Blech. In the interests of balance though, I'd rather the senate get the testimony of "President Zelensky himself, who has said numerous times that he felt no pressure from the United States whatsoever, and that there was never any “quid pro quo” tied to U.S. assistance." [Breitbart quote]
I haven't seen the msm feature those statements from the Ukrainian pres – have you? If not, could be we have a teensy bit of antitrump bias creeping into our msm…
First, that comment from Zelensky was indeed reported in a wide selection of msm. But it is fundamentally irrelevant to the issue at stake so its life in the news cycle was extremely short.
Now, let me think; Zelensky had just suffered an attempted extortion, there is zero chance any Repugs will do anything to remove or rein in the extortionist (and a lot of evidence they will go out of their way to protect the extortionist), there remains an ongoing desperate need for any and all assistance that the extortionist still has the power to block, there's no domestic downside (and maybe even a small upside) to releasing short limited anodyne comments that could do a lot to get on the good side of the extortionist. What would you do?
There's no shortage of witnesses that Ukraine was in fact aware of what was going on and felt pressured. This information came out after Zelensky's comments and clearly supersedes them.
Doesn't seem irrelevant to me! Haven't the media been trying to create the impression that impeachment hinges on it?? If so, senators will want to go straight to the horse's mouth, to hear it from the horse.
Zelensky, as a professional comedian, ought to be able to spice up the proceedings with entertainment. I'd be surprised if the top media CEOs and board chairs haven't been lobbying their local senator to make it happen.
If his political survival as president requires Trump's support, the protection racket thingy is feasible, true. I'm agnostic about how much he needs help to keep Putin away.
The core issue at stake is: is it OK for the president to withhold Congress approved and taxpayer funded aid to try to extort a foreign country into smearing a political opponent of the president?
Whether or not that foreign country actually felt like they were being extorted (narrator voice: they actually felt extorted) is immaterial to the core issue of whether it is OK for the president to try to do the extortion.
Zelensky may have been a comedian, but now he's the president of Ukraine. Apparently he has stepped up to the job and now feels the need to act in a way that promotes the interests of Ukraine as best he can, even if that means publicly uttering a minor fib, and not be an entertaining sideshow to another country's political problems.
Well, I agree extortion is a moral issue. I suspect that the senate vote will pit those who see evidence of Trump doing it against those who don't. Perception vs reality. In reality, extortion must be proven to establish guilt. Proof is so damned subjective, eh? Opinions differ, so we go for majority rule, the traditional prescription.
Trump's style of doing a deal runs along the lines of `you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours'. Traditional New York capitalism. Also, as it happens, how negotiations have been done in geopolitics since time immemorial. So the Dems think they can win by persuading the senators that Trump is somehow not doing what he did?? Or did something different to usual??
Yeah, I know, it was getting dirt on Biden's son. Not a good look. Many would see that as the behaviour of a dirty, low-down schmuck. But illegal??
Quid pro quo ("something for something" in Latin[2]) is a Latin phrase used in English to mean an exchange of goods or services, in which one transfer is contingent upon the other; "a favor for a favor". Phrases with similar meanings include: "give and take", "tit for tat", "you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours", and "one hand washes the other".
The quid pro quo is for personal benefit, not for geopolitical reasons, that is the crime.
So you're running with the normalisation tactic? Ok then, which previous presidents tried to use the levers of their government office to extort foreign countries into acting against their political rivals?
There was Nixon, who secretly sabotaged Vietnam negotiations while he was still a candidate, but that was successfully covered up until long afterwards. Still, Nixon did it too! is a totes convincing argument.
But apart from those Hall of Infamy examples, geopolitical presidential games with withholding or dispensing aid are done to further the US national interest, not some petty personal political benefit of the president.
I really doubt there's any Dems in Congress that hold any hope of a conviction and removal. So that leaves two reasons for doing it: the political matter of demonstrating to the voting public how craven, corrupt, and unfit for office the current crop of Repug hacks really are in the hope of maybe tipping the balance on a few of them in November, and the simple good governance matter of if the outrageously blatant and over the line corruption that was actually done isn't enough to trigger impeachment, then what is? Where would the line be?
I agree that one must fight a moral fight sometimes. Done that often enough myself in the past. I get why they feel the need – I'm just not confident that voters will get shifted across the line by it.
It's a gamble that it will make centrists look at Democrats as a positive alternative. I think centrists are reserving judgment until they see what the Dems are going to offer. Remember how lame they always become, so voters end up with Tweedledee & Tweedledum as their choice.
Also, just a day or two ago, the Government Accountability Office concluded that the act of withholding the aid was illegal.
The GAO, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog, said in a decision issued Thursday that the White House budget office violated the Impoundment Control Act, a 1974 law that limits the White House from withholding funds that Congress has appropriated.
That the dayglo swampzilla added his personal touch of making it all about something that politically benefits him personally, with zero national interest justification, just compounds the wrongdoing.
BTW, if anyone thinks there's anything to the accused-Epstein-associate-kiddy-fiddler Dershowitz's argument, here's some actual expert opinion on what "high crimes and misdemeanours" actually are:
tl;dr; "High crimes and misdemeanours" are violations of the public trust committed by someone in high office. These are actions that aren't necessarily violations of some criminal statute, but are actions against the public interest that are made possible because of a high office and associated power an individual holds.
Again, just a matter of perception though, leaving the judgement of such violations to a partisan group of senators. Your point about the GAO decision is worth noting. I expect Republican senators will respond by arguing that he didn't withhold the aid, he suspended it temporarily while trying to do the deal, but if the president lacks the power to do so according to the constitution then they'd be wrong. Perhaps we will see dueling constitutional lawyers…
No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.
It's long been a key principle of the way American government is structured that Congress holds "the power of the purse". That means Congress gets to choose what to spend money on and when to spend it. It was specifically intended as one of the checks on executive power.
The restriction on drawing money from the Treasury “was intended as a restriction upon the disbursing authority of the Executive department,” and “means simply that no money can be paid out of the Treasury unless it has been appropriated by an act of Congress.”2004 Congress may recognize and pay a claim of an equitable, moral, or honorary nature. When it directs a specific sum to be paid to a certain person, neither the Secretary of the Treasury nor any court has discretion to determine whether the person is entitled to receive it. …
A well-constituted court for the trial of impeachments is an object not more to be desired than difficult to be obtained in a government wholly elective. The subjects of its jurisdiction are those offenses which proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust. They are of a nature which may with peculiar propriety be denominated POLITICAL, as they relate chiefly to injuries done immediately to the society itself. The prosecution of them, for this reason, will seldom fail to agitate the passions of the whole community, and to divide it into parties more or less friendly or inimical to the accused. In many cases it will connect itself with the pre-existing factions, and will enlist all their animosities, partialities, influence, and interest on one side or on the other; and in such cases there will always be the greatest danger that the decision will be regulated more by the comparative strength of parties, than by the real demonstrations of innocence or guilt.
The whole thing really needs to be read to get the sense of what it's about, not just that short excerpt.
Thanks for those quotes Andre. It does look to me that Trump is in breach of the constitution, by interfering in the flow of money directed by congress.
