Open mike 14/01/2020
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7:00 am, January 14th, 2020 - 68 comments
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- Oxfam Report: Time to Care – Unpaid and underpaid care work and the global inequality crisis
January 2020 Economic inequality is out of control. In 2019, the world’s billionaires, only 2,153 people, had more wealth than 4.6 billion people. This great divide is based on a flawed and sexist economic system that values the wealth of the privileged few, mostly men, more than the billions of ...6 hours ago - How to avoid being a cunt to hospo workers’
Working hospo is hard mahi for many reasons, from long hours and gruelling high-volume weekends to customers who treat us as their servants. There are always lovely and polite customers who treat hospo workers with respect and kindness but, throughout my 15-years in the biz, I’ve collected a number of ...9 hours ago - 2019-nCoV (the new coronavirus): Should we be concerned, and will there be a vaccine?
Probably yes to both but don’t panic yet. There is a plan. What is this virus? 2019 novel coronavirus, aka 2019-nCoV, belongs to a family of viruses called coronavirus. These are very common viruses that infect a wide range of animals including humans and can cause mild to severe disease, ...13 hours ago - The Chinese coronavirus outbreak: what are the options for vaccines and treatments?By now you’ve probably heard of the coronavirus outbreak that started in Wuhan City, China. The number of cases is rising, up to about 300 with six deaths. Cases have been reported in several more Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, as well as in Japan, Thailand, and South Korea. ...13 hours ago
- Educating New Zealand’s future workforceJudy Kavanagh Do you remember your first day at school? The education I received was for a very different world than the world of today. Along with huge social shifts there have been big changes in the New Zealand economy and the work people do. There are occupations unheard of ...13 hours ago
- A casual attitude towards transparency
Back in December, when the government was introducing new secrecy legislation on an almost daily basis, I posted about the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Bill. The Bill establishes a new class of public entity, "special purpose vehicles", which collect and spend public money and enjoy statutory powers. Despite this, they ...13 hours ago - Against a carbon bailoutIf we are to avoid making the planet uninhabitable, we need to cut carbon emisisons fast. Which basicly means putting the fossil fuel industry - coal, gas, and oil - out of business. But this means that the banks and other lenders who have bankrolled the industry's environmental destruction will ...14 hours ago
- Still a criminal industryMore evidence that the fishing industry suffers from pervasive criminality, with Forest & Bird highlighting some odd numbers in the annual statistics:The Annual Review Report For Highly Migratory Species Fisheries 2018/19 (Pg 4, Table 4) showed only 4% of commercial long lining trips for tuna and swordfish reported non-fish bycatch ...14 hours ago
- Controversy? Or Manufactroversy?A few days ago, New Zealand’s Minister of Education announced the wider release of a resource on climate change, which was initially trialled at a Christchurch school during 2018. According to the Minister, children will learn about “the role science plays in understanding climate change, aids understanding of both the response ...17 hours ago
- The emerging coronavirus outbreak in ChinaBy now you’ve probably heard of the new virus causing an outbreak of severe pneumonia in China. The question on most people’s minds is, how worried should we be, especially as hundreds of millions of people will soon be travelling across China and beyond to visit family for the Lunar ...1 day ago
- How did climate change get so controversial?
An excerpt from the book Cranky Uncle vs. Climate Change, released Feb 25. Our human brain is poorly equipped to deal with a threat like climate change. Over millions of years, we’ve evolved to avoid life-threatening dangers like predators jumping out of bushes. We’ve survived by quickly detecting and avoiding immediate, short-term ...1 day ago - Farmers are ruining Canterbury’s riversIts summer, so people naturally want to go for a swim. But in South Canterbury, you can't, because the rivers are full of toxic goo:As of Monday, the Waihi River at Wilson Street footbridge, Geraldine, the Waihao River at Bradshaws Bridge, and three spots on the Opihi River - at ...2 days ago
- Sack Shane JonesLate last year, NZ First was caught trying to enrich itself from public office, with a dodgy forestry company linked to a number of NZ First figures sticking its hand out repeatedly for government money. Regional Economic Development Minister shane Jones' "explanations" were patently unconvincing, and his recusal from deciding ...2 days ago
- BIG idea physicsThis morning I’ve been having a quick look through some documentation from The Ministry of Education on proposed changes to NCEA Level 1 Science. For those not familiar with the NZ secondary education system, a typical student would complete NCEA level 1 at the end of year 11. In this ...2 days ago
- Revolution in New Zealand? Not Even Close!
No Fires Thanks, We're Kiwis: For the moment, in those close-to-home places where revolutions are born, there may be tetchiness and resentment, frustration and complaint, but nowhere is anybody uttering the cry that will bring a New Zealand revolution into being: “We have found the way to make tomorrow better ...2 days ago - 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #3Story of the Week... Editorial of the Week... Toon of the Week... Quote of the Week... Graphic of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Reviews... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... 'It's heart-wrenching': 80% of Blue Mountains and 50% of ...3 days ago
- Britain exits the European Union and takes a sharp right turn
by John Smith Britain’s exit from the imperialist bloc known as the European Union (EU) is now irreversible. The crushing electoral defeat of the Labour Party has dismayed many workers and youth who had placed their hopes in Jeremy Corbyn, its left-wing leader. This article assesses these historic events, neither of which ...3 days ago - 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #3A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Jan 12, 2020 through Sat, Jan 18, 2020 Editor's Pick The Past and the Future of the Earth’s Oldest Trees Bristlecone pines have survived various catastrophes over the millennia, and they ...4 days ago
- How climate change influenced Australia’s unprecedented firesThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections, and has been adapted into a new myth rebuttal on climate-wildfire connections with the short URL sks.to/wildfires Australia’s frightening bushfires, which kicked off an early fire season in September 2019, have already had cataclysmic effects, and the continent is still just in the early ...4 days ago
- Gender Identity Ideology – A Partial Bibliography of Online CoverageThis great resource has been contributed to Redline by Janie Doebuck. Janie made some notes on the bibliography: 1) It is by no means exhaustive. There are tons more gender critical posts, essays, articles, podcasts, youtube videos, etc. online. 2) There are links in the bibliography that are behind paywalls. There ...5 days ago
- About those biased Oscar Nominations
There’s been a lot written about the 2020 Oscar Nominations and their apparent lack of diversity. It’s true, there are in fact no women nominated for the Best Director and very few nominees of colour across the board. But is this a result of a biased process or a symptom ...6 days ago - How New Zealand media reports chronic painHemakumar Devan Around three million New Zealanders access news media (both paper and online) every week. Yes, you heard that right! So, the potential for news media to shape public health beliefs is common sense. As chronic pain affects one in five New Zealanders, we wanted to find out how ...6 days ago
