The video of the apache helicopter crew laughing as they murder unarmed civillians in Baghdad that was leaked by Chelsea Manning was an event that forever changed my view of what collateral damage actually meant.
It is well known that information is power so unsurprising that elites strive to control the public narrative and unsurprising that Manning paid such a high price. To my mind Obamas finest act was one of his last when he commuted her 35 year sentence.
Manning has just cofirmed her candidacy for the Maryland senate race as a Democrat against the incumbent Ben Cardin. As you may expect this has gone down like a lead balloon. Partly this is because of the realisation that due to her name recognition Cardin will have to spend money rather than just sleepwalk to victory.
So how will Cardin rise to the Manning challenge? Early indications are that the attack lines will be Manning as Russian puppet leaking to an arm of Russian intelligence (wikileaks).
So I guess that answers the question of whether with the whole Russia thing we are dealing with WMD or McCarthyism. The perception of an evil enemy has been created and now all dissenting views get tarred with the evil enemy brush.
I link a twitter post of Zac Petkanas relating to his views on Chelsea Manning and also a Hill article explaining his position and role at the DNC where he leads the narrative of Trump as Putin puppet
The main reason manning’s candidacy has gone down like a lead balloon is that there is very strong support for the military by the US public and rightly or wrongly Manning is seen by many in the public as breaching the trust/treasonous and adding in the sex change in what is still a deeply conservative populace won’t help either.
Sorry for being unclear but I meant gone down like a lead balloon with the powerful not the general population. As regards the general population we will soon know their feelings about Manning
Trump is where he is because of his anti-entrenched power rhetoric. He’s then gone on to entrench the power of the rich even more.
Manning actually did something against that entrenched power. And the USians do support their troops and they support people doing the Right Thing at great risk to themselves.
And to go alongside your Petkanas twitter stream, we have Neera Tanden, who’s apparently the president of the largest Democratic Party think tank in Washington re-tweeting :-
“Senator Cardin authored and released a 200 page masterpiece on Russian influence in western elections. Suddenly he has a primary from Kremlin stooge Assange’s Wikileaks primary source Chelsea Manning. The Kremlin plays the extreme left to swing elections. Remember that.”
This conspiracy theory mocks itself. The idea that Vladimir Putin sat in the Kremlin, steaming over Cardin’s report on Russia and thus, developed a dastardly plot to rid himself of his daunting Maryland nemesis — “I know how to get rid of Cardin: I’ll have a trans woman who was convicted of felony leaking run against him!” — is too inane to merit any additional ridicule. But this is the climate in Washington: No conspiracy theory is too moronic, too demented, too self-evidently laughable to disqualify its advocates from being taken seriously — as long as it involves accusations that someone is a covert tool of the Kremlin.
The only “efficiency” I can see in the private education sector is in it’s ability to extract profit out of gullible RWNJs who can’t bear the thought of their little darlings being under the influence of the State system, least their poor wee minds be corrupted by alternative views to what they get at home.
…. and of course its ability to exploit foreigners from the 3rd world – aided and abetted of course with a bureaucracy (a private and public partnership) designed to lie and cheat to anyone that comes into contact with it.
It’s almost like a Nigerian internet scam.
Now we need new Labour Coalition Government to investigate the past publicly broadcast allegations made by Matthew Hooten on Radio Live against the last National Government illegal activities.
“put these dead bones to rest”
Specifically Hooten began rolling the ball in a ‘lively discussion’ with Miscelle Boag the past secretary of the National party.
Mike Williams was also on this debate as the past secretary of the Labour Party also and ca recall this event during the investigations that should now take place.
The first allegation was against the then “Minister of transport” Steven SS Joyce, who was apparently involved with a shady deal to allow his close mate’ of his who was a roading contractor to secure a multi million dollar road contract.
But the roading contractor apparently got into a dispute with MBIE “Ministry of Bussiness Innovation and Employment” over the contract.
The allegations can be heard here on this link to the audio on from ‘Radio live’ at that time 31/8/14.
The debarkle was AT THE 28 minute mark near the end of this 40 minute debate between Hooten and Boag.
Mark Sainsbury says criminal charges should now be leveled and an investigastion needs to be made.
This whole sordid event of “collusion against all political opponents” including the 2011 attack on Labour MP leader Phil Goff, (the Hanover financial ruin debarkle) and all these resulting shady deals be investigated by the new Government over these allegations since National at this time failed to investigate these inappropriate events during the sacking of the ‘Justice Minister Judith Collins and how the SIS obtained the “leaked email” – documents to fire the Minister using Whaleoil Cameon Slater and his connection with the PM and Jason Ede and PM office Wayne Eagleson as Mike Williamson is also importantly also saying on this clip he believes “an investigation is warranted”.
Actually, that is the benefit of PPPs – massive profits for the private sector with all the risk and extra costs landing on the public generating even more profits for the private sector.
They’re just of no benefit to the public as they cost more and provide less service.
Yeah … It’s not so much a problem of PPPs as such as the corruption of the government that administers them. PPPs in Korea deliver as promised or get restructured, and their CEOs investigated by the prosecution service. Strangely this make them work very hard not to bilk the greater population, and to deliver services as promised or better. Those that don’t do not survive.
Part of the problem highlighted in that article is the collapse of the private provider to bankruptcy.
Now, when that happens should the government step in and prop up the business and thus rewarding failure?
Should it buy out the business as the 5th Labour government bought out Transrail for an extortionate amount and thus rewarding failure?
Or should it let the business collapse and the service it provides go with it? This way doesn’t rewarding failure as the other two do but then it’s a government service and is probably essential.
PPPs are essentially a way to get government guaranteed profits with all the risk taken up by the government.
If corruption is a problem, and it is, then we need better laws covering it and I can hear the screams from the RWNJs about that already. Of course, we should still put such laws and investigators in place.
Then there’s the question of if there’s even enough scale in the country for the services provided. Is there really enough ex-government road building in the country to warrant having multiple contractors available to do it? Or are those contractors solely there because the government contracts out road building? I’m pretty sure it’s the latter which means that it’s far more efficient to simply re-institute the MoW and have the government build all their own roads.
If the government is the sole client to keep contractors going then it’s better done directly by the government. Removes huge amounts of bureaucracy and the dead-weight loss of profit.
Last year was one of the hottest years ever, according to new temperature data.
Provisional figures published by the Met Office and the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit shows 2017 was the third warmest on record and the hottest ever without El Niño – a natural phase of the climate system that results in warmer temperatures in the Pacific Ocean.
The global average temperature last year was about 1C above pre-industrial times, and 0.4C above the 1981-2010 average.
The figures are released on the same day as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Nasa release their independently produced records of Earth’s surface temperatures.
“Forget what the sceptics will tell you, climate change is real and is happening right now,” said Professor Martin Siegert, a climate change expert at Imperial College London.
“With it comes the extreme storms and droughts experienced at historical levels across the world. This is yet another wake-up call – to develop a zero-carbon, sustainable economy before it’s too late to mitigate further dangerous climate change. Our efforts must be redoubled.
Plant based diets and specifically vegan diets are all the rage right now. In fact, vegan foods were one of the fastest growing supermarket categories of the last few years.
It appears the promotion of plant-based lifestyles in mainstream media and among celebrity circles — think Ellen and Portia, Alicia Silverstone and Ariana Grande — is continuing to gain momentum, both for the associated health benefits as well as environmental concern and to support animal rights.
There are numerous health benefits associated with plant based diets — lower body weights, reduced risk of developing some types of cancer, reduced risk of heart disease and diabetes and a longer lifespan.
The health benefits associated with a vegan diet comes from a diet based largely on natural, unprocessed foods.
As we got more, our guts shrank because we didn’t need a giant vegetable processor any more. Our bodies could spend more energy on other things like building a bigger brain. Sorry, vegetarians, but eating meat apparently made our ancestors smarter — smart enough to make better tools, which in turn led to other changes, says Aiello.
And the health benefits of bigger brains and better tools include digging up fossil fuels, population explosion, climate change, increased lead in the enviroment, WMDs and genocide…
Interesting link Draco! I found the comparison between average IQ scores of 1937 and 1997 (80 rising to 100) startling to say the least. *
There is also the well known factor of secular development within a population. While it is not clear that these trends are entirely the result of improving nutrition –
Changes in nutrition alone could not account for the trends which exceed the original socioeconomic differentials. In the United States, there have been per capita increases in the intake of protein and fat from animal sources, decreases in carbohydrates and fat from vegetable sources, and little change in caloric intake. It is not clear that these changes constitute better nutrition. The secular trends could reflect environmental improvements, specifically changes in health practices and living conditions leading to improvements in mortality rates and life expectancy. These factors are interrelated with those concerning family size. Also genetic factors, especially heterosis, may have played a small role in causing the secular trends
* For those who are going to argue that this is a misunderstanding of IQ and the average is always 100 – go and read the link Draco provides to see how the 80 figure for 1937 is arrived at.
Just don’t bother discussing the issue. It isn’t of importance to you.
