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)
‘It has been said that figures rule the world. Maybe. I am quite sure that it is figures which show us whether it is being ruled well or badly.’ GoetheI was struck at a recent conference on equity for the elderly, how many presenters implicitly relied upon Statistics New Zealand. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveReporting on defence spending late last year, RNZ said the coalition government will have to make some tough calls this term to help the force address staff shortages and ageing infrastructure. “These are huge, huge amounts of government spending. It’s a significant proportion of the government’s ...
Peter Dunne writes – I am always wary when I hear that the Controller and Auditor-General has commented on or made recommendations to the government about an issue of public policy that does not relate strictly to public expenditure. According to the legislation, the role of the Controller ...
How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought NZ to the brink of economic and cultural chaos Chris Trotter writes – TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition ...
And why did the Crown not challenge the Tribunal’s jurisdiction? Gary Judd writes – Retired District Court Judge, David Harvey, has posted on his A Halflings View Substack an excellent summary of Justice Isacs’ judgment declining to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result?As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and ...
Macklemore isn’t someone I’d usually think about. Sure I liked his big hit from a few years back, everybody did it was catchy and cool with some memorable lines. But if I was going to think of artists who might speak out on political matters or world events, he wouldn’t ...
Another week goes by in the Luxon government’s efforts to roll back the past 70 years of social progress. The school lunches programme is to be downgraded by $107 million, and women need bother their heads no longer about pay equity, let alone expect ACC to provide adequate sexual violence ...
Brrr, the first cold snap of the year. Hope you’re rugged up nice and warm. Here are some stories that caught our eye this week… This Week on Greater Auckland On Monday, we had a post from a new contributor, Connor Sharp, who dug into the public feedback ...
Almost all of the Wellington City Council’s recommended zoning changes to allow many more apartments and townhouses in its inner-suburbs have been approved.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guest on geopolitics, ...
Open access notablesA Global Increase in Nearshore Tropical Cyclone Intensification, Balaguru et al., Earth's Future:Tropical Cyclones (TCs) inflict substantial coastal damages, making it pertinent to understand changing storm characteristics in the important nearshore region. Past work examined several aspects of TCs relevant for impacts in coastal regions. However, ...
Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result? As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and always answered “yes”, with very few ...
Thus far May has followed on from a quiet April in the blogging department, but in fairness, it has been another case of doing what I am supposed to be doing, namely writing original fiction. Plus reading. So don’t worry – I have been productive. But in order to reassure ...
Buzz from the Beehive A new government agency will open for business on July 1 – the Social Investment Agency. As a new standalone central agency effective from 1 July, it will lead the development of social investment across Government, helping ministers understand who they need to invest in, what ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The ...
Alwyn Poole writes – After being elected to Parliament in 2008 the maiden speech of Hipkins was substantially around education policy. He was Labour’s spokesperson for education 2011 – 2017. He was Minister for Education from 2017 until February 2023. This is approximately 88% of the time Labour ...
Eric Crampton writes – A fashion industry group is lobbying for protections. They make the usual arguments and a newer one. None of it makes sense. An industry group says it pumped $7.8 billion into the economy last year – that’s 1.9 percent of New Zealand’s GDP. ...
In December 2006, Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the elected government in a coup. He ruled Fiji for the next 16 years, first as dictator, then as "elected" Prime Minister. But now, he's finally been sent to jail where he belongs. Sadly, this isn't for his real crime of ...
Don't like National's corrupt Muldoonist "fast-track" law? Aotearoa's environmental NGO's - Greenpeace, Forest & Bird, WWF, Coromandel Watchdog, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, and others - have announced a joint march against it in Auckland in June: When: 13:00, 8 June, 2024 Where: Aotea Square, Auckland You ...
Seymour describes sushi as too woke for school meals. There are no fish sushi meals recommended by the School Lunches programme. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Government will swap out hot meals for packaged sandwiches to save $107 million on school lunches for poor kids. MSD has pulled ...
