President Trump said on Wednesday that the United States would no longer insist on a Palestinian state as part of a peace accord between Israel and the Palestinians, backing away from a policy that has underpinned America’s role in Middle East peacemaking since the Clinton administration.
“I’m looking at two states and one state,” Mr. Trump said, appearing in a joint news conference at the White House with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. “I like the one that both parties like. I can live with either one.”
Mr. Trump’s comments were a striking departure from decades of diplomatic orthodoxy, and they raised a host of thorny questions about the viability of his position. The Palestinians are highly unlikely to accept anything short of a sovereign state, and a single Israeli state encompassing the Palestinians would either become undemocratic or no longer Jewish, given the faster growth rate of the Arab population.
The problem being of course, that “The Palestinians are highly unlikely to accept anything short of a sovereign state” means what they have now, plus all of Israel.
… a single Israeli state encompassing the Palestinians would either become undemocratic or no longer Jewish, given the faster growth rate of the Arab population.
If they tried to retain representative majority for a minority Jewish population, that would be undemocratic.
The statement is either or – either a single Israeli state would be no longer Jewish, as Jews would be a minority of the population; or for the state to remain Jewish it would need to have an undemocratic electoral system.
For Israel to stay a “Jewish” State they would have to disenfranchise the Palestinian majority.
Which is why a “two State” solution is likely the only viable option.
Israeli settlements and genocidal attacks on Palestinians are making a peaceful solution less likely. However i doubt if peace is in the Israeli agenda, as they need an excuse to continue the takeover of Palestinian begun in the 50’s.
Thinking of those down south today who are suffering from the fires. All lives matter, please stay safe and if you are told to get out, don’t muck around just go, stuff can be replaced, lives can’t.
Just how would it serve the Canadian interest (or for that matter the NZ interest) if Trudeau had spent his time lecturing Trump?
Both Trudeau and English made it plain enough that they disagreed with the Immigration Executive Order, and in any event they could have confidence that the US courts would roll it back.
What more should they do?
It is worth recalling that despite all Trump’s faults he has not signalled that he wants to start a war on the scale of Iraq or going further back, Vietnam. In fact I would say the indications are the opposite.
It was not so long ago that a number of commenters on this site were saying they preferred Trump over Clinton, precisely because he was seen as less of a war risk. I personally thought that was ridiculous. Why would Clinton start any wars?
More importantly Trump is the President of a country that many countries, especially in the west, have a deep relationship. In fact the US is seen as the indispensable nation with in the west. The vast number of components of this relationship will continue, despite Trump, since they are not based on any one person but on a network of enduring links.
I appreciate you do not agree with any of this, but in large part the relationship is based on common values, namely being democracies, with the independent rule of law, and broadly speaking open economies.
The connection between the western nations actually goes far deeper in time, since these institutions and values have their origins in Judaeo-Christian philosophy and ethics, and go back as far as democracy of Athens and the republic of Rome.
So Trump would have to be much worse than at present before any western nation would significantly curtail the relationship.
Personally I have complete trust in the constitution of the US and the rule of law that will keep Trump within acceptable confines. He might say some surprising things, but a lot of that will prove to be bluster.
In fact what the European nations want is for Trump to actually affirm US leadership of NATO, the centrepiece of western mutual obligation. The scariest thing for European nations is the thought that NATO would be put in jeopardy by US “neo-isolationism.” Even Corbyn recognises this (at least on a pragmatic level, even if not personally) that unravelling NATO would give rise to dangerous uncertainty. For some European nations (the Baltics) this is literally an existential threat.
Thanks Wayne. Some good points there. By the way, I meant to get back to you after you responded to my swingeing attack on you last Saturday. I accept your criticism wasn’t personal, and I must say that I was impressed by your unflappability and your maintenance of a civil discourse, as I had tried to employ all my rhetorical force against you.
However, I was banned by the moderators for another matter, so please accept my belated apology.
In fact the US is seen as the indispensable nation with in the west.
Only by a small clique of authoritarians.
Personally, I see NZ as the only indispensable nation as far as NZ is concerned and that it’s under threat from the US.
The connection between the western nations actually goes far deeper in time, since these institutions and values have their origins in Judaeo-Christian philosophy and ethics, and go back as far as democracy of Athens and the republic of Rome.
That’s the past and we cannot find solutions for today or the future in the past.
Both Athens and Rome were massively undemocratic and highly authoritarian. Great for their time but not for today. Today we need to move on from those failed systems rather than trying to keep them alive.
Personally I have complete trust in the constitution of the US and the rule of law that will keep Trump within acceptable confines.
I would – except for all the actions that the US Administration has done that go against those.
In fact what the European nations want is for Trump to actually affirm US leadership of NATO, the centrepiece of western mutual obligation. The scariest thing for European nations is the thought that NATO would be put in jeopardy by US “neo-isolationism.” Even Corbyn recognises this (at least on a pragmatic level, even if not personally) that unravelling NATO would give rise to dangerous uncertainty. For some European nations (the Baltics) this is literally an existential threat.
Nothing is forever.
The world has changed and is changing further away from the old authoritarian past.
I was obviously not suggesting that Greece and Rome were like modern democracies, after all they both had slaves. But I am sure you know that many of our legal principles and philosophy has its origins with them.
As for the decline of the west. Well, yes it does seem the peak of the influence has passed but as yet no other set of states has supplanted the west. Asia (China and India) could do so but that will take more than 50 years, probably significantly longer. In contrast to western nations China is actually organised on authoritarian lines.
Your first point is perhaps the most interesting. Does the leadership of the US only appeal to a small clique of authoritarians?
Perhaps the best proxy would be a referendum on whether European nations/people would wish to see the end of NATO. Realistically such a referendum is not going to happen.
But we do know that parties that do actually propose withdrawal from NATO do not win elections, in fact they do very badly. I am certain if this was UK Labour party policy, they would be pretty much wiped out electorally.
So I suggest you misunderstand the popular mood (as opposed to views of left activists). People may have all sorts of complaints about the US, but not many are actually willing to forgo its protection. That is particularly true the further east you go in Europe.