Just like the morals of slavery weren’t important to the Pole and Norris families in Liverpool in the 1750s.
No Ed I don’t know what you think because I’m not a mind reader, thats why I’m asking what you would do and preferably if you could answer without the use of some random youtube that has nothing to do with the question
Omega 3 including the food intake of the brain that plays an important role in the development of cell membranes in the brain and neurological system signal path. Medically proven omega 3 is able to optimise the development of the brain’s memory both in children and adults. This means that better met the needs of omega 3, especially for those who find it easy to forget.
what i want to know is how vegans would stop nz being over run with wild deer,goats and pigs if we stopped hunting them ,because short of releasing a wolf breed and probably a big cat overrun we would be , spose we could just poison them.
[I’m putting you in premod until you stop spamming the site with videos. You’ve been warned about this multiple times before. If it happens again I will give a ban.
To be clear, spamming is when you start a conversation, someone asks you a reasonable question and instead of answering that you post a link to a long video and expect them to watch it. Or worse, in this case to a trailer that doesn’t in any way address the question.
Spamming is also posting multiple video links without context. Or just posting too many. If you are still unclear, ask and I will pick the comment up on Moderation. – weka]
Have seen it thank you.
I do think waghorn was deliberately taking the subject away from industrial farming.
And in future I shall ignore such diversions rather than post a video.
He’d probably suggest that government cullers are sent out to kill them but under no circumstances is the meat or skins to be harvested or maybe the animals are trapped and exported
Ahh poisoning…now theres a topic to get everyone going
in general pests are in control from what i see. although since it became next to impossible to sell wild venison there numbers could are building up massively , i’m just dying for a vegen to tell me how we would deal with it if we stopped harvesting them.
rabbits are still a huge issue in the SI. Farmers now use 1080 and other poisonings are routine. It’s a requirement from some councils to control, so if you don’t poison you have to do something else. A scheme that matches landowners with shooters sounds very useful to me.
I agree about the vegan thing. Even putting farming aside for a minute, huge damage is done to ecosystems from rabbits alone. This is why DOC uses poison on the conservation lands, it’s very hard to regenerate native plants in many places because of the rabbits. I’ve seen places eaten back to bare soil and stone (although that’s also to do with previous land management practices like overgrazing and burnoffs). If we don’t act as the main predator of rabbits we are basically saying it’s ok for those ecosystems to be impoverished permanently, or to even die.
The health benefits of being a vegetarian/vegan are undeniable, that certain celebrities promote them is one of the poorest reasons to become vegetarian.
I would expect the largest barriers locally to becoming vegetarian/vegan in no particular order would be:
Cultural attitudes to food
Apathy/lazziness
Perceived cost
Perceived lack of choice/taste
Satisfaction with current diet
It would be interesting to model the possible effect of everyone on the planet moving to veganism/vegetarian over the next decade and the effect on animal welfare and the ecosystem.
The new baby of the Prime Minister will be a hunter gatherer, burning fossil fuels to go fishing and most likely will be very neo-liberal like the parents. Sadly for you there will be nothing you can do to stop this.
1. Life will go on. It may be somewhat reduced but it will go on as has happened before. Five times in fact with the greatest being the Permian Extinction Event which even managed to even wipe out a few insects. Took ten million years for the biodiversity to recover.
2. That probably has something to do with all the grains fed to the meat first rather than an actual law of physics.
What next? Working conditions are really bad in some foreign countries so we should give up work? You really should look up the meaning of “non-sequitur.”
“A plant based diet has been shown in numerous studies to have big health benefits. In general, vegetarians live 6-9 years longer than non-vegetarians, and vegans longer again.
Many of today’s most common killer diseases are linked to diet. In particular, heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers and diseases resulting from obesity. The vegetarian diet can help in all these conditions.
Additionally, the vast array of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients in plant-based foods offer significant health protection. There are still more plant compounds being discovered that are found to offer health benefits.”
Enthusiasts for a particular diet or medicinal drug often promote the idea of “lower death rate from killer disease X.” They usually skip over the question of whether there’s any difference in all-cause mortality, usually because this:
Conclusions: United Kingdom–based vegetarians and comparable nonvegetarians have similar all-cause mortality. Differences found for specific causes of death merit further investigation. [my emphasis]
Actual cost (especially when you include spoilage), the huge hurdle to adapt (I’ve involuntarily vomited nearly every vegetable I’ve ever eaten). But sure, for those who can afford the mental, physical, and financial toll – or who don’t have it – good on them.
The health benefits of being a vegetarian/vegan are undeniable, that certain celebrities promote them is one of the poorest reasons to become vegetarian.
Two things:
1. Being a vegan is detrimental to your health – you have to work pretty hard at managing your diet to maintain even a semblance of good health as a vegan, which is one reason people tend to drop it after a while.
2. The health benefits of being a vegetarian require context. Yes, being a vegetarian is way healthier than a standard western diet of refined carbs and fat, but that has little to do with meat consumption or the lack of it. The typical Masai warrior of a few hundred years ago rarely ate a vegetable but could snap your typical vegetarian like a twig.
Completely untrue. I quote from the article I posted at 4.
“There are numerous health benefits associated with plant based diets — lower body weights, reduced risk of developing some types of cancer, reduced risk of heart disease and diabetes and a longer lifespan.”
“There are numerous health benefits associated with plant based diets — lower body weights, reduced risk of developing some types of cancer, reduced risk of heart disease and diabetes and a longer lifespan.”
Compared with the high-carb standard western diet, yes. But lots of us non-vegetarians don’t eat that diet. There are no health benefits for us in a vegetarian diet, just crappier food and extra work to get decent nutrition.
Lots of vegans have health problems after the first few years. I’m sure some people can do ok on vegan diets long term, although we don’t know how that plays out over the really long time frames. Most people need animal products in their diet in some form.
A title designed to lead to confusion over if the First Man is receiving public money, but it actually being a fluff piece on Clark Gayford so people can get upset about low level news designed to have positive news about our lovely PM (whilst ignoring ow the previous PM’s got the same quite a lot)
God what an eyesore, did the architect reuse plans from the early 1990’s? What a shithole it looks like “Albany on sea” for the ‘fast tracked’ America’s cup.
If only normal people got such benefits as fast tracking, but if it comes to billionaires, hobbies and sports then… all hands on board from taxpayers money, stealing the harbour and fast track consenting of an eyesore. Couldn’t they at least design something that looks architecturally sophisticated?
I guess it is a slight step up from the shed 10 efforts/Cloud that bares no relationship to the harbour at all or each building, and has become a knic knack/bad experiences ghetto, that Aucklander’s keep away from.
Another wasted opportunity where corporates and politicians with little imagination and skills siphon off taxpayer money and resources with crap ideas and designers to make a dollar for some corporate enterprise or grab the limelight for themselves, while pretending it will have some use for the wider public later.
Some good public spaces in Auckland, Auckland Art gallery, The tank farm areas and Ponsonby central… all those areas humming day and night, not the ghetto’s that other spaces become.
lprent
I am thinking that you need to think about moderation and discuss with the other mods to find some way to manage it better. There are obvious cases of keeping trolls who want to upset , divide, sneer diminish not disagree and discuss.
It would be a shame to lose the interesting minds that come here and have helped make TS the blog it is. I think it is time to democratise the moderation. I also think
that regular writers with something to say should be able to be paused quietly when in the midst of some long obssession about the usual suspects. And let’s not have onerous PC chastisements. You are all clever buggers, you should be able to come up with a rewritten treatise for mods. The terms under which we operate everything now are changing and we have found we have to be adaptable to stay up with the flow. What is important to you, and I think having concerned, sincere, thoughtful, practical and kindly people who try to be literate and try to use the modern systems online must be, and surely you want to keep them coming and supporting the site or you could lose this.
It seems to me we all are in a slow war. The French Revolution was bloody and dramatic, this is slower but is impacting all the same, and the nobs are trying to turn the revolution over, get their advantages and prominence back. We are getting the let them eat cake while they sleep in the cars and drink themselves silly with our welfare money stuff. We are like WW2 Resistance, who were trained to be fast thinkers and practical doers, and flexible, and were also prepared to die because what they were fighting for was freedom from tyranny.
I think that you and the mods are important for whatever we are fighting for, the exact vision of which is unclear because of fast moving events, but the knowledge of what is already happening and what is likely to occur, should spur us on. Let all good men come to the aid of the party. All sounds a bit hysterical doesn’t it, but if we don’t stimulate those brain cells and get through to others, we are on a hiding to nowhere. TS is useful, good, and needs some changes to keep it in its premier place, and it’s your baby. So could you and the others consider changing mod practices which were drawn up early on, but the baby is now an enquiring, questioning teen ready for a Bar Mitzvah or something like that coming of age recognition.
[from the Policy, one of the reasons for moderating,
Abusing the sysop or post writers on their own site – including telling us how to run our site or what we should write. This is viewed as self-evident stupidity, and should be added as a category to the Darwin Awards.
