As I write, the Moon has just entered 10 Libra – takes about 2.5 days to move through a sign of the zodiac. Since 1988 I've been using an astroclock: my term for the software displaying real time in the local cosmos. Given that the education system fails to provide teaching of usage of such devices, I've decided to illuminate the vacant space in the mind of any reader. Consider me an ambassador from alternative Aotearoa: the cultural ambience I've been comfortable in since I was adolescent around 60 years ago.
If one has a spiritual stance toward life, one must explore the deep context around that in nature & society, so I did. Downtime onsite here this morning nobody has posted thoughts so I may as well do so. Political implications? Ron & Nancy Reagan, as typical members of the Hollywood establishment, had employed astrologers during their lives – Joan Quigley scheduled Reagan's summit(s) with Gorbachev, wrote a book about it.
I compiled a series of profiles mid '80s, famous astrologers throughout the ages, got up to 50/60 who had substantial influence at the top level, usually via personal relationship with a ruling patron. Not all beer & skittles: the notorious regime ruling Burma was originated via astrologers' advice/influence.
Two groups usually make fools of themselves in the media on the topic of astrology: those too lazy to study it, commonly known as sceptics, and those delusional in their belief that they understand it, the astrologers. The middle way thro this muddle for any intrigued sceptic with an open mind is to check the situation out. So I did, long ago.
Basic intellectual sorting was the method – toss the obvious bits of crap aside, keep your pile of gold nuggets close at hand. Relativity due to precession of the equinoxes was the key to ongoing media incompetence – which journo is brave enough to elicit a credible reality check on the origin of zodiac & calendar? None, of course. Idiocy wins by default. Amused & disgusted, I wrote a book to correct all the historical errors, paid the university printer to make me 100 copies in a limited edition. The law says any book published in our nation must have a copy in the national library system so I donated one to the govt. Anyway in the 30+ years since nobody else on the global stage has done it, so it seems like I may be somewhat ahead of my time!
The important thing to realise is that the deep Green view of life encompasses experiential time, whereas time to mainstreamers is either abstract concept or something to be measure or noted in passing. Ignoring qualia in time is a big mistake. Still, anyone can transcend the limitations of the world-view they carry around in their head at any time. Only folks with an enquiring mind – nobody will ever learn anything new unless they're ready, willing & able (the activist triad).
However I remain confused with many of the practises in Buddhist culture involve the day of your birth which is not constant on astrological calender rather than the date.
Meaning being relative to context, it depends on the user's frame of reference. Astrology attempts to transcend idiosyncrasy via consensual framing, then wallows in idiosyncrasy when interpreting horoscopes. Artistry!
So caveat emptor applies. I can't comment on whatever confusion Buddhists get into. The middle way in Buddhism is an interesting feature though. In my reinvention of western astrology I used humanistic astrology at first, to get a grasp of how the horoscope is used as a model of the psyche. Then had to finesse the fate/freewill dichotomy to explain how that map of potential can help us in real life.
Vedic astrology is different again but could be the basis of that used in Myanmar & Thailand. That came down into India as sanskrit with the aryans around third/second millennium BC – but no historical record of course, other than the verses used for transmission of their origin myth. Hamlet's Mill often gets cited in acadaemia but it was a siderealist who produced the best history of the zodiac origin.
It targets three key indicators. First, the total carbon stored in trees, wetlands and so on, which is an indicator of climate regulation and mitigation. Second, crop production as proxy for food supply. And third, available runoff (excess water the ground cannot absorb), indicating freshwater availability.
The study’s authors then used an optimisation algorithm to identify how land could be best allocated to reach a point at which the global totals of each of these three objectives could not increase without declines in the other two – that is, the optimum use of land.
Optimal is excellent praxis, and regarded with loathing by the establishment, who are dead keen to make waste continuously as usual. A societal trend towards resilience thinking has emerged in recent years, however. Progress.
Wetlands yes. But looking at trees as a carbon store is ridiculous – unless they are in a swamp, or on peat, or will wash into a swamp. And that is if they are allowed to grow normally.
If they are grown for cutting, then that is an outright rort.
I suspect the authors see themselves as model developers with a focus on resilience planning. Your point comes in downstream of them, where a Green economist would have to map all the economic factors coming into play in their scenario.
Governance will have to shift in this overall direction – combining expertise in different relevant professions. Stakeholder involvement on the ground in each applied situation will be crucial to success.
I'm not a green economist. What I am is a earth sciences graduate who has some familiarity with geological carbon cycles. Trying to deal with short-term analysis (< 20-50 years) with long-term issue (CO2 residence time >1000 years) is an exercise in futility.
