"We ask FBI whistleblower Coleen Rowley to compare the Russiagate investigation with the treatment of Hillary Clinton's emails, and ask whether the current polarized political landscape makes it more likely for the agency to make partisan choices."
Here is a interesting piece that helps unpack and clear a bit of the fog around some of the perceived similarities on major issues in the Warren/Sanders platforms…
There are objective policy differences between Warren and Sanders. People will interpret those differences in their own way. For many people who aren't even Americans, the Sanders project represents something hopeful with global implications because the US is so important. To belittle this as 'messianic' seems to me like a gratuitous exaggeration – an attempt to create the perception of 'deplorables' on the left.
The article starts in with a whine about Bernie getting negative media coverage. It's only dedicated true believer followers that can't accept that nobody's perfect, that all candidate are flawed, those flaws will be harshly examined, and rightly so.
The article goes on to highlight one of Warren's serious flaws, her vagueness on how her healthcare plans will be funded. True dat.
But it then gets gooey-eyed about Bernie's alternative, without recognising how electorally damaging Bernie's 'your taxes are going up to pay for it' stance is. Let alone that Bernie and the article also fail to identify the biggest financial factor in most American's healthcare; that they get their health insurance through an employer-sponsored healthcare plan where the employer pays the vast majority of the cost.
@ Andre, aahh. the staunchest defender of the liberal status quo, no change is good change, a real steady as she goes kind of guy….Warren will be fine if you are OK with a safe centersit liberal capitalist in the mould of Helen Clark that won't really rock the boat, and probably not really be remembered for anything in particular..I know that being all safe and sound is more your style.
However if transformative change in the battle against climate change, a more sane foreign policy etc is your bag..like it is mine, then only one name is worth mentioning..and we all know who that is.
Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said President Trump had mentioned Democratic "corruption".
But Mr Trump was also concerned about wider corruption in Ukraine, he said.
"That's why we held up the money," he said, calling it "absolutely appropriate".
The question of whether military aid for Ukraine was withheld in exchange for a "quid pro quo" to investigate Donald Trump's political rivals is central to an impeachment inquiry against the president.
The White House has denied any such conditions were imposed.
It's an interesting take on the idea that it's the cover-up that gets you, not the crime. Gotta give 'em credit for having the whatever it takes to do it all right out in the open so there won't be a cover-up.
It's like they forgot the purpose in the cover-up in the first place.
It's all very well not to cover something up if people happen to ask the right questions, but it's a bloody stupid idea to take the body to the police station and announce "I murdered this man in cold blood and then I pissed on his corpse".
I really can't decide whether to think it's because they really don't think they're doing anything wrong, or they don't think they could ever possibly be held accountable, or it's a deliberate effort to burn it all.
This is so dumb… we still have no evidence of a quid pro quo.
We have the transcript of the phone call with the Ukrainian president which was supposed to be direct evidence, and it utterly fails. Now we're left with relying on whatever Trump says to media as evidence…
If I were a mod here and said "nice commenting privileges you have here, shame if anything happened to them", would you take that as support for what you said or a strong suggestion to modify your behaviour?
Yeah, but you're a supposed lefty, doing all they can to suckle on Trump's twin tangerines, so I don't think your judgement is something you can really rely on.
Well Sanders isn't going to be president – He won't even win the nomination, so the next year is going to be fun isn't it? All those fevered imaginations running daily republican attack lines on whoever the Democrats select because they won't be nearly left enough for them, hoping instead for a second term from the nastiest, most anti liberal left potus in living history.
You could write it, though if you hadn’t of seen it happen here last time out, you wouldn’t bleedin’ believe it.
So you are able to identify that cliched phrase as a veiled threat, even though I'm not a mod, have zero ability to make good on a threat, and there is therefore no power imbalance whatsoever.
Yet where there is a massive power imbalance and hundreds of millions of dollars at stake and the language used is even more overt, you claim there is no threat being made?
I really thought I was going to have to be more subtle. But I was psyching myself up for an hour and a half of abject terror teaching my kid to drive on Auckland streets, so just went what the hell with the easy one. Yet even that one worked.
So, let me get this straight. The Intelligence person who "blew the whistle" makes an allegation of Trump corruption, but can't provide evidence to back this up. Trump can however provide a transcript of the conversation within a few days. Over 3 weeks later the whistleblower still can't provide a counter transcript… worse they initially launched their complaint about 8 weeks ago…
The whistleblower was able to point to where evidence of wrongdoing might be found. So for whatever bizarre reason, the White House then released a document, presumably their best spin, that clearly showed wrongdoing. Subsequently, investigators with the proper authority looked where the whistleblower said to look, and lo, further wrongdoing and corroboration was found.
Dunno why you think the whistleblower should have to personally produce the evidence. S'pose since Repugs seem to think it's a good talking point, it's good enough for you to use to try to deflect from actual evidence of wrongdoing.
I hope I can get a look at this beasty with my scope
Here’s the Picture We’ve Been Waiting for. Hubble’s Photo of Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov.
…2I/Borisov has wandered into our Solar System from the deep cold of interstellar space, but nobody knows from whence it came, or how long it’s been travelling. Boris only the second object we’ve observed that’s come into our Solar System from somewhere else in the galaxy, and the Hubble snapped photos of it speeding along at about 177,000 kph (110,000 mph.) So far, the Hubble images are the sharpest ones yet.
Our first interstellar visitor was Oumuamua, which sped through our Solar System in 2017. But that object didn’t give up its secrets easily. It came and went and generated a lot of clicking and conjecture, and panicky headlines in some quarters. But it had not coma, and no tail, meaning it had no ice. But Boris is clearly a comet.
Hubble captured these images of Boris when it was 418 million km (260 million miles) from Earth. At its closest approach it’ll be two astronomical units away from the Sun, on December 27th, 2019. As it approaches and recedes, other telescopes will observe it, and we’ll learn more about it.
The numbers around this comet are astounding to me. At a speed of 177,000 km/h, this comet would have taken 24000 years to have travelled from the nearest star at 4 light years away.
And it hurtles through our solar system and away. Mrs Mac1 remembered her EELS stage one unit when a medieval writer wrote in AngloSaxon of a group of men sitting in the mead hall and watching a bird fly in one window and though the hall out the other end. Whence it came and whither it went?
Good to be reminded there is a wider world out there……..
Nectarine cider sounds good. I have brewed apple cider, perry and cherry cider which I called 'chider". and another with feijoa, apple and kiwifruit. The apple cider was reinforced 20:1 with crab apple juice and the perry reinforced. again for acidity, with quince juice. Quince juice tastes incredibly acidic, a real mouth puckerer. Enough sugar to make 5.5% alcohol my hydrometer said, but it turned my cheeks inside out! The cherry cider tasted like pinot noir, very dry. Now to find some nectarines……..
My former neighbour is an apiarist and used to give me the washings from his machinery, as well as straight honey to brew with. Very generous. One brew took two or three inoculations to get started with yeast. It had some manuka honey in it, I believe.
I first learned about this from a friend who had a couple of bottles from a deceased aunt's estate, 25 years old or so, and freaking amazing. It's probably replicable with a solera system but I'm not settled enough at present for such experiments.