There can hardly be a single Pole who would say “Get out of NATO.” When I went there, all the Poles I spoke felt that their sovereignty was finally guaranteed. Not surprising when you think of the Polish experience throughout the twentieth century.
However I appreciate that perhaps 20% of New Zealanders think as you do do. I guess we are in the safest place in the world to be able to do so.
The US might, as you write, be seen as the indispensable nation within the West but I struggle to think of any significant contribution to human knowledge by US educated and acculturated people.
Also the US is isolated geographically from the historical knowledge and cultural sources that it relies on, Europe, the Middle East, India, China. IMO it has always been a taker, not a giver. A taker of people and a taker of knowledge.
The US appears to me reliant on the rest of the world for its ideas and technologies.
I don’t agree that the western nations institutions and values have their origins in Judaeo-Christian philosophy and ethics. These were imposed from without and important state structures eg, Monarchies, Class Systems, Roman Law predated them.
You are risking a knockdown in claiming that the popular mood can be gauged by support or otherwise of voters for continuing membership of NATO because you do not take account of voter participation in elections, which in Poland at least has been abysmal. http://www.electionguide.org/countries/id/173/
I struggle to think of any significant contribution to human knowledge by US educated and acculturated people.
I expect the irony of engaging in this struggle while using a personal computer connected to the Internet didn’t occur?
Yeah, it does seem that the Groaning Hand clearly hasn’t been around computer systems for the last 60 years or so.
Perhaps he should consider Grace Hopper, the author of the A compiler in 1952 to prove that you could write code in something other than maths. Of course COBOL sucks. But it has the hardy robustness such that means that 57 years after it’s (and my) birth, banks and the IRD are still trying to find something that works better..
My favourite language is still C++ developed by another extremely bright yank, Bjarne Stroustrup, in 1979. I’ve written more than 50 million lines of tight code in it since I learnt it in 1991. And I’m still learning to express myself in it now.
For me those are still the highlights of one small area of my overly educated and acculturated mind. It is the area that has me sanely clasped in its creative trance for 30 odd years without suffering the boredom of sucking up the cultures of mere people like the vacuum cleaner I am in the social science or the arts.
The US appears to me reliant on the rest of the world for its ideas and technologies.
Just about every area of knowledge that I have sucked into with depth in the last 40 years has been dominated by the concepts from the US. Everything from computer systems to management to earth sciences. Sure, a lot of those concepts have been from the first 3 generations of immigrants. But most of those people were there because it was largely impossible to do the things that they did in the countries of their parents or grandparents.
A prosaic and highly visible example would be to just look at the inspired comedy of John Oliver. The same thing happens in any country that welcomes immigration. Here for instance.
Just looking around my apartment, it is rather freaky realising how much of it was directly developed in the US, or was redeveloped there to drop the cost. Sure it is made by the Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, etc at present. But the flood of innovation arriving every year from the US is a rather large torrent. Nothing like it arrives from anywhere else.
Basically, I’d have speculate that the Groaning Hand is more interested in the same types of such largely useless esoteric medieval meanderings as the quest for detirmining the number of naked angels of their preferred gender that could dance on a pinhead, or other microscopic obsessions based on the self-referential arguments of nearly blind scholars trying to read under candle-light. I guess it beats having to do any real work understanding the real world.
Sure, a lot of those concepts have been from the first 3 generations of immigrants. But most of those people were there because it was largely impossible to do the things that they did in the countries of their parents or grandparents.
And which is probably the same reason why our best and brightest pick up sticks and leave. They simply cannot do what they want here in NZ because of the poor support for creativity that we have.
When I went there, all the Poles I spoke felt that their sovereignty was finally guaranteed.
Of course, the UN and international is supposed to do that and not individual nations.
Of course, we do have the example of Israel and the UN dictating the invasion of a sovereign state in favour of a small group of people.
And, of course, the US has been undermining the UN for decades. From where I sit, the problem of people not feeling that there sovereignty is guaranteed is a direct result of the US’ undermining of the UN and ongoing invasions of sovereign nations.
If nations feel secure because of NATO then it’s because they’re kissing US arse.
I reckon the world would be a much better place if the UN could stop the US, Russia, or China (or frankly any military power) from invading smaller countries, it would be full of rainbows and unicorn farts.
But that us not currently in the power of the UN.
So Poland and Baltic countries look to NATO, because Russia.
And most of the military interventions in the world over the last century or so has been by the US fighting for their corporations.
What I’m saying here is that the solution that those countries need is the UN, not NATO, but those powerful countries are keeping the UN powerless to act against them.
So, how do we get the majority of countries to change the UN for the better?
Hey, Britain France and Russia have done their bit and all.
The main problem with the UN is the permanent member veto, but also the reliance on US funds because it’s got the biggest economy.
If all the littler countries put more money into the UN, there’d still be the issue of the security council veto. I have no idea how to alter that, save waiting for the next big was ad the irradiated survivors could do a League of Nations: Third Time Lucky.
The world has changed and is changing further away from the old authoritarian past.
I don’t think increasing authoritarianism can really be described as changing “away from” authoritarianism. “Embracing a more authoritarian future” seems more accurate.
I certainly believe you’re wrong. Putin and Erdogan are popular in their own countries, the USA just democratically elected an authoritarian demagogue, nationalist authoritarian parties are increasing in popularity in Europe, and a UK referendum has voted to exit the international cooperative it belongs to because nationalism is becoming more popular. That’s the general populace, not the powers that be.
With 77.8% of Canadian exports going to the USA and Mexico (NAFTA)…I suspect the Canadians are more than happy to keep things civil with Trump. Of course its Trudeau who’s very pro NAFTA, and Trump who had to moderate his opinions which is ironic….
Though I think Trudeau handing Trump a photograph of Trump and daddy Trudeau back in the day speaks volumes about our Leading families and the distribution, or lack thereof, of power.
Kathryn Ryan—completely out of her depth this morning:
Further evidence that standards at RNZ National are declining. Nine to Noon, RNZ National, Thursday 16 February 2017, 10:10 a.m.
