Three years after helping to get rid of this upstart African democratic leader, the United States was instrumental in putting away Nelson Mandela for 28 years. The horror of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Chile, Grenada, Panama, Iraq (to name just a selection) were still to come….
60 years on, Patrice Lumumba’s assassination stands as a gruesome reminder of post-colonial brutality
by Peter Bolton Jan. 17, 2021 "Information Clearing House" –
Exactly 60 years ago today, Congolese national liberation leader Patrice Lumumba was assassinated. Those responsible were most likely troops of a rival government acting on behalf of the Congo’s former colonial master, which had retained a presence in the Central African country. But there’s more to the assassination than initially meets the eye. There has been a gradual accumulation of credible evidence that the world’s post-WWII colonial superpower, the United States, along with its sidekick the UK, played a hand in the events leading to Lumumba’s assassination.
The episode remains a bleak reminder of how the West continued to have a brutal role in the Global South, even after its former colonies gained independence. And this kind of self-interested meddling still continues to this very day.
The Congo’s first democratic leader, elected then killed
Lumumba was the Congo’s first democratically elected leader following the country’s independence from Belgium in 1960. He became prime minister after his party, the Congolese National Movement (MCN in its French initials), won the first democratic elections in its history. But though Lumumba was an immensely popular figure at home, he had already earned powerful enemies on the international stage.
His decision to make contact with the Soviet Union certainly raised eyebrows. But it was his firmly stated desire to use the Congo’s resource wealth for the benefit of the country’s own people that attracted the most ire. And as an African nationalist and outspoken proponent of anti-colonialism, he was seen as a potential threat to Western interests throughout the continent. When Congo’s former colonial master Belgium, which still had troops in the country, backed a rival, pro-Western secessionist government, Lumumba was quickly arrested.
Shortly after, on 17 January 1961, Lumumba was assassinated by a “firing squad under Belgian command”. The circumstances surrounding his death remained mysterious for decades. Belgium long denied involvement in his assassination, but eventually issued an official apology for its role in 2002.
Evidence pointing to involvement of the United States
Subsequent revelations indicate that parties other than Belgium were involved in Lumumba’s killing. In fact, there’s evidence that the US shares partial responsibility for the events leading up to his death. …
Fuckface von Clownstick is going to have the bigliest bestest most tremendous Presidential Library ever! Nobody's ever seen anything like it. People are telling him, grown big burly men with tears in their eyes are saying it will make America the Greatest it's ever been!
Fuckface von Clownstick is going to have the bigliest bestest most tremendous Presidential Library ever! Nobody's ever seen anything like it. People are telling him, grown big burly men with tears in their eyes are saying it will make America the Greatest it's ever been!
And 6000 more residents have joined the unemployed since Xmas,
As they will have little to harvest in the SI due to the inclement weather,I would suggest they are to be located in the high unemployment hinterlands of the NI.
Currently Bay of Plenty Kiwifruit will be in high demand (already has been), then there's all the grape nets from Otago to Northland, then there's all kinds of harvests through to Autumn, then there's pruning of all tree crops into winter.
Yes – a triumph for insincerity. This is the low-wage unskilled economy that the Rogergnomes actually wanted. A brighter future for the parasitic classes, and no future for the workers at all. And with Covid risk thrown in as a mystery bonus! Yippee!
I see you’re into stupid bumper stickers with your “comfortable labour cognoscenti”. Here’s a quiz for you: two of the words don’t apply to me at all and the third word is debateable. Knock yourself out!
When/where/how did Douglas design workers sleeping in their cars? If he really did design this, intentionally, willingly, and knowingly, you must provide one of those linky-thingies that you’re so good with.
When someone claims the mantle of expertise, as the Rogergnomes did, they license the presumption that the outcome is exactly what they actually intended.
A presumption is just that and it’s a crap one too, in this case. PU has been asked and told to lift his game here, and I don’t know how many times. It seems his time will be up soon. That’s not a presumption, but a prediction with a fairly high probability of being correct.
Simon Wilde, Sunday Times cricket correspondent, in today's Press opinion piece, 'Aussies must be told to stop', also criticises their long term behaviour.
I enjoyed their defeat by a courageous, battered and superior team- ethically, sportingly, and in morale superior.
Bowled them out and then scored more runs in the fourth innings than any team to win in this 'Gabbatorial' contest.
I have heard a certain amount of fwitery in recent days from National MP's and their mouth pieces about the governments plan for a covid vaccination rollout. I have read a few letters in the NZ Herald commenting on such. A couple of hours on google would easily educate such people on a few facts.
The likes in England, the US, India, Indonesia, Argentina and Israel are rolling out their vaccination programs amidst lock downs, waves of covid sweeping through their populations and health systems stretched to the limits. NZ meanwhile is over 100 days since our last covid lockdown.
