” “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.
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Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is global warming ...
Our low-investment, low-wage, migration-led and housing-market-driven political economy has delivered poorer productivity growth than the rest of the OECD, and our performance since Covid has been particularly poor. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty this ...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.As far as major government announcements go, a Three Ministers Event is Big. It can signify a major policy development or something has gone Very Well, or an absolute Clusterf**k. When Three Ministers assemble ...
One of those blasts from the past. Peter Dunne – originally neoliberal Labour, then leader of various parties that sought to work with both big parties (generally National) – has taken to calling ...
Completed reads for January: I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson The Black Spider, by Jeremias Gotthelf The Spider and the Fly (poem), by Mary Howitt A Noiseless Patient Spider (poem), by Walt Whitman August Heat, by W.F. Harvey Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White The Shrinking Man, by Richard Matheson ...
Do its Property Right Provisions Make Sense?Last week I pointed out that it is uninformed to argue that the New Zealand’s apparently poor economic performance can be traced only to poor regulations. Even were there evidence they had some impact, there are other factors. Of course, we should seek to ...
Richard Wagstaff It was incredibly jarring to hear the hubris from the Prime Minister during his recent state of the nation address. I had just spent close to a week working though the stories and thoughts shared with us by nearly 2000 working people as part of our annual Mood ...
Odd fact about the Broadcasting Standards Authority: for the last few years, they’ve only been upholding about 5% of complaints. Why? I think there’s a range of reasons. Generally responsible broadcasters. Dumb complaints. Complaints brought under the wrong standard. Greater adherence to broadcasters’ rights to freedom of expression in the ...
And I said, "Mama, mama, mama, why am I so alone"'Cause I can't go outside, I'm scared I might not make it homeWell I'm alive, I'm alive, but I'm sinking inIf there's anyone at home at your place, darlingWhy don't you invite me in?Don't try to feed me'Cause I've been ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ star is on the rise, having just added the Energy, Local Government and Revenue portfolios to his responsibilities - but there is nothing ambitious about the Government’s new climate targets. Photo: SuppliedLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
It may have been a short week but there’s been no shortage of things that caught our attention. Here is some of the most interesting. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt took a look at public transport ridership in 2024 On Thursday Connor asked some questions ...
The East Is Red: Journalists and commentators are referring to the sudden and disruptive arrival of DeepSeek as a second “Sputnik moment”. (Sputnik being the name given by the godless communists of the Soviet Union to the world’s first artificial satellite which, to the consternation and dismay of the Americans, ...
Hi,Back on inauguration day we launched a ridiculous RFK Jr. “brain worms” tee on the Webworm store, and I told you I’d be throwing my profits over to Mutual Aid LA and Rainbow Youth New Zealand. Just to show I am not full of shit, here are the receipts. I ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump over Gaza and Ukraine.Health expert and author David Galler ...
In an uncompromising paper Treasury has basically told the Government that its plan for a third medical school at Waikato University is a waste of money. Furthermore, the country cannot afford it. That advice was released this week by the Treasury under the Official Information Act. And it comes as ...
Back in November, He Pou a Rangi provided the government with formal advice on the domestic contribution to our next Paris target. Not what the target should be, but what we could realistically achieve, by domestic action alone, without resorting to offshore mitigation. Their answer was startling: depending on exactly ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guest David Patman and ...
I don't like to spend all my time complaining about our government, so let me complain about the media first.Senior journalistic Herald person Thomas Coughlan reported that Treasury replied yeah nah, wrong bro to Luxon's claim that our benighted little country has been in recession for three years.His excitement rose ...
Back in 2022, when the government was consulting internally about proactive release of cabinet papers, the SIS opposed it. The basis of their opposition was the "mosaic effect" - people being able to piece together individual pieces of innocuous public information in a way which supposedly harms "national security" (effectively: ...
With The Stroke Of A Pen:Populism, especially right-wing populism, invests all the power of an electoral/parliamentary majority in a single political leader because it no longer trusts the bona fides of the sprawling political class among whom power is traditionally dispersed. Populism eschews traditional politics, because, among populists, traditional politics ...
I’ve spent the last week writing a fairly substantial review of a recent book (“Australia’s Pandemic Exceptionalism: How we crushed the curve but lost the race”) by a couple of Australian academic economists on Australia’s pandemic policies and experiences. For all its limitations, there isn’t anything similar in New Zealand. ...
Mr Mojo Rising: Economic growth is possible, Christopher Luxon reassures us, but only under a government that is willing to get out of the way and let those with drive and ambition get on with it.ABOUT TWELVE KILOMETRES from the farm on the North Otago coast where I grew up stands ...