All agriculture outside of enclosed environments (and there aren't many of those) is economically dependent on having some kind of certainty of weather and climate patterns. The last 10k years when agriculture developed was a period of really really stable climate conditions in geological terms. I could go into why – but that is way too long a topic.
Having any increased heat in the the surface volatiles in the atmosphere and water will even in the near-term (<100 years) dramatically and exponentially increase the climate and weather variability.
That will increase the cost of agricultural production because it increases risk. You get unexpected fire, drought, floods, hail, storms, pests, etc all of which undermines the economics of producing food. There is a lot of investment cost in doing any agriculture that simply isn't worthwhile if the risks of not getting a return increase. This is the seed grain dilemma of agriculture.
Estimating expected climate change effects at a local level are inherently unpredictable purely because we don't have the observation timelines of actual effects. We're completely reliant on proxy effects like tree-rings, isotope shifts, fossil species changes to estimate previous climates – all of which lack information about actual causes and which are inherently sparse. Basically scientifically classifiable as guess work.
All of the climate models depend on simplifications based on flawed data. You can do a broad brush guesstimate over large areas. Not down to a district or farm or field.
Which is pretty damn obvious when you consider the discrepancies between complex detailed climate model estimates of factors like as simple as sea ice coverage against reality over the last 30 years. The only thing you can be sure of is that the models will be wrong in significiant detail.
Uncertainty like that increases economic risk.
Model development without looking at the risks of downstream risk effects will continually keep risking putting valuable and scarce resource investment into the wrong places. Which, when you look at the effects of risk in the calculations of nett present values of relative investments, means that looking further without significiant reduction of the causes on uncertainty in the present (ie reducing emissions) is pointless. It becomes guesswork
Each investment into adapting to an expected climate change, is more likely to increase the risk of squandering the ability to adapt later.
Basically adapting to something simple like the effect of sea level rise on housing is going to be simple – just pass it to insurance premiums.
But even with relatively stable climate for agriculture the market premiums for agricultural products are ridiculously high as the markets arbitrage risk out. The futures market is about a good as it gets – and I don't think that any serious economist thinks that the futures premiums for agricultural products will reduce under climate change impacts or that the markets will survive too much more volatility.
At some point farmers stop planting because they can’t make a return because the rate of change is too fast and too extreme for the farming technologies to keep up. There are a hell of a lot of examples in the historical and archaeological record of that happening inside the benign climates of the last 10k years.
Yeah I get all that. A whole new ball-game: modelling, risk management, ad hoc improvising, pragmatic responses to changing situations.
Governance will need a task force mentality rather than the complacency we have at present. I suspect National will copy Labour & cling to neoliberalism instead – only thing they know how to do. The less it works, the more they will have to adapt to crisis management.
In only the last few days, the Israeli Defense Forces, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office and President Joe Biden made the shocking assertion that Hamas terrorists had beheaded babies, a grisly claim that the White House has since walked back.
As the allegation came under heavy scrutiny, Netanyahu’s office took the extraordinary step Thursday of publicly releasing graphic photos of the bodies of babies who had been murdered and torched by Hamas, a monstrous act beyond comprehension, though inconsistent with the initial claims of decapitation. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/13/media/israel-hamas-claims-reliable-sources/index.html
Pracitioners of fake news then, huh? Collateral damage seems the real bit…
I have noted the BBC running commentary has been very fair. So has the Guardian. Both have been my 'go to' news outlets for years because by and large one gets a fair minded view of most news stories.
@Anne… "Guardian. Both have been my 'go to' news outlets for years because by and large one gets a fair minded view of most news stories."
….both the Guardian and the BBC have proved themselves to be nothing more that guard dogs of the Liberal/Capitalist status quo when push comes to shove…here are just two examples…I could line up plenty more, but haven't got time today…but here is a taste..I would approach both those news sources with my bullshit detector turned up high if I where you…
In fairness, I imagine if the IDF had killed those 214 people over a single day, it might have been considered newsworthy. We are cynically inured to the casual daily barbarisms on both sides and it needs a truly outstanding effort to attract our attention. Hamas has done so very successfully and now the IDF seem to be gearing up to see if they can actually make themselves look worse.
Russian President Vladimir Putin cautioned Israel on Friday against laying siege to Gaza in the same way that Nazi Germany besieged Leningrad, saying a ground offensive there would lead to an "absolutely unacceptable" number of civilian casualties.
This from the invader of Ukraine, seizing territory and trying to make the rest a failed state.
