March was the deadliest month ever recorded by Airwars during the Coalition’s campaign in Iraq and Syria. This coincided with the greatest number of munitions dropped by the allies so far in the war. The high number of alleged incidents across both countries forced Airwars temporarily to pause its full vetting of Russian airstrikes in order to keep pace with the reported Coalition toll.
After a disastrous strike on March 17th claimed up to 230 lives in Mosul, media attention intensified – and the Coalition began reviewing its strike policies in the campaign there. However, civilians were also killed in record numbers across the border in the vicinity of Raqqa, Syria. Indeed it appears highly likely that the Coalition killed hundreds of civilians in Syria during March, with little press coverage.
This is supported by articles by other news outlets:
In my twitter feed this morning: the hypocrisy of the US and allies.
But her emails….
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The United States dropped “the mother of all bombs,” the largest non-nuclear device it has ever unleashed in combat, on a network of caves and tunnels used by Islamic State in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, the military said.
President Donald Trump touted the bombing as evidence of a more muscular U.S. foreign policy since he took office in January after eight years of President Barack Obama.
The 21,600 pound (9,797 kg) GBU-43 bomb was dropped from a MC-130 aircraft in the Achin district of Nangarhar province, close to the border with Pakistan, Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump said.
I saw that tweet as well. Looking at the area where the bomb was dropped it is inevitable that some civilians would have been killed and many more injured. The claim that this is an attack on ISIL is crazy. Maybe ISIL sympathisers are in these areas as the US claims, but if so then this bomb just provided them with a recruiting tool.
More likely is that Trump got some good press when he attacked Syria so how about a bomb in Afghanistan – will that help his ratings? My fear is that this is how he thinks – fame and money are his only motivations.
The mission had been in the planning stages for months, the Pentagon said in a separate statement. However, they “did not have the information” on whether the mission was being planned during the previous Obama administration.
My bold.
According this article such weapons as the MOAB are:
A Human Rights Watch background report on volumetric weapons used by Russia in 2000 describes the weaponry as “prone to indiscriminate use” and likely to cause high rates of civilian casualty when deployed in urban environments.
“The fuel-air explosive is just another way of killing people in ways that leave bodies that are horrifying to look at,” Dr. Theodore Postol, MIT physicist and missile expert, told VICE News. “So it increases the terror in regard to these attacks on innocent civilians.”
Like barrel bombs or sarin gas, the point of using vacuum bombs goes beyond the destruction of city blocks and the unfortunate civilian inhabitants. The ultimate purpose of such weaponry is to terrify, to sow fear amid chaos.
So, now that the US has used such weapons are we going to see the same kind of condemnation of the US?
The combo of too many generals in positions that should be civilian, the Chump’s need for attention, and the way little woodies pop up all over (including on people who should know better) whenever shit gets blown up far away means we’ll probably get a lot more of this.
What if USA and Russia and Turkey et al decided practically, without any concern for the horrid results the fighting nations are having on the people in the various countries in the Middle East, that they are not achieving any of their goals and they will all withdraw and attempt to have influence in a way that doesn’t destroy anything? Perhaps a little bit of relative quiet, would then result and then probably an outbreak of retaliations from within the country, so then could that be prevented with a bribe for not attacking whoever is the current scapegoat there, something non military like a trip to Disneyland (worked with the Russians). Something has to change as what is being tried is bringing us humans into bad repute with God or whatever watches us and weeps.
Meanwhile the world’s thugs move on carrying out our tendency to be mean and nasty if not deliberately controlled. Avaaz is calling attention to torture camps in Chechnya for gay men and asking for an outcry. Chechnya has ended up with a ‘brutal’ controller and under Russian influence.
If you are interested in that part of the world, one of Martin Cruz Smith stories takes place there, a thriller, a good read called Stalins Ghost. Like most of his books he backgrounds the reality of the place so you get a feel of the history and culture there which winds its way into the story. It is a bit of light relief against current bad news as the baddie gets fingered and the goodie gets away with his war-wise female partner and his adopted chess-playing son. It’s got more than the average thriller!
Scoop’s total is going up and up only $2000+ more to go before 10pm tonight Good Friday. So let’s be ‘good eggs’ this Good Friday and hop over to the Pledge me site from the link in the Home page.
Incidentally the $1 reserve offering of Helen Clark’s vis is up to $1600, and the tipshop manager is handling the questions and answers with panache. There has been a stoush as to who was the first elected female Prime Minister which of course nobody can win as we don’t elect Prime Ministers. That has been good for some fevered pros and cons.
In Spending Blind: The Failure of Policy Planning in California Charter School Funding, Gordon Lafer — a University of Oregon prof who also works for Oakland’s The Public Interest — finds “hundreds of millions of dollars … spent each year without any meaningful strategy… on schools built in neighborhoods that have no need for additional classroom space, and which offer no improvement over the quality of education already available in nearby public schools. In the worst cases, public facilities funding has gone to schools that were found to have discriminatory enrollment policies and others that have engaged in unethical or corrupt practices.”
Sounds exactly like what we’ve been seeing in NZ with National’s charter school system.
I remember some decades back that a USA citizen turned up in NZ because of a mistake in dialect. He got on a plane going to Auckland not Oakland in California.
