” “This is not just an attack on the French people, it is an attack on human decency and all things that we hold dear,” says U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham. I’m not sure I hold ALL the same things dear as the senator, but for the most part I think he’s exactly right and that sympathy damn well ought to be the order of the day following a horrific mass killing in France.
“I just think the same should apply to everywhere else on earth as well.”
– David Swanson: “Non-French War Deaths Matter” http://davidswanson.org/
“Shades of 2002 and the ghastly decision to invade Iraq.”
The Democratic presidential debate was held yesterday and in light of the Paris attacks, the candidates were asked about this.
— Sanders objected to Clinton’s line about who bore responsibility for Isis. “I don’t think any sensible person would disagree that the invasion of Iraq led to the massive instability that we are seeing right now,” he said.
In a possible preview of a major general election debate to come, Clinton rejected a “clash of civilizations” framework Republicans have used after the Paris attacks. “We are not at war with Islam or Muslims,” Clinton says. “We are at war with violent extremism.”
Marama Fox on The Nation:
“They have given the minister absolute power above the law to determine whether somebody has their citizenship revoked, even if they apply to be an Australian citizen…”
“So he also does not have to reveal to the court under that law or your lawyers or the prosecution why he has made that decision. So you can’t even defend yourself in a court of law. So in the case of Ko Rutene, his record has been sealed – and this is not his conviction; this is the decision of why he is now being deported – has been sealed. And that might be something, or it might be nothing, and you can’t defend it because you just don’t know.” http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/raw-data-interview-maori-party-co-leader-marama-fox-181633
Key is one of the weakest PMs NZ has ever had.
Guess that ‘s what happens when you stand for nothing and are beholden to corporate interests, lobbyists and focus groups .
There was some significant comment here in Australia when Abbott introduced these regulations, that absolute Ministerial power was going to be a recipe for this kind of problem.
However since Turnbull has become PM – well he’s got a teflon layer an inch thick and the Coalition can do no wrong. So suddenly no traction.
40 men, women and children were killed and 180 injured in a double suicide bombing in beirut 5 days ago.
where is the blanket coverage?
where is the analysis?
where are the leaders and their sabre rattling utterances?
what is the difference between this atrocity and the horror in paris?
Plenty of coverage on Al Jazeera, RT, France 24, CNN, Deutsche Welle, BBC Radio as well as the media here in the Middle East. Overwhelmed to an extent in the last day by Paris but still being covered.
Leadership of Hezbollah stated they would continue to fight Da’ish and support Assad. The Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam declared a day of national mourning on Friday, November 13. The Lebanese authorities have arrested five Syrians and one Palestinian, who are suspected of playing a part in the bombings.
A bomb also exploded during midday prayers at a mosque frequented by Houthi (more Shia) supporters in Yemen’s on Friday as well – killing several worshippers and wounding others. The blast took place in Shibam, a city some 40 km (25 miles) outside the capital of Sanaa that had been an area of relative calm.
Its interesting on facebook with lots of people changing their profile picture showing the French flag. Can guarantee they wouldn’t change their profile to a middle eastern country flag even though the civilian death toll has been a magnitude higher in those places.
This was reposted by David Robie on TDB, but with the original you can follow the links:
Indeed, had the victims been more “like us” than the otherized, eerie- and criminal-sounding inhabitants of Beirut’s southern suburbs where the bombings occurred — incessantly described by the sheeplike media as a “Hezbollah stronghold” or “Hezbollah bastion” — they’d have stood a much greater chance of breaking our hearts.
Hell, we might have even seen references to Beirut’s romanticized former identity as the “Paris of the Middle East.”
Following yesterday’s attacks in the Paris of Europe, meanwhile, Facebook users in the vicinity of the city were encouraged to check in as “safe” — an option not made available the previous day to Facebook users in Beirut
The numbers in Beirut were 43 dead (44 in above link) and 239 injured in The Guardian. But while the story was reported, it is nowhere as omnipresent as the Paris bombings. Ex-colonial powers seem to preserve notions of impunity for their actions.
Other bombings and cold-blooded executions elsewhere do get media attention, mainly in the press though, as do the local authorities’ statements denouncing the perpetrators and talking about bringing them to justice. It’s just that we don’t notice them. Once they become commonplace they fall off the front page, unless they’re happing somewhere they’re not normal (Bangkok, Thailand) or are so novel or extreme in some way they make headlines and media interest remains high for a while. I watch Al Jazeera, admittedly they carry far more such items than our trashy superficial tv newsentertainsportsment. Plus we identify more closely with Western European countries so I guess attacks feel closer to home and our media coverage reflects that. We only ever get the US perspective on them though. Nobody shows the reality of the war, the casualities, the bits of people in trees and lamp posts after an aerial or suicide bombing. Very sanitised. Even Al Jazeera.
hi all above,
i had a look at those links re pakistan deaths, grim reading.
i hardly engage with tv (sports excluded), commercial radio or newspapers and i felt a little overwhelmed by the reaction.
watching the nz vs oz cricket test,
there was an ad for a ‘news’ special-“a world on edge”.
good grief!
Will Labour’s new sugar policy run foul of the TPP?
Sugar is largely used in processed foods to enhance flavour or as a preservative with the expectation the improved flavor and extended shelf life will contribute to better returns.
Therefore, Labour’s intention to put in place policy to limit sugar use may hamper company returns, resulting in them being challenged through the investor-state dispute settlement process.
The government will not be able to legislate anything under TPP without it being challenged in courts outside of NZ if someone thinks it will effect their potential profit. So of course the sugar industry will be suing the government over this one, also mining access. Likewise preferential treatment of local tenders will not be allowed under TPP – or they might be allowed – by then the government has to compensate for potential losses.
TPP is lunacy for any government to commit to, apart from absolute ‘free market’ ideologists of the far right like ACT.
TPP takes away the governments ability to govern.
And as for taxes – well look at who is not paying them in Australia. So the government is wanting to give more power to these corporates who already do not even pay any taxes, like everyone else.
The Australian Tax Office have revealed at a Senate Inquiry into corporate tax secercy laws that 1 in 5 private companies that earn over $100 million a year paid no tax in 2014.1
I found it strange Labour would announce such a contestable policy amongst the controversy over their TPP position.
It’s called policy incoherancy. It’s a symptom of a political organisation which has either given up on its values, or has no intellectual framework able to implement those values, or both.
Yes, well the policy does seem to be inconsistent with their weakening TPP positioning. However, it also seems to be an attempt to get one over National’s recent obesity policy. Which explains the rush to get it out there.
But the timing of the release, considering the controversy, was rather strange. Unless, of course, it was also required to fill their current policy void.
TPP is lunacy for any government to commit to, apart from absolute ‘free market’ ideologists of the far right like ACT.
Actually, if Act were sticking to their supposed ideology they wouldn’t support it either but they don’t. They’re as much about protecting and increasing the power and wealth of the rich as National.
@Tracy and do you think CocoCola will sue a Labour government that wants to tax sugar drinks under TPP – I think YES – if NZ puts on a sugar tax other countries will also do so and these corporations don’t want that.
Some of the corporations are bigger than some countries. Of course they will be using their legal rights GIVEN AWAY under TPP to promote their interests and stop public health laws. The tax payer picks up the tab for dentistry and health from drinking their drinks and the legal costs of the suing. LOSE LOSE for taxpayers and citizens.
“Those who regarded National’s offer to double-lane 10 one-way bridges in return for continued loyalty as a crass bribe were probably right,….
For all that it is difficult not to believe that National has learned nothing from its by-election defeat, not only in terms of Northland but provincial electorates around the country.
Ensuring that government contracts go to local businesses, assuming they are competitive and able to do the work, would seem to be a very simple way of boosting a small town’s economy,
We’re with Winston. Northland’s long-term financial future hinges upon finding meaningful work for the unemployed, and as Mr Peters keeps saying, there is plenty of work to be done. In this case the government could make a desperately needed contribution to saving what remains of our priceless natural heritage. One might have expected the Minister of Conservation to give some thought to that, given that she is presiding over what many say is an unprecedented collapse in habitat that is driving ever more native species towards extinction.
That, Ms Barry, is your bag. That is what should be keeping you awake at night.”
i have a friend who is involved in protecting our natural and ancestral culture.
To be polite, it appears that Mrs. Barry marching orders are to the contrary and many good people have and are simply resigning, and others are holding on to straws. But the impression that is gained, is that cultural and ancestral heritage are things of yesteryears bygone, and are so very very passée.
Knock down that forest, build gated McMansions on graveyards and the likes.
Nothing any of us probably didn’t know already; but it’s useful to see it written down in one place:
A new study has identified the workplace as a major cause of psychological and physical ill-health. From long hours to economic insecurity, our jobs could literally be killing us. So what practices lead to a healthy workplace?
I wonder where high octane, demanding and/or bullying bosses fit on the Health and Safety scale.
