Conversation around the various BBQs I went to this summer invariably had a general sentiment that we currently have the most left talking right acting government we’ve ever seen.
She is really giving Helen Clarke a run for her money as being most centrist Labour PM ever…yuk.
Though I wish they would just drop this centre-left carry on, Labour is a free market liberal party that has its own specific quite clearly defined political ideology, which as can be plainly seen NOT Left wing…so just call them Centrist or Liberal Centrist or whatever the hell , but not Centre Left that terminology is just confusing everybody and mudding the waters for people advocating for an actual Left wing project
She worked for Helen Clark, much of the people that are around now would have been around then, just as she was.
She never was going to be anything more then she is now. A good manager, risk averse, nice rethoric and a tight fist holding the purse. And sadly this is the issue as in our times risk averse and safely safely is not going to go to far.
Well I guess as he was a known war criminal at the time I suppose we could call Ardern one of Tony Blairs War criminal assistants…or something to that effect…there is an old saying 'lay down with dogs and you get up with fleas"
Tony Blair prosecution over Iraq war blocked by judges
"The decision blocks an attempt by a former Iraqi general, Abdulwaheed al-Rabbat, to bring a private war crimes prosecution against the former Labour leader.
The two judges recognised that a crime of aggression had recently been incorporated into international law, but said it did not apply retroactively."
Obfuscating, diverting, and not actually answering the question.
However, you decided that it gave you a segue to come up with a rather dim-witted label for Ardern. I hope you were just being cynical and don’t actually believe that nonsense, but you wouldn’t be the first one here to smoke their own dope, getting high and loving it.
OK fair enough, well how about answering my question…would you work for the organization of a known war criminal just so you can have your precious overseas experience?
In my opinion this is exactly where the political pragmatism that is so much a part of the Ardern brand gets you…a straight line from knowingly working for the organization of known war criminals to not using your political capital to push through a capital gains tax or wealth tax when it is so obviously needed…personally I feel is says a lot about her character.
Regardless of what you think of the Iraq war (and I was one of the many who marched against it down Lambton Quay at the time) – Tony Blair is not a convicted 'war criminal'. Nor was he when Ardern worked for him.
Over the years I've either turned down or not applied for perfectly suited roles in the coal industry, but I regarded that as a personal choice I had the luxury of making. But then condemning anyone else who did work in that industry always struck me as a step too far.
Come on red, she even admits herself there was a serious problem with Blair herself, and of course he is not a convicted war criminal, in what world was Blair or Bush ever going to be convicted for their crimes? not the one we live in that id for sure, hell even most of the reporters in the US who came out against that war at the time quickly ended up losing their jobs, and the ones who promoted it are still on MSM.
I think it now widely accepted that Blair should have been made to accept responsibility for his part in that illegal war, and you can be quite sure that were he a leader from a African or Eastern European country he would almost certainly would have been.
And your final argument holds no water, we are not talking about some personal acquaintance who takes on some dodgy job…we are talking about the leader of our country.
I agree that political pragmatism can be taken too far if it is not tempered and guided.
For one, I don’t see a straight line where you’re seeing one; people are more complex than a simple connecting of two dots of your choosing. Do I condemn Ardern for her choices? No. Then again, Arendt wrote about the banality of evil and I do think that applies to Ardern, in this case, but possibly not in the way you might think. You’re too impulsive (by your own admission) to my liking to even try start a discussion with you on this topic.
Hypothetically speaking, my answer to your question is No.
Trust Incognito to bring up the good old "everyone else was doing it" defense … working for someone considered a war criminal ..working in an organisation controlled and nurtured by said war criminal…all fine as long as there are exactly how many other brave young souls doing their OE??….not to mention the tone of regret at her lack of contact with the Big Cheese Himself..(my italics)
"She didn't realise till she got to London what a tiny cog she would be – "we were in a unit of 80, and we were one of many units" – and that the connection to Blair was zilch.
"I was working alongside small businesses, trying to make their lives easier. Once I got over myself I just got into the work."
or…for that matter…helping people who's lives are being made harder by the very policies of New Labour…
Trust Incognito to bring up the good old “everyone else was doing it” defense … [sic]
I’m sorry to disappoint you. I could also ask you when/where I ever used that kind of stupid reasoning and to provide a link but that would be giving you rope and hang you at the same time, which is so unfair, don’t you agree?
Adrian and you seem adamant on making your points whilst causing as much collateral damage as you can. It is a kind of ‘pragmatic activism’ AKA the end justifies the means as practiced too by your heroes Sir John Key and Donald Trump.
For intelligent well-read people you really suck at (political) debate 🙁
Amazing. I wonder who told her story to her Alma Mata? The University of Waikato.PR Department wasn't it?
They describe it as follows. "She then moved overseas to London, where she worked as a senior policy advisor for British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the UK Cabinet Office. She was also seconded to the Home Office to assist with a review of policing in England and Wales."
Senior Advisor. Seconded to the Home Office. That sounds a great deal more impressive than what you say, doesn't it?
Morrissey said so and he’ll know, it is in his link. Take it up with him, if you must. It is not my job to make somebody else’s CV sound more “impressive” but feel free to knock yourself out; you sound bored.
She is really giving Helen Clarke a run for her money as being most centrist Labour PM ever…yuk.
Not really, no. I don't think we'll see an Ardern version of the Nathaniel Brandon Institute, for example. The Labour party was more in the throes of neoliberalism under Clark. Though no more inclined to make waves – and lacking a strong economic voice to contest the arrant nonsense coming out of Treasury, the Ardern government is coming to recognize that the fastest growing inequality in the OECD, a high suicide rate, and declining home ownership are not a ringing endorsement of neoliberal policies. And, though it has moved very slowly on it, it is gradually realizing how pervasive immigration rorts had become under the lackadaisical oversight of MBIE.
As long as one is happy to die of old age before economic justice issues are addressed, one can be somewhat satisfied with the government – just don't expect to make up any ground lost to civil service corruption or inertia. The government has decreed NZers are to be wretchedly poor.
@Ad, "aggressive patronising commenting 'style' to be unpleasant, unnecessary and frankly unhelpful" that is all he ever really offers, because he has nothing else..I guess he finds defending his centrist liberal positions becoming a very hard lesson in futility, so he lashes out.