For those who were inquiring, I have made the final cut and secured my seat at the table at Environment Southland. Thanks for your support. I am somewhat relieved and my family will no longer have to tippy-toe around the place
Yeah, it is a great feeling when you can relax those tense muscles and feel like you are walking on clouds. You often don’t know how stressful it is till it dissipates, a bit like child birth 😉
Great for the country and thank goodness that the whole family is committed and up with the 'play'. Your lifestyle should enable you to stand up to the pressures and tiring work of carrying forward measures that don't offer any material positive outcomes for the councillors who have to give up some perks and the comfort of conforming to the mean mean.
Did you come across Polly Higgins’ idea to impact on environmental damage with an international law banning climate harming? She wrote three books –
2010 Eradicating Ecocide: Exposing the Corporate and Political Practices Destroying the Planet and Proposing the Laws Needed to Eradicate Ecocide
2012 Earth is our Business: Changing the Rules of the Game Advocating a new form of leadership that places the health and well-being of people and the planet first, this book proposes a new Earth law, a framework for sustainable development and international environmental governance.
Sad fact is that the infiltrators and undercovers will already be in there – stirring it up, creating anxiety and distrust, getting extreme and then pretending others were, and doing the opposite of that. Can't stop it – just a tightness of group and an awareness of others to mitigate. Kia kaha ER.
I am not saying this action described below is unaligned with the movement or that it is contrived – the point is no one can know because the ones the disrupt, work from both sides – calling for more action, calling for less action – it is the uncertainty and division that is the goal.
The climate protests during which one activist was dragged from the roof of a London Underground train by angry commuters had been discussed within Extinction Rebellion [XR] for weeks.
But it was not until Wednesday morning, when a note was posted on the group’s website, that a decision appeared to have been taken.
In the hours that followed there was a sometimes fractious debate among XR supporters. More than 3,700 people responded to an online poll circulated on the group’s social media networks with 72% saying they were opposed to the action “no matter how it is done”.
Those opposed feared the action, taken against what they said were the wishes of the overwhelming majority, would demoralise activists and raised questions about the group’s democratic decision-making processes.
More fundamentally, they argued that the targeting of public transport – rather than roads, airports or financial institutions hit earlier in the week – confused their message.
“Our fear was that targeting public transport, an environmentally friendly way to travel, would alienate the public and muddle what we were trying to say in the minds of the public,” said one of those opposed to the action who did not want to be named.
There was also concern that by explicitly targeting working Londoners, they would undermine any public sympathy they had built up.
Not sure this is XR divided, but it will probably present some issues for people who think that disagreement and dissent are a problem.
Following on twitter, looks like XR leaders are learning from the experience and fronting up.
My main issue is the stations that were chosen. Why ones that are more working class? I think the point was that the lines end up in the business district, and were used in April actions. But I'd still like to see an explanation of the thinking process behind that one.
While I think XR are right to make statements of non-support for the action (and look at how splinter groups can take independent action but not as part of XR), this XR woman is impressive in her calm explanation of what matters. Clare Farrell,
"The people are rising up against the elites. No, I don’t mean Extinction Rebellion. I mean the Rebellion againstExtinction Rebellion. Today’s clashes on the Tube between the commuting working classes and the time-rich, bourgeois fearmongers of the XR cult is a wonderful illustration of the elitist nature of eco-politics and of rising public fury with the eco-agenda. "
No, they’re reactionary against XR, who clearly prioritise their bougie viewpoints over all rational and logical criticism of their behaviour.
the tube is one of the answers to climate change, and getting more people to use it. It’s used by all classes, because it works, is relatively cheap compared to cabs and cars, and is per passenger mile the cleanest powered transport in London.
yet it should be a target “cos direct action” sure
no surprise weka focuses on the messenger rather than the message.
XR can distance themselves, but it was coordinated and under the XR banner. If it’s decentralised how do we know it’s XR leaders talking for XR and not showing support? How do we know the whole leadership of XR is against the action?
"How do we know the whole leadership of XR is against the action?"
We don't. It's a large group, and decentralised. But key players are talking about the problems with the action, and what the solutions are for them as an org.
Impressive statement – I hope they can keep the wheels on and focus on the real enemy.
…Our fifth value is “that we value reflecting and learning”. ‘Post consensus’ organising is undoubtedly an important part of what has made us such a dynamic, fast-growing and vibrant movement. On the other hand, there are clearly serious flaws in a system that gives rise to pain such as many of us feel today.
This movement is made up of people who pour their energy and hopes into this cause and who have been left feeling disrespected, powerless and unheard. It’s clear we need to take serious time to learn from what went wrong.
As we begin to think about why we are where we are, it’s vital to remember the bigger picture. As with earlier controversial proposals, this action was conceived and carried out by incredibly courageous individuals, willing to face prison sentences, and motivated by the same deep fear and profound love that drives so many of us to do what we do.
It’s no less through love and fear, and due to the same conditions of oppression that we face ourselves, that we saw such a disturbing reaction from some of those on the platform at Canning Town. These were commuters trying to get to work so they can support their loved ones. We recognise that disruption at Canning Town affected those already suffering the hardships of a toxic system – those who are the most at risk from the effects of climate and ecological collapse…
I thought about how many people would be encouraged to thoughtful and useful action towards preventing and coping with climate change by this action by apparently Extinction Rebellion activists?
And decided that it was likely to be none, and the events that unfolded show that none appears to be the right answer. No, or very few people wanted to sit down and have a pow wow about the problem of climate change. In fact they were reported to have been incensed that they could not fulfil their various roles in society where people were waiting for them to attend and work using their various skills. We live in a complex economic system and it gives people jobs which they earn money from to support themselves and families. Is that hard for activists to understand?
Creating chaos is not the way to stop the behaviours that cause and increase Climate Change. It will only mean that the small ameliorations we hope to achieve become impossible, and we hope that small things done all over the globe may have large implications as in Chaos Theory. It is important to plan the Chaos Theory* campaigns so one does not create complete chaos!
In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state.
I'd be interested to know what @Wayne thinks of the various theories on Repressed Memory Syndrome and Dissociative Amnesia and what sort of trauma it is that prompts a recall of memory.
It really must be hard for a self-appointed sage having to coming to terms with one's credibility being placed in question.
Notice how the generals have thick briefing books in front of them at the Burnham enquiry , but a few Colonels and Captains can remember quite clearly . The Army tried to hide one relevant Colonel from testifying as they 'keep losing' the paperwork. The secret reports, the lists of people who handled documents….
"A second senior military officer has claimed former Defence Minister Wayne Mapp was given a report showing the civilians may have died in a New Zealand-led mission in Afghanistan years before the Defence Force acknowledged the possibility.
You know @Duke, I was just saying to Mrs OnceWasTim the other day, as I was preparing for my next rent-a-voice media gig, and she was busy darning my socks, ironing my leisure suit and getting the meal on the table at 6pm sharpish, that all this could get a bit ugly.
As Mrs OnceWasTim discarded the khaki wool and re-threaded her needle with a pinkish shade, I suddenly had a recall, and it brought back a few hazy memories of being told about a few things relating to civilian casualties. At the time, I now know I thought it best kept secret in the national interest. But it really did prey on my mind.