I see Fed 65 acknowledges that partisan loyalty may prevail over perception of guilt, but offers no solution to that problem. My solution: make parties illegal. Okay, I'm not serious (and don't call me Shirley)… 😉
Yeah. One side of the argument has facts, history, the constitution, law and principle on its side. The other side has bullshit, bluster, stonewalling, lies, and a spineless craven herd of suckups that adds up to a mathematical majority.
For this battle, there's no question about the outcome. How it affects the war is yet to be seen.
Alan Dershowitz clarified his role on President Donald Trump’s legal defense team in an interview with Mediate founder Dan Abrams Friday, stating he is NOT a “full fledged” member of the impeachment defense.
Dershowitz said on The Dan Abrams Show on SiriusXM’s POTUS Channel, that he will just provide an hourlong constitutional defense of the president before the Senate as Trump goes on trial next week.
WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Rudolph Giuliani’s offer to act as Donald J. Trump’s defense attorney at the President’s impeachment trial has received unanimous support from congressional Democrats, who are now demanding that he perform such a role.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer told reporters on Tuesday that Giuliani’s participation as Trump’s lawyer during his Senate trial was, as far as they were concerned, “nonnegotiable.”
“Rudy Giuliani has demonstrated over the past three years that he can represent the President as no one else can,” Pelosi said. “If he is not the President’s lawyer in the Senate, that would be a deal-breaker for me.”
Concurring with Pelosi, Schumer added, “My Democratic colleagues in the Senate are prepared to pay Mr. Giuliani’s hourly fees, in cash, to make this thing happen.”
Pelosi indicated that Democrats were now willing to back off their earlier demands for witnesses at the trial. “No witnesses,” she said. “Just Giuliani.”
Appearing on Fox News, Giuliani said that he was “a little surprised” by the Democrats’ enthusiastic support, adding, “Nancy Pelosi even offered to drive me to work every morning, which I thought was really nice.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not answer reporters’ questions about a possible role for Giuliani in the impeachment trial, nor would he confirm reports that he had given the Senate’s security desk a photo of Giuliani with instructions to bar his entry.
The Fijian government has called for strong action on the climate crisis as the country is hit by its second cyclone in three weeks.
Fiji opened evacuation centres, closed schools and urged businesses to close early as cyclone Tino barrelled towards Fiji’s second-largest island, Vanua Levu, on Friday…..
……The Fijian prime minister, Frank Bainimarama, who has been an outspoken leader on the climate crisis and was the president of COP23, the UN’s premier climate change body, retweeted Prasad’s tweet. He wrote for the Guardian earlier this month about the need for urgent action to combat the climate crisis as the impacts are felt across the region, including through cyclones in Fiji and bushfires in Australia.
……it may be the most insane energy project on the planet, and one that shows just how far supposedly civilized nations (and people) are from grasping what’s at stake in the climate crisis.
The biggest myth associated with the Adani mine may be that continuing to mine and export coal is somehow vital to the Australian economy. It is not. As James Bradley points out, although coal accounts for almost 15 per cent of Australia’s exports, it contributes less than 1 percent of the Commonwealth government’s total revenue. And it’s not like the industry creates a lot of jobs, either. In 2018, it employed slightly fewer than 50,000 people. That’s less than 0.4 per cent of Australia’s total workforce, and, more importantly, it’s less that the 65,000 jobs created by tourism at the Great Barrier Reef…..
The decision could see Wangan and Jagalingou protesters forcibly removed by police from their traditional lands, including lands used for ceremonies…..
……In a meeting with government officials Friday, seeking a halt on leases being issued for mine infrastructure, they learned the state government had instead granted Adani exclusive possession freehold title over large swathes of their lands on Thursday, including the area currently occupied for ceremonial purposes…..
Open letter to Scott Morrison from bush fire victim.
I lost my home in the South Coast bushfires. Here's what I'd like to say to the PM
Dear Mr Morrison,
Today I stand by the smouldering ruins of my beautiful home on the NSW South Coast. Since New Year's Day, climate change has suddenly become very personal for me…….
……You took no action when my Deputy Prime Minister called people like me a raving lunatic when we dared to link the bushfire emergency to climate change. By your silence you are complicit. May your God grant you the wisdom to understand that my rage at you and your predecessors is an entirely rational response to a set of present and oncoming unnatural disasters from which you have failed to protect me…..
……when you (and Labor) continue to promote the thermal coal industry, which is fanning the flames of intense suffering of humans and animals worldwide. Australian coal is out there in the world being burnt every day and night. Please Mr Morrison, if only for God's sake, join the dots…..
…….I have been petitioning, emailing and calling you and your colleagues for over a decade to tell you that to stabilise our climate we have to leave Australian coal underground and unburnt. When I have tried to say that by carefully and compassionately winding back the coal industry we can be a shining example to other countries, you have ridiculed me and proudly paraded a lump of coal in Parliament…..
…….You will not earn my respect until you and your colleagues dare to take the Australian public on a journey to transition away from thermal coal mining and exports. Tobacco farmers in the US transitioned away from their industry when the link between cigarettes and cancer become public. And when the link between asbestos and mesothelioma was understood, we left all known reserves in the ground. However, now that the link between the burning of coal and disastrous weather events is well established, both you and the opposition have thrown your support behind opening up the Galilee Basin, starting with the Adani mine……
UK Labour is now into selective recruiting: "In a joint article in the Daily Mirror, [Party chairman Ian Lavery and Jon Trickett, the shadow cabinet office minister] said: "Over the past few years Labour has become Western Europe’s largest political party and this is a welcome achievement. However our membership is now disproportionately one that voted to Remain in the referendum and drawn from the South, mainly from metropolitan areas and from the middle classes."
"Our decision and policy-making is increasingly informed by the opinions and experiences of those groups. To win again the coalition of working and middle class people within our own party must be rebalanced. That is why we are calling for Labour supporters from working class backgrounds and from the North to join the party by January 20 and have their say in the upcoming leadership election." https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-leadership-election-corbyn-long-bailey-starmer-brexit-a9285821.html
Too many remainers within!! Even though so many of them jumped ship to boost the LibDems, who were then deserted by voters. No wonder Corbyn was unable to sell Labour on a clear platform.
Seems to me the British electorate are deeply ambivalent, and remainers proved themselves totally inept at politics! In that sense, then, UK Labour are genuinely representative… 🙄
"By chance, in a bookshop in Beijing, I came across this wonderful book which outlined the whole system of political control and how to manage foreigners." – Canterbury University political science professor, Anne-Marie Brady
"A fluent Mandarin speaker, Brady says the information is there to be found in the primary sources, the texts and speeches via which China's 80 million communist party communicate with each other. The Chinese pretty much assume foreigners won't be bothered reading it all, she says. And they are right. "I was frequently the only foreigner at the National Library in China because people thought, oh, it's only old ideology and nobody believes in it anyway.""