- Still Waiting For American Democracy.Unfinished Republic: Though the United States' crimes against democracy are legion, most Americans are blissfully unaware of them. The brutal realities of American life: the officially sanctioned violence; the refusal to hold racists accountable for their actions; the seemingly endless tragedy of African-American suffering; of which White America is the ...6 days ago
- In Outrage Over Its Bunk Science, Goop Finds Fuel for GrowthMichael Schulson For years, experts have said that Goop, the wellness and lifestyle brand founded by the actor and entrepreneur Gwyneth Paltrow, markets pseudoscience and overblown cures. And for years, despite the criticism, Goop has just kept growing. Now the company, which was valued at $250 million in 2018, ...6 days ago
- Tobacco Excise Taxes and the Smokefree 2025 Goal: Some Ways ForwardJanet Hoek, Richard Edwards, George Thomson, Andrew Waa, Nick Wilson Debate over tobacco tax increases has intensified as research indicates potentially conflicting policy directions. On the one hand, excise tax increases continue to stimulate quit attempts among smokers yet, on the other hand, they may lead to financial hardship for ...7 days ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #2, 2020Conflation and how to fix it VIa AMS, Raul Lejano looks at what in a layperson's thinking would be called conflation— confusion and blending of entirely different topics— when people think about climate change. Ideology and the Narrative of Skepticism (open access) starts with some arguably frightening false connections between the science and ...7 days ago
- ‘Cranky Uncle’ smart phone game will show you how to disarm climate deniersThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bud Ward (Image: Courtesy of John Cook) When it comes to climate change, it seems every family has its own version of the proverbial Cranky Uncle. An uncle, cousin, grandparent, in-law, neighbor, whatever. Just think back to the recent holiday season’s large ...1 week ago
- Science in the ’20s – part 1Outrageous, immoral or downright dangerous. That’s a description of the lifestyle of women “flappers” in the 1920s. Could it apply to science (and scientists) in the 2020s? Actually, you could look back at the past decade and see those, or similar terms, used about some science and scientists. Sometimes ...1 week ago
- Postscript: Citizenship Granted.
I am pleased to say that I have been granted NZ citizenship. I need to do the ceremony for things to be official, but the application was a success. I now join my son as a dual NZ-US citizen. To be fair, very little will change other than the fact ...1 week ago - Hard News: Music: Morales is coming
It will be no secret to longtime readers that I, Russell Brown, love the disco. So I'm pretty excited by the fact that one of the greats of the game is returning this summer – and also pleased to say I have tickets to give away.Legendary mixer and DJ ...1 week ago - The WHO Vaccine Safety Summit – from someone who was actually thereThe conspiracy I saw a new conspiracy theory flying around the other day. According to the conspiracy (that seems to originate from Del Bigtree), the World Health Organization have been ‘caught on camera’ questioning the safety of vaccines. Gosh this sounds as though someone was a mole at a ...1 week ago
- The timely death of the British Labour PartyBelow is an article submitted to Redline by Alec Abbott At its inception, the British Labour Party was a vehicle for the propagation of racist and imperialist views within the working-class. Such views are still widespread in the party, as they are in Europe’s Social-Democratic parties, though, in the case of ...1 week ago
- Mystery China pneumonia outbreak likely caused by new human coronavirusConnor Bamford, Queen’s University Belfast Since December 2019, there has been a cluster of 59 cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, eastern China. The pneumonia is associated with a previously unidentified coronavirus related to the deadly SARS virus. Seven of those cases are thought to be serious, and one person – ...1 week ago
- Yes, koalas are cute – but should we bring them to NZ? Errm, noIt’s been hard to miss the extreme fires raging across Australia and the tragic plight of the animals – human and otherwise – affected by the fires’ insatiable spread. I know I’ve been captivated and concerned by the tales of how Australia’s famous wildlife has been coping. Koalas approaching cyclists ...1 week ago
- National’s negative campaigningAnybody who looked into the Dirty Politics saga knows all too well that honesty is often in short supply within the National Party. You would think that after the exposure the John Key government received over their untruthful attack politics, the National Party would learn from its "mistakes" and leave ...1 week ago
- Ending the government’s charade over waterFor the past decade, the government has been responding to the obvious Treaty issues raised by water allocation with the mantra that "no-one owns water". But last year, the Waitangi Tribunal ruled that actually, Māori owned it, and that those rights had never been extinguished. They recommended that iwi bring ...1 week ago
- Northern Ireland joins the civilised worldSame-sex marriage has finally become legal in Northern Ireland. But not through any decision of the Northern Irish Executive or Assembly, which has only just reformed after a three year walkout by the DUP; instead, Westminster made that decision for them. I've talked before about the constitutional impropriety of this, ...1 week ago
- I had an intense conversation at work today.Claire Cohen-Norris volunteers with Citizens Climate Lobby as a chapter founder and leader in rural New York. Her climate advocacy sprung from her drive to provide a secure, joyful and fulfilling life for her two wonderful children. It has become a life’s mission, shared with her like-minded husband and partner. Claire ...1 week ago
- French transport workers take on Macron over pension reform
by John Edmundson Starting on December 5th, 2019 workers in the Parisian rail network commenced an open-ended strike in opposition to French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposed changes to their pension scheme. Rail workers in the Metro Underground have, for decades, had retirement conditions that compensate them for the low wages, ...1 week ago - What a difference the decimal point makesI’m back at work following a nearly three-week break over Christmas. We were fortunate to be offered a house to stay in for a week over Christmas, which enabled us to have a holiday in Dunedin and see the extended family reasonably cheaply. But the house came with a catch: ...1 week ago
- Who’s Going To Stop Him?Blank And Pitiless: Having ordered the assassination of the Iranian General, Qasem Soleimani, President Donald Trump promised to reduce the cultural monuments of Iran’s 3,000 year-old civilisation to rubble if a revenge attack was mounted. A breach of international law? Certainly. A war crime? Indisputably. Who’s going to stop him? Nobody.WHAT ...1 week ago
- A worker’s storyThis interview is from Aotearoa Workers Solidarity Movement (AWSM) and is the first of an ongoing series of interviews they plan to do with workers from various sectors who are having their well being and livelihoods damaged. They begin with an educator in Southland. Due to the attitude and actions ...1 week ago
- 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #2A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Jan 5, 2020 through Sat, Jan 11, 2020 Editor's Pick Debunked Australian Bushfire Conspiracy Theories Were Pushed by Alex Jones, Murdoch Media As unusually intense and widespread bushfires have ...2 weeks ago
- J.K. Rowling, the Seattle Library, and the Issue That Must Not Be NamedThis article was submitted to Redline by Seattle-based activist Lucinda Stoan J.K. Rowling recognizes repression when she sees it. That’s why the author of the wildly popular Harry Potter books recently tweeted in defense of Maya Forstater. Forstater lost her job for stating that sex is real and immutable. A judge ...2 weeks ago
- Rules of Empire: Laws simply do not apply and “National Security” excuses all else.