Maybe have a rethink about how you are framing your comments here. Also, the amount of work you are saying we should be doing. You could try educating yourself about how moderation and writing works here and why it is the way it is before venturing into telling us what we should be doing – weka]
“you need to think about moderation and discuss with the other mods to find some way to manage it better. There are obvious cases of keeping trolls who want to upset , divide, sneer diminish not disagree and discuss.”
Agreed fully greywarshark, these trolls add nothing of any value to the uplifting of our health/well-being/quality-of life for all here and just put others off, which is their only role sadly.
Over at Martyn Bradbury’s ‘The daily blog’ he has heavily sanctioned these trolls already.
So we need to be mindful of keeping the discussion focused on the article we all contribute to assist the new labour coalition in making our country better to live in with a far better enjoyment of life.
Hope we get rid of these National Party disruptive trolls finally.
As long as your not a racist puke, or dump your hate on people Puckish rogue. I don’t care what you say.
That said, your girl Denise, how you feeling about that slacker? Just another lazy tory mp we all got to pay for? Or do you have good feelings about the torpid lunch eater?
Could we at least sacrifice one troll? We could do it spectacularly, all pile on, beat the stuffing out of them and block their responses? That’d be a larf! Pete George already thinks we do that to him whenever he visits, poor luv. We could (metaphorically) barbecue James or give Pucky a good rogueing 🙂
RG
One a month would be a good ritual. It could be done democratically, by voting and then that one stood down for a month. The trolls would enjoy it, boasting how many times they had been stood down.
No I think Grey is musing about something completely different – but I won’t elaborate as I might get myself banned. Just have a look at yesterdays OM for background.
@greywarshark
“It would be a shame to lose the interesting minds that come here and have helped make TS the blog it is.”
and “including telling us how to run our site or what we should write. This is viewed as self-evident stupidity” (moderators comment).
Leading horses to water, and all that. We’ll see how long those interesting minds continue to visit, and whether or not they can be bothered with the dogmatic and egotistic.
And of course, if ‘they’ (them, the other) were really committed and discontented, they’d set up their own blog apparently.
Easier sometimes to just peruse and watch what happens.
Anyway, for the next few weeks, I’m off to places in the third world where community, compassion, integrity, etc., (values ‘the left’ once prided itself on) still exist and are necessary for survival.
Yes OwT here I and you are thinking of survival of humanity and some graciousness, and many that come here one would think, to discuss that, don’t give a tinker’s curse about it. I’ve been coming here for years and observing and thinking and writing and I don’t know if there has been the enlightenment of all and esprit de corps that I expected after all that time – seems to degenerate all the time into just a place for verbal scrapping and point scoring. Bit disappointing really.
weka
You could try not batting back any suggestions for alteration of your approach, and actually treat the commenters as fellow workers in a thinking community, not like students that need behaviour conditioning. It seems that you are an academic or in the teaching profession or have adopted didactic behaviour. There is a group of moderators who have for years adopted a general attitude to the blog which has had a robust flexibility, that seems to be reduced. All commenters are treated the same, with little respect for long-term commenters who have tried to add to the value of the blog.
Not everyone can manage moderation, and that seems to create a division.
I am thinking that there should be a level below the moderators made up of commenters who like to act responsibly.
Anyway I have written enough now, something on OM 18/1 I think and a couple today. I seem to just strike anger in you. How dare I put my ideas forward and want them heard and considered? So I am bowing out, I am not wanted and just get my serious and sensible suggestions to develop the blog further ridiculed by others so i won’t bother further.
[“How dare I put my ideas forward and want them heard and considered?”
It’s all about the *how. There is a difference between sharing ideas and telling Authors/Admin what to do. I know this because I commented on moderation for years as a commenter, in some pretty tense situations, and was never moderated. I paid a lot of attention to the moderators, including very hard out moderators like Lynn. I listened to what they said, and why they did what they did, so that I could understand how it worked here.
And yes, given the shit that’s gone down on this site in the past few years, and what that has cost people, including losing Authors, I don’t actually rate your views on moderation when they are presented in such ignorant ways. You still don’t get it and show no interest in listening to people who have a great deal more experience and knowledge about moderation here than you do.
And yes, I am fucked off now. Because after over a day of trying to evenhandedly explain some things here about moderation I’m still having to deal with people who think it’s all about them. Fellow workers? FFS, when I see commenters taking responsibility and doing some of the mahi around here to help the site instead of treating TS as some kind of personal sand pit where their needs are paramount, I’m sure that things will be more equitable. But as it stands the more work you create for moderators the more likely they are to crack down harder. Lynn set the tone for that and it predates myself and Bill by years.
I actually think you have some good ideas, but your framing and timing is just way way off. Take some time out, because now I am shutting this down. There is no problem with talking about moderation, but you don’t get to tell Authors what to do or how to run the site. If you can’t figure out the difference, then ask when you get back and I’ll explain it. But this has run long enough. 1 week ban. If you have a problem with that, try emailing Lynn and he can explain to you why moderation in the end is precisely about behaviour modification. – weka]
and fwiw, I’m really open to discussing my moderation style. I”m just waiting for someone who knows how to do that constructively and with respect for the Authors here. Not all moderators are willing to do that.
I’d do it meself, but as you know, authors getting banned and demoted aint a good look. It wouldn’t take long. lol.
And besides that, my spealing is shote.
Technically, I can start writing again any time (I still have an author log in) and I’m actively considering it because the TS community means a lot to me and the blog itself clearly needs a shot in the arm.
However, the problem remains that at least two of my fellow authors (with mod powers) appear to find working class voices hard to handle. Ironic given that this blog started out intending to be a voice for the labour movement and is now appears to be almost exclusively written and moderated by folk whose exposure to workers is limited to ordering flat whites from them.
The real sadness of the situation is that when CV and I were booted out in late 2016, losing two male authors was supposed to usher in a new dawn of women writers. TS was suddenly going to become a ‘safe space’ for women and a thousand flowers would bloom. Predictably*, that never happened, and what has happened is that other writers, male and female, have drifted off.
I note TS is losing some terrific commenters too. When we piss off the likes of Marty Mars, the site drifts ever closer to being a blandly bourgeois bore fest.
On the upside, we have some new talent writing. Advantage continues to delight and I can’t begin to tell you what a terrific chap Enzo is, both as a writer and an activist. Fingers crossed there are more engaging writers to come.
So, I’m going to have a hard think this weekend about resuming writing here. Like everyone, I have other calls on my time and energy, however, I think TS is worth the effort.
*I wrote a post, ‘Broken’, which touched on what I saw as the difficulties for women participating on blogs. I still think the post is relevant.
[By the general agreement of the Authors in the back end last year, TRP’s login permissions are set at Contributor not Author. This means he can’t publish posts here. He can submit posts, but they will have to be approved by an Author with Editor level permissions. The dropping of his permissions to Contributor happen some time after he left the site, and it was prompted by him maligning TS off site (dropping permissions also meant he could no longer access the back end discussions but he hadn’t been involved in those for some time anyway).
There are so many mistruths in what he just wrote. I’m not even going to begin to untangle that, because we’ve been here too many times before. Given the last time he was banned as a commenter was for telling lies about an author, it’s really hard to see how he could return as an Author now and not have the same old shit go down again.
As far as I know there are only two Authors that have had their permissions dropped at TS – CV and TRP. TPR’s came after several years and multiple rounds of conflict that cause problems for the community, site, and authors. He is also one of the reasons why it is so hard to get women to write here.
Had he been willing to work *with other authors here, he would know that quite a lot has been done in the background on the women writers project. I will note that he had on a number of occasions worked against women and what we are wanting to have happen here. I think this comment demonstrates that he is still largely incapable of being here without causing problems.
I’m sure there will be discussion about this in the back end but I am going ban him now from commenting here, because of the lying and because of the potential to create the same sets of problems he was responsible for before. I also want the women’s project to largely have a free run once it gets into the public.
I reckon this site needs you now more than ever.
Hope your hard think works out for us mortals at the standard.
Off to read that blog now. Always a pleasure, never a chore. 🙂
No worries, mate. I don’t always agree with you, but I do respect your integrity and latent honesty.
I’ve never had to worry about home town modding on your posts.
[given the abuse I’ve just read in the back end in your comments sitting in moderation, I’m not even going to look at this further. 6 month ban – weka]
[further escalating and misogynistic abuse has led to a permanent ban. – weka]
I’m dropping your comments into Moderation until I have a chance to look at them. You can probably expect a shortish ban for attacking Authors. I’ll put a moderation note up when I’ve had a better look.
So its not enough that Seth Rogen ruins probably the greatest comic series ever written (Preacher) but know he wants to take a big, steaming dump on the best superhero parody ever (although The Pro is pretty good)
And I think Jonathan Freedland is about the worst at the Guardian.
A pro Israel hawk, he led a non stop assault on Corbyn. He makes Josie Pagani and Phil Quinn look like mice.