In my opinion, that is a bad mischaracterisation and feels like an ad hom, partly or mainly (?) because you strongly disagree with his views. He has written many various Posts here that show that he is not shallow and can be a deep thinker. That said, you’re not the first and most likely not the last one who’s lashed out at him with cheap body shots.
Direct and to the point. Agreed. But the charges will never be dropped.
In America they prosecute whistleblowers and deny them the ability to answer the charges.
In NZ they don't bother with prosecutions except in exceptional cases (eg Dr Bill Sutch), they simply destroy whistleblowers' careers /reputations and no-one is any the wiser what is going on behind their backs.
We underestimate just how offended the national security grouping was at Snowden and Assange. From their perspective they felt deeply betrayed and aggrieved. These are people to whom loyalty is everything, so it's not surprising they want the rules applied to the letter of the law.
But the natsec types aren't the dominant influence in Washington at the moment, and the USA is a complex mix of political forces. The stars may yet align to see the charges dropped.
They were also "offended" by Daniel Ellsberg. They continue to be outraged by truth-tellers/journalists/defectors. They're not very good at actually debating them, however, as this exchange with Glenn Greenwald shows….
Classic clip, well there is good reason why Greenwald, Mate', Taibbi have never been invited on to ANY MSM Liberal new show in the past four years, (with maybe a couple of extremely rare exceptions) to offer a counter narrative to Russiagate….because people like Maddow and Kim Hill do not have the strength of their convictions just like the various Russiagaters on this site.
When confronted with a request of offering up actual evidence all they ever do dodge, bluster and boil…take this simple question, why has there never been allowed any counter narrative to Russsiagate on liberal MSM?…keeping in mind that probably the most powerful intelligence organization in the history of human existence spent four long years on this issue, surely they with all that massive, incredible endless human resource at their disposal, they could put together the evidence that would allow Kim Hill and Maddow to blow a few leftie journalists counter narratives out of the water? so why never a counter narrative?… no it seems they are not confident in their position, so therefore obviously unwilling to test their conspiracy theories out in public view, no, just like all the Russiagaters around here, all just so much hot air and never any substance.
On the one hand, maybe every interviewer, editor, and producer is intent on concealing the truth.
On the other hand, maybe the mainstream assessment of "Russiagate" pretty much matches the actual facts, which would make "counter narratives" actively misleading. And maybe some interviewers and producers also think Greenwald and one or two others are jerks.
OK McFlock, then we can all take it from your answer, that when Liberal MSM deem any subject not ever worthy of debating or not ever having even one counter narrative (and let’s remember that even climate change was allowed to be debated vigorously until only recently) then you are quite happy with that arrangement?
…you know, sort of like there was little to no debate (in the US) on the illegal war in Iraq from MSM liberal press? I guess you were happy with that then as well?
Or no debate in the US media today on whether a non US citizen such as Assange can or even should be extradited to the US…no, but of course you are happy with that, and do you know how I know that you are OK with all of this..because I have watched your comments on this forum over time, and it has become as clear as day that if liberal MSM say jump…NcFlock will answer immediately and with all the enthusiasm he can muster “how high sir”
Btw, who gives a fuck if someone is a jerk? …by using your always flawed logic, if a person is a “jerk” but happens to have the information needed to make a piece of information whole and legible you wouldn’t communicate with them, and so carry on your life disseminating half-truths (at best) …yep, that is you all over pal.
This is a simple "which is more likely" situation.
On the one hand, everyone from Kim Hill to Rachel Maddow ("with very few exceptions") is working to suppress the idea that Russia did not attempt to influence the 2016 US elections.
On the other hand, everyone from Kim Hill to Rachel Maddow ("with very few exceptions") thinks that Greenwald's comments are not newsworthy (or accurate) enough to put on air. Or they think he is newsworthy, they just don't like him.
I tend to towards the idea that they just don't think his "counter-narrative" has much basis in reality.
Skimming the rest of your comment, you seem to get carried away with your own flecks of spit, as usual. Although the take that a country cannot request the extradition of a non-citizen of that country is particularly odd.
On the other hand, maybe the mainstream assessment of "Russiagate" pretty much matches the actual facts, …
Considering the Steele report was a key supporting document for Russiagate, and was hyped in the media for months, possibly years, and would later be investigated and described by the Inspector General as "Internet rumour". I would be calling into question whether the mainstream has really any idea on actual facts.
So a third possibility: with very few exceptions, everyone in the non-Russian and non-Chinese media has been hoodwinked into not knowing fiction from the facts that Greenwald and similar can prove beyond doubt.
I guess that goes for all the official investigations and court cases relating to the ouevre of the "counter-narratives" .
SWB (Solar/Wind/Battery) tech will be an essential component of the transition off fossil fuels. I'm generally scrupulous not to throw rocks at the people pushing it and I think a great deal of useful tech will evolve from the effort.
But it has fundamental physical limitations and environmental trade offs all of its own. Ignoring them is another kind of folly.
It’s only if we assume a substantial reduction in energy usage that the project becomes feasible. But that requires us to question human behavior and expectations about economic growth.
We cannot decry poverty on one hand – and demand a reduction in economic activity at the same time. Yes some small fraction of humanity consume excessively and can be scaled back – the vast majority of us do not.
Low-carbon technology is good. But by itself it will not resolve humanity’s ecological dilemma.
The Kaya Identity conclusively shows that zero-carbon tech is the only possible solution.
Ecological economists understand that aiming for perpetual growth on a finite planet is a ticket to tragedy.
The weasel word here is 'perpetual growth' with the implication that we will simply keep expanding on exactly the same population and technological trajectory. This is a nonsense – population growth rates peaked in 1968 and most developed nations of the world are already fasting ageing into decline.
What may well be true is that we're reaching not so much 'peak oil', but we're running into the limits of what can be efficiently done with fossil fuels – regardless of their impact on climate.
The point totally missed by the OP is that unless we not only get to zero carbon and closed loop resource economies – no matter how much we 'slow down' or 'change direction' – we will eventually exhaust the various mineral extraction and environmental sinks anyway. Whether it takes us 50 years or 500 really doesn't matter in the long run.
Atmospheric carbon is just one balance we need to restore; but the limitations of fossil fuels and renewables means that we can never attain sufficient energy intensity and efficiency to de-couple from our total dependence on exploiting the natural world.
