesitant to declare a National Emergency. For a person who doesn’t read, I think that even Trump is dimly aware of the enormity of this step and the resonances of history.
It’s like he is waiting for something…..
Is Donald Trump is waiting for some sort of atrocity to be committed by Latin immigrant, (legal or illegal) before he takes that final step of calling a National Emergency?
Even if the waited for atrocity or crime doesn’t occur, it is inevitable that Donald J. Trump will in his capacity as President eventually call a National Emergency.
On declaring a National Emergency Trump’s first order of business will be to immediately end the government shutdown, and order back-pay to all the suspended government workers, even ordering the contractors be paid for this period as well. If he is smart, Trump will also order them all to be paid a bonus and thank them for the forbearance.
This move will shore up and enlarge Trump’s voting base, and further isolate the Democrats.
Cementing Trump’s reputation as champion of the working man.
Rule you like a King
Trump gets closer to ruling the US under emergency powers, using the shut down and the wall as his excuse for taking absolute rule.
“I have the absolute right to call a national emergency,” Donald Trump
Fox News 14 hours ago:
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-on-justice-with-judge-jeanine?cmpid=prn_msn
Fox News 2 days ago:
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-says-he-has-the-absolute-right-to-declare-national-emergency-in-fox-news-interviewhttps://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-on-justice-with-judge-jeanine?cmpid=prn_msn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXU2vZTTeMU
The USA currently has 31 ongoing national emergencies
The US President has no power to rule the country as an absolute monarch.
The emergency power has to relate to a specific emergency (earthquakes, fires, floods, etc) not a device to run the whole country.
On the wall it would fail. The courts would almost certainly say that such an emergency exceeds his powers. There is no wall in the border now, nothing has happened that suddenly create an emergency.
Crisis? What crisis? Seeing a bunch of right-wingers in the Supreme Court render a majority verdict that a constitutional crisis isn’t an emergency would be fun. Bring it on!
What? You don’t think Trump being prevented from building the wall that he was elected to build is a constitutional crisis? Well, okay, gridlock has become normal. But last I heard the electoral mandate was still part of democracy. Delivery of the result is still meant to be the result of democracy. You think that the logic of democracy is no longer valid? You think the Supreme Court will decide that?
The Supreme Court would focus on the meaning of “national emergency”, not campaign promises. The Supreme Court is not going to resolve the shutdown, that is a matter for the executive and the legislature. I reckon something will be done within the next for weeks to get the government up and running again. Eight weeks is an awful long time for both sides to say they won’t blink. Easy to do initially, harder as time goes on.
Of course Trump could declare a national emergency and build as much of the wall as possible before the courts declare the national emergency wrongly declared.
Would a Federal District Court have the power to stop the spending or would the whole thing have to wait till the Supreme Court ruled? if a Federal District Court could declare the declaration of national emergency invalid and stop construction, the case would be heard within a few weeks. Federal District Courts did stop the initial immigration bans within weeks.
100% Dennis I agree.
Are Supreme court now running the country and not elected politicians?
Someone had better go to Mt Rushmore and place those Supreme Court Justices on the hillside now!!!!!!!
Oh no!!! ; – we cant vote for them can we?
‘Democracy is gone now’; – and a bunch of (not publicly elected justice’s) are now running the most powerful country on the planet now!!!!!
Talking about “who runs what” I contributed to Arthur Taylor’s bitch at Labour MP’s inaction in the prisoners debarkle today.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/category/most-recent-blogs/
I said that since labour was in power the MP’s have sidestepped advocating for communities and now are back from being “inclusive” with the community now.
As most PA office staff are using the excuses that; – quote; – :”the Minister to to busy now”
Labour promised us a “warm, caring, gentle, ‘inclusive’, transparent. government that gave us all a voice to be listened to, before the 2017 election but we see everything but this now.
Is it any surprise? A year or so ago, Stuart Nash made some crude and stupid comments about some prisoners not deserving any rights—and he’s the Minister of Justice. Greg O’Connor, notorious for his defence of the most indefensible and violent police misconduct, is a List M.P. and they also selected—despite many objections from women—Willie Jackson, who said on radio that he’d “put a knife through her heart” if his “missus” ever cheated on him.
No Morrissey, Greg O’Connor is an electorate MP.
He won Ohariu, when Dunne stepped down rather than lose, when he saw the writing on the wall.
Thanks James.
But Mayhico’s paying for it franxie. So why’s chump trying to rob the yanker taxpayers? He needs to praxis what he peaches.
Well done. 🙄 Haven’t seen the media asking him that, not sure why! It’s been the obvious question for weeks now. 🤔
But the question has been asked. It got this answer. Enjoy.