I know a small organisation which has a new CEO. This person is high octane and frenetic and demanding. Is never wrong and therefore has to blame others. In 6 weeks the small staff have become highly stressed, tired, and are now making more mistakes…
I note ACC doesn’t cover “stress, hurt feelings, loss of enjoyment or other emotional issues (these may be covered if these are the direct result of a physical injury or sexual abuse)”
Yes. Clearly. And only a few weeks after his military bombed Medecines Sans Frontiere and he initially denied it… innocent civillians died. Unless that is the definition of civilised in the USA?
I’ve stopped listening to him. He has no real credibility on most things any more. Obamacare maybe yes, but certainly not on anything to do with international relations or Israel/Palestine, or any of the activities of his forces, or his foreign policies. He just sounds like a front man for the usual corporate interests that seem to dominate American politics and presidents. His hyprocrisy makes me wince every bit as much as GW Bush’s did.
Israeli Soldiers Open Fire On Palestinian Farmers In Gaza
Thursday November 12, 2015
Israeli soldiers, stationed across the border fence, fired dozens of rounds of live ammunition on Palestinian farmers, working in their lands close to the border fence, east of Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza.
Eyewitnesses said the soldiers, some on military towers and others in armored vehicles, fired dozens of live rounds, and smoke bombs, at the farmers in their own lands, causing damage but no injuries.
The farmers left their lands fearing additional Israeli military escalation.
The Israeli army frequently attacks farmers and workers in Palestinian lands close to the border fence, and fishers in Gaza territorial waters; the attacks led to dozens of casualties, including fatalities.
Documents submitted to the Senate corporate tax avoidance inquiry by the International Transport Federation reveal Chevron paid just $248 tax on $1.7 billion profit made in Australia last year.
The Australian Tax Office have revealed at a Senate Inquiry into corporate tax secercy laws that 1 in 5 private companies that earn over $100 million a year paid no tax in 2014.1
Incredibly, the Government just passed legislation in parliament that makes the tax details of all private companies earning over $100 million a year secret.
Corporate tax dodging isn’t a victimless scheme. Our schools and hospitals miss out on the funding they need, meaning familes miss out on the quality services they rely on for a brighter future.
Join the campaign to demand all corporations pay the tax they should: http://bit.ly/1WLMEaw
“The recently-announced proposal not to renew TV3’s flagship current affairs show 3D is now subject to fierce resistance from the show’s journalists, who have assembled a legal team to work on a challenge to the way employment process was conducted.
The Spinoff can reveal that 3D‘s journalists have called on lawyers, forensic accountants and employment experts to help build a case that proper processes weren’t followed, and are in a dialogue with the channel’s Human Resources department.
“If Weldon thinks he can take on a room full of investigative journalists and they’re just going to roll over, he’s very much mistaken,” says a source privy to the situation. …”
David Fisher has published that piece about the ex senior police officer who was “stunned” at the handling of the Slater gripe.
“A spokesman for police headquarters said it was not unusual for national headquarters staff to be sent complaints.” Oh really? http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11546041
Who else is disgusted by Obama, Kerry and Clinton’s bloviating?
Surely nobody believes a word of what these terrorists say.
U.S. leaders are suddenly pretending they don’t like terrorism. If they were serious, this is what they would have said about some recent events…..
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: “The killing of innocent people based on a twisted ideology is an attack not just on Gaza, not just on the Occupied West Bank, not just on Iraq, not just on Afghanistan, not just on Yemen, but it is an attack on the civilized world.”
SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY: “I want to make sure that it is absolutely crystal clear that the United States stands with the people of the Occupied Territories and the rest of the world in our resolve to eliminate the scourge of violent extremist groups from the face of the Earth.”
HILLARY CLINTON: “Our prayers are with the people of Afghanistan tonight, but that is not enough. We need to have a resolve that will bring the world together to root out the kind of radical imperialist ideology that motivates organizations like the U.S. military, a barbaric, ruthless, violent terrorist group.”
The French government will not support the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and US as long as a controversial stipulation is included.
France, like the UK and Germany, will block the trade deal all together if the mechanism of investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) is included; EurActiv France reported.
The clause appears in most free trade agreements, and would leave France defenseless against foreign companies taking legal action against it if laws and legislation stunt profits.
“France did not want the ISDS to be included in the negotiation mandate,” France’s Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, Matthias Fekl told the French Senate. “We have to preserve the right of the state to set and apply its own standards, to maintain the impartiality of the justice system and to allow the people of France, and the world, to assert their values,” he added.
Due to this stumbling block, there will be no “significant advances” in the trade agreement, which has been a sour point in US-EU relations.
France earlier said it wouldn’t sign the TTIP as long as the US continued spying on EU allies.
I like this bit-” “We have to preserve the right of the state to set and apply its own standards, to maintain the impartiality of the justice system and to allow the people of France, and the world, to assert their values,”
Pity our representative ( representative? ha!) couldn’t insert the words ‘New Zealand’ where Matthias Fekl said ‘France’
Nine to Noon this morning
In the first interview, Napoleoni stopped one of Ryan’s lines by categorically dismissing as media speculation that the terrorists are Syrian refugees and warned of the dangers of such speculation.
Within minutes, in the second interview with McCant he repeats the media speculation about the terrorists being Syrian refugees, and Ryan let it pass unchallenged.
… and so the journalists continue the meme.
On questioning John Key on RNZ this evening regarding refugees, one of the journalists perpetuated the speculation that “in view of what has happened in Paris, will we be vetting potential refugees to New Zealand more stringently…”
TV3 The Story. The devious Simon Lusk was on tonight in an interview with Garner.
Remember Dirty Tricks and the influence of Lusk in getting some MPs in and some out. He says that he was behind Stuart Nash who was planning on leaving Labour and starting a new party. Truth or Fantasy???
Nash has openly confirmed in the past that a group of local businessmen in Napier had approached him to start a new party before the last election. He turned it down.
“Thom goes over the basics of what global warming is, what’s causing it, and how we can stop it with climate scientist Michael Mann, author of the book “Dire Predictions: Understanding Climate Change.”
( a bloody good educational from a top professor on Climate Change)
“It is clear that life has changed FOREVER.”
Kiwis insulted by clichéd and ill-informed coverage of Paris atrocities
“And the radio is in the hands of such a lot of fools
tryin’ to anaesthetise the way that you feel.”
—-Elvis Costello
8 a.m. news, RNZ National, Sunday 15 November 2015
The commentary on Radio NZ, whether by journalists or by random people approached in the street, was banal. This is Hannah Smellie, a New Zealander in Paris: “It’s just really surreal. There’s not many happy faces around.”
Banality, however, is forgivable. What is not forgivable was the moronic fare being served up on commercial radio. I switched from RNZ National to NewstalkZB, just at the end of an editorial by the host Andrew Dickens….
NewstalkZB, 8:08 a.m. ….
ANDREW DICKENS: The French, too, must be PARTICULARLY fearful that they are being targeted by these animals. ISIS is now Public Enemy Number One with François Hollande vowing to be RUTHLESS and PITILESS in his response. Whatever the outcome, it is clear that life has changed FOREVER.
After his sophomoric little homily, Dickens interviewed the station’s Paris correspondent Katherine Field, who (as usual) had nothing at all interesting to say, except to note that these were “kamikaze attacks on soft targets.” As bad as Dickens and Field are, there was worse to come. Far worse….
ANDREW DICKENS: Our special will continue after 9 o’clock for an hour, with MIKE HOSKING. Then after ten, Tim Wilson will speak to security expert Paul Buchanan. I’ve got a text here from someone: “I would have thought the flags on the Harbour Bridge would be at half mast, but they are not.”
A gang of armed jihadis could not have made me listen to Hosking vaporing on for an hour on this subject. And Tim Wilson, though far more intelligent and thoughtful than the likes of Dickens or Hosking, seems determined to dumb himself down to their level, so I wasn’t really hopeful that his interview after 10 o’clock with Paul Buchanan, who DOES command respect, would be worth listening to.
I didn’t tune in again until 11:15, just in time to hear Paul Buchanan say: “Blaming Obama for this is specious and partisan.” A caller named Peter, who described himself as “a rural caller”, said: “A Muslim centre has popped up near where I live. And I don’t feel that good about it.”
A few minutes later, another caller, also identifying himself as “rural”, took a much harder, intolerant tone. “It’s time,” he growled, “that we stopped Islamics coming into the country.”
Tim Wilson, who throughout didn’t seem to have much idea, ditched his usual flippant tone and spoke in a deliberate manner, obviously designed to show how serious and sincere he was. “We want to understand the MEANING of these attacks, just why these young men become radicalized.”
I’m sure Paul Buchanan said something intelligent at some point, but considering he had consented to swim in a sea of ignorance, I doubt many people had the patience to wait for it. I turned it off, and I’m sure most others did too, except for the terminally braindead, the lonely, the depressed and ACT voters.
Television, of course, was just as bad. No wonder, when you see who’s involved….
Television One news, Monday 16 November 2015, 6:50 p.m.