I don't mind stealin' bread from the mouths of decadenceBut I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled, yeahBut it's on the table, the fire's cookin'And they're farmin' babies, while slaves are workin'The blood is on the table and the mouths are chokin'But I'm goin' hungry, yeahSome ...
The Ardern Government’s chickens came home to roost yesterday with the news that the country is short of natural gas. In 2018, Labour banned offshore petroleum exploration, and industry executives say that the attendant loss of confidence by the industry impacted overall investment in onshore gas fields. Energy Resources Minister ...
Hi,If you’ve been digging through the newly launched Webworm store (orders are being dispatched worldwide as I type!) you’ll have noticed the best model we had was Calvin.This is Calvin.Calvin.Calvin is 7, and is the son of my producer over on Flightless Bird, Rob — aka “Wobby Wob”. Rob also ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Pacific Media Watch Television New Zealand Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to investigative journalism and Pacific communities in a ceremony at Government House, reports 1News. She has been the Pacific correspondent for 1News since 2002, breaking many ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Tuesday’s budget will respond to the deepening public agitation over Australia’s housing shortages by pouring new money into crisis accommodation for women and children, social housing and infrastructure. A specially-convened national cabinet late Friday ticked ...
By Kaneta Naimatu in Suva Journalists in the Pacific region play an important role as the “eyes and ears on the ground” when it comes to reporting the climate crisis, says the European Union’s Pacific Ambassador Barbara Plinkert. Speaking at The University of the South Pacific (USP) on World Press ...
Aldora Itunu is back in the Black Ferns squad after a three-year absence. The last of her 24 internationals was an underwhelming loss to France (7-29) in Castres to conclude the disastrous 2021 Northern Tour. The powerhouse prop won a Rugby World Cup in 2017 and thought she was done. ...
The fight to control major transport policy and projects in Auckland has burst into the open again, with councillors rejecting Mayor Wayne Brown’s latest attempt to steer things more under his influence. Councillors from the left and right broke ranks on the mayor’s bid to control Auckland Transport more directly ...
Exhausted by the general election campaign, horrified by the twilight zone of coalition negotiations, distracted by the silly season and waiting for the honeymoon to begin, Raw Politics has been in hibernation since October. From today, we’re back. Our weekly political video show and podcast returns for ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Authorities in the small town of Boulouparis have commemorated Armistice Day on May 8 with a new memorial honouring New Zealand soldiers who were stationed in New Caledonia during World War II. The ceremony took place in the township on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Dehm, Senior lecturer, international migration and refugee law, University of Technology Sydney The High Court unanimously ruled today that the Australian government can keep asylum seekers in immigration detention indefinitely in cases where they do not “voluntarily” cooperate with their own ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Munro, Lecturer, Creative Industries and Digital Media, University of South Australia Twenty-four hours after the release of Macklemore’s pro-Palestine protest song Hind’s Hall on social media on May 7, the video had already notched up over 24 million views. In ...
Failing to anticipate the complexity of the consenting system is being cited as the the current builder's shortcomings, an Infrastructure Commission review says. ...
350 Aotearoa is calling the Environment Select Committee’s decision to allow oral submissions from just 40% of individual, unique submitters who asked to speak to the committee ‘a disgraceful blight to democracy’. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Helal, Assistant Dean (Sustainability), The University of Melbourne Dubai skylineAleksandarPasaric/Pexels Since ancient times, people have built structures that reach for the skies – from the steep spires of medieval towers to the grand domes of ancient cathedrals and mosques. Today ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edward Musole, PhD Law Student, University of New England Girts Ragelis/ShutterstockRecent trends show Australians are increasingly buying wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers. These electronics track our body movements or vital signs to provide data throughout the day, with ...
Papua New Guinea experienced a significant earthquake on 24 March in East Sepik and there has also been recent flooding there and in surrounding provinces. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yousuf Mohammed, Dermatology researcher, The University of Queensland Maridav/Shutterstock You wake up, stagger to the bathroom and gaze into the mirror. No, you’re not imagining it. You’ve developed face wrinkles overnight. They’re sleep wrinkles. Sleep wrinkles are temporary. But as your ...