Building machines to suck CO2 out of the air is a reflex response for people hooked on technofixes,
And doing nothing to get CO2 back below 350ppm – while demanding we crash the human economies at the same time – is literally choosing the worst of both worlds at the same time.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
I found this hard to believe until I realised it is a migrant woman. Maybe more protections are needed? The couple she moved in with wouldn't give her a key, meaning if they left the house she had to leave too.
Absolutely weird. This is clearly not a standard rental situation – it reads much more like a flatmate or boarding arrangement and the couple who own the place are clearly not landlords in the usual sense.
Boarding/flatting can go badly wrong like this – especially when diverse people who're essentially strangers have to share a living space. Not sure how 'more protections' can be made to work in these non-rental scenarios.
A majority of senators voted to indict him but didn’t meet the 2/3rds majority required. What a bunch of self-centred, lily-livered arseholes those Republicans are. Little better than Trump in fact.
No better and in many cases worse. They have been his enablers for the past 4 years. The subsequent comments by McConnell after voting to aquit the Chump show him to be completely two faced.
Seems that Southerners who long for days past and hope that their patsy Mr. Trump should pave the way. It is amazing that insurrection has not been condemned and brought to justice. Is there an expectation that the USA will split in two in the years to come, with the southern states ruled like a fiefdom?
Are you saying that Biden should concede retrospectively to Trump? Swear him in in one second and the next serve him with a bi-cameral impeachment?
My hope is that Trump will face justice as McConnell allowed within two years, be convicted and then see the Republicans face their biennial doom when the next round of elections begins. Even better if Trump has his own party, or the Republicans have to form a no to Trump party, to divide the Right even more.
I understand. It's a pity they can't do a retrospective action based on the time Congress first set impeachment proceedings to begin ie before January 20 and be able to retrospectively fire him, stop his salary and stop the perks while awaiting further civil and/or criminal legal action.
We believe the 43 who said it was a constitutional issue only, don't we, rather than running scared at the reaction of a part of the 74 million? That's why I want them to suffer badly in two year's time at those elections and in 2024 so they will understand that the right thing to do is also the best politics to play.
Don't know. Could happen in NZ- and needs to, in the National party. John Key got the Helensville nomination over a sitting MP, after all, not that I'm saying the Nats need more John Keys……. But, the US media commentators on CNN were saying that the 43 were running scared of Trump and being dumped.
Money talks. The GOP have put $325,000 into a campaign to oust the new California governor, using a recall system with seemingly an analogous scheme to the recall system in NZ on Maori wards which Labour is repealing.
Only one, Murkowski, is up for re-election in 2022. Romney is up for reelection in 2024. The reset have either just been reelected or are departing at the end of their term.
Can the Republican Party stop a current senator from being a candidate?
Essentially they have to win their respective primaries – and Congresswoman Cheney who is the daughter of VP Dick Cheney and 3rd ranking Republican in the House is facing severe criticism from some in her state of Wyoming.
Yes. Having survived the impeachment vote again, Trump could stand for Senate. There is however the possibility that an Amendment 14 action could be taken and he is debarred from taking further office. Am on phone now so can't give links easily here. Will post them later. But there is discussion online should you Google trump amendment 14
Essentially that is the crux of the decision by McConnell to delay the trial until after the inauguration on the 20th Jan. The House were willing to run with an immediate impeachment before the finish of Trumps presidency but McConnell would not have anything to do with it. The hypocrisy of the man is unbelievable. More here:
House majority leader Nancy Pelosi criticized McConnell’s remarks in a press conference on Saturday and said the issue of timing “was not the reason that he voted the way he did; it was the excuse that he used.”
“For Mitch McConnell – who created the situation where it could not have been heard before the 20th, or even begun before the 20th in the Senate – to say all the things he said, oh my gosh, about Donald Trump and how horrible he was and is, and then say, ‘But that’s the time that the House chose to bring it over’ – Oh, no. We didn’t choose. You chose not to receive it,” Pelosi said.
Looks like it's all about letting in overseas "investors" to buy up the place and with the "help" of government accommodation subsidies continue to rip the taxpayer off. One of the canny locals has pointed out that NZ kiwisaver funds cold do this too but there is a lack of local building capacity. So why even bother to let overseas ownership back. And for the student and retired accommodation maybe we should try ushering it out too to reduce the drain to overseas.
So long as there is a local building capacity shortage there are not going to be more houses to own.
Just think what the accommodation supplements could do if they were redirected to aid home ownership ( along with other measures) to get back to the level of ownership we used to have. That should be the policy directions – and push the main centre ghost housing back into service.
Plus how about some more free shortform building courses so that people can learn to build a home for themselves again. It’s not rocket science.
I believe that the issues we are facing with rentals and house affordability is in part and inadvertently caused by the accommodation supplement. Every time it is increased, so are the rents sure to increase too. The taxpayer is being fleeced.
– Helicopter up to the alpine lake on Mt Taranaki. It's a drama
– Their Govett-Brewster Gallery – just for the architecture alone.
– Stratford demolition derby. No one with a caravan is safe.
– Parihaka. Because you need a good weep.
– The coastal walk up to where you see the bridge which also perfectly frames Mt Taranaki behind you. It's the 'Nak Selfie moment.
If you are really, really lucky, bring two bottles of Bourbon and get shitfaced with the locals all night with a smoky driftwood fire on any of the big beaches south of the Awakino. They party pretty hard there, but Sanctuary I know you're up for it.
How about the flour? One positive from Covid was that I learnt to bake sourdough bread and brew kombucha. Tonight's meal was Cullen Skink with sourdough bread, and a glass of homebrew dark ale. The CO2 production has risen though with bread and brews.
Passing through Waihi this evening, I stopped at a garage for a snack, oblivious to the announcements that there was a change in alert levels. (Didn't have access to the news this afternoon)
I was doing my routine Covid scan at the door, and some lout passing through the doors said, "Oh, so there is Covid in Waihi now," got into his car much to the amusement of the others and they departed.
What hope have we got of stopping a spread with people around with that attitude. I just hope they have not visited any "Areas of interest".
Whether neo-liberalism was ever actually useful, and that's a moot point albeit a historical arguments, similar to whether state socialism would yield actual communism, neo-liberalism met its use by date in 2008.