Of course we're small fry. In the same way NZ media doesn't make a point of mentioning elections in the smaller Eastern European countries, most of Africa, and pretty much anywhere that isn't the US, UK or Australia. Or that could of course be lazy reporting.
Trouble is, the people who can prevent this disaster aren't/won't listen.
Hamas and Iran hope that Israel will refuse to return to the status quo ante and will instead institute a prolonged ground occupation of Gaza, declaring that Hamas can no longer be allowed to pose such a threat. But Gaza, they trust, will be a slaughterhouse for Israeli soldiers, both during the immediate incursion and over time as the anticipated insurgency gains its footing.
Israel’s apparent eagerness to fall into this trap is understandable, and indeed predictable, which is why Hamas was confident in laying it. Outrageous overreach by terrorists typically aims to provoke overreach. Washington and other friends of Israel who are now seized with sympathy should immediately caution Israel not to make this blunder. If Israel instead exercises restraint, however difficult doing so might be both politically and emotionally, it can thwart the goals of Hamas and its Iranian sponsors. Restraint would go a long way toward ensuring that the diplomatic opening with Saudi Arabia continues to move forward, dealing a major blow to local revisionist powers, such as Iran, and global ones, such as China and Russia, that wish to supplant a rules-based order with one based on “Might makes right.”
Unfortunately, in the efforts to eliminate Hamas, which cannot be done by force, and to ensure that such a threat can never be allowed to reemerge, which is equally impossible so long as the occupation continues, Israel seems ready to jump right into the briar patch.
", dealing a major blow to local revisionist powers, such as Iran, and global ones, such as China and Russia, that wish to supplant a rules-based order with one based on “Might makes right"…. are you being serious or just taking the piss?…rules based order gtfo.
This kind of thing happens somewhere in Africa or elsewhere every day but doesn't even rate a mention. As soon as white people get hurt then world media takes notice.
Aussies wonder if allowing indigenous people a voice in govt is a good idea:
In the electorate, the voice began with high majority support last year. But a six-week formal campaign has seen support slide. A majority of people intend on voting no, according to the latest update from Guardian Australia’s poll tracker, with the yes side having an estimated 41.6% support nationally.
Despite Dutton’s false claims on 2GB that Albanese never mentioned the voice during the election campaign, the PM and his frontbench regularly noted the commitment to a constitutionally enshrined voice then and for years prior. The campaign included prominent mentions of the voice in Albanese’s speech at the Labor campaign launch in Perth, his National Press Club speech just three days from the 21 May election, press conferences, his closing the gap statement in August 2021 and party policy platform documents. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/14/voice-referendum-yes-campaign-polls
In Dutton's world, none of those mentions actually happened. Bubble psych still a thing. Regardless, there may be a reason the public have turned away (other than racism).
Whaddaya reckon: framing of question designed by bureaucrats?? Work of devil?
Lots of pieces in the Melbourne Age today about The Voice to Australia referendum. My heart breaks for our Aboriginal friends🦘💔
Aussie is a land of wealth and hope and opportunity but the No lobby is mining a darker vein of the Oz psyche #VoiceReferendum
When Cornel West, famed public intellectual, philosopher, jazz man, pastor, actor and frequent provocateur, told me about his recent divorce from the Green Party, he sounded almost giddy. He was obviously the initiator. “I do feel freed up, I must say,” he said with a chuckle.
A day earlier, the news had gone public: West was leaving the Green Party to run for president in 2024 as an independent, the second time he’s left a political party in the four months he’s been in the race. But there’s two sides to every breakup, and on the other end sat Jill Stein, the erstwhile Green Party presidential candidate who was on West’s “emergency transition” team into the Green Party, serving as his acting campaign manager for much of the summer. Her rejoinder: You think you’re going to be better off without us? This separation is going to be much worse for you than for me. “I see this as a bit of a transition for us as Greens. … I see this as a crisis for Cornel’s campaign,” she said.
You'd think they would have learnt by now that democracy doesn't work, eh?
The group of men looked something like the black-suited agents from The Matrix franchise, in which West played Councillor West in a role specially created for him by the Wachowski siblings. Today, though, they were slashing through mostly adoring crowds, as West was inundated by a series of appreciators… our politicians, they think ecological catastrophe is just a problem because they have managerial mentality,” West intoned in his ministerial cadence… Something that they can get their hands around and come up with some incremental response as if we’re not living on the edge of the cliff. This is catastrophe.” He held onto “catastrophe” for a second, letting it sing. “That’s right!” the audience chanted.
leaders of Hamas need to go, corrupt Netanyahu and the religious hardliners around him need to go, zealots and fanatics on both sides taken out of the way. The US needs to keep it's nose out. Some pressure on Israel to open dialogue or no further US military support…and then the whole entire rest of the CF that is middle eastern politics. Probably about as much chance of that happening as certain bald headed guys not needing to phone a bloke who should be in a rest home
One has concerns about how the combined effect of the votes down under might impact on perceptions of our place in the world.
