Holy fuck the most bizarre interview every between Paul Henry and the head niwa scientist. He blew Henrys tiny selfish little mind. Will be on in 50 minutes on tv3 +1
Embarrassing listening to Paul Henry on this. I’ve never heard anybody trumpet their ignorance on so many topics as loudly as he does. He even described us as “shickered” by climate change, apparently blithely unaware it means drunk. Or maybe he personally does drink to forget it.
I imagine comparatively few Standardistas have given much thought to Key’s next job – always imagining he’d be welcome among the crew that loathed him so much they gave him the nickname the smiling assassin.
Trotter (link not available yet) points to some evidence, being a lapel badge and question answered to the Josie Butler person about it. If she has made shit up like this then it will decimate her credibility – let’s see
“I went to the first security check point which was at the front driveway to the [Rydges] hotel. The guards asked for my ID, and whilst I was getting it out I noticed one of the guys had an army badge pinned to his lapel, I asked him if he was military and he confirmed that all security present today were army personnel.”
– Shouldn’t be too hard to find out if this is true
From accounts I’ve heard from others, the write up mentioned above is a pretty good reflection of the event in Dunedin. I haven’t heard anybody witnessing any members of the military amongst the security in Dunedin but there was certainly a large contingent of police, Armourgard employees and security chaps in suits.
Wonder if there will be the high level of security in Invercargill tomorrow for Todd McClays visit?
“Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide last year rose by the biggest margin since records began, according to a US federal science agency.
Fossil fuel burning and a strong El Niño weather pattern pushed CO2 levels 3.05 parts per million (ppm) on a year earlier to 402.6 ppm, as measured at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) said on Wednesday.”
And right on call Global temperatures are going through the roof. Following on from a record monthly Global Temperature in January – February 2016 was the warmest month on record by a whopping 0.2o C! That surge in Global Temperatures brings the Earth to the 1.50 C above pre-industrial levels aspirational target that the COP 21 agreed the world must stay just last year.
Now the surge in Global temperatures that we are currently experiencing is not unexpected considering that we are in the middle of an El Nino event the like of which hasn’t been experienced since 1997-98, when there was a similar spike in Global temperatures. However the current spike (and I’m sure that temperatures will drop back – this is a temporary aberration) is far more pronounced than even the massive spike of the 97-98 event. The Earth is now on a new “Plateau” on the upward journey of increasing Global Temperatures.
Here in New Zealand, National are considering “fixing” the ETS. Submissions have been called and I’m sure many have submitted. I have done so in the past but this time I did not. In my opinion submitting again on this new amendment to a now useless Emissions Trading Scheme is a complete waste of time and energy because this is a Government of “consultation” in name only. They think that consultation involves telling others what is to happen. Not only that, there are enough “hot air” credits slopping around in the scheme to cover NZ’s arse for the next couple of years, laundered by the Government, so that NZ can meet its targets without spending any money. So expect nothing creditable to emerge from this new assessment of a scheme that is already worthless, and has done nothing to limit NZs GHG emissions. It is again simply window dressing and the rearrangement of deck chairs on a sinking ship.
NZ’s ETS is beyond redemption. It needs scraping and replaced by a Carbon Tax of at least $50 per tonne initially (I’m sure others would argue for more) and applied across all sectors. The revenue generated to be redistributed through vastly increased initiatives in public transport, alternative energies, energy efficiencies, subsidies for private solar, wind, and electric and hybrid vehicles, insulation of houses, and research and education wrt climate change.
Electric vehicles – Talking of which – much hypocrisy here! But great photo op!/sarc
NZ’s ETS is beyond redemption. It needs scraping and replaced by a Carbon Tax of at least $50 per tonne initially (I’m sure others would argue for more) and applied across all sectors.
Want to grow the economy while also helping the environment? Well, slap a $200 per metric ton tax on carbon dioxide emissions, according to a new study by an environmental group that claims such a policy would grow the economy and create jobs.
$200 per tonne of CO2. That puts a price on coal of $600 per tonne before you even start to think about digging it out of the ground. Petrol and diesel get a carbon tax of 50 to 60 cents per litre.
Bring it on. There will be massive economic stimulus from bringing online all the substitutes.
TPP- the ISDS is one of the most contentious parts of the TPP. The countries with which we have ISDS clauses in our FTAs have not featured highly in data on ISDS.
However, as you can see in the linked page of an interactive site on ISDS (showing the countries, the number of cases brought against the country using the ISDS and the Home state of the claimant corporation.) US and Canada are high on the litigant side.
Without ISDS a claimant still can get justice by using the existing judicial systems. ISDS is simply a ploy to bypass these and is used to threaten states.
So how would you test such arguments? Well, in a way we did carry out an experiment. In the early 1990s there was a widespread orthodoxy that “outward-looking” development policies were much more favorable to growth than “inward-looking” policies. This orthodoxy had a lot to do with the rapid growth of Asian economies, which had followed an export-oriented path rather than the import substitution tried by much of the world in the 50s and 60s. The question, however, was whether you would see dramatic acceleration of growth in other places, such as Latin America, when policy shifted away from inward focus.
And the answer turned out to be, not so much. Look at Mexico, which did a radical trade liberalization in 1985-88, then joined NAFTA. It has seen a transformation of its economy in many ways; it has gone from an economy that didn’t export much besides oil and tourism to a major manufacturing export power. And the effect on development has been … undewhelming.
So Brad could be right; but the evidence is far from conclusive. I would still argue very strongly that it’s crucial to keep markets open for poor countries. But we should be cautious in our claims about the virtues of free trade.
Such an outward looking way to boost an economy is underwhelming because everyone can do it and productivity is so high that only a small percentage of the world population is needed to provide everything we need (although, there probably isn’t enough actual resources to do that – the problem of over population).
The only way left to develop an economy is broadly within it’s own scope. In other words, local manufacture from local resources for local use.
I will say this though, the climate change news is scarey beyond what we’ve had in the past. I think a lot of people aren’t well equipped to deal with that, so how about we all try and be a bit kinder to each other this week? (I’m looking at myself there too).
Not surprised that you think its fine to stereotype white males of a certain age, but then call me the bigot. And then try and talk about kindness. Your hypocrisy climbs to new heights.
I didn’t say it’s fine CV and I don’t actually think it’s fine. You’re making an incorrect assumption about my politics. Again. All I did was stand up and point out your behaviour again because I’m sick of the whole bullshit false binaries and pathologising whole groups of people. Pineapples made a single comment and people are free to call them on it as they see fit. You’ve been spraying your negative shit that’s now out and out bigotry around the site for many months. It’s tedious and it’s having a negative effect on discussions and what we can do here. I’m not willing to let that slide in such an important thread.
stereotyping and bigotry aren’t exactly the same thing though, right? Feel free to call me on bigotry any time you like, so long as you can point to an example and explain why you think it’s bigoted and then engage in a conversation about that.
As Bill pointed out, the climate denialists are well represented by older white guys. I don’t think anyone that agrees with that statement thinks that that means that most older white guys are denialists (although I might be tempted to say that if I lived in the US).
You’re the one accusing CV of bigotry though, what was his bigoted comment? pointing out their whiteness doesn’t do anything to help the problem – just gives people more reason to discount what you say
CV’s bigotry is related to people he hates on and likes to now treat as a class eg ‘the left’.
“pointing out their whiteness doesn’t do anything to help the problem – just gives people more reason to discount what you say”
Contrary to what CV was thinking, I wasn’t fine with Pineapple’s comment. I thought it unnecessarily inflammatory and pretty much irrelevant outside of a conversation that was looking at power structures. It might have worked further down the thread, but as the first comment, when people were just finished reading something pretty challenging, having to jump into a conversation like that was jarring and likely to derail the thread.
Do I think that the classes of people who control both the creation of cc and whether we prevent the worst of it are dominated by older white men? Yes. Is there any disputing that? Do I think that most older white men are responsible? No. It always pays to talk to people about their politics and find out what they believe rather than jumping to conclusions based on projection.
But if you yourself stereotype people in that way, it’s all hunky dory, apparently. Seriously, mate, you need to own your prejudices and stop being such a hypocrite.
I’m going to suggest that one of the moderators shifts the whole subthread too because it’s completely off topic and it’s an important thread for people not to be put off by derailments at the top of the comments.
It’s so interesting to see CV being pursued by you weka. He is receiving the same treatment that I used to get when I attempted to say anything about rape culture, and question its pervasiveness. When people like yourself set up as gatekeeper to everything it acts to enforce censorship. But it seems that you weka are trying to dominate the discourse and control the site to the point where critical attacks are common.
And for those who don’t know what all this gerfuffle is about – this was what got it started. I think that everyone should stop, rethink and stick to the political discussion. If someone makes a pointed criticism in the heat of the moment, let it pass, particularly weka, Colonial Viper and Te Reo Putake. It is not impressive to see the unreasoning hostility that amounts to bullying, then provoking reaction. I thought The Standard was aiming higher than this unpleasant nitpicking.