Only the most myopic typified by the like of Roger Douglas, Brash, the fragments of ACT etc failed to grasp so
One for a rainy day, coming to you in the North Island very shortly.
In recent years in particular, anti–Zionism is being deliberately conflated with anti–Semitism to suppress legitimate criticisms of Israeli policies.
This debate features Israel-Palestine with Noam Chomsky & Rudy Rochman, " a young and inspiring activist who uses his growing platform to generate innovative ways to combat anti-Semitism. Rudy is dedicated to fighting antisemitism around the world and strengthening Jews’ connection to the land of Israel. On the other side, Noam Chomsky, a world-renowned intellectual and activist for over 60 years. He has written over 150 books, has multiple arrest records, and is widely known for being a fierce critic of Israel"
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The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Photo by Jari Hytönen on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government is talking up the crucial role of gas as a transition fuel “through to 2050 and beyond”. In a gas strategy to be released on Thursday, the government envisages the fuel’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Next week the government will again next try to get its legislation through to deal with non-citizens who won’t cooperate with efforts to deport them. The bill, which the opposition and crossbench refused to rush ...
A long-term project that will set out an alternative vision for Aotearoa that looks beyond the narrow confines of the policy straight jacket adopted by successive governments. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bree Hurst, Associate Professor, Faculty of Business and Law, QUT, Queensland University of Technology TK Kurikawa/Shutterstock A much-awaited report into Coles and Woolworths has found what many customers have long believed – Australia’s big supermarkets engage in price gouging. What started ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Ghezelbash, Associate Professor and Deputy Director, Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney The Albanese government wanted to avoid an inquiry into its migration amendment bill. The report, handed down yesterday by a senate committee that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joo-Cheong Tham, Professor, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne Lobbying is at the heart of government. Who has access to and influence over key government officials shapes the decisions governments make – and how they make them. The ability to influence ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Myfany Turpin, Associate Professor, Ethnomusicology, Linguistics and Ethnobiology, University of Sydney The act representing Australia at this year’s Eurovision contest has sadly not qualified for the grand final. Yet for Zaachariaha Fielding and Michael Ross, the duo that makes up Electric Fields, ...
In announcing changes to the school lunches programme, David Seymour said kids would no longer be served ‘woke’ foods. To clear up any confusion, The Spinoff has compiled a guide to the wokeness levels of some common food items. Apple = NOT WOKE Avocado = WOKE Avocado, smashed = EVEN ...
The Minister Responsible for GCSB and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security have been notified of this review, and have been provided a finalised Terms of Reference. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Minglu Chen, Senior Lecturer, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney Robert Way/Shutterstock As the past few years have illustrated so clearly, the Australia-China relationship is complicated. As such, it is crucial for Australians to develop a more nuanced understanding of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mariana Campbell, Research Lecturer, Conservation, Charles Darwin University Marilyn Connell Australian freshwater turtles are facing an alarming trend. Almost half of these species are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. The Mary River turtle (Elusor macrurus) is one of Australia’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Debbie Passey, Digital Health Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Josephine Barbaro, Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, Psychologist, La Trobe University Unsplash We’ve come a long way in terms of understanding that everyone thinks, interacts and experiences the world differently. In the past, autistic people, people with attention deficit hyperactive disorder ...
PNG Post-Courier Papua New Guinea’s deputy opposition leader James Nomane has accused the government of “reckless economic management” that has forced devaluation to manage loan repayments in foreign currency and placate the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Prime Minister James Marape “must stop lying to the people of Papua New Guinea”, ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoa’s booksellers. This week: Jane Arthur, author of Brown Bird, and former bookseller at Good Books.The book I wish I’d writtenI have been working on not comparing myself to others. On accepting that what I can ...
The final decision on the Wellington District Plan makes it official: High-density housing is legal across most of Wellington. Housing minister Chris Bishop has announced his decision on the Wellington District Plan, approving a series of amendments to radically upzone most of Wellington, allowing tens of thousands of new townhouses ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to ...
RNZ News As Israel presses ahead with strikes in Rafah and seizing the Rafah crossing from Egypt, aid agencies are sounding the alarm of a “catastrophic humanitarian situation”. Rafah was “significant” because it was the only part in Gaza that had not been terribly damaged by the conflict, United Nations ...
With funding set to be scrapped for the Hamilton-Auckland commuter train, Te Huia enthusiast Georgie Dansey argues for it to be thrown a lifeline. It’s 5.45am and the chain of my crappy old bike falls off slugging up the one hill in Hamilton. I contemplate yeeting the bike into the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Cooke, Honorary Fellow, School of the Environment, The University of Queensland We feel ecological grief when we lose places, species or ecosystems we value and love. These losses are a growing threat to mental health and wellbeing globally. We all see ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shauna Brail, Associate Professor, Institute for Management & Innovation, University of Toronto A shift to hybrid and remote work continues to affect worker presence in Toronto’s downtown.(Shutterstock) Downtown Toronto, the core of Canada’s largest city, continues to reel from the lingering ...
Responding to an Auditor-General's report slamming failures in the administration of the 2023 General Election, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: ...
Productivity apps now make up a big chunk of the software market. But do they work? And why do they all have AI integrations?Despite being firmly on the record as a physical planner fan, I sometimes dream of something better than my pretty diary and its scrawled, ugly, interior ...
The Taxpayers’ Union says the Beehive need to lead by example, following reports of more than $50,000 spent upgrading video conferencing equipment and furniture in the Prime Minister’s office. Taxpayers’ Union Campaign Manager, Connor Molloy, ...
An objective list of the 50 most powerful people in New Zealand, as judged by the Spinoff Editorial Board. It’s power list season, baby, and we want in on the action. Sure, there’s the rich list and the powerful “c-suite” list and the young people with power (hmmm) but here, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thalia Anthony, Professor of Law, University of Technology Sydney ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the names of deceased people, and describes ongoing colonial violence towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. First Nations people in Australia ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Macquarie University Netflix Baby Reindeer’s phenomenal success has much to do with its writer and lead, Richard Gadd, who plays Donny in a tender semi-autobiographical account of sexual abuse, harassment and stalking. Gadd’s story has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle KarolinaGrabowska/Pexels If you didn’t have food allergies as a child, is it possible to develop them as an adult? The short answer is yes. But the reasons why are much ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Moon, Professor of History, Auckland University of Technology Ans Westra, self-portrait, c. 1963. National Library ref AWM-0705-F They try but invariably fail – those writers who believe they are capable of encapsulating in prose or verse the essence of ...