Jonathan Freedland, writing one of his toxic editorials in The Guardian, begs to differ. The fact that CIA didn’t release any evidence they did it…is evidence they didn’t do it, according to Freedland. His column, long on mockery and self-righteous smears but short on evidence (as usual), does nothing but demonstrate three things:
1. He is only just barely acquainted with the facts of the JFK case.
2. He has no faculty for basic logical thinking.
3. He is not averse to practicing intellectual dishonesty.
If you’ve been paying even the slightest bit of attention, none of these will come as a surprise.
But this article isn’t about JFK – we’ve written about that before, and will do again. But not today. This article isn’t about Freedland’s aggressively uninformed opinions, his cloying prose or his ill-deserved sense of moral superiority. It’s about the world-view he’s trying to market between banner ads begging for money. It’s about his smug insistence that conspiracy theories just don’t happen.
Or, to be more specific, conspiracy theories don’t happen…here.
Because, despite his deep-held belief that Conspiracy Theories are dangerous, he certainly believes in a lot of them. He thinks the Russian Government poisoned Alexander Litvinenko. He thinks Vladimir Putin had Boris Nemstov shot. He thinks Russian banks have been backing the far-right in Europe and supported Brexit. And he thinks the FSB “hacked” the American presidential election in order to get their Manchurian candidate elected.
Buzz in when you spot the connection.
These are all, by definition, conspiracy theories – but they are also all things done by the other. Conspiracies happen over there. They are done by the bad guys. We don’t do them.
The Guardian newspaper is a limited company and has been since 2008 when the Scott Trust was wound up and replaced by The Scott Trust Ltd, which appoints a board comprised of bankers, management consultants, venture capitalists and other classic left-wingers. The paper itself is written nearly exclusively by elite-educated members of the upper middle class. The viewpoint you would expect to come from this privileged set-up is what you do get.
Murray McDonald, in his Hidden History of the Guardian, explains that The Guardian was launched to undermine working-class leaders of the early 19th century reform movement (whose members were massacred at Peterloo), and during its 150 year history has denounced Ireland’s freedom fighters, Women Suffragettes, Abraham Lincoln’s campaign to end slavery, third world nationalism and pretty much any kind of genuine independence from the system. It supported Tony Blair, even when the worst of his crimes were known and continues to give him uncritical space, it regularly presents official pronouncements as news, regularly disguises adverts for its corporate sponsors as news and regularly finds time to pour bile on Jeremy Corbyn, Julian Assange, Media Lens and Noam Chomsky, who was so appalled by Emma Brocke’s infamous and outrageous distortions he forced them to print a long retraction.
In short, The Guardian is far to the right — just read a few articles by Nick Cohen, Jonathan Freedland or Michael White (with whom I had some correspondence a few years ago about thought-control in his paper) if you doubt where on the actual political spectrum the UK’s ‘leading left-liberal newspaper’ is situated.
Brian Fallow calls out business on their pro-National and anti-Labour government bias, clearly feeling so miserable about their businesses when unemployment, inflation, economic growth, interest rates, and bunches of other stuff are going so well for so long in New Zealand:
I’m worried to the extent that space travel becomes so cheap that people with overgrown lawns and hoarders become those nasty Martian neighbours from hell you see on TV… Overwhelming the criteria for gaining a seat on a shuttle is so high it weeds out the unfit. Unless some one makes a nano sky crane to space I just don’t see how it’s economically viable to get those commodities back on solid ground.
Although military commanders do accept that the first person to colonise the moon will be the most powerful man in the solar system. Because unlike earth bound natives who have to spend vast resources getting weapons systems to the moon, any one who colonises the moon can just chuck devastating rocks back at us for free basically.
So there are problems and we don’t really want nasty neighbours from hell.
Yeah, but if we can support a moon base to the point it’s sustainable, similar players can still obliterate the moonbase or its mother country. And if the moonbase is big enough to declare independence, the major nations down here will have the ability to put counter-battery fire in orbit. Even in the 1970s it would have been technically trivial to convert a rocket motor turbopump into a turbogenerator for a decent rail gun
Mr Peters will become the first Maori Priminster even only for 6 weeks this is a good thing for Maoris culture and Mana Ka pai. There is going to be a lot of howls from all the neoliberals racist bigots they can go get_____LOL. I’m happy that my Ngti Porou IWI has taken down shonky keys photo teno pai.
Now my Maori culture people know this if any dum stuff goes down at Waitangi this year I won’t be as polite as I have been with other Maori issues I have involved myself in. Ka kite ano
Following Pelosi releasing the Senate version, Nunes has released the House Intelligence Committee testimony by Fusion GPS.
Okay, politikids. Grab thyselves a beverage and settle in.I just careened through 180-pages of House Intel Committee testimony by Fusion GPS and it was just chockablock with tasty bits.Let's hit the buffet.1/— The Hoarse Whisperer (@HoarseWisperer) January 19, 2018
[I don’t allow climate change deniers on posts I put up, especially not ones that can’t pass even a basic test of manners in a new place to a guest post.
I also note that following your first link takes me to a page that is a comment by you that has a link to another page that is a comment by you, and eventually ends up at a climate change denier site. Way below the standard of debate that is acceptable here. Claims such as you are making require actual evidence. I’m moving this to Open Mike, you might find someone who will debate with you, personally I think it’s an utter waste of time. btw, have a read of the site Policy. – weka]
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
deafening silence on legalising marijuana.
the dompost can run a front page confabulating P with cannabis all mixed up and a million fallacies of composition to write a crummy ad for the justice industry but their standards have fallen into the abyss and it is to be hope that a progressive government will do the right thing immediately.
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
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 ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
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Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
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Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
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. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
I was initially resistant to the idea often suggested to me that the Government should deliver an arts strategy. The whole point of the arts and creativity is that people should do whatever the hell they want, unbound by the dictates of politicians in Wellington. Peter Jackson, Kiri Te Kanawa, Eleanor ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
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You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists who report on environmental issues are encountering growing difficulties in many parts of the world, reports Reporters Without Borders. According to the tally kept by RSF, 200 journalists have been subjected to threats and physical violence, including murder, in the past 10 years because they were ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
ACT's Rural Communities and Veterans spokesman Mark Cameron responds to cancellations and protests of ANZAC Day commemorations in Wellington. He says, "These pitiful attempts to detract from ANZAC Day are not at all indicative of the feelings of mainstream ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Pōneke based peace activists staged a silent protest at the ANZAC day service to highlight New Zealand’s complicity in war and genocide, and urge the government to take concrete steps to stop the genocide in Palestine. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD).Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits.First published in 2021.All my ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Xavier Boulenger/Shutterstock In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon ...
With our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...
The video of the apache helicopter crew laughing as they murder unarmed civillians in Baghdad that was leaked by Chelsea Manning was an event that forever changed my view of what collateral damage actually meant.
It is well known that information is power so unsurprising that elites strive to control the public narrative and unsurprising that Manning paid such a high price. To my mind Obamas finest act was one of his last when he commuted her 35 year sentence.
Manning has just cofirmed her candidacy for the Maryland senate race as a Democrat against the incumbent Ben Cardin. As you may expect this has gone down like a lead balloon. Partly this is because of the realisation that due to her name recognition Cardin will have to spend money rather than just sleepwalk to victory.
So how will Cardin rise to the Manning challenge? Early indications are that the attack lines will be Manning as Russian puppet leaking to an arm of Russian intelligence (wikileaks).
So I guess that answers the question of whether with the whole Russia thing we are dealing with WMD or McCarthyism. The perception of an evil enemy has been created and now all dissenting views get tarred with the evil enemy brush.
I link a twitter post of Zac Petkanas relating to his views on Chelsea Manning and also a Hill article explaining his position and role at the DNC where he leads the narrative of Trump as Putin puppet
https://mobile.twitter.com/Zac_Petkanas/status/952982355228221443
http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/315980-dems-continue-campaign-with-war-room-on-trump
The main reason manning’s candidacy has gone down like a lead balloon is that there is very strong support for the military by the US public and rightly or wrongly Manning is seen by many in the public as breaching the trust/treasonous and adding in the sex change in what is still a deeply conservative populace won’t help either.
Sorry for being unclear but I meant gone down like a lead balloon with the powerful not the general population. As regards the general population we will soon know their feelings about Manning
Ah OK – Will be interesting to see the public response in Maryland, I would expect the general public response will be less than enthusiastic.
I think you’ll be surprised.
Trump is where he is because of his anti-entrenched power rhetoric. He’s then gone on to entrench the power of the rich even more.
Manning actually did something against that entrenched power. And the USians do support their troops and they support people doing the Right Thing at great risk to themselves.
Cardin is a solid left Dem with a 50 year service record in elected Maryland offices. He’ll have no problem.
Check his Wikipedia entry for the actual record.
Yep I do sense another over hyped ‘moment of truth’ from certain sectors is on its way.
Partly this is because of the realisation that due to her name recognition Cardin will have to spend money rather than just sleepwalk to victory.
Cardin’s dealings with AIPAC should ensure money’s not a problem.