I’m listening to Kathryn Ryan making a fool of herself, yet again, this time as she interviews Rudolph Herzog, author of Dead Funny: Telling Jokes in Hitler’s Germany. He’s already firmly corrected her after she claimed that the Jewish prisoners at Theresienstadt put on a cabaret to boost their morale; in fact, he informed her, they were compelled to put on the cabaret. He’s also caviled at her use of the word “humanising”, which implies the Nazis were not human. He also seems perturbed by her suggestion that the Nazis had a sense of humour. ”
Does she do ANY preparation, or reading, before these interviews? Are there any standards at RNZ National any more?
Looks like we will have the code for the project after work in the hands of the testers tomorrow. In celebration, if it continues to rain and be cool in Auckland, I will fix a password field and get the search function back on line.
Please ask the deity (or lack thereof) for rain in Auckland and the fire areas of NZ…. I will take care of the code.
The key to understanding the dispute is that both sides are big, powerful semi-monopolies. Both want control and both want to clip the ticket on every transaction. It can mean rivers of gold.
More rentier capitalism.
The Australian banks argue that opening up the iPhone NFC chip will allow innovation to flourish. Apple argues customers will get a better digital wallet experience if it retains control. Among other things it means customers can run cards issued by different banks from a single app.
Banks elsewhere might be as uneasy with Apple Pay, but few banking markets are as tight-held as Australia and New Zealand. This gives the local big banks a clout that, say, US banks don’t have.
And this shows how competition in standards fails to bring about satisfactory results for society.
The power of those big four banks to fuck around with our currency and transactions is another reason why we should be looking to nationalise the transaction system and maintain a single standard.
The private banks have control of our monetary supply and create too much of it and they own the EFT-POS system pulling in massive amounts of profit from us using our money.
It was a banner moment for the decade-old website, known for reporting obvious hoaxes as legitimate news and headlines such as: “EXPOSED=>HILLARY HITMAN Breaks Silence” and “Dental Expert: Hillary Clinton Is Suffering From Serious Gum Infection” and “One Week After Election Loss Hillary Clinton Looks Like Death.”
Hoft was on his way to his first White House news conference in the company of self-described “brand strategist” Lucian Wintrich, the Gateway Pundit’s inaugural White House correspondent, who for his first day on the job wore a blue tie studded with elephants in every color of the rainbow to announce his gay Republican pride.
I’m still for fighting worthwhile fights, but at the same time, keeping a weather eye on the big issue. Stopping the every day stuff because the freight-train headlight is blinding us is going to multiply our daily problems, so yes, protest the dams, the plight of the homeless and so on and on. Taking practical steps individually to prepare for challenging circumstances seem very wise right now.
On the big issue stuff, I think Leighton Smith over at ZB needs to be challenged everyday on this issue. Arguing with people who listen to him is getting a joke. Not that he uses the gifts of science for anything. Mind you did get a straight answer why they oppose this issue. Because it’s simple and easy to do nothing, and call the other side crazy.
Though I suspect her and her husband, Damon Harvey, are making a play for the position of Hastings Mayor, so it makes sense to win over the voters of Havelock North.
Yule has had it for well long enough, and as Chair of LGNZ for nearly two decades has functioned as both Mayor and MP together in the one person, merrily clipping the ticket for both as he goes.
There is no way some far left snowflake would survive on that hard dry political soil. Maybe Anna Lorck and Damon Harkey are the right people for right there.
I see in the Herald the mother of Nia Glassie the little girl who was tortured and murdered, is going to be released on parole after serving 8 of her 9 years in jail. What an evil looking woman she is. Why was this woman only given a 9 year sentence and not a minimum of 9 years and allowed to be released a year before her time. The description of the torture of that little girl is horrific.
What I cannot understand is why Scott Watson is still in jail and was given a minimum of 17 years and is now serving over that time and I think it was said he isn’t up for parole for another 4 years. There is something really wrong with the sentencing system.
I for one, do not want that woman released, children will never be safe around her and she does not look repentant with what she has done. Just because Scott Watson still denies the crime it does not warrant him being lock away forever.
Obama Killed a 16-Year-Old American in Yemen.
Trump Just Killed His 8-Year-Old Sister.
by GLENN GREENWALD, The Intercept, Jan. 31, 2017
IN 2010, PRESIDENT Obama directed the CIA to assassinate an American citizen in Yemen, Anwar al-Awlaki, despite the fact that he had never been charged with (let alone convicted of) any crime, and the agency successfully carried out that order a year later with a September 2011 drone strike. While that assassination created widespread debate — the once-again-beloved ACLU sued Obama to restrain him from the assassination on the ground of due process and then, when that suit was dismissed, sued Obama again after the killing was carried out — another drone killing carried out shortly thereafter was perhaps even more significant yet generated relatively little attention.
Two weeks after the killing of Awlaki, a separate CIA drone strike in Yemen killed his 16-year-old American-born son, Abdulrahman, along with the boy’s 17-year-old cousin and several other innocent Yemenis. The U.S. eventually claimed that the boy was not their target but merely “collateral damage.” Abdulrahman’s grief-stricken grandfather, Nasser al-Awlaki, urged the Washington Post “to visit a Facebook memorial page for Abdulrahman,” which explained: “Look at his pictures, his friends, and his hobbies. His Facebook page shows a typical kid.”
Few events pulled the mask off Obama officials like this one. It highlighted how the Obama administration was ravaging Yemen, one of the world’s poorest countries: just weeks after he won the Nobel Prize, Obama used cluster bombs that killed 35 Yemeni women and children. Even Obama-supporting liberal comedians mocked the arguments of the Obama DOJ for why it had the right to execute Americans with no charges: “Due Process Just Means There’s A Process That You Do,” snarked Stephen Colbert. And a firestorm erupted when former Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs offered a sociopathic justification for killing the Colorado-born teenager, apparently blaming him for his own killing by saying he should have “had a more responsible father.”