February breaks all records.
esoteric pineapples 1
15 March 2016 at 10:32 am
Now all we have to do is wait for a bunch of white males over 40 to tell us either a) scientists don’t know what they are talking about or b) its a hoax driven by the illuminati or some other conspiratorial group.
Thanks grey. I’m more than happy to be challenged on what I am doing, and I’m not that happy with how I have been here lately (my questioning the macho culture of ts is in part because it tends to bring out the worst in me if I don’t keep an eye on what I am doing).
I’m going to disagree with your interpretation though. The problem I have with CV is his behaviour not his politics, so I’m not sure the comparison works re you trying to bring in a different view on rape culture. It was the same with Pete George. When people’s behaviour affects a community so negatively then I think it’s valid for others to do something about it. If I was the only person challening CV on what he is doing I might agree with your interpretation that I am trying to control the debate somehow. But many people are sick of what he is doing. Many. If you take me out of the equation, CV still sprays his shit around too much and many people react against that. They aren’t doing those things because of me.
Whether my own behaviour makes that situation better or worse, I don’t really know at the moment. I think CV does respond to people encouraging him to be more proactive rather than just spraying shit around the site, so I try and do that until I lose my patience. I think in the instance the other day it was unfortunate that he put up an intentionally provocative post when feelings were already running high about his behaviour, because the subject he raised was important and it just got lost in the mess. I can also see that because of how ts is, he was probably limited in how he could bring that topic up, so in hindsight it was just a clusterfuck that no-one could do much about. For my part I wish I had taken a more proactive approach in my own critiques.
I basically walked out of that recent climate change thread because it was painful, and it was painfully obvious that by far the majority of people here wanted yet another round of talking rather than doing something. I have no tolerance for that and I’m sure it affected how I was posting for some time.
The stuff at the start was nothing to do with that, it was just a distraction. But I think the painful nature of the topic of the post probably contributed to the subsequent aggro. As for that convo *starting the whole thing, again I’ll disagree. It was just a continuation of something that’s pretty much continual here. My main comments at the start were to suggest we didn’t derail the thread and to suggest that the diversion get taken to OM. I’m not sure how that was a problem.
I don’t know if I am gatekeeper so much as caretaker who’s reached a point of frustration at the mess. Characterising CV’s comments as only something said in the heat of the moment misses the wider context and the impact he has on the site. If you think that I am also having a negative impact, please keep calling me on that (I don’t really get quite what you were meaning above, but I do remember you once telling me I was commenting too often, so I’ll have a think about that and whether I’d be better off making more comments from a more discerning place).
Well we live in a patriarchy that favours white males over males of other skin hue, and so they tend to have accumulated more of the available privilege that comes courtesy of the status quo . And older people tend to have more invested in the status quo than younger people, so…sure, a broad brush stroke, but to say that idiots advocating the status quo can be sort of characterised as”white males over 40″ seems fair enough in my book.
Nothing particularly sexist in it. Nothing particularly ageist in it. Absolutely nothing racist in it (can’t be racist towards whites – impossible)
Lol @ patriarchy and “can’t be racist towards whites” of course you can! It’s easy and people do it all the time, it just isn’t as harmful overall because of where power lies in western societies currently
Racism has very specific roots – Social Darwinism. Sure, other cultures may well have thought of themselves superior, but only one (as far as I’m aware) touted itself, essentially, as a race apart from and above the human race – humanity. That allowed, informed or excused colonisation by the white west of every non-white area of the world.
That all means that a white person can be on the receiving end of discrimination but never racism, because racism’s a very particular type of discrimination that always holds ‘whiteness’ as above and better and ‘god given’ (as it were).
Gawd.
Muldoon, Bolger, Clark and Key all took till their third term before they started displaying their Messiah complexes.
Muldoon and Clark got really virulent cases. Remember how Piggy was going to save the world’s monetary system? Now Little has got the bug.
Little has got it already and he has only had a year and a bit as leader of a minor party.
Please Labour . Get things sorted out. Get rid of Little and all the deadwood.
New Zealand cannot afford such a useless second party.
I have some very simple principles.
Politicians should define what outcome they want.
Then they should get out of the way.
They should never try and run a business. If they do that they will never stop doing something stupid. They are unable to admit they have done something foolish so they keep throwing money at it rather than shut it down.
They are also completely unaware that they really don’t know anything about it.
That is why we have to get a new Government every few years. The new lot don’t have anything committed to the mistake so they are willing to fix things.
If we get Little, or any other politician, making decisions about what a bank should charge in interest or who is to get loans they will make mistakes. Then they will use tax-payers money to hide the mistake. If the bank starts making unhappy noises they will give them more money to shut them up.
In the case of the Reserve Bank for example Roger Douglas laid down the first principles, and left how it was done to the Governor. Everyone since has left the Governor to get on with it and they have done very well. If they don’t they can be sacked because the blame can be put on them, not the poly.
Little seems to think he knows better. So did Muldoon and we ended up with stagflation.
Can I ask, if you are a man of principal, did you vote national in any of the last 3 elections, given that it was as obvious as hell to any one vaguely interested in politics that national us very dirty tactics around election time!
Yes I did. And I didn’t find their tactics any different to their predecessors.
I have voted in 11 of the last 12 elections. 5 Labour, 6 National and 1 when, living overseas I didn’t think I should vote.
However in 2008 I thought Labour were old, tired and corrupt. A change was essential.
They had the same people on 2011. Nothing had really changed had it? In general Labour were still useless so I voted for the ones who were better for New Zealand.
2014 was even worse. Can you really imagine a no-hoper like Cunliffe as PM?
Seriously? He seemed to have more DCMs than anyone I had ever heard of.
Now? I want to see some alternative to the current Government who was competent but at the moment Labour looks just as useless as ever. At the moment Key still seems better for the country.
I want a better option.
I think Helen Clark was responsible for the Labour party woes. She wanted people there who were subservient to her and would do what she demanded. Not a rebel or even a free thinking person in the lot of them. And they are still there!
By the way the word I used was PRINCIPLE, not PRINCIPAL. I bow down to no-one.
” Not a rebel or even a free thinking person in the lot of them.”
Can I point that not one nat with exception to the odius corrupt Collins has ever slightly broken ranks in 7 years.
For a laugh on day I asked the member for Taupo on her Facebook page what her views on keys ponytail pulling where, it got removed quickly I can tell you.
By the way I was pissed with Clarke to , for giving our land to the southern gentry, and not working more with the greens. And I always saw goff as a caretaker leader.
As for Cunliffe I found him a bit cringe worthy but he would of done a good job IMO .
Maybe, but it would still be good to see the Reserve Bank concentrate on more than just inflation. Its job is to balance the growth in the economy with inflation targets, and its concentrating on just inflation.
There’s plenty more signals Little needs to make against the retail banks. He just needs the support of the Reserve Bank to do its actual job.
Things looking pretty damn shity for Israeli Arabs
About half of Israel’s Jews support the transfer of Arabs to other countries, according to a survey by the American Pew Research Center published Tuesday. The poll was conducted among Jewish and non-Jewish Israelis from the end of 2014 until the middle of 2015, before the latest wave of terror.
One of the questions in the survey, based on face-to-face interviews of 5,601 individuals, asked to what degree they agreed with the following statement: “Arabs should be expelled or transferred from Israel.” The result, among the Jewish respondents: Twenty-one percent “strongly agree” and 27 percent “mostly agree.” If those two groups are combined, about half of Israeli Jews questioned – 48 percent – support transfer of Arab citizens. On the other hand, a similar proportion – 46 percent – say they oppose such a move, with 29 percent saying that they “don’t really agree” and 17 percent responding that they “don’t agree at all” to the expulsion of Arabs.
Back in 2002, polls suggested more than 40% of Israelis agreed with the expulsion (either through force or encouragement) of Israeli Arabs. By 2006, that sentiment had risen to almost 50% (forced transfer) rising to over 55% (if encouragement of Arab emigration was included).
Meanwhile, an overwhelming majority of Israelis (polls have generally suggested well over 80%) have long opposed a two-state settlement grounded in international Law (in which Israel withdraws to the pre-June 67 border and allows a significant Palestinian Capital in East Jerusalem). In other words, the Israeli public fully supports the rejectionist stance of consecutive Israeli Govts over the decades.
What the majority of Israelis do support (in some polls, by a very large majority) is the sort of “settlement” of the “conflict” where Israel annexes all of the major settlement Blocs, splitting the West Bank into separate little cantons, annexes most of Jerusalem and nullifies the Right of Return.
