"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
We have been on the road in England, squeezing down narrow lanes, flying up the M6, loving hedgerows and villages and cathedrals, liking the 21st century less.There have been moments when it’s felt like a movie trope. The pub in Exford, lovely seventeenth century bar, almost more dogs than people, ...
There’s a solar-storm on at the moment, and since the South Island is having a day and night with clear skies, that means Aurorae. I have just got back from a midnight visit to Tunnel Beach – southwards-looking over the Sea, and without the light pollution. Quite a few others ...
Michael Bassett writes – I’m not sure that it’s much comfort to anyone to know that the post-Covid surge in violent crimes, gang activity, ram raids, random shootings, thuggery and stabbings is occurring in other countries as well as New Zealand. These days, wagging school, out-of-control welfare and ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – Cast your mind back to mid-December. A new Prime Minister had just been sworn in, the new Government started its 100-day programme, and Christmas was only days away.Amid all the haste, a report landed that would have deserved our attention.I am talking about the ...
TL;DR: An unseasonally early icy blast at the same time as some long-overdue maintenance almost caused Aotearoa-NZ’s electricity system to black out this week. That’s because a quadropoly of gentailers1 have prioritised paying dividends from their rising profits and adding debt over investing in 1.5 GigaWatts of new wind farms ...
Hi,Before we crack into today’s Webworm, I wanted to acknowledge the fact that Israel is pushing into Rafah. Over 100,000 Palestinians are now attempting to flee the one place that was deemed “safe”.Trouble is, the place they’re fleeing to is already destroyed. Total annihilation is the end goal here.“Israel is ...
‘It has been said that figures rule the world. Maybe. I am quite sure that it is figures which show us whether it is being ruled well or badly.’ GoetheI was struck at a recent conference on equity for the elderly, how many presenters implicitly relied upon Statistics New Zealand. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveReporting on defence spending late last year, RNZ said the coalition government will have to make some tough calls this term to help the force address staff shortages and ageing infrastructure. “These are huge, huge amounts of government spending. It’s a significant proportion of the government’s ...
Peter Dunne writes – I am always wary when I hear that the Controller and Auditor-General has commented on or made recommendations to the government about an issue of public policy that does not relate strictly to public expenditure. According to the legislation, the role of the Controller ...
How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought NZ to the brink of economic and cultural chaos Chris Trotter writes – TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition ...
And why did the Crown not challenge the Tribunal’s jurisdiction? Gary Judd writes – Retired District Court Judge, David Harvey, has posted on his A Halflings View Substack an excellent summary of Justice Isacs’ judgment declining to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result?As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and ...
Macklemore isn’t someone I’d usually think about. Sure I liked his big hit from a few years back, everybody did it was catchy and cool with some memorable lines. But if I was going to think of artists who might speak out on political matters or world events, he wouldn’t ...
Another week goes by in the Luxon government’s efforts to roll back the past 70 years of social progress. The school lunches programme is to be downgraded by $107 million, and women need bother their heads no longer about pay equity, let alone expect ACC to provide adequate sexual violence ...
Brrr, the first cold snap of the year. Hope you’re rugged up nice and warm. Here are some stories that caught our eye this week… This Week on Greater Auckland On Monday, we had a post from a new contributor, Connor Sharp, who dug into the public feedback ...
Almost all of the Wellington City Council’s recommended zoning changes to allow many more apartments and townhouses in its inner-suburbs have been approved.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guest on geopolitics, ...
Open access notablesA Global Increase in Nearshore Tropical Cyclone Intensification, Balaguru et al., Earth's Future:Tropical Cyclones (TCs) inflict substantial coastal damages, making it pertinent to understand changing storm characteristics in the important nearshore region. Past work examined several aspects of TCs relevant for impacts in coastal regions. However, ...
Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result? As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and always answered “yes”, with very few ...
Thus far May has followed on from a quiet April in the blogging department, but in fairness, it has been another case of doing what I am supposed to be doing, namely writing original fiction. Plus reading. So don’t worry – I have been productive. But in order to reassure ...