The U.S. assault on Yemeni civilians not only continued but radically escalated over the next five years through the end of the Obama presidency, as the U.S. and the U.K. armed, supported, and provide crucial assistance to their close ally Saudi Arabia as it devastated Yemen through a criminally reckless bombing campaign. Yemen now faces mass starvation, seemingly exacerbated, deliberately, by the U.S.-U.K.-supported air attacks. Because of the West’s direct responsibility for these atrocities, they have received vanishingly little attention in the responsible countries.
In a hideous symbol of the bipartisan continuity of U.S. barbarism, Nasser al-Awlaki just lost another one of his young grandchildren to U.S. violence. On Sunday, the Navy’s SEAL Team 6, using armed Reaper drones for cover, carried out a commando raid on what it said was a compound harboring officials of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. A statement issued by President Trump lamented the death of an American service member and several others who were wounded, but made no mention of any civilian deaths. U.S. military officials initially denied any civilian deaths, and (therefore) the CNN report on the raid said nothing about any civilians being killed. …..
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Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Photo by Jari Hytönen on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government is talking up the crucial role of gas as a transition fuel “through to 2050 and beyond”. In a gas strategy to be released on Thursday, the government envisages the fuel’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Next week the government will again next try to get its legislation through to deal with non-citizens who won’t cooperate with efforts to deport them. The bill, which the opposition and crossbench refused to rush ...
A long-term project that will set out an alternative vision for Aotearoa that looks beyond the narrow confines of the policy straight jacket adopted by successive governments. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bree Hurst, Associate Professor, Faculty of Business and Law, QUT, Queensland University of Technology TK Kurikawa/Shutterstock A much-awaited report into Coles and Woolworths has found what many customers have long believed – Australia’s big supermarkets engage in price gouging. What started ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Ghezelbash, Associate Professor and Deputy Director, Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney The Albanese government wanted to avoid an inquiry into its migration amendment bill. The report, handed down yesterday by a senate committee that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joo-Cheong Tham, Professor, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne Lobbying is at the heart of government. Who has access to and influence over key government officials shapes the decisions governments make – and how they make them. The ability to influence ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Myfany Turpin, Associate Professor, Ethnomusicology, Linguistics and Ethnobiology, University of Sydney The act representing Australia at this year’s Eurovision contest has sadly not qualified for the grand final. Yet for Zaachariaha Fielding and Michael Ross, the duo that makes up Electric Fields, ...
In announcing changes to the school lunches programme, David Seymour said kids would no longer be served ‘woke’ foods. To clear up any confusion, The Spinoff has compiled a guide to the wokeness levels of some common food items. Apple = NOT WOKE Avocado = WOKE Avocado, smashed = EVEN ...
The Minister Responsible for GCSB and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security have been notified of this review, and have been provided a finalised Terms of Reference. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Minglu Chen, Senior Lecturer, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney Robert Way/Shutterstock As the past few years have illustrated so clearly, the Australia-China relationship is complicated. As such, it is crucial for Australians to develop a more nuanced understanding of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mariana Campbell, Research Lecturer, Conservation, Charles Darwin University Marilyn Connell Australian freshwater turtles are facing an alarming trend. Almost half of these species are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. The Mary River turtle (Elusor macrurus) is one of Australia’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Debbie Passey, Digital Health Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Josephine Barbaro, Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, Psychologist, La Trobe University Unsplash We’ve come a long way in terms of understanding that everyone thinks, interacts and experiences the world differently. In the past, autistic people, people with attention deficit hyperactive disorder ...
PNG Post-Courier Papua New Guinea’s deputy opposition leader James Nomane has accused the government of “reckless economic management” that has forced devaluation to manage loan repayments in foreign currency and placate the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Prime Minister James Marape “must stop lying to the people of Papua New Guinea”, ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoa’s booksellers. This week: Jane Arthur, author of Brown Bird, and former bookseller at Good Books.The book I wish I’d writtenI have been working on not comparing myself to others. On accepting that what I can ...
The final decision on the Wellington District Plan makes it official: High-density housing is legal across most of Wellington. Housing minister Chris Bishop has announced his decision on the Wellington District Plan, approving a series of amendments to radically upzone most of Wellington, allowing tens of thousands of new townhouses ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to ...
RNZ News As Israel presses ahead with strikes in Rafah and seizing the Rafah crossing from Egypt, aid agencies are sounding the alarm of a “catastrophic humanitarian situation”. Rafah was “significant” because it was the only part in Gaza that had not been terribly damaged by the conflict, United Nations ...
With funding set to be scrapped for the Hamilton-Auckland commuter train, Te Huia enthusiast Georgie Dansey argues for it to be thrown a lifeline. It’s 5.45am and the chain of my crappy old bike falls off slugging up the one hill in Hamilton. I contemplate yeeting the bike into the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Cooke, Honorary Fellow, School of the Environment, The University of Queensland We feel ecological grief when we lose places, species or ecosystems we value and love. These losses are a growing threat to mental health and wellbeing globally. We all see ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shauna Brail, Associate Professor, Institute for Management & Innovation, University of Toronto A shift to hybrid and remote work continues to affect worker presence in Toronto’s downtown.(Shutterstock) Downtown Toronto, the core of Canada’s largest city, continues to reel from the lingering ...
Responding to an Auditor-General's report slamming failures in the administration of the 2023 General Election, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: ...
Productivity apps now make up a big chunk of the software market. But do they work? And why do they all have AI integrations?Despite being firmly on the record as a physical planner fan, I sometimes dream of something better than my pretty diary and its scrawled, ugly, interior ...
The Taxpayers’ Union says the Beehive need to lead by example, following reports of more than $50,000 spent upgrading video conferencing equipment and furniture in the Prime Minister’s office. Taxpayers’ Union Campaign Manager, Connor Molloy, ...