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/10/politics/trump-mexico-pay-wall/index.html
A wee reminder of a few of the many ways Mexico was going to pay:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/01/10/fact-check-trump-mexico-pay-indirectly/2535573002/
Cool, thanks. You can see why the full explanation wasn’t broadcast here. The small part I saw at the time was obviously carefully edited to make him seem evasive. Can’t expect the msm to do nuance.
So it’s a semantics thing. Some would call it sophistry, but you can tell by his shrug that he expects people to get his intention. He intends everyone to understand that the trade process will produce the payment. Perfectly logical, but only to those who understand the relation between trade and money – which excludes most media pros.
So he wasn’t trying to con people after all. He just forgot that most people don’t understand that payment is relative to the value of what is obtained in the trading process. He meant Mexico would pay by providing value equivalent to the cost of the wall. I suspect the trade deal he set up and signed with the leaders of Canada & Mexico will deliver that. Time will tell.
Except that money made by trade doesn’t end up in the treasury does it? It ends up in the pockets of businesses trading. And with the drop in tax revenue Trump put through they will find it difficult to recover those monies.
I feel like you didn’t read the linked articles at all, and you’re awfully generous to a man who has twice said “I’m like a smart person”.
True, but the left & right routinely argue that the benefits of trade trickle down, so he’s no different. It ought to have been obvious I read the first link (CNN) since I responded to the evidence there (video clip of Trump explaining the pay thing).
As regards the second, I’ve just done a scan of that and agree that his denial is a lie. I have no intention of being generous to him. His various interpretations of how Mexico will pay reflect his lack of decision about the best way to proceed. He campaigned with an intention, and declared his intent to make them pay. He views that as a promise he must honour. I suspect his support base feels the same, so he’s bound to that commitment.
The left i am aware of doesn’t agree with relying on the ‘trickle down’ benefit of trade. That aside, even if we assume this was his intention all along:
https://www.factcheck.org/2018/12/is-mexico-paying-for-the-wall-through-usmca/
Just seeking a quick clarification: do you not consider yourself of the Left?
My position: I decided to become neither left nor right in 1971. However in respect of values & aspirations I tend to agree with leftists, and the political compass website located me in the exact center of the left/libertarian quadrant (my red dot showed up in the middle of Bernie Sanders’ face).
I take your point regarding those two views from economists. I presume Trump’s economic advisors are supporting his view, but haven’t seen evidence of that. Wouldn’t surprise me if they are also sceptical…
I assume you mean that you decided not to “identify as left or right”. If you value left wing ideas then you are left wing whether you choose to recognise it or not.
One or two others have said that in the past. I regard it as an example of `to a hammer, everything else is a nail’ type of thinking.
Praxis (what I actually do) defines the reality. I critique left-wing and right-wing views and attitudes without any bias. I have a genuinely independent view. That’s why we formed the Greens – to insert the third option into politics.
And a certain amount of hubris, if you genuinely believe that. Everyone has acknowledged or unacknowledged bias.
The Green Party is a good example. While it doesn’t identify as left wing it IS the left wing of New Zealand parliamentary politics.
You keep using “praxis” to mean “practice” but that is not what it means in a political context. Praxis is a Marxist concept and should be understood as the unified whole of theory and practice. It is the two as one in a dialectic. You can’t have praxis if you don’t have theory.
Yes, I agree I to that technical possibility. I’m as likely to have tacit bias as anyone. Probably against both the left and right, inasmuch as their characteristic behaviour makes me feel alienated from them.
“Praxis (from Ancient Greek: πρᾶξις, translit. praxis) is the process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, embodied, or realized. “Praxis” may also refer to the act of engaging, applying, exercising, realizing, or practicing ideas. This has been a recurrent topic in the field of philosophy, discussed in the writings of Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, Francis Bacon, Immanuel Kant, Søren Kierkegaard, Karl Marx, Antonio Gramsci, Martin Heidegger, Hannah Arendt, Paulo Freire, Ludwig von Mises, and many others. It has meaning in the political, educational, spiritual and medical realms.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praxis_(process)
So that general usage, consistent with original and historical usage, is how I use the term. Whatever warping marxists did to that meaning has no obvious relevance nowadays.
If I were President I would make it a matter of national security and instruct the armed forces to design, fund, and execute the wall.
they have plenty of money to reallocate.
he has direct authority over them.
Here’s an explanation of some of the rules why he can’t.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/01/trump-border-wall-military-congress-shutdown-emergency.html?via=rubric_recirc_recent
As a practical matter, forcing POTUS WRECKS to actually comply with the law requires a bunch of other people to do their jobs and fulfill their duties and responsibilities. Which they mostly have been disinclined to do so far.
Such onerous things, “duties and responsibilities”. Avoiding them is typically human. Having been brought up under the rules of the patriarchy, I recall compulsion having spectacular success most of the time. Highly unfashionable nowadays, so we get the consequences…
cheers for the link.
i think its still the least-worst route for him.