SIMON DALLOW:[sombrely] And after the weather it’s Seven Sharp. [He addresses host Mike Hosking directly] Of course you’re going back to Paris, to show solidarity.
For several decades under Labour and National-led governments New Zealand has claimed to have an independent (and sometimes autonomous) foreign policy. This foreign policy independence is said to be gained by having a “principled but pragmatic” approach to international relations: principled when possible, pragmatic when necessary. More recently NZ foreign ...
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This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Kristen Pope Trees and other plants have been critical in helping to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. But newly published scientific findings suggest the clock may be running on vegetation’s forever continuing at the same carbon sink efficiency rate currently ...
Today is the goodest of Fridays. What better way to celebrate a day off work when everything is closed to honour one of the greatest minds ever to nestle his parliamentary buttocks one of those gigantic green seats in the debating chamber. Ladies and gentlement I give you… Mr David ...
Below, for those interested, I copy my submission on the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification (Urgent Interim Classification of Publications and Prevention of Online Harm) Amendment Bill.This is the government bill aiming to create a mandatory Internet filter. The bill is largely unnecessary, but in parts not as bad as people ...
Matt Parker, University of PortsmouthYou’ve probably heard that fish have a three-second memory, or that they’re incapable of feeling pain. Neither of these statements is true, but it’s telling that these misconceptions don’t crop up for other vertebrates. Perhaps it’s because fish appear so different from us. They don’t ...
So, corporate pillager Ron Brierley has plead guilty to possession of child pornography, and there are obvious calls for him to be stripped of his feudal honour (awarded in the 80's for services to his own banak balance). When faced with such calls in the past, the government has hidden ...
Rage, Rage, And The Crying Of The Right: Retributive populism is founded on the principle that the past was better than the present: and that unless there is a strong and unapologetic reassertion of the values and policies that dignified the past, then the nation’s steady decline will persist into ...
Jacinda Ardern can essentially say “kia kaha” as much as she wants to those at the bottom of the housing market, but it won’t help their plight. Eventually her government is going to have to take state housing seriously as a tool for helping solve the housing crisis – especially ...
Completed reads for March: The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan DoyleThe Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan DoyleThe Valley of Fear, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Another quiet month ...
It might just be me, but there are few things more exciting than the rediscovery of art previously thought lost. Even if it isn’t particularly great art, there is still the thrill of notching up a victory for human knowledge against the inevitable sands of time. There is a ...
Autotomy. There’s a word you don’t see every day – but those familiar with lizards may well have seen the result. For autotomy is the scientific name for what I suppose we could also call “self-amputation”: the process whereby an animal deliberately sheds a part of its body (a tail, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gary Yohe, Henry Jacoby, Ben Santer, and Richard Richels Governing from the White House by executive actions – whether by executive orders or variations thereon – has its pluses and minuses. Executive orders, for instance, can help get past rigid partisan opposition and ...
Massey's Cossacks: New Zealand's employer class didn't need the services of a Pinkerton Detective Agency – strike-breakers par excellence in the service of US industrial titans like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller. Not when the strapping sons of Waikato and Wairarapa cockies could be quietly trained and organised by ...
Gregory Moore, The University of MelbourneIt’s official: Australians endured the coldest, wettest summer in at least five years thanks to La Niña, a climate phenomenon over the Pacific Ocean. Before we knew it, autumn rolled in bringing more rain. Tragically, it led to widespread flooding across New South Wales, ...
by Orla Ní Chomhraí In 1946 George Orwell wrote: “Fifteen years ago, when one defended the freedom of the intellect, one had to defend it against Conservatives, against Catholics, and to some extent — for they were not of great importance in England — against Fascists. Today one has to ...
SATIRE by Remy Beethey/them, demigender, queer, white priv. In a stunning and brave turn the Court Theatre in Christchurch has decided to completely change how it casts plays. The awakening came when Christchurch’s Court Theatre got called out by queer activist, agender Rosemary Mitford-Taylor after casting a cis actor to play ...
The government shifts blame for its own failings onto landlords South Auckland councillor Efeso Collins remarked early this month that Jacinda Ardern had abandoned the collegiality of “the team of five million” and entered her “post-kindness phase” after she blamed South Aucklanders for sparking an unpopular week-long lockdown. Casting ...
Dr Leah Grout, Dr Jennifer Summers, Dr Amanda Kvalsvig, Prof Michael Baker, Prof Nick WilsonWhile succeeding very well with its elimination strategy, NZ still does not have optimal border control. We find since July 2020 there have been 13 identified border failures and at least 6 internal MIQ facility ...
By Monica Vallender, Master’s student with AgResearch Invermay and the University of Otago. A few months ago, while home for the Christmas break, my mother – out of the blue – turned to me and asked, “what made you actually decide you wanted to go to university and study science?” ...
Small businesses are not only the heart of our economy – they’re also the heart of our communities. They provide important goods and services, as well as great employment opportunities. They know and love their locals. And after a tough year, they need our support! ...
Green Party spokesperson for Pacific Peoples Teanau Tuiono MP, supports the demand from Pasifika communities fighting for climate action as their homelands are more at risk in the Pacific region. ...
The Green Party supports the six demands for climate action put forward by School Strike for Climate NZ, who are striking across the country today. ...
The Ministry of Justice Māori victimisation report, released today, reinforces what we already know about the impact of systemic racism in Aotearoa and that urgent action is needed. ...
Ricardo Menéndez March’s Members Bill to ensure that disabled New Zealanders do not face discrimination for having a disability assist dog was today pulled from the biscuit tin to be debated in Parliament. ...
More than one million people will be better off from today, thanks to our Government’s changes to the minimum wage, main benefits and superannuation. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to do more for New Zealanders who continue to miss out, as main benefits are set to rise by less than $8 a week tomorrow, Thursday 1 April (at the start of the financial year). ...
Sunday 28th March 70 Rongomaiwahine descendants welcomed members of the Green Party’s Māori Caucus, Te Mātāwaka, Dr Elizabeth Kerekere and Teanau Tuiono, to discuss concerns about RocketLab’s operations on the Mahia Peninsula. ...
The new homes enabled through additional borrowing capacity for Kāinga Ora announced by Government today must have a Te Tiriti o Waitangi lens, having Māori take the lead in developing homes ...
We’ve announced the next steps in our plan to tackle New Zealand’s housing crisis, as we take urgent action to help more Kiwis into homes. Here, we answer your questions about our plan to improve housing in New Zealand. ...
We believe everyone deserves a warm, dry place to call home, which is why we’ve announced the next steps in our plan to tackle the housing crisis. The new policies we’ve announced build on the work we’ve already done to improve housing in New Zealand. Here’s a look at everything ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today expressed New Zealand’s sorrow at the death of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. “Our thoughts are with Her Majesty The Queen at this profoundly sad time. On behalf of the New Zealand people and the Government, I would like to express ...
We, the Home Affairs, Interior, Security and Immigration Ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America (the ‘Five Countries’) met via video conference on 7/8 April 2021, just over a year after the outbreak of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Guided by our shared ...
Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni has today announced the opening of the first round of Ngā Puninga Toi ā-Ahurea me ngā Kaupapa Cultural Installations and Events. “Creating jobs and helping the arts sector rebuild and recover continues to be a key part of the Government’s COVID-19 response,” Carmel ...
Interim legislation that is already proving to keep people safer from drugs will be made permanent, Health Minister Andrew Little says. Research by Victoria University, on behalf of the Ministry of Health, shows that the Government’s decision in December to make it legal for drug-checking services to operate at festivals ...
Public consultation launched on ways to improve behaviour and reduce damage Tighter rules proposed for either camping vehicles or camping locations Increased penalties proposed, such as $1,000 fines or vehicle confiscation Rental companies may be required to collect fines from campers who hire vehicles Public feedback is sought on proposals ...
The Government is continuing to support Air New Zealand while aviation markets stabilise and the world moves towards more normal border operations. The Crown loan facility made available to Air New Zealand in March 2020 has been extended to a debt facility of up to $1.5 billion (an additional $600 ...
Christchurch’s Richmond suburb will soon have a new community hub, following the gifting of a red-zoned property by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) to the Richmond Community Gardens Trust. The Minister for Land Information, Damien O’Connor said that LINZ, on behalf of the Crown, will gift a Vogel Street house ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says the reopening of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples’ (MPP) Languages Funding in 2021 will make sure there is a future for Pacific languages. “Language is the key to the wellbeing for Pacific people. It affirms our identity as Pasifika and ...
It is a pleasure to be here tonight. Thank you Cameron for the introduction and thank you for ERANZ for also hosting this event. Last week in fact, we had one of the largest gatherings in our sector, Downstream 2021. I have heard from my officials that the discussion on ...
Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods has today announced the 16 projects that will together get $3.9 million through the 2021 round of Te Pūnaha Hihiko: Vision Mātauranga Capability Fund, further strengthening the Government’s commitment to Māori knowledge in science and innovation. “We received 78 proposals - the highest ...