An objective list of the 50 most powerful people in New Zealand, as judged by the Spinoff Editorial Board. It’s power list season, baby, and we want in on the action. Sure, there’s the rich list and the powerful “c-suite” list and the young people with power (hmmm) but here, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thalia Anthony, Professor of Law, University of Technology Sydney ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the names of deceased people, and describes ongoing colonial violence towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. First Nations people in Australia ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Macquarie University Netflix Baby Reindeer’s phenomenal success has much to do with its writer and lead, Richard Gadd, who plays Donny in a tender semi-autobiographical account of sexual abuse, harassment and stalking. Gadd’s story has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle KarolinaGrabowska/Pexels If you didn’t have food allergies as a child, is it possible to develop them as an adult? The short answer is yes. But the reasons why are much ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Moon, Professor of History, Auckland University of Technology Ans Westra, self-portrait, c. 1963. National Library ref AWM-0705-F They try but invariably fail – those writers who believe they are capable of encapsulating in prose or verse the essence of ...
Stewart Sowman-Lund looks at the growing concern around the world in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. What’s all this? When Covid-19 arrived on our shores in early 2020, some argued we were too slow, or crucially, ill-prepared for a pandemic. So ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Franco Montalto, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and Director, Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory, Drexel University Water runs into a storm drain in a Los Angeles alley on Aug. 19, 2023, during Tropical Storm Hilary.Citizen of the Planet/Universal Images ...
The inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones has turned up a new witness who says he saw two teenagers and a small child in a high vis vest in the area where the boy’s body was found the day he died. Lachie’s body was discovered face up ...
Stories from the tenancy trenches, featuring spider infestations, cupboard rats and same-sex discrimination. Lucy’s brother was living in a damp 1930s building in Mt Eden where “he had to tie the cupboard doors closed so the rats didn’t get in”. Although he shared custody of his six-year-old son, his property ...
Simeon Brown, Chris Luxon, and Wayne Brown climbed into a hole and announced a plan to solve Auckland’s water woes. This is how it’ll work. New Zealand’s pipes are munted. They’re cracked and leaking, and struggling to handle all the extra poos excreted by our rising population. It’s a big, ...
I knew Taika Waititi quite well when he was a kid. His mother lived in a tall narrow house in Aro St, and my youngest sister had a similar house two doors along. They were both single mums, they each had a son aged seven. Taika and my nephew Stepan ...
Opinion: “As time passes, knowledge of the circumstances of the August 2016 outbreak will fade and its immediate impact will be lost.” This statement is from the 2017 report of the Official Inquiry into the Havelock North campylobacteriosis outbreak. The then National-led government established the inquiry after the outbreak left ...
Opinion: Nicholas Khoo looks at two key points in the high-stakes foreign policy pact debate – and asks if NZ can engage with as little drama as possible. The post Where to next for the Aukus ruckus? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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Opinion: ‘Reference-class forecasting’ is at the heart of improving pricing a project and identifying the expected timeframe but it doesn’t appear to be in use here The post ‘Think fast and act slowly’ is failing big projects appeared first on Newsroom. ...
What do a sombrero in Argentina and cognitive driving tests have in common? Don’t worry, we’re not setting up a bad joke. Hinengaro Clinic dementia clinician Gregory Winkelman has the answer on today’s episode of The Detail. “We ask a patient’s spouse or son or daughter: If you went to ...
Wellington long jumper Phoebe Edwards is back and she’s having fun again. Until this year, Edwards, a top athlete in her teens, had never competed as a senior athlete in New Zealand. In March, the 26-year-old won a national long jump title in a lifetime best of 6.28m after ...
After replacing a fifth of their caucus in just four months, the Greens’ opportunity to reset, reshuffle and refocus on the Government is quickly slipping away The post Persistent Green Party scandals delay caucus reset appeared first on Newsroom. ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
By Robin Martin, RNZ News reporter A New Zealand local authority, Whanganui District Council, has passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, condemnation of all acts of violence and terror against civilians on both sides of the conflict and the immediate return of hostages. It comes as ...
Asia Pacific Report The Aotearoa chapter of the Women’s International league for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has appealed to the New Zealand government to call out Israel over the “cruel and barbaric use of force” in Gaza and demand a permanent ceasefire. The league’s open letter was sent to Prime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will invest $566 million over a decade on data, maps and other tools to promote exploration and development in Australia’s resources industry. The project will fund “the first comprehensive map of what’s ...
Asia Pacific Report Following an open letter by Auckland University academics speaking out in support of their students’ right to protest against the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, a group of academics at Otago University have today also called on New Zealand academic institutions to “repair colonial violence” and end ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Coalition is demanding extensive amendments to the government’s legislation targeting non-citizens who refuse to co-operate with their removal. In a dissenting report to the senate inquiry into the legislation, the Coalition says it ...
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Trump says he can live with a One State Israel
The problem being of course, that “The Palestinians are highly unlikely to accept anything short of a sovereign state” means what they have now, plus all of Israel.
Rofl
You may say that, but decent fair talks and honest action thereafter would enable a change in their position.
… a single Israeli state encompassing the Palestinians would either become undemocratic or no longer Jewish, given the faster growth rate of the Arab population.
????
How would such a state “become undemocratic”?
If they tried to retain representative majority for a minority Jewish population, that would be undemocratic.
The statement is either or – either a single Israeli state would be no longer Jewish, as Jews would be a minority of the population; or for the state to remain Jewish it would need to have an undemocratic electoral system.
It’s already undemocratic by most democratic and civilised standards. It’s a big myth that israel is a haven of democracy in the mid east.
For Israel to stay a “Jewish” State they would have to disenfranchise the Palestinian majority.
Which is why a “two State” solution is likely the only viable option.
Israeli settlements and genocidal attacks on Palestinians are making a peaceful solution less likely. However i doubt if peace is in the Israeli agenda, as they need an excuse to continue the takeover of Palestinian begun in the 50’s.
Christchurch Port Hills fires: What you need to know
Thinking of those down south today who are suffering from the fires. All lives matter, please stay safe and if you are told to get out, don’t muck around just go, stuff can be replaced, lives can’t.
Profiles in Courage. NOT
No. 1: Justin Trudeau
http://www.ourwindsor.ca/news-story/7138370-canadians-don-t-want-pm-to-lecture-another-country-says-trudeau/
Morrissey,
Just how would it serve the Canadian interest (or for that matter the NZ interest) if Trudeau had spent his time lecturing Trump?