And to go alongside your Petkanas twitter stream, we have Neera Tanden, who’s apparently the president of the largest Democratic Party think tank in Washington re-tweeting :-
“Senator Cardin authored and released a 200 page masterpiece on Russian influence in western elections. Suddenly he has a primary from Kremlin stooge Assange’s Wikileaks primary source Chelsea Manning. The Kremlin plays the extreme left to swing elections. Remember that.”
The commentary on that from Greenwald runs…
The benefits of PPP’s…. NOT
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jan/18/taxpayers-to-foot-200bn-bill-for-pfi-contracts-audit-office
And to put it in a new Zealand context, one word
Fletchers
Corporate Welfare Graeme $400 million for dodgy repairs supervised by Fletcher’s.
Casino Capitalism the Casino Contract etc.
Another example of private sector “efficiency”
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/1027k-integrated-education
Although the private providers would probably argue that they were providing a “better”standard and environment for their customers.
How is the information in that article and example of efficiency or the lack thereof ?
The only “efficiency” I can see in the private education sector is in it’s ability to extract profit out of gullible RWNJs who can’t bear the thought of their little darlings being under the influence of the State system, least their poor wee minds be corrupted by alternative views to what they get at home.
Yes yes all good, but as I said above …
How is the information in that article and example of efficiency or the lack thereof ?
…. and of course its ability to exploit foreigners from the 3rd world – aided and abetted of course with a bureaucracy (a private and public partnership) designed to lie and cheat to anyone that comes into contact with it.
It’s almost like a Nigerian internet scam.
100% correct Save NZ.
National Party spin doctors (Joyce/(Hooten) was all about this PPP stuff then back as far as the 2014 election when this happend.
Listen at the closing statement from Hooten/Boag then.
http://www.thepaepae.com/matthew-hootons-assertions-re-the-prime-ministers-office/35076/
Now we need new Labour Coalition Government to investigate the past publicly broadcast allegations made by Matthew Hooten on Radio Live against the last National Government illegal activities.
“put these dead bones to rest”
Specifically Hooten began rolling the ball in a ‘lively discussion’ with Miscelle Boag the past secretary of the National party.
Mike Williams was also on this debate as the past secretary of the Labour Party also and ca recall this event during the investigations that should now take place.
The first allegation was against the then “Minister of transport” Steven SS Joyce, who was apparently involved with a shady deal to allow his close mate’ of his who was a roading contractor to secure a multi million dollar road contract.
But the roading contractor apparently got into a dispute with MBIE “Ministry of Bussiness Innovation and Employment” over the contract.
The allegations can be heard here on this link to the audio on from ‘Radio live’ at that time 31/8/14.
Mark Sainsbury hosts ‘Sunday morning’ at RadioLIVE with guests Michelle Boag, Mike Williams, Matthew Hooton & Duncan Garner 31 Aug 2014
MP3 file
http://www.thepaepae.com/matthew-hootons-assertions-re-the-prime-ministers-office/35076/
The debarkle was AT THE 28 minute mark near the end of this 40 minute debate between Hooten and Boag.
Mark Sainsbury says criminal charges should now be leveled and an investigastion needs to be made.
This whole sordid event of “collusion against all political opponents” including the 2011 attack on Labour MP leader Phil Goff, (the Hanover financial ruin debarkle) and all these resulting shady deals be investigated by the new Government over these allegations since National at this time failed to investigate these inappropriate events during the sacking of the ‘Justice Minister Judith Collins and how the SIS obtained the “leaked email” – documents to fire the Minister using Whaleoil Cameon Slater and his connection with the PM and Jason Ede and PM office Wayne Eagleson as Mike Williamson is also importantly also saying on this clip he believes “an investigation is warranted”.
Actually, that is the benefit of PPPs – massive profits for the private sector with all the risk and extra costs landing on the public generating even more profits for the private sector.
They’re just of no benefit to the public as they cost more and provide less service.
Yeah … It’s not so much a problem of PPPs as such as the corruption of the government that administers them. PPPs in Korea deliver as promised or get restructured, and their CEOs investigated by the prosecution service. Strangely this make them work very hard not to bilk the greater population, and to deliver services as promised or better. Those that don’t do not survive.
Part of the problem highlighted in that article is the collapse of the private provider to bankruptcy.
Now, when that happens should the government step in and prop up the business and thus rewarding failure?
Should it buy out the business as the 5th Labour government bought out Transrail for an extortionate amount and thus rewarding failure?
Or should it let the business collapse and the service it provides go with it? This way doesn’t rewarding failure as the other two do but then it’s a government service and is probably essential.
PPPs are essentially a way to get government guaranteed profits with all the risk taken up by the government.
If corruption is a problem, and it is, then we need better laws covering it and I can hear the screams from the RWNJs about that already. Of course, we should still put such laws and investigators in place.
Then there’s the question of if there’s even enough scale in the country for the services provided. Is there really enough ex-government road building in the country to warrant having multiple contractors available to do it? Or are those contractors solely there because the government contracts out road building? I’m pretty sure it’s the latter which means that it’s far more efficient to simply re-institute the MoW and have the government build all their own roads.
If the government is the sole client to keep contractors going then it’s better done directly by the government. Removes huge amounts of bureaucracy and the dead-weight loss of profit.
The Herald calls it ‘weird weather.’
Rachel Stewart asks if we’re worried yet.
Global temperature figures show 2017 one of world’s hottest years on record
In the Herald.
Want to be a vegan? Here’s how to do it, safely
https://www.npr.org/2010/08/02/128849908/food-for-thought-meat-based-diet-made-us-smarter
As we got more, our guts shrank because we didn’t need a giant vegetable processor any more. Our bodies could spend more energy on other things like building a bigger brain. Sorry, vegetarians, but eating meat apparently made our ancestors smarter — smart enough to make better tools, which in turn led to other changes, says Aiello.
And the health benefits of bigger brains and better tools include digging up fossil fuels, population explosion, climate change, increased lead in the enviroment, WMDs and genocide…
…and music…and art..and literature……… and mathematics….. and science..so not all bad stuff.
Ye Gods I’ve turned into PhilU
There’s some really bad music out there. Crap literature too.
You’ll get no argument from an old fart like me Robert – I was thinking of some of the less recent efforts.
No such thing as bad music, just music that doesn’t appeal to you.
Does it have the same effect on an individual in these advanced times, Puckish? If not, your argument is not worth a fig.
Probably.
We’re still evolving after all and each generation gets smarter.
Interesting link Draco! I found the comparison between average IQ scores of 1937 and 1997 (80 rising to 100) startling to say the least. *
There is also the well known factor of secular development within a population. While it is not clear that these trends are entirely the result of improving nutrition –
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/503084
* For those who are going to argue that this is a misunderstanding of IQ and the average is always 100 – go and read the link Draco provides to see how the 80 figure for 1937 is arrived at.
What about the pressing issue of saving life on this planet?
Does that not get factored in?
What would happen to these animals if everyone went vegan?
They would not be bred.
They should not be bred.
http://www.businessinsider.com/chicken-breed-sizes-and-weight-over-time-2014-11?IR=T
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZteKtVwwAOo
No Ed, what would happens to all those animals right now.
The, probably, hundreds of millions sheep, cows, pigs, chickens and deer
Would you have them all slaughtered and their carcasses not used
What would you do Ed
What do you think?
No …what do you think ?
Great attempt to divert rather than discuss the bigger issue.
And stupid as ever.
😆
Just don’t bother discussing the issue. It isn’t of importance to you.
Just like the morals of slavery weren’t important to the Pole and Norris families in Liverpool in the 1750s.
Look at my lovely strawman !
No Ed I don’t know what you think because I’m not a mind reader, thats why I’m asking what you would do and preferably if you could answer without the use of some random youtube that has nothing to do with the question
It is a hypothetical question as industrial farming is not going to stop this second.
Once it stops, it will be phased out.
Stop being a coward and answer what is a pretty straight forward question Ed
I do not answer hypothetical questions.
From memory you don’t answer any questions.
And cut the abuse.
I am over it from the right wing brigade who come on this site simply to disrupt debate.
🙄
“From memory you don’t answer any questions.”
Maybe this will help
https://drhealthbenefits.com/food-bevarages/meats/health-benefits-red-meat
Red Meat to Feed Brain
10. Improving Memory
Omega 3 including the food intake of the brain that plays an important role in the development of cell membranes in the brain and neurological system signal path. Medically proven omega 3 is able to optimise the development of the brain’s memory both in children and adults. This means that better met the needs of omega 3, especially for those who find it easy to forget.
PR fertilizer.
what i want to know is how vegans would stop nz being over run with wild deer,goats and pigs if we stopped hunting them ,because short of releasing a wolf breed and probably a big cat overrun we would be , spose we could just poison them.
Why don’t you become informed on the subject?
Here.
Watch this film.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm7Babs_FJU
[I’m putting you in premod until you stop spamming the site with videos. You’ve been warned about this multiple times before. If it happens again I will give a ban.