Recent polls have also suggested a majority of Israelis support Jewish/Arab segregation on public transport, 55% supported segregated recreational facilities, large minorities agree that Arab-Israelis shouldn’t be employed in hospitals, nursing institutions or kindergartens. 75% opposed living in the same apartment buildings as Arabs, 55% believed Israeli-Arabs didn’t have the ability to reach the same level of cultural development as Jews, 61% were unwilling to have an Arab visit their home, 64% believe Arab-Israelis endanger the state of Israel because of their high birth rates. And a large minority considered Arab culture inferior.
A 2008 poll found 40% of Jewish Israelis believed Arab Israelis should not be allowed to vote, with 78% against Arab politicians having any involvement in govt and 80% opposed to Arabs being involved in “important decisions”. A 2010 poll found 57% agreed that Israeli Human Rights organisations that expose “immoral conduct by Israel” shouldn’t be allowed to operate freely. Majorities also favoured punishing Israeli citizens and journalists who either support sanctions (BDS) or report on facts that reflect badly on Israel’s international reputation.
And, of course, polls suggest overwhelming Israeli support for the IDF’s regular massacres and carpet-bombing of Gaza and Lebanon.
Just enjoying watching questions in the house today on playback, the best bit is being able to fast forward National MP’s vacuous responses and patsy questions.
tbh I’m not sure who bears the costs of these visits. I suspect the US State Dept bears much of the cost but we will be providing a shit load of outer perimeter security, state events/banquets, closing down large areas of cities at Secret Service request etc.
I wonder who this is? Reminds me of another “person of some public interest” from up North who is facing some serious charges in court very soon! Wonder when that case will start rolling out?
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Orla is a gender critical Marxist in Ireland. She gave a presentation on 15 January 2021 on the connection between postmodern/transgender identity politics and the current attacks on democratic and free speech rights. Orla has been active previously in the Irish Socialist Workers Party and the People Before Profit electoral ...
. . America: The Empire Strikes Back (at itself) Further to my comments in the first part of 2020: The History That Was, the following should be considered regarding the current state of the US. They most likely will be by future historians pondering the critical decades of ...
Nathaniel ScharpingIn March, as the Covid-19 pandemic began to shut down major cities in the U.S., researchers were thinking about blood. In particular, they were worried about the U.S. blood supply — the millions of donations every year that help keep hospital patients alive when they need a transfusion. ...
Sarah L Caddy, University of CambridgeVaccines are a marvel of medicine. Few interventions can claim to have saved as many lives. But it may surprise you to know that not all vaccines provide the same level of protection. Some vaccines stop you getting symptomatic disease, but others stop you ...
Back in 2016, the Portuguese government announced plans to stop burning coal by 2030. But progress has come much quicker, and they're now scheduled to close their last coal plant by the end of this year: The Sines coal plant in Portugal went offline at midnight yesterday evening (14 ...
The Sincerest Form Of Flattery: As anybody with the intestinal fortitude to brave the commentary threads of local news-sites, large and small, will attest, the number of Trump-supporting New Zealanders is really quite astounding. IT’S SO DIFFICULT to resist the temptation to be smug. From the distant perspective of New Zealand, ...
RNZ reports on continued arbitrariness on decisions at the border. British comedian Russell Howard is about to tour New Zealand and other acts allowed in through managed isolation this summer include drag queen RuPaul and musicians at Northern Bass in Mangawhai and the Bay Dreams festival. The vice-president of the ...
As families around the world mourn more than two million people dead from Covid-19, the Plan B academics and their PR industry collaborator continue to argue that the New Zealand government should stop focusing on our managed isolation and quarantine system and instead protect the elderly so that they can ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 10, 2021 through Sat, Jan 16, 2021Editor's ChoiceNASA says 2020 tied for hottest year on record — here’s what you can do to helpPhoto by Michael Held on Unsplash ...
Health authorities in Norway are reporting some concerns about deaths in frail elderly after receiving their COVID-19 vaccine. Is this causally related to the vaccine? Probably not but here are the things to consider. According to the news there have been 23 deaths in Norway shortly after vaccine administration and ...
Happy New Year! No, experts are not concerned that “…one of New Zealand’s COIVD-1( vaccines will fail to protect the country” Here is why. But first I wish to issue an expletive about this journalism (First in Australia and then in NZ). It exhibits utter failure to actually truly consult ...
All nations have shadows; some acknowledge them. For others they shape their image in uncomfortable ways.The staunch Labour supporter was in despair at what her Rogernomics Government was doing. But she finished ‘at least, we got rid of Muldoon’, a response which tells us that then, and today, one’s views ...
Grigori GuitchountsIn November, Springer Nature, one of the world’s largest publishers of scientific journals, made an attention-grabbing announcement: More than 30 of its most prestigious journals, including the flagship Nature, will now allow authors to pay a fee of US$11,390 to make their papers freely available for anyone to read ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gary Yohe, Henry Jacoby, Richard Richels, and Benjamin Santer Imagine a major climate change law passing the U.S. Congress unanimously? Don’t bother. It turns out that you don’t need to imagine it. Get this: The Global Change Research Act of 1990 was passed ...
“They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”WHO CAN FORGET the penultimate scene of the 1956 movie classic, Invasion of the Body Snatchers? The wild-eyed doctor, stumbling down the highway, trying desperately to warn his fellow citizens: “They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”Ostensibly science-fiction, the movie ...
TheOneRing.Net has got its paws on the official synopsis of the upcoming Amazon Tolkien TV series. It’s a development that brings to mind the line about Sauron deliberately releasing Gollum from the dungeons of Barad-dûr. Amazon knew exactly what they were doing here, in terms of drumming up publicity: ...
Since Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration in 1953, US presidents have joined an informal club intended to provide support - and occasionally rivalry - between those few who have been ‘leaders of the free world’. Donald Trump, elected on a promise to ‘drain the swamp’ and a constant mocker of his predecessors, ...
For over a decade commentators have noted the rise of a new brand of explicitly ideological politics throughout the world. By this they usually refer to the re-emergence of national populism and avowedly illiberal approaches to governance throughout the “advanced” democratic community, but they also extend the thought to the ...
The US House of Representatives has just impeached Donald Trump, giving him the dubious honour of being the only US President to be impeached twice. Ten Republicans voted for impeachement, making it the most bipartisan impeachment ever. The question now is whether the Senate will rise to the occasion, and ...
Zero emission buses, cleaner cars and environmentally-friendly biofuels will soon be hitting New Zealand’s roads, as the Government delivers on its election promise to make our transport network more sustainable. ...
The Green Party is already delivering on its commitment for cleaner, climate-friendly transport through our Cooperation Agreement with the Government. ...
A growing public housing waiting list and continued increase of house prices must be urgently addressed by Government, Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson said today. ...
Prudence Steven QC, barrister of Christchurch has been appointed as an Environment Judge and District Court Judge to serve in Christchurch, Attorney-General David Parker announced today. Ms Steven has been a barrister sole since 2008, practising in resource management and local government / public law. She was appointed a Queen’s ...
The Government is delivering on its first tranche of election promises to take action on climate change with a raft of measures that will help meet New Zealand’s 2050 carbon neutral target, create new jobs and boost innovation. “This will be an ongoing area of action but we are moving ...
The Government is investing up to $10 million to support 30 of the country’s top early-career researchers to develop their research skills. “The pandemic has had widespread impacts across the science system, including the research workforce. After completing their PhD, researchers often travel overseas to gain experience but in the ...
A Waitomo-based Jobs for Nature project will keep up to ten people employed in the village as the tourism sector recovers post Covid-19 Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. “This $500,000 project will save ten local jobs by deploying workers from Discover Waitomo into nature-based jobs. They will be undertaking local ...
Minister for Climate Change, James Shaw spoke yesterday with President Biden’s Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry. “I was delighted to have the opportunity to speak with Mr. Kerry this morning about the urgency with which our governments must confront the climate emergency. I am grateful to him and ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta today announced three diplomatic appointments: Alana Hudson as Ambassador to Poland John Riley as Consul-General to Hong Kong Stephen Wong as Consul-General to Shanghai Poland “New Zealand’s relationship with Poland is built on enduring personal, economic and historical connections. Poland is also an important ...
Work begins today at Wainuiomata High School to ensure buildings and teaching spaces are fit for purpose, Education Minister Chris Hipkins says. The Minister joined principal Janette Melrose and board chair Lynda Koia to kick off demolition for the project, which is worth close to $40 million, as the site ...
A skilled and experienced group of people have been named as the newly established Oranga Tamariki Ministerial Advisory Board by Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis today. The Board will provide independent advice and assurance to the Minister for Children across three key areas of Oranga Tamariki: relationships with families, whānau, and ...
The green light for New Zealand’s first COVID-19 vaccine could be granted in just over a week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said today. “We’re making swift progress towards vaccinating New Zealanders against the virus, but we’re also absolutely committed to ensuring the vaccines are safe and effective,” Jacinda Ardern said. ...