I said to Mrs OnceWasTim, forget worrying about the 2019 Christmas card list and that matching set of feral vests and jumpers you've been knitting for John and Bronagh and that nice young man Mex – we really need a plan going forward.
My best friend, companion and woifey Mrs OnceWereTim were again at one.
I've been hard out on the phone ever since doing the numbers and trying to determine just who it is that'll remain loyal, and who is about to drop me like a hot potato. AND! after ALL I've done for this country. Already, quite a few just don't seem to know who I am!
My heart rilly rilly goes out to Juss. And to think!!! – the ultimate insult. Jacinda didn't even seem to know who he was AFTER ALL he'd actually achieved. It's just not right eh!
Never mind though eh? Juss is considering his options and he might even be able to do another Kapai style startup – just as long as some of those pesky young people and feminazis don't get in his way. 62 votes! – he must be fucking devastated now that arshole is in control with a load of young whippersnappers.
Maybe they could all have a meeting of the minds down at somewhere like Bats, and come to a Brexit-style agreement (going forward)
There'd be a Labour label, a few young whippersnappers each of which has the brainpower of the entire collective, and maybe even a bit of Wellington Party rough trade that failed on the local council but professed such a concern regionally, that would show up.
You might even be able to attract the prefect Nicola – such an impressive lineage!
As things stand, it's not that bad an outcome even if it is a holding pattern
TV3 down and wants government help. I should cocoa!
Struggling news media companies have been lobbying the government behind the scenes for some time. On Thursday broadcaster MediaWorks put it all out in the open, telling the minister responsible its future is in doubt and democracy could die in darkness if he fails to act now.
“I have a challenge for the broadcasting minister. Step in and save New Zealand television and news channels before it’s too late,” Duncan Garner told his listeners and viewers dramatically on the AM show this morning.
To reinforce the message, the studio lights dipped for a few seconds.
Broadcasting Minister Kris Faafoi was a former TVNZ rival of Duncan Garner when they were both TV reporters in the press gallery 10 years ago.
Ever since Kris Faafoi got the job last year, news media companies have been telling him they need his help.
It was music to their ears when he spoke about shoring up the news media scene, "preserving plurality" and "funding differently".
There are 4-5 million of us. We don't need three channels to stand between the truth, the explanations and the viewers. What we need is less tv and more talks, panels, thinking, reading, not just dropped jaws as the latest scandal gets hyped up in techiest technicolour.
Every now and then some celebrity does something crazy, has a breakdown or commits suicide. The noise after that usually includes 'why didn't we take notice of the signs and do something about it to help?'
That's the feeling I'm getting watching Trump in Texas. Not about me, about him.
A former defence minister facing accusations of a cover up has admitted he knew of possible civilian deaths and decided not to tell the prime minister and public.
Would you deliver your first line to Wayne while his grandchild was bouncing on his knee? (The child is only 1, won't understand you, just smile as you say it.)
I think you spend a lot of time saying "My life is crap and I demand that you, you, you and you fix it right now."
That's fine but I'm not sure you should be so quick to judge a view that differs from your own. Lets find ways to get along hey….we can skew the game our way*
It's the culture of the Defence Force OWT. I sat on on an Air Force base – an outsider looking in – for five years. The rank and file were by and large a good bunch, but some of the brass saw themselves as superior to the rest of us civilian yobbos in particular, and therefore impervious to criticism and accountability.
There is an element of "Dunning Kruger" at play too and a determination to cover each others backs no matter how serious the charges laid.
It was inevitable they would come a cropper one day and thanks to Jon Stephenson and Nicky Hager it looks like it has happened.
Fascinating, if the journalist's take is to be believed it looks as though the hearing has come to a bit of a head. SAS commander Colonel Jim Blackwell toe to toe with ex Minister Mapp.
Looks as if it unfolded a bit like this…
Colonel: "Are you saying I'm lying Mr Mapp?”
Mr Mapp: "Oh no, I am highlighting the minor but important discrepencies in your recall of events. Are you saying that I'm lying?"
I would suggest that it would be very difficult to maintain the respect of the squad and rise to the very top of our most elite fighting force whilst being a bullshit artist.
I don't think Wayne is a devious lying manipulator.
He is a retired career politician. It's a role that requires an ability to spin, describing 'What's going down' with glasses of many tints, mainly rose. Behave any way long enough and it becomes habit.
He believes what he is saying….sort of.
No other Nat minor celeb spends time in here. Wayne is a bit like the straight guy that is spending just a bit too much of his time in a gay bar. "Oh I only hang out at the Standard because geez those lefties know how to select tunes and dance."
I dig Wayne. No other established righty spends time in here. I reckon he's a closet leftie. Full of BS, of course, he was a politician, show me one that isn't….not so much liars….Truth artists.
Don't be sucked in by apparent niceness and civility – that's how monsters gain power. The truth will out about these sordid murders of innocents and the courts hopefully will make appropriate judgment. Nice people do shit things sonetimes – you do don't you? And you're nice aren't you?
Your 'don't be sucked in by apparent niceness and civility' line reminds me of remarks in the 'Reality kicks in for US trolls' post to do with the style of David Farrar.
The biggest, slimiest, dirtiest weasels don't necessarily look like the biggest, slimiest, dirtiest weasels or on a superficial level sound like them. Their deeds speak for them though.
I believe in us. I think we all want to be good parents and lovers. We just need a good enough reason to be so. Striving to get a $17 an hour job or deemed suitable enough to pay $500 a week for a $300 a week flat beats the get up and go out of folk.
Life in NZ has become tough for people that aren't going to be doctors. Even them! Doctors striking!
ummm he was the 'authority'. You seem to care more about your imaginary relationship to wayne than any truth – why not just wait and see what comes out before going all gushy.
I used to take you with a grain of salt but you still seemed to upset me. I tried taking you with 2 grains of salt and found myself getting to like you.
Our inner self, it is the key element in all of Mike King's talks and he is so right.
That inner voice that says 'gee you're smart' or 'gee you're fat'. It's just so jolly fundamental. The conversation our inner voice is having with us.
I dig Mike King. Mike King for Health Minister. He gives a genuine damn. Mike King would say "If you don't like what I'm doing, vote me out, I'll do something else." He wouldn't defend a bullshit scheme, he'd call it for what it is.
Hey Mike, stand as an Independent Minister of Health, I reckon you'd romp in sport.
When do we get to the point where Brexit is done, the Democrats have a nominated candidate, the China-US trade deal is done, and the Year of Delivery starts?
I don't think most people's thoughts are focused on the points you point to Ad.
Even those deemed to be comfortable are having to choose between insurance cover or the Herald delivered.
Too many of us are working too hard to earn nothing more than more struggle. It shouldn't be so tough to get ahead. Anyone with their nose to the grind-stone for 5 years should end up with equity in their own home. Not just keeping up with the rent.
Working like a demon to pay off a house for someone too lazy to scratch sux
Aqua culture has huge potential to feed Te Papatuanuku tangata we can grow aqua culture with out ruining our environment so long as plans are put in place to minimise the negative environmental effects on day one.
Seaweed project to reduce burping cows may be an environmental 'game-changer
A project to turn a native red seaweed into a greenhouse gas-busting cattle feed supplement has received Government backing.