The are presently 8 vaccines approved for use in various countries or authorised for emergency use in various countries, emergency use meaning they are not yet full tested and approved, but show signs promising enough to permit emergency usage.
Pfizer/Biontech and Moderna from the US, AstraZenica the UK, Sputnik from Russia, Bharat Biotech India, Sinovac and Sinopharm and Cansino all from China. The Cansino vaccine is only being used for the Chinese military that I know. Sinopharm has 2 vaccine variants, unsure which one is in use. A 9th candidiate, EpiVacCorona has been approved in Russia but is not used outside the country.
Speculation and doubt exist about the efficacy of several of the vaccines, notably AstraZenica and Sinovac with different test trials yielding different rates of effectiveness. Some questions also exist about a lack of data for the Sputnik, Bharat and Sinopharm vaccines.
Pfizer has recently announced a slow down in delivery of vaccines as it reconfigures it's manufacturing plant(s). Israel, which is leading the world in vaccination rates, is reported to have paid a premium to Pfizer to be at the front of the queue.
Some obvious questions for the likes of National MPs and their community mouth pieces – which vaccines would they like NZ to immediately purchase? What price do they want to pay? What plan do they have to accelerate NZ to the front of the vaccine purshasing queue?
I would be surprised if they had any coherent answer. In fact any answer beyond some general moans, hyperbole and alarmist statements.
All sound perfectly sensible (sounding) research of the topic … that is; a response to Covid-19 vaccination OK?
But! hang on, in a NZ political! sense you are missing the point.
Which is …
Chippie … along with Ardern and others (not! Robbo incidently) are bald faced liars. The issue is Chippies halo has slipped. He is a liar plain and simple.
"Chris Hipkins is following the pattern of behaviour set by his colleagues. If a sensible suggestion is made by an Opposition party he rejects it out of hand. If an early timetable for vaccinations is mooted Mr Hipkins embarks on an evasive and misleading explanation with all the hallmarks of a dodging of the issue. His halo has slipped at a time when plain speaking is demanded for serious matters of public health.
Footnote: Just saying: As a rare visitor to The Standard, I find the blog very useful for seeing both sides of the issues raised. Kiwiblog gets more of my time but it's hard right nutters sometimes bomb the topics.
not sure where you are trying to take the matter Larry, I will simply restate my points as per above.
Which vaccines does the National Party, and it's supporters who mouth the same platitudes, suggest NZ purchase. As things stand we have our names down for Pfizer, Astra Zeneca, Jansen and Novavax. As you will know from doing some basic google searches, Pfizer are in demand all round the world and presently slowing down delivery of promised vaccines, the exact effectiveness of Astra Zeneca is still under review, in fact recently some Aussie scientists have called for a delay in using that vaccine, Jansen and Novavax are still in Phase 3 trials and not yet approved. The only other 'western vaccine' from Moderna has until recently only been used in North America and is just starting to find it's way into Europe.
How much does the National Party think we should pay? Do they want us to pay over the odds to try and get some vaccine now? Do they expect we should do a deal like Israel recently did with Pfizer. They need to come clean on what they would do.
Finally, what is their exact plan to promote NZ to the front of the queue. Making glib statements in the media isn't a plan. They should outline what they would do. In absence of such you have to conclude that they have no idea whatsoever.
and I did think to myself that we have not heard from Shane Reti on the issue? Just Collins that I can remember. Being a health matter he seems the logical person. Reti would probably have a much greater understanding of the present vaccine situation than Collins.
I did muse whether this might be the ongoing case of National MP's letting Collins make dumb comments and dig her own grave, Reti keeping his powder dry for a tilt at the leadership. Just idle speculation.
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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 ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor in Honiara Solomon Islands’ incumbent prime minister Manasseh Sogavare has been re-elected in the East Choiseul constituency. It is the opening move in the political chess match to form the country’s next government. Returning officer Christopher Makoni made the declaration late last night after ...
Headline: The moment of friction. – 36th Parallel Assessments In strategic studies “friction” is a term that it is used to describe the moment when military action encounters adversary resistance. “Friction” is one of four (along with an unofficial fifth) “F’s” in military strategy, which includes force (kinetic mass), ...
The Fast-track Bill, if passed, would allow three Ministers, unchallenged and unchecked, to approve the immediate extraction and exhaustion of one-off resources. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne iamharin/Shutterstock For many people, the term “bulk billed” refers to a GP visit they don’t have to pay ...
Emmas Hislop, Sidnam and Wehipeihana discuss what’s in a name. Emma Sidnam: Hello Emmas! Thank you so much for agreeing to do this with me. My first question for you is related to what’s been on my mind for a while. It’s very important. You see we’ve recently had some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Sievers, Research Fellow, Global Wetlands Project, Australia Rivers Institute, Griffith University Chris Brown Humans love the coast. But we love it to death, so much so we’ve destroyed valuable coastal habitat – in the case of some types of habitat, ...