The Minister for ACC is pleased to announce the appointment of three new members to join the Board of ACC on 1 February 2021. “All three bring diverse skills and experience to provide strong governance oversight to lead the direction of ACC” said Hon Carmel Sepuloni. Bella Takiari-Brame from Hamilton ...
The Government is investing $9 million to upgrade a significant community facility in Invercargill, creating economic stimulus and jobs, Infrastructure Minister Grant Robertson and Te Tai Tonga MP Rino Tirikatene have announced. The grant for Waihōpai Rūnaka Inc to make improvements to Murihiku Marae comes from the $3 billion set ...
[Opening comments, welcome and thank you to Auckland University etc] It is a great pleasure to be here this afternoon to celebrate such an historic occasion - the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. This is a moment many feared would never come, but ...
The Government is providing $3 million in one-off seed funding to help disabled people around New Zealand stay connected and access support in their communities, Minister for Disability Issues, Carmel Sepuloni announced today. The funding will allow disability service providers to develop digital and community-based solutions over the next two ...
Border workers in quarantine facilities will be offered voluntary daily COVID-19 saliva tests in addition to their regular weekly testing, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. This additional option will be rolled out at the Jet Park Quarantine facility in Auckland starting on Monday 25 January, and then to ...
The next steps in the Government’s ambitious firearms reform programme to include a three-month buy-back have been announced by Police Minister Poto Williams today. “The last buy-back and amnesty was unprecedented for New Zealand and was successful in collecting 60,297 firearms, modifying a further 5,630 firearms, and collecting 299,837 prohibited ...
Upscaling work already underway to restore two iconic ecosystems will deliver jobs and a lasting legacy, Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. “The Jobs for Nature programme provides $1.25 billion over four years to offer employment opportunities for people whose livelihoods have been impacted by the COVID-19 recession. “Two new projects ...
The Government has released its Public Housing Plan 2021-2024 which outlines the intention of where 8,000 additional public and transitional housing places announced in Budget 2020, will go. “The Government is committed to continuing its public house build programme at pace and scale. The extra 8,000 homes – 6000 public ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has congratulated President Joe Biden on his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States of America. “I look forward to building a close relationship with President Biden and working with him on issues that matter to both our countries,” Jacinda Ardern said. “New Zealand ...
A major investment to tackle wilding pines in Mt Richmond will create jobs and help protect the area’s unique ecosystems, Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor says. The Mt Richmond Forest Park has unique ecosystems developed on mineral-rich geology, including taonga plant species found nowhere else in the country. “These special plant ...
To further protect New Zealand from COVID-19, the Government is extending pre-departure testing to all passengers to New Zealand except from Australia, Antarctica and most Pacific Islands, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “The change will come into force for all flights arriving in New Zealand after 11:59pm (NZT) on Monday ...
Bay Conservation Cadets launched with first intake Supported with $3.5 million grant Part of $1.245b Jobs for Nature programme to accelerate recover from Covid Cadets will learn skills to protect and enhance environment Environment Minister David Parker today welcomed the first intake of cadets at the launch of the Bay ...
The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health. “Following confirmation of the Cook Islands’ COVID ...
Jobs for Nature funding is being made available to conservation groups and landowners to employ staff and contractors in a move aimed at boosting local biodiversity-focused projects, Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan has announced. It is estimated some 400-plus jobs will be created with employment opportunities in ecology, restoration, trapping, ...
The Government has approved an exception class for 1000 international tertiary students, degree level and above, who began their study in New Zealand but were caught offshore when border restrictions began. The exception will allow students to return to New Zealand in stages from April 2021. “Our top priority continues ...
Today’s deal between Meridian and Rio Tinto for the Tiwai smelter to remain open another four years provides time for a managed transition for Southland. “The deal provides welcome certainty to the Southland community by protecting jobs and incomes as the region plans for the future. The Government is committed ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appointed Anna Curzon to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). The leader of each APEC economy appoints three private sector representatives to ABAC. ABAC provides advice to leaders annually on business priorities. “ABAC helps ensure that APEC’s work programme is informed by business community perspectives ...
The Government’s prudent fiscal management and strong policy programme in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic have been acknowledged by the credit rating agency Fitch. Fitch has today affirmed New Zealand’s local currency rating at AA+ with a stable outlook and foreign currency rating at AA with a positive ...
The Government is putting in place a suite of additional actions to protect New Zealand from COVID-19, including new emerging variants, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “Given the high rates of infection in many countries and evidence of the global spread of more transmissible variants, it’s clear that ...
$36 million of Government funding alongside councils and others for 19 projects Investment will clean up and protect waterways and create local jobs Boots on the ground expected in Q2 of 2021 Funding part of the Jobs for Nature policy package A package of 19 projects will help clean up ...
The New Zealand public sector and judiciary has again been ranked the least corrupt in the world. The 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released today by global anti-corruption organization Transparency International ranks New Zealand first equal ...
New Zealand is again ranked first equal with Denmark in the Transparency International annual index of perceived levels of public sector corruption. Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier has welcomed New Zealand’s position in the 2020 index. He says New Zealand’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Kaufman, Research Fellow, Vaccine Uptake Group, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute The federal government’s A$23.9 million COVID-19 vaccination information campaign, launchedyesterday, aims to reassure the public about vaccine safety and effectiveness. It will also provide information about the vaccine rollout. We’ve ...
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he’s joined by Hongi Luo, brand director at TikTok.In terms of cultural reach and impact, the ...
After Covid devastated its 2020, Basement Theatre comes roaring into 2021 with its Summer Season. Here’s the rundown of shows in-store, with some comments from programmer Nisha Madhan.Pre-FringeLust IslandWhen’s it on: February 2-6, 8pmWho’s involved: The women of improv troupe Hearthrobs (McKenzie’s Daughters, Salem Bitch Trials), including Brynley Stent, Alice ...
The whānau of Te Ahikaiata Turei supported by Māori and non-Māori staff at Unitec will take back a portrait of the Tūhoe leader who led the establishment of Te Noho Kotahitanga Marae and the values that brought the institute back from the brink of ...
A poll across the Early Childhood Education community found 93% in favour of pausing the ‘lunchbox rules’, or the Ministry of Education’s new Food Safety/choking changes to the Licensing Criteria, which came into effect on 25 January. “The message ...
Cycling advocates are calling for the transformation of urban transport, as New Zealand races to cut carbon. The Climate Change Commission will release its initial advice on Sunday 31 January. “Bikes and e-bikes are perfect for many local trips, ...
Three Ministers, led by the PM, joined in chorus today to warble about a bunch of measures aimed at helping to meet New Zealand’s 2050 carbon neutral target, create new jobs and boost innovation. Mind you, the measures mentioned seem to be more matters of decisions yet to be made ...
Michelle Kidd defines her role at Auckland’s specialist family violence court as te kaiwhakatere – the navigator. It’s a one-of-a-kind job, helping guide defendants through the court system. And there’s no one better suited to it than Whaea Michelle.First published November 24, 2020.Whaea Michelle is part of Frame, a series of short ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sallie Yea, Associate professor & Principal Research Fellow, La Trobe University Each year, thousands of men and boys labour under extremely exploitative conditions on commercial fishing vessels owned by Taiwanese, Chinese and South Korean companies. The Taiwanese fleet, which operates in all ...
Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis believes the Crown should maintain responsibility for the care and protection of at-risk and vulnerable children, regardless of their race. Moreover, he is confident his all-Maori team of advisers will not be taking race into account as they help to improve Oranga Tamariki’s care and protection of ...
It’s easy to sacrifice John Banks. It’s a lot harder for brands, sports organisations and government to truly stop funding racism. Are they willing to try?Yesterday John Banks, the former Auckland mayor and MP, became subject to one of the fastest firings in media history when audio covering his approving ...
A community is outraged after Auckland Council granted consent for a row of trees planted by local kids to be removed along a revitalised waterway in South Auckland, reports Justin Latif. An Auckland Council decision to give contractors the all-clear to chop down 12 mānuka and kānuka trees shading Māngere’s Tararata ...
Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu hopes that the recent changes to Oranga Tamariki leadership present an opportunity for a long overdue paradigm shift that will place whānau at the heart of the child welfare sector. Pouārahi Helen Leahy says that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Rice, Professor of Management, University of New England Elon Musk is now the world’s richest person, edging out previous title holder Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. His rocketing fortune is due to the booming share price of Tesla, the maker of electric vehicles ...
There are now three returnees who contracted the virus in the Auckland isolation facility then left into the community while positive. These are some of the questions that need to be resolved. At 10.20pm last night the Ministry of Health confirmed that the two cases they’d been treating as probable ...