The polls indicate (let us hope the result is otherwise) we might be perceived as a nationalist cultural part of the white race group and not just a (Five Eyes) security partner.
Being part of a colonial white race brand is not how we become the nation we should be by 2040.
And while most are still asleep, as to the modern worlds deep states technological capacity to dominate the human population, this has to become a concern if there is any complicity here with designs for the USA (which the UK has yet to show any sign of challenging). The risk of Orwellian fascism has never been higher.
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The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Kiwis planning a swim or heading out on a boat this summer should remember to stop and think about water safety, Sport & Recreation Minister Chris Bishop and ACC and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “New Zealand’s beaches, lakes and rivers are some of the most beautiful in the ...
The Government is urging Kiwis to drive safely this summer and reminding motorists that Police will be out in force to enforce the road rules, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“This time of year can be stressful and result in poor decision-making on our roads. Whether you are travelling to see ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation. The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care ...
The Government‘s Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to create a new regulatory regime that will enable firms to construct offshore wind generation has passed its first reading in Parliament, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand currently does not have a regulatory regime for offshore renewable energy as the previous government failed ...
Summer reissue: I watched all 46 of Tom Cruise’s films over the past 12 months. The question on everyone’s lips: why?The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be ...
Summer reissue: In recent years, checking online for a green tick has become a necessary habit for Aucklanders heading to the beach. Shanti Mathias tags along with the team tasked with testing the water for pollution – and figuring out how to stop it. The Spinoff needs to double the ...
Summer reissue: After two decades of promised redevelopment, Johnsonville Shopping Centre remains neglected and half empty. Joel MacManus searches for answers in the decaying suburban mall. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter ...
Comment: I’ve been digging up dirt over the past few weekends. I plan to dig up more over summer.As global geo-politics heats up, I’ve impulsively turned to tending my wee patch of the world. The world is complex and messy. But I’m determined my quarter acre won’t be. Apparently, this is ...
Winston Peters was 47 when he founded NZ First. David Seymour is 41. “It’s probably unlikely I’ll still be in Parliament when I’m 47,” he tells Newsroom.“I always said, I have no intention of being a Member of Parliament when I’m 70-something.”In saying that, Seymour has already exceeded his own ...
Asia Pacific ReportSilent Night is a well-known Christmas carol that tells of a peaceful and silent night in Bethlehem, referring to the first Christmas more than 2000 years ago. It is now 2024, and it was again a silent night in Bethlehem last night, reports Al Jazeera’s Nisa Ibrahim. ...
Summer resissue: Has the country changed all that much in three decades? Loveni Enari compares his two New Zealands. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member ...
Summer reissue: Alex Casey goes on a killer journey aboard the Tormore Express.The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today.It was a dark and ...
Summer reissue: Speed puzzling is like a marathon for the mind – intense, demanding, surprisingly exhausting. But does turning it into a sport destroy it as a relaxing pastime? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read ...
Summer reissue: In October, we counted down the top 100 New Zealand TV shows of the 21st century so far (read more about the process here). Here’s the list in full, for your holiday reading pleasure. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue ...
Summer reissue: Told in one crucial moment from every year, by The Spinoff’s founder Duncan Greive. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today.2014: An ...
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The Court of Appeal has dismissed Mike Smith’s “ambitious” climate claim against Attorney-General Judith Collins.Smith, a Māori climate activist, and Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Kahu elder, appealed a High Court decision that found his claims against the Crown – that its action on climate change was inadequate – untenable.The Appeal Court’s ...
Trish McKelvey is listed 139 times in the index of the New Zealand women’s cricket tome The Warm Sun On My Face, authored by Trevor Auger and Adrienne Simpson.She wrote the foreword for the book and headlines two chapters addressing crucial events in the evolution of the sport.McKelvey’s appointment as New Zealand ...
Summer reissue: The New Zealand comedy legend takes us through her life in television, including the time she hugged Elton John and the unshakeable legacy of a girl named Lyn. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please ...