The Cawthron Institute is to receive the money from the Government's Sustainable Food & Fibre Futures fund to turn the seaweed, Asparagopsis armata, into a cattle feed supplement for domestic and global markets. This particular seaweed contains chemicals that have been found to reduce the microbes in the stomachs of cattle that cause them to burp when they eat grass
The Cawthron project could lay the foundations for a new high-value industry, "along with the jobs that go with it"
"There is also export potential and on-farm economic benefits, including price premiums for milk and meat," O'Connor said. "We want to be the most productive, sustainable country in the world. Projects
SUPPLIED
Asparagopsis armata is a native red seaweed, which grows abundantly throughout New Zealand waters
"Australian research estimates that if just 10 per cent of global ruminant producers adopted Asparagopsis as an additive to feed their livestock, it would have the same impact for our climate as removing 50 million cars from the world's roads."
A quote from the article above. Brilliant science. A little fantasy now. Can the gene that makes the compound that reduces the microbes that make the methane in a ruminant's gut be transferred into something like grape skins so that the huge tonnage of waste mast material from the wine industry can be dried and fed to cattle? Sauvignon blanc would be good cos I don't drink it, and also the compound from asparagopsis might add to that distinctive Savvy smell……… sorry, aroma…..
" "We want to be the most productive, sustainable country in the world. Projects "
Oh cripes, please settle for very good, reliable and innovative. All this competitive boasting makes me feel sick. Probably nothing is 100% and we know we never were 100% pure, zero targets, nah, just down to minimal levels. And wanting to be the fastest little country in the world to shoot itself in the foot, was what Roger Douglas got a knighthood for. And he didn't have to put up with as much as poor Black Knight did. Actually the roles were reversed and we went down still claiming we could fight, come on ya pussy, and we still are trying. Good for us losers. So please don't set the bar at perfect or first in the world. Keeping up the front for the world is too demanding.
It's great to see that the majority of tangata now believe our scientists facts on humans causing Global Warming. Now we can change Te Papatuanuku for the better for all Ma Te Wa.
Extreme weather linked to greater public trust in science, survey shows
Seeing is believing when it comes to climate change and it's changing people's minds, writes Amber-Leigh Woolf.
The tangible evidence of climate change, in the form of extreme weather events, has seen a boost in the public's trust in science, an Auckland University professor says.
Thirty years ago some scientists would've struggled to have their climate change work noticed, now it seems more and more people are taking note.
Auckland physics professor Shaun Hendy said people were seeing the evidence of climate change with their own eyes
A wild storm lashed northern parts of New Zealand earlier this month, causing flash floods, especially in Auckland, Waikato and areas of the Coromandel Peninsula
Planting trees has many positive impacts on Tangata and Papatuanuku. But one can not just plant trees in any location there needs to be a bit of planning so that the trees won't have a negative effect on your property. For one don't plant trees in front of your whare as they could shade your whare and make heating your whare very expensive. Don't plant trees close to power line telephone lines etc as you can end up spending thousands trimming trees away from the lines. I have seen many trees planted in the wrong locations.
How to plant trees – and help save the planet
Mass tree planting may be one of the simplest and cheapest ways to help the environment – and now is the time to get started
My friend Ming is a friend of oaks. Whenever she sees a sapling that’s doomed to be mown or trampled, or has appeared in the middle of a vegetable bed, she is there to rehome it. Now, when I see an oak sapling in the wrong spot, I think of her and move it. To love trees is to invest hope in the future. To have faith in times to come is not easy right now, but there is scientific evidence that mass tree planting may be one of the simplest and cheapest ways to reduce our impact on our ecosystem.
We will need a lot of trees, however – more than a trillion, and they will have to span the globe. They will not negate climate change on their own, but they will store carbon, help clean the air, filter and slow down rainwater to help prevent flooding and, if a diverse bunch is planted, help increase biodiversity. A target of a trillion trees needs worldwide backing from every country and every government. It’s easy to feel pessimistic about the likelihood of that Ka kite Ano link below.
Its good that Te Rangatahi views and concerns are heard.
Yes Tangata need to be prepared for the weather Tawhirimate can change very fast at Tongariro.
Mana Wahine.
The 30 coffins found by Egypt is amazing they will contain a lot of valuable information on that erra. That’s excellent that Lincoln University is going to build a solar powered system so they can faze out their coal powered boilers
Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I- Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
Today marks a tragic milestone for New Zealanders as the Coalition Government side with big tobacco to repeal the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins and Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
This year’s Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity and the contribution of Pacific communities to New Zealand culture, says Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti. Dr Reti announced dates for the 2024 Pacific Language Weeks during a visit to the Pasifika festival in Auckland today and says there’s so ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
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Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
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Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
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When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
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Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
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Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
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The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has hosted members of the Green Party Caucus at Tuurangawaewae Marae in Ngaaruawahia. The audience follows the King’s Hui-aa-Motu on 20 January, where more than 10,000 people gathered to discuss national ...
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The Papua New Guinea Supreme Court has stopped a byelection for the Madang Open seat being held until an appeal filed by former MP Bryan Kramer is concluded. Kramer had appealed to the Supreme Court over a National Court decision not to review his application of the Leadership Tribunal decision ...
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What Happens When the FBI Chooses Sides
"We ask FBI whistleblower Coleen Rowley to compare the Russiagate investigation with the treatment of Hillary Clinton's emails, and ask whether the current polarized political landscape makes it more likely for the agency to make partisan choices."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTafNGrOI8Y
Here is a interesting piece that helps unpack and clear a bit of the fog around some of the perceived similarities on major issues in the Warren/Sanders platforms…
"No, Warren and Sanders Are Not the Same"
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/no-warren-and-sanders-are-not-the-same/
tl;dr Bernie is the true messiah and Elizabeth is a pale imitation false idol.
There are objective policy differences between Warren and Sanders. People will interpret those differences in their own way. For many people who aren't even Americans, the Sanders project represents something hopeful with global implications because the US is so important. To belittle this as 'messianic' seems to me like a gratuitous exaggeration – an attempt to create the perception of 'deplorables' on the left.
The article starts in with a whine about Bernie getting negative media coverage. It's only dedicated true believer followers that can't accept that nobody's perfect, that all candidate are flawed, those flaws will be harshly examined, and rightly so.
The article goes on to highlight one of Warren's serious flaws, her vagueness on how her healthcare plans will be funded. True dat.
But it then gets gooey-eyed about Bernie's alternative, without recognising how electorally damaging Bernie's 'your taxes are going up to pay for it' stance is. Let alone that Bernie and the article also fail to identify the biggest financial factor in most American's healthcare; that they get their health insurance through an employer-sponsored healthcare plan where the employer pays the vast majority of the cost.
@ Andre, aahh. the staunchest defender of the liberal status quo, no change is good change, a real steady as she goes kind of guy….Warren will be fine if you are OK with a safe centersit liberal capitalist in the mould of Helen Clark that won't really rock the boat, and probably not really be remembered for anything in particular..I know that being all safe and sound is more your style.
However if transformative change in the battle against climate change, a more sane foreign policy etc is your bag..like it is mine, then only one name is worth mentioning..and we all know who that is.
You got any idea how far 'out there' you have to be for Warren to look like "a safe centersit liberal capitalist" ?
By our standards or your average Americans?