The Government is delivering on a key election commitment to tackle climate change, by banning new low and medium temperature coal-fired boilers and partnering with the private sector to help it transition away from fossil fuels. This is the first major announcement to follow the release of the Climate Commission’s ...
Six projects, collectively valued at over $70 million are delivering new schools, classrooms and refurbished buildings across Central Otago and are helping to ease the pressure of growing rolls in the area, says Education Minister Chris Hipkins. The National Education Growth Plan is making sure that sufficient capacity in the ...
Two more schools are now complete as part of the Christchurch Schools Rebuild Programme, with work about to get under way on another, says Education Minister Chris Hipkins. Te Ara Koropiko – West Spreydon School will welcome students to their new buildings for the start of Term 2. The newly ...
The Government is acting to ensure decisions on responding to the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic are informed by the best available scientific evidence and strategic public health advice. “New Zealand has worked towards an elimination strategy which has been successful in keeping our people safe and our economy ...
Six Māori scholars have been awarded Ngārimu VC and the 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial scholarships for 2021, Associate Education Minister and Ngārimu Board Chair, Kelvin Davis announced today. The prestigious Manakura Award was also presented for the first time since 2018. “These awards are a tribute to the heroes of the 28th ...
New Zealand’s aerospace industry is getting a boost through the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), to grow the capability of the sector and potentially lead to joint space missions, Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods has announced. 12 New Zealand organisations have been chosen to work with world-leading experts at ...
The Government is backing more initiatives to boost New Zealand’s food and fibre sector workforce, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. “The Government and the food and fibres sector have been working hard to fill critical workforce needs. We've committed to getting 10,000 more Kiwis into the sector over the ...
Minister for Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni has welcomed the first reading of the Social Security (Subsequent Child Policy Removal) Amendment Bill in the House this evening. “Tonight’s first reading is another step on the way to removing excessive sanctions and obligations for people receiving a Main Benefit,” says ...
The Government has taken a significant step towards delivering on its commitment to improve the legislation around mental health as recommended by He Ara Oranga – the report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction, Health Minister Andrew Little says. The Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Amendment ...
Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta has welcomed the Local Government (Rating of Whenua Māori) Amendment Bill passing its third reading today. “After nearly 100 years of a system that was not fit for Māori and did not reflect the partnership we have come to expect between Māori and the Crown, ...
New Zealand’s successful management of COVID means quarantine-free travel between New Zealand and Australia will start on Monday 19 April, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed the conditions for starting to open up quarantine free travel with Australia have ...
Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little welcomed ngā uri o Ngāti Hinerangi to Parliament today to witness the third reading of their Treaty settlement legislation, the Ngāti Hinerangi Claims Settlement Bill. “I want to acknowledge ngā uri o Ngāti Hinerangi and the Crown negotiations teams for working tirelessly ...
Minister of Police Poto Williams has announced the members of the Ministers Arms Advisory Group, established to ensure balanced advice to Government on firearms that is independent of Police. “The Ministers Arms Advisory Group is an important part of delivering on the Government’s commitment to ensure we maintain the balance ...
Kiri Allan, Minister of Conservation and Emergency Management will undertake a leave of absence while she undergoes medical treatment for cervical cancer, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “I consider Kiri not just a colleague, but a friend. This news has been devastating. But I also know that Kiri is ...
Excellent progress has been made at the new prison development at Waikeria, which will boost mental health services and improve rehabilitation opportunities for people in prison, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says. Kelvin Davis was onsite at the new build to meet with staff and see the construction first-hand, following a ...
To reduce the trauma of road crashes caused by drug impaired drivers, an Independent Expert Panel on Drug Driving has proposed criminal limits and blood infringement thresholds for 25 impairing drugs, Minister of Police Poto Williams and Transport Minister Michael Wood announced today. The Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Bill ...
Temporary COVID-19 immigration powers will be extended to May 2023, providing continued flexibility to support migrants, manage the border, and help industries facing labour shortages, Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi announced today. “Over the past year, we have had to make rapid decisions to vary visa conditions, extend expiry dates, and ...
Temporary COVID-19 immigration powers will be extended to May 2023, providing continued flexibility to support migrants, manage the border, and help industries facing labour shortages, Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi announced today. “Over the past year, we have had to make rapid decisions to vary visa conditions, extend expiry dates, and ...
The Government is expanding its Pregnancy and Parenting Programme so more women and whānau can access specialist support to minimise harm from alcohol and other drugs, Health Minister Andrew Little says. “We know these supports help improve wellbeing and have helped to reduce addiction, reduced risk for children, and helped ...
*** Please check against delivery *** It’s an honour to be here in Rūātoki today, a rohe with such a proud and dynamic history of resilience, excellence and mana. Tūhoe moumou kai, moumou taonga, moumou tangata ki te pō. The Ahuwhenua Trophy competition is the legacy of a seed planted ...
The economic recovery from COVID-19 continues to be reflected in the Government’s books, which are again better than expected. The Crown accounts for the eight months to the end of February 2021 showed both OBEGAL and the operating balance remain better than forecast in the Half Year Economic and Fiscal ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson and Economic Development Minister Stuart Nash have welcomed confirmation New Zealand will host the opening ceremony and match, and one of the semi-finals, of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023. Grant Robertson says matches will be held in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Dunedin, ...
Changes to the minimum wage, main benefit levels and superannuation rates that come into force today will raise the incomes for around 1.4 million New Zealanders. “This Government is committed to raising the incomes for all New Zealanders as part of laying the foundations for a better future,” Minister for ...
The New Dunedin Hospital – Whakatuputupu has been approved for consideration under the fast track consenting legislation. The decision by Environment Minister David Parker signifies the importance of the project to the health of the people of Otago-Southland and to the economy of the region. “This project ticks all the ...
Transport Minister Michael Wood is getting Auckland light rail back on track with the announcement of an establishment unit to progress this important city-shaping project and engage with Aucklanders. Michael Wood said the previous process didn’t involve Aucklanders enough. ...
The Minister of Tourism is to re-open a government fund that supports councils to build infrastructure for visitors, with a specific focus on regions hardest hit by the loss of overseas tourists. “Round Five of the Tourism Infrastructure Fund will open for applications next month,” said Stuart Nash. It ...
A Governance Group of eight experts has been appointed to lead the next phase of work on a potential new public media entity, Minister for Broadcasting and Media Kris Faafoi announced today. “The Governance Group will oversee the development of a business case to consider the viability of a new ...
Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson today helped launch a new fund to provide direct financial support for tamariki and rangatahi Māori throughout the South Island who is experiencing financial hardship and missing out on physical activity opportunities. “Through Te Kīwai Fund, we can offer more opportunities for Māori to ...
Six whānau in Pāpāmoa receive the keys to their brand-new rental homes today, in stage four of a papakāinga project providing safe and affordable housing in the regions. Minister for Māori Development, Willie Jackson congratulates Mangatawa Pāpāmoa Blocks Incorporated on the opening of three affordable rentals and three social housing ...
Kia ora tatou. It’s great to be here today and to get a conversation going on the disarmament issues of greatest interest to you, and to the Government. I’m thrilled to be standing here as a dedicated Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control, which I hope reinforces for you all ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Coates, Program Director, Household Finances, Grattan Institute The idea that young Australians should be able to dip into their super to help buy their first home keeps going round and round. The most recent iteration put forward by the Coalition’s Tim ...
This week MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi was invited to attend a community hui at Hurungaterangi Marae in Ngapuna, Rotorua - where locals spoke of the physical and psychological suffering they are experiencing, caused by faulty sewerage plant ...
Dunedin writer Victor resumes his Sunday odes to public figures. Today: Mike HoskingThe Hosky and Cindy Show I want you on my show. And then I do not. I’ve fired you again. You’ve had your shot. You cancelled yourself. You’re on the shelf. But now ...
Sex is life in acclaimed Waikato writer Tracey Slaughter’s latest short story collection. Of course it’s there in Slaughter’s stories about affairs. In those pieces sex thumps and pants and dominates, it goes so hard it knocks grit off the ceiling and onto the bed, it sets fire to a marriage, ...
Bathroom, kitchen, sitting room, bookshelves, friends, memories – Linda Burgess ponders the decluttering of life. Made possible thanks to the support of Creative New ZealandOriginal illustrations by Gary Venn Go to the second drawer down in your bathroom. Open it. In it are countless small bottles of shampoo and skin cream ...
Analysis by Bryce Edwards. Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Judith Collins’ National Party leadership is under more scrutiny, with increased talk in the media of her being replaced by brand new MP Christopher Luxon. For many commentators it’s just a question of “when” rather than “if” Collins is replaced. While ...
Kiwi Seafarers continue to feel shortchanged by the New Zealand Government. On the 1st of December 2020 the UN general Assembly called for all Seafarers to be designated as Key Workers . International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack ...