Perhaps getting these charter schools, which are an invitation to fraud and malign influences, is actually another silly mistake from something lost in translation.
i would even go so far and say that dumbing down the population is the first desired outcome and being able to charge a lot of money for it is just icing on the cake.
If we think or believe that we are at maximum capacity on the planet in numbers of humans that we can sustain, would it not make sense to start decreasing the number of humans. Like getting rid of excess citizens. A good way would be to remove all health care from women – this would lower birth rates and take care of the incubator at some stage. Then you remove all health care for pre existing diseases (like pregancy in young women already is a pre existing condition) and voila, people will die earlier. And so on. Education is only one little nail in that coffin, lower education, lower earning potential, higher risk of dying several years earlier then a richer person with a better education.
And you can claim to not have killed a single person to boot. One just mis educated them, refused to house and feed them, refused health care, and while doing that one creates a nice little obedient populace that will do what ever to survive.
See I want one of them to be Ivanka so bad, but the Gods haven’t been kind to me since November 2016.
Claude Taylor has had the goods in the past. He’s served on Clinton’s White House staff. Laura is a constitutional lawyer. Like I said: Twitter Rumor. I will keep my eyes and ears open (on Twitter lol).
Golly, it seems like only yesterday folk were whining about Hilary “but her emails” Clinton being the “War Party” candidate.
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The U.S. is prepared to launch a preemptive strike with conventional weapons against North Korea should officials become convinced that North Korea is about to follow through with a nuclear weapons test, multiple senior U.S. intelligence officials told NBC News
CIA Director: Time to call out WikiLeaks for what it is: A non-state hostile intelligence service often embedded by state actors like Russia pic.twitter.com/lVuDt2vzNm— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) April 13, 2017
yes poission …… but Hillary gets a free pass for being a warmonger who is responsible for the most horrific crimes ……….. stemming from the ultimate crime ….. which are illegal wars of aggression.
After watching a video in which a young child is screaming …. because their jaw was blown off ….. in Hillarys war.
I can never forgive her …….
For Joe below …. People who attack wikileaks ….. shred their own credibility.
Because politicians tell lies …. that lead to war crimes.
We need more exposure of them ……….. not less
She and Obama should move to Libya …. and see how they have made things for women and blacks.
and why insinuating that i ‘have to get over ‘ the loss of Hillary Clinton? Her losing never affected me. I am still having access to health care, i still get to have sex without fear of a forced pregnancy, i still am much safer then any mexican, black, muslim, jewish, special needs kids, sick, or female US American.
Oh, its just a case of ‘both sides are doing it”? Yeah, i would even agree to that but sadly it ain’t so. No both sides do not do it.
One side however is currently doing it, and no matter how many times Hillary Clinton is raised to deflect from it, Donald Trump is doing it and next on the list might be North Korea. Cause why not use all these tremendously beautiful weapon when you have them? What good is the largest Army in the world if you don’t use it and such.
And considering that with a republican held congress and senate he has no one there to hold him back.
So yeah, i don’t have to get over anything, but it seems that a lot of people still rather speak about Hillary Clinton instead of admitting that they fell for a lot of bullshit served by a conman.
yes, you should be worried about doctors, female or male, that dabble in female and male circumcision anywhere on the planet – for which the women that you talk about will be going to prison.
try harder next time, this was a really bad strawman.
In the past week the thug in chief has signed a bill aimed at cutting off federal funding to Planned Parenthood, rolled back an Obama administration attempt to reform how student loan debt is collected, prepared an order to expand offshore oil drilling, sent a guidance letter to federal agencies ordering them to plan for big cuts to programmes and staff and dispatched a US Navy strike group toward the Korean Peninsula, bombed two nations and threatened a third with a preemptive strike …….but Hilary.
/
Time to take a strong stand against the fallacies of the Randian virus.
Either way, I’d disagree with the idea of a “virus” as to me it suggests some kind of infection that needs to be fought/killed off. No wonder we seem to going around in circles (the ‘ages of Rand’).
Yes, it is my words, not a quote from someone else.
And yes I do think it is something that needs to be fought, and, not so much killed off, as being neutralised by an antidote or inoculation against it – by exposing the way the Randian ideals are damaging to a fair, inclusive, democratic and sustainable society.
Such ideals are not based on logic or evidence, but desires by some to somehow make a moral case for their selfishness and greed.
Have you ever wondered why neoliberalism appears to be so appealing to many, why it ‘resonates’? Why it managed to get such a strong footing and become the dominant socio-political and socio-economic discourse? Why it does not seem to go away and/or keeps coming back?
According to primatologist Frans de Waal we have two sides or traits: empathy and cooperation, or group solidarity, on the one hand, and selfishness and competition, or individualism, on the other. Our environment influences or may even determine which of the two traits dominates at a given time.
As such, there is no antidote or inoculation against it; we cannot inoculate against ourselves.
Can we neutralise one trait in favour of another and, if yes, should we attempt to do so?
I think the answer to the first part is “no” as is the answer to the second part; it would be trying to deny who we are, our very human nature.
The answer lays IMO in integration rather, in which both traits and thus we ourselves get transformed.
Is our current environment conducive to such a transformation? I don’t think so; neoliberal ideology has pervaded our thinking and continues to do so.