Both Trudeau and English made it plain enough that they disagreed with the Immigration Executive Order, and in any event they could have confidence that the US courts would roll it back.
What more should they do?
It is worth recalling that despite all Trump’s faults he has not signalled that he wants to start a war on the scale of Iraq or going further back, Vietnam. In fact I would say the indications are the opposite.
It was not so long ago that a number of commenters on this site were saying they preferred Trump over Clinton, precisely because he was seen as less of a war risk. I personally thought that was ridiculous. Why would Clinton start any wars?
More importantly Trump is the President of a country that many countries, especially in the west, have a deep relationship. In fact the US is seen as the indispensable nation with in the west. The vast number of components of this relationship will continue, despite Trump, since they are not based on any one person but on a network of enduring links.
I appreciate you do not agree with any of this, but in large part the relationship is based on common values, namely being democracies, with the independent rule of law, and broadly speaking open economies.
The connection between the western nations actually goes far deeper in time, since these institutions and values have their origins in Judaeo-Christian philosophy and ethics, and go back as far as democracy of Athens and the republic of Rome.
So Trump would have to be much worse than at present before any western nation would significantly curtail the relationship.
Personally I have complete trust in the constitution of the US and the rule of law that will keep Trump within acceptable confines. He might say some surprising things, but a lot of that will prove to be bluster.
In fact what the European nations want is for Trump to actually affirm US leadership of NATO, the centrepiece of western mutual obligation. The scariest thing for European nations is the thought that NATO would be put in jeopardy by US “neo-isolationism.” Even Corbyn recognises this (at least on a pragmatic level, even if not personally) that unravelling NATO would give rise to dangerous uncertainty. For some European nations (the Baltics) this is literally an existential threat.
Thanks Wayne. Some good points there. By the way, I meant to get back to you after you responded to my swingeing attack on you last Saturday. I accept your criticism wasn’t personal, and I must say that I was impressed by your unflappability and your maintenance of a civil discourse, as I had tried to employ all my rhetorical force against you.
However, I was banned by the moderators for another matter, so please accept my belated apology.
Only by a small clique of authoritarians.
Personally, I see NZ as the only indispensable nation as far as NZ is concerned and that it’s under threat from the US.
That’s the past and we cannot find solutions for today or the future in the past.
Both Athens and Rome were massively undemocratic and highly authoritarian. Great for their time but not for today. Today we need to move on from those failed systems rather than trying to keep them alive.
I would – except for all the actions that the US Administration has done that go against those.
Nothing is forever.
The world has changed and is changing further away from the old authoritarian past.
Draco,
I was obviously not suggesting that Greece and Rome were like modern democracies, after all they both had slaves. But I am sure you know that many of our legal principles and philosophy has its origins with them.
As for the decline of the west. Well, yes it does seem the peak of the influence has passed but as yet no other set of states has supplanted the west. Asia (China and India) could do so but that will take more than 50 years, probably significantly longer. In contrast to western nations China is actually organised on authoritarian lines.
Your first point is perhaps the most interesting. Does the leadership of the US only appeal to a small clique of authoritarians?
Perhaps the best proxy would be a referendum on whether European nations/people would wish to see the end of NATO. Realistically such a referendum is not going to happen.
But we do know that parties that do actually propose withdrawal from NATO do not win elections, in fact they do very badly. I am certain if this was UK Labour party policy, they would be pretty much wiped out electorally.
So I suggest you misunderstand the popular mood (as opposed to views of left activists). People may have all sorts of complaints about the US, but not many are actually willing to forgo its protection. That is particularly true the further east you go in Europe.
There can hardly be a single Pole who would say “Get out of NATO.” When I went there, all the Poles I spoke felt that their sovereignty was finally guaranteed. Not surprising when you think of the Polish experience throughout the twentieth century.
However I appreciate that perhaps 20% of New Zealanders think as you do do. I guess we are in the safest place in the world to be able to do so.
The US might, as you write, be seen as the indispensable nation within the West but I struggle to think of any significant contribution to human knowledge by US educated and acculturated people.
Also the US is isolated geographically from the historical knowledge and cultural sources that it relies on, Europe, the Middle East, India, China. IMO it has always been a taker, not a giver. A taker of people and a taker of knowledge.
The US appears to me reliant on the rest of the world for its ideas and technologies.
I don’t agree that the western nations institutions and values have their origins in Judaeo-Christian philosophy and ethics. These were imposed from without and important state structures eg, Monarchies, Class Systems, Roman Law predated them.
You are risking a knockdown in claiming that the popular mood can be gauged by support or otherwise of voters for continuing membership of NATO because you do not take account of voter participation in elections, which in Poland at least has been abysmal.
http://www.electionguide.org/countries/id/173/
I struggle to think of any significant contribution to human knowledge by US educated and acculturated people.
I expect the irony of engaging in this struggle while using a personal computer connected to the Internet didn’t occur?
Yeah, it does seem that the Groaning Hand clearly hasn’t been around computer systems for the last 60 years or so.
Perhaps he should consider Grace Hopper, the author of the A compiler in 1952 to prove that you could write code in something other than maths. Of course COBOL sucks. But it has the hardy robustness such that means that 57 years after it’s (and my) birth, banks and the IRD are still trying to find something that works better..
My favourite language is still C++ developed by another extremely bright yank, Bjarne Stroustrup, in 1979. I’ve written more than 50 million lines of tight code in it since I learnt it in 1991. And I’m still learning to express myself in it now.
For me those are still the highlights of one small area of my overly educated and acculturated mind. It is the area that has me sanely clasped in its creative trance for 30 odd years without suffering the boredom of sucking up the cultures of mere people like the vacuum cleaner I am in the social science or the arts.
Just about every area of knowledge that I have sucked into with depth in the last 40 years has been dominated by the concepts from the US. Everything from computer systems to management to earth sciences. Sure, a lot of those concepts have been from the first 3 generations of immigrants. But most of those people were there because it was largely impossible to do the things that they did in the countries of their parents or grandparents.