"Marxist-Leninist revolutionary theory remains entrenched, Brady says. Control did get away from the CCP for a time. But under Xi, it has mandated that corporate bosses must be part of the state system. "Today, 75 per cent of the CEOs of all the major Chinese companies, and 100 per cent of the ICT companies, are party members. That means they're under party discipline, which is above international law and domestic law.""
Giving a set of party rules more power than the law of the land and international law does seem vaguely Marxist-Leninist, eh? She mentions the adverse health consequences:
"In a crunch, says Brady, they have to obey CCP instructions regardless of other considerations. For example, Fonterra's Chinese partner, Sanlu, kept quiet about melamine in its milk, a scandal that rebounded in New Zealand. "Their CEO had to follow party discipline above reporting to Fonterra.""
""I've had so many invitations to speak on my message. I've spoken to about 16 different governments in the last two years." It is all a bit unexpected for a West Auckland girl brought up in a state house. "I had one pair of shoes every year, one skirt every year. We were not well off," she says about her childhood."
Yes I read that one too Dennis. What I can say from direct personal experience is there are many ex-pat Chinese who are deeply disturbed at the direction Xi is taking China in the past few years … but self-censor for fear of the very personal consequences.
"On February 11, New Hampshire will be the second state to decide which Democratic candidate voters prefer to nominate on the 2020 ballot, and it will be the first to do so via primary… Sanders is leading the field in New Hampshire at 23 percent, followed by former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 18 percent, and former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Elizabeth Warren both at 14 percent." https://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-new-hampshire-democrats-poll-1482782
"The first Iowa survey was the one conducted by Ann Selzer and sponsored by The Des Moines Register and CNN. On Friday, it found Mr. Sanders with a three-point lead and 20 percent of the vote. Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg were at 17 percent and 16 percent. Joe Biden was in fourth, with 15 percent."
"On Monday the other pollster, Monmouth, found Mr. Biden in first with 24 percent of the vote — nine points higher than in the Selzer poll. Mr. Sanders was in second, with 18 percent, while Mr. Buttigieg and Ms. Warren landed at 17 percent and 15 percent."
Bernie is the best choice, hands down. Also I really feel there's been too much bad press related to Biden because of the impeachment. If the Democrat's really want to win, Bernie is their only hope. Bernie v's trump, the debates would be out of this world.
The vast majority of GoldmanSachs emplyees are expecting another term of Trump, but when was the last time bankers got their way? Say what? But fair is fair, most folk would rather back Bernie then go to the Gulag. Hey, state by state, Virginia seems to be the one to watch.
Look the odds for Bernie are huge and he knows that but is convinced that after his progress in 2016 there is a real urgency being felt by many Americans that things must change and that the time is right too make that change.
His fundraising efforts are amazing asking only small amounts of money doesnt matter when you have so many wanting to contribute to a fairer deal for themselves and their families and believing that the 99% together can beat the 1%
He has been exceptional in conveying the evils of Neo liberal greed and corruption and how many American are missing out and being extorted by the system in place but they can change it by being organised too vote and that one person one vote resonates with a lot of the electorate.
He has warned everyone that he will be under constant attack and that has already begun as after ignoring him in the media has not worked they will now go for the kill.
The other strategy is his direct communication with the next generation of Americans who believe that things must change and that only progressive policies can deliver and reaching that audience has been a success since 2016 and the momentum has continued.
This is not the UK and there is no BREXIT too muddy the waters here but there are huge obstacles that will need too be overcome but he is disciplined and on message and with his vast years of experience knows all the pitfalls and his enemies tactics they will use against him.
The coming caucuses in Iowa on Feb 3rd are crucial and is where the work really begins.
The momentum cannot be underestimated in the run up too the New Hampshire primary and that result will be crucial too every candidate as too whether they will surge or fall.
Bernie is telling it like it really is and the reality is not lost on a lot of Americans when they look at how life can be better than it is now and the reasons why they are so disadvantaged.
As he frequently reminds his audience ” real change never come from the top down but from the bottom up ” https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/us/elections/2020-presidential-election-calendar.html
While we are discussing the upcoming electoral races this from the Washington Post about the consequences or not for electoral college members who ignore the popular vote.
“With this petition, we are asking the Supreme Court to resolve a critical question that has gone strangely unanswered for two centuries: who are presidential electors, and can state officials force them to vote for certain presidential candidates?”
Ten members of the electoral college attempted to freelance after the 2016 election between Clinton and President Trump. Five of the 58 presidential elections have been decided by smaller margins, most recently in 2000, when President George W. Bush defeated Democrat Al Gore by five electoral votes.
The Federalist Papers are a series of essays written by some of the authors of the Constitution explaining the reasoning behind the various clauses in the Constitution.
It was desirable that the sense of the people should operate in the choice of the person to whom so important a trust was to be confided. This end will be answered by committing the right of making it, not to any preestablished body, but to men chosen by the people for the special purpose, and at the particular conjuncture.
It was equally desirable, that the immediate election should be made by men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station, and acting under circumstances favorable to deliberation, and to a judicious combination of all the reasons and inducements which were proper to govern their choice. A small number of persons, selected by their fellow-citizens from the general mass, will be most likely to possess the information and discernment requisite to such complicated investigations.
It was also peculiarly desirable to afford as little opportunity as possible to tumult and disorder. This evil was not least to be dreaded in the election of a magistrate, who was to have so important an agency in the administration of the government as the President of the United States. But the precautions which have been so happily concerted in the system under consideration, promise an effectual security against this mischief. The choice of SEVERAL, to form an intermediate body of electors, will be much less apt to convulse the community with any extraordinary or violent movements, than the choice of ONE who was himself to be the final object of the public wishes. And as the electors, chosen in each State, are to assemble and vote in the State in which they are chosen, this detached and divided situation will expose them much less to heats and ferments, which might be communicated from them to the people, than if they were all to be convened at one time, in one place.
Yes Federalist 68 is referred too in an article after the 2016 presidential vote as a number of electoral college members were under huge pressure not too support Trump
The letters came from Washington state and from China, stuffed with copies of the U.S. Constitution or Alexander Hamilton’s writing in Federalist Paper No. 68, which states that the meeting of the electoral college “affords a moral certainty, that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications.”
I thought this opinion was interesting
Norman Eisen, a former ambassador to the Czech Republic who has served as legal counsel to the Obama administration, began calling electors to explain that their job is not necessarily to certify the results but to have a reasonable discussion over whether the public made the right decision.
"The law is designed to prevent individuals and businesses in the U.S. from paying money or offering gifts to foreign officials as a way to win business overseas. Critics of the law complain that it puts U.S. businesses at a disadvantage in places where bribes are customary."
You may be unable to see it from a business perspective, Joe. I'm not with Trump on this personally, but I will have a go at explaining where he's coming from.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. In leftist circles, signal virtue. In rightist circles, signal vice. So, to get a deal in a culture where vice is normal, go with the flow. You're at a competitive disadvantage if you don't. Fairness.
Of course, what's wrong with this view of fairness is that the culture induces a race to the ethical bottom. I'd rather leaders were role models of ethical conduct.
Unfortunately when you get to see the articles behind the paywall you discover that they really are just as much rubbish as the free ones. I am old enough to remember when the Herald had some decent content.