The Environment Select Committee has just announced that 60 percent of individuals who asked to speak at the hearings will not be heard. This equates to almost 700 people who made individual submissions and more than 1000 more who made a form submission. ...
The Royal New Zealand Ballet is performing Swan Lake around the country. What kind of dream does the ballet sell?Before going to see the Royal New Zealand Ballet perform Swan Lake, I had about as much familiarity with the plot of this ballet as could be expected from having ...
A new poem by Auckland poet Eamonn Tee. High Tide at Local Maxima It is only going to get worse. The streams will be narrow and fickle. The week will bend and buckle like a pot-bellied waist. You will make it to the weekend with one ...
The New Zealand entrepreneur behind beauty business Ethique is gearing up to launch a new eco-venture. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Our thirst for a tasty bevvy is insatiable, but it comes with a hefty plastic price for the planet: 580 billion ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 James by Percival Everett (Mantle, $38) A retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from ...
By Kamna Kumar in Suva Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna stressed the importance of media freedom and its link to the climate and environmental crisis at the 2024 World Press Freedom Day event organised by the University of the South Pacific’s journalism programme. Under the theme “A Planet for ...
Tara Ward previews a new local TV series offering alternative visions of motherhood. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. A woman is clambering up the side of her two-story house, clinging desperately to a drainpipe. Nearby, her child is perched on the ...
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is supportive of the cross-party approach to climate adaptation announced by the Minister of Climate Change today. ...
The Sustainable Business Council (SBC) and Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) welcome today’s announcement from Government around a bipartisan inquiry into an enduring climate adaptation framework for New Zealand. ...
The Free Speech Union welcomes the decision by the Department of Internal Affairs, and Minister Brooke Van Velden, to abandon proposals to further regulate online speech. ...
Its new building in Wellington will not be nearly big enough for all its records, and it has also run out of money to build its new storage facility in Levin. ...
BusinessNZ is congratulating the Minister of Climate Change for his work in achieving cross-party consensus for a way forward on climate adaptation. ...
Recent research reveals the repeal of smokefree measures is not only bad for our health, but also the economy. The Government has repealed various smokefree measures to ensure it keeps collecting $1.2 billion a year in tobacco taxes, in order to pay for tax cuts already being delivered to ...
The club’s surprisingly good season is built on the desire to prove a random A-League YouTuber wrong… and a few other factors.“There’s no way that Wellington Phoenix play finals this year. I can’t see it happening at all.” Those are the words of Lachlan Raeside, an Australian football content ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By César Albarrán-Torres, Senior Lecturer, Department of Media and Communication, Swinburne University of Technology Apple TV+ As one of billions of bilingual individuals in the world, it disappoints me when a film or TV show with characters of a non-English-speaking background is ...
The under-utilised course is a waste of space, and with a little political will, it could be turned into something better. For the duration of her stay in Wellington, my long-suffering cousin listened to me rant about golf courses. They’re bad for the environment: water intensive and pesticide heavy. They ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leah Ruppanner, Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of The Future of Work Lab, Podcast at MissPerceived, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock A recent report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows US fertility rates dropped 2% in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Corderoy, Medical doctor and PhD candidate studying involuntary psychiatric treatment, School of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney shop_py/Shutterstock Picture two people, both suffering from a serious mental illness requiring hospital admission. One was born in Australia, the other in Asia. Hopefully, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Treby, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, RMIT University P.j.Hickox, Shutterstock Peatlands store more carbon per square metre than any other ecosystem on Earth. These waterlogged, mossy bogs beat even dense rainforests for their ability to act as carbon reservoirs. Under the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Goss, Adjunct Associate Professor, Health Research Institute, University of Canberra Government spending on health has been growing so rapidly that a decade ago the then health minister Peter Dutton called it “unmanageable” and “unsustainable”. Health spending grew in real terms by ...
New Zealand's largest electricity distributor is warning the country to hurry up with controls around charging electric vehicles or face unnecessary bills running into the billions. ...