A prosaic and highly visible example would be to just look at the inspired comedy of John Oliver. The same thing happens in any country that welcomes immigration. Here for instance.
Just looking around my apartment, it is rather freaky realising how much of it was directly developed in the US, or was redeveloped there to drop the cost. Sure it is made by the Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, etc at present. But the flood of innovation arriving every year from the US is a rather large torrent. Nothing like it arrives from anywhere else.
Basically, I’d have speculate that the Groaning Hand is more interested in the same types of such largely useless esoteric medieval meanderings as the quest for detirmining the number of naked angels of their preferred gender that could dance on a pinhead, or other microscopic obsessions based on the self-referential arguments of nearly blind scholars trying to read under candle-light. I guess it beats having to do any real work understanding the real world.
And which is probably the same reason why our best and brightest pick up sticks and leave. They simply cannot do what they want here in NZ because of the poor support for creativity that we have.
Of course, the UN and international is supposed to do that and not individual nations.
Of course, we do have the example of Israel and the UN dictating the invasion of a sovereign state in favour of a small group of people.
And, of course, the US has been undermining the UN for decades. From where I sit, the problem of people not feeling that there sovereignty is guaranteed is a direct result of the US’ undermining of the UN and ongoing invasions of sovereign nations.
If nations feel secure because of NATO then it’s because they’re kissing US arse.
Or they’re kissing US arse because they were feeling insecure for some completely unknown reason…
Would nations feel insecure if the UN had the power to stop the US invading other countries?
I suspect that if that were true then nations wouldn’t be turning to the US and NATO for protection.
I reckon the world would be a much better place if the UN could stop the US, Russia, or China (or frankly any military power) from invading smaller countries, it would be full of rainbows and unicorn farts.
But that us not currently in the power of the UN.
So Poland and Baltic countries look to NATO, because Russia.
And the UN isn’t in that position because USA.
And most of the military interventions in the world over the last century or so has been by the US fighting for their corporations.
What I’m saying here is that the solution that those countries need is the UN, not NATO, but those powerful countries are keeping the UN powerless to act against them.
So, how do we get the majority of countries to change the UN for the better?
Hey, Britain France and Russia have done their bit and all.
The main problem with the UN is the permanent member veto, but also the reliance on US funds because it’s got the biggest economy.
If all the littler countries put more money into the UN, there’d still be the issue of the security council veto. I have no idea how to alter that, save waiting for the next big was ad the irradiated survivors could do a League of Nations: Third Time Lucky.
The world has changed and is changing further away from the old authoritarian past.
I don’t think increasing authoritarianism can really be described as changing “away from” authoritarianism. “Embracing a more authoritarian future” seems more accurate.
IMO, the general populace is changing to be less authoritarian and the PTB are becoming more so as a response to that.
But, there is flux and uncertainty ATM so I could be wrong.
I certainly believe you’re wrong. Putin and Erdogan are popular in their own countries, the USA just democratically elected an authoritarian demagogue, nationalist authoritarian parties are increasing in popularity in Europe, and a UK referendum has voted to exit the international cooperative it belongs to because nationalism is becoming more popular. That’s the general populace, not the powers that be.
With 77.8% of Canadian exports going to the USA and Mexico (NAFTA)…I suspect the Canadians are more than happy to keep things civil with Trump. Of course its Trudeau who’s very pro NAFTA, and Trump who had to moderate his opinions which is ironic….
Though I think Trudeau handing Trump a photograph of Trump and daddy Trudeau back in the day speaks volumes about our Leading families and the distribution, or lack thereof, of power.
Very interesting, Siobhan. I didn’t see that photograph.
I must say, though, that I am not at all impressed with Trudeau Junior. He seems like another Tony Blair.
Kathryn Ryan—completely out of her depth this morning:
Further evidence that standards at RNZ National are declining.
Nine to Noon, RNZ National, Thursday 16 February 2017, 10:10 a.m.
I’m listening to Kathryn Ryan making a fool of herself, yet again, this time as she interviews Rudolph Herzog, author of Dead Funny: Telling Jokes in Hitler’s Germany. He’s already firmly corrected her after she claimed that the Jewish prisoners at Theresienstadt put on a cabaret to boost their morale; in fact, he informed her, they were compelled to put on the cabaret. He’s also caviled at her use of the word “humanising”, which implies the Nazis were not human. He also seems perturbed by her suggestion that the Nazis had a sense of humour. ”
Does she do ANY preparation, or reading, before these interviews? Are there any standards at RNZ National any more?
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon
This article I found interesting
Love history
http://international.sueddeutsche.de/post/157058066625/we-have-at-most-a-year-to-defend-american
Ms Kendzior writes about the new old.
https://thebaffler.com/blog/its-already-happened-here-kendzior
Thanks joe – such a great read from a great writer and thinker on a difficult subject. Big ups to you and weka for introducing her writing to me.
You can tell we are in election year again.
Lots of posts. Lots of comments.
And a rapidly increasing number of page views….
Looks like we will have the code for the project after work in the hands of the testers tomorrow. In celebration, if it continues to rain and be cool in Auckland, I will fix a password field and get the search function back on line.
Please ask the deity (or lack thereof) for rain in Auckland and the fire areas of NZ…. I will take care of the code.
It shall be so.
lprent
Done. Drizzle in Christchurch tomorrow, or sooner as I have requested.
The Wizard famously brought rain to drought-stricken regions on several occasions, according to his memoirs.
Here’s the thing about Apple Pay and banks
More rentier capitalism.
And this shows how competition in standards fails to bring about satisfactory results for society.
The power of those big four banks to fuck around with our currency and transactions is another reason why we should be looking to nationalise the transaction system and maintain a single standard.
There is absolutely nothing stopping you starting a bank in nz, and nothing stopping me choosing to bank with any of the 24 registered banks in NZ
And is that actually working? No, it’s not.
The private banks have control of our monetary supply and create too much of it and they own the EFT-POS system pulling in massive amounts of profit from us using our money.