Josh Thomson on the 80s milk ad jingle he can’t stop singing, the beauty of The Simpsons, why Jersey Shore is as good as Shakespeare and more. For someone who spends a lot of time on our screens, popping up in everything from 7 Days to Taskmaster, Educators to Good ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
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)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, 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 up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
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Three years after helping to get rid of this upstart African democratic leader, the United States was instrumental in putting away Nelson Mandela for 28 years. The horror of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Chile, Grenada, Panama, Iraq (to name just a selection) were still to come….
Ahaha
https://twitter.com/VickerySec/status/1351227537985318929
Parler is in bed with communists!? The scarlets …
Natural allies..
Communists??
Your cold war kneejerks are kicking in
Alas, my sense of humour is poorly understood by some; woe is me …
But it provokes such telling kneejerks …
I only ever comment here in good faith, it has to be told …
gotta link for that..?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_faith
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-19-01-2021/#comment-1775172
There is NO EVIDENCE that the russkis are chumming up with prump's fascist buddies, NONE.
Nope, this is not happening in NZ, it can’t be, surely …
https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/destinations/uk-and-ireland/123969965/covid19-why-the-keyboard-warriors-can-seem-as-bad-as-soaring-infections
Fuckface von Clownstick is going to have the bigliest bestest most tremendous Presidential Library ever! Nobody's ever seen anything like it. People are telling him, grown big burly men with tears in their eyes are saying it will make America the Greatest it's ever been!
https://www.salon.com/2021/01/18/trump-faces-massive-ridicule-over-reported-plans-for-2-billion-presidential-library_partner/
https://twitter.com/hashtag/TrumpLibrary?src=hashtag_click
A shrine for hard right and hard left alike. Should install a fenced octagon.
Charge pay-per-view and that $2bill will be there in no time.
As a bonus, just check everyone that turns up and in no time they'll have a who's who of the kookosphere.
Good place to store the transcripts of any criminal trials he faces.
No, no, no! Trump meant a Liebrary.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veracity_of_statements_by_Donald_Trump
Let's see, $2billion divided by over 30,000 lies during his term, that works out to about $66 grand each. Bargain!
Stop the Steal is worth US$1 billion on its own, I reckon.
3d tour of the existing presidential twitter library. Chicago installation of the library created by the Daily Show crowd.
There's a bigly, beautiful trump library. The best library, ever. And Mexico paid for it.
https://djtrumplibrary.com/
That is one impressive website!
And here it is!
https://twitter.com/KatrinaNation/status/1348504371978448897?s=20
Great to see up to 2000 seasonal workers flying in this week, with a $22.10 minimum, ready for harvest peak. All with 14 day quarantine.
Looking forward to more shortages pressuring wages.
And 6000 more residents have joined the unemployed since Xmas,
As they will have little to harvest in the SI due to the inclement weather,I would suggest they are to be located in the high unemployment hinterlands of the NI.
Currently Bay of Plenty Kiwifruit will be in high demand (already has been), then there's all the grape nets from Otago to Northland, then there's all kinds of harvests through to Autumn, then there's pruning of all tree crops into winter.
There's no shortage of stuff to do out there.
Yes – a triumph for insincerity. This is the low-wage unskilled economy that the Rogergnomes actually wanted. A brighter future for the parasitic classes, and no future for the workers at all. And with Covid risk thrown in as a mystery bonus! Yippee!
I think we are just about where Roger douglas designed us to be.
workers sleeping in their cars..etc etc…on and on it goes..
nz has well and truly moved from a country famed for its' egalitarian values..(with/from a big L labour party..
and has become a nation of haves and have-nots..
reaching peak-neoliberalism..
with the haves..and their government..the small l labour party..seemingly not giving a flying fuck about this..
hard to see how fings will change..
Roger douglas was effective in his neoliberal revolution..
Because Ken Douglas and others failed to do their duty and resist it like the Australian unions did.
yep..!
What utter tripe & bollocks!
the comfortable labour cognoscenti here..such as yourself…may not be aware of this..
but it is happening out there..
and 3+ decades of the reaganomics he installed has brought us to to this..
what is incorrect about that..?
I see you’re into stupid bumper stickers with your “comfortable labour cognoscenti”. Here’s a quiz for you: two of the words don’t apply to me at all and the third word is debateable. Knock yourself out!
When/where/how did Douglas design workers sleeping in their cars? If he really did design this, intentionally, willingly, and knowingly, you must provide one of those linky-thingies that you’re so good with.
When someone claims the mantle of expertise, as the Rogergnomes did, they license the presumption that the outcome is exactly what they actually intended.