Revelations that foreign affairs officials have approved the sale of military equipment to a host of human-rights-abusing countries, including Israel, is an outrage. In recent years foreign affairs has been dominated by trade priorities with concerns ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Quilty, Senior Staff Specialist, Alice Springs Hospital. Honorary, Australian National University A sizeable chunk of Northern Territory’s doctors are thinking about leaving the territory because of climate change, our new research shows. Our study, just published in The Lancet Planetary Health, ...
With the trans-Tasman bubble on the way, Auckland Airport has undertaken the unique challenge of splitting one airport into two. Matthew Scott went along to see what the parallel worlds look like. Birdsong is piped into an empty hallway. A message to nobody plays on the intercom. Luxury stores ...
The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners is today marking the death of their patron, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Prince Phillip had been patron of the College for 47 years, since he formally handed over ...
"People are walking up the hill, as we walk down, with their hands on their hips, their faces red, or looking directly at the path, not game enough to look up to see how far they’ve got to go": a portrait of a relationship set in a Dunedin landmark, by ...
It was with great sadness that I received notification from Buckingham Palace that His Royal Highness Prince Philip has died at Windsor Castle. The death of His Royal Highness is a great loss to Her Majesty the Queen, the members of the Royal Family ...
The Royal Commonwealth Society expresses its deepest condolences on the passing of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The Royal Commonwealth Society expresses its deepest sympathy and condolences to our Patron, Her Majesty ...
9 April 2021 Monarchy New Zealand today expresses its sadness at the passing of Queen of New Zealand’s consort, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip Prince Philip died aged 99. Prince Philip is the longest-serving consort in New Zealand’s history. ...
"On behalf of ACT, I would like to express sincere condolences to Her Majesty the Queen and the Royal Family. "Prince Philip will be remembered for his long dedication to public service. He has selflessly contributed to a long period of stability ...
Critic's Chair: Guy Somerset salutes Losing Alice, a compelling eight-part psychological thriller showing on Apple TV+ Who doesn’t like a compliment, a bit of flattery? But, unless you happen to be Donald J Trump, when the flattery spills over into sycophancy you tend to get suspicious. Alice Ginor (Ayelet Zurer) ...
WATCH: Silver Ferns shooter Monica Falkner talks about the pain of losing her dad, then fighting back from injury in part three of Pure As. Monica Falkner knows her dad, David, would have shed tears watching her finally play for the Silver Ferns against England last year - after five harrowing ...
Rampant house prices mean saving money for a deposit on a home is becoming increasingly fruitless. But just how long does it take in today’s market compared to a few years ago?Of all the essential and obscure pecuniary concepts that we learn throughout life, saving is one of those things ...
From the trauma of loss, Jean Sergent built a stage production that offers an invitation to others to embrace the radical possibility that things can get better.I’ve always been interested in death and dying – not the mechanics of it, but the social conditions. How death is prepared for, announced, ...
For almost three years, Onzo’s black and yellow fleet littered New Zealand’s streets with an accessible and affordable two-wheel option. Then it vanished, leaving behind a trail of angry and perplexed customers. Auckland’s first dockless bike-share scheme has disappeared in much the same way it first arrived – quietly, mysteriously and ...
Ardent disciple of mountain, valley, river and sky, Brian Turner is one of New Zealand’s most celebrated poets. Michelle Langstone travelled to his central Otago home to meet and hear the man who commands the language of the landscape.The landscape starts speaking to you from the turnoff on to the ...
George Driver heads to the end of the Earth to spend his birthday alone in New Zealand’s forgotten city.“Don’t go to Invercargill.”I’d spent most of my life a couple of hours’ drive from Invercargill. But every time I considered going I was confronted with this advice: “Don’t go, it’s not ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Jeffrey, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Southern Cross University Trees are the Earth’s lungs – it’s well understood they drawdown and lock up vast amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But emerging research is showing trees can also emit methane, and it’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Last week, people were falling over themselves to get vaccination appointments and had to be told, by their doctors and their government, to be patient. Patience is still needed — indeed, more than ever — ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra A week ago, people were falling over themselves to get vaccination appointments and had to be told, by their doctors and their government, to be patient. Patience is still needed — indeed, more than ever ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hassan Vally, Associate Professor, La Trobe University Last night, the federal government announced substantially revised plans for the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Australia. Due to concerns about the vaccine’s possible links to a rare blood-clotting disorder, and following advice from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katherine Aigner, PhD candidate Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy, Australian National University On Saturday at the Adelaide Festival there will a public showing of Australian Atomic Confessions, a documentary I co-directed about the tragic and long-lasting effects of the atomic weapons testing ...
The Human Rights Commission is calling for more information on the justification behind the temporary suspension of travel from India. “Temporarily banning New Zealanders from returning home from India is a significant limitation on their freedom ...
The Chinese developers who caused an environmental disaster on an idyllic Fijian island have been found guilty on two counts of undertaking unauthorised developments in relation to a planned 370-bure resort and casino. The Suva Magistrates Court delivered its verdict against Freesoul Real Estate today, after the ruling date was pushed out twice with no ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Esterman, Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of South Australia Australia’s vaccine rollout is in chaos. The news last night the AstraZeneca vaccine, the only one Australia has guaranteed supply of, would not be recommended for people under 50 due to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jan Golembiewski, Researcher, University of Technology Sydney The Royal Commission into Aged Care left organisations that provide housing for aged care wondering how they will put its recommendations into effect. Most of these recommendations relate to the models of care and levels ...
Our Beehive bulletin The Government’s ban on new low and medium temperature coal-fired boilers and partnering with the private sector to help it transition away from fossil fuels perhaps ranked as the most important Beehive announcement yesterday. It was the first major announcement to follow the release of the Climate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nikki Turner, Professor, University of Auckland From next week, unvaccinated staff working at managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) facilities will be moved to low-risk jobs, following a case of a worker who missed vaccination appointments and then tested positive for COVID-19. The ...
The proposed Regulatory Standards Bill has been welcomed by Energy Resources Aotearoa as a useful tool in developing better public policy. The Bill was drawn from the members ballot at Parliament on Thursday. "This should help deliver better policy ...
Division and social discord has undermined Covid-19 responses in other western nations. We must do everything we can to prevent that taking seed here, writes Green Party MP Golriz Ghahraman. The Ministry of Health has done a stellar job in keeping us all safe. I have no doubt that the latest ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 The Mirror Book by Charlotte Grimshaw (Vintage, $38)Excerpt from Emma Espiner’s fantastic Spinoff review of this fantastic ...
Eight Wellington City Councillors – given the critical constitutional choice of Treaty partnership or democracy – yesterday voted in favour of further undermining the council’s democratic election and decision-making structures by granting voting rights to the representatives appointed by Maori tribes to sit on council committees. Only six councillors voted ...
Mike Hosking did, didn’t, does, doesn’t, will and won’t want to have the PM on his radio show, while simultaneously accusing the New Zealand media of being asleep at the wheel, writes James Elliott It was reported in the news this week that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere ...
Green Party MP Ricardo Menendez March’s labelling of police dogs as being “attack dogs” is as out of touch as it is insulting to our entire police force, says Darroch Ball co-leader of Sensible Sentencing Trust. “A bill seeking to increase the maximum ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Reilly, Professor, University of Western Australia Could a change be afoot in the way Australians vote in federal elections? The Coalition government may be eyeing a shift to optional preferential voting — as used in New South Wales — which allows ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is urging action in the case against New Zealand-born Paul Mora, who allegedly fraudulently claimed €113 million in German tax credits. Paul Mora is wanted by Interpol in relation to the Cum-Ex tax affair after failing ...
An almost forgotten moment in our history, brought into the spotlight by a gutsy new theatre show, reveals uncomfortable truths about the history of race relations in Aotearoa.In a country that has until very recently avoided teaching its own history in schools, it’s perhaps unsurprising that a confrontation between university ...
A new poem from Ōtautahi-based poet Claudia Jardine.Ode to Mons Pubisfatty tissue, edifice of overturesjoints, ligaments, bones, cartilagedark turns to stars when I think aboutthe buttress of pubic symphysisyes! paths of faery lights, yes! brambly wadsyes! tracks of calligraphic gastropodsyes! tender grasses, yes! boxed bedsclippings from a crooner’s greenhousetopiary of ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is speaking to media a day after announcing a suspension of travel from India because of high numbers of Covid-19 cases. ...
The country's largest education union, NZEI Te Riu Roa, is backing the school students striking for climate action across the country today. NZEI Te Riu Roa President Liam Rutherford says the organisation "fully supports tamariki and educators who ...
At its core, Aotearoa New Zealand’s housing crisis is not about houses, but about the way we think about wealth, community, ourselves and our neighbours, the economy, education system, and much more. The only solutions to this problem involve everyone. ...
One year ago today managed isolation became mandatory for travellers arriving into New Zealand. The joint heads of Managed Isolation and Quarantine, Megan Main and Brigadier Jim Bliss, have paid tribute to the efforts of those who’ve contributed ...