Stewart Sowman-Lund looks at the growing concern around the world in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. What’s all this? When Covid-19 arrived on our shores in early 2020, some argued we were too slow, or crucially, ill-prepared for a pandemic. So ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Franco Montalto, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and Director, Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory, Drexel University Water runs into a storm drain in a Los Angeles alley on Aug. 19, 2023, during Tropical Storm Hilary.Citizen of the Planet/Universal Images ...
The inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones has turned up a new witness who says he saw two teenagers and a small child in a high vis vest in the area where the boy’s body was found the day he died. Lachie’s body was discovered face up ...
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Useful context from local union activist.
https://twitter.com/heyDejan/status/1360456809849364483
Conversation around the various BBQs I went to this summer invariably had a general sentiment that we currently have the most left talking right acting government we’ve ever seen.
She is really giving Helen Clarke a run for her money as being most centrist Labour PM ever…yuk.
Though I wish they would just drop this centre-left carry on, Labour is a free market liberal party that has its own specific quite clearly defined political ideology, which as can be plainly seen NOT Left wing…so just call them Centrist or Liberal Centrist or whatever the hell , but not Centre Left that terminology is just confusing everybody and mudding the waters for people advocating for an actual Left wing project
She worked for Helen Clark, much of the people that are around now would have been around then, just as she was.
She never was going to be anything more then she is now. A good manager, risk averse, nice rethoric and a tight fist holding the purse. And sadly this is the issue as in our times risk averse and safely safely is not going to go to far.
She worked for Helen Clark…
Worse, far worse than that, she worked for Tony Blair.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/96123508/jacinda-ardern-i-didnt-want-to-work-for-tony-blair
Maybe you can clarify this for me, was Ardern Blair’s LH or RH assistant?
Well I guess as he was a known war criminal at the time I suppose we could call Ardern one of Tony Blairs War criminal assistants…or something to that effect…there is an old saying 'lay down with dogs and you get up with fleas"
Cost of Blair's crimes remains incalculable
v=https://www.thetelegram.com/opinion/national-perspectives/scott-taylor-cost-of-blairs-crimes-remains-incalculable-502526/
Tony Blair prosecution over Iraq war blocked by judges
"The decision blocks an attempt by a former Iraqi general, Abdulwaheed al-Rabbat, to bring a private war crimes prosecution against the former Labour leader.
The two judges recognised that a crime of aggression had recently been incorporated into international law, but said it did not apply retroactively."
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jul/31/tony-blair-prosecution-over-iraq-war-blocked-by-judges
Obfuscating, diverting, and not actually answering the question.
However, you decided that it gave you a segue to come up with a rather dim-witted label for Ardern. I hope you were just being cynical and don’t actually believe that nonsense, but you wouldn’t be the first one here to smoke their own dope, getting high and loving it.
Ardern….in her own words….
"I was absolutely gutted. I felt this real dilemma, which was absolutely about Blair."
She still took the job though.
"It was totally pragmatic. I wanted to live overseas. I wanted to have that time and experience abroad."
…would you work for the organization of a known war criminal just so you can have your precious overseas experience…I know I sure as hell would not.
Lovely, but still doesn’t answer the question, which you are fastidiously avoiding. Never mind, I found it in Morrissey’s link, of all places.
OK fair enough, well how about answering my question…would you work for the organization of a known war criminal just so you can have your precious overseas experience?
In my opinion this is exactly where the political pragmatism that is so much a part of the Ardern brand gets you…a straight line from knowingly working for the organization of known war criminals to not using your political capital to push through a capital gains tax or wealth tax when it is so obviously needed…personally I feel is says a lot about her character.
One of your premises is faulty.
Regardless of what you think of the Iraq war (and I was one of the many who marched against it down Lambton Quay at the time) – Tony Blair is not a convicted 'war criminal'. Nor was he when Ardern worked for him.
Over the years I've either turned down or not applied for perfectly suited roles in the coal industry, but I regarded that as a personal choice I had the luxury of making. But then condemning anyone else who did work in that industry always struck me as a step too far.
@ RedLogix
Come on red, she even admits herself there was a serious problem with Blair herself, and of course he is not a convicted war criminal, in what world was Blair or Bush ever going to be convicted for their crimes? not the one we live in that id for sure, hell even most of the reporters in the US who came out against that war at the time quickly ended up losing their jobs, and the ones who promoted it are still on MSM.
I think it now widely accepted that Blair should have been made to accept responsibility for his part in that illegal war, and you can be quite sure that were he a leader from a African or Eastern European country he would almost certainly would have been.
And your final argument holds no water, we are not talking about some personal acquaintance who takes on some dodgy job…we are talking about the leader of our country.
I agree that political pragmatism can be taken too far if it is not tempered and guided.
For one, I don’t see a straight line where you’re seeing one; people are more complex than a simple connecting of two dots of your choosing. Do I condemn Ardern for her choices? No. Then again, Arendt wrote about the banality of evil and I do think that applies to Ardern, in this case, but possibly not in the way you might think. You’re too impulsive (by your own admission) to my liking to even try start a discussion with you on this topic.
Hypothetically speaking, my answer to your question is No.
Good question. I'll get the Daisycutter Sports researchers onto it, pronto.
I’ll save you the time. The answer is: neither, Ardern never even met Blair whilst working in London.
It is in your link, which you obviously hadn’t read yourself
As the article states, she "worked for UK PM Tony Blair's Cabinet Office."
She didn't meet the godfather, but she still worked for that highly controversial gang.
How many worked in that Office at the time?
Trust Incognito to bring up the good old "everyone else was doing it" defense … working for someone considered a war criminal ..working in an organisation controlled and nurtured by said war criminal…all fine as long as there are exactly how many other brave young souls doing their OE??….not to mention the tone of regret at her lack of contact with the Big Cheese Himself..(my italics)
or…for that matter…helping people who's lives are being made harder by the very policies of New Labour…
I’m sorry to disappoint you. I could also ask you when/where I ever used that kind of stupid reasoning and to provide a link but that would be giving you rope and hang you at the same time, which is so unfair, don’t you agree?