To be clear, spamming is when you start a conversation, someone asks you a reasonable question and instead of answering that you post a link to a long video and expect them to watch it. Or worse, in this case to a trailer that doesn’t in any way address the question.
Spamming is also posting multiple video links without context. Or just posting too many. If you are still unclear, ask and I will pick the comment up on Moderation. – weka]
moderation note for you to respond to.
Have seen it thank you.
I do think waghorn was deliberately taking the subject away from industrial farming.
And in future I shall ignore such diversions rather than post a video.
Got the message
Some more educational material
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnUdoZRSRCY
He’d probably suggest that government cullers are sent out to kill them but under no circumstances is the meat or skins to be harvested or maybe the animals are trapped and exported
Ahh poisoning…now theres a topic to get everyone going
By the by I don’t know if you’ve heard of this:
https://farmerassist.com.au/
but a NZ version is going to be trialled in Canterbury and then, if successful, rolled out to the rest of the country
Excellent! I hope they add in an animal welfare and there is enough flexibility to give away the meat but otherwise a bloody good idea.
PR meat and milk will be made in labs .
Farming will collapse as we know it.
is that you roger douglas.?
in general pests are in control from what i see. although since it became next to impossible to sell wild venison there numbers could are building up massively , i’m just dying for a vegen to tell me how we would deal with it if we stopped harvesting them.
rabbits are still a huge issue in the SI. Farmers now use 1080 and other poisonings are routine. It’s a requirement from some councils to control, so if you don’t poison you have to do something else. A scheme that matches landowners with shooters sounds very useful to me.
I agree about the vegan thing. Even putting farming aside for a minute, huge damage is done to ecosystems from rabbits alone. This is why DOC uses poison on the conservation lands, it’s very hard to regenerate native plants in many places because of the rabbits. I’ve seen places eaten back to bare soil and stone (although that’s also to do with previous land management practices like overgrazing and burnoffs). If we don’t act as the main predator of rabbits we are basically saying it’s ok for those ecosystems to be impoverished permanently, or to even die.
The health benefits of being a vegetarian/vegan are undeniable, that certain celebrities promote them is one of the poorest reasons to become vegetarian.
I would expect the largest barriers locally to becoming vegetarian/vegan in no particular order would be:
Cultural attitudes to food
Apathy/lazziness
Perceived cost
Perceived lack of choice/taste
Satisfaction with current diet
There is also the more urgent issue of saving our planet.
And the moral imperative of animal welfare.
It would be interesting to model the possible effect of everyone on the planet moving to veganism/vegetarian over the next decade and the effect on animal welfare and the ecosystem.
Animals in agriculture are not part of the ecosystem.
I believe they would be in most peoples understanding of an ecosystem.
Have you looked at how industrial farming works?
Yes I am aware of how the many facets of industrial farming.
So it is clearly not a normal natural food chain.
Is this an ecosystem?
https://vimeo.com/73234721
Part of one …Yes.
There is also the more urgent issue of saving our planet.
And the moral imperative of animal welfare.
1. The planet doesn’t need saving. It’s indifferent to what happens to us.
2. Becoming vegetarian has little environmental benefit compared with just stopping the feeding of grain crops to livestock.
3. Animal welfare isn’t significantly improved by vegetarianism, it just changes the animals being killed.
1. Life on this planet.
2. Eating meat has a much bigger carbon footprint than eating plants.
3. Have you looked at how industrial farming operates?
The new baby of the Prime Minister will be a hunter gatherer, burning fossil fuels to go fishing and most likely will be very neo-liberal like the parents. Sadly for you there will be nothing you can do to stop this.
That is completely irrelevant to this discussion.
Life on this planet.
Life on this planet isn’t dependent on humans changing from omnivores to herbivores.
Eating meat has a much bigger carbon footprint than eating plants.
Under specific circumstances that aren’t essential to an omnivorous diet.
Have you looked at how industrial farming operates?
Have you? Where do you think all that soy comes from?
1. Life will go on. It may be somewhat reduced but it will go on as has happened before. Five times in fact with the greatest being the Permian Extinction Event which even managed to even wipe out a few insects. Took ten million years for the biodiversity to recover.
2. That probably has something to do with all the grains fed to the meat first rather than an actual law of physics.
3. Yes.
This is what the industrial farming system looks like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCLDyfmU9k8
What next? Working conditions are really bad in some foreign countries so we should give up work? You really should look up the meaning of “non-sequitur.”
Another attempt to divert from the issue.
Ed, you do understand that the human body requires nutrients which are best absorbed through eating certain animal products…
You understand that….right?
That is not true.
“A plant based diet has been shown in numerous studies to have big health benefits. In general, vegetarians live 6-9 years longer than non-vegetarians, and vegans longer again.
Many of today’s most common killer diseases are linked to diet. In particular, heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers and diseases resulting from obesity. The vegetarian diet can help in all these conditions.
Additionally, the vast array of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients in plant-based foods offer significant health protection. There are still more plant compounds being discovered that are found to offer health benefits.”
http://www.vegetarian.org.nz/health-and-nutrition/benefits-of-a-plant-based-diet/
https://www.pcrm.org/health/medNews/vegetarians-live-longer
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/2009_ADA_position_paper.pdf
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/89/5/1627S.full
And these……
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/70/3/516s.short
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/8bdd/e18a9b0eab9dd65a74dcfa4909630a84e671.pdf
Widen your reading..
Take of the blinkers first…
Enthusiasts for a particular diet or medicinal drug often promote the idea of “lower death rate from killer disease X.” They usually skip over the question of whether there’s any difference in all-cause mortality, usually because this:
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/103/1/218
Conclusions: United Kingdom–based vegetarians and comparable nonvegetarians have similar all-cause mortality. Differences found for specific causes of death merit further investigation. [my emphasis]
You are part of the problem blocking a no meat world.
So are you meatsack.
You have no idea what my meat intake is.
For some reason Kenneth Williams seems appropriate here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsCItIDUl5s
I shouldn’t lol, but I did
The classics never go out of fashion
If you dare question these right wingers thinking you get abuse.
Remember.
“All truth passes through three stages.
First, it is ridiculed.
Second, it is violently opposed.
Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. ”
Arthur Schopenhauer.
Actual cost (especially when you include spoilage), the huge hurdle to adapt (I’ve involuntarily vomited nearly every vegetable I’ve ever eaten). But sure, for those who can afford the mental, physical, and financial toll – or who don’t have it – good on them.
Do you also gag on grains? Puke over pulses? Barf after bananas and hurl on hummus?
The health benefits of being a vegetarian/vegan are undeniable, that certain celebrities promote them is one of the poorest reasons to become vegetarian.
Two things:
1. Being a vegan is detrimental to your health – you have to work pretty hard at managing your diet to maintain even a semblance of good health as a vegan, which is one reason people tend to drop it after a while.
2. The health benefits of being a vegetarian require context. Yes, being a vegetarian is way healthier than a standard western diet of refined carbs and fat, but that has little to do with meat consumption or the lack of it. The typical Masai warrior of a few hundred years ago rarely ate a vegetable but could snap your typical vegetarian like a twig.
Completely untrue. I quote from the article I posted at 4.
“There are numerous health benefits associated with plant based diets — lower body weights, reduced risk of developing some types of cancer, reduced risk of heart disease and diabetes and a longer lifespan.”
Watch this as well
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-uNCMt4tMo
“There are numerous health benefits associated with plant based diets — lower body weights, reduced risk of developing some types of cancer, reduced risk of heart disease and diabetes and a longer lifespan.”
Compared with the high-carb standard western diet, yes. But lots of us non-vegetarians don’t eat that diet. There are no health benefits for us in a vegetarian diet, just crappier food and extra work to get decent nutrition.
Exactly.
+2.
Lots of vegans have health problems after the first few years. I’m sure some people can do ok on vegan diets long term, although we don’t know how that plays out over the really long time frames. Most people need animal products in their diet in some form.
Ahh, a Herald article that everyone can complain about
New Zealand’s first man receives welfare check
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11977607
A title designed to lead to confusion over if the First Man is receiving public money, but it actually being a fluff piece on Clark Gayford so people can get upset about low level news designed to have positive news about our lovely PM (whilst ignoring ow the previous PM’s got the same quite a lot)
Not a welfare cheque though ;p. Also pretty sure welfare cheques don’t exist, that you must have a bank account.
God what an eyesore, did the architect reuse plans from the early 1990’s? What a shithole it looks like “Albany on sea” for the ‘fast tracked’ America’s cup.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11977653
If only normal people got such benefits as fast tracking, but if it comes to billionaires, hobbies and sports then… all hands on board from taxpayers money, stealing the harbour and fast track consenting of an eyesore. Couldn’t they at least design something that looks architecturally sophisticated?
I guess it is a slight step up from the shed 10 efforts/Cloud that bares no relationship to the harbour at all or each building, and has become a knic knack/bad experiences ghetto, that Aucklander’s keep away from.