By the standards of the people that actually get to vote for either Warren or Sanders (or Biden or Harris or Buttigieg or …)
the unravelling is the fun part
It's an interesting take on the idea that it's the cover-up that gets you, not the crime. Gotta give 'em credit for having the whatever it takes to do it all right out in the open so there won't be a cover-up.
It's like they forgot the purpose in the cover-up in the first place.
It's all very well not to cover something up if people happen to ask the right questions, but it's a bloody stupid idea to take the body to the police station and announce "I murdered this man in cold blood and then I pissed on his corpse".
I really can't decide whether to think it's because they really don't think they're doing anything wrong, or they don't think they could ever possibly be held accountable, or it's a deliberate effort to burn it all.
This is so dumb… we still have no evidence of a quid pro quo.
We have the transcript of the phone call with the Ukrainian president which was supposed to be direct evidence, and it utterly fails. Now we're left with relying on whatever Trump says to media as evidence…
If I were a mod here and said "nice commenting privileges you have here, shame if anything happened to them", would you take that as support for what you said or a strong suggestion to modify your behaviour?
Classy.. that looks like some sort of powerplay to shut down another commenter to me.
Yeah, but you're a supposed lefty, doing all they can to suckle on Trump's twin tangerines, so I don't think your judgement is something you can really rely on.
Supposed lefty? – just a misnomer and their fevered imagination I think
Well Sanders isn't going to be president – He won't even win the nomination, so the next year is going to be fun isn't it? All those fevered imaginations running daily republican attack lines on whoever the Democrats select because they won't be nearly left enough for them, hoping instead for a second term from the nastiest, most anti liberal left potus in living history.
You could write it, though if you hadn’t of seen it happen here last time out, you wouldn’t bleedin’ believe it.
Yup, plenty of slow learners like Susan Sarandon out there.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/lostinshowbiz/2018/jul/05/protest-all-you-like-susan-sarandon-in-effect-you-work-for-trump
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/susan-sarandon-elizabeth-warren-bernie-sanders-republican-democrat-2020-election-2016-hillary-a9072251.html
So you are able to identify that cliched phrase as a veiled threat, even though I'm not a mod, have zero ability to make good on a threat, and there is therefore no power imbalance whatsoever.
Yet where there is a massive power imbalance and hundreds of millions of dollars at stake and the language used is even more overt, you claim there is no threat being made?
Fascinating.
How blinkered does someone have to be to have walked into that one? lol
I really thought I was going to have to be more subtle. But I was psyching myself up for an hour and a half of abject terror teaching my kid to drive on Auckland streets, so just went what the hell with the easy one. Yet even that one worked.
Nope. The supposed transcript is the tRump White House's version of what was said.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-whistleblower-transcript/trumps-transcript-of-ukraine-call-unlikely-to-be-verbatim-idUSKBN1W935S
So, let me get this straight. The Intelligence person who "blew the whistle" makes an allegation of Trump corruption, but can't provide evidence to back this up. Trump can however provide a transcript of the conversation within a few days. Over 3 weeks later the whistleblower still can't provide a counter transcript… worse they initially launched their complaint about 8 weeks ago…
The whistleblower was able to point to where evidence of wrongdoing might be found. So for whatever bizarre reason, the White House then released a document, presumably their best spin, that clearly showed wrongdoing. Subsequently, investigators with the proper authority looked where the whistleblower said to look, and lo, further wrongdoing and corroboration was found.
Dunno why you think the whistleblower should have to personally produce the evidence. S'pose since Repugs seem to think it's a good talking point, it's good enough for you to use to try to deflect from actual evidence of wrongdoing.
Oh, it seems the new Repug talking points have come through. It's not "no quid pro quo" anymore.
Now Mulvaney sez yes there was a quid pro quo, no biggie, we do it all the time.
*several hours later*
Uhhh, yeah, uhh, that quid pro quo was about about 2016, actually. (please please nobody mention the pseudo -transcript sez investigate Biden)\
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mick-mulvaney-walks-back-quid-pro-quo-answer_n_5da8e40ce4b0258abfcac997
I hope I can get a look at this beasty with my scope
I don't often agree with you marty, but that is very cool. Might have have to dig out out our old telescope.
…Turn Borisov left…
With a name like Borisov it might already be tracking a little left
The numbers around this comet are astounding to me. At a speed of 177,000 km/h, this comet would have taken 24000 years to have travelled from the nearest star at 4 light years away.
And it hurtles through our solar system and away. Mrs Mac1 remembered her EELS stage one unit when a medieval writer wrote in AngloSaxon of a group of men sitting in the mead hall and watching a bird fly in one window and though the hall out the other end. Whence it came and whither it went?
Good to be reminded there is a wider world out there……..
A mead hall, that sounds attractive. He said, sitting on the verandah, enjoying a home brew nectarine cider
Nectarine cider sounds good. I have brewed apple cider, perry and cherry cider which I called 'chider". and another with feijoa, apple and kiwifruit. The apple cider was reinforced 20:1 with crab apple juice and the perry reinforced. again for acidity, with quince juice. Quince juice tastes incredibly acidic, a real mouth puckerer. Enough sugar to make 5.5% alcohol my hydrometer said, but it turned my cheeks inside out! The cherry cider tasted like pinot noir, very dry. Now to find some nectarines……..
Its a hobby that is very rewarding.
I have an acquaintance that has asked do I want honey to make mead. I am keenly awaiting his return from a holiday.
My former neighbour is an apiarist and used to give me the washings from his machinery, as well as straight honey to brew with. Very generous. One brew took two or three inoculations to get started with yeast. It had some manuka honey in it, I believe.
I brewed mead for years – it's easy enough, but aging it makes all the difference, about five years in it shows real improvement.
5 years!
That is another unintended consequence of brewing – patience.
It is not one of my strong suits.
I first learned about this from a friend who had a couple of bottles from a deceased aunt's estate, 25 years old or so, and freaking amazing. It's probably replicable with a solera system but I'm not settled enough at present for such experiments.
For those who were inquiring, I have made the final cut and secured my seat at the table at Environment Southland. Thanks for your support. I am somewhat relieved and my family will no longer have to tippy-toe around the place
https://www.facebook.com/CrRobertGuyton/photos/a.100684654644457/135382631174659/?type=3&theater
Hurray!
You make it sound you were a grumpy olde man 😉
Never grumpy, more highly-strung. More and more tetchy as the loooooong (extra) week of waiting unfolded. Angelic now
Yeah, it is a great feeling when you can relax those tense muscles and feel like you are walking on clouds. You often don’t know how stressful it is till it dissipates, a bit like child birth 😉
I've a long, hot bath calling my name…
Congratulations Robert.
You are one of the few elected leaders I would happily follow.
Thanks, gsays. I wouldn't follow me though, but walk alongside of, if you see what I mean
Great for the country and thank goodness that the whole family is committed and up with the 'play'. Your lifestyle should enable you to stand up to the pressures and tiring work of carrying forward measures that don't offer any material positive outcomes for the councillors who have to give up some perks and the comfort of conforming to the mean mean.