The dumbest man on the internet gets himself accredited.
It was a banner moment for the decade-old website, known for reporting obvious hoaxes as legitimate news and headlines such as: “EXPOSED=>HILLARY HITMAN Breaks Silence” and “Dental Expert: Hillary Clinton Is Suffering From Serious Gum Infection” and “One Week After Election Loss Hillary Clinton Looks Like Death.”
Hoft was on his way to his first White House news conference in the company of self-described “brand strategist” Lucian Wintrich, the Gateway Pundit’s inaugural White House correspondent, who for his first day on the job wore a blue tie studded with elephants in every color of the rainbow to announce his gay Republican pride.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/02/fake-news-gateway-pundit-white-house-trump-briefing-room-214781
Chris Trotter and Rachel Stewart deliver a mighty Double-Whallop
http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/2017/02/too-little-too-late-rachel-stewart-on.html
When Chris is on ball he is the best.
And this is him at his snarly best.
Thank God we have Rachel Stewart.
I’m still for fighting worthwhile fights, but at the same time, keeping a weather eye on the big issue. Stopping the every day stuff because the freight-train headlight is blinding us is going to multiply our daily problems, so yes, protest the dams, the plight of the homeless and so on and on. Taking practical steps individually to prepare for challenging circumstances seem very wise right now.
On the big issue stuff, I think Leighton Smith over at ZB needs to be challenged everyday on this issue. Arguing with people who listen to him is getting a joke. Not that he uses the gifts of science for anything. Mind you did get a straight answer why they oppose this issue. Because it’s simple and easy to do nothing, and call the other side crazy.
The right wing in NZ seem to be getting really upset about the diversification of the Labour party
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2017/02/littles_u-turn.html
Labour Candidate Anna Lorck fighting the good fight for the homeless executives and wealthy retirees of Havelock North..
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503462&objectid=11801317
Though I suspect her and her husband, Damon Harvey, are making a play for the position of Hastings Mayor, so it makes sense to win over the voters of Havelock North.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503462&objectid=11783670
They are like the Clintons of the Hawkes Bay. Yup.
Yule has had it for well long enough, and as Chair of LGNZ for nearly two decades has functioned as both Mayor and MP together in the one person, merrily clipping the ticket for both as he goes.
There is no way some far left snowflake would survive on that hard dry political soil. Maybe Anna Lorck and Damon Harkey are the right people for right there.
I see in the Herald the mother of Nia Glassie the little girl who was tortured and murdered, is going to be released on parole after serving 8 of her 9 years in jail. What an evil looking woman she is. Why was this woman only given a 9 year sentence and not a minimum of 9 years and allowed to be released a year before her time. The description of the torture of that little girl is horrific.
What I cannot understand is why Scott Watson is still in jail and was given a minimum of 17 years and is now serving over that time and I think it was said he isn’t up for parole for another 4 years. There is something really wrong with the sentencing system.
I for one, do not want that woman released, children will never be safe around her and she does not look repentant with what she has done. Just because Scott Watson still denies the crime it does not warrant him being lock away forever.
Obama Killed a 16-Year-Old American in Yemen.
Trump Just Killed His 8-Year-Old Sister.
by GLENN GREENWALD, The Intercept, Jan. 31, 2017
IN 2010, PRESIDENT Obama directed the CIA to assassinate an American citizen in Yemen, Anwar al-Awlaki, despite the fact that he had never been charged with (let alone convicted of) any crime, and the agency successfully carried out that order a year later with a September 2011 drone strike. While that assassination created widespread debate — the once-again-beloved ACLU sued Obama to restrain him from the assassination on the ground of due process and then, when that suit was dismissed, sued Obama again after the killing was carried out — another drone killing carried out shortly thereafter was perhaps even more significant yet generated relatively little attention.
Two weeks after the killing of Awlaki, a separate CIA drone strike in Yemen killed his 16-year-old American-born son, Abdulrahman, along with the boy’s 17-year-old cousin and several other innocent Yemenis. The U.S. eventually claimed that the boy was not their target but merely “collateral damage.” Abdulrahman’s grief-stricken grandfather, Nasser al-Awlaki, urged the Washington Post “to visit a Facebook memorial page for Abdulrahman,” which explained: “Look at his pictures, his friends, and his hobbies. His Facebook page shows a typical kid.”
Few events pulled the mask off Obama officials like this one. It highlighted how the Obama administration was ravaging Yemen, one of the world’s poorest countries: just weeks after he won the Nobel Prize, Obama used cluster bombs that killed 35 Yemeni women and children. Even Obama-supporting liberal comedians mocked the arguments of the Obama DOJ for why it had the right to execute Americans with no charges: “Due Process Just Means There’s A Process That You Do,” snarked Stephen Colbert. And a firestorm erupted when former Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs offered a sociopathic justification for killing the Colorado-born teenager, apparently blaming him for his own killing by saying he should have “had a more responsible father.”
The U.S. assault on Yemeni civilians not only continued but radically escalated over the next five years through the end of the Obama presidency, as the U.S. and the U.K. armed, supported, and provide crucial assistance to their close ally Saudi Arabia as it devastated Yemen through a criminally reckless bombing campaign. Yemen now faces mass starvation, seemingly exacerbated, deliberately, by the U.S.-U.K.-supported air attacks. Because of the West’s direct responsibility for these atrocities, they have received vanishingly little attention in the responsible countries.
In a hideous symbol of the bipartisan continuity of U.S. barbarism, Nasser al-Awlaki just lost another one of his young grandchildren to U.S. violence. On Sunday, the Navy’s SEAL Team 6, using armed Reaper drones for cover, carried out a commando raid on what it said was a compound harboring officials of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. A statement issued by President Trump lamented the death of an American service member and several others who were wounded, but made no mention of any civilian deaths. U.S. military officials initially denied any civilian deaths, and (therefore) the CNN report on the raid said nothing about any civilians being killed. …..
Read more….
https://theintercept.com/2017/01/30/obama-killed-a-16-year-old-american-in-yemen-trump-just-killed-his-8-year-old-sister/