Having a hard time remembering to scan in on the NZ Covid Tracer app when you’re out and about? Get this song stuck in your head and you’ll never forget again.Learn the lyrics:Aotearoa, it’s time to get scanning!I mean if you think about it, it never really wasn’t time we ...
We conclude our week-long examination of New Zealand writer Roderick Finlayson with a review of his stories by John Newton Roger Hickin’s Cold Hub Press is one of the small miracles of contemporary New Zealand publishing. Over the last decade, on what can only be a shoe-string budget, the ...
Thursday 28th January, AUCKLAND: Drive Electric, the not-for-profit with one mission – making electric vehicle uptake in New Zealand mainstream, welcomes the announcement by the Government today as a sign of what’s to come through 2021, and we are confident ...
The Government announced today key policy decisions on the proposed clean car policies. The MIA has stated on many occasions that we support well thought out and constructive policies that will lead to an increased rate in the reduction of CO2 emissions from ...
Get wild, get cultured, get fed and then get to bed: the essential guide to a perfect few days in the southern city. There’s one thing that preoccupies the staff of The Spinoff almost as much as arranging popular food items into arbitrary lists, and that’s Dunedin. A quite remarkable ...
John Banks’ racist exchange with a Magic Talk listener on Tuesday was the latest in nearly 50 years of talkback controversies. Donna Chisholm has the receipts.John Banks axed over Māori ‘stone age culture’ comments on Magic Talk1972: On Radio I, sports talkback host Tim Bickerstaff launches a “Punch a Pom ...
*This article first appeared on RNZ and is republished with permission.Two new community Covid-19 cases have been identified as the more infectious South African variant, but Auckland Mayor Phil Goff sayit would be "premature to go into lockdown now". The two new cases of Covid-19 identified in the ...
Today, for the second time in two months Dunedin climate protectors have locked themselves to the railway tracks outside the Dunedin Railway station to stop the KiwiRail coal train from Bathurst Resources’ Takitimu mine in Southland to Fonterra’s ...
KiwiRail STOP Hauling COAL Today, for the second time in two months Dunedin climate protectors have locked themselves to the railway tracks outside the Dunedin Railway station to stop the KiwiRail coal train from Bathurst Resources’ Takitimu mine ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Dunn, Associate professor, University of Sydney The government is rolling out a new public information campaign this week to reassure the public about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, which one expert has said “couldn’t be more crucial” to people actually getting ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Therese O’Sullivan, Associate Professor, Edith Cowan University The COVID vaccine rollout has placed the issue of vaccination firmly in the spotlight. A successful rollout will depend on a variety of factors, one of which is vaccine acceptance. One potential hurdle to vaccine ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bernard Walker, Associate Professor in Organisations and Leadership, University of Canterbury Kiwis know what it’s like when life throws curveballs. We’ve had major quakes, floods, fires, an eruption, a terrorist attack and now a pandemic. In those situations, it’s the ability to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Irwin, Emeritus professor, Murdoch University While we continue to be occupied with the COVID pandemic, another life-threatening disease has emerged in northern Australia, one that’s cause for considerable alarm for the millions of dog owners around the country. This disease — ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cath Ferguson, Academic, Edith Cowan University Almost half of Australian adults struggle with reading. Similar levels of struggling readers are reported in the United Kingdom and United States. This does not mean all struggling readers are illiterate. It means they often struggle ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Abbas Shieh, Assistant Professor of Urban Planning and Design, Islamic Azad University The industrial revolution transformed cities, resulting in places of residence and work becoming more distant than ever before. This spatial segregation is still largely embedded in the design of our ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame Australia Review: Occupation: Rainfall, written and directed by Luke Sparke Historically, when a sequel to a film was greenlit, you could rest assured this was because the first film made a ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for January 28, keeping you up to date with the latest local and international news. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nzOur members make The Spinoff happen! Every dollar contributed directly funds our editorial team – click here to learn more about how you can support us ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Tourism suffers in the shadow of Covid-19, two new positive cases in Auckland confirmed, and National will contest the Māori electorates.The front page of the January 4 Greymouth Star carried grim tidings for several of the glacier towns on the ...
*This article first appeared on RNZ and is republished with permission. Two people who left managed isolation on January 15 have been confirmed as positive Covid-19 cases, with the Ministry of Health urging anyone who visited the same locations during the same time period as the infected pair in Auckland to ...
The watchlist of 'offensive or unreasonable' babies' names is to be reviewed, to include more names from other languages. Generations of the Īhaka family have played a meaningful role in bringing Te Reo and stories of Māori to our wider community. Archdeacon Sir Kīngi Matutaera Īhaka (Te Aupōuri, 1921-93) was known as the orator of ...
After Morocco’s flagrant violation of the terms of the ceasefire in Western Sahara on Friday 13 November 2020 war broke out between the two sides. In the midst of this war Tauranga based Ballance Agri-Nutrients has decided to carry on importing phosphate ...
Nicholas Agar suggests that our handling of the pandemic could be partly down to our distinctive Treaty of Waitangi relationship, and Māori ideas that enabled us to make it through without tens of thousands of deaths A mission for universities in the coming decade will be a deep understanding of the meaning ...
A young girl who once sent $5 to an embattled America's Cup team is now among the women on the water helping run the contest for the Auld Mug. As an eager and generous nine-year-old, Melanie Roberts posted a letter, with a $5 note, to OneAustralia’s America’s Cup team. It was 1995, ...
At 5am today, cock’s crow, the embargo lifted on the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards longlist. Here are the books in the race, followed by thoughts from poetry editor Chris Tse and books editor Catherine Woulfe. A shortlist of four books in each category will be announced March 3, with ...
Ignoring those QR codes when you drop into the supermarket? Can’t be bothered when you grab a coffee? The people serving you notice, and you’re freaking them out.So far, New Zealanders’ use of the Covid-19 Tracer app has been notably woeful. Food industry workers who’ve watched streams of customers walk ...
Steve Braunias reveals the longlist of the 2021 Ockham New Zealand book awards Apart from one or two unfortunate omissions which cast doubt on the sanity and intellectual acumen of judges, especially the nobodies who judged this year's non-fiction, the longlist for the 2021 Ockham New Zealand book awards is ...
By Lulu Mark in Port Moresby Papua New Guinea’s biggest hospital is straining to provide medical services to the growing population of the capital Port Moresby – with an estimated growth rate of 3 percent annually, a medical executive says. Port Moresby General Hospital chief executive officer Dr Paki Molumi ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Nationals who attend Thursday’s memorial service in Tweed Heads for Doug Anthony, who died last month aged 90, may muse on the contrast between the state of their party when he led it and now. ...
Returning to quarantine-free travel in 2021 doesn't just need a vaccine, but a way to check whether arriving passengers are actually immune to the virus. A smart Kiwi science start-up is working with a global biometrics giant to make that happen. A deal signed between Kiwi research and development company Orbis Diagnostics, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Caitlyn Forster, PhD Candidate, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney This summer’s wetter conditions have created great conditions for flowering plants. Flowers provide sweet nectar and protein-rich pollen, attracting many insects, including bees. Commercial honey bees are also thriving: ...
Lotto scratchie tickets featuring the pop band Six60 are being withdrawn after a public backlash. In a statement, Lotto NZ said there had been a mutual decision made with the band to remove the tickets from sale following the negative feedback, and it offered an apology. The band faced criticism, both ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Russell Dean Christopher Bicknell, Post-doctoral researcher in Palaeobiology , University of New England Shell-crushing predation was already in full swing half a billion years ago, as our new research published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B reveals. A hyena devouring ...
Vodafone has suspended advertising on the radio station amid calls for talkback host John Banks to be taken off air after yet another racist outburst. Alex Braae reports. In an alarming segment of talkback radio, former Auckland mayor John Banks endorsed the views of a caller who described Māori as a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Welch, Senior Lecturer, University of Auckland When a COVID-19 case was found in Northland last Sunday, Aotearoa’s second-longest period with no detected community case came to an end. ESR scientists worked late into Sunday night to obtain a whole genome sequence ...
He has the perfect moustache, an exceptional mullet, and he uses terms like ‘face hole’ on national TV. Who or what is Dr Joel Rindelaub?I was drawn in by the moustache, but it was the mullet that really kept me there. Watching TVNZ’s Breakfast yesterday morning I was fixated. Often, ...
We’ll never be royals with nearly a quarter of declined baby names featuring “Royal” in some form or another. Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs has released the list of names declined in 2020 by the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and ...
After a raft of inquiries delving into and recommending what should be done about the politically beleaguered Orangi Tamaraki, along with the briefing papers we suppose he has been given, we imagined Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis would have no more need for expert advice. Wrong. He has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vincent Ho, Senior Lecturer and clinical academic gastroenterologist, Western Sydney University There’s a common assumption men take longer than women to poo. People say so on Twitter, in memes, and elsewhereonline. But is that right? What could explain it? And if ...