Another wasted opportunity where corporates and politicians with little imagination and skills siphon off taxpayer money and resources with crap ideas and designers to make a dollar for some corporate enterprise or grab the limelight for themselves, while pretending it will have some use for the wider public later.
Some good public spaces in Auckland, Auckland Art gallery, The tank farm areas and Ponsonby central… all those areas humming day and night, not the ghetto’s that other spaces become.
lprent
I am thinking that you need to think about moderation and discuss with the other mods to find some way to manage it better. There are obvious cases of keeping trolls who want to upset , divide, sneer diminish not disagree and discuss.
It would be a shame to lose the interesting minds that come here and have helped make TS the blog it is. I think it is time to democratise the moderation. I also think
that regular writers with something to say should be able to be paused quietly when in the midst of some long obssession about the usual suspects. And let’s not have onerous PC chastisements. You are all clever buggers, you should be able to come up with a rewritten treatise for mods. The terms under which we operate everything now are changing and we have found we have to be adaptable to stay up with the flow. What is important to you, and I think having concerned, sincere, thoughtful, practical and kindly people who try to be literate and try to use the modern systems online must be, and surely you want to keep them coming and supporting the site or you could lose this.
It seems to me we all are in a slow war. The French Revolution was bloody and dramatic, this is slower but is impacting all the same, and the nobs are trying to turn the revolution over, get their advantages and prominence back. We are getting the let them eat cake while they sleep in the cars and drink themselves silly with our welfare money stuff. We are like WW2 Resistance, who were trained to be fast thinkers and practical doers, and flexible, and were also prepared to die because what they were fighting for was freedom from tyranny.
I think that you and the mods are important for whatever we are fighting for, the exact vision of which is unclear because of fast moving events, but the knowledge of what is already happening and what is likely to occur, should spur us on. Let all good men come to the aid of the party. All sounds a bit hysterical doesn’t it, but if we don’t stimulate those brain cells and get through to others, we are on a hiding to nowhere. TS is useful, good, and needs some changes to keep it in its premier place, and it’s your baby. So could you and the others consider changing mod practices which were drawn up early on, but the baby is now an enquiring, questioning teen ready for a Bar Mitzvah or something like that coming of age recognition.
[from the Policy, one of the reasons for moderating,
Abusing the sysop or post writers on their own site – including telling us how to run our site or what we should write. This is viewed as self-evident stupidity, and should be added as a category to the Darwin Awards.
Maybe have a rethink about how you are framing your comments here. Also, the amount of work you are saying we should be doing. You could try educating yourself about how moderation and writing works here and why it is the way it is before venturing into telling us what we should be doing – weka]
100% greywarshark; well said,
“you need to think about moderation and discuss with the other mods to find some way to manage it better. There are obvious cases of keeping trolls who want to upset , divide, sneer diminish not disagree and discuss.”
Agreed fully greywarshark, these trolls add nothing of any value to the uplifting of our health/well-being/quality-of life for all here and just put others off, which is their only role sadly.
Over at Martyn Bradbury’s ‘The daily blog’ he has heavily sanctioned these trolls already.
So we need to be mindful of keeping the discussion focused on the article we all contribute to assist the new labour coalition in making our country better to live in with a far better enjoyment of life.
Hope we get rid of these National Party disruptive trolls finally.
My lovely echo chamber !
Red Alert 2.0 🙂
Perhaps Lynn could appoint Clare Curran overlord and chief moderator of this site.
She might be a bit busy at the moment, I’d suggest T. Mallard
Oh the fun we’d have !
As long as your not a racist puke, or dump your hate on people Puckish rogue. I don’t care what you say.
That said, your girl Denise, how you feeling about that slacker? Just another lazy tory mp we all got to pay for? Or do you have good feelings about the torpid lunch eater?
What are you going on about?
Come on Bro, your racist puke comment you made, which got you banned.
Are you not a national party supporter? I’m sure most of your comments have been supporting the last government, am I wrong?
I get a few bans so you’ll need to refresh my memory
So you get banned for being a racist puke a lot do you?
Not that I’m aware of, can you post a link to back up what you’re saying or are you just assuming?
So you forgot the last time you were banned from here, you know, the long one?
So thats a no then, you can’t post what should be a reasonably simple to find link
“Perhaps Lynn could appoint Clare Curran overlord and chief moderator of this site.”
NO. She’s otherwise occupied, doing a wee job for me.
https://thestandard.org.nz/what-will-2018-hold-for-labour/#comment-1434480
Lol, Martyn Bradbury’s a troll…
Could we at least sacrifice one troll? We could do it spectacularly, all pile on, beat the stuffing out of them and block their responses? That’d be a larf! Pete George already thinks we do that to him whenever he visits, poor luv. We could (metaphorically) barbecue James or give Pucky a good rogueing 🙂
https://giphy.com/gifs/creepy-beard-zach-galifianakis-V6R9thgW7fimI
RG
One a month would be a good ritual. It could be done democratically, by voting and then that one stood down for a month. The trolls would enjoy it, boasting how many times they had been stood down.
The left are in power so we attract the opposition.
It’s just business Grey.
Takes a bit to get used to after 9 years.
I could moderate but I’d be too permissive. Plus it’s too much time.
I think having the neoliberals trolls gives us the insight into the way they think and what they are up to just don’t let them get to you Ka pai
aye
Censorship, echo chamber, and propaganda – enough on the left already beat themselves with these things.
tl:dr – Greywarshark doesn’t like seeing comments by right-wingers and Something Must Be Done.
No I think Grey is musing about something completely different – but I won’t elaborate as I might get myself banned. Just have a look at yesterdays OM for background.
PM
It’s a waste of time trying to talk reasonably with some of you.
@greywarshark
“It would be a shame to lose the interesting minds that come here and have helped make TS the blog it is.”
and “including telling us how to run our site or what we should write. This is viewed as self-evident stupidity” (moderators comment).
Leading horses to water, and all that. We’ll see how long those interesting minds continue to visit, and whether or not they can be bothered with the dogmatic and egotistic.
And of course, if ‘they’ (them, the other) were really committed and discontented, they’d set up their own blog apparently.
Easier sometimes to just peruse and watch what happens.
Anyway, for the next few weeks, I’m off to places in the third world where community, compassion, integrity, etc., (values ‘the left’ once prided itself on) still exist and are necessary for survival.
Yes OwT here I and you are thinking of survival of humanity and some graciousness, and many that come here one would think, to discuss that, don’t give a tinker’s curse about it. I’ve been coming here for years and observing and thinking and writing and I don’t know if there has been the enlightenment of all and esprit de corps that I expected after all that time – seems to degenerate all the time into just a place for verbal scrapping and point scoring. Bit disappointing really.
weka
You could try not batting back any suggestions for alteration of your approach, and actually treat the commenters as fellow workers in a thinking community, not like students that need behaviour conditioning. It seems that you are an academic or in the teaching profession or have adopted didactic behaviour. There is a group of moderators who have for years adopted a general attitude to the blog which has had a robust flexibility, that seems to be reduced. All commenters are treated the same, with little respect for long-term commenters who have tried to add to the value of the blog.
Not everyone can manage moderation, and that seems to create a division.
I am thinking that there should be a level below the moderators made up of commenters who like to act responsibly.
Anyway I have written enough now, something on OM 18/1 I think and a couple today. I seem to just strike anger in you. How dare I put my ideas forward and want them heard and considered? So I am bowing out, I am not wanted and just get my serious and sensible suggestions to develop the blog further ridiculed by others so i won’t bother further.
[“How dare I put my ideas forward and want them heard and considered?”
It’s all about the *how. There is a difference between sharing ideas and telling Authors/Admin what to do. I know this because I commented on moderation for years as a commenter, in some pretty tense situations, and was never moderated. I paid a lot of attention to the moderators, including very hard out moderators like Lynn. I listened to what they said, and why they did what they did, so that I could understand how it worked here.
And yes, given the shit that’s gone down on this site in the past few years, and what that has cost people, including losing Authors, I don’t actually rate your views on moderation when they are presented in such ignorant ways. You still don’t get it and show no interest in listening to people who have a great deal more experience and knowledge about moderation here than you do.
And yes, I am fucked off now. Because after over a day of trying to evenhandedly explain some things here about moderation I’m still having to deal with people who think it’s all about them. Fellow workers? FFS, when I see commenters taking responsibility and doing some of the mahi around here to help the site instead of treating TS as some kind of personal sand pit where their needs are paramount, I’m sure that things will be more equitable. But as it stands the more work you create for moderators the more likely they are to crack down harder. Lynn set the tone for that and it predates myself and Bill by years.
I actually think you have some good ideas, but your framing and timing is just way way off. Take some time out, because now I am shutting this down. There is no problem with talking about moderation, but you don’t get to tell Authors what to do or how to run the site. If you can’t figure out the difference, then ask when you get back and I’ll explain it. But this has run long enough. 1 week ban. If you have a problem with that, try emailing Lynn and he can explain to you why moderation in the end is precisely about behaviour modification. – weka]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Njd8AX-SIHI
and fwiw, I’m really open to discussing my moderation style. I”m just waiting for someone who knows how to do that constructively and with respect for the Authors here. Not all moderators are willing to do that.