He’d need to frame the emergency carefully, and yes that scale of reallocation within DoD would still need approval. I see enough Dems folding to do that.
But even being shown to tilt against the windmills and fail would be easy for him to reframe as an heroic loss to the ‘swamp’.
I see him able to salvage this ok so far.
Government appropriates funds for the military with very specific spending requirements. Similar to our Defence force there are key outputs that we are funded to provide. Any spending that falls outside of those outputs needs to be approved by government.
There are three branches of government in the US. Legislative, executive, and Judicial. They balance against each other. Yes the election of the president included a campaign promise that he would build a wall. The more recent victory in the house for the Democrats included fighting a wall. Both branches are carrying out the will of their voters (to the limited extent that they do in the US). Should they come into conflict over the issue it would come down to the judicial branch to sort it out.
The supreme court can’t create legislation and hence can’t take over government. They can merely act as the referee and when any party goes outside of the rules (the constitution) they can direct that they be stopped.
A lot of ugly things will crawl out from under the STONE
Do you really think this is still about a wall, Ad?
Could the US military build it?
I very much doubt it, The US military can’t even fight their wars without massive logistical support of private sector contractors.
The same private sector contractors that will be called on to build ‘a wall’ of sorts.
But don’t worry Ad, I am sure the US military will have a role to play in the State Trump Of National Emergency.
The president in the US should have no power to rule as an absolute monarch.
however, once the president is supported by either the house or the senate – or in the shitstains case by both, you have effectively a one rule party – as he had over the last two years.
Obama was not great, but he was also not served well by having the house / senate held by republicans who literally abdicated their duty to fund and legislate.
Currently Mitch McConnell or Yertl the turtle is abdicating his duties by not passing any bills who would not receive a 100% support (which is not needed ) or which would not pass the shitstains veto (which they can also override).
so effectively government is currently being drowned in a tub by Republicans as was wished for many years ago by Grover Norquist. Or as Bannon the Ugly stated, i want to be like Lenin, destroy government as we knew it and rebuild it to my likes.
The point in this exercise is not to build a wall – which for the largest part already is build (other then the Rio Grande River area) but to damage government until the patient is dead. And he is doing an awesome job of it.
Whilst I agree with most of what you say, Obama also had both the House and the Senate when he took over as president.
Unfortunately the way their system works means that as soon as you get a new president you get mid terms that require that the House and Senate go into campaign mode straight away. All those in marginal seats tend to go against the new president on legislation to try and win their elections.
This happened to Obama and also trump.
yep, two years, and he too got shit done.
And at the time of hte election that is what i stated, its not the shitstain himself, he is what he is a conman – and anyone who was alive in the 70 – now knew that. But i cautioned against the people he was surrounding himself with, that would in the end run the show. And it is thus now.
And for all those that fawn and expect the hi m to do something, he will not. He can’t, he is not disciplined enough, he is a shit negotiator, and he never quite understood that he does not need the republicans or rather the tea party, but the democrats on his side, cause the Tea Party is not there to govern, they are there to loot, slash n burn. Until literally they have legislated themselves back into the 1750 where everyone had no rights unless they were white, male, landowners. But i guess that is also ok for the shitstain considering that he is white, male, landowner and thus good with the 1750s. Everyone else however might not be so happy.,
There is a way out of this shut down and it only requires only a dozen or so Republican senators to do their duty and reopen the government. The Congress has already approved funding for the Govt to continue – including $1.3B for Border security. Trump refused to sign it in. But the Senate has the power to overturn that veto by voting with a super majority that the funding this should proceed into law.
There needs to be more pressure on Republican Senators to do their job. Every day Trump’s stability and coherence is deteriorating. He is now well out of his depth and it falls on the Republicans to do something about it – not only for his sake but for the sake of the country.
The first one that has to go agree to do his job and comply with the oath he swore is the Turtle. He’s the first obstacle to Congress actually doing its job. I’m not aware of any way of bypassing him beyond the Repugs removing him, which would need at least 27 Repug senators.
If that actually happened that the House bills to reopen the government went to a Senate vote, chances are pretty good it would get 60 votes. But once it got to the White Pride Piper’s desk, he’d likely veto it. The the House and Senate would both need to vote again and pass them with a 2/3 majority, and that’s iffy, needing at least 20 Repug senators and 60 ish (from memory) Repug reps.
Mitch McConnell will not let any bill go to floor in Senate unless he is sure it is being signed by President Shitstain.
He is doing what he did during the Obama years, just the end game here is to show 100% support of the president and nothing less will do.
So congress can get the bill passed with bipartisan support as they have done since they came to power a week ago.
The send the bill to Senate and there it dies. Mitch McConnell would be able to pass the bill with the usual defectors from the Freedom Caucus, but that would be enough to pass it.