Just as sexuality is a spectrum, so too is asexuality. In Ace of Hearts, members of New Zealand’s asexual community talk about the challenges and misconceptions of identifying as ace.First published November 17, 2020.Ace of Hearts is part of Frame, a series of short documentaries produced by Wrestler for The Spinoff.“A ...
Sam Brooks wasn’t allowed to watch kids TV as a kid. Now, as a 30 year old man, he watches it for the first time.My mother’s approach to parenting was unorthodox. I wrote weekly book reports on top of my actual homework, I did maths equations in Roman numerals and ...
Pacific Media Watch newsdesk More leading Indonesian figures have made racial slurs against Natalius Pigai, former chair of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) – and all West Papuans, says United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) interim president Benny Wenda. “Since the illegal Indonesian invasion in 1963, Indonesian ...
“The Government’s failure to even conduct a standard cost-benefit analysis for the most expensive infrastructure project in New Zealand’s history is mind-bogglingly arrogant,” says New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke. “A ...
The Ministry of Health is today drawing backlash from the local New Zealand vaping industry following its release of proposed regulations for the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act. Vaping Trade Association New Zealand (VTANZ) President, ...
Sophie Gilmour and Simon Day are joined by special guest Hugo Baird, co-owner of Grey Lynn’s Honey Bones and Lilian, to talk about opening new pub Hotel Ponsonby.Auckland is a city of many bars but few really good pubs – the kind of places you’d be just as comfortable going ...
The appointment of an advisory board for Oranga Tamariki is welcome and should be a step toward a total transformation of the care and protection system to a by Māori, for Māori approach, Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft said today. Minister ...
Taking control of your financial wellbeing can have cascading positive impacts for your life and it can also be fun. With the help of the team at Kiwi Wealth, we’ve compiled some simple tricks for balancing your books in 2021. There’s something about the beginning of a new year, especially after ...
New Zealand talks with Iran.
So RNZ allows an Israeli spokesperson on air to tell what New Zealand to do.
And then a wretched interview ensues.
‘wretched’ ? You are being kind. Try unprepared, incoherent, self-aggrandising, self-delusional ..
According to Sputnik & RT, Russia is to start withdrawing its main forces in Syria
https://www.rt.com/news/335554-putin-orders-syria-withdrawal/
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160314/1036274550/putin-orders-syria-withdrawal.html
Reaction from Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem ..
http://m.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Syrian-opposition-says-Russian-withdrawal-would-be-positive-44791
yes RNZ propaganda is one sided, uncritical and pathetic …I listen to RNZ less and less
I think that should have read *ground* forces ..
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/russia-withdraws-ground-troops-not-air-force/
Exposing the Libyan Agenda: A Closer Look at Hillary’s Emails’
http://www.globalresearch.ca/exposing-the-libyan-agenda-a-closer-look-at-hillarys-emails/5514010
Holy fuck the most bizarre interview every between Paul Henry and the head niwa scientist. He blew Henrys tiny selfish little mind. Will be on in 50 minutes on tv3 +1
Any chance of a link ? I’d like to see &/or hear that .. I lost interest in teevee a long time ago.
Audio only but that was hard enough for this Henry avoider to listen to, even though it would have been interesting to watch his facial expressions.
Have similar to Morrisey’s view on the banter and sycophantic laugh track so best leave it at that for comments from me.
Embarrassing listening to Paul Henry on this. I’ve never heard anybody trumpet their ignorance on so many topics as loudly as he does. He even described us as “shickered” by climate change, apparently blithely unaware it means drunk. Or maybe he personally does drink to forget it.
A bit of fun from a mate of mine that pretty much encapsulates (in less than 1 minute) my view of the the current flag debate… 🙂
F**king Flag by RedKey (expliciy lyrics)
+1
I imagine comparatively few Standardistas have given much thought to Key’s next job – always imagining he’d be welcome among the crew that loathed him so much they gave him the nickname the smiling assassin.
But there is a role in which his talents would give him a unique competitive advantage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKPwtDjzJMI
Even narcissists can benefit society if they find the appropriate position.
So has the military been protecting the TPPA roadshow, as Chris Trotter asks in his piece this morning in the paper?
As Trotter outlines, this is surely the most pressing and substantial issue.
Is the military protecting the TPPA roadshow?
Does anybody know?
The consequences and implications are fucking scary
Was there any evidence attached? I am in the military and to be honest would find it very surprising if this was the case.
Yes same.
Trotter (link not available yet) points to some evidence, being a lapel badge and question answered to the Josie Butler person about it. If she has made shit up like this then it will decimate her credibility – let’s see
It should be followed up quite seriously imo
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/77838411/chris-trotter-protecting-the-tpp
“I went to the first security check point which was at the front driveway to the [Rydges] hotel. The guards asked for my ID, and whilst I was getting it out I noticed one of the guys had an army badge pinned to his lapel, I asked him if he was military and he confirmed that all security present today were army personnel.”
– Shouldn’t be too hard to find out if this is true
The police can’t waste money on this – they’ve got burglars to hunt down.
I’m not saying shes wrong, lying or mistaken but, when it comes to the TPPA, I’ll need more evidence from her before I believe her
I’ve seen someone on twitter who was at a roadshow talking about the army being there. I agree, it would be good to see it confirmed.
This person has a write up about attending (no idea who they are),
https://skepticnz.wordpress.com/2016/03/14/inside-the-tppa-roadshow-experience/
From accounts I’ve heard from others, the write up mentioned above is a pretty good reflection of the event in Dunedin. I haven’t heard anybody witnessing any members of the military amongst the security in Dunedin but there was certainly a large contingent of police, Armourgard employees and security chaps in suits.
Wonder if there will be the high level of security in Invercargill tomorrow for Todd McClays visit?
I have a feeling the army were at the Chch one?
CO2 and Global Temperatures reach record Highs, and National fiddles with the ETS.
As reported in the Guardian today
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/mar/10/co2-levels-make-largest-recorded-annual-leap-noaa-data-shows
And right on call Global temperatures are going through the roof. Following on from a record monthly Global Temperature in January – February 2016 was the warmest month on record by a whopping 0.2o C! That surge in Global Temperatures brings the Earth to the 1.50 C above pre-industrial levels aspirational target that the COP 21 agreed the world must stay just last year.
Now the surge in Global temperatures that we are currently experiencing is not unexpected considering that we are in the middle of an El Nino event the like of which hasn’t been experienced since 1997-98, when there was a similar spike in Global temperatures. However the current spike (and I’m sure that temperatures will drop back – this is a temporary aberration) is far more pronounced than even the massive spike of the 97-98 event. The Earth is now on a new “Plateau” on the upward journey of increasing Global Temperatures.
Here in New Zealand, National are considering “fixing” the ETS. Submissions have been called and I’m sure many have submitted. I have done so in the past but this time I did not. In my opinion submitting again on this new amendment to a now useless Emissions Trading Scheme is a complete waste of time and energy because this is a Government of “consultation” in name only. They think that consultation involves telling others what is to happen. Not only that, there are enough “hot air” credits slopping around in the scheme to cover NZ’s arse for the next couple of years, laundered by the Government, so that NZ can meet its targets without spending any money. So expect nothing creditable to emerge from this new assessment of a scheme that is already worthless, and has done nothing to limit NZs GHG emissions. It is again simply window dressing and the rearrangement of deck chairs on a sinking ship.
NZ’s ETS is beyond redemption. It needs scraping and replaced by a Carbon Tax of at least $50 per tonne initially (I’m sure others would argue for more) and applied across all sectors. The revenue generated to be redistributed through vastly increased initiatives in public transport, alternative energies, energy efficiencies, subsidies for private solar, wind, and electric and hybrid vehicles, insulation of houses, and research and education wrt climate change.
Electric vehicles – Talking of which – much hypocrisy here! But great photo op!/sarc
Yep, $200 per tonne:
$200 per tonne of CO2. That puts a price on coal of $600 per tonne before you even start to think about digging it out of the ground. Petrol and diesel get a carbon tax of 50 to 60 cents per litre.
Bring it on. There will be massive economic stimulus from bringing online all the substitutes.
Whilst we won’t be like Mexico. To many white people live here. The TTP will make us poorer.
‘EXCLUSIVE: Why US Spy Boss is really in NZ’
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2016/03/15/exclusive-why-us-spy-boss-is-really-in-nz/
Why would you travel in a Globemaster?
Surely a Lear or Gulfstream would be much quicker and comfortable.
There was discussion here yesterday on the three planes that arrived in Wellington – see this link and the thread, plus the links to photos.
One of my favourite thinkers this century.
Dr. Vijay Prashad is interviewed by Abbey Martin, about Syria. If you have not read any of his books take the time, it is worth it.