Summer reissue: You really won’t guess how it ends. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. First published October 4, 2024. Parliament’s Economic Development, Science ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mary-Rose McLaren, Professor of Teaching and Learning and Head of Program, Early Childhood Education, Victoria University Collin Quinn Lomax/ Shutterstock Some years ago, my daughter was set a maths problem: how much does it cost to drive a family of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine E. Wood, Associate Professor and Clinical Psychologist, Swinburne University of Technology Asier Romero/ Shutterstock Christmas is coming, and with it many challenges for parents of young children. You likely have one festive event after another, late nights, party ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Nicole Driessen, Postdoctoral Researcher in Radio Astronomy, University of Sydney Tayla Walsh/Pexels With billions of children around the world anxiously waiting for their presents, Father Christmas (or Santa) and his reindeer must be travelling at breakneck speeds to deliver them ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Higgins, Professor & Director, Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University Feeling unsure about your child going to a sleepover is completely normal. You might be worried about how well you know the host family, how they manage supervision or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Senior Lecturer of Urban Risk & Resilience, UNSW Sydney Exactly 50 years ago, on Christmas Eve 1974, Cyclone Tracy struck Darwin and left a trail of devastation. It remains one of the most destructive natural events in Australia’s history. Wind ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Irmine Keta Rotimi, Doctoral Candidate, Marketing and International Business department, Auckland University of Technology Videos of children opening boxes of toys and playing with them have become a feature of online marketing – making stars out of children as young as two. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanna Nicholas, Lecturer in Dance and Performance Science, Edith Cowan University Tatyana Vyc/Shutterstock Once the end-of-year dance concert and term wrap up for the year it is important to take a break. Both physical and mental rest are important and taking ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kit MacFarlane, Lecturer, Creative Writing and Literature, University of South Australia Capitol Records For those looking to introduce some musical conflict into the holidays, Bob Dylan’s Christmas in the Heart remains a great choice in its 15th anniversary – like it ...
Opinion: It was February 2024 when my friends started getting in touch with me to suggest I run for the Tauranga City Council mayoralty. At the time, the council was governed by four Government-appointed commissioners, who had been in their roles since 2021. Their terms were coming to an end ...
Opinion: As the year winds down and we pause for some reflection, I find myself, as chair of the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand, contemplating the unprecedented hatred aimed at Jewish New Zealanders. Antisemitism – the prejudice, discrimination or hostility directed at Jews – has snowballed to record levels, so much ...
Summer reissue: Joy Cowley reveals her enthralling life story, from a difficult childhood, to getting drunk with Roald Dahl, to encountering an Arctic polar bear. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and ...
Summer reissue: Alex Casey chats to Nadia Lim and Carlos Bagrie about the challenges of life on a 1,200-acre farm in Central Otago, and why they continue to share it with the nation in Nadia’s Farm. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue ...
Summer reissue: Dominion Road has made a name for itself as a destination for authentic, regionally-specific Chinese food. How did it get here?The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign ...
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By Emma Andrews, Henare te Ua Māori journalism intern at RNZ News From being the headline to creating them, Moana Maniapoto has walked a rather rocky road of swinging between both sides of the media. Known for her award-winning current affairs show Te Ao with Moana on Whakaata Māori, and ...
Kick Back has growing concerns about the impact that denying young people access to shelter is having on the mental health and physical safety of the young people we serve. ...
As I write, the Moon has just entered 10 Libra – takes about 2.5 days to move through a sign of the zodiac. Since 1988 I've been using an astroclock: my term for the software displaying real time in the local cosmos. Given that the education system fails to provide teaching of usage of such devices, I've decided to illuminate the vacant space in the mind of any reader. Consider me an ambassador from alternative Aotearoa: the cultural ambience I've been comfortable in since I was adolescent around 60 years ago.
If one has a spiritual stance toward life, one must explore the deep context around that in nature & society, so I did. Downtime onsite here this morning nobody has posted thoughts so I may as well do so. Political implications? Ron & Nancy Reagan, as typical members of the Hollywood establishment, had employed astrologers during their lives – Joan Quigley scheduled Reagan's summit(s) with Gorbachev, wrote a book about it.
I compiled a series of profiles mid '80s, famous astrologers throughout the ages, got up to 50/60 who had substantial influence at the top level, usually via personal relationship with a ruling patron. Not all beer & skittles: the notorious regime ruling Burma was originated via astrologers' advice/influence.
Two groups usually make fools of themselves in the media on the topic of astrology: those too lazy to study it, commonly known as sceptics, and those delusional in their belief that they understand it, the astrologers. The middle way thro this muddle for any intrigued sceptic with an open mind is to check the situation out. So I did, long ago.