If the shitstain were to not sign it or veto it, Congress and Senate could over ride the veto as the Senate would have the support of the Democratic Senators.
So you have the shitstain pulling a tantrum, and you have McConnell wearing headphones not giving a shit.
In the meantime everything else goes to shit.
Wrong
* (my emphasis, J.
On the powers of the President.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTOs7KqRgOk&feature=youtu.be
But will they? Unknown to most Americans, a parallel legal regime allows the president to sidestep many of the constraints that normally apply. The moment the president declares a “national emergency”—a decision that is entirely within his discretion—more than 100 special provisions become available to him. While many of these tee up reasonable responses to genuine emergencies, some appear dangerously suited to a leader bent on amassing or retaining power. For instance, the president can, with the flick of his pen, activate laws allowing him to shut down many kinds of electronic communications inside the United States or freeze Americans’ bank accounts. Other powers are available even without a declaration of emergency, including laws that allow the president to deploy troops inside the country to subdue domestic unrest.
This edifice of extraordinary powers has historically rested on the assumption that the president will act in the country’s best interest when using them. With a handful of noteworthy exceptions, this assumption has held up. But what if a president, backed into a corner and facing electoral defeat or impeachment, were to declare an emergency for the sake of holding on to power? In that scenario, our laws and institutions might not save us from a presidential power grab. They might be what takes us down.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/01/presidential-emergency-powers/576418/
“False Acquisitions the likes of which have never been seen before!”
Stupid, militantly ignorant, nearly illiterate—and he’s President.
In the early hours of Tuesday Sept. 25th last year, Donald Trump looked away from Fox News for a minute and tapped out the following piece of shit. An hour later he deleted it, but it’s worth looking at it here so we can, yet again, appreciate just what calibre of intellect occupies the Oval Office….
“The baying mob of left-wing commentators aren’t brave or radical – and they can barely spell” declares Damien Grant on Stuff. “One of the great tragedies we face as a nation is a surfeit of radicals. Everyone, from Marama Davidson to the coffee-person at The Spinoff, considers themselves a radical.”
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/109877613/damien-grant-the-baying-mob-of-leftwing-commentators-arent-brave-or-radical–and-they-can-barely-spell-or-use-a-spreadsheet
No kidding? I hadn’t noticed. I’ve long thought everyone apart from me considers themselves normal kiwis – such a relief to be wrong about that!
This Damien chap has a problem with “warriors battling against a Patriarchal Military Industrial Colonial Racist Rape Culture that, even if it ever existed, died long ago.” The problem is that they have infested the msm: “In desperation the media has taken these entitled preening self-obsessed flotsam and given them all by-lines and Twitter accounts.”
“Their ideas dominate, almost to the exclusion of all other voices. They are, even if they do not know it, in power, if not in office. They define the parameters of allowable discourse and define what is permissible yet fail to see their own power. Their identity is wrapped up in fighting the system, having failed to see that, today, they are the system.”
He ought to have quoted the Who from 1974: “meet the new boss, same as the old boss”. And “a parting on the left, Is now a parting on the right, and the beards have all grown longer overnight”. https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/who/wontgetfooledagain.html
He reckons it “pathetic the way our titans of industry refuse to confront the manufactured hysteria of 25-year-old journalism majors.” “Business, individuals and academics should, indeed have a responsibility, to push back against this monoculture for to fail to is to surrender much of what has we hold to be valuable.”
The prospect of one part of the establishment polarising against another is interesting. He’s not advocating war, just push-back. Farrar & Slater can’t cope.
Amazing how a wealthy white male can feel so oppressed, so emasculated. Is he actually claiming ‘his people’ have lost their fight long ago?
Gentlemen, part your beards.
The twin-fork style? Rare, indeed. Youngsters seem to have been big on the patriarchal look since a couple of years ago (but not the attitudes that accompanied it). So hard to tell if that’s the usual reversion to the 19th century, or a more novel revival of the biblical style.
Merely cyclical fashion @ Dennis, nothing as deep or meaningful.
There have been attempts already, but I’m waiting for the neo-grunge era.
The Sallies and St Vincent de Paul might start to do a roaring trade
As I go to sleep at night Dennis, I imagine you as the warrior and voice of reason on Gallery with Brian Edwards (and his darling wife as a Commissioning Editor) in a debate between Wayne Mapp and someone like Pablo.
Better still a ‘conversation going forward’ (as opposed to a discussion) between
Green Party Co-leaders. Marama on the very-Left in reclamation mode, with James on the middle right protesting he’s not really a cunt.