Doesn't work. I copied what you put between quotes, then inserted it as you specified exactly – I already had the article I wanted to read on-screen though.
Are you instead suggesting that the method works if applied to a google page prior to clicking on the Herald. Tried that too, still didn't work:
Cannot communicate securely with peer: no common encryption algorithm(s).
Error code: SSL_ERROR_NO_CYPHER_OVERLAP
Oh, I see that it worked for Alwyn. That must mean he’s meant to read the Herald but I’m not. Ok then…
I am using Google Chrome on both Windows (PC) and Android (Smartphone).
I clicked on the article, and then with my browser on the article, I remove the '.co.nz' and replace it with '.works'. Then I hit 'Enter" or 'Go' or whatever.
I just tried it with Microsoft Edge on Widows 10 and it works there. I had tried it previously with Chrome.
I simply brought up the article with the nz.co ending, when I got the message I had to pay. Then I overwrote the .nz.co with .works hit enter and got the full story.
Good one, although I feel just the slightest bit guilty. Not guilty enough to not use it occasionally though. Get thee behind me Satan.
When you say the Herald does not think you are certainly correct, regardless of how you interpret the remark.
On the other hand the people who work there certainly seem to think the The Herald has some intellectual attributes. In the headline to this article they appear to think that The Herald rather than it's staff can listen to people. I guess he must have held the paper up and yelled at it.
"Huntly man Robert Strickland speaks to The New Zealand Herald about the house"
I promise to not confer any such skills on The Standard though. I don't wish to get a spray on the matter from lprent. I am therefore entirely willing to take the viewpoint that The Standard is like the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz and certainly doesn't have a brain .
There, how about that?
Shame that we lost the ability to get an occasional glance across the pay-wall though isn't it? If Millsy finds another loophole I guess he will just have to keep it to himself rather than extending the knowledge to those of us who are ignorant of such matters.
I often go to the café alone, and consequently peruse the hard copy Herald. You are missing very little, Incognito, I can assure you. To my mind they often paywall the wrong articles, but that reflects only upon their general competence anyway.
I'd read more of Kirsty Johnston and Simon Wilson if they weren't so often paywalled. Both are worth reading. No Heralds in my local cafes unfortunately.
I would gladly pay to read a handful of their writers including those two, or even story by story. I resent the very notion of subsidising Hosking's lifestyle.
Now, now. Be good. Otherwise you may get me into trouble with someone who doesn't read what I wrote with as much care as I wrote it. I was very careful to call The Standard itself the Scarecrow. Surely you can't believe that I could think, much less say, that Lynn was brainless? Me think such a thing? How could you suggest that?
I never did buy The Herald. Until about 3 years ago I got the Dompost but it got steadily thinner and less interesting. The final straw was when they stopped publishing a decent cryptic crossword. Every so often they try and persuade me to re-subscribe and I get it free for a month or 6 weeks. Then when they call me to cough up for the paper I tend to tell them I think I have been paying about what it is worth, ie nothing.
Don’t worry. Most people can distinguish between your and my words. But if you do get in trouble for things I said, I’ll put in a good word for you, I promise 😉
There are other sites and ways to keep up with the ‘real’ news.
Peter Zeihan on China and the USA. His view of the geopolitics is challenging and controversial … on some things he's clearly on the money, on others I get the sense he's glossing over some important details. But on the whole I find him uncomfortably informative more often than not.
In particular he's very good on globalisation, the role the USA has played since WW2, how they are now retreating from this … and the turbulent prospect this creates.
Iran's missile strike injured 11 U.S. soldiers and damaged assets. Trump threatened military retaliation, but did nothing.
Iran is laughing at Trump's weakness, saying they slapped him in the face and he did not respond. Iran will be already be planning their next attack in the knowledge that Trump's threats are hollow.
Meanwhile, Iran has increased uranium enrichment, primarily because Trump abandoned the Iran nuclear agreement and ordered the assassination of General Soleimani. Iran says future negotiation with the U.S. is now impossible. A nuclear expert on AlJazeera said Iran could now have a nuclear weapon within two years. What a mess.
From the "whowuddathunkit" files: one of my favourite mid-90s scifi things was the show "Space: above and beyond".
Behold, space marines on Mars:(also seeing if I have embedding right)
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
The pressure is mounting on the Government as it finalises its Budget Policy Statement, but yet more predicted revenue ‘goes missing’. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Climate Commission has delivered another funding blow to the National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government’s tax-cutting plans, potentially carving $1.4 billion off the ‘climate ...
The Government now faces the prospect of having to watch another tax raise the price of petrol when, only six days ago, it abolished the Auckland Regional Fuel tax. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon argued that the regional fuel tax imposed costs on lower-income people with less fuel-efficient vehicles and that ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
Today marks a tragic milestone for New Zealanders as the Coalition Government side with big tobacco to repeal the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins and Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
This year’s Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity and the contribution of Pacific communities to New Zealand culture, says Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti. Dr Reti announced dates for the 2024 Pacific Language Weeks during a visit to the Pasifika festival in Auckland today and says there’s so ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
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 Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 19 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has hosted members of the Green Party Caucus at Tuurangawaewae Marae in Ngaaruawahia. The audience follows the King’s Hui-aa-Motu on 20 January, where more than 10,000 people gathered to discuss national ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dr Rachael Potter, Research Associate and Lecturer in Work and Organisational Psychology, University of South Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Pregnant women and workers with children are often unfairly treated by their bosses and colleagues, despite laws to protect against workplace discrimination ...
Reacting to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s refusal to rule out introducing new taxes at the budget, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said: “Today’s refusal to rule out new taxes suggests the Government is nothing more ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne Aila Images/Shutterstock Aged-care workers will receive a significant pay increase after the Fair Work Commission ruled they ...
He’s bringing ‘Sophie’ back, yeah. Goodshirt’s ‘Sophie’ music video is one of the most instantly recognisable New Zealand music videos of all time. Featuring a woman listening to the song on headphones while her entire house is burgled behind her, the video won the New Zealand music award for Best ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Blaxland, Professor, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University A year ago, the AUKUS agreement was formally announced between Australian and UK Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese and Rishi Sunak and US President Joe Biden. The agreement mapped out the “optimal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andreas Helwig, Associate Professor, Electro-Mechanical Engineering, University of Southern Queensland SmartS/Shutterstock Steam locomotives clattering along railway tracks. Paddle steamers churning down the Murray. Dreadnought battleships powered by steam engines. Many of us think the age of steam has ended. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carrie Leonetti, Associate Professor of Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Victims who experience family violence in Aotearoa New Zealand are treated differently, depending on which part of the justice system they turn to for help. But a new member’s bill ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Tesch, Visiting Fellow at the ANU Centre for European Studies, Australian National University In perhaps the least surprising news of the year, Vladimir Putin has triumphed at the Russian ballot box and been enthroned for the fifth time as president. He ...
The Papua New Guinea Supreme Court has stopped a byelection for the Madang Open seat being held until an appeal filed by former MP Bryan Kramer is concluded. Kramer had appealed to the Supreme Court over a National Court decision not to review his application of the Leadership Tribunal decision ...