Basic intellectual sorting was the method – toss the obvious bits of crap aside, keep your pile of gold nuggets close at hand. Relativity due to precession of the equinoxes was the key to ongoing media incompetence – which journo is brave enough to elicit a credible reality check on the origin of zodiac & calendar? None, of course. Idiocy wins by default. Amused & disgusted, I wrote a book to correct all the historical errors, paid the university printer to make me 100 copies in a limited edition. The law says any book published in our nation must have a copy in the national library system so I donated one to the govt. Anyway in the 30+ years since nobody else on the global stage has done it, so it seems like I may be somewhat ahead of my time!
The important thing to realise is that the deep Green view of life encompasses experiential time, whereas time to mainstreamers is either abstract concept or something to be measure or noted in passing. Ignoring qualia in time is a big mistake. Still, anyone can transcend the limitations of the world-view they carry around in their head at any time. Only folks with an enquiring mind – nobody will ever learn anything new unless they're ready, willing & able (the activist triad).
Not just Myanmar but also Thailand and it is still an important part of what guides the country,
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-king-coronation-astrology-idUSKCN1RY06Q
https://www.khaosodenglish.com/featured/2017/04/21/curse-haunted-bangkok-150-years-now/
However I remain confused with many of the practises in Buddhist culture involve the day of your birth which is not constant on astrological calender rather than the date.
Meaning being relative to context, it depends on the user's frame of reference. Astrology attempts to transcend idiosyncrasy via consensual framing, then wallows in idiosyncrasy when interpreting horoscopes. Artistry!
So caveat emptor applies. I can't comment on whatever confusion Buddhists get into. The middle way in Buddhism is an interesting feature though. In my reinvention of western astrology I used humanistic astrology at first, to get a grasp of how the horoscope is used as a model of the psyche. Then had to finesse the fate/freewill dichotomy to explain how that map of potential can help us in real life.
Vedic astrology is different again but could be the basis of that used in Myanmar & Thailand. That came down into India as sanskrit with the aryans around third/second millennium BC – but no historical record of course, other than the verses used for transmission of their origin myth. Hamlet's Mill often gets cited in acadaemia but it was a siderealist who produced the best history of the zodiac origin.
https://theconversation.com/forests-v-farmland-what-the-world-would-look-like-if-we-allocated-all-our-land-in-the-optimal-way-215325
Completely remapping world food production, in a changing climate
Yeah, authors using a triad:
Optimal is excellent praxis, and regarded with loathing by the establishment, who are dead keen to make waste continuously as usual. A societal trend towards resilience thinking has emerged in recent years, however. Progress.
Wetlands yes. But looking at trees as a carbon store is ridiculous – unless they are in a swamp, or on peat, or will wash into a swamp. And that is if they are allowed to grow normally.
If they are grown for cutting, then that is an outright rort.
I suspect the authors see themselves as model developers with a focus on resilience planning. Your point comes in downstream of them, where a Green economist would have to map all the economic factors coming into play in their scenario.
Governance will have to shift in this overall direction – combining expertise in different relevant professions. Stakeholder involvement on the ground in each applied situation will be crucial to success.
I'm not a green economist. What I am is a earth sciences graduate who has some familiarity with geological carbon cycles. Trying to deal with short-term analysis (< 20-50 years) with long-term issue (CO2 residence time >1000 years) is an exercise in futility.
All agriculture outside of enclosed environments (and there aren't many of those) is economically dependent on having some kind of certainty of weather and climate patterns. The last 10k years when agriculture developed was a period of really really stable climate conditions in geological terms. I could go into why – but that is way too long a topic.
Having any increased heat in the the surface volatiles in the atmosphere and water will even in the near-term (<100 years) dramatically and exponentially increase the climate and weather variability.
That will increase the cost of agricultural production because it increases risk. You get unexpected fire, drought, floods, hail, storms, pests, etc all of which undermines the economics of producing food. There is a lot of investment cost in doing any agriculture that simply isn't worthwhile if the risks of not getting a return increase. This is the seed grain dilemma of agriculture.
Estimating expected climate change effects at a local level are inherently unpredictable purely because we don't have the observation timelines of actual effects. We're completely reliant on proxy effects like tree-rings, isotope shifts, fossil species changes to estimate previous climates – all of which lack information about actual causes and which are inherently sparse. Basically scientifically classifiable as guess work.
All of the climate models depend on simplifications based on flawed data. You can do a broad brush guesstimate over large areas. Not down to a district or farm or field.
Which is pretty damn obvious when you consider the discrepancies between complex detailed climate model estimates of factors like as simple as sea ice coverage against reality over the last 30 years. The only thing you can be sure of is that the models will be wrong in significiant detail.