Empires rise and fall, and the American Empire is absolutely no different. But while an Empire, in order to further the footprint, it seems to pay to do one primary thing above all else: project that everything – everything – is “simply for the good of the world” at large, ...2 weeks ago - Indian lessons for NZ workers – the January 8 general strikeby Phil Duncan On Wednesday (January 8) another massive general strike took place in India. Some 250 million industrial workers, white-collar workers, agricultural labourers struck against the government’s economic policies and attacks on the Muslim population through new proposed citizenship rules. This ...2 weeks ago
- Climate Change: The action that countsOver on Newsroom, Professor Jacqueline Beggs writes about the action she is taking on climate change. Its the usual list: reduce meat, don't fly, consume less. I'm doing some of this myself, and none of it hurts - but the way our economic system is constructed means the impact of ...2 weeks ago
- Fossil fuel political giving outdistances renewables 13 to oneThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk Corporations, special interest groups, and individuals inject billions of dollars into the American political system every year. Much of the financial support in politics is concealed from public view, as some rules – and loopholes – allow “dark money” and ...2 weeks ago
- Animal response to a bushfire is astounding. These are the tricks they use to surviveDale Nimmo, Charles Sturt University Have you ever wondered how our native wildlife manage to stay alive when an inferno is ripping through their homes, and afterwards when there is little to eat and nowhere to hide? The answer is adaptation and old-fashioned ingenuity. Australia’s bushfire season is far from ...2 weeks ago
- Should I ditch my fossil-fueled car?Yes. Reducing the number of cars in your household, or switching from petrol/diesel to electric, will dramatically reduce your greenhouse gas emissions. It’s one of the easiest and highest-impact climate steps you can take. New Zealand is being flooded with cars The New Zealand vehicle fleet is increasing rapidly. In ...2 weeks ago
- Speaker: Planet History: Taking Tea with QuentinThis interview with Quentin Crisp is part of a series of articles republished from Planet, the independent magazine I edited in the early 90s from a base at 309 Karangahape Road, along with Grant Fell, Rachael Churchward, Fiona Rae, David Teehan, Mere Ngailevu and others.Inevitably, you forget things, and over ...2 weeks ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #1, 2020Supply Side How are we doing with CO2 emissions? It's an important question, increasingly posed to a mixed bag of CO2 contributors who may or may not provide accurate reportage. Liu et al present a new, additional means of measurement based on satellite observations of nitrogen dioxide co-emitted from ...2 weeks ago
- Is the prostitute the seller or the sold?Excerpts from Being and Being Bought, by Kajsa Ekis Ekman, Spinifex Press, 2013. Ekman, a Swedish journalist and critic, brings together a Marxist and feminist analysis of prostitution and surrogacy in this groundbreaking book. This is the third part of a synopsis and brief commentary of the book by Daphna Whitmore. Part 1 was ...2 weeks ago
- The climate crisis is also a biodiversity crisisDr Andrea Byrom Like many of us, the summer break has seen me transfixed with horror at the scale and magnitude of the bushfire crisis in Australia. As an ecologist, I can’t help but be appalled at the loss of some of Australia’s most beautiful ecosystems and landscapes. And ...2 weeks ago
- Apathy in the face of disasterWarning: This article contains topics that might trigger right wing snowflakes!Unless you’ve had your head buried in a billabong for the last four months you’d of heard about the Australian bush fires. The fires have been unprecedented, with approximately five million hectares (12.35 million acres) of land burned nationwide. More ...2 weeks ago
- Labour opposes leisureFinland's new Prime Minister has made headlines by pushing for a 4-day week. So what does new Zealand's "centre-left" government think? Nope. They'd rather people kept working themselves into misery and death:The Government does not plan to follow Finland's lead to encourage businesses to offer staff a four-day week. [...] ...2 weeks ago
- Who’s afraid of the non-native accent? Everyone … unless you tell them about itAs someone who learnt English late-ish in life, I was always on the look-out for signs which betray my foreignness, afraid that my clumsy mispronunciation or syntactic misalignment will give away my outsider status. And for once, sadly, my worries were well-founded it seems. It’s bad, prejudice is rife! In ...2 weeks ago
- Donald Trump’s strategic gambleThere’s a meme going around the Internet at the moment claiming that Donald Trump is a bit of an idiot. To outside eyes it does seem as though the President of the United States thumbs his nose at his own countries laws and administration far too often to be taken ...2 weeks ago
- More Spanish repressionBack in December, the European Court of Justice ruled that jailed Catalan politician Oriol Junqueras was a Member of the European Parliament and therefore had immunity from prosecution. In a democratic state under the rule of law, he would have been immediately released from prison (and compensated for his illegal ...2 weeks ago
- Doubling down: Researchers investigate compound climate risksThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Daniel Grossman It was a grim day in Moscow on July 25, 2010. The English-language Moscow Times reported that the Russian capital had broken the 1936 temperature record for July: 98 degrees Fahrenheit. That month, the city, where air conditioning was (and still is) ...2 weeks ago
- Everyone, we must be united and work together (now we’ve got rid of the Corbyn)
Yvette Cooper has written a piece in the Guardian outlinig 'Seven things Labour Must Do To Win The Next Election'.I'll overlook the absurd headline - no-one is talking about Labour winning the next election and I assume that Cooper didn't write the headline (she doesn't mention winning the next election anywhere ...2 weeks ago - “A common interest in war with Iran” say those who will NOT be in the firing line
Well, things have certainly escalated. Brent Crude hits $70 in light of recent geopolitical incidents. There’s a British nuclear sub on its way to thump Iran if needed, and Netenyahu says “everyone” is keen on war with Iran. Of course in terms of the oil prices, that’ll have downstream ...2 weeks ago - 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #1Story of the Week... Editorial of the Week... El Niño/La Niña Update... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Reviews... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... The signal of human-caused climate change has emerged in everyday weather, study finds ...2 weeks ago
- New Fisk2 weeks ago
- Climate Change: Complementary measuresFor the past twenty-five years, climate change policy in New Zealand has been all about emissions pricing. Policy makers thought that all you needed to do was make people pay for their pollution via a carbon tax or emissions trading scheme, and the problem would be solved. This mechanism was ...2 weeks ago
- Jeremy Clarkson – God is an arsonistYou've really got to wonder if Jeremy Clarkson is worshiping the right deity? I mean thinking that Australia is somehow deserving of the calamity that has befallen it in the form of unprecedented bush fires is one thing, but claiming God intentionally likes to cause people and animals immeasurable pain ...2 weeks ago
- We are no longer welcome in IraqLast Friday, the US murdered a high-ranking Iranian general, ostensibly as retaliation for Iraqi militias attacking US troops in Iraq. It was a stupid move, a mistake as well as a crime (to misquote Talleyrand), and it is already having the expected effects: the Iranian nuclear deal is now completely ...2 weeks ago
- Miscalculation, escalation and the law of unintended consequences.Note: I penned a series of tweets on the consultancy page offering my thoughts on the Soleimani assassination. I have decided to gather them together, add some more material, and edit them into a blogpost. Here it is. The US drone strike in Baghdad that killed Iranian Quds force commander ...2 weeks ago
- 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #1A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Dec 29, 2019 through Sat, Jan 4, 2020 Editor's Pick There Is No Safe Global Warming Australia Bushfire - Shutterstock Safety is something we all crave. It’s human nature. ...3 weeks ago
- The strike on Suleimani: a Neocon gambit for rolling the MIC onwards to a new chapter of global dest...