Adrian and you seem adamant on making your points whilst causing as much collateral damage as you can. It is a kind of ‘pragmatic activism’ AKA the end justifies the means as practiced too by your heroes Sir John Key and Donald Trump.
For intelligent well-read people you really suck at (political) debate 🙁
"Never even met him?"
Amazing. I wonder who told her story to her Alma Mata? The University of Waikato.PR Department wasn't it?
They describe it as follows. "She then moved overseas to London, where she worked as a senior policy advisor for British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the UK Cabinet Office. She was also seconded to the Home Office to assist with a review of policing in England and Wales."
Senior Advisor. Seconded to the Home Office. That sounds a great deal more impressive than what you say, doesn't it?
https://www.waikato.ac.nz/study/success-stories/jacinda-ardern
Morrissey said so and he’ll know, it is in his link. Take it up with him, if you must. It is not my job to make somebody else’s CV sound more “impressive” but feel free to knock yourself out; you sound bored.
She is really giving Helen Clarke a run for her money as being most centrist Labour PM ever…yuk.
Not really, no. I don't think we'll see an Ardern version of the Nathaniel Brandon Institute, for example. The Labour party was more in the throes of neoliberalism under Clark. Though no more inclined to make waves – and lacking a strong economic voice to contest the arrant nonsense coming out of Treasury, the Ardern government is coming to recognize that the fastest growing inequality in the OECD, a high suicide rate, and declining home ownership are not a ringing endorsement of neoliberal policies. And, though it has moved very slowly on it, it is gradually realizing how pervasive immigration rorts had become under the lackadaisical oversight of MBIE.
As long as one is happy to die of old age before economic justice issues are addressed, one can be somewhat satisfied with the government – just don't expect to make up any ground lost to civil service corruption or inertia. The government has decreed NZers are to be wretchedly poor.
The OP is a sobering read and I could not fault it.
Let’s Keep MovingSteady as she goes …Go on. Put your courage where your mouth is and put it up as an actual post for debate. See if this stacks up once it comes into actual daylight.
These days being condemned by the militant left is like being finger-wagged by the Mormons.
S'cuse me I'll just pop down to New World; I've run out of actual fucks to give.
Well, here it is on OM, where there is daylight aplenty. If you have any actual rebuttal now is your chance to state it.
Personally I find the aggressive patronising commenting 'style' to be unpleasant, unnecessary and frankly unhelpful.
@Ad, "aggressive patronising commenting 'style' to be unpleasant, unnecessary and frankly unhelpful" that is all he ever really offers, because he has nothing else..I guess he finds defending his centrist liberal positions becoming a very hard lesson in futility, so he lashes out.
In my opinion, that is a bad mischaracterisation and feels like an ad hom, partly or mainly (?) because you strongly disagree with his views. He has written many various Posts here that show that he is not shallow and can be a deep thinker. That said, you’re not the first and most likely not the last one who’s lashed out at him with cheap body shots.
Is there a full moon tonight?
First one to molten salt reactors wins.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
The chocolate fish is yours
I too read "mention", somehow, and awarded the fish accordingly 🙂
Tulsi Gabbard on Snowden and Assange. Direct and to the point:
Direct and to the point. Agreed. But the charges will never be dropped.
In America they prosecute whistleblowers and deny them the ability to answer the charges.
In NZ they don't bother with prosecutions except in exceptional cases (eg Dr Bill Sutch), they simply destroy whistleblowers' careers /reputations and no-one is any the wiser what is going on behind their backs.
We underestimate just how offended the national security grouping was at Snowden and Assange. From their perspective they felt deeply betrayed and aggrieved. These are people to whom loyalty is everything, so it's not surprising they want the rules applied to the letter of the law.
But the natsec types aren't the dominant influence in Washington at the moment, and the USA is a complex mix of political forces. The stars may yet align to see the charges dropped.
They were also "offended" by Daniel Ellsberg. They continue to be outraged by truth-tellers/journalists/defectors. They're not very good at actually debating them, however, as this exchange with Glenn Greenwald shows….
Classic clip, well there is good reason why Greenwald, Mate', Taibbi have never been invited on to ANY MSM Liberal new show in the past four years, (with maybe a couple of extremely rare exceptions) to offer a counter narrative to Russiagate….because people like Maddow and Kim Hill do not have the strength of their convictions just like the various Russiagaters on this site.
When confronted with a request of offering up actual evidence all they ever do dodge, bluster and boil…take this simple question, why has there never been allowed any counter narrative to Russsiagate on liberal MSM?…keeping in mind that probably the most powerful intelligence organization in the history of human existence spent four long years on this issue, surely they with all that massive, incredible endless human resource at their disposal, they could put together the evidence that would allow Kim Hill and Maddow to blow a few leftie journalists counter narratives out of the water? so why never a counter narrative?… no it seems they are not confident in their position, so therefore obviously unwilling to test their conspiracy theories out in public view, no, just like all the Russiagaters around here, all just so much hot air and never any substance.
So with "rare exceptions", every mainstream media interviewer in the world is part of the coverup. Sounds legit /sarc
As I just said..as usual obfuscating and not answering the actual question.
That was "obfuscating" for you?
On the one hand, maybe every interviewer, editor, and producer is intent on concealing the truth.
On the other hand, maybe the mainstream assessment of "Russiagate" pretty much matches the actual facts, which would make "counter narratives" actively misleading. And maybe some interviewers and producers also think Greenwald and one or two others are jerks.
"With very few exceptions", lol
OK McFlock, then we can all take it from your answer, that when Liberal MSM deem any subject not ever worthy of debating or not ever having even one counter narrative (and let’s remember that even climate change was allowed to be debated vigorously until only recently) then you are quite happy with that arrangement?
…you know, sort of like there was little to no debate (in the US) on the illegal war in Iraq from MSM liberal press? I guess you were happy with that then as well?
Or no debate in the US media today on whether a non US citizen such as Assange can or even should be extradited to the US…no, but of course you are happy with that, and do you know how I know that you are OK with all of this..because I have watched your comments on this forum over time, and it has become as clear as day that if liberal MSM say jump…NcFlock will answer immediately and with all the enthusiasm he can muster “how high sir”
Btw, who gives a fuck if someone is a jerk? …by using your always flawed logic, if a person is a “jerk” but happens to have the information needed to make a piece of information whole and legible you wouldn’t communicate with them, and so carry on your life disseminating half-truths (at best) …yep, that is you all over pal.