New Zealanders have been asked to conserve energy this morning to combat a possible electricity shortfall, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. A call to conserve power New Zealand is facing a possible electricity shortfall, with people up ...
Writer Rebecca K Reilly breaks down the national book awards. What are the Ockhams?The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are our annual national awards for books published for adults, and have existed in this form since 2016. There are four categories: Fiction, Poetry, General Non-fiction and Illustrated Non-fiction. There ...
Wellington City Council should keep its 34% ownership share in Wellington International Airport, argue Unions Wellington spokespeople Finn Cordwell and Ashok Jacob. Insanity, as the saying goes, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Wellington City Council (WCC) is yet again proposing to dispose ...
New Zealand’s largest book publisher has undergone drastic changes this week, leaving its future role in local publishing uncertain. Two of the most recognisable local publishers in New Zealand are among those restructured out of Penguin Random House, it was announced this week. Head of publishing Claire Murdoch will leave ...
In 2021 the Public Interest Journalism Fund launched the Te Rito Journalism project, a $2.4 million initiative to boost diversity in New Zealand’s newsrooms. The initiative was in response to the decades-long shortage of Māori and Pacific journalists in the media industry. It was billed as New Zealand’s ...
The Black Ferns Sevens appeared to be a mile behind Australia at the halfway point of the 2023-24 SVNS international circuit. Winless in three tournaments, a cup quarter-final exit in Perth was one of their worst results. To add insult to injury, talismanic skipper Sarah Hirini had been ruled out ...
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Successive governments have tried, and failed, to count Māori. But with the return of social investment, it’s more important than ever to get good data. The post Government looks for a better way to count Māori appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Experts in financing social investment initiatives say New Zealand is in a prime position to tackle social issues via a social investment approach The post What will Willis’ social investment fund look like? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist A former Tuvalu prime minister says while the New Zealand government’s oil and gas plans show it is concerned about its economy, he is more concerned about the livelihoods and survival of the Tuvalu people. Enele Sopoaga — who still serves as an MP ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Many people who follow federal budgets know about the magnificent “budget tree” in a parliamentary courtyard, which turns a glorious red in time for the May event. This week Treasurer Jim Chalmers posed by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samantha Bennett, Professor of Music, Australian National University Richard P J Lambert/flickr, CC BY The future belongs to the analogue loyalists. Fuck digital. As a tsunami of CDs, DAT tapes and samplers swept the recording industry in the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine Strong, Associate professor, Music Industry, RMIT University This week American rapper Macklemore released a new track, Hind’s Hall, which has gained a lot of attention because of its explicitly political nature. The track is unapologetically pro-Palestine. It declares the artist’s ...
Explainer - The government from 2025 is mandating how state schools teach children to read. But what is structured literacy and how does it compare to other teaching methods? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danica Jenkins, Lecturer in European Studies, University of Sydney On a freezing spring night in March, Georgia’s national soccer team beat Greece in a nail-biter penalty shootout to qualify for the Euro 2024 championships. The atmosphere on the streets of the capital ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam G. Arian, Lecturer (Accounting & Finance), Australian Catholic University Loic Manegarium/Pexels Imagine every ton of carbon dioxide a company emits is slowly inflating its costs — not just in terms of potential fines or fees but in the capital it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Somwrita Sarkar, Senior Lecturer in Design and Computation, University of Sydney The “latte line” is the infamous, invisible boundary that divides Sydney between the more affluent north-east and the south-west. Historically, people north of the line enjoy better access to jobs and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dowdy, Principal Research Scientist in Extreme Weather, The University of Melbourne Nomad_Soul/Shutterstock In media articles about unprecedented flooding, you’ll often come across the statement that for every 1°C of warming, the atmosphere can hold about 7% more moisture. This ...
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.
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
Yes, see comment #1 from 11 hours earlier.
We should have seen this coming:
Adani must be stopped.
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
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.
Ready for Endor!
It'll be AWESOME, they said.
Better than botox?
i urge everyone to watch this from the beginning to the end.
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 🙂
Context.
https://twitter.com/PappyVanPoodle5/status/1216532218719481858