Anyone who thinks this was merely a so-called “precision strike” on “a really bad man!” and doesn’t get the wider geopolitical ramifications of this is beyond deluded. Probably those who think Commando comics are actually transcripts from a lost war documentary, and GI Joe was the biography of a real ...3 weeks ago - This is goodStill feeling very kicked in the head. Took some time off over Christmas and New Year to think about stuff, contemplating the unthinkable idea that i might have been ... wrong. But, after a thorough deconstruction of my cerebellum and rigorous self examination, I conclude I was not, am not.Okay, ...3 weeks ago
- A standout example of Right-wing truth inversion: “debating” responsibility for the Aust...
Many people must have seen the copious amounts of emotive, highly charged blame being increasingly passed onto “the bloody environmentalists!” and “the bloody Greenies” for this absolute debacle. This blame has been fomented by the Rightwing press, and the Governing coalition under Scott Morrison, who it must be said never ...3 weeks ago - Someone To Follow, Something To Blame.Poshing The Proletariat: As we enter the third decade of the twenty-first century, the question for New Zealand politicians is a simple one. Will workers’ expectations of fair treatment erode faster than their rising political determination to find someone to follow and something to blame? Significant sections of the United ...3 weeks ago
- Provincial Growth Fund to help Waipukurau Pā sites attract thousands of tourists
The Ngā Ara Tipuna - Waipukurau Pā Site Interpretation project is receiving $2.798 million from the Provincial Growth Fund. It is is expected to boost the town's employment and tourism, creating sixteen new jobs once completed and attract up to 15,000 visitors a year. Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development ...16 hours ago - “Common sense will prevail, not extremism” Winston Peters backs Shane Jones’ pro-meat stanceNew Zealand First leader Winston Peters is backing his MPs who have spoken out against a new climate change teaching resource that advises students to eat less meat to save the planet. The new teaching resource, announced by Education Minister Chris Hipkins and Climate Change Minister James Shaw, tells students ...2 days ago
- Acting PM Winston Peters confirms NZDF troops in Iraq not hit by Iranian attacksActing Prime Minister Winston Peters called for calm and diplomacy following Iranian missile strikes on bases housing United States troops in Iraq, but confirmed New Zealand's base in the country was not hit. The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) was earlier today investigating claims New Zealand's base in Iraq had ...3 days ago
- Housing consents hit highest level since 1974Housing consents have hit a 45-year high, as Statistics NZ data shows a total of 37,010 residential consents were issued in the year to November --- the first time they have breached the 37,000 mark since the mid-1970s. Statistics NZ said the trend had been rising since late 2011, when ...1 week ago
- Darroch Ball MP: “Violence against first responders is a problem on the rise”New Zealand First MP Darroch Ball says that a paramedic being kicked unconscious last night in an attempted burglary in Warkworth, north of Auckland, is a symptom of a larger problem. "Incidents like this are becoming more and more frequent...and it’s getting worse," Mr Ball said. The MP is pushing for ...1 week ago
- Minister Ron Mark asks NZDF to conduct fire risk assessment from defence point of viewDefence Minister Ron Mark said there was nothing to prevent similar large-scale bushfires seen in Australia from also happening in New Zealand, and has asked the New Zealand Defence Force to conduct a nfire risk assessment from a defence point of view. The defence assessment would help prevent a disaster ...2 weeks ago
- Defence Minister Mark expresses “absolute confidence” in NZDF forces stationed in IraqWhile feeling worried about increased Middle East tensions, Defence Minister Ron Mark said he had "absolute confidence" in New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) leadership. His statements come as the fate of Kiwi troops stationed in Iraq comes under intense scrutiny. Forty-five Defence Force personnel were thought to be in the ...2 weeks ago
- Defence Minister Ron Mark: “NZDF focused on protecting troops in Iraq from retaliation”As tensions in the Middle East continue to grow after the assassination of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, the New Zealand Defence Force is focusing on the protection of Kiwi troops deployed in Iraq. Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says that "recent attacks on coalition bases and embassies constitute unacceptable ...2 weeks ago
- Wairoa gets up to $6.1m to rebuild heart of CBD
The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing up to $6.1 million to revitalise business and tourism opportunities in Wairoa, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. The PGF is funding: Up to $4.8 million for the Wairoa Integrated Business and Tourism Facility Up to $960,000 for the ...16 hours ago - Major Events support for creative and cultural eventsCreative and cultural events that highlight New Zealand’s diverse culture and build national pride are set to get a funding boost through the Major Events Fund, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford said today. The new Creative and Cultural Events Incubator, which is funded through the Major Events Fund, will open ...16 hours ago
- Classroom internet in hundreds of schools to get a boostThe Government has begun a massive IT upgrade to provide more seamless internet access to 200 schools around the country. Te Mana Tūhono – Technology in Schools work programme will launch with a pilot of 10 smaller state schools early this year. IT equipment that gives students access to the ...20 hours ago
- Construction workforce, apprenticeships hit record highsWorking with industry and committing to rebuild New Zealand’s infrastructure has produced a record high number of Kiwis working in the construction industry and learning trades, says Minister for Building and Construction Jenny Salesa. New figures available today from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and the Tertiary Education ...20 hours ago
- NZ concludes digital economy trade talks with Singapore and ChileA new trade agreement concluded today helps New Zealand exporters and consumers take advantage of opportunities from digital trade. Minister for Trade and Export Growth David Parker together with Chile’s Vice Minister of Trade Rodrigo Yañez and Singapore’s Minister of Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing, have announced conclusion of ...1 day ago
- Provincial Growth Fund to fund Waipukurau cultural development and tourismThe Ngā Ara Tipuna - Waipukurau Pā Site Interpretation project will receive $2.798 million from the Provincial Growth Fund to create an authentic cultural tourism experience, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today “The project will inform visitors about the history of six pā sites in Waipukurau with a combination ...2 days ago
- 21 new judges boost diversity, improve access to justiceTwenty-one new District Court judges have been appointed in a move that will improve access to justice and boost diversity on the bench. The new judges include replacements for retirements and 10 new positions. Attorney-General David Parker today announced the 14 judges who can immediately be named, with the remainder ...2 days ago