By Miriam Zarriga in Port Moresby Despite a “historic” ceasefire agreement in Papua New Guinea between Enga authorities and tribal leaders after months of bitter warfare, a young woman has been found brutally killed near Kaekin village, Wapenamanda. Despite the peace agreement and signing concluded in Port Moresby last Thursday ...
The second season of Ryan Murphy’s Feud is a sadder and slower entry into his canon of true story-telling, leaning heavily on a verdict about the cost of a single work of art. Hollywood heavyweight Ryan Murphy has had a bit of “ick” about him in the last few years. ...
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By Aisha Azeemah in Suva With the lights on one of his sneakers blinking as he ran through the gallery, a little boy looked up at several works of art. One of them was a sculpture of his grandfather: the man who changed how we see the Pacific — Epeli ...
WHAT: Uber drivers are holding a rally outside the Court of Appeal in Wellington tomorrow, as the company begins its appeal against 2022’s Employment Court verdict (in a case taken jointly by FIRST Union and E tū) that four drivers were permanent ...
RNZ Pacific The Fiji Meteorological Service has a heavy rain warning still in place for the whole of the country after a weekend of flooding, although some floodwaters have receded. Flood and flash flood warnings and alerts are also in place, including a warning for all flash flood-prone areas, small ...
Responding to Grant Robertson’s recent admission on a Q+A with Jack Tame that his only regret from his time in office was that he didn’t take on more debt, Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson, Alex Murphy, said: “Grant Robertson has now admitted that he ...
Starr joins the Grab’em’fuhrer's impeachment defense team …
https://twitter.com/MonicaLewinsky/status/1218192875931959296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1218192875931959296&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.motherjones.com%2Fkevin-drum%2F2020%2F01%2Fwhat-is-there-to-say-about-ken-starr%2F
oh, and other alleged sexual-predation-curious, alleged bribe-receptive, and ultra-partisan hacks sign up too …
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/17/trump-impeachment-team-kenneth-starr-alan-dershowitz-100429
🙄
Unbelievable.
Except in this case totally in line with current practice.
Yup. All part of the "flood the zone with shit" strategy.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/1/16/20991816/impeachment-trial-trump-bannon-misinformation
The best people …
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/01/meet-trumps-deplorable-impeachment-defense-team.html
Blech. In the interests of balance though, I'd rather the senate get the testimony of "President Zelensky himself, who has said numerous times that he felt no pressure from the United States whatsoever, and that there was never any “quid pro quo” tied to U.S. assistance." [Breitbart quote]
I haven't seen the msm feature those statements from the Ukrainian pres – have you? If not, could be we have a teensy bit of antitrump bias creeping into our msm…
First, that comment from Zelensky was indeed reported in a wide selection of msm. But it is fundamentally irrelevant to the issue at stake so its life in the news cycle was extremely short.
Now, let me think; Zelensky had just suffered an attempted extortion, there is zero chance any Repugs will do anything to remove or rein in the extortionist (and a lot of evidence they will go out of their way to protect the extortionist), there remains an ongoing desperate need for any and all assistance that the extortionist still has the power to block, there's no domestic downside (and maybe even a small upside) to releasing short limited anodyne comments that could do a lot to get on the good side of the extortionist. What would you do?
There's no shortage of witnesses that Ukraine was in fact aware of what was going on and felt pressured. This information came out after Zelensky's comments and clearly supersedes them.
Doesn't seem irrelevant to me! Haven't the media been trying to create the impression that impeachment hinges on it?? If so, senators will want to go straight to the horse's mouth, to hear it from the horse.
Zelensky, as a professional comedian, ought to be able to spice up the proceedings with entertainment. I'd be surprised if the top media CEOs and board chairs haven't been lobbying their local senator to make it happen.
If his political survival as president requires Trump's support, the protection racket thingy is feasible, true. I'm agnostic about how much he needs help to keep Putin away.
The core issue at stake is: is it OK for the president to withhold Congress approved and taxpayer funded aid to try to extort a foreign country into smearing a political opponent of the president?
Whether or not that foreign country actually felt like they were being extorted (narrator voice: they actually felt extorted) is immaterial to the core issue of whether it is OK for the president to try to do the extortion.
Zelensky may have been a comedian, but now he's the president of Ukraine. Apparently he has stepped up to the job and now feels the need to act in a way that promotes the interests of Ukraine as best he can, even if that means publicly uttering a minor fib, and not be an entertaining sideshow to another country's political problems.
Well, I agree extortion is a moral issue. I suspect that the senate vote will pit those who see evidence of Trump doing it against those who don't. Perception vs reality. In reality, extortion must be proven to establish guilt. Proof is so damned subjective, eh? Opinions differ, so we go for majority rule, the traditional prescription.
Trump's style of doing a deal runs along the lines of `you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours'. Traditional New York capitalism. Also, as it happens, how negotiations have been done in geopolitics since time immemorial. So the Dems think they can win by persuading the senators that Trump is somehow not doing what he did?? Or did something different to usual??
Yeah, I know, it was getting dirt on Biden's son. Not a good look. Many would see that as the behaviour of a dirty, low-down schmuck. But illegal??
The quid pro quo is for personal benefit, not for geopolitical reasons, that is the crime.
Cui bono is another Latin phrase that comes to mind.
Conrumpo, ergo sum.
It even rhymes!
So you're running with the normalisation tactic? Ok then, which previous presidents tried to use the levers of their government office to extort foreign countries into acting against their political rivals?
There was Nixon, who secretly sabotaged Vietnam negotiations while he was still a candidate, but that was successfully covered up until long afterwards. Still, Nixon did it too! is a totes convincing argument.
There are persistent allegations about the Reagan campaign working to ensure the Iran hostages didn't get released before the election, but that particular story is yet to be convincingly proven.
But apart from those Hall of Infamy examples, geopolitical presidential games with withholding or dispensing aid are done to further the US national interest, not some petty personal political benefit of the president.
I really doubt there's any Dems in Congress that hold any hope of a conviction and removal. So that leaves two reasons for doing it: the political matter of demonstrating to the voting public how craven, corrupt, and unfit for office the current crop of Repug hacks really are in the hope of maybe tipping the balance on a few of them in November, and the simple good governance matter of if the outrageously blatant and over the line corruption that was actually done isn't enough to trigger impeachment, then what is? Where would the line be?
I agree that one must fight a moral fight sometimes. Done that often enough myself in the past. I get why they feel the need – I'm just not confident that voters will get shifted across the line by it.
It's a gamble that it will make centrists look at Democrats as a positive alternative. I think centrists are reserving judgment until they see what the Dems are going to offer. Remember how lame they always become, so voters end up with Tweedledee & Tweedledum as their choice.
Also, just a day or two ago, the Government Accountability Office concluded that the act of withholding the aid was illegal.
That the dayglo swampzilla added his personal touch of making it all about something that politically benefits him personally, with zero national interest justification, just compounds the wrongdoing.