Buzz from the Beehive A new government agency will open for business on July 1 – the Social Investment Agency. As a new standalone central agency effective from 1 July, it will lead the development of social investment across Government, helping ministers understand who they need to invest in, what ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The ...
Alwyn Poole writes – After being elected to Parliament in 2008 the maiden speech of Hipkins was substantially around education policy. He was Labour’s spokesperson for education 2011 – 2017. He was Minister for Education from 2017 until February 2023. This is approximately 88% of the time Labour ...
Eric Crampton writes – A fashion industry group is lobbying for protections. They make the usual arguments and a newer one. None of it makes sense. An industry group says it pumped $7.8 billion into the economy last year – that’s 1.9 percent of New Zealand’s GDP. ...
In December 2006, Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the elected government in a coup. He ruled Fiji for the next 16 years, first as dictator, then as "elected" Prime Minister. But now, he's finally been sent to jail where he belongs. Sadly, this isn't for his real crime of ...
Don't like National's corrupt Muldoonist "fast-track" law? Aotearoa's environmental NGO's - Greenpeace, Forest & Bird, WWF, Coromandel Watchdog, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, and others - have announced a joint march against it in Auckland in June: When: 13:00, 8 June, 2024 Where: Aotea Square, Auckland You ...
Seymour describes sushi as too woke for school meals. There are no fish sushi meals recommended by the School Lunches programme. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Government will swap out hot meals for packaged sandwiches to save $107 million on school lunches for poor kids. MSD has pulled ...
I don't mind stealin' bread from the mouths of decadenceBut I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled, yeahBut it's on the table, the fire's cookin'And they're farmin' babies, while slaves are workin'The blood is on the table and the mouths are chokin'But I'm goin' hungry, yeahSome ...
The Ardern Government’s chickens came home to roost yesterday with the news that the country is short of natural gas. In 2018, Labour banned offshore petroleum exploration, and industry executives say that the attendant loss of confidence by the industry impacted overall investment in onshore gas fields. Energy Resources Minister ...
Hi,If you’ve been digging through the newly launched Webworm store (orders are being dispatched worldwide as I type!) you’ll have noticed the best model we had was Calvin.This is Calvin.Calvin.Calvin is 7, and is the son of my producer over on Flightless Bird, Rob — aka “Wobby Wob”. Rob also ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
New Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
PNG Post-Courier New Zealand High Commissioner Peter Zwart and PNG Defence Minister Dr Billy Joseph welcomed a C-130 Hercules to Port Moresby this week to support Papua New Guinea’s response to the March 24 earthquake and recent severe flooding. “Papua New Guinea has requested New Zealand’s assistance to transport emergency ...
Grub Street King Luxon rode through the streets Of King’s Landing, and was troubled By the sight of hungry urchins in the mud. “Who would be the best of my Lords To deal with this negative optic?” He pondered. The answer came to him instantly. “Seymour!” he said to himself. ...
“The Bill does not provide environmental protection, good quality decision making, certainty, public participation or speed. It should be withdrawn.” ...
RNZ News Television New Zealand has breached its collective agreement with the E tū union when deciding on discontinuing programmes, the Employment Relations Authority has ruled. It was announced in March that 68 staff members who work for news programmes Midday and Tonight, consumer justice programme Fair Go, current affairs ...
Asia Pacific Report Barangay New Zealand’s Rene Molina has interviewed the country’s first Filipino Green MP Francisco Hernandez who was sworn into Parliament yesterday as the party’s latest member. This is the first interview with Hernandez who replaces former Green Party co-leader James Shaw after his retirement from politics to ...
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Failing to anticipate the complexity of the consenting system is being cited as the the current builder's shortcomings, an Infrastructure Commission review says. ...
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350 Aotearoa is calling the Environment Select Committee’s decision to allow oral submissions from just 40% of individual, unique submitters who asked to speak to the committee ‘a disgraceful blight to democracy’. ...
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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."
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
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