- Puhinui to Auckland Airport in 10 minutesAucklanders are another step closer to getting rapid transit to the airport, with the start of construction to upgrade State Highway 20B to the airport, Transport Minister Phil Twyford announced today. SH20B will be upgraded with additional lanes in each direction, dedicated to bus and high-occupancy vehicles between Pukaki Creek ...2 days ago
- Advancing New Zealand’s trade agenda focus of Europe meetingsWorld Trade Organisation reform, agricultural trade and a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom will be the focus of Minister for Trade and Export Growth David Parker’s visit to Europe this week. David Parker leaves on Tuesday for a series of meetings in the UK and Switzerland that aim ...3 days ago
- Minister of Defence to visit counterparts in US and CanadaThe Minister of Defence, Ron Mark, departed today for the United States and Canada where he will meet with his counterparts. While in Canada Minister Mark will meet with his counterpart, Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan. “New Zealand and Canada are close friends, and share an instinctive like-mindedness on ...3 days ago
- Government to deliver family carers $2000 pay rise, expand scheme to spouses this yearThe Coalition Government is delivering this year the changes to Funded Family Care the disability sector has long-asked for, says Associate Minister of Health Jenny Salesa. “Today we are announcing the details of our big changes to Funded Family Care, including an annual average pay boost of $2,246.40 for funded ...4 days ago
- Ko te reo kua mū: Piri SciasciaMinister for Māori Development Nanaia Mahuta joins te ao Māori in their sorrow as they learn of the loss of one of the great orators and spokespersons of a generation – Piri Sciascia. “The son of Pōrangahau was a staunch advocate for Māori development and served his people for over ...4 days ago
- Minister opens new ecosanctuary at Cape FarewellA new ecosanctuary with a predator proof fence on Golden Bay’s Cape Farewell, which will restore a safe home for sea birds, rare native plants, giant snails, and geckos, was officially opened today by the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage. “There has been a fantastic community effort supported by the ...5 days ago
- Pacific partners work together to provide additional support to AustraliaThe NZDF continues to support the Australian Defence Force (ADF) as it battles fires in Victoria and New South Wales, including by transporting Republic of Fiji Military engineers from Nadi to Australia, announced Defence Minister Ron Mark. On Saturday morning a NZDF Boeing 757 will depart New Zealand to uplift ...6 days ago
- Kaikōura $10.88 million boost in tourism & businessThe Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $10.88 million to boost business and tourism opportunities in Kaikōura, Parliamentary Undersecretary for Regional Economic Development, Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. As part of the Kaikōura Marina Development Programme, the following two projects will receive PGF funding: A $9.88 million investment to begin the ...6 days ago
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dropping food for the critters taht survived the fires.
i wonder how long they can keep that up for.
https://globalnews.ca/news/6402115/australia-animals-food-fires/
Test
Ross, you are in moderation. Please go back and look at your last comments and see the moderation notes. When you do so, and respond, I will revisit the moderation.
hmmm I don’t know what my last comments were although you likely disagreed with them. Maybe you could simply explain what the issue is?
I’ve spent more than enough time on this already, the onus is on you to go look up the morderations. They will be under your last comments onsite before today.
Maybe you could link to them. There is no heading entitled ‘moderations’. Cheers
Put ‘Formerly Ross’ into the search box, then look for your last comments, and my replies to them.
And then? As you know I’ve repeatedly said climate change is man made, so am not sure what the problem is. Quoting Bjorn Lomborg is OK?
By the way I did as you suggested and in the first thread that appeared there were 132 messages. None of them were from me. I’d consider that punishment enough. 🙂
if you can’t be bothered finding your own comments, why should I? Leaving this here for posterity, because I am not doing this again. My suggestion is that you pay attention to who replies to your comments at the time.
if you can’t be bothered finding your own comments, why should I?
I followed your advice, which was incorrect. Don't shoot the messenger.
do you agree to stay out of commenting under my posts about climate change?
do you agree to stay out of commenting under my posts about climate change?
You've never asked me to do that, so why now? Have you ever thought of becoming more resilient so you can handle disagreements more easily? There are lots of videos on YouTube on how to become more resilient.
[I’ll take that as a no then. Here’s the mod note where I asked you to stay out of my CC posts. /open-mike-04-01-2020/#comment-1676987
You are now banned from commenting under my CC posts. If you comment under my other posts and it looks like climate denial expect moderation without warning. This is using my definition of climate denial, not yours. As already mentioned, the onus is on you to keep track of replies to your own comments including moderations.
Please read the Policy. This is the relevant bit right now,
Generally wasting a moderators time is just not a good idea. We’re there to deal with isolated problems. People persistently sucking up our voluntary time won’t like the results.
Likewise telling authors and moderators what to do. – weka]
mod note above.
If you comment under my other posts and it looks like climate denial
It doesn't look like climate denial and never has. You simply cannot accept an opinion different from your own.
It is sad news that a young man has lost his life in the ongoing Culture Wars.
Fascinating though the rise of conservative, gay, transphobic activists. We have our own in Ani O'Brien and Rachel Stewart who believe gender is immutable.
Incredible that some gay people would seek to shut down protections for the maginalised and vulnerable.
Have they forgotten the struggle for their own rights so soon?
[‘Conservative’ has a particular political meaning in NZ. O’Brien and Stewart are not conservative, they’re left wing. It’s not ok to misrepresent people’s politics like this, especially on such a controversial topic (this applies to all sides). I tried to address this with you last time in comments, now I’m moderating.
If you want to argue that their politics on gender are conservative, you’ll have to do that specifically, but both of them appear to be gender critical feminists, which is predominantly a left wing movement. If you do try and make this argument you will have to back it up with credible evidence and clear rationale (evidence means links and quotes and explanation of relevance where necessary, not expecting people to read a whole article to parse what you mean). Again, this will apply to all sides of the debate, because there is so much misrepresentation and miscommunication all round – weka.]