Hang in there Grey I’ll stick a post up about The Standard itself shortly.
Can you bring back TRP as well?
and i’ll just pluck perpetual goodness out of my capacious ass.
go get us a punchy author or two Union :-}
I’d do it meself, but as you know, authors getting banned and demoted aint a good look. It wouldn’t take long. lol.
And besides that, my spealing is shote.
‘n oath
Did you just call me an effin oaf? lol
Comment o’ the day, Ucg!
Technically, I can start writing again any time (I still have an author log in) and I’m actively considering it because the TS community means a lot to me and the blog itself clearly needs a shot in the arm.
However, the problem remains that at least two of my fellow authors (with mod powers) appear to find working class voices hard to handle. Ironic given that this blog started out intending to be a voice for the labour movement and is now appears to be almost exclusively written and moderated by folk whose exposure to workers is limited to ordering flat whites from them.
The real sadness of the situation is that when CV and I were booted out in late 2016, losing two male authors was supposed to usher in a new dawn of women writers. TS was suddenly going to become a ‘safe space’ for women and a thousand flowers would bloom. Predictably*, that never happened, and what has happened is that other writers, male and female, have drifted off.
I note TS is losing some terrific commenters too. When we piss off the likes of Marty Mars, the site drifts ever closer to being a blandly bourgeois bore fest.
On the upside, we have some new talent writing. Advantage continues to delight and I can’t begin to tell you what a terrific chap Enzo is, both as a writer and an activist. Fingers crossed there are more engaging writers to come.
So, I’m going to have a hard think this weekend about resuming writing here. Like everyone, I have other calls on my time and energy, however, I think TS is worth the effort.
*I wrote a post, ‘Broken’, which touched on what I saw as the difficulties for women participating on blogs. I still think the post is relevant.
https://thestandard.org.nz/broken/
[By the general agreement of the Authors in the back end last year, TRP’s login permissions are set at Contributor not Author. This means he can’t publish posts here. He can submit posts, but they will have to be approved by an Author with Editor level permissions. The dropping of his permissions to Contributor happen some time after he left the site, and it was prompted by him maligning TS off site (dropping permissions also meant he could no longer access the back end discussions but he hadn’t been involved in those for some time anyway).
There are so many mistruths in what he just wrote. I’m not even going to begin to untangle that, because we’ve been here too many times before. Given the last time he was banned as a commenter was for telling lies about an author, it’s really hard to see how he could return as an Author now and not have the same old shit go down again.
As far as I know there are only two Authors that have had their permissions dropped at TS – CV and TRP. TPR’s came after several years and multiple rounds of conflict that cause problems for the community, site, and authors. He is also one of the reasons why it is so hard to get women to write here.
Had he been willing to work *with other authors here, he would know that quite a lot has been done in the background on the women writers project. I will note that he had on a number of occasions worked against women and what we are wanting to have happen here. I think this comment demonstrates that he is still largely incapable of being here without causing problems.
I’m sure there will be discussion about this in the back end but I am going ban him now from commenting here, because of the lying and because of the potential to create the same sets of problems he was responsible for before. I also want the women’s project to largely have a free run once it gets into the public.
12 month ban from commenting – weka]
Second comment of the day, TRP lol
I reckon this site needs you now more than ever.
Hope your hard think works out for us mortals at the standard.
Off to read that blog now. Always a pleasure, never a chore. 🙂
Cheers, and thanks for the encouragement!
No worries, mate. I don’t always agree with you, but I do respect your integrity and latent honesty.
I’ve never had to worry about home town modding on your posts.
Now look what you did.
The problem was your moderating … and you and CV had terrible fights …
And rightly so, the guy was a fucking shill.
There was much more to it than that Micky. But I’m fed up of reading stuff that’s just people throwing lit matches and petrol. So….end.
[given the abuse I’ve just read in the back end in your comments sitting in moderation, I’m not even going to look at this further. 6 month ban – weka]
[further escalating and misogynistic abuse has led to a permanent ban. – weka]
I’m dropping your comments into Moderation until I have a chance to look at them. You can probably expect a shortish ban for attacking Authors. I’ll put a moderation note up when I’ve had a better look.
So not political at all but
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11977896
So its not enough that Seth Rogen ruins probably the greatest comic series ever written (Preacher) but know he wants to take a big, steaming dump on the best superhero parody ever (although The Pro is pretty good)
Media Lens
18/1/18
“A Liberal Pillar Of The Establishment – ‘New Look’ Guardian, Old-Style Orthodoxy”
http://medialens.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=861:a-liberal-pillar-of-the-establishment-new-look-guardian-old-style-orthodoxy&catid=56:alerts-2018&Itemid=250
Liberal “Left” media like The Guardian are probably one of the the greatest enemies of real Progressive Left change in the west..IMO.
The Guardian’s Luke Harding’s recent interview was another low by the Guardian.
“I’m a storyteller.”
Sums up the paper nowadays – sells a narrative .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ikf1uZli4g
And then there was this article by Olivia Solon.
How Syria’s White Helmets became victims of an online propaganda machine
Which was brilliantly dissected here.
And I think Jonathan Freedland is about the worst at the Guardian.
A pro Israel hawk, he led a non stop assault on Corbyn. He makes Josie Pagani and Phil Quinn look like mice.
“Conspiracies don’t happen….here.”
A beginner’s guide to the Guardian
Brian Fallow calls out business on their pro-National and anti-Labour government bias, clearly feeling so miserable about their businesses when unemployment, inflation, economic growth, interest rates, and bunches of other stuff are going so well for so long in New Zealand:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11977515
Is anyone else quietly worried about the commodification of space?
https://www.planetaryresources.com/
Or that private companies are adding the spy networks?
http://www.spacex.com/
It’s feeling more and more like “in the mirror darkly”, rather than “to boldly go”.
I’m worried to the extent that space travel becomes so cheap that people with overgrown lawns and hoarders become those nasty Martian neighbours from hell you see on TV… Overwhelming the criteria for gaining a seat on a shuttle is so high it weeds out the unfit. Unless some one makes a nano sky crane to space I just don’t see how it’s economically viable to get those commodities back on solid ground.
Although military commanders do accept that the first person to colonise the moon will be the most powerful man in the solar system. Because unlike earth bound natives who have to spend vast resources getting weapons systems to the moon, any one who colonises the moon can just chuck devastating rocks back at us for free basically.
So there are problems and we don’t really want nasty neighbours from hell.
Yeah, but if we can support a moon base to the point it’s sustainable, similar players can still obliterate the moonbase or its mother country. And if the moonbase is big enough to declare independence, the major nations down here will have the ability to put counter-battery fire in orbit. Even in the 1970s it would have been technically trivial to convert a rocket motor turbopump into a turbogenerator for a decent rail gun
Same fucking “game”, bigger scale.
Mr Peters will become the first Maori Priminster even only for 6 weeks this is a good thing for Maoris culture and Mana Ka pai. There is going to be a lot of howls from all the neoliberals racist bigots they can go get_____LOL. I’m happy that my Ngti Porou IWI has taken down shonky keys photo teno pai.
Now my Maori culture people know this if any dum stuff goes down at Waitangi this year I won’t be as polite as I have been with other Maori issues I have involved myself in. Ka kite ano
I think, with this cool government, that you’ll find that Waitangi this year will be the celebration it’s meant to be. Ka kite
Following Pelosi releasing the Senate version, Nunes has released the House Intelligence Committee testimony by Fusion GPS.
https://twitter.com/HoarseWisperer/status/954149622397710337
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/954149622397710337.html
This Dave Kennedy needs to harden the f. up and get real. It’s weather, not climate, you looney true believer. Start reading here…
https://sciblogs.co.nz/griffins-gadgets/2017/07/12/climate-sceptic-end-chris-de-freitas-dies/#comment-261280
Amongst all this, take particular note of this comment and link….
http://jennifermarohasy.com/2016/09/13040/#comment-582401
If confusion still exists in his mind that there is no atmospheric “greenhouse effect” ,the penny should finally drop with this comment….
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2017/11/24/can-a-cold-object-warm-a-hot-object/#comment-2685034
[I don’t allow climate change deniers on posts I put up, especially not ones that can’t pass even a basic test of manners in a new place to a guest post.
I also note that following your first link takes me to a page that is a comment by you that has a link to another page that is a comment by you, and eventually ends up at a climate change denier site. Way below the standard of debate that is acceptable here. Claims such as you are making require actual evidence. I’m moving this to Open Mike, you might find someone who will debate with you, personally I think it’s an utter waste of time. btw, have a read of the site Policy. – weka]
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
deafening silence on legalising marijuana.
the dompost can run a front page confabulating P with cannabis all mixed up and a million fallacies of composition to write a crummy ad for the justice industry but their standards have fallen into the abyss and it is to be hope that a progressive government will do the right thing immediately.