Did you come across Polly Higgins’ idea to impact on environmental damage with an international law banning climate harming? She wrote three books –
2010 Eradicating Ecocide: Exposing the Corporate and Political Practices Destroying the Planet and Proposing the Laws Needed to Eradicate Ecocide
2012 Earth is our Business: Changing the Rules of the Game
Advocating a new form of leadership that places the health and well-being of people and the planet first, this book proposes a new Earth law, a framework for sustainable development and international environmental governance.
2014 I Dare You to be Great
https://highprofiles.info/interview/polly-higgins/
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV2yvYGjgMk 1hr+
2014 Earth Talk: I Dare You To Be Great – Polly Higgins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPUmN88htCo
2013 Dare to be great: Polly Higgins at TEDxWhitechapel 12 mins
2019 April 21 Polly died.
WOO HOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good stuff Congrats !
Congratulations Robert!
Great news! Huzzahs aplenty!!
yay!
Thanks, everyone. My sigh of relief was recorded in Iceland.
… as was mine, that you were elected again. Well done!
Congratulations you life support system for a long grey…beard.
Sad fact is that the infiltrators and undercovers will already be in there – stirring it up, creating anxiety and distrust, getting extreme and then pretending others were, and doing the opposite of that. Can't stop it – just a tightness of group and an awareness of others to mitigate. Kia kaha ER.
I am not saying this action described below is unaligned with the movement or that it is contrived – the point is no one can know because the ones the disrupt, work from both sides – calling for more action, calling for less action – it is the uncertainty and division that is the goal.
Not sure this is XR divided, but it will probably present some issues for people who think that disagreement and dissent are a problem.
Following on twitter, looks like XR leaders are learning from the experience and fronting up.
My main issue is the stations that were chosen. Why ones that are more working class? I think the point was that the lines end up in the business district, and were used in April actions. But I'd still like to see an explanation of the thinking process behind that one.
While I think XR are right to make statements of non-support for the action (and look at how splinter groups can take independent action but not as part of XR), this XR woman is impressive in her calm explanation of what matters. Clare Farrell,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=estuUJCa6RY
I also hope the people in the action get support. That's scarey shit being pulled into a mob and kicked on the ground.
The people are rising,the working class.
"The people are rising up against the elites. No, I don’t mean Extinction Rebellion. I mean the Rebellion against Extinction Rebellion. Today’s clashes on the Tube between the commuting working classes and the time-rich, bourgeois fearmongers of the XR cult is a wonderful illustration of the elitist nature of eco-politics and of rising public fury with the eco-agenda. "
https://www.spiked-online.com/2019/10/17/finally-a-rebellion-against-extinction-rebellion/
Hardly a working class uprising, looks more like a stress reaction to me.
Spiked are pretty reactionary against climate action as far as I can tell.
No, they’re reactionary against XR, who clearly prioritise their bougie viewpoints over all rational and logical criticism of their behaviour.
the tube is one of the answers to climate change, and getting more people to use it. It’s used by all classes, because it works, is relatively cheap compared to cabs and cars, and is per passenger mile the cleanest powered transport in London.
yet it should be a target “cos direct action” sure
no surprise weka focuses on the messenger rather than the message.
Are you saying Spiked support climate action generally but just not XR?
XR is a decentralised network. Most of XR, including the main leaders, opposed the action and didn't want it to happen.
XR can distance themselves, but it was coordinated and under the XR banner. If it’s decentralised how do we know it’s XR leaders talking for XR and not showing support? How do we know the whole leadership of XR is against the action?
because they have a degree of transparency, they're accepting responsibility and are intending to review how they do things.
People have posted online screenshots of the % that voted against the action before it happened. It's pretty clear now what happened.
"How do we know the whole leadership of XR is against the action?"
We don't. It's a large group, and decentralised. But key players are talking about the problems with the action, and what the solutions are for them as an org.
Hmmmm, all right. At least they recognise the disruption and frustration caused to those who can not necessarily afford it
Statement from XR about the tube actions in London,
https://rebellion.earth/2019/10/17/todays-tube-action-how-it-happened/
Impressive statement – I hope they can keep the wheels on and focus on the real enemy.
Was a poorly chosen target when you're struggling to make rent etc in London a tube shutdown is bad news… hopefully they learn from it.
I would have thought the London city airport would have been a far better target.
XR could alienate themselves from the working classes if they arn't careful and would likely undo all they are trying to achieve.
I thought about how many people would be encouraged to thoughtful and useful action towards preventing and coping with climate change by this action by apparently Extinction Rebellion activists?
And decided that it was likely to be none, and the events that unfolded show that none appears to be the right answer. No, or very few people wanted to sit down and have a pow wow about the problem of climate change. In fact they were reported to have been incensed that they could not fulfil their various roles in society where people were waiting for them to attend and work using their various skills. We live in a complex economic system and it gives people jobs which they earn money from to support themselves and families. Is that hard for activists to understand?
Creating chaos is not the way to stop the behaviours that cause and increase Climate Change. It will only mean that the small ameliorations we hope to achieve become impossible, and we hope that small things done all over the globe may have large implications as in Chaos Theory. It is important to plan the Chaos Theory* campaigns so one does not create complete chaos!
*https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_effect
In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state.
I'd be interested to know what @Wayne thinks of the various theories on Repressed Memory Syndrome and Dissociative Amnesia and what sort of trauma it is that prompts a recall of memory.
It really must be hard for a self-appointed sage having to coming to terms with one's credibility being placed in question.
Collective amnesia before the 2011 election.
Notice how the generals have thick briefing books in front of them at the Burnham enquiry , but a few Colonels and Captains can remember quite clearly . The Army tried to hide one relevant Colonel from testifying as they 'keep losing' the paperwork. The secret reports, the lists of people who handled documents….
NZ Herald
"A second senior military officer has claimed former Defence Minister Wayne Mapp was given a report showing the civilians may have died in a New Zealand-led mission in Afghanistan years before the Defence Force acknowledged the possibility.
You know @Duke, I was just saying to Mrs OnceWasTim the other day, as I was preparing for my next rent-a-voice media gig, and she was busy darning my socks, ironing my leisure suit and getting the meal on the table at 6pm sharpish, that all this could get a bit ugly.
As Mrs OnceWasTim discarded the khaki wool and re-threaded her needle with a pinkish shade, I suddenly had a recall, and it brought back a few hazy memories of being told about a few things relating to civilian casualties. At the time, I now know I thought it best kept secret in the national interest. But it really did prey on my mind.
I said to Mrs OnceWasTim, forget worrying about the 2019 Christmas card list and that matching set of feral vests and jumpers you've been knitting for John and Bronagh and that nice young man Mex – we really need a plan going forward.
My best friend, companion and woifey Mrs OnceWereTim were again at one.
I've been hard out on the phone ever since doing the numbers and trying to determine just who it is that'll remain loyal, and who is about to drop me like a hot potato. AND! after ALL I've done for this country. Already, quite a few just don't seem to know who I am!
I'm shocked – really I am!
Wellington Mayoral race down to 62 votes, and the possibility of a recount. Voting matters.
https://twitter.com/justin_lester/status/1184966502979473409
My heart rilly rilly goes out to Juss. And to think!!! – the ultimate insult. Jacinda didn't even seem to know who he was AFTER ALL he'd actually achieved. It's just not right eh!