… Ani O'Brien and Rachel Stewart who believe gender is immutable.
Gender is a social construct, so I'd be astonished if either of those people has claimed it's "immutable" (or any synonym thereof). Perhaps you've confused sex and gender? If not, can you provide evidence for your claim they believe gender is fixed?
mod note for you Muttonbird.
What PM said re sex and gender (in this debate gender is no longer interchangeable with biological sex as a term). You need to now either provide evidence that Stewart and O'Brien believe gender is immutable, or you need to retract this.
To help you out, GCFs believe that biological sex is immutable, and that gender is a social construct that harms women. GCFs generally support gender non-conformity and believe that rigid gender roles should be abolished. Many support trans people having the same rights as everyone else, but they do have significant issues with transphobia within their movement and in the GC movements more broadly (imo it's not dissimilar to say the left having internal issues with sexism/misogyny, or feminism having internal issues with classism or racism).
My advice is that if you want to take part in this debate you educate yourself, because this is not the first time you have gotten the basics wrong.
O'Brien is a GCF. Don't know if Stewart describes herself as that, but she seems generally aligned.
Biological sex isn't immutable either.
Biologist explains 'Biological Sex' is complicated: A thread.
Male or female? It's not always so simple
Sex isn’t binary, and we should stop acting like it is
Biological sex isn't immutable either.
It is immutable given our current level of technology, at least. Or can you point out an example of a human being whose sex changed from one to another?
You've provided some links from scientists trying to obfuscate sex for political purposes. None of those articles alters the facts that Homo Sapiens is sexually dimorphic and in almost all cases the sex of an individual is clear from their physiology. The existence of a tiny percentage of intersex cases (something inevitable given how messy biology is) doesn't make sex a "spectrum."
Any person who has transitioned.
Um… evidence? You seem to know more about biology than the experts I cited.
Thus spake Psycho Milt.
It's a messy subject that's for sure, but the certainty that you and GCFs exhibit is unwarranted. It's more complicated than judging people by how they look to you.
Any person who has transitioned.
No person who has transitioned has changed their sex. We don't have the technical capability to turn male into female and vice versa – maybe we will one day, but we certainly don't right now.
Um… evidence?
The evidence is there in the articles. The attempt to talk up a tiny percentage of intersex cases into sex being a spectrum is unscientific and has an obvious political agenda.
It's more complicated than judging people by how they look to you.
Well, yes, exactly. The fact that somebody looks male or female to you doesn't necessarily mean they are the sex you're assuming – that's the whole basis on which transsexuals use transitioning to help alleviate their gender dysphoria.
Gender can be as complicated as you like. Which sex you are isn't complicated at all though, unless you're one of a very small number of intersex people (who are not "trans" and shouldn't be lumped in with them).
Says you, because you are wedded to essentialist view of sex and gender.
I was asking for evidence for your assertion that these scientific concepts are "trying to obfuscate sex for political purposes". That's a fairly big claim.
A corollary is that your desire to ignore/dismiss a minority of peoples experiences is also unscientific and has a political agenda; one that has many ideologies in common with conservative thought on the issue.
You have dismissed all of the scientifically proven variations that exist in the biological (chromosomal, hormonal etc) expression of sex that my links provide. Intersex individuals are already 'lumped in' with trans people as part of the minority; Queer people, LGBTQIA+. Why do you assume that there are no trans intersex people?
you are wedded to essentialist view of sex and gender.
Recognising that sexual reproduction involves two sexes and that the two have distinct roles in reproduction isn't "essentialist," it's "rationalist." And what an "essentialist" view of gender would look like I have no idea, given that gender's a social construct.
I was asking for evidence for your assertion that these scientific concepts are "trying to obfuscate sex for political purposes".
And I gave it. Like any biological process, sexual reproduction isn't perfect and there are defects. Occasionally those defects occur in the reproductive system itself. In humans, the defects large enough to bring the sex of the person into question involve a fraction of one per cent of live births. For a scientist to present this tiny minority of defects as evidence that sex is a spectrum can only be deliberate obfuscation, because a scientist wouldn't do that in error – it would be like claiming that the existence of birth defects involving the legs means that humans aren't bipedal and number of legs is a spectrum. Likewise, the motivation for the obfuscation is clearly political – scientists don't obfuscate just because they're bored.
… your desire to ignore/dismiss a minority of peoples experiences is also unscientific…
I don't dismiss anyone's experiences, unless their claimed experience is highly unlikely (eg I dismiss people's experiences of being cured by faith healers) or contradicted by physical reality (eg I dismiss Muhammad's experience of riding a flying horse to Jerusalem). The idea that a human can change sex under our current technological capability is contradicted by physical reality.
You have dismissed all of the scientifically proven variations that exist in the biological (chromosomal, hormonal etc) expression of sex that my links provide.
Not at all. I've just pointed out that they don't alter the fact that Homo Sapiens is sexually dimorphic.
Why do you assume that there are no trans intersex people?
Trans intersex people? Which sex would they be transitioning from, do you think?
I tire of your deliberate ignorance of the terminology of this subject that you are clearly deeply invested in. I will not continue to attempt to correct your assumptions.
From the one they were assigned at birth, like all trans people.
What is this 'clear Political motivation'? What is their goal?
I tire of your deliberate ignorance of the terminology of this subject that you are clearly deeply invested in.
Right back atcha. I'm invested in this subject only to the extent that it's the most intense example of the infestation of the left with postmodernist bullshit. That, I care a lot about.
What is this 'clear Political motivation'? What is their goal?
You've demonstrated the motivation in this thread – it's to provide gender identity enthusiasts with ammunition to claim biological sex is a spectrum. The goal is public acceptance of sex self-id.
Yikes. I'll just leave you and DF to roll in that sty.
What's the issue? And alternatively how would you be ID-ing peoples sex then?
What's the issue?
Sigh. Feminists have written plenty about what the issue is, it's easy enough to educate yourself on that subject.
I reject your assertion that 'Feminists have written plenty about what the issue is' because plenty of feminists have no issue with sex self-ID. Some percentage of self-described feminists have a problem with it.
I notice you have failed to articulate how you intend to ID peoples sex if self-ID is an issue
…plenty of feminists have no issue with sex self-ID.
I think most people reading this blog grasp the idea that feminism isn't a monolith and don't need me to explain it to them.
I notice you have failed to articulate how you intend to ID peoples sex if self-ID is an issue
Given the lack of difficulties arising from doing without sex self-ID for the last however-many-million years, I don't believe it needs any explanation.