Dude, your first paragraph is bunk.
This is a simple "which is more likely" situation.
On the one hand, everyone from Kim Hill to Rachel Maddow ("with very few exceptions") is working to suppress the idea that Russia did not attempt to influence the 2016 US elections.
On the other hand, everyone from Kim Hill to Rachel Maddow ("with very few exceptions") thinks that Greenwald's comments are not newsworthy (or accurate) enough to put on air. Or they think he is newsworthy, they just don't like him.
I tend to towards the idea that they just don't think his "counter-narrative" has much basis in reality.
Skimming the rest of your comment, you seem to get carried away with your own flecks of spit, as usual. Although the take that a country cannot request the extradition of a non-citizen of that country is particularly odd.
Considering the Steele report was a key supporting document for Russiagate, and was hyped in the media for months, possibly years, and would later be investigated and described by the Inspector General as "Internet rumour". I would be calling into question whether the mainstream has really any idea on actual facts.
So a third possibility: with very few exceptions, everyone in the non-Russian and non-Chinese media has been hoodwinked into not knowing fiction from the facts that Greenwald and similar can prove beyond doubt.
I guess that goes for all the official investigations and court cases relating to the ouevre of the "counter-narratives" .
It'll be interesting to see Te Aupouri pull off this massive solar farm in the way far north:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/124224899/new-zealands-largest-solar-farm-proposed-for-top-of-country
Not sure I've seen a head-to-head choice between a solar farm and the alternative choice to heavy horticulture before.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
SWB (Solar/Wind/Battery) tech will be an essential component of the transition off fossil fuels. I'm generally scrupulous not to throw rocks at the people pushing it and I think a great deal of useful tech will evolve from the effort.
But it has fundamental physical limitations and environmental trade offs all of its own. Ignoring them is another kind of folly.
It’s only if we assume a substantial reduction in energy usage that the project becomes feasible. But that requires us to question human behavior and expectations about economic growth.
We cannot decry poverty on one hand – and demand a reduction in economic activity at the same time. Yes some small fraction of humanity consume excessively and can be scaled back – the vast majority of us do not.
Low-carbon technology is good. But by itself it will not resolve humanity’s ecological dilemma.
The Kaya Identity conclusively shows that zero-carbon tech is the only possible solution.
Ecological economists understand that aiming for perpetual growth on a finite planet is a ticket to tragedy.
The weasel word here is 'perpetual growth' with the implication that we will simply keep expanding on exactly the same population and technological trajectory. This is a nonsense – population growth rates peaked in 1968 and most developed nations of the world are already fasting ageing into decline.
The only place left that is growing is Africa – precisely because it arrived so late at economic development. Overall we will reach peak population mid-century.
What may well be true is that we're reaching not so much 'peak oil', but we're running into the limits of what can be efficiently done with fossil fuels – regardless of their impact on climate.
The point totally missed by the OP is that unless we not only get to zero carbon and closed loop resource economies – no matter how much we 'slow down' or 'change direction' – we will eventually exhaust the various mineral extraction and environmental sinks anyway. Whether it takes us 50 years or 500 really doesn't matter in the long run.
Atmospheric carbon is just one balance we need to restore; but the limitations of fossil fuels and renewables means that we can never attain sufficient energy intensity and efficiency to de-couple from our total dependence on exploiting the natural world.
Building machines to suck CO2 out of the air is a reflex response for people hooked on technofixes,
And doing nothing to get CO2 back below 350ppm – while demanding we crash the human economies at the same time – is literally choosing the worst of both worlds at the same time.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
This comment was moderated only because some nameless person did not have an argument.
I found this hard to believe until I realised it is a migrant woman. Maybe more protections are needed? The couple she moved in with wouldn't give her a key, meaning if they left the house she had to leave too.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/woman-desperate-for-housing-banned-from-showering-more-than-once-every-three-days/G7PJYBIAN7DWRQXNLEEQPWITBI/
Absolutely weird. This is clearly not a standard rental situation – it reads much more like a flatmate or boarding arrangement and the couple who own the place are clearly not landlords in the usual sense.
Boarding/flatting can go badly wrong like this – especially when diverse people who're essentially strangers have to share a living space. Not sure how 'more protections' can be made to work in these non-rental scenarios.
As expected, Trump has been acquitted on charges of insurrection:
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-us-canada-56054136
A majority of senators voted to indict him but didn’t meet the 2/3rds majority required. What a bunch of self-centred, lily-livered arseholes those Republicans are. Little better than Trump in fact.
No better and in many cases worse. They have been his enablers for the past 4 years. The subsequent comments by McConnell after voting to aquit the Chump show him to be completely two faced.
https://twitter.com/kaitlancollins/status/1360697978151919622
Seems that Southerners who long for days past and hope that their patsy Mr. Trump should pave the way. It is amazing that insurrection has not been condemned and brought to justice. Is there an expectation that the USA will split in two in the years to come, with the southern states ruled like a fiefdom?
For over 180 years there have been a number of proposals for Texas to secede from the US. Here is the latest push.
But the simple fact is Texas cannot secede. At least not legally.
Would 10 more Republicans have voted for impeachment were Trump still the President?
See what Trump's next move is.
Are you saying that Biden should concede retrospectively to Trump? Swear him in in one second and the next serve him with a bi-cameral impeachment?
My hope is that Trump will face justice as McConnell allowed within two years, be convicted and then see the Republicans face their biennial doom when the next round of elections begins. Even better if Trump has his own party, or the Republicans have to form a no to Trump party, to divide the Right even more.
The NoT Party.
Biden won the election. It just so happened that the impeachment hearing was held after Trump's term ended.
I understand. It's a pity they can't do a retrospective action based on the time Congress first set impeachment proceedings to begin ie before January 20 and be able to retrospectively fire him, stop his salary and stop the perks while awaiting further civil and/or criminal legal action.
Not knowing if the magic 17 number would have been reached. I feel cheated.