Never mind though eh? Juss is considering his options and he might even be able to do another Kapai style startup – just as long as some of those pesky young people and feminazis don't get in his way. 62 votes! – he must be fucking devastated now that arshole is in control with a load of young whippersnappers.
Odds on Jacinda claiming him as a Labour candidate if he gets back in?
Let's hope so!
Maybe they could all have a meeting of the minds down at somewhere like Bats, and come to a Brexit-style agreement (going forward)
There'd be a Labour label, a few young whippersnappers each of which has the brainpower of the entire collective, and maybe even a bit of Wellington Party rough trade that failed on the local council but professed such a concern regionally, that would show up.
You might even be able to attract the prefect Nicola – such an impressive lineage!
As things stand, it's not that bad an outcome even if it is a holding pattern
oops sorry @ Avocado. I mis-read. I'm hoping Jacinda DOESN'T try and claim him
I’m not even sure why she felt the need to apologise. Maybe Grant had a whisper in her ear
You don’t clean out an ethnic group you fucking Nazi.
https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1184897777941307392
TV3 down and wants government help. I should cocoa!
Struggling news media companies have been lobbying the government behind the scenes for some time. On Thursday broadcaster MediaWorks put it all out in the open, telling the minister responsible its future is in doubt and democracy could die in darkness if he fails to act now.
“I have a challenge for the broadcasting minister. Step in and save New Zealand television and news channels before it’s too late,” Duncan Garner told his listeners and viewers dramatically on the AM show this morning.
To reinforce the message, the studio lights dipped for a few seconds.
Broadcasting Minister Kris Faafoi was a former TVNZ rival of Duncan Garner when they were both TV reporters in the press gallery 10 years ago.
Ever since Kris Faafoi got the job last year, news media companies have been telling him they need his help.
It was music to their ears when he spoke about shoring up the news media scene, "preserving plurality" and "funding differently".
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018708908/a-media-cry-for-help
There are 4-5 million of us. We don't need three channels to stand between the truth, the explanations and the viewers. What we need is less tv and more talks, panels, thinking, reading, not just dropped jaws as the latest scandal gets hyped up in techiest technicolour.
boom
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2019/oct/17/steve-bell-on-boris-johnsons-brexit-deal-versus-theresa-mays-cartoon
Every now and then some celebrity does something crazy, has a breakdown or commits suicide. The noise after that usually includes 'why didn't we take notice of the signs and do something about it to help?'
That's the feeling I'm getting watching Trump in Texas. Not about me, about him.
you think he's getting worse? Possible, I guess.
bombshell – not good wayne
Slimy, wriggly-arsed, bottom-feeding scum suckers.
And to think that these are the uprights we put in charge of our nation's security.
Goddess help us all.
Geez, that's terse Rosemary.
Would you deliver your first line to Wayne while his grandchild was bouncing on his knee? (The child is only 1, won't understand you, just smile as you say it.)
I think you spend a lot of time saying "My life is crap and I demand that you, you, you and you fix it right now."
That's fine but I'm not sure you should be so quick to judge a view that differs from your own. Lets find ways to get along hey….we can skew the game our way*
*wink
Indeed Mr Mars (see 7 above)
The rise of the sociopaths.
It's the culture of the Defence Force OWT. I sat on on an Air Force base – an outsider looking in – for five years. The rank and file were by and large a good bunch, but some of the brass saw themselves as superior to the rest of us civilian yobbos in particular, and therefore impervious to criticism and accountability.
There is an element of "Dunning Kruger" at play too and a determination to cover each others backs no matter how serious the charges laid.
It was inevitable they would come a cropper one day and thanks to Jon Stephenson and Nicky Hager it looks like it has happened.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
I should have said… culture within the Defence Force. Bit unfair to tar them all with the same brush because they're not all at fault.
Fascinating, if the journalist's take is to be believed it looks as though the hearing has come to a bit of a head. SAS commander Colonel Jim Blackwell toe to toe with ex Minister Mapp.
Looks as if it unfolded a bit like this…
Colonel: "Are you saying I'm lying Mr Mapp?”
Mr Mapp: "Oh no, I am highlighting the minor but important discrepencies in your recall of events. Are you saying that I'm lying?"
Colonel: "Yes."
I would suggest that it would be very difficult to maintain the respect of the squad and rise to the very top of our most elite fighting force whilst being a bullshit artist.
I don't think Wayne is a devious lying manipulator.
He is a retired career politician. It's a role that requires an ability to spin, describing 'What's going down' with glasses of many tints, mainly rose. Behave any way long enough and it becomes habit.
He believes what he is saying….sort of.
No other Nat minor celeb spends time in here. Wayne is a bit like the straight guy that is spending just a bit too much of his time in a gay bar. "Oh I only hang out at the Standard because geez those lefties know how to select tunes and dance."
I dig Wayne. No other established righty spends time in here. I reckon he's a closet leftie. Full of BS, of course, he was a politician, show me one that isn't….not so much liars….Truth artists.
Don't be sucked in by apparent niceness and civility – that's how monsters gain power. The truth will out about these sordid murders of innocents and the courts hopefully will make appropriate judgment. Nice people do shit things sonetimes – you do don't you? And you're nice aren't you?
There's a Derringer in my sock.
I thought you were just very shocked to see me.
The curse of the well heeled
He really does dress to the left.
Your 'don't be sucked in by apparent niceness and civility' line reminds me of remarks in the 'Reality kicks in for US trolls' post to do with the style of David Farrar.
The biggest, slimiest, dirtiest weasels don't necessarily look like the biggest, slimiest, dirtiest weasels or on a superficial level sound like them. Their deeds speak for them though.
I believe in us. I think we all want to be good parents and lovers. We just need a good enough reason to be so. Striving to get a $17 an hour job or deemed suitable enough to pay $500 a week for a $300 a week flat beats the get up and go out of folk.
Life in NZ has become tough for people that aren't going to be doctors. Even them! Doctors striking!
We've got shit to sort.
Regardless of how many damnings you may encounter over the next while Wayne.
There's a comfy chair and a lager for you over at The Standard. Most of us have had unfortunate dealings with the authorities over the years.
Welcome.
I second that.
ummm he was the 'authority'. You seem to care more about your imaginary relationship to wayne than any truth – why not just wait and see what comes out before going all gushy.
anyway just ignore my grumpiness – I think I'll head to a mates place 3 minutes away down the hill and throw some arrows. Have a good one.
I used to take you with a grain of salt but you still seemed to upset me. I tried taking you with 2 grains of salt and found myself getting to like you.
We all just want to be loved Marty.
This part interested me:
I am curious as to why the poor behaviour by folk that should know better.
Yep, the chap in Wayne's mirror is winning him over.
'It's ok to place giving a shit about people above all else bro.'
Our inner self, it is the key element in all of Mike King's talks and he is so right.
That inner voice that says 'gee you're smart' or 'gee you're fat'. It's just so jolly fundamental. The conversation our inner voice is having with us.
I dig Mike King. Mike King for Health Minister. He gives a genuine damn. Mike King would say "If you don't like what I'm doing, vote me out, I'll do something else." He wouldn't defend a bullshit scheme, he'd call it for what it is.
Hey Mike, stand as an Independent Minister of Health, I reckon you'd romp in sport.
Yep. Less shame in making a mistake than in lying about it.