Right so the particular group you're referring to when you say 'Feminists have written plenty about what the issue is' are a small minority of feminism who are arguing against the majority of feminism, I have read their arguments and found them lacking. As you say it is an Appeal to Nature 'for the last however-many-million years'.
But the reason this issue is being discussed is because we have differing views about the 'lack of difficulties' preceding this present. Trans, non-binary and intersex people are among the most marginalised people around the globe and enforcing a Manichaean view of sex/gender etc isn't helping people feel welcome in this world.
…[gender-critical feminists] are a small minority of feminism…
…in your opinion. I haven't seen any figures putting percentages on it, but it wouldn't alter my statement anyway. A minority opinion is no less valid than a majority opinion, what counts are the arguments.
… it is an Appeal to Nature…
I'm the last person who'd argue that 'natural' is a synonym for 'good.' I'm arguing that physical reality is unaltered by our feelings about it.
Trans, non-binary and intersex people are among the most marginalised people around the globe…
That's a situation that can't be improved via dishonesty. It's wrong to discriminate against them per se, there's no need to invent stories about sex supposedly being a matter of what your feelings about it are.
I have provided links to back up my argument. You have decided that you know better than the science and don't need to provide any evidence beyond your reckons, and your appeal to nature.
I think people use the term sex in somewhat different ways. For instance there is no scientific doubt that humans need two different sexes to reproduce, and that humans have only two sexes. We call them male and female, but the mechanism for reproduction relies on large gametes (egg) and small ones (sperm), there is no third gamete in that, only two and they are binary (distinct from each other always but needed in relationship to each other) There are important evolutionary reasons for this. This is how it is for a great many organisms.
This is different from how humans ascribe meaning to biological sex (and consequently gender). I think what is happening currently is a fight over power to determine what meaning 'sex' has for humans (and consequently gender), and science is being used by several sides to justify their position. I can see it argued both ways, but remain unconvinced that either is absolutely right (apart from the bit above about reproduction). I'm much more interested in who is served by the fight over power. I don't think it is women or trans ppl. Also not the left or progressives or life on earth that is under threat from human civilisations.
My preference is to step out that of that binary thinking (TA vs GCF, right vs wrong) and see what can be salvaged and rebuilt past the damage done by the war. I also think that being able to talk about it is critical and much of the damage has occurred because of heavy duty suppression of debate.
There needs to be two types of gametes yes, not necessarily two different sexes, and their is indeed scientific doubt that there are only two sexes, I provided the links. The association of these types of gametes with the physiological forms of 'male' and 'female' is the essentialist thinking we must move beyond. If I am infertile, if I choose not to reproduce, if I produce both gamete types, I am no longer male or female? Also how are we to know what type of gametes a person produces before assigning their sex/gender? I understand there is fight of these definitions but I fail to see who is benefitting by restricting sex/gender to these essentialist lines. It is a rehashing of the conservative 'its just natural' argument.
Could you perhaps point me to a definition of the gender-critical position?
I'm confused. Someone who has surgery to become binary means there's a third gender? Evolution wisely doesn'twant adaptive pressure on sexual reproduction since invariable it would mean infertility, since there has been a quite recent development of the chemical industrial revolution… …sure no absolutes in evolution but also a very plausible reason for the new wave of people needing surgery.
Humans evolution isn't really driven by natural selection, hasn't been for most of history. Evolution isn't 'wise' and does not want anything.
Evolution wants to survive to reproduce, it will choose behaviours that accomplish this since those that don't aren't successful. Wisely evolution guards most intensely against changes to sexual reproducion, those strains more likely to mutate their sexually are also less likely to reproduce. Humans are currently experiencing a over population period that all species, sooner or later, adapt their environment to increase resources, reduce risks of death naturally enter into. This is when species bifurcated, over population in Africa push early hominids into desert regions and a land bridge to Asia.
If it needs surgery it ain't a gender change, it's a cultural one. Since the genes aren’t passed on any more or less than they would have been.
The association of these types of gametes with the physiological forms of 'male' and 'female' is the essentialist thinking we must move beyond.
We must? Given that 'male' and 'female' are the names of the two sexes producing those two types of gametes, there is no obvious reason why we 'must' change their definitions to something unrelated to the two sexes.
If I am infertile, if I choose not to reproduce, if I produce both gamete types, I am no longer male or female?
Nope. Humans have two arms and two legs, but that doesn't mean you cease to be human if you lose a limb.
… who is benefitting by restricting sex/gender to these essentialist lines.
Sex and gender are different things. Who is benefiting by conflating them into "sex/gender?"
No, you are a ‘defect’ apparently. as you said above.
People who do not neatly fit into either, or both, false binaries.
as you said above.
The fact that biological processes aren't perfect doesn't make people "defects." This kind of deliberate misrepresentation is part of the "fight" weka refers to.
People who do not neatly fit into either, or both, false binaries.
Gender isn't binary. Sex is. This stuff isn't rocket science, despite postmodernists' attempts to portray it as a great, complicated mystery.
It certainly read that way. I apologise if that wasn't your intention.
From my first link:
Sex isn't binary either. It's not rocket science, it's not postmodernism, it's biology.
Yes, that's a good example. List the various ways sexual reproduction doesn't work perfectly in a tiny fraction of the population, describe them as though they were common and widespread features of that population, and to the credulous it sounds like sex isn't binary. It's obfuscation, and it's deliberate.
From my third link:
It's deliberate alright. The goal is positive change for marginalised people, why is this bad?
It's bad because:
1. Sex isn't a spectrum. Promoting something obviously untrue is unethical and causes rational people to reject your ideas, which is counter-productive.
2. Scientists using their knowledge to obfuscate rather than inform brings science into disrepute and harms every other area of science (eg, if we know that there are biologists with an agenda peddling a lie for political purposes, we might be more inclined to believe AGW-denier propaganda).
3. Promoting something obviously untrue doesn't actually help marginalised people, because the bigots marginalising them will regard the fact their opposition is lying as an endorsement of their views, and otherwise-neutral people will regard other claims in support of marginalised people with suspicion.
4. Because sex clearly is binary even to people who know little about it, conflating sex and gender can only encourage people to think of gender as binary, which is horribly counter-productive for everybody, not just trans people.
I have provided links to back up my argument. You have decided that you know better than the science and don't need to provide any evidence beyond your reckons, and your appeal to nature.
I know you hate me for some reason, Weka.
I doesn't seem to matter what I post about, there is a lengthy authoritarian statement with demands in bold to follow.
Having worked at home this morning I have to physically go to work now so I will not be able to meet your requests until later.
I did think my last response on this topic after your last bold writings was sufficient, with short explanations and links as demanded above, because you didn't respond letting me know whether it was satisfactory or not, according to you.