But repug crimes aren't crimes.
https://twitter.com/TheBeatWithAri/status/1218319646031523841
Indeed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMt8qCl5fPk
BTW, if anyone thinks there's anything to the accused-Epstein-associate-kiddy-fiddler Dershowitz's argument, here's some actual expert opinion on what "high crimes and misdemeanours" actually are:
https://www.lawfareblog.com/must-impeachable-offenses-be-violations-criminal-code
tl;dr; "High crimes and misdemeanours" are violations of the public trust committed by someone in high office. These are actions that aren't necessarily violations of some criminal statute, but are actions against the public interest that are made possible because of a high office and associated power an individual holds.
Again, just a matter of perception though, leaving the judgement of such violations to a partisan group of senators. Your point about the GAO decision is worth noting. I expect Republican senators will respond by arguing that he didn't withhold the aid, he suspended it temporarily while trying to do the deal, but if the president lacks the power to do so according to the constitution then they'd be wrong. Perhaps we will see dueling constitutional lawyers…
Article 1 Section 9 Clause 7 of the Constitution:
It's long been a key principle of the way American government is structured that Congress holds "the power of the purse". That means Congress gets to choose what to spend money on and when to spend it. It was specifically intended as one of the checks on executive power.
Here's Federalist 65 on the topic of impeachment:
The whole thing really needs to be read to get the sense of what it's about, not just that short excerpt.
Thanks for those quotes Andre. It does look to me that Trump is in breach of the constitution, by interfering in the flow of money directed by congress.
I see Fed 65 acknowledges that partisan loyalty may prevail over perception of guilt, but offers no solution to that problem. My solution: make parties illegal. Okay, I'm not serious (and don't call me Shirley)… 😉
Yeah. One side of the argument has facts, history, the constitution, law and principle on its side. The other side has bullshit, bluster, stonewalling, lies, and a spineless craven herd of suckups that adds up to a mathematical majority.
For this battle, there's no question about the outcome. How it affects the war is yet to be seen.
He'll keep his pants on, too.
Alan Dershowitz clarified his role on President Donald Trump’s legal defense team in an interview with Mediate founder Dan Abrams Friday, stating he is NOT a “full fledged” member of the impeachment defense.
Dershowitz said on The Dan Abrams Show on SiriusXM’s POTUS Channel, that he will just provide an hourlong constitutional defense of the president before the Senate as Trump goes on trial next week.
https://www.mediaite.com/election-2016/alan-dershowitz-distances-himself-from-trump-legal-team-im-not-really-part-of-it/
Democrats Demand That Giuliani Be Trump’s Lawyer at Impeachment Trial
You %^&#@%
Wasn't until the last two lines my bs antennae kicked in. 👿
Ken Starr is to defend trump,Monica choked on the news.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51154812
Yep, the half-chewed cornflakes and milk definitely had some pace on when they hit the screen.
If anything, it promises to be more entertaining than an episode of Boston Legal.
Give the people what they want: panem et circenses.
Imma be like
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kgRFHaNo-Y
Yes, see comment #1 from 11 hours earlier.
We should have seen this coming:
Adani must be stopped.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPUvbKAnVXQ
Adani must be stopped II
Contrast the Australian Government's business as usual approach to the climate crisis to the government's of the Pacific.
Adani must be stopped III
Adani must be stopped IV
Australia practices climate colonialism, ignores calls from the Pacific Island nations to stop opening new coal mines.
Australia continues colonial dispossession of Australia's indigenous people to progress new coal mining.
Adani must be stopped V
Open letter to Scott Morrison from bush fire victim.
UK Labour is now into selective recruiting: "In a joint article in the Daily Mirror, [Party chairman Ian Lavery and Jon Trickett, the shadow cabinet office minister] said: "Over the past few years Labour has become Western Europe’s largest political party and this is a welcome achievement. However our membership is now disproportionately one that voted to Remain in the referendum and drawn from the South, mainly from metropolitan areas and from the middle classes."
"Our decision and policy-making is increasingly informed by the opinions and experiences of those groups. To win again the coalition of working and middle class people within our own party must be rebalanced. That is why we are calling for Labour supporters from working class backgrounds and from the North to join the party by January 20 and have their say in the upcoming leadership election." https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-leadership-election-corbyn-long-bailey-starmer-brexit-a9285821.html
Too many remainers within!! Even though so many of them jumped ship to boost the LibDems, who were then deserted by voters. No wonder Corbyn was unable to sell Labour on a clear platform.
So where's the remain vote going? This suggests it has been ahead of Brexit the past year, and leavers haven't been way ahead of remainers since 2012: https://whatukthinks.org/eu/questions/if-there-was-a-referendum-on-britains-membership-of-the-eu-how-would-you-vote-2/
This one also suggests remainers are consistently ahead of leavers, although not by much: https://whatukthinks.org/eu/questions/if-a-second-eu-referendum-were-held-today-how-would-you-vote/
This one suggests more think Brexit was a mistake than not, by plenty more than the margin of error: https://whatukthinks.org/eu/questions/in-highsight-do-you-think-britain-was-right-or-wrong-to-vote-to-leave-the-eu/
This one shows that a week ago remain was still preferred over Brexit: https://whatukthinks.org/eu/questions/should-the-united-kingdom-remain-a-member-of-the-european-union-or-leave-the-european-union-asked-after-the-referendum/
Seems to me the British electorate are deeply ambivalent, and remainers proved themselves totally inept at politics! In that sense, then, UK Labour are genuinely representative… 🙄
"By chance, in a bookshop in Beijing, I came across this wonderful book which outlined the whole system of political control and how to manage foreigners." – Canterbury University political science professor, Anne-Marie Brady
"There's very few people worldwide who still research the Chinese Communist Party – its institutions and its policies," she says. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/118630157/christchurch-academic-in-global-demand-for-insight-into-chinas-influence
"A fluent Mandarin speaker, Brady says the information is there to be found in the primary sources, the texts and speeches via which China's 80 million communist party communicate with each other. The Chinese pretty much assume foreigners won't be bothered reading it all, she says. And they are right. "I was frequently the only foreigner at the National Library in China because people thought, oh, it's only old ideology and nobody believes in it anyway.""
"Marxist-Leninist revolutionary theory remains entrenched, Brady says. Control did get away from the CCP for a time. But under Xi, it has mandated that corporate bosses must be part of the state system. "Today, 75 per cent of the CEOs of all the major Chinese companies, and 100 per cent of the ICT companies, are party members. That means they're under party discipline, which is above international law and domestic law.""
Giving a set of party rules more power than the law of the land and international law does seem vaguely Marxist-Leninist, eh? She mentions the adverse health consequences:
"In a crunch, says Brady, they have to obey CCP instructions regardless of other considerations. For example, Fonterra's Chinese partner, Sanlu, kept quiet about melamine in its milk, a scandal that rebounded in New Zealand. "Their CEO had to follow party discipline above reporting to Fonterra.""
""I've had so many invitations to speak on my message. I've spoken to about 16 different governments in the last two years." It is all a bit unexpected for a West Auckland girl brought up in a state house. "I had one pair of shoes every year, one skirt every year. We were not well off," she says about her childhood."