Public feedback is now invited to improve freedom camping in New Zealand. To support the public consultation, the first of a series of public meetings throughout Aotearoa is being held at the Ellen Melville Centre in central Auckland from 2pm – 4pm on ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. Click here to subscribe to Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup and New Zealand Politics Daily. Today’s contentCovid: India travel ban Luke Malpass (Stuff): Is the the ‘temporary’ India travel ban proportional ...
Hospitals should be a place of welcome and healing. But for gender-diverse people and their families, going to the hospital can feel like walking into a linguistic minefield. While a child was being treated at a New Zealand hospital last month, a health professional kept using the wrong gender pronouns ...
Local Government New Zealand welcomes the long overdue review of self-contained freedom camping rules announced by Tourism Minister Stuart Nash today. “Many councils across the country welcome the contribution freedom campers make to local economies,” ...
A new just transition plan released today by Climate Justice Taranaki calls for a major shift towards a domestic economy and away from exports and imports in a phase out of fossil fuels by 2030. The document focuses on Aotearoa’s three main greenhouse ...
Today Renters United launches their campaign for #RentControlsNow. This comes just weeks after the Government announced it’s housing package, a package that Renters United said “fell short of delivering any change to over one third of New Zealanders ...
Three… two… one… blast-off! They’re an incredible sight, but what’s the impact of rocket launches on the environment? Mirjam Guesgen investigates.Commercial space flights, moon colonies and missions to Mars are all exciting prospects. Some of them are even being helped along by New Zealand companies. Rocket launches are loud, ground-shaking, smoggy ...
A government committed to fairness and responsible law-making should not allow two bills recently drawn from the Member’s Ballot to sink without debate, Federated Farmers says. "At the very least the Regulatory Standards Bill and the Income ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ritesh Chugh, Senior Lecturer – Information Systems and Analysis, CQUniversity Australia If you’ve ever gotten your phone wet in the rain, dropped it in water or spilt liquid over it, you’re not alone. One study suggests 25% of smartphone users have damaged ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Macaulay, Professor of Public Administration, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Following a number of high-profile inquiries into workplace misconduct — including within parliament, the police and fire service — it became clear people who report such behaviour in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Holly Seale, Associate professor, UNSW This year is shaping up as the year of the COVID-19 vaccination photo, with the pandemic providing seemingly endless photo opportunities. We’ve seen stock photos of people getting vaccinated in news reports, images of the prime minister ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lucinda McKnight, Senior Lecturer in Pedagogy and Curriculum, Deakin University Robots are writing more of what we read on the internet. And artificial intelligence (AI) writing tools are becoming freely available for anyone, including students, to use. In a period of rapid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW House prices are back in the news, and out of control. In the past three months the median house price in Sydney has risen by more than A$100,000 to A$1.12 million. Sydney’s median residential property price ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for April 9, bringing you the latest news throughout the day. For one day only, Stewart is off, so to get in touch email Bulletin editor Alex Braae at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz.The Spinoff can’t exist without our members. If you want to help us stay ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Four key questions for the climate strikers, unvaccinated border worker tests positive, and big implications of ban on arrivals from India.We’re going to start today’s Bulletin with something different – a short interview. Because today teenagers across the country will once ...
The climate strikes are finally back! It’s been a turbulent year-and-a-half since our last strike, with two cancellations due to COVID-19, but finally we’re back with our fourth Intergenerational Strike 4 Climate. Christina Sieberhagen, 15, is ...
” “This is not just an attack on the French people, it is an attack on human decency and all things that we hold dear,” says U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham. I’m not sure I hold ALL the same things dear as the senator, but for the most part I think he’s exactly right and that sympathy damn well ought to be the order of the day following a horrific mass killing in France.
“I just think the same should apply to everywhere else on earth as well.”
– David Swanson: “Non-French War Deaths Matter” http://davidswanson.org/
The MSM already framing the story in a dangerous manner.
They are failing to discuss reasons and causes of the event.
Shades of 2002 and the ghastly decision to invade Iraq.
Who benefits from chaos and perpetual war?
Clue: they are meeting in Wellington this week.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1511/S00043/wellington-community-prepares-for-weapons-conference-protest.htm
“Shades of 2002 and the ghastly decision to invade Iraq.”
The Democratic presidential debate was held yesterday and in light of the Paris attacks, the candidates were asked about this.
— Sanders objected to Clinton’s line about who bore responsibility for Isis. “I don’t think any sensible person would disagree that the invasion of Iraq led to the massive instability that we are seeing right now,” he said.
In a possible preview of a major general election debate to come, Clinton rejected a “clash of civilizations” framework Republicans have used after the Paris attacks. “We are not at war with Islam or Muslims,” Clinton says. “We are at war with violent extremism.”
(Scroll to the beginning to see those specific qs-&-a s. ) http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2015/nov/14/democratic-presidential-debate-live-cbs-terrorism-paris-attacks
The military industrial complex.
+100 Manuka AOR…a tragedy for the people of Paris and France
…but there have been many many tragedies in the last few years, especially in the Middle East…and these have tended to be brushed over and forgotten.
Like the bomb on the airplane headed to Russia….
It’s a race to the bottom people
https://twitter.com/Ellipsister/status/665844544907276288/photo/1
We see major coverage of these happenings when they happen in friendly countries but almost none when they happen to the other.
Marama Fox on The Nation:
“They have given the minister absolute power above the law to determine whether somebody has their citizenship revoked, even if they apply to be an Australian citizen…”
“So he also does not have to reveal to the court under that law or your lawyers or the prosecution why he has made that decision. So you can’t even defend yourself in a court of law. So in the case of Ko Rutene, his record has been sealed – and this is not his conviction; this is the decision of why he is now being deported – has been sealed. And that might be something, or it might be nothing, and you can’t defend it because you just don’t know.” http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/raw-data-interview-maori-party-co-leader-marama-fox-181633
Tie me kangaroo court down john, tie me etc etc
Key is one of the weakest PMs NZ has ever had.
Guess that ‘s what happens when you stand for nothing and are beholden to corporate interests, lobbyists and focus groups .
+100 Paul…and the Maori Party would have more mana and respect if it did not give jonkey nact support
Isn’t that dictatorship?
Australia a dictatorship?
Actions speak louder than words
There was some significant comment here in Australia when Abbott introduced these regulations, that absolute Ministerial power was going to be a recipe for this kind of problem.
However since Turnbull has become PM – well he’s got a teflon layer an inch thick and the Coalition can do no wrong. So suddenly no traction.
40 men, women and children were killed and 180 injured in a double suicide bombing in beirut 5 days ago.
where is the blanket coverage?
where is the analysis?
where are the leaders and their sabre rattling utterances?
what is the difference between this atrocity and the horror in paris?
More than 35,000 people have been killed by terrorist attacks in Pakistan since 2001; this year so far, 287 civilians.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorist_incidents_in_Pakistan_in_2015
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terrorist_incidents_in_Pakistan_since_2001
And then there are the drone strikes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drone_strikes_in_Pakistan
Depends on what sources of news you are using.
Plenty of coverage on Al Jazeera, RT, France 24, CNN, Deutsche Welle, BBC Radio as well as the media here in the Middle East. Overwhelmed to an extent in the last day by Paris but still being covered.
Leadership of Hezbollah stated they would continue to fight Da’ish and support Assad. The Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam declared a day of national mourning on Friday, November 13. The Lebanese authorities have arrested five Syrians and one Palestinian, who are suspected of playing a part in the bombings.
A bomb also exploded during midday prayers at a mosque frequented by Houthi (more Shia) supporters in Yemen’s on Friday as well – killing several worshippers and wounding others. The blast took place in Shibam, a city some 40 km (25 miles) outside the capital of Sanaa that had been an area of relative calm.
Lebanon is not a Nato ally.
Its interesting on facebook with lots of people changing their profile picture showing the French flag. Can guarantee they wouldn’t change their profile to a middle eastern country flag even though the civilian death toll has been a magnitude higher in those places.
G20 had a minutes silence for the victims in Paris and Turkey…
Perhaps they realised if they read the whole list they would never get down to thebusiness of making money?
This was reposted by David Robie on TDB, but with the original you can follow the links:
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Beirut-and-Paris-A-Tale-of-Two-Terror-Attacks-20151114-0016.html
The numbers in Beirut were 43 dead (44 in above link) and 239 injured in The Guardian. But while the story was reported, it is nowhere as omnipresent as the Paris bombings. Ex-colonial powers seem to preserve notions of impunity for their actions.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/12/beirut-bombings-kill-at-least-20-lebanon
Other bombings and cold-blooded executions elsewhere do get media attention, mainly in the press though, as do the local authorities’ statements denouncing the perpetrators and talking about bringing them to justice. It’s just that we don’t notice them. Once they become commonplace they fall off the front page, unless they’re happing somewhere they’re not normal (Bangkok, Thailand) or are so novel or extreme in some way they make headlines and media interest remains high for a while. I watch Al Jazeera, admittedly they carry far more such items than our trashy superficial tv newsentertainsportsment. Plus we identify more closely with Western European countries so I guess attacks feel closer to home and our media coverage reflects that. We only ever get the US perspective on them though. Nobody shows the reality of the war, the casualities, the bits of people in trees and lamp posts after an aerial or suicide bombing. Very sanitised. Even Al Jazeera.
hi all above,
i had a look at those links re pakistan deaths, grim reading.
i hardly engage with tv (sports excluded), commercial radio or newspapers and i felt a little overwhelmed by the reaction.
watching the nz vs oz cricket test,
there was an ad for a ‘news’ special-“a world on edge”.
good grief!