Yep, mistakes, a by-product of circulating oxygen. The person that doesn't make mistakes is lying. The person that embraces their mistakes prospers.
Engaging with our faults through a loving eye completes us.
That's a beautiful thought. Thank you.
x
In light of today’s developments here is a two year old Standard post by much missed author, Anthony Robins:
https://thestandard.org.nz/the-nzdf-will-never-clear-its-name-and-neither-will-bill-english/
The comments are also well worth a read… Pete George does not come out of it at all well. 🙂
Sheesh, I forget sometimes just how much oxygen some people can waste.
When do we get to the point where Brexit is done, the Democrats have a nominated candidate, the China-US trade deal is done, and the Year of Delivery starts?
2019 is like political Waiting For Godot.
The Year of Flux.
2019 lends itself to being a year of anticipation.
2020 will be the year of first rate vision.
There's a good likelihood that it's a year that democracy really starts to wear out.
Nothing changes, nothing worth getting up for, global economy stagnant, no major political shifts, most liberative movements exhausted.
I don't think most people's thoughts are focused on the points you point to Ad.
Even those deemed to be comfortable are having to choose between insurance cover or the Herald delivered.
Too many of us are working too hard to earn nothing more than more struggle. It shouldn't be so tough to get ahead. Anyone with their nose to the grind-stone for 5 years should end up with equity in their own home. Not just keeping up with the rent.
Working like a demon to pay off a house for someone too lazy to scratch sux
aye dat
Her phone has gone to message 3 times.
Fortunately I have your ear to chew on, Hi, I'm Rupert
Aqua culture has huge potential to feed Te Papatuanuku tangata we can grow aqua culture with out ruining our environment so long as plans are put in place to minimise the negative environmental effects on day one.
Seaweed project to reduce burping cows may be an environmental 'game-changer
A project to turn a native red seaweed into a greenhouse gas-busting cattle feed supplement has received Government backing.
The Cawthron Institute is to receive the money from the Government's Sustainable Food & Fibre Futures fund to turn the seaweed, Asparagopsis armata, into a cattle feed supplement for domestic and global markets. This particular seaweed contains chemicals that have been found to reduce the microbes in the stomachs of cattle that cause them to burp when they eat grass
The Cawthron project could lay the foundations for a new high-value industry, "along with the jobs that go with it"
"There is also export potential and on-farm economic benefits, including price premiums for milk and meat," O'Connor said. "We want to be the most productive, sustainable country in the world. Projects
SUPPLIED
Asparagopsis armata is a native red seaweed, which grows abundantly throughout New Zealand waters
Ka kite Ano link below.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/116683942/government-supports-seaweed-project-to-reduce-cattle-methane-emissions
"Australian research estimates that if just 10 per cent of global ruminant producers adopted Asparagopsis as an additive to feed their livestock, it would have the same impact for our climate as removing 50 million cars from the world's roads."
A quote from the article above. Brilliant science. A little fantasy now. Can the gene that makes the compound that reduces the microbes that make the methane in a ruminant's gut be transferred into something like grape skins so that the huge tonnage of waste mast material from the wine industry can be dried and fed to cattle? Sauvignon blanc would be good cos I don't drink it, and also the compound from asparagopsis might add to that distinctive Savvy smell……… sorry, aroma…..
" "We want to be the most productive, sustainable country in the world. Projects "
Oh cripes, please settle for very good, reliable and innovative. All this competitive boasting makes me feel sick. Probably nothing is 100% and we know we never were 100% pure, zero targets, nah, just down to minimal levels. And wanting to be the fastest little country in the world to shoot itself in the foot, was what Roger Douglas got a knighthood for. And he didn't have to put up with as much as poor Black Knight did. Actually the roles were reversed and we went down still claiming we could fight, come on ya pussy, and we still are trying. Good for us losers. So please don't set the bar at perfect or first in the world. Keeping up the front for the world is too demanding.
Kia Ora 1 News.
I agree that prisoners should get to vote.
I know a couple of tangata who stuffed from chemicals poison while serving in Vietnam.
Wahine walking in space that's great.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
That's great to hear that Lee Smith was a champion for our Taonga Te reo Maori.
I know A new day is coming were minority cultures are given respect
Ka kite Ano
https://youtu.be/qQfetkoGrpU
It's great to see that the majority of tangata now believe our scientists facts on humans causing Global Warming. Now we can change Te Papatuanuku for the better for all Ma Te Wa.
Extreme weather linked to greater public trust in science, survey shows
Seeing is believing when it comes to climate change and it's changing people's minds, writes Amber-Leigh Woolf.
The tangible evidence of climate change, in the form of extreme weather events, has seen a boost in the public's trust in science, an Auckland University professor says.
Thirty years ago some scientists would've struggled to have their climate change work noticed, now it seems more and more people are taking note.
Auckland physics professor Shaun Hendy said people were seeing the evidence of climate change with their own eyes
A wild storm lashed northern parts of New Zealand earlier this month, causing flash floods, especially in Auckland, Waikato and areas of the Coromandel Peninsula
Ka kite Ano link below.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/science/116397981/extreme-weather-linked-to-greater-public-trust-in-science-survey-shows
Planting trees has many positive impacts on Tangata and Papatuanuku. But one can not just plant trees in any location there needs to be a bit of planning so that the trees won't have a negative effect on your property. For one don't plant trees in front of your whare as they could shade your whare and make heating your whare very expensive. Don't plant trees close to power line telephone lines etc as you can end up spending thousands trimming trees away from the lines. I have seen many trees planted in the wrong locations.
How to plant trees – and help save the planet
Mass tree planting may be one of the simplest and cheapest ways to help the environment – and now is the time to get started
My friend Ming is a friend of oaks. Whenever she sees a sapling that’s doomed to be mown or trampled, or has appeared in the middle of a vegetable bed, she is there to rehome it. Now, when I see an oak sapling in the wrong spot, I think of her and move it. To love trees is to invest hope in the future. To have faith in times to come is not easy right now, but there is scientific evidence that mass tree planting may be one of the simplest and cheapest ways to reduce our impact on our ecosystem.
We will need a lot of trees, however – more than a trillion, and they will have to span the globe. They will not negate climate change on their own, but they will store carbon, help clean the air, filter and slow down rainwater to help prevent flooding and, if a diverse bunch is planted, help increase biodiversity. A target of a trillion trees needs worldwide backing from every country and every government. It’s easy to feel pessimistic about the likelihood of that Ka kite Ano link below.
https://amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/oct/19/reduce-impact-ecosystem-plant-trees-alys-fowler
Kia Ora 1 News.
Its good that Te Rangatahi views and concerns are heard.
Yes Tangata need to be prepared for the weather Tawhirimate can change very fast at Tongariro.
Mana Wahine.
The 30 coffins found by Egypt is amazing they will contain a lot of valuable information on that erra. That’s excellent that Lincoln University is going to build a solar powered system so they can faze out their coal powered boilers
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
Condolences to Matua Ramon whanau for their loss.
Its great to see The Rugby World Cup in Japan has full seats.
Ka pai to the Wahine Rugby league team.
Virtual Reality is a great educational tool that is cool that it’s being used to help protect our Taonga Kauri trees Tane Mahuta.
Ka kite Ano