You're nearly a good laughAlmost a jokerWith your head down in the pig binSaying, 'Keep on digging.'Pig stain on your fat chinWhat do you hope to findDown in the pig mine?You're nearly a laughYou're nearly a laughBut you're really a crySongwriter: Roger Waters.NZ First - Kiwi Battlers.Say what you like ...
This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Climate denial is dead. Renewable energy denial is here. As “alternative facts” become the norm, it’s worth looking at what actual facts tell us about how renewable energy sources like solar and wind are lowering the price of electricity. As ...
SIR GEOFFREY PALMER is worried about democracy. In his Newsroom website post of 27 January 2025 he asserts that “the future of democracy across the world now seems to be in question.” Following a year of important electoral contests across the world, culminating in Donald Trump’s emphatic recapture of the ...
The Government hasn’t stopped talking about growth since the Prime Minister made his “yes” speech at the Auckland Chamber of Commerce last week. But so far, the measures announced would seem hardly likely to suddenly pitch New Zealand into the fast-growth East Asian league. The digital nomad announcement hardly deserved ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to stand firm and work with allies to progress climate action as Donald Trump signals his intent to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords once again. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Health New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. “I referred the matter of Judge Aitken’s alleged conduct during an incident ...
Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Last year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
The opening of Palmerston North’s biggest social housing development will have a significant impact for whānau in need of safe, warm, dry housing, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The minister visited the development today at North Street where a total of 50 two, three, and four-bedroom homes plus a ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. “The Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. It’s so great to be here and I’m ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges – CEO of the Auckland ...
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. “Invest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced the largest reset of the New Zealand science system in more than 30 years with reforms which will boost the economy and benefit the sector. “The reforms will maximise the value of the $1.2 billion in government funding that goes into ...
Turbocharging New Zealand’s economic growth is the key to brighter days ahead for all Kiwis, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. In the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation Speech in Auckland today, Christopher Luxon laid out the path to the prosperity that will affect all aspects of New Zealanders’ lives. ...
The latest set of accounts show the Government has successfully checked the runaway growth of public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “In the previous government’s final five months in office, public spending was almost 10 per cent higher than for the same period the previous year. “That is completely ...
The Government’s welfare reforms are delivering results with the number of people moving off benefits into work increasing year-on-year for six straight months. “There are positive signs that our welfare reset and the return consequences for job seekers who don't fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find a job ...
Jon Kroll and Aimee McCammon have been appointed to the New Zealand Film Commission Board, Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “I am delighted to appoint these two new board members who will bring a wealth of industry, governance, and commercial experience to the Film Commission. “Jon Kroll has been an ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has hailed a drop in the domestic component of inflation, saying it increases the prospect of mortgage rate reductions and a lower cost of living for Kiwi households. Stats NZ reported today that inflation was 2.2 per cent in the year to December, the second consecutive ...
Two new appointed members and one reappointed member of the Employment Relations Authority have been announced by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden today. “I’m pleased to announce the new appointed members Helen van Druten and Matthew Piper to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) and welcome them to ...
Health NZ's CEO has resigned, but frontline healthworkers are sceptical that installing new leadership will make any difference to a system grappling with problems. ...
Gail Duncan, Chairperson of the St Peter’s on Willis Social Justice Group, one of the organisations invited to submit on the Bill, says the Government’s actions are unprecedented. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amani Kasherwa, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, The University of Queensland In late January, a rebel group that has long caused mayhem in the sprawling African nation of Democratic Republic of Congo took control of Goma, a major city of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yee-Fui Ng, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Monash University An ad falsely depicting independent candidate Alex Dyson as a Greens member.ABC News/Supplied The highly pertinent case of a little-known independent candidate in the Victorian seat of Wannon has exposed a gaping ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of Queensland Nik/Unsplash You might have heard that eating too many eggs will cause high cholesterol levels, leading to poor health. Researchers have examined the science behind this myth again, and ...
Everything you missed from the third day of the Treaty principles bill hearings, when the Justice Committee heard four hours of oral submission. Read our recaps of day one of the hearings here, and day two here. Parliament was quiet on Friday for the third day of hearings on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thomas Jeffries, Senior Lecturer in Microbiology, Western Sydney University Tijana Simic/Shutterstock The news last week that three people in Sydney were hospitalised with botulism after receiving botox injections has raised questions about the regulation of the cosmetic injectables industry. The ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jens Blotevogel, Principal Research Scientist and Team Leader for Remediation Technologies, CSIRO Mino Surkala, Shutterstock Lithium-ion batteries are part of everyday life. They power small rechargeable devices such as mobile phones and laptops. They enable electric vehicles. And larger versions store ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edith Jennifer Hill, Associate Lecturer, Learning & Teaching Innovation, Flinders University Netflix Netflix’s new limited series, Apple Cider Vinegar, tells the story of the elaborate cancer con orchestrated by Australian blogger Annabelle (Belle) Gibson. The first episode opens with Gibson’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dee Ninis, Earthquake Scientist, Monash University Greece’s government has just declared a state of emergency on the island of Santorini, as earthquakes shake the island multiple times a day and sometimes only minutes apart. The “earthquake swarm” is also affecting other ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Western Australian state election will be held on March 8. A Newspoll, conducted January 29 to February 4 from a sample ...