Good article Dennis, thanks for sharing.
Yes I read that one too Dennis. What I can say from direct personal experience is there are many ex-pat Chinese who are deeply disturbed at the direction Xi is taking China in the past few years … but self-censor for fear of the very personal consequences.
It's a beautiful day out there. The Golden Bay A&P Show is on in Takaka today, well worth checking out if you are over that way. 🙂
Feeling the bern: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/17/amid-raft-state-level-endorsements-sanders-leads-democrats-new-national-poll
"On February 11, New Hampshire will be the second state to decide which Democratic candidate voters prefer to nominate on the 2020 ballot, and it will be the first to do so via primary… Sanders is leading the field in New Hampshire at 23 percent, followed by former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 18 percent, and former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Elizabeth Warren both at 14 percent." https://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-new-hampshire-democrats-poll-1482782
"The first Iowa survey was the one conducted by Ann Selzer and sponsored by The Des Moines Register and CNN. On Friday, it found Mr. Sanders with a three-point lead and 20 percent of the vote. Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg were at 17 percent and 16 percent. Joe Biden was in fourth, with 15 percent."
"On Monday the other pollster, Monmouth, found Mr. Biden in first with 24 percent of the vote — nine points higher than in the Selzer poll. Mr. Sanders was in second, with 18 percent, while Mr. Buttigieg and Ms. Warren landed at 17 percent and 15 percent."
"Either way, the race is close. Any of the four leading candidates could prevail, given the long history of late movement in Iowa caucus polling." https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/13/upshot/poll-2020-sanders-iowa.html
"Sanders, when armed with momentum, may be more formidable than the Democratic establishment thinks. Seventy-one percent of Democrats view him favorably, a figure on par with Joe Biden’s approval rating. Moreover, per a recent Economist-YouGov poll, only 20 percent of Democratic primary voters would be disappointed if he were the nominee; Biden’s number was actually slightly worse at 24 percent. And more than half of Democrats think Sanders can beat Trump." https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/01/16/bernie-sanders-seemed-stuck-polls-that-may-be-about-change/
Bernie is the best choice, hands down. Also I really feel there's been too much bad press related to Biden because of the impeachment. If the Democrat's really want to win, Bernie is their only hope. Bernie v's trump, the debates would be out of this world.
Bernie for the win, all day, every day 🙂
The vast majority of GoldmanSachs emplyees are expecting another term of Trump, but when was the last time bankers got their way? Say what? But fair is fair, most folk would rather back Bernie then go to the Gulag. Hey, state by state, Virginia seems to be the one to watch.
My neighbour goes to the US regularly for work, he tells me that unfortunately middle america loves trump. He can't stand trump.
Look the odds for Bernie are huge and he knows that but is convinced that after his progress in 2016 there is a real urgency being felt by many Americans that things must change and that the time is right too make that change.
His fundraising efforts are amazing asking only small amounts of money doesnt matter when you have so many wanting to contribute to a fairer deal for themselves and their families and believing that the 99% together can beat the 1%
He has been exceptional in conveying the evils of Neo liberal greed and corruption and how many American are missing out and being extorted by the system in place but they can change it by being organised too vote and that one person one vote resonates with a lot of the electorate.
He has warned everyone that he will be under constant attack and that has already begun as after ignoring him in the media has not worked they will now go for the kill.
The other strategy is his direct communication with the next generation of Americans who believe that things must change and that only progressive policies can deliver and reaching that audience has been a success since 2016 and the momentum has continued.
This is not the UK and there is no BREXIT too muddy the waters here but there are huge obstacles that will need too be overcome but he is disciplined and on message and with his vast years of experience knows all the pitfalls and his enemies tactics they will use against him.
The coming caucuses in Iowa on Feb 3rd are crucial and is where the work really begins.
The momentum cannot be underestimated in the run up too the New Hampshire primary and that result will be crucial too every candidate as too whether they will surge or fall.
Bernie is telling it like it really is and the reality is not lost on a lot of Americans when they look at how life can be better than it is now and the reasons why they are so disadvantaged.
As he frequently reminds his audience ” real change never come from the top down but from the bottom up ”
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/us/elections/2020-presidential-election-calendar.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x8Nwu4FTbc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVxJQ6z8EBo
While we are discussing the upcoming electoral races this from the Washington Post about the consequences or not for electoral college members who ignore the popular vote.
“With this petition, we are asking the Supreme Court to resolve a critical question that has gone strangely unanswered for two centuries: who are presidential electors, and can state officials force them to vote for certain presidential candidates?”
Ten members of the electoral college attempted to freelance after the 2016 election between Clinton and President Trump. Five of the 58 presidential elections have been decided by smaller margins, most recently in 2000, when President George W. Bush defeated Democrat Al Gore by five electoral votes.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/supreme-court-will-hear-whether-states-may-punish-electoral-college-members-who-ignore-popular-vote-results/2020/01/17/ba02
The Federalist Papers are a series of essays written by some of the authors of the Constitution explaining the reasoning behind the various clauses in the Constitution.
Federalist 68 deals with the Electors:
Yes Federalist 68 is referred too in an article after the 2016 presidential vote as a number of electoral college members were under huge pressure not too support Trump
The letters came from Washington state and from China, stuffed with copies of the U.S. Constitution or Alexander Hamilton’s writing in Federalist Paper No. 68, which states that the meeting of the electoral college “affords a moral certainty, that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications.”
I thought this opinion was interesting
Norman Eisen, a former ambassador to the Czech Republic who has served as legal counsel to the Obama administration, began calling electors to explain that their job is not necessarily to certify the results but to have a reasonable discussion over whether the public made the right decision.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/in-last-shot-bid-thousands-urge-electoral-college-to-block-trump-at-monday-vote/2016/12/17/125fa84a-c327-11e6-8422-eac61c0ef74d_story
A thuggish oligarchy.
There is no bottom.
https://twitter.com/KlasfeldReports/status/1218300919999291392
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-17/white-house-considers-changes-to-law-banning-overseas-bribes
"The law is designed to prevent individuals and businesses in the U.S. from paying money or offering gifts to foreign officials as a way to win business overseas. Critics of the law complain that it puts U.S. businesses at a disadvantage in places where bribes are customary."
You may be unable to see it from a business perspective, Joe. I'm not with Trump on this personally, but I will have a go at explaining where he's coming from.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. In leftist circles, signal virtue. In rightist circles, signal vice. So, to get a deal in a culture where vice is normal, go with the flow. You're at a competitive disadvantage if you don't. Fairness.
Of course, what's wrong with this view of fairness is that the culture induces a race to the ethical bottom. I'd rather leaders were role models of ethical conduct.
Discovered the NZ Herald paywall hack this week: in the article URL replace the '.co.nz' with '.works.'.
Happy free reading.
Keeping in mind what you are skim reading is utter tripe with right wing sauce.
But it is tripe that we don't have to pay for.
Free is one of the most popular words in the english language.
I hate tripe and would never eat it as a kid even when my mother tried to convince us it was fish.
We knew better.
Some love it and good on them.
It is also one of the worst understood and most dangerous words in the English language, IMFO.