We believe the 43 who said it was a constitutional issue only, don't we, rather than running scared at the reaction of a part of the 74 million? That's why I want them to suffer badly in two year's time at those elections and in 2024 so they will understand that the right thing to do is also the best politics to play.
It will be interesting to see how well the 7 Republican senators do when it comes to re election for the senate.
Can the Republican Party stop a current senator from being a candidate?
Don't know. Could happen in NZ- and needs to, in the National party. John Key got the Helensville nomination over a sitting MP, after all, not that I'm saying the Nats need more John Keys……. But, the US media commentators on CNN were saying that the 43 were running scared of Trump and being dumped.
Money talks. The GOP have put $325,000 into a campaign to oust the new California governor, using a recall system with seemingly an analogous scheme to the recall system in NZ on Maori wards which Labour is repealing.
Only one, Murkowski, is up for re-election in 2022. Romney is up for reelection in 2024. The reset have either just been reelected or are departing at the end of their term.
https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1360695527671693314
Essentially they have to win their respective primaries – and Congresswoman Cheney who is the daughter of VP Dick Cheney and 3rd ranking Republican in the House is facing severe criticism from some in her state of Wyoming.
Can Trump stand in the senate primaries?
You always give good explanations.
Yes. Having survived the impeachment vote again, Trump could stand for Senate. There is however the possibility that an Amendment 14 action could be taken and he is debarred from taking further office. Am on phone now so can't give links easily here. Will post them later. But there is discussion online should you Google trump amendment 14
Thanks.
Essentially that is the crux of the decision by McConnell to delay the trial until after the inauguration on the 20th Jan. The House were willing to run with an immediate impeachment before the finish of Trumps presidency but McConnell would not have anything to do with it. The hypocrisy of the man is unbelievable. More here:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/13/mitch-mcconnell-trump-republicans
Detail on 'build to rent' as one housing solution. https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/renting/124183905/unleashing-buildtorent-to-solve-the-rental-crisis
Looks like it's all about letting in overseas "investors" to buy up the place and with the "help" of government accommodation subsidies continue to rip the taxpayer off. One of the canny locals has pointed out that NZ kiwisaver funds cold do this too but there is a lack of local building capacity. So why even bother to let overseas ownership back. And for the student and retired accommodation maybe we should try ushering it out too to reduce the drain to overseas.
So long as there is a local building capacity shortage there are not going to be more houses to own.
Just think what the accommodation supplements could do if they were redirected to aid home ownership ( along with other measures) to get back to the level of ownership we used to have. That should be the policy directions – and push the main centre ghost housing back into service.
Plus how about some more free shortform building courses so that people can learn to build a home for themselves again. It’s not rocket science.
I believe that the issues we are facing with rentals and house affordability is in part and inadvertently caused by the accommodation supplement. Every time it is increased, so are the rents sure to increase too. The taxpayer is being fleeced.
Uh-oh, new community cases
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/124239723/live-three-new-covid19-cases-in-the-community–a-mother-father-and-daughter
Hang on, there are tourist attractions in New Plymouth?????
Early days as the source and strain needs to be established and not a direct link with MIQ.
I'm still absorbing the news there are tourist attractions in Taranaki. Who knew? What do they look at? Disused oil derricks rusting in paddocks?
https://www.gorentals.co.nz/explore/blog/things-to-do-in-new-plymouth/
I’m usually not lost for words.
I'm still absorbing the news @ 9.1.1. Like most people.
The reality is Covid-19 does not give a dam who you are, where you have been and how you are.
You're terrible!
Here's my picks:
– Helicopter up to the alpine lake on Mt Taranaki. It's a drama
– Their Govett-Brewster Gallery – just for the architecture alone.
– Stratford demolition derby. No one with a caravan is safe.
– Parihaka. Because you need a good weep.
– The coastal walk up to where you see the bridge which also perfectly frames Mt Taranaki behind you. It's the 'Nak Selfie moment.
If you are really, really lucky, bring two bottles of Bourbon and get shitfaced with the locals all night with a smoky driftwood fire on any of the big beaches south of the Awakino. They party pretty hard there, but Sanctuary I know you're up for it.
They look a bit like a sodding big volcano.
Don't like the sound of this:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-pm-jacinda-ardern-to-front-press-conference-after-new-community-cases/XIHDKTK57ZKASTIEZNOLQZUUGY/
By chance, I did a stock up on loo rolls on Friday.
How about the flour? One positive from Covid was that I learnt to bake sourdough bread and brew kombucha. Tonight's meal was Cullen Skink with sourdough bread, and a glass of homebrew dark ale. The CO2 production has risen though with bread and brews.
Cullen Skink?
Simple but brilliant Scottish soup. Potatoes, leek or onions and smoked fish simmered in milk, pepper et voilà.
sounds nice, and would go lovely with a nice sourdough.
Sabine, a good recipe here, with additions if you're for getting fancy. https://www.thespruceeats.com/traditional-scottish-cullen-skink-recipe-435379
Passing through Waihi this evening, I stopped at a garage for a snack, oblivious to the announcements that there was a change in alert levels. (Didn't have access to the news this afternoon)
I was doing my routine Covid scan at the door, and some lout passing through the doors said, "Oh, so there is Covid in Waihi now," got into his car much to the amusement of the others and they departed.
What hope have we got of stopping a spread with people around with that attitude. I just hope they have not visited any "Areas of interest".
Neo-liberalism and it's use by date.
Whether neo-liberalism was ever actually useful, and that's a moot point albeit a historical arguments, similar to whether state socialism would yield actual communism, neo-liberalism met its use by date in 2008.
Only the most myopic typified by the like of Roger Douglas, Brash, the fragments of ACT etc failed to grasp so
One for a rainy day, coming to you in the North Island very shortly.
In recent years in particular, anti–Zionism is being deliberately conflated with anti–Semitism to suppress legitimate criticisms of Israeli policies.
This debate features Israel-Palestine with Noam Chomsky & Rudy Rochman, " a young and inspiring activist who uses his growing platform to generate innovative ways to combat anti-Semitism. Rudy is dedicated to fighting antisemitism around the world and strengthening Jews’ connection to the land of Israel. On the other side, Noam Chomsky, a world-renowned intellectual and activist for over 60 years. He has written over 150 books, has multiple arrest records, and is widely known for being a fierce critic of Israel"