She’s back behind the wheel, and this time, she wants to find out what it is that makes us tick. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. After a prolific career on stage and screen, 83-year-old Miriam Margolyes is on the road again. ...
A new poem by Jordan Hamel. Real Poet Every word earned its place and so did he, so should you. Real poet lives in the capital but writes himself into the Mackenzie country golden hour, man of the paper land, he neglects to mention his pollen ...
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 Understanding Te Tiriti by Roimata Smail (Wai Ako Press, $25) No better time to get ...
The committee has published this list to inform the public about its work, and to give clarity to submitters who have contacted the committee asking if they will be invited to make an oral submission. ...
Alex Casey and Gabi Lardies dissect their Laneway 2025 experience. Gabi Lardies: Hi Alex :))))))) Congratulations on not getting sunburnt. Everyone I talked to at Laneway yesterday was braving the sun for one thing. Charli XCX. How was your brat experience?Alex Casey: We will talk about the rest of ...
The US President's suggestion, which sparked enormous debate globally, has been labelled as a threat, not a proposal, by the Federation of Islamic Associations. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christine McCarthy, Senior Lecturer in Interior Architecture, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Interior of Auckland South Men’s Prison.Getty Images Prisons are not colourful places. Typically, they are grey or some variation of a monochrome colour scheme. But increasingly, ...
FICTION1Tree of Nourishment (Kāwai 2) by Monty Soutar (David Bateman, $39.99)Interesting to note that the author of the biggest-selling New Zealand novel in Waitangi Week is Māori (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tai, and Ngāti Kahungunu).2 Kāwai: For Such a Time as This (Kāwai 1) by Monty Soutar (David ...
Remembering the renowned New Zealand writer, who died on February 5, 2025. The Stopover When the trout rise like compassion It is worth watching when the hinds come down from the hills with a new message it will be as well to listen. – Brian Turner Poet, environmentalist, sportsman, journalist, ...
Survivors can choose to have former High Court judge Paul Davison assess their individual claims to tailor payments to their personal circumstances. ...
Are we too modest when it comes to celebrating our putrid plant life?She’s beauty. She’s grace. She smells like a decaying corpse and lurks in the backrooms of Auckland Zoo, wallowing tragically in a bucket. In recent weeks an Australian corpse plant named Putricia has captured the noses and ...
Politicians from the coalition government received a frosty reception at Waitangi this year, but Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka says the pōwhiri that received so much attention was just one part of many events throughout the week. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jenny Allen, Postdoctoral research associate, Griffith University A humpback whale mother and calf on the New Caledonian breeding grounds.Mark Quintin All known human languages display a surprising pattern: the most frequent word in a language is twice as frequent as ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Justin Keogh, Associate Dean of Research, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University Jordan Mailata is an Australian-born NFL star who plays for the Philadelphia Eagles as an offensive left tackle. This position favours very tall, heavy and strong athletes who ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nigel Tucker, Research Associate in Environment and Sustainability, James Cook University TREAT volunteers planting treesTREAT Like ferns and the tides, community conservation groups come and go. Many achieve their goal. Volunteers restore a local wetland or protect a patch of urban ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karyn Healy, Honorary Principal Research Fellow in Psychology, The University of Queensland Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock The start of the school year means new classes, routines, after-school activities and sometimes even a new school. This can be a really exciting time for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kerrie Sadiq, Professor of Taxation, QUT Business School, and ARC Future Fellow, Queensland University of Technology The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) released a discussion paper this week on investment tax breaks. The study looks at whether tax incentives, such as instant ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Naomi Zouwer, Visual Artist and Lecturer in Teacher Education, University of Canberra Galleries and art museums can be intimidating and alienating even for adults. Imagine it from a child’s point of view. Stern security guards in uniforms stationed the doors, bags checked, ...
The clock is ticking in the great chain chase. 2025 is an election year in New Zealand. Not the general variation, obviously, but the local form. If you’re thinking of running, nominations open in just five months, and your chances are good – about 50% across the various races; in ...
” “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….