The last 2 minutes of this interview is just wonderful.
please swap “is just wonderful” to “are just wonderful”
Sheesh how bad was that error…
Most excellent my friend..your old flatmate from Chambers ST.
TPP- the ISDS is one of the most contentious parts of the TPP. The countries with which we have ISDS clauses in our FTAs have not featured highly in data on ISDS.
However, as you can see in the linked page of an interactive site on ISDS (showing the countries, the number of cases brought against the country using the ISDS and the Home state of the claimant corporation.) US and Canada are high on the litigant side.
http://investmentpolicyhub.unctad.org/ISDS/FilterByCountry
Without ISDS a claimant still can get justice by using the existing judicial systems. ISDS is simply a ploy to bypass these and is used to threaten states.
Notice that the claims/cases per year has doubled in five years. Who is next?
Globalization and Growth
Such an outward looking way to boost an economy is underwhelming because everyone can do it and productivity is so high that only a small percentage of the world population is needed to provide everything we need (although, there probably isn’t enough actual resources to do that – the problem of over population).
The only way left to develop an economy is broadly within it’s own scope. In other words, local manufacture from local resources for local use.
Trade is defunct.
[r0b: This comment was moved, as per request below, to open mike. It was originally a reply to
http://thestandard.org.nz/february-breaks-all-records/#comment-1146794 ]
what is this crappy racist sexist ageist shite.
LOL!
As usual, the Left leads the way.
As usual, another day of CV’s bigotry.
I will say this though, the climate change news is scarey beyond what we’ve had in the past. I think a lot of people aren’t well equipped to deal with that, so how about we all try and be a bit kinder to each other this week? (I’m looking at myself there too).
Not surprised that you think its fine to stereotype white males of a certain age, but then call me the bigot. And then try and talk about kindness. Your hypocrisy climbs to new heights.
I didn’t say it’s fine CV and I don’t actually think it’s fine. You’re making an incorrect assumption about my politics. Again. All I did was stand up and point out your behaviour again because I’m sick of the whole bullshit false binaries and pathologising whole groups of people. Pineapples made a single comment and people are free to call them on it as they see fit. You’ve been spraying your negative shit that’s now out and out bigotry around the site for many months. It’s tedious and it’s having a negative effect on discussions and what we can do here. I’m not willing to let that slide in such an important thread.
You don’t think its fine but you were silent about it. But you point the finger at me for making a bigoted comment.
What was that bigoted comment by the way? I have no idea what I said that you got in such a twist about.
“You don’t think its fine but you were silent about it.”
For various reasons. Plus strange as it may seem, I don’t comment on every thing I disagree with.
“What was that bigoted comment by the way? I have no idea what I said that you got in such a twist about.”
I’m happy to have that conversation but not in this thread because it’s so off topic. Let’s take it to Open Mike.
CV is a negative nelly it’s true but weka you do seem to be quite comfortable stereotyping white males sometimes so I think it’s a fair point
stereotyping and bigotry aren’t exactly the same thing though, right? Feel free to call me on bigotry any time you like, so long as you can point to an example and explain why you think it’s bigoted and then engage in a conversation about that.
As Bill pointed out, the climate denialists are well represented by older white guys. I don’t think anyone that agrees with that statement thinks that that means that most older white guys are denialists (although I might be tempted to say that if I lived in the US).
You’re the one accusing CV of bigotry though, what was his bigoted comment? pointing out their whiteness doesn’t do anything to help the problem – just gives people more reason to discount what you say
CV’s bigotry is related to people he hates on and likes to now treat as a class eg ‘the left’.
“pointing out their whiteness doesn’t do anything to help the problem – just gives people more reason to discount what you say”
Contrary to what CV was thinking, I wasn’t fine with Pineapple’s comment. I thought it unnecessarily inflammatory and pretty much irrelevant outside of a conversation that was looking at power structures. It might have worked further down the thread, but as the first comment, when people were just finished reading something pretty challenging, having to jump into a conversation like that was jarring and likely to derail the thread.
Do I think that the classes of people who control both the creation of cc and whether we prevent the worst of it are dominated by older white men? Yes. Is there any disputing that? Do I think that most older white men are responsible? No. It always pays to talk to people about their politics and find out what they believe rather than jumping to conclusions based on projection.
But if you yourself stereotype people in that way, it’s all hunky dory, apparently. Seriously, mate, you need to own your prejudices and stop being such a hypocrite.
Hey TRP, you’re such a straight shooter, hope you make it high on to the Labour List.
how about we take this to OM?
I’m going to suggest that one of the moderators shifts the whole subthread too because it’s completely off topic and it’s an important thread for people not to be put off by derailments at the top of the comments.
Good call. I’m happy to stop while I’m ahead 😉
I agree – and the irony is that the scientists quoted in the story was … a white male over 40. Too funny for words.
how is that ironical?
The irony is not apparent to everyone it seems.
What was ironical was you getting all het up with your own identity politics.
It seems that you understand irony just fine when you decide to.
Maybe, but I’m willing to be that you can’t explain what the irony was that cyclonemike referred to.
It’s so interesting to see CV being pursued by you weka. He is receiving the same treatment that I used to get when I attempted to say anything about rape culture, and question its pervasiveness. When people like yourself set up as gatekeeper to everything it acts to enforce censorship. But it seems that you weka are trying to dominate the discourse and control the site to the point where critical attacks are common.
And for those who don’t know what all this gerfuffle is about – this was what got it started. I think that everyone should stop, rethink and stick to the political discussion. If someone makes a pointed criticism in the heat of the moment, let it pass, particularly weka, Colonial Viper and Te Reo Putake. It is not impressive to see the unreasoning hostility that amounts to bullying, then provoking reaction. I thought The Standard was aiming higher than this unpleasant nitpicking.
February breaks all records.
esoteric pineapples 1
15 March 2016 at 10:32 am
Now all we have to do is wait for a bunch of white males over 40 to tell us either a) scientists don’t know what they are talking about or b) its a hoax driven by the illuminati or some other conspiratorial group.
Thanks grey. I’m more than happy to be challenged on what I am doing, and I’m not that happy with how I have been here lately (my questioning the macho culture of ts is in part because it tends to bring out the worst in me if I don’t keep an eye on what I am doing).
I’m going to disagree with your interpretation though. The problem I have with CV is his behaviour not his politics, so I’m not sure the comparison works re you trying to bring in a different view on rape culture. It was the same with Pete George. When people’s behaviour affects a community so negatively then I think it’s valid for others to do something about it. If I was the only person challening CV on what he is doing I might agree with your interpretation that I am trying to control the debate somehow. But many people are sick of what he is doing. Many. If you take me out of the equation, CV still sprays his shit around too much and many people react against that. They aren’t doing those things because of me.
Whether my own behaviour makes that situation better or worse, I don’t really know at the moment. I think CV does respond to people encouraging him to be more proactive rather than just spraying shit around the site, so I try and do that until I lose my patience. I think in the instance the other day it was unfortunate that he put up an intentionally provocative post when feelings were already running high about his behaviour, because the subject he raised was important and it just got lost in the mess. I can also see that because of how ts is, he was probably limited in how he could bring that topic up, so in hindsight it was just a clusterfuck that no-one could do much about. For my part I wish I had taken a more proactive approach in my own critiques.
I basically walked out of that recent climate change thread because it was painful, and it was painfully obvious that by far the majority of people here wanted yet another round of talking rather than doing something. I have no tolerance for that and I’m sure it affected how I was posting for some time.
The stuff at the start was nothing to do with that, it was just a distraction. But I think the painful nature of the topic of the post probably contributed to the subsequent aggro. As for that convo *starting the whole thing, again I’ll disagree. It was just a continuation of something that’s pretty much continual here. My main comments at the start were to suggest we didn’t derail the thread and to suggest that the diversion get taken to OM. I’m not sure how that was a problem.
I don’t know if I am gatekeeper so much as caretaker who’s reached a point of frustration at the mess. Characterising CV’s comments as only something said in the heat of the moment misses the wider context and the impact he has on the site. If you think that I am also having a negative impact, please keep calling me on that (I don’t really get quite what you were meaning above, but I do remember you once telling me I was commenting too often, so I’ll have a think about that and whether I’d be better off making more comments from a more discerning place).
(cut and pasted from CC thread)
Well we live in a patriarchy that favours white males over males of other skin hue, and so they tend to have accumulated more of the available privilege that comes courtesy of the status quo . And older people tend to have more invested in the status quo than younger people, so…sure, a broad brush stroke, but to say that idiots advocating the status quo can be sort of characterised as”white males over 40″ seems fair enough in my book.
Nothing particularly sexist in it. Nothing particularly ageist in it. Absolutely nothing racist in it (can’t be racist towards whites – impossible)
Lol @ patriarchy and “can’t be racist towards whites” of course you can! It’s easy and people do it all the time, it just isn’t as harmful overall because of where power lies in western societies currently
You can be bigoted towards towards white people, that is a given
But, how on God’s green earth can the privileged group have racism directed at them?