Is ‘neutralising’ neoliberal ideology the answer then? No, not really, because it is a human construct, not inevitability or a Law of Physics, and it is an ‘environment’ that we ourselves helped shaping; basically it is a deceiving feedback loop (chicken & egg).
Until we transform, individually and collectively, of course, we will not build bridges and mend gaps (e.g. between Left & Right) and we will not really (be able to) move forward in a truly meaningful way and simply continue ‘oscillating’ from one [extreme] to the other but never reach a higher ‘social plane’.
Society mirrors us in the same way we mirror society.
You’ve left out the element of power. Those with (these days) wealth, corporate and/or political connections tend to spread their values, as suits them in maintaining their position of power.
Neoliberal values have been spread form the top down. And yes it emphasises some elements of human desires over others.
Millions of people do not share those values, but feel powerless to remove them from their dominant position.
To me, the left is always about power to the people, rather than to some self-selecting elites.
Neutralisation involves shifting the balance of power through collective mobilisation of large numbers of people. It involves changing the narrative away from the neoliberal virus that has infected discourses throughout all areas of life.
Psychological approaches focusing on individual human traits won’t change social values and political power struggles. They are on a different plane.
I did not leave out power; I did use different wording but it is all the same.
Neoliberal ‘values’ are emanating from all directions, which is the point I tried to make. They are not just external influences on us but also originate from within us – a feedback loop.
It is not about psychological approaches focussing on individual traits in order to affect change; it is about gaining understanding. This understanding can guide our actions towards change or we can choose to ignore it and keep ‘neutralising’ the ‘enemy within’. The Left is in disarray because they cannot see what they’re up against; they fall back on weak rhetorical arguments and nostalgic sentiments. The Left is shadow boxing in the dark. What’s worse is that the Left has succumbed to neoliberal thinking as much as any of us without admitting it; after all, the Left is just (!) a bunch of people grouping together from time to time who share a range of more or less similar values & ideas about society, etc.
Individual human traits are reflected (…) in social-collective traits as well as politics and vice versa; they are on the same plane. This was my point too.
The way forward lays in individual efforts banding together in (local) communities and grassroots movements, etc. It will take time to change our ‘ecosystem’ but change is inevitable.
I agreed with most of it; the ‘virus’ metaphor or meme offers a different viewpoint that will help us move forward. However, I see the human condition as ‘normal’ rather than ‘pathological’ and thus there is no (necessary) ‘antidote’; quite possibly, it is the continuation (!) of the process of human evolution, much along the line of thinking of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Carl Gustav Jung. See my comment @ 8.1.1.1.
A bloody good read!
The double standards in thinking are really interesting
“The way to challenge stereotyping, and the way to challenge claims of Indigenous absence, is not to disprove them by proving their opposites. Instead, it is only possible to challenge them by pulling them apart: by understanding their history, by understanding their deeper claims, and by refusing to engage with them as logical (and, thus, ‘disprovable’) arguments.”
(just one example)
Looks to me that he’s wanting a way for credit unions to become owned by shareholders and thus shift them into a capitalist minority ownership model the result of which will be the increased shift of the countries wealth to the already rich.
I had similar thoughts. There are probably good reasons that the original act was written the way it was. The point is that CUs aren’t supposed to be like other banks.
I also thought the incorporation model might make CUs more vulnerable to collapsing or being bought out. Although I think the Canterbury CU did fall over some years ago and lots of people lost their money. I’m guessing that the remaining ones are more cautious/better run.
More Careful with That Axe, Eugene than Wish You Were Here.
A new species of shrimp has been named after Pink Floyd, as NPR points out. The shrimp is called Synalpheus pinkfloydi, and it has large pink claws that open and close quickly enough to create frequencies up to 210 decibels (which is louder than most rock shows), capable of killing small fish within its proximity.
A bit of post-cyclone cheer, where a NZ preschool lets kids play on the slide in the rain and the video gets 26 million views, with lots of people awed that kids are still allowed to do that,
A mass exodus of Americans coming to New Zealand to take our jobs and [deleted for being totally unnecessary and stupid.]
Come on Jacinda and Andrew support our unions.
What a clusterfuck this ‘weekly roundup of other people’s ideas’ is from Bryce Edwards.
I read the whole thing if you’ll forgive me, and I came out wondering what part of criticising and pressuring racists, sexists, fascist, slut-shamers, and fat-shamers is not also free speech?
This drive by people like Paul Moon and his right wing friends is a further attempt to normalise conservative, anti-minority feeling when there’s been so much advancement in recent years in diversification of thought and identity in gender and race.
How ironic then that they wish to protect outfits like the recent white supremacist power group at Auckland University and racists, sexists, etc under the banner of ‘diversity of thought’.
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“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
Tinting car windows offers numerous benefits, including enhanced privacy, reduced glare, UV protection, and a more stylish look for your vehicle. However, the cost of window tinting can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help you understand how much you can expect to ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University laurello/Shutterstock Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia’s forests were kept open through frequent burning by ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With Jim Chalmers’s third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief – beyond the tax cuts – although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As ...
Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Wilmot, Senior Lecturer, Film, Deakin University Among the many Australian who served during the second world war, there is a small group of people whose stories remain largely untold. These are the Muslim men and women who, while small in number, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Saunders, PhD Candidate, University of Canberra There has been much analysis and praise of Justice Michael Lee’s recent judgement in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Channel Ten. Many people were openly relieved to read Lee’s “forensic” and “nuanced” application of law ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Gibbs, Program Director for the Bachelor of Education, Griffith University zEdward_Indy/Shutterstock Around one in 20 people has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It’s one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and often continues into adulthood. ADHD is diagnosed ...
The Fairer Future coalition of anti-poverty groups say Whaikaha must be properly funded going forward, and that to argue that poor financial management of the new Ministry is a red herring by the Prime Minister. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is today congratulating Hon. Paul Goldsmith on his appointment as Minister for Media and Communications and urges him to rule out state intervention in the private media sector. ...
Asia Pacific Report The West Papuan resistance OPM leader has condemned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden, accusing their countries of “six decades of treachery” over Papuan independence. The open letter was released today by OPM chairman Jeffrey P Bomanak on the eve of ANZAC Day ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits and quirks of New Zealanders at large. This week: writer and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024, Lauren Groff.The book I wish I’d writtenIf I wish I’d written a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Fechner, Research Fellow, Social Marketing, Griffith University mavo/Shutterstock Imagine having dinner at a restaurant. The menu offers plant-based meat alternatives made mostly from vegetables, mushrooms, legumes and wheat that mimic meat in taste, texture and smell. Despite being given that ...
“Three Strikes is a dead-end policy proposed by a dead-end government. The Three Strikes law ignores the causes of crime, instead just brutalising people already crushed by the cost of living.” ...
By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist An Australian-born judge in Kiribati could well face deportation later this week after a tribunal ruling that he should be removed from his post. The tribunal’s report has just been tabled in the Kiribati Parliament and is due to be debated by MPs ...
With its clear mandate for police use, political nuances, and nuanced public trust, Denmark's insights provide valuable considerations for Australia and New Zealand. ...
Books editor Claire Mabey reviews poet Louise Wallace’s debut novel. A famous poet once said to me that he’s always suspicious when a poet publishes a novel. I never really understood why but maybe it’s something to do with cheating on your first form. Louise Wallace is a poet. She’s ...
For a few months at the turn of the millennium, TrueBliss burned bright as the biggest pop stars in the country. Alex Casey chats to two superfans who still hold the flame. During a humble backyard wedding in Nelson, 1999, one of the cordially invited guests had to excuse themselves ...
How will the recent wave of job cuts impact ethnic diversity in the media? In November last year, I was working a very busy day in the newsroom of a large online news site, interviewing whānau about their concerns over the imminent closure of one of the few puna reo ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruth Knight, Researcher, Queensland University of Technology Have you ever felt sick at work? Perhaps you had food poisoning or the flu. Your belly hurt, or you felt tired, making it hard to concentrate and be productive. How likely would you be ...
Despite heavy criticism and an ongoing select committee process, the Police Minister says the Government will forge ahead with a ban on gang patches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Whiting, Lecturer – Creative Industries, University of South Australia Shutterstock Everyone has a favourite band, or a favourite composer, or a favourite song. There is some music which speaks to you, deeply; and other music which might be the current ...
A new survey says ‘outlook not great’ for those charged with building infrastructure, while RMA changes delight farmers and depress environmentalists, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. First RMA changes announced ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also ...
A leaked document shows the Canterbury/Waitaha arm of health agency Te Whatu Ora is scurrying to save $13.3 million by July. The “financial sustainability target”, which was “allocated” to Waitaha, is consistent with what’s happening in other districts, says Sarah Dalton, executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. ...
A look at the state of the previous government’s affordable housing scheme, and what could come next.Remind me: What’s KiwiBuild again?First announced in 2012, KiwiBuild was a flagship policy of the Labour Party heading into both its 2014 and 2017 election campaigns. With Jacinda Ardern as prime minister, ...
Labour in opposition will be shocked to learn which party had six years in power but squandered any chance to make real change. Grant Robertson’s valedictory speech was a predictably entertaining trip down memory lane. The acid-tongued incoming Otago University chancellor administered a sick burn to the coalition government. He ...
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is seen some as its ‘silicon shield’ against invasion – but how will overseas expansion affect that protection? The post The state of Taiwan’s silicon shield appeared first on Newsroom. ...
There’s relief for building owners bending under the weight of earthquake strengthening rules – and costs – that came into force seven years ago. Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk has announced a scheduled 2027 review of the earthquake-prone building regulations will now start this year. Owners will also get ...
Opinion: It has been announced that nine percent of roles at Oranga Tamariki will be disestablished, presumably to help fund the tax cuts promised by the coalition Government. I am reminded of the graphics used to illustrate pandemic events, where five thousand people are standing in a field and then ...
After more than two sleepless days, running through savage terrain, Greig Hamilton didn’t know if he was going to finish one of the most gruelling psychological assaults in sport. He was metres away from the finish line, a yellow gate made famous in a Netflix documentary; a race he’d dreamed ...
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The following interview with former Green Party MP Sue Kedgley came about because she features in the new memoir Hine Toa by activist Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku; the two knew each other at the University of Auckland in the early 70s, when they were both took on leadership roles in the ...