It could go on forever, but unfortunately they’ll run out of time
Sorry for that
Trudeau does a number on the Saudis in their ongoing spat. Pictures of a smiling and “very brave new Canadian” must infuriate major US ally and one of the worst patriarchal regimes and societies in the world.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12189378
Go the canaks fuck the Saudis
Ae!, and Peter Dutton for that matter
An excellent summation by independent American journalist Abby Martin on all the ways Trump has ramped up the US war machine in the past two years.
An interesting question is whether “war monger” Hillary Clinton would even have gotten close to achieving as much. People are still using the “Hillary would have been just as bad” meme, But at the end of the day, this is pure speculation that will never been proven in reality, whereas Trump has proved to be the military nightmare that so many on the Left as well as Right argued Clinton would be.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAmpD5MvDw8
Well, I watched it for 2.5 minutes and she still hadn’t produced any evidence to validate her thesis. Propaganda works just like advertising. If you can’t hook ’em in the first 30 seconds, you’re wasting your time.
Leftists preaching to the converted yet again. 🙄 Any unbiased observer will deduce that pulling US troops out of Syria & Afghanistan makes Trump anti-imperialist. Real US imperialists were livid, and bitched at him in the media about it.
Life in the leftist bubble seems to induce this type of delusional thinking. If she had evidence he was starting different wars elsewhere, she would have led with that news! Any half-way competent msm presenter, director, or producer, knows that!
He has already peddled back on pulling toops out. He has openly stated he would like to remove troops (under check and balances ) and replace these with mercenaries.
He has yet to stop selling weapons, pull out from anywhere, stop the drone bombing, etc etc etc, he has had the house and the senate for two years and he did nothing.
Can you explain that?
Cause life in the bublle seems to induce this type of delusional thinking.
how about bombing iran
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/13/white-house-asked-pentagon-plans-strike-iran
how about stealing the oil wealth?
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/markaz/2016/09/16/trumps-take-the-oil-madness/
pulling out of syria? Oh noes, equiment yes, troop numbers might actually increase
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/11/world/middleeast/us-syria-troop-withdrawal.html
afghanistan? privatise the war? might even go to syria?
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2018/12/21/mattis-is-out-and-blackwater-is-back-we-are-coming/
https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/military/ominous-blackwater-is-coming-advert-raises-prospect-trump-has-privatised-war/news-story/784ce81fc6ebdd9113edba2e2da17044
yep, non so blind as those that don’t want to see.
The shitstain is not gonna stop war as war is literally the only business he has left to make money on. And that is what all of this is about. Making money. War is a racket and the shitstain wants his cuts. After all that is what this presidenting business is all about.
If the shitstain would have wanted to end wars and bring peace he could have done so for two years, yet the only meaningful legislation he and his enablers in congress and senate signed was a tax reform bill that reduced his tax rate even further soon IRS will just send him checks for farting about.
I judge him on what he actually does. It seems to work better than judging him on what he says. The notion that I’d be inclined to switch to judging him on the basis of a bunch of media stories about what media pros think he intends to do is a strange one!
No you judge him on what he says.
Cause he has done nothing in the two years that he had with full support of the House and Senate held by the Republicans.
The only thing he got from his enablers was a tax cut. That is the sum total of his achievements.
I don’t actually listen to the shitstain, but i read what he says, and you know what? He has not pulled troops out of anywhere. He has not stopped any bombings of Yemen, He has not stopped selling weapons to Saudi Arabia so that they can continue bombing Yemen. He has not stopped North Korea from developing their nuclear weapons. He has systematically dismantled even the tiniest little bit of environmental legislation passed under presidents before him, and not only Obama. EPA is gutted for all its worth, but hey its all good right?
So i am not sure what you are judging him on, maybe his Golf Game?
Yes, those are valid points. In regard to pulling the troops out, I’m assuming there’s an official time-frame to implement that. So we ought to reserve judgment awhile. I hope you aren’t mistaking me for someone pro-Trump. I just prefer to avoid bias, give credit where due, disagree with criticism that seems inaccurate.
It is true that I appreciate his anti-establishment stance. That’s what has made it hard for him in respect of legislation. Other Republicans are as much enemies as friends, and their support has been slow and conditional.
The man with the golden shitter is the anti establishment idea.
Much like the Mafia, these guys too are anti establishment.
Surely any time now he will drain the swamp, and make life better for the fearful, much maligned, abused, neglected white working male with economic anxiety.
One tax cut at a time.
I was going to watch the All Blacks v Ireland game in 3013 but after 2.5 minutes it was still 0-0 so gave up.
Apparently it was won 24-22 in the 82nd minute after a try was scored in a movement which involved most of one team multiple times. No substance from the outset though meant it was a nothing event, not worth watching.
Poor analogy. Try harder. 🙄
Totally disregarding something because it doesn’t immediately engage is silly. I realise the long game isn’t for you hence your short reply.