You get that the exercise of power is a fundamental aspect of racism, Tim?
.
Because people of other races can have power over white people… White people aren’t invincible lol
Racism has very specific roots – Social Darwinism. Sure, other cultures may well have thought of themselves superior, but only one (as far as I’m aware) touted itself, essentially, as a race apart from and above the human race – humanity. That allowed, informed or excused colonisation by the white west of every non-white area of the world.
That all means that a white person can be on the receiving end of discrimination but never racism, because racism’s a very particular type of discrimination that always holds ‘whiteness’ as above and better and ‘god given’ (as it were).
Nice.
/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkSRJSUY0vs&feature=youtu.be
He’s gotta be troling, I hope.
Nick Kalman Verified account
@NickKalmanFN
.@realDonaldTrump supporters sporting armbands in Florida http://campl.us/suUn
They’re a couple of political jokesters it seems
Today’s misanthropy red lining….
Ali Alimadadi
@alialimadadi110
#Hamoo,#Iraqi father who pushes handicapped daughter on #Greek border, seeking a better future beyond barbed wires
https://twitter.com/alialimadadi110/status/709474642122117120
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/77905481/labour-leader-andrew-little-warns-banks-cut-rates-or-face-compulsion
When both National and the Greens think its a bad idea then you know you’ve really outdone yourself
Gawd.
Muldoon, Bolger, Clark and Key all took till their third term before they started displaying their Messiah complexes.
Muldoon and Clark got really virulent cases. Remember how Piggy was going to save the world’s monetary system? Now Little has got the bug.
Little has got it already and he has only had a year and a bit as leader of a minor party.
Please Labour . Get things sorted out. Get rid of Little and all the deadwood.
New Zealand cannot afford such a useless second party.
Ha ha right winger doesn’t like it when a leftwing poly says something that gets him a positive head line. # takingthefuckersonattheirowngame
I have some very simple principles.
Politicians should define what outcome they want.
Then they should get out of the way.
They should never try and run a business. If they do that they will never stop doing something stupid. They are unable to admit they have done something foolish so they keep throwing money at it rather than shut it down.
They are also completely unaware that they really don’t know anything about it.
That is why we have to get a new Government every few years. The new lot don’t have anything committed to the mistake so they are willing to fix things.
If we get Little, or any other politician, making decisions about what a bank should charge in interest or who is to get loans they will make mistakes. Then they will use tax-payers money to hide the mistake. If the bank starts making unhappy noises they will give them more money to shut them up.
In the case of the Reserve Bank for example Roger Douglas laid down the first principles, and left how it was done to the Governor. Everyone since has left the Governor to get on with it and they have done very well. If they don’t they can be sacked because the blame can be put on them, not the poly.
Little seems to think he knows better. So did Muldoon and we ended up with stagflation.
Can I ask, if you are a man of principal, did you vote national in any of the last 3 elections, given that it was as obvious as hell to any one vaguely interested in politics that national us very dirty tactics around election time!
Yes I did. And I didn’t find their tactics any different to their predecessors.
I have voted in 11 of the last 12 elections. 5 Labour, 6 National and 1 when, living overseas I didn’t think I should vote.
However in 2008 I thought Labour were old, tired and corrupt. A change was essential.
They had the same people on 2011. Nothing had really changed had it? In general Labour were still useless so I voted for the ones who were better for New Zealand.
2014 was even worse. Can you really imagine a no-hoper like Cunliffe as PM?
Seriously? He seemed to have more DCMs than anyone I had ever heard of.
Now? I want to see some alternative to the current Government who was competent but at the moment Labour looks just as useless as ever. At the moment Key still seems better for the country.
I want a better option.
I think Helen Clark was responsible for the Labour party woes. She wanted people there who were subservient to her and would do what she demanded. Not a rebel or even a free thinking person in the lot of them. And they are still there!
By the way the word I used was PRINCIPLE, not PRINCIPAL. I bow down to no-one.
” Not a rebel or even a free thinking person in the lot of them.”
Can I point that not one nat with exception to the odius corrupt Collins has ever slightly broken ranks in 7 years.
For a laugh on day I asked the member for Taupo on her Facebook page what her views on keys ponytail pulling where, it got removed quickly I can tell you.
By the way I was pissed with Clarke to , for giving our land to the southern gentry, and not working more with the greens. And I always saw goff as a caretaker leader.
As for Cunliffe I found him a bit cringe worthy but he would of done a good job IMO .
Maybe, but it would still be good to see the Reserve Bank concentrate on more than just inflation. Its job is to balance the growth in the economy with inflation targets, and its concentrating on just inflation.
There’s plenty more signals Little needs to make against the retail banks. He just needs the support of the Reserve Bank to do its actual job.
Things looking pretty damn shity for Israeli Arabs
About half of Israel’s Jews support the transfer of Arabs to other countries, according to a survey by the American Pew Research Center published Tuesday. The poll was conducted among Jewish and non-Jewish Israelis from the end of 2014 until the middle of 2015, before the latest wave of terror.
One of the questions in the survey, based on face-to-face interviews of 5,601 individuals, asked to what degree they agreed with the following statement: “Arabs should be expelled or transferred from Israel.” The result, among the Jewish respondents: Twenty-one percent “strongly agree” and 27 percent “mostly agree.” If those two groups are combined, about half of Israeli Jews questioned – 48 percent – support transfer of Arab citizens. On the other hand, a similar proportion – 46 percent – say they oppose such a move, with 29 percent saying that they “don’t really agree” and 17 percent responding that they “don’t agree at all” to the expulsion of Arabs.
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.707589
Yep, but nothing new in that.
Back in 2002, polls suggested more than 40% of Israelis agreed with the expulsion (either through force or encouragement) of Israeli Arabs. By 2006, that sentiment had risen to almost 50% (forced transfer) rising to over 55% (if encouragement of Arab emigration was included).
Meanwhile, an overwhelming majority of Israelis (polls have generally suggested well over 80%) have long opposed a two-state settlement grounded in international Law (in which Israel withdraws to the pre-June 67 border and allows a significant Palestinian Capital in East Jerusalem). In other words, the Israeli public fully supports the rejectionist stance of consecutive Israeli Govts over the decades.
What the majority of Israelis do support (in some polls, by a very large majority) is the sort of “settlement” of the “conflict” where Israel annexes all of the major settlement Blocs, splitting the West Bank into separate little cantons, annexes most of Jerusalem and nullifies the Right of Return.
Recent polls have also suggested a majority of Israelis support Jewish/Arab segregation on public transport, 55% supported segregated recreational facilities, large minorities agree that Arab-Israelis shouldn’t be employed in hospitals, nursing institutions or kindergartens. 75% opposed living in the same apartment buildings as Arabs, 55% believed Israeli-Arabs didn’t have the ability to reach the same level of cultural development as Jews, 61% were unwilling to have an Arab visit their home, 64% believe Arab-Israelis endanger the state of Israel because of their high birth rates. And a large minority considered Arab culture inferior.
A 2008 poll found 40% of Jewish Israelis believed Arab Israelis should not be allowed to vote, with 78% against Arab politicians having any involvement in govt and 80% opposed to Arabs being involved in “important decisions”. A 2010 poll found 57% agreed that Israeli Human Rights organisations that expose “immoral conduct by Israel” shouldn’t be allowed to operate freely. Majorities also favoured punishing Israeli citizens and journalists who either support sanctions (BDS) or report on facts that reflect badly on Israel’s international reputation.
And, of course, polls suggest overwhelming Israeli support for the IDF’s regular massacres and carpet-bombing of Gaza and Lebanon.
Speaking of fascist, authoritarian, militarised, apartheid nations
Just enjoying watching questions in the house today on playback, the best bit is being able to fast forward National MP’s vacuous responses and patsy questions.
Is it true that President Obama is going to come to New Zealand soon … or is it just another vicious rumour spread by the National Party? LOL.
Key is on a build up to an early election so he is going to do everything he can to get Obama over here.
Getting Obama here will make his Richie McCaw and All Black suck-a-thon pale into total insignificance.
Ironically so many of the anti-Obama mob are Key supporters but they will go into a suck up frenzy if their lord and master gets his way.
As an aside, how much would any such visit cost us?
tbh I’m not sure who bears the costs of these visits. I suspect the US State Dept bears much of the cost but we will be providing a shit load of outer perimeter security, state events/banquets, closing down large areas of cities at Secret Service request etc.
@Colonial Viper
Why do you say that John Key is building up to an early General Election?
You are the first person I have heard mention this.
I wonder who this is? Reminds me of another “person of some public interest” from up North who is facing some serious charges in court very soon! Wonder when that case will start rolling out?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11606101