I sincerely hope other moderations and the owner of this site see things differently.
Later is fine. I probably lost track of the last time, I'll have a look and respond. I did look up the previous gender discussion before I moderated today and saw a similar pattern that I thought I had addressed clearly. Making assertions about public figures requires evidence if there is doubt about accuracy. If someone posted a political comment that included that say Ardern believed that NZ should be more centrist than it is, I'd certainly expect them to provide some evidence.
As I've said today, I think if you want to engage in this debate you need to educate yourself. You can still take the position you do, but you cannot mislead especially about public figures.Also, I’m no saying this to be patronising, but the debate elsewhere on the internet is often a nasty shit show and I’d highly encourage you to take the time to learn the deeper debate so you can avoid that. My commitment at the moment is to prevent debate on TS from becoming a shit show as well.
In terms of your general commenting history, you have posted here for many years about all sorts of things and not gotten a huge amount of moderator attention. To me this moderation today is just a setting of boundaries as discussion about trans/gender on TS increases. It's not even about you, you're just the one being more proactive about it. Whoever brings this topic up needs to take more care than usual, and again this applies to all sides.
Please also bear in mind that much of moderation boils down to us not having to spend excess time on moderation. The requirement from me about how to provide evidence has been consistent for most of the time I've been moderating. It's mostly about me not having to read lengthy pieces and trying to guess why someone thinks it backs up their assertion. But it's also because other people shouldn't have to do this either, and debate improves when communication is clear.
edited.
just checked, last time this came up I didn't bold moderate.
/open-mike-29-12-2019/#comment-1675915
Without going over that discussion again, I think you are missing the core of the moderation now. You can make whatever political arguments you want (within the limits of the Policy), and you can express opinions, but when you start making assertions you have to back them up if required. This has been TS Policy for longer than I have been here,
That is sad about the young man's suicide. Am hoping social media wasn't a contributing factor 🙁
It seems it was.
♡ He was just a baby (my opinion is anyone 26 or under) starting out in the world, but seems to have achieved quite a lot. Thoughts with the family x
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_and_gender_distinction
And now they start kicking the Bern.
Amazed it took that long but they can't ignore him any longer.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/01/13/sanders-flubs-his-new-york-times-ed-board-interview/
In terms of forecast pledged delegates, Sanders is in about the same position this time as he was against Hilary Clinton. Biden is still the firm favourite to win the Democratic Presidential nomination.
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2020-primary-forecast/new-hampshire/
With Booker and Williams out, Buttigieg fading and Warren long since plateaued, delegates and donors will be able to focus their minds and stop wasting their time on the never-coulda outliers.
Hmm we should start too see where the race is going after February 3rd with the Iowa caucuses
Biden is no Clinton but a win here is vitally important as is New Hampshire soon after Iowa for that all important momentum.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/us/elections/2020-presidential-election-calendar.html
Check this out.
Bernie leading in Iowa.
I could not possibly think of any reason why donald Trump would agree with you and confirm Bernie Sanders as the frontrunner in the Democratic candidate race 🙂
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-campaign-dubs-bernie-sanders-the-new-dem-frontrunner
Of course he'll turn up.
Assad runs an hereditary, thuggish kleptocracy tRump can only dream of.
In a video of the conversation between Assad and Putin at the Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary in Damascus, Assad mentions the Apostle Paul’s conversion to Christianity after a vision at the gate of Damascus, Axios reported.
“If Trump arrives along this road, everything will become normal with him too," the Syrian leader said, according to the news outlet.
“It will be repaired … invite him. He will come,” Putin reportedly responds, with Assad responding that he is prepared to invite Trump and Putin resolving to pass the message along.
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/477900-putin-urges-syrias-assad-to-invite-trump-for-visit
No need Joe – tRump already has divinity status
Stats NZ reports that a 2.7% lift in monthly building consents for November saw the annual level of consents around the country hit over 37,000 for the first time since the 1970s
https://www.interest.co.nz/property/103227/stats-nz-reports-27-lift-monthly-building-consents-november-saw-annual-level
There are a lot of interesting links in this dairy at Daily Kos. (Disclaimer: i have enjoyed DK since 2003 when some of the writers there were Steve Gilliard (rip) and Billmon (who stopped blogging. Moon of Alabama comes of the defunkt BillmonBlog )
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/1/13/1909613/-Climate-models-suggest-global-food-system-crisis-at-hand-dust-bowl-scenarios-now-locked-in?utm_campaign=trending
btw, it finally 'rained'. Its more of a drizzle, but at least it has been a fairly constant one, it is needed as our soils are dry. Trees dropping fruit and leaves browning. Its that lingering drought of ours. We should think about that every now and then.
Water is a natural resource and should belong too all New Zealanders.
http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2020/01/ending-governments-charade-over-water.html
Why is climate change so dangerous?
Understanding climate change
When temperatures between day and night time can vary as much as 20 degrees. And differences between seasons can vary by even more.
How can a small average rise of one or two degrees, globally, be dangerous?
How can an average global rise of only a few millimetres in our oceans be dangerous?
The clue is in the words 'globally' and 'average'
Think of it this way way.
In the open ocean the tides raised by the pull of the moon are only a little over a half a metre.
It is because the average tidal pull of the moon on the earth's oceans gets amplified locally that we can get tides of up to 16m in some places.
The same with an average rise in sea level of one or two millimetres due the melting of Greenland ice cap. A small rise in average oceanic sea levels can in some places and on some occasions be amplified to more than a metre. When you add in the effect of climate change fueled super storms, in some places and on some occasions a small global average rise in sea level can multiply localised storm surges by 3m or more.
The same with climate change, some places the effects of climate change are more pronounced than others. The North polar region, for instance, is heating up much faster than almost any other region of the planet. (with global consequences).
These localised effects and amplifications can vary, already dry places may get dryer. Already wet places may get wetter. Depending on different varying local conditions, (topography, wind and water currents), the inverse can also happen.
Another question people ask, is how can CO2 which is a trace gas in our atmosphere, amounting to only 0.04% of Earth's Atmosphere be responsible for so much heating?
The answer lies in the qualitative difference between CO2 and nitrogen. At 78% nitrogen makes up the vast bulk of our atmosphere, but nitrogen is completely transparent to infrared radiation, (radiative heat). CO2 on the other hand blocks radiative heat, trapping it.
Think of it this way
Fill a bath to the top with completely transparent water from your bath tap. Now get an eye dropper and fill it with Indian ink. Drop into the clear bath water the same proportion of Indian ink into the clear bath water as there is CO2 in the atmosphere. Note the very visible difference in the bath water to let visible light pass through it.
Wow. That is a powerful analogy.
US attack ads really are something.