As an effort to show a shallowness of thinking can be judged in the first four words it is most appropriate.
no she would have not simply due to the fact that she would have had to content with a republican held congress and senate – as did Obama.
Chances are also as the left is not as disciplined when it comes to voting that the democrats would have not won the house in the mid terms she would still be stuck with Rebulicans everywhere.
And that is why quite a few and me included would have voted for her – holding nose and all that – rather then vote for the orange shitstain who has surrounded himself with some of the worst people a political party could potentially house.
But it is now done, the shitstain will in the end be worse the Hillary could have ever been, why? Because no one will ever hold him to account. And considering that the shitstain is lazy, intellectually and physically, has no interest in learning and adjusting ones views but rather wants to be mentally masturbated by arsekissers and boot lickers he will never ever be what he always was, a fraud, a conman, a racist, a misogynist etc etc etc . He will never bring peace to anyone or anywhere, he will not make the US great, but rather cause in the end a civil war which consider that the US is a nuclear country with a lot of bigoted end times obsessed religious nutters, could be interesting for the rest of the planet.
But hey,. her emails.
With Germany’s far right AfD now campaigning for Germany to exit the EU, the EU now has an existential fight on its hands.
Success by AfD in the EU elections together with other nationalists could simply explode the entire EU project.
They are likely to be hugely successful in these elections.
The left can now start to imagine a world without the EU – the strongest civilising force in trade, law, environment and human rights that the world has had in 70 years.
.
Anything called the “Empire Files” is hardly independent. Though I guess you mean independent as in not employed by a major news media organisation.
Anyway I viewed the item. It is way overblown. Trump has increased defence expenditure, but that is basically on new multi-billion dollar ships. It will be years before they are delivered. Overseas deployments have hardly changed since the Obama era.
In fact the major combat deployment in Syria is in a wind down. The one major change is the US policy toward Iran, but I don’t believe that will result in war. It is possible, but unlikely. In contrast the situation in the Korean peninsula is headed toward peace. As for China, US military policy is basically a continuation of the Obama policy. On that issue Republicans and Democrats have a singular view. Though will the left side of the Democrats want a new policy? Too hard to tell at the moment.
of course the ge ntlement from boeing would never push boeing now that he is secretary of defense…….
surely not.
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/01/acting-defense-secretary-boosted-boeing-his-former-employer.html
no absolutely not
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/01/10/despite-flaws-air-force-accepts-boeings-long-delayed-troubled-tanker/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.cf671b8b259e
cross my heart and bless your cotton socks,
https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/business/boeing-air-force-tanker-deal-kc-46a-pegasus-20190113
So much education, so little learned.
And again, it must be the democrats that don’t want peace, right? Cause ………….never mind that the republicans have held the house and senate under obama and did jack shit, have held the house and senate under the shitstain and did jack shit, but hey the democrats took the house back a week ago, so let the blame game begin.
What you are saying Wayne is that the conservatives would be so good at running things were it not for the left, and then they run things, and the government gets shut down three times in one year, no war was stopped, no troops have been recalled, the bombs and drones keep on falling, war sales increase, trade wars for shits n giggles, north korea still building its bombs, china still enlarging its territory by building islands and so on.
You are a faithful water carrier that at least can be said about you.
The ongoing saga of the KC-46 Peagasus Tankers has been very interesting from the start and it shows just much clout the US Arms manufactures have. The Airbus Tanker (which won the contact to supply the USAF with new Tankers until Boeing threw its toys out of its cot) is far superior on so many levels it’s not funny and the basic design of the Boeing Aircraft is basically old technology (mid to late 80’s).
The Brits have complained about the technology in RC-135 Airseeker’s that replaced the Nimrod R2’s, but the Poms can’t replace more superior Brit technology because Boeing holds the IP rights and they won’t release the IP because they will lose money on any future upgrades and it’s the same for the P8. The Brits were hoping to replace the Yank stuff on the P8 for the MR4 Nimrod design equipment which again was far superior to the Yank design equipment. Hence why I’m a little bit concerned with the NZG/ MOD buying the P8 as any RNZAF upgrade in the future may have to be done in Australia as they have a very large footprint in Oz? Instead of here in NZ because Boeing holds the IP and NZ will be restricted to what it can do to the P8 as it would be the Boeing way or the Highway. Unlike with the old P3’s that RNZAF have upgraded over the years which has in turn generated money for Safe Air as nations that use the P3 have use Safe Air knowledge to maintain the own P3 due too outside the square thinking of the RNZAF and NZ MOD.
Considering the quality of the advice you seemed to accept with little question during your time as Minister of Defence, Wayne, I would seriously question your critical acumen.
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/10/review-of-he-toki-huna-new-zealand-in.html
Is there a more laughable public figure
in New Zealand than Bob McCoskrie?