Will Labour’s new sugar policy run foul of the TPP?
Sugar is largely used in processed foods to enhance flavour or as a preservative with the expectation the improved flavor and extended shelf life will contribute to better returns.
Therefore, Labour’s intention to put in place policy to limit sugar use may hamper company returns, resulting in them being challenged through the investor-state dispute settlement process.
Thoughts?
The government will not be able to legislate anything under TPP without it being challenged in courts outside of NZ if someone thinks it will effect their potential profit. So of course the sugar industry will be suing the government over this one, also mining access. Likewise preferential treatment of local tenders will not be allowed under TPP – or they might be allowed – by then the government has to compensate for potential losses.
TPP is lunacy for any government to commit to, apart from absolute ‘free market’ ideologists of the far right like ACT.
TPP takes away the governments ability to govern.
And as for taxes – well look at who is not paying them in Australia. So the government is wanting to give more power to these corporates who already do not even pay any taxes, like everyone else.
The Australian Tax Office have revealed at a Senate Inquiry into corporate tax secercy laws that 1 in 5 private companies that earn over $100 million a year paid no tax in 2014.1
Incredibly, the Government just passed legislation in parliament that makes the tax details of all private companies earning over $100 million a year secret.
https://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/corporate-tax/corporate-tax-dodging/crack-down-on-tax-dodging?t=4Qtntjq
I found it strange Labour would announce such a contestable policy amongst the controversy over their TPP position.
I see there is a big role for NZ lawyers in international dispute resolution being predicted.
http://www.lawsociety.org.nz/lawtalk/issue-872/big-role-for-nz-lawyers-in-international-dispute-resolution-predicted
It’s called policy incoherancy. It’s a symptom of a political organisation which has either given up on its values, or has no intellectual framework able to implement those values, or both.
Yes, well the policy does seem to be inconsistent with their weakening TPP positioning. However, it also seems to be an attempt to get one over National’s recent obesity policy. Which explains the rush to get it out there.
But the timing of the release, considering the controversy, was rather strange. Unless, of course, it was also required to fill their current policy void.
Actually, if Act were sticking to their supposed ideology they wouldn’t support it either but they don’t. They’re as much about protecting and increasing the power and wealth of the rich as National.
In INternatiional food company terms who is the “sugar” industry? Coca Cola?
“Coca-Cola’s $35.1 billion in revenue makes it the 84th largest economy in the world, just ahead of Costa Rica”
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/facts-about-coca-cola-2011-6#coke-makes-so-many-different-beverages-that-if-you-drank-one-per-day-it-would-take-you-over-9-years-to-try-them-all-2
@Tracy and do you think CocoCola will sue a Labour government that wants to tax sugar drinks under TPP – I think YES – if NZ puts on a sugar tax other countries will also do so and these corporations don’t want that.
Some of the corporations are bigger than some countries. Of course they will be using their legal rights GIVEN AWAY under TPP to promote their interests and stop public health laws. The tax payer picks up the tab for dentistry and health from drinking their drinks and the legal costs of the suing. LOSE LOSE for taxpayers and citizens.
Big industry players and the challenge they pose would explain why Labour are initially hoping the industry will voluntarily reduce its use.
I agree…
“Voluntarily reduce use” is a cop out!
Why on earth would they under TPP?
They will look to ramp UP use.
I think you might be missing some sarcasm in some responses… certainly mine.
Award winning editor of the Northland Age hits out at lack of Government support for the Far North.
Peter Jackson is usually expected to be ever so slightly right leaning…..
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northland-age/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503402&objectid=11542836
“Those who regarded National’s offer to double-lane 10 one-way bridges in return for continued loyalty as a crass bribe were probably right,….
For all that it is difficult not to believe that National has learned nothing from its by-election defeat, not only in terms of Northland but provincial electorates around the country.
Ensuring that government contracts go to local businesses, assuming they are competitive and able to do the work, would seem to be a very simple way of boosting a small town’s economy,
We’re with Winston. Northland’s long-term financial future hinges upon finding meaningful work for the unemployed, and as Mr Peters keeps saying, there is plenty of work to be done. In this case the government could make a desperately needed contribution to saving what remains of our priceless natural heritage. One might have expected the Minister of Conservation to give some thought to that, given that she is presiding over what many say is an unprecedented collapse in habitat that is driving ever more native species towards extinction.
That, Ms Barry, is your bag. That is what should be keeping you awake at night.”
i have a friend who is involved in protecting our natural and ancestral culture.
To be polite, it appears that Mrs. Barry marching orders are to the contrary and many good people have and are simply resigning, and others are holding on to straws. But the impression that is gained, is that cultural and ancestral heritage are things of yesteryears bygone, and are so very very passée.
Knock down that forest, build gated McMansions on graveyards and the likes.
And charge people a dollar fifty to see-um.
Neo Liberalism has one of its tenets to reduce the size of government, and this Government is doing that through staff reduction…
Nothing any of us probably didn’t know already; but it’s useful to see it written down in one place:
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/healthreport/workplace-stress-unhealthy-secondhand-smoke-pfeffer/6927786
I wonder where high octane, demanding and/or bullying bosses fit on the Health and Safety scale.
I know a small organisation which has a new CEO. This person is high octane and frenetic and demanding. Is never wrong and therefore has to blame others. In 6 weeks the small staff have become highly stressed, tired, and are now making more mistakes…
Do these help? They’re on MBIE’s New Zealand At Work pages
http://employment.govt.nz/er/services/law/case/themes/2006-03-workplace-stress.asp
http://employment.govt.nz/er/services/law/case/themes/2009-12-workplace-stress.asp
I note ACC doesn’t cover “stress, hurt feelings, loss of enjoyment or other emotional issues (these may be covered if these are the direct result of a physical injury or sexual abuse)”
Thanks gringlebottom
May I ask why gringlebottom?
Yes, of course you may, but you won’t get the answer, and its grindlebottom. 🙂
oops, sorry at misspelling. Fair enough.
Oh my, I just googled grindle.
President Obama speaks out: “An attack on the civilized world”
Monday 16 November 2015
Still waiting for any comment from this paragon of civilization re the following attacks on the civilized world….
1.) Attacking Kunduz Hospital just last month….
https://theintercept.com/2015/10/06/why-bombing-kunduz-hospital-was-probably-a-war-crime/
2.) Gaza and the Occupied West Bank, every single day….
http://www.imemc.org/newswire/israeliattacks
3.) Fallujah Hospital, 2004….
http://www.internationalist.org/fallujarape0412.html
4.) On-going murder of Yemeni civilians by remote-controlled aircraft…..
https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/category/projects/drones/drones-yemen/
5.) U.S. troops running amok in Afghanistan….
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2010/09/afgh-s10.html
does he believe the rest of the world is not civilized?
Sometimes i think the more educated they are the dumber they get.
He’s the world’s worst terrorist. He’s prepared to say anything.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_civilization
It seems to be an aspect of Western civilisation in that they refuse to accept anything else as being civilised.
Yes. Clearly. And only a few weeks after his military bombed Medecines Sans Frontiere and he initially denied it… innocent civillians died. Unless that is the definition of civilised in the USA?
I’ve stopped listening to him. He has no real credibility on most things any more. Obamacare maybe yes, but certainly not on anything to do with international relations or Israel/Palestine, or any of the activities of his forces, or his foreign policies. He just sounds like a front man for the usual corporate interests that seem to dominate American politics and presidents. His hyprocrisy makes me wince every bit as much as GW Bush’s did.
Israeli Soldiers Open Fire On Palestinian Farmers In Gaza
Thursday November 12, 2015
Israeli soldiers, stationed across the border fence, fired dozens of rounds of live ammunition on Palestinian farmers, working in their lands close to the border fence, east of Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza.
Eyewitnesses said the soldiers, some on military towers and others in armored vehicles, fired dozens of live rounds, and smoke bombs, at the farmers in their own lands, causing damage but no injuries.
The farmers left their lands fearing additional Israeli military escalation.
The Israeli army frequently attacks farmers and workers in Palestinian lands close to the border fence, and fishers in Gaza territorial waters; the attacks led to dozens of casualties, including fatalities.
http://www.imemc.org/article/73823
What they really think.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CTZbBCKUcAEZlGs.jpg:large
in the meantime Erdogan is waging war against the Kurds.
https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/60651
i
CORPORATE WELFARE STRIKES AGAIN
Documents submitted to the Senate corporate tax avoidance inquiry by the International Transport Federation reveal Chevron paid just $248 tax on $1.7 billion profit made in Australia last year.