It does indeed work.
Unfortunately when you get to see the articles behind the paywall you discover that they really are just as much rubbish as the free ones. I am old enough to remember when the Herald had some decent content.
Long, long, long ago though. Sigh.
Doesn't work. I copied what you put between quotes, then inserted it as you specified exactly – I already had the article I wanted to read on-screen though.
Are you instead suggesting that the method works if applied to a google page prior to clicking on the Herald. Tried that too, still didn't work:
Cannot communicate securely with peer: no common encryption algorithm(s).
Error code: SSL_ERROR_NO_CYPHER_OVERLAP
Oh, I see that it worked for Alwyn. That must mean he’s meant to read the Herald but I’m not. Ok then…
Dennis, try this one…
https://www.nzherald.works/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=12296223
That article is classic clickbait.
🖱️ hehehehehe
Dennis — what platform/OS/browser are you using?
I am using Google Chrome on both Windows (PC) and Android (Smartphone).
I clicked on the article, and then with my browser on the article, I remove the '.co.nz' and replace it with '.works'. Then I hit 'Enter" or 'Go' or whatever.
It should work.
If you are stuck, then go to http://nzherald.works – and follow the instructions.
Courtesy of the NZ subreddit.
I just tried it with Microsoft Edge on Widows 10 and it works there. I had tried it previously with Chrome.
I simply brought up the article with the nz.co ending, when I got the message I had to pay. Then I overwrote the .nz.co with .works hit enter and got the full story.
Good one, although I feel just the slightest bit guilty. Not guilty enough to not use it occasionally though. Get thee behind me Satan.
Thanking you very much, that works
Have wanted to know if the sensational headlines for the premium articles reflect the actual stories. Now I can find out.
For example…. https://www.nzherald.works/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12301398
that was fun while it lasted….seems theyve cut access
Yep. Doesn't work any more for me either. Well, now we know one site that the people working for the Herald read.
No wonder their stories are so pathetic. The Standard as a source?
Alwyn, NZH staff only have access to your comments on this site as part of their company site license as only the best is good enough for them 😉
You mean that the Herald thinks my comments are the best thing on this site?
Jesus, even the Herald staff can't really be that dumb ……. Can they?
There is no ghost in the machine and the Herald does not think as such.
Quality is in the eye of the beholder or, in this case, of the one who writes the comment.
When you say the Herald does not think you are certainly correct, regardless of how you interpret the remark.
On the other hand the people who work there certainly seem to think the The Herald has some intellectual attributes. In the headline to this article they appear to think that The Herald rather than it's staff can listen to people. I guess he must have held the paper up and yelled at it.
"Huntly man Robert Strickland speaks to The New Zealand Herald about the house"
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/national-video/news/video.cfm?c_id=1503075&gal_cid=1503075&gallery_id=208777
I promise to not confer any such skills on The Standard though. I don't wish to get a spray on the matter from lprent. I am therefore entirely willing to take the viewpoint that The Standard is like the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz and certainly doesn't have a brain .
There, how about that?
Shame that we lost the ability to get an occasional glance across the pay-wall though isn't it? If Millsy finds another loophole I guess he will just have to keep it to himself rather than extending the knowledge to those of us who are ignorant of such matters.
Lynn the TS Scarecrow, I like it, although he does have a brain and knows how to use it 😉
I don’t miss reading the NZH although I don’t know what I’m missing, of course. I did get vaccinated against FOMO.
I often go to the café alone, and consequently peruse the hard copy Herald. You are missing very little, Incognito, I can assure you. To my mind they often paywall the wrong articles, but that reflects only upon their general competence anyway.
Yes, that’s what others have been telling me too.
I'd read more of Kirsty Johnston and Simon Wilson if they weren't so often paywalled. Both are worth reading. No Heralds in my local cafes unfortunately.
I would gladly pay to read a handful of their writers including those two, or even story by story. I resent the very notion of subsidising Hosking's lifestyle.
Now, now. Be good. Otherwise you may get me into trouble with someone who doesn't read what I wrote with as much care as I wrote it. I was very careful to call The Standard itself the Scarecrow. Surely you can't believe that I could think, much less say, that Lynn was brainless? Me think such a thing? How could you suggest that?
I never did buy The Herald. Until about 3 years ago I got the Dompost but it got steadily thinner and less interesting. The final straw was when they stopped publishing a decent cryptic crossword. Every so often they try and persuade me to re-subscribe and I get it free for a month or 6 weeks. Then when they call me to cough up for the paper I tend to tell them I think I have been paying about what it is worth, ie nothing.
When the cryptic crossword is your main motive (as it is with me) you know that you are past your useful use-by date.
Don’t worry. Most people can distinguish between your and my words. But if you do get in trouble for things I said, I’ll put in a good word for you, I promise 😉
There are other sites and ways to keep up with the ‘real’ news.
Peter Zeihan on China and the USA. His view of the geopolitics is challenging and controversial … on some things he's clearly on the money, on others I get the sense he's glossing over some important details. But on the whole I find him uncomfortably informative more often than not.
In particular he's very good on globalisation, the role the USA has played since WW2, how they are now retreating from this … and the turbulent prospect this creates.
Another pointless, petty act by a man obsessed with tearing down people more popular than he is.
https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1218255184171798533
It's always about economics.
And once again, those with money rig the game in their favour.
https://publicintegrity.org/politics/trump-fec-campaign-election-quorum-pascrell
Iran's missile strike injured 11 U.S. soldiers and damaged assets. Trump threatened military retaliation, but did nothing.
Iran is laughing at Trump's weakness, saying they slapped him in the face and he did not respond. Iran will be already be planning their next attack in the knowledge that Trump's threats are hollow.
Meanwhile, Iran has increased uranium enrichment, primarily because Trump abandoned the Iran nuclear agreement and ordered the assassination of General Soleimani. Iran says future negotiation with the U.S. is now impossible. A nuclear expert on AlJazeera said Iran could now have a nuclear weapon within two years. What a mess.
heh
https://twitter.com/PostCultRev/status/1218351691021484032
From the "whowuddathunkit" files: one of my favourite mid-90s scifi things was the show "Space: above and beyond".
Behold, space marines on Mars:(also seeing if I have embedding right)
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zr1vriBQpMw/UrYoWo2xIqI/AAAAAAAAE1M/a-hGNzshmBM/s1600/space+above+and+beyond+2.jpg
I guess I ain't got it right. But the pic is black&green uniforms on red soil lol
is there a face palm emoji?
thanks for the laugh.
🤦♀️ https://getemoji.com/
That's just a tweet to cover-up the truth. The real Space Force uniforms are far more sinister.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioZkDJnOMfo
Ready for Endor!
It'll be AWESOME, they said.
Better than botox?
i urge everyone to watch this from the beginning to the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0W7K8tYK-Y
Loved that clip, Sabine. Thanks for sharing.
At 9.32 pm the best weekly media programme is on…. The Listening Post
Here's the link if you're interested 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WisZM9CMlTo
Context.
https://twitter.com/PappyVanPoodle5/status/1216532218719481858