Think of the really outré figures in this country. It’s not that big a list. There are the unspeakably evil (Garth “The Knife” McVicar, Allan Titford), the plain silly (David Seymour), the foolish (Jordan Williams), the mad (Cameron Slater), the bad (Nevil “Breivik” Gibson), and the sad (Christine “Spankin'” Rankin).
And then there is Bob “Hairbrush” McCoskrie. Despite calling himself a Christian, he’s notorious for advocating the beating of children. He reckons using a hairbrush as a weapon to hit an infant is godly.
But in the following bizarre post, he seems to have decided that any physical force is a bad thing. What’s he smoking? And, no, I do NOT want a puff of it….
http://bobmccoskrie.com/?p=23303#sthash.Vyk6wG5n.dpbs
A Mormon Moron. The next big Story will be a push back on the inquiry into sexual abuse in religion. Fringe cult Church’s with Patriarchal leadership have much higher levels of sexual abuse ie the Exclusive Brethren 27% of their children are abused.
Is McCoskrie a Mormon?
He used to work for Radio Rhema. One of his fellow DJs there was particularly obnoxious after the death of Bob Hope in 2003.
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/01/fundamentalist-loonies-consign-bob-hope.html
Na he used to be a Methodist but hived off with some of the congregation of his former church when the Methodist church of New Zealand said it was OK for a gay person to be a minister if the church concerned was happy with it.
Money system mismanagement through not applying the right incentives at the right time seems to be a regular thing. Also too much connectedness, amounting to a syndicate of banks, led to the spread of a what would otherwise have been a localised difficulty.
In 1836, directors of the Bank of England noticed that the Bank’s monetary reserves had declined precipitously in recent years, possibly because of poor wheat harvests that forced Great Britain to import much of its food.[5]
To compensate, the directors indicated that they would gradually raise interest rates from 3 to 5 percent. The conventional financial theory held that banks should raise interest rates and curb lending when faced with low monetary reserves. Raising interest rates, according to the laws of supply and demand, was supposed to attract species since money generally flows where it will generate the greatest return (assuming equal risk among possible investments).
In the open economy of the 1830s, characterized by free trade and relatively weak trade barriers, the monetary policies of the hegemonic power – in this case, Great Britain – were transmitted to the rest of the interconnected global economic system, included the U.S. The result was that as the Bank of England raised interest rates, major banks in the United States were forced to do the same.[6]
Do we learn? Are we managing our national finances better now? We are all connected now, isn’t that good? Details of the USA in one century alone.
https://www.thoughtco.com/financial-panics-of-the-19th-century-1774020
List of notable depressions since the year dot.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_economic_crises
Get out of Iraq. Get out of Pakistan. Get out of Afghanistan.
Get out of Yemen. Get out of Syria.
Anonymous: “I’ve worked at parliament for three different MPs over five years. For the first time, I’m now working for a woman MP, and the kind of messages sent to her online are shocking.” https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/14-01-2019/what-you-see-when-its-your-job-to-open-a-woman-mps-facebook-messages/
“My job title is Executive Support and Research. It’s a pretty complex job: I balance the diary, conduct research, produce comms material and do pretty much anything else my MP needs. This includes managing and responding to traditional letters and emails; it also means dealing with the wonderful world of Facebook messages – the one part of her social media where my MP has relinquished control to me.”
For this person, the experiential difference produced by gender was a shock, and it seems to have motivated the writer to publicise what female politicians are likely to encounter from the public. After discussing examples, he concludes with this:
“There are some simple things we as men can do to change this really nasty culture. We can look at our own actions for starters and how they impact the lives of others. Don’t be a fuckwit. If you’ve been a creep in the past, learn from it. Help your friends do the same if they need it. That might look like just giving them friendly advice on how to Tinder without being a dick, or you know, maybe suggesting they don’t try and hit on members of parliament via Facebook.”
As inane & trite this stuff is to swallow on the surface….
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/noted/109910243/winston-peters-in-uncomfortable-position-over-governments-immigration-policy
….the influence of accumulated money through neo-conservative rorting from the economy is anything but.
NZ1st!
Tulsi Gabbard should have a good chance of rolling the Trumpster for POTUS IMHO.
Yeah, the pro-Assad muslim-bashing homophobic vote is just yuuuuge.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/01/tulsi-gabbard-is-running-for-president-can-she-shake-her-ties-to-dictators-and-nationalists/
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tulsi-gabbard-homophobic-remarks_us_5c3a6030e4b01c93e00a5952
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/05/tulsi-gabbard-president-sanders-democratic-party
Gabbard reckons Egypt’s murderous Fattah el Sisi, has shown great courage and leadership in taking on this extreme Islamist ideology.