The Australian Tax Office have revealed at a Senate Inquiry into corporate tax secercy laws that 1 in 5 private companies that earn over $100 million a year paid no tax in 2014.1
Incredibly, the Government just passed legislation in parliament that makes the tax details of all private companies earning over $100 million a year secret.
Corporate tax dodging isn’t a victimless scheme. Our schools and hospitals miss out on the funding they need, meaning familes miss out on the quality services they rely on for a brighter future.
Join the campaign to demand all corporations pay the tax they should: http://bit.ly/1WLMEaw
It looks like Mediaworks have bitten off more than they expected on the 3D programme possible cancellation/non-renewal.
https://t.co/8W5SzcmVlg
“The recently-announced proposal not to renew TV3’s flagship current affairs show 3D is now subject to fierce resistance from the show’s journalists, who have assembled a legal team to work on a challenge to the way employment process was conducted.
The Spinoff can reveal that 3D‘s journalists have called on lawyers, forensic accountants and employment experts to help build a case that proper processes weren’t followed, and are in a dialogue with the channel’s Human Resources department.
“If Weldon thinks he can take on a room full of investigative journalists and they’re just going to roll over, he’s very much mistaken,” says a source privy to the situation. …”
Weldon did it to Campbell Live.
David Fisher has published that piece about the ex senior police officer who was “stunned” at the handling of the Slater gripe.
“A spokesman for police headquarters said it was not unusual for national headquarters staff to be sent complaints.” Oh really?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11546041
And probably not unusual for them to totally ignore those complaints either.
Scoop has reached the target! Good news.
Great news 😉
Who else is disgusted by Obama, Kerry and Clinton’s bloviating?
Surely nobody believes a word of what these terrorists say.
U.S. leaders are suddenly pretending they don’t like terrorism. If they were serious, this is what they would have said about some recent events…..
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: “The killing of innocent people based on a twisted ideology is an attack not just on Gaza, not just on the Occupied West Bank, not just on Iraq, not just on Afghanistan, not just on Yemen, but it is an attack on the civilized world.”
SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY: “I want to make sure that it is absolutely crystal clear that the United States stands with the people of the Occupied Territories and the rest of the world in our resolve to eliminate the scourge of violent extremist groups from the face of the Earth.”
HILLARY CLINTON: “Our prayers are with the people of Afghanistan tonight, but that is not enough. We need to have a resolve that will bring the world together to root out the kind of radical imperialist ideology that motivates organizations like the U.S. military, a barbaric, ruthless, violent terrorist group.”
What these hypocrites actually said….
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2015/11/15/obama_killing_of_innocent_people_based_on_twisted_ideology_is_an_attack_on_the_civilized_world.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/videos/2015-11-14/john-kerry-condemns-paris-terror-attacks
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/11/15/in-post-paris-debate-clinton-gets-religion.html
The French government will not support the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and US as long as a controversial stipulation is included.
France, like the UK and Germany, will block the trade deal all together if the mechanism of investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) is included; EurActiv France reported.
The clause appears in most free trade agreements, and would leave France defenseless against foreign companies taking legal action against it if laws and legislation stunt profits.
“France did not want the ISDS to be included in the negotiation mandate,” France’s Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, Matthias Fekl told the French Senate. “We have to preserve the right of the state to set and apply its own standards, to maintain the impartiality of the justice system and to allow the people of France, and the world, to assert their values,” he added.
Due to this stumbling block, there will be no “significant advances” in the trade agreement, which has been a sour point in US-EU relations.
France earlier said it wouldn’t sign the TTIP as long as the US continued spying on EU allies.
The Republic is a strong thing in France, quite a different beast from the republic of USA
I like this bit-” “We have to preserve the right of the state to set and apply its own standards, to maintain the impartiality of the justice system and to allow the people of France, and the world, to assert their values,”
Pity our representative ( representative? ha!) couldn’t insert the words ‘New Zealand’ where Matthias Fekl said ‘France’
Nine to Noon this morning
In the first interview, Napoleoni stopped one of Ryan’s lines by categorically dismissing as media speculation that the terrorists are Syrian refugees and warned of the dangers of such speculation.
Within minutes, in the second interview with McCant he repeats the media speculation about the terrorists being Syrian refugees, and Ryan let it pass unchallenged.
1. Ryan interviewed 9:15 AM. Loretta Napoleoni
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201778896/terror-networking-and-finance-expert-on-paris-attacks
2. Ryan interviewed Will McCant
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201778897/how-will-europe-respond
It appears Ryan was caught out this morning, for the sake of maintaining her prepared questions and her storyline.
… and so the journalists continue the meme.
On questioning John Key on RNZ this evening regarding refugees, one of the journalists perpetuated the speculation that “in view of what has happened in Paris, will we be vetting potential refugees to New Zealand more stringently…”
TV3 The Story. The devious Simon Lusk was on tonight in an interview with Garner.
Remember Dirty Tricks and the influence of Lusk in getting some MPs in and some out. He says that he was behind Stuart Nash who was planning on leaving Labour and starting a new party. Truth or Fantasy???
Garner stated that Nash confirmed it, but wouldn’t say it on camera! Nothing about Nash would surprise me after his diatribe on TDB a wee while ago!
Nash has openly confirmed in the past that a group of local businessmen in Napier had approached him to start a new party before the last election. He turned it down.
Nash would be a good fit for the Bald Brummies Party….
Everything you ever wanted to know about Climate Change ( in one hour flat) from RT’s ‘The Big Picture’
‘Understanding climate change: A conversation with Michael Mann’
https://www.rt.com/shows/big-picture/321538-global-warming-climate-change/
“Thom goes over the basics of what global warming is, what’s causing it, and how we can stop it with climate scientist Michael Mann, author of the book “Dire Predictions: Understanding Climate Change.”
( a bloody good educational from a top professor on Climate Change)
“It is clear that life has changed FOREVER.”
Kiwis insulted by clichéd and ill-informed coverage of Paris atrocities
“And the radio is in the hands of such a lot of fools
tryin’ to anaesthetise the way that you feel.”
—-Elvis Costello
8 a.m. news, RNZ National, Sunday 15 November 2015
The commentary on Radio NZ, whether by journalists or by random people approached in the street, was banal. This is Hannah Smellie, a New Zealander in Paris: “It’s just really surreal. There’s not many happy faces around.”
Banality, however, is forgivable. What is not forgivable was the moronic fare being served up on commercial radio. I switched from RNZ National to NewstalkZB, just at the end of an editorial by the host Andrew Dickens….
NewstalkZB, 8:08 a.m. ….
ANDREW DICKENS: The French, too, must be PARTICULARLY fearful that they are being targeted by these animals. ISIS is now Public Enemy Number One with François Hollande vowing to be RUTHLESS and PITILESS in his response. Whatever the outcome, it is clear that life has changed FOREVER.
After his sophomoric little homily, Dickens interviewed the station’s Paris correspondent Katherine Field, who (as usual) had nothing at all interesting to say, except to note that these were “kamikaze attacks on soft targets.” As bad as Dickens and Field are, there was worse to come. Far worse….
ANDREW DICKENS: Our special will continue after 9 o’clock for an hour, with MIKE HOSKING. Then after ten, Tim Wilson will speak to security expert Paul Buchanan. I’ve got a text here from someone: “I would have thought the flags on the Harbour Bridge would be at half mast, but they are not.”
A gang of armed jihadis could not have made me listen to Hosking vaporing on for an hour on this subject. And Tim Wilson, though far more intelligent and thoughtful than the likes of Dickens or Hosking, seems determined to dumb himself down to their level, so I wasn’t really hopeful that his interview after 10 o’clock with Paul Buchanan, who DOES command respect, would be worth listening to.
I didn’t tune in again until 11:15, just in time to hear Paul Buchanan say: “Blaming Obama for this is specious and partisan.” A caller named Peter, who described himself as “a rural caller”, said: “A Muslim centre has popped up near where I live. And I don’t feel that good about it.”
A few minutes later, another caller, also identifying himself as “rural”, took a much harder, intolerant tone. “It’s time,” he growled, “that we stopped Islamics coming into the country.”
Tim Wilson, who throughout didn’t seem to have much idea, ditched his usual flippant tone and spoke in a deliberate manner, obviously designed to show how serious and sincere he was. “We want to understand the MEANING of these attacks, just why these young men become radicalized.”
I’m sure Paul Buchanan said something intelligent at some point, but considering he had consented to swim in a sea of ignorance, I doubt many people had the patience to wait for it. I turned it off, and I’m sure most others did too, except for the terminally braindead, the lonely, the depressed and ACT voters.
Television, of course, was just as bad. No wonder, when you see who’s involved….
Television One news, Monday 16 November 2015, 6:50 p.m.
SIMON DALLOW: [sombrely] And after the weather it’s Seven Sharp. [He addresses host Mike Hosking directly] Of course you’re going back to Paris, to show solidarity.
…ad nauseam….