COMMENTARY:By Murray Horton New Zealand needs to get tough with Israel. It’s not as if we haven’t done so before. When NZ authorities busted a Mossad operation in Auckland 20 years ago, the government didn’t say: “Oh well, Israel has the right to defend itself.” No, it arrested, prosecuted, ...
NEWSMAKERS:By Vijay Narayan, news director of FijiVillage Blessed to be part of the University of Fiji (UniFiji) faculty to continue to teach and mentor those who want to join our noble profession, and to stand for truth and justice for the people of the country. I was privileged to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Lowry, Ice Sheet & Climate Modeller, GNS Science Hugh Chittock/Antarctica New Zealand, CC BY-SA As the climate warms and Antarctica’s glaciers and ice sheets melt, the resulting rise in sea level has the potential to displace hundreds of millions of ...
The government's plan to reintroduce a three strikes regime is being strongly opposed by lawyers, who argue there is no evidence it reduces crime or helps people rehabilitate. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Jerker B. Svantesson, Professor specialising in Internet law, Bond University Do Australian courts have the right to decide what foreign citizens, located overseas, view online on a foreign-owned platform? Anyone inclined to answer “yes” to this question should perhaps also ask ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giovanni E Ferreira, NHMRC Emerging Leader Research Fellow, Institute of Musculoskeletal Health, University of Sydney Last week in a post on X, owner of the platform Elon Musk recommended people look into disc replacement if they’re experiencing severe neck or back pain. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University anek.soowannaphoom/Shutterstock NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey caught the headlines yesterday, courtesy of a blistering speech condemning the latest GST carve-up. New South Wales, he claimed, would be A$11.9 billion worse off over the ...
While police are "broadly in favour", the government's proposed anti-gang laws are facing pushback from lawyers, rights groups and former gang members. ...
While police are "broadly in favour", the government's proposed anti-gang laws are facing pushback from lawyers, rights groups and former gang members. ...
By Miriam Zarriga in Port Moresby Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has arrived at Kokoda Station, Northern province, at the start of his state visit to Papua New Guinea. Both Albanese and Prime Minister James Marape will meet with the locals and the Northern Provincial government before they begin their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Wallace, Professor, School of Politics Economics & Society, Faculty of Business Government & Law, University of Canberra Shutterstock An important principle was invoked by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week in defence of the government’s Future Made in Australia industry ...
In my twitter feed this morning: the hypocrisy of the US and allies.
Link to airwars’ article:
This is supported by articles by other news outlets:
Vox, March 28, 2017: US airstrikes are killing a lot more civilians. And no one is sure why.
Democracy Now, March 27, 2017: More Than 1,000 Civilians Reportedly Killed by U.S.-Led Airstrikes as Trump Expands War on Terror
CNN March 25, 2017: US military investigating if airstrikes caused nearly 300 civilian deaths
Newsweek 31 March, 2017: Under Trump, U.S. Military Has Allegedly Killed Over 1,000 Civilians in Iraq, Syria in March
NZ Herald 31 March, 2017 : Civilian casualties in Iraq, Syria undercut US victories
Death by chemical weapon is extremely nasty, but so are deaths by airstrikes where bodies are brutally mutilated.
But her emails….
/
The United States dropped “the mother of all bombs,” the largest non-nuclear device it has ever unleashed in combat, on a network of caves and tunnels used by Islamic State in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, the military said.
President Donald Trump touted the bombing as evidence of a more muscular U.S. foreign policy since he took office in January after eight years of President Barack Obama.
The 21,600 pound (9,797 kg) GBU-43 bomb was dropped from a MC-130 aircraft in the Achin district of Nangarhar province, close to the border with Pakistan, Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-afghanistan-bomb-idUSKBN17F27U
The way this bombing is described, it makes it seem like a surgical strike only hitting a major ISIL stronghold.
But how many civilians would have been also injured or kileld by it?
the article says:
So, there is a possibility of “collateral damage”!
This from my twitter feed:
Now tell me that no civilians were victims!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRoLRJCW3js&feature=youtu.be
I saw that tweet as well. Looking at the area where the bomb was dropped it is inevitable that some civilians would have been killed and many more injured. The claim that this is an attack on ISIL is crazy. Maybe ISIL sympathisers are in these areas as the US claims, but if so then this bomb just provided them with a recruiting tool.
More likely is that Trump got some good press when he attacked Syria so how about a bomb in Afghanistan – will that help his ratings? My fear is that this is how he thinks – fame and money are his only motivations.
Did you see this piece by Sarah Kendzior:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/trump-craves-praise-we-praise-him-for-bombings-what-possibly-could-go-wrong/article34703117/
My bold.
According this article such weapons as the MOAB are:
So, now that the US has used such weapons are we going to see the same kind of condemnation of the US?
I hope so – those head burners are scum.
Of course it’s a coincidence that a couple of days ago a US special forces member was killed in the same region.
The combo of too many generals in positions that should be civilian, the Chump’s need for attention, and the way little woodies pop up all over (including on people who should know better) whenever shit gets blown up far away means we’ll probably get a lot more of this.
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/trump-military-strikes-generals-237214
What if USA and Russia and Turkey et al decided practically, without any concern for the horrid results the fighting nations are having on the people in the various countries in the Middle East, that they are not achieving any of their goals and they will all withdraw and attempt to have influence in a way that doesn’t destroy anything? Perhaps a little bit of relative quiet, would then result and then probably an outbreak of retaliations from within the country, so then could that be prevented with a bribe for not attacking whoever is the current scapegoat there, something non military like a trip to Disneyland (worked with the Russians). Something has to change as what is being tried is bringing us humans into bad repute with God or whatever watches us and weeps.