Never mind the torture, mass detention and military action.
https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/photos-rep-tulsi-gabbard-meets-egypt-president-el-sisi-and-other-leaders-cairo
Gabbard was one of 47 Democrats who voted to stop refugees from Syria and Iraq from entering the United States and called for non-Muslim refugees from the Middle East to be given priority.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/20/house-democrats-refugee-bill-social-media-backlash
Gabbard’s also besties with far-right-wing Netanyahu/Trump apologist Shmuley Boteach and top GOP donor Miriam Adelson and David Duke, alt-right leader Richard Spencer and Steve Bannon all reckon she’s the bomb, too.
Heh. My kid is looking for a Linux laptop. His grandpa is taking a round trip to the US soon. So I told him to check out getting it delivered to rellies in the US and have grandpa bring it back.
Looks like it’s going to be quite a bit cheaper to have it shipped to NZ. Because if it’s delivered to a US address, Drumpf tariffs apply, but those tariffs don’t apply when it’s shipped here.
Just remember that if it’s over $400 NZD they’ll ping you for GST at the border.
Yeah. But that happens regardless of whether it’s shipped in or carried back in person. In theory anyway. My kid is quite rule-compliance-oriented so he would have issues with grandpa trying to get it in without paying the GST.
But you can put Linux on any laptop. Surely he knows this. Why does he need to get it delivered to the US considering they’re just about exclusively made in Asian countries?
Financial Transaction Tax better than Capital Gains i’d say, for primarily two reasons:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/109818642/capital-gains-tax–what-we-know-about-how-it-would-work
1) Firstly, banking has been practising versions of it for a long time, and look how well it has worked out for that industry.
2) The problem is not so much accumulated capital, as it is accumulated capital that is not good or capable to much else in society other than more accumulation, that is to say accumulated capital rather than being an asset to the real economy, it is a liability.
I’m not sure a capital gains tax really does much to change that current dynamic.
Transaction tax…would impact on black market cash deals and money laundering.
That means it will never be enacted.
https://www.ft.com/content/b9b40fee-9236-11e2-851f-00144feabdc0
Doesn’t work, far too easy to shift financial transactions offshore. The success of the this type of tax depends upon retaining the trades that happen within the next, debt and bond markets; as the revenue generated from point of sale transactions is simply not enough without these big capital markets.
The article details how this failed in Sweden when tried.
Just redefine ‘offshore’ rury.
“A new analysis, published Thursday in the journal Science, found that the oceans are heating up 40 percent faster on average than a United Nations panel estimated five years ago. The researchers also concluded that ocean temperatures have broken records for several straight years.” https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/10/climate/ocean-warming-climate-change.html
“2018 is going to be the warmest year on record for the Earth’s oceans,” said Zeke Hausfather, an energy systems analyst at the independent climate research group Berkeley Earth and an author of the study. “As 2017 was the warmest year, and 2016 was the warmest year.”
“As the planet has warmed, the oceans have provided a critical buffer. They have slowed the effects of climate change by absorbing 93 percent of the heat trapped by the greenhouse gases humans pump into the atmosphere.”
“Our best estimate is that the rate of warming since the 1970s is about 40 per cent faster than was reported in the estimates published in the last IPCC report,” Dr Hausfather said. In the period between 1991 to 2010, the ocean warmed, on average, more than five times faster than in the 1971 to 1990 period, according to the research.” https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2019-01-11/ocean-warming-accelerating-faster-than-thought-science/10693080
“This latest analysis, headed by Lijing Cheng from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, looked at four different studies published since 2013, that used improved statistical and analytical methods to estimate historic warming. Each of these studies independently came to the same conclusion, according to Dr Hausfather.”
“There’s been four different estimates of ocean-heat content published since the 2013 IPCC report,” he said. “They all show more warming than previous projections.”
and are we concerned?….apparently not
“Global carbon emissions reached an all-time high in 2018,”
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/co2-emissions-reached-an-all-time-high-in-2018/
Some of us are, eh? I think we now have strong evidence that the IPCC has been too conservative. Still, the younger generations are the only ones likely to still be here when thing get out of control.
Those still voting National currently look like the most endangered species. Not so much boiled frogs as frogs on the road chanting in unison “you do not exist” at the approaching global-warming steamroller. Well, to be technically correct, diesel-roller.
whos to say when or how but very likely long before we expected
I’d like a bit more information about the Christchurch chase involving 3 young men in a car running from police, and then crashing into a tree; all are dead I think.
They reached a speed of 135 kmh but what speed were they travelling at when he police first got on their tail?
I think some psychological discussion needs to go on here. The police becoming involved, once they start to try to outrun them, their adrenalin is pumping, this is not reasoned policing. It does not endear people to the police force, who don’t seem to be involved with the citizens at any age which puts the police in a positive light around the country. Individuals yes, but I feel that meeting targets is more important than good relationships with people.
Post up now, greywarshark. Adrenaline gets a mention.