Uncertainty like that increases economic risk.
Model development without looking at the risks of downstream risk effects will continually keep risking putting valuable and scarce resource investment into the wrong places. Which, when you look at the effects of risk in the calculations of nett present values of relative investments, means that looking further without significiant reduction of the causes on uncertainty in the present (ie reducing emissions) is pointless. It becomes guesswork
Each investment into adapting to an expected climate change, is more likely to increase the risk of squandering the ability to adapt later.
Basically adapting to something simple like the effect of sea level rise on housing is going to be simple – just pass it to insurance premiums.
But even with relatively stable climate for agriculture the market premiums for agricultural products are ridiculously high as the markets arbitrage risk out. The futures market is about a good as it gets – and I don't think that any serious economist thinks that the futures premiums for agricultural products will reduce under climate change impacts or that the markets will survive too much more volatility.
At some point farmers stop planting because they can’t make a return because the rate of change is too fast and too extreme for the farming technologies to keep up. There are a hell of a lot of examples in the historical and archaeological record of that happening inside the benign climates of the last 10k years.
Yeah I get all that. A whole new ball-game: modelling, risk management, ad hoc improvising, pragmatic responses to changing situations.
Governance will need a task force mentality rather than the complacency we have at present. I suspect National will copy Labour & cling to neoliberalism instead – only thing they know how to do. The less it works, the more they will have to adapt to crisis management.
Good to see Western democracies working so unbiased and fairly in this time of crisis….
The West is banning pro-Palestinian protests
Waving Palestinian flag may be a criminal offence, Braverman tells police
France orders ban on all pro-Palestinian protests
French police break up pro-Palestinian demo after ban
Berlin authorities ban pro-Palestinian protest
Shame they were not as fair and balanced when apartheid Israel conducted a slaughter of civilians right out in plain sight…. "214 Palestinians, including 46 children, were killed, and over 36,100, including nearly 8,800 children have been injured. One in five of those injured (over 8,000) were hit by live ammunition"
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/02/israels-apartheid-against-palestinians-a-cruel-system-of-domination-and-a-crime-against-humanity/
So it turns out some lives are worth more than others when it comes to Western media….as if we didn't already know
Fog of war as usual…
Pracitioners of fake news then, huh? Collateral damage seems the real bit…
I am sure there is bias in some Western journalism but the more reliable among them have been doing a fairly good job;
Example:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/justin-welby-gaza-canterbury-archbishop-hamas-b2429526.html
I have noted the BBC running commentary has been very fair. So has the Guardian. Both have been my 'go to' news outlets for years because by and large one gets a fair minded view of most news stories.
@Anne… "Guardian. Both have been my 'go to' news outlets for years because by and large one gets a fair minded view of most news stories."
….both the Guardian and the BBC have proved themselves to be nothing more that guard dogs of the Liberal/Capitalist status quo when push comes to shove…here are just two examples…I could line up plenty more, but haven't got time today…but here is a taste..I would approach both those news sources with my bullshit detector turned up high if I where you…
Study exposes BBC’s deep anti-Corbyn bias
The Guardian’s betrayal of Corbyn – and of British democracy
In fairness, I imagine if the IDF had killed those 214 people over a single day, it might have been considered newsworthy. We are cynically inured to the casual daily barbarisms on both sides and it needs a truly outstanding effort to attract our attention. Hamas has done so very successfully and now the IDF seem to be gearing up to see if they can actually make themselves look worse.
This from the invader of Ukraine, seizing territory and trying to make the rest a failed state.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2023/10/vladimir-putin-says-israeli-ground-offensive-into-gaza-would-be-absolutely-unacceptable.html
Looking around the major news sites of the world like bbc, abc, cnn etc.
The election might be a big deal to us but it barely registers in the rest of the world with the exception of a quite good precis on CNN.
We are really just small fry in the world.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/13/new-zealand-election-2023-voters-head-to-the-polls
Of course we're small fry. In the same way NZ media doesn't make a point of mentioning elections in the smaller Eastern European countries, most of Africa, and pretty much anywhere that isn't the US, UK or Australia. Or that could of course be lazy reporting.
It is a small country with only 4 million people in it where nothing very interesting is happening a lot of the time.
Myself, I like it that way.
It would be even better if we could be even more boring equal and crime free. We should be aiming for Scandinavian levels of boringness.
Saw this one bizzare article in Bangkok Post
https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2663584/burp-tax-causes-pre-poll-stink-with-new-zealand-farmers
God Bless the UAW.