Meanwhile the world’s thugs move on carrying out our tendency to be mean and nasty if not deliberately controlled. Avaaz is calling attention to torture camps in Chechnya for gay men and asking for an outcry. Chechnya has ended up with a ‘brutal’ controller and under Russian influence.
If you are interested in that part of the world, one of Martin Cruz Smith stories takes place there, a thriller, a good read called Stalins Ghost. Like most of his books he backgrounds the reality of the place so you get a feel of the history and culture there which winds its way into the story. It is a bit of light relief against current bad news as the baddie gets fingered and the goodie gets away with his war-wise female partner and his adopted chess-playing son. It’s got more than the average thriller!
Scoop’s total is going up and up only $2000+ more to go before 10pm tonight Good Friday. So let’s be ‘good eggs’ this Good Friday and hop over to the Pledge me site from the link in the Home page.
Incidentally the $1 reserve offering of Helen Clark’s vis is up to $1600, and the tipshop manager is handling the questions and answers with panache. There has been a stoush as to who was the first elected female Prime Minister which of course nobody can win as we don’t elect Prime Ministers. That has been good for some fevered pros and cons.
Wonder how many more terrorists the “mother of all bombs” will create?
@ Tamati Tautuhi (2) … Many more I suspect. A counter productive action if ever there was one.
Trump and his trigger happy gang of thugs and bullies are more of a threat to world stability and peace than those he’s targeting!
Two attacks in a week! Trump has to be stopped.
The Onion, doing what real news should.
you gotta break eggs to make an omlette, and besides “killary’ would have done the same and then some?
California’s charter schools: hundreds of millions of tax dollars for wasteful, redundant, low-quality education
Sounds exactly like what we’ve been seeing in NZ with National’s charter school system.
I remember some decades back that a USA citizen turned up in NZ because of a mistake in dialect. He got on a plane going to Auckland not Oakland in California.
Perhaps getting these charter schools, which are an invitation to fraud and malign influences, is actually another silly mistake from something lost in translation.
Charter schools are the result of believing that private enterprise is always better than government despite all the evidence to the contrary.
Of course, a lot of that ‘belief’ is due to the greed of the profiteers rather than actual logic or reality.
It has as much to do with dumbing down the population so they are less able to think for themselves and ask the awkward questions 🙁
i would even go so far and say that dumbing down the population is the first desired outcome and being able to charge a lot of money for it is just icing on the cake.
If we think or believe that we are at maximum capacity on the planet in numbers of humans that we can sustain, would it not make sense to start decreasing the number of humans. Like getting rid of excess citizens. A good way would be to remove all health care from women – this would lower birth rates and take care of the incubator at some stage. Then you remove all health care for pre existing diseases (like pregancy in young women already is a pre existing condition) and voila, people will die earlier. And so on. Education is only one little nail in that coffin, lower education, lower earning potential, higher risk of dying several years earlier then a richer person with a better education.
And you can claim to not have killed a single person to boot. One just mis educated them, refused to house and feed them, refused health care, and while doing that one creates a nice little obedient populace that will do what ever to survive.
Yei, the future is bright and rosy.
Hmmm….
See I want one of them to be Ivanka so bad, but the Gods haven’t been kind to me since November 2016.
Claude Taylor has had the goods in the past. He’s served on Clinton’s White House staff. Laura is a constitutional lawyer. Like I said: Twitter Rumor. I will keep my eyes and ears open (on Twitter lol).
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/4/13/1652858/-Twitter-Rumor-Two-Trump-kids-caught-on-Tape-committing-criminal-acts
https://twitter.com/TrueFactsStated
I won’t hold my breath. Big T will just pardon them.
Golly, it seems like only yesterday folk were whining about Hilary “but her emails” Clinton being the “War Party” candidate.
/
The U.S. is prepared to launch a preemptive strike with conventional weapons against North Korea should officials become convinced that North Korea is about to follow through with a nuclear weapons test, multiple senior U.S. intelligence officials told NBC News
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u-s-may-launch-strike-if-north-korea-reaches-nuclear-n746366
But those HRC emails are interesting.
https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/852266094379380738
But nowhere as interesting as these ones will be.
https://twitter.com/CNNnewsroom/status/852606371988213760
yes poission …… but Hillary gets a free pass for being a warmonger who is responsible for the most horrific crimes ……….. stemming from the ultimate crime ….. which are illegal wars of aggression.
After watching a video in which a young child is screaming …. because their jaw was blown off ….. in Hillarys war.
I can never forgive her …….
For Joe below …. People who attack wikileaks ….. shred their own credibility.
Because politicians tell lies …. that lead to war crimes.
We need more exposure of them ……….. not less
She and Obama should move to Libya …. and see how they have made things for women and blacks.
same for Iraq …
same for Afghanistan
Who needs emails, the warmongering character of the lady is glaringly obvious at every turn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rrXn-PwwCw
well lucky for everyone that the US has elected a man of Peace then. No?
h.r.c lost – get over it already.
as i said above, we are all so lucky to have a peace loving man running the biggest army of the world.
or are you not happy that the peace loving man won?
I’m not happy about the biggest empire in the world, running the biggest army, full stop.
I don’t care who runs it, it will still be evil.
so why then posting about the one that lost?
and why insinuating that i ‘have to get over ‘ the loss of Hillary Clinton? Her losing never affected me. I am still having access to health care, i still get to have sex without fear of a forced pregnancy, i still am much safer then any mexican, black, muslim, jewish, special needs kids, sick, or female US American.
Oh, its just a case of ‘both sides are doing it”? Yeah, i would even agree to that but sadly it ain’t so. No both sides do not do it.
One side however is currently doing it, and no matter how many times Hillary Clinton is raised to deflect from it, Donald Trump is doing it and next on the list might be North Korea. Cause why not use all these tremendously beautiful weapon when you have them? What good is the largest Army in the world if you don’t use it and such.
And considering that with a republican held congress and senate he has no one there to hold him back.
So yeah, i don’t have to get over anything, but it seems that a lot of people still rather speak about Hillary Clinton instead of admitting that they fell for a lot of bullshit served by a conman.
i still am much safer then any mexican, black, muslim, jewish, special needs kids, sick, or female US American.
and if you are a young female muslim child,should you be fearful of Female muslim doctors?
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39597062
yes, you should be worried about doctors, female or male, that dabble in female and male circumcision anywhere on the planet – for which the women that you talk about will be going to prison.
try harder next time, this was a really bad strawman.
Well said Sabine.
edit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoRyrCjOkdI
lol
In the past week the thug in chief has signed a bill aimed at cutting off federal funding to Planned Parenthood, rolled back an Obama administration attempt to reform how student loan debt is collected, prepared an order to expand offshore oil drilling, sent a guidance letter to federal agencies ordering them to plan for big cuts to programmes and staff and dispatched a US Navy strike group toward the Korean Peninsula, bombed two nations and threatened a third with a preemptive strike …….but Hilary.
/
“But Hilary” – the mating call of the privileged.
They don’t mate, they procreate.
Greed is not good … for society or democracy, or for a sustainable future.
Time to take a strong stand against the fallacies of the Randian virus.
It’s infiltrated the Trump presidency and Silicon Valley maestros, now UK GCSE courses.
Hi Carolyn_nth,
Great piece, thank you for the link.
May I ask whether this is a quote or yours?
Either way, I’d disagree with the idea of a “virus” as to me it suggests some kind of infection that needs to be fought/killed off. No wonder we seem to going around in circles (the ‘ages of Rand’).
Yes, it is my words, not a quote from someone else.
And yes I do think it is something that needs to be fought, and, not so much killed off, as being neutralised by an antidote or inoculation against it – by exposing the way the Randian ideals are damaging to a fair, inclusive, democratic and sustainable society.
Such ideals are not based on logic or evidence, but desires by some to somehow make a moral case for their selfishness and greed.
Have you ever wondered why neoliberalism appears to be so appealing to many, why it ‘resonates’? Why it managed to get such a strong footing and become the dominant socio-political and socio-economic discourse? Why it does not seem to go away and/or keeps coming back?
According to primatologist Frans de Waal we have two sides or traits: empathy and cooperation, or group solidarity, on the one hand, and selfishness and competition, or individualism, on the other. Our environment influences or may even determine which of the two traits dominates at a given time.
As such, there is no antidote or inoculation against it; we cannot inoculate against ourselves.
Can we neutralise one trait in favour of another and, if yes, should we attempt to do so?
I think the answer to the first part is “no” as is the answer to the second part; it would be trying to deny who we are, our very human nature.
The answer lays IMO in integration rather, in which both traits and thus we ourselves get transformed.
Is our current environment conducive to such a transformation? I don’t think so; neoliberal ideology has pervaded our thinking and continues to do so.
Is ‘neutralising’ neoliberal ideology the answer then? No, not really, because it is a human construct, not inevitability or a Law of Physics, and it is an ‘environment’ that we ourselves helped shaping; basically it is a deceiving feedback loop (chicken & egg).
Until we transform, individually and collectively, of course, we will not build bridges and mend gaps (e.g. between Left & Right) and we will not really (be able to) move forward in a truly meaningful way and simply continue ‘oscillating’ from one [extreme] to the other but never reach a higher ‘social plane’.
Society mirrors us in the same way we mirror society.
You’ve left out the element of power. Those with (these days) wealth, corporate and/or political connections tend to spread their values, as suits them in maintaining their position of power.
Neoliberal values have been spread form the top down. And yes it emphasises some elements of human desires over others.
Millions of people do not share those values, but feel powerless to remove them from their dominant position.
To me, the left is always about power to the people, rather than to some self-selecting elites.
Neutralisation involves shifting the balance of power through collective mobilisation of large numbers of people. It involves changing the narrative away from the neoliberal virus that has infected discourses throughout all areas of life.
Psychological approaches focusing on individual human traits won’t change social values and political power struggles. They are on a different plane.
I did not leave out power; I did use different wording but it is all the same.
Neoliberal ‘values’ are emanating from all directions, which is the point I tried to make. They are not just external influences on us but also originate from within us – a feedback loop.