Sheesh what a Leader this man Shawn Fain is.
Spells out why they took out the Kentucky plant on strike.
Hussein Ibish in one of the saner voices on MENA travails.
Trouble is, the people who can prevent this disaster aren't/won't listen.
Hamas and Iran hope that Israel will refuse to return to the status quo ante and will instead institute a prolonged ground occupation of Gaza, declaring that Hamas can no longer be allowed to pose such a threat. But Gaza, they trust, will be a slaughterhouse for Israeli soldiers, both during the immediate incursion and over time as the anticipated insurgency gains its footing.
Israel’s apparent eagerness to fall into this trap is understandable, and indeed predictable, which is why Hamas was confident in laying it. Outrageous overreach by terrorists typically aims to provoke overreach. Washington and other friends of Israel who are now seized with sympathy should immediately caution Israel not to make this blunder. If Israel instead exercises restraint, however difficult doing so might be both politically and emotionally, it can thwart the goals of Hamas and its Iranian sponsors. Restraint would go a long way toward ensuring that the diplomatic opening with Saudi Arabia continues to move forward, dealing a major blow to local revisionist powers, such as Iran, and global ones, such as China and Russia, that wish to supplant a rules-based order with one based on “Might makes right.”
Unfortunately, in the efforts to eliminate Hamas, which cannot be done by force, and to ensure that such a threat can never be allowed to reemerge, which is equally impossible so long as the occupation continues, Israel seems ready to jump right into the briar patch.
https://archive.ph/L6KBx
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2023/10/israel-hamas-war-iran-trap/675628/
", dealing a major blow to local revisionist powers, such as Iran, and global ones, such as China and Russia, that wish to supplant a rules-based order with one based on “Might makes right"…. are you being serious or just taking the piss?…rules based order gtfo.
This kind of thing happens somewhere in Africa or elsewhere every day but doesn't even rate a mention. As soon as white people get hurt then world media takes notice.
Aussies wonder if allowing indigenous people a voice in govt is a good idea:
In Dutton's world, none of those mentions actually happened. Bubble psych still a thing. Regardless, there may be a reason the public have turned away (other than racism).
Whaddaya reckon: framing of question designed by bureaucrats?? Work of devil?
https://x.com/vashtib/status/1712996097579475054?s=46&t=YQYWab08lrynsGdyx3LLKg
Lots of pieces in the Melbourne Age today about The Voice to Australia referendum. My heart breaks for our Aboriginal friends🦘💔
Aussie is a land of wealth and hope and opportunity but the No lobby is mining a darker vein of the Oz psyche #VoiceReferendum
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beds_Are_Burning
The aussie vote is so tragic, but, totally unsurprising, given my knowledge of our western isle.
What has dawned on me today, is how politically challenged we TS readers are.
Not too much comment given politics is off the agenda. I'm getting bored.
It is after 7pm. You appear to be temporally disadvantaged. Perhaps you should get that checked out
Yank Greens shamblefest:
You'd think they would have learnt by now that democracy doesn't work, eh?
leaders of Hamas need to go, corrupt Netanyahu and the religious hardliners around him need to go, zealots and fanatics on both sides taken out of the way. The US needs to keep it's nose out. Some pressure on Israel to open dialogue or no further US military support…and then the whole entire rest of the CF that is middle eastern politics. Probably about as much chance of that happening as certain bald headed guys not needing to phone a bloke who should be in a rest home
I predict none of these things will happen. Well, the Hamas leadership and Israeli leadership might change, but will also stay the same.
Hand drawn isobars from MetService over the SI today. Intense.
https://twitter.com/MetService/status/1713032853016174650
Guardian has a live ticker for NZ election… here you go
Guardian – NZ election live
One has concerns about how the combined effect of the votes down under might impact on perceptions of our place in the world.
The polls indicate (let us hope the result is otherwise) we might be perceived as a nationalist cultural part of the white race group and not just a (Five Eyes) security partner.
Being part of a colonial white race brand is not how we become the nation we should be by 2040.
And while most are still asleep, as to the modern worlds deep states technological capacity to dominate the human population, this has to become a concern if there is any complicity here with designs for the USA (which the UK has yet to show any sign of challenging). The risk of Orwellian fascism has never been higher.
One also hopes that, the administration of this poll was no more than incompetence.
Does anyone know whether the offer for Sky Sport is based on insider awareness of new capacity to block free streaming alternatives?
Pakistan have made a good start vs India in the World Cup qualifying round.
Williamson's thumb is broken and he won't play for awhile, maybe a match or two before the semi-final at best.