It is not about psychological approaches focussing on individual traits in order to affect change; it is about gaining understanding. This understanding can guide our actions towards change or we can choose to ignore it and keep ‘neutralising’ the ‘enemy within’. The Left is in disarray because they cannot see what they’re up against; they fall back on weak rhetorical arguments and nostalgic sentiments. The Left is shadow boxing in the dark. What’s worse is that the Left has succumbed to neoliberal thinking as much as any of us without admitting it; after all, the Left is just (!) a bunch of people grouping together from time to time who share a range of more or less similar values & ideas about society, etc.
Individual human traits are reflected (…) in social-collective traits as well as politics and vice versa; they are on the same plane. This was my point too.
The way forward lays in individual efforts banding together in (local) communities and grassroots movements, etc. It will take time to change our ‘ecosystem’ but change is inevitable.
“Virus” seems about right to me – “Wetiko is an Algonquin word for a cannibalistic spirit that is driven by greed, excess, and selfish consumption”
Seeing Wetiko
I really enjoyed reading that, thank you.
I agreed with most of it; the ‘virus’ metaphor or meme offers a different viewpoint that will help us move forward. However, I see the human condition as ‘normal’ rather than ‘pathological’ and thus there is no (necessary) ‘antidote’; quite possibly, it is the continuation (!) of the process of human evolution, much along the line of thinking of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Carl Gustav Jung. See my comment @ 8.1.1.1.
Wow – this covers so many aspects of the 100% Māori issue – great writing and analysis
http://oncewerepacific.blogspot.co.nz/2017/04/the-problem-with-being-100-maori.html?m=1
“You can’t fight blood quantum with blood quantum. But you can fight it with whakapapa.”
Awesome. That’s a really good read, thanks.
A bloody good read!
The double standards in thinking are really interesting
“The way to challenge stereotyping, and the way to challenge claims of Indigenous absence, is not to disprove them by proving their opposites. Instead, it is only possible to challenge them by pulling them apart: by understanding their history, by understanding their deeper claims, and by refusing to engage with them as logical (and, thus, ‘disprovable’) arguments.”
(just one example)
Ah eugenics you evil beast, you can change your name to genetics, but you are still are not a science.
You are either Maori or you are not. I dont belive that there is such as thing as ‘part’.
Great insight. Would never have happened with the old team who Maori TV’s tories forced out.
Ethnicity is about belonging. Race is about blood. Long history of harm from focusing on the latter.
A good analysis of left wing media and how it can preform well in this environment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DulbfDig6VU
Can anyone with an understanding of legal structure of banks and credit unions comment on this?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/91577129/Kaikoura-MP-Stuart-Smiths-members-bill-to-modernise-regulations-around-credit-unions
What’s the difference between incorporation and having trustees?
Looks to me that he’s wanting a way for credit unions to become owned by shareholders and thus shift them into a capitalist minority ownership model the result of which will be the increased shift of the countries wealth to the already rich.
I had similar thoughts. There are probably good reasons that the original act was written the way it was. The point is that CUs aren’t supposed to be like other banks.
I also thought the incorporation model might make CUs more vulnerable to collapsing or being bought out. Although I think the Canterbury CU did fall over some years ago and lots of people lost their money. I’m guessing that the remaining ones are more cautious/better run.
Trumps Mar A lago cited for WMD (weapons of mass diarrhea)
http://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/restaurants/article144261894.html
Fred Dag: This probably wasn’t the answer.
nice one. I wonder if complaining about what’s wrong but not taking action is worse than not noticing what is wrong.
Later today I’m off to the annual easter egg competition and dollars to donuts they’ll be pouring kegged Steinlager.
I really will be pleased when I’ve had enough.
More Careful with That Axe, Eugene than Wish You Were Here.
A new species of shrimp has been named after Pink Floyd, as NPR points out. The shrimp is called Synalpheus pinkfloydi, and it has large pink claws that open and close quickly enough to create frequencies up to 210 decibels (which is louder than most rock shows), capable of killing small fish within its proximity.
http://pitchfork.com/news/72829-new-deadly-sonic-shrimp-named-after-pink-floyd/
A bit of post-cyclone cheer, where a NZ preschool lets kids play on the slide in the rain and the video gets 26 million views, with lots of people awed that kids are still allowed to do that,
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11838562
#wedon’tknowhowluckywearemate
A mass exodus of Americans coming to New Zealand to take our jobs and [deleted for being totally unnecessary and stupid.]
Come on Jacinda and Andrew support our unions.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/14/technology/new-zealand-tech-industry.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
[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.]
sorry Ms moderator
a sherry to many
What a clusterfuck this ‘weekly roundup of other people’s ideas’ is from Bryce Edwards.
I read the whole thing if you’ll forgive me, and I came out wondering what part of criticising and pressuring racists, sexists, fascist, slut-shamers, and fat-shamers is not also free speech?
This drive by people like Paul Moon and his right wing friends is a further attempt to normalise conservative, anti-minority feeling when there’s been so much advancement in recent years in diversification of thought and identity in gender and race.
How ironic then that they wish to protect outfits like the recent white supremacist power group at Auckland University and racists, sexists, etc under the banner of ‘diversity of thought’.
Bryce’s column reads like alt-right porn to me.*
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11838436
*That’s me exercising free speech, Bryce.