A presumption is just that and it’s a crap one too, in this case. PU has been asked and told to lift his game here, and I don’t know how many times. It seems his time will be up soon. That’s not a presumption, but a prediction with a fairly high probability of being correct.
So someone ran tRumps 1776 Report through a plagiarism-detector. And…..
https://twitter.com/Dr_C_Thompson/status/1351331998493782018
https://twitter.com/Dr_C_Thompson/status/1351367720399499265
On the bright side, Australia may be about to lose a Test series at home.
Mark Reason gives his, ah, opinions as to why the Australians deserve to lose.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/cricket/123990111/mark-reason-australias-cricket-loses-honour-in-shameful-short-bowling-assault-on-india
Simon Wilde, Sunday Times cricket correspondent, in today's Press opinion piece, 'Aussies must be told to stop', also criticises their long term behaviour.
I enjoyed their defeat by a courageous, battered and superior team- ethically, sportingly, and in morale superior.
Bowled them out and then scored more runs in the fourth innings than any team to win in this 'Gabbatorial' contest.
There are many good articles on this topic but it needs to be repeated on a regular basis, it seems, to act as a constant reminder.
https://theconversation.com/theres-no-such-thing-as-alternative-facts-5-ways-to-spot-misinformation-and-stop-sharing-it-online-152894
I have heard a certain amount of fwitery in recent days from National MP's and their mouth pieces about the governments plan for a covid vaccination rollout. I have read a few letters in the NZ Herald commenting on such. A couple of hours on google would easily educate such people on a few facts.
The likes in England, the US, India, Indonesia, Argentina and Israel are rolling out their vaccination programs amidst lock downs, waves of covid sweeping through their populations and health systems stretched to the limits. NZ meanwhile is over 100 days since our last covid lockdown.
The are presently 8 vaccines approved for use in various countries or authorised for emergency use in various countries, emergency use meaning they are not yet full tested and approved, but show signs promising enough to permit emergency usage.
Pfizer/Biontech and Moderna from the US, AstraZenica the UK, Sputnik from Russia, Bharat Biotech India, Sinovac and Sinopharm and Cansino all from China. The Cansino vaccine is only being used for the Chinese military that I know. Sinopharm has 2 vaccine variants, unsure which one is in use. A 9th candidiate, EpiVacCorona has been approved in Russia but is not used outside the country.
Speculation and doubt exist about the efficacy of several of the vaccines, notably AstraZenica and Sinovac with different test trials yielding different rates of effectiveness. Some questions also exist about a lack of data for the Sputnik, Bharat and Sinopharm vaccines.
Pfizer has recently announced a slow down in delivery of vaccines as it reconfigures it's manufacturing plant(s). Israel, which is leading the world in vaccination rates, is reported to have paid a premium to Pfizer to be at the front of the queue.
Some obvious questions for the likes of National MPs and their community mouth pieces – which vaccines would they like NZ to immediately purchase? What price do they want to pay? What plan do they have to accelerate NZ to the front of the vaccine purshasing queue?
I would be surprised if they had any coherent answer. In fact any answer beyond some general moans, hyperbole and alarmist statements.
Hey Georgecom …
All sound perfectly sensible (sounding) research of the topic … that is; a response to Covid-19 vaccination OK?
But! hang on, in a NZ political! sense you are missing the point.
Which is …
Chippie … along with Ardern and others (not! Robbo incidently) are bald faced liars. The issue is Chippies halo has slipped. He is a liar plain and simple.
"Chris Hipkins is following the pattern of behaviour set by his colleagues. If a sensible suggestion is made by an Opposition party he rejects it out of hand. If an early timetable for vaccinations is mooted Mr Hipkins embarks on an evasive and misleading explanation with all the hallmarks of a dodging of the issue. His halo has slipped at a time when plain speaking is demanded for serious matters of public health.
Footnote: Just saying: As a rare visitor to The Standard, I find the blog very useful for seeing both sides of the issues raised. Kiwiblog gets more of my time but it's hard right nutters sometimes bomb the topics.
Link to the lies.
not sure where you are trying to take the matter Larry, I will simply restate my points as per above.
Which vaccines does the National Party, and it's supporters who mouth the same platitudes, suggest NZ purchase. As things stand we have our names down for Pfizer, Astra Zeneca, Jansen and Novavax. As you will know from doing some basic google searches, Pfizer are in demand all round the world and presently slowing down delivery of promised vaccines, the exact effectiveness of Astra Zeneca is still under review, in fact recently some Aussie scientists have called for a delay in using that vaccine, Jansen and Novavax are still in Phase 3 trials and not yet approved. The only other 'western vaccine' from Moderna has until recently only been used in North America and is just starting to find it's way into Europe.
How much does the National Party think we should pay? Do they want us to pay over the odds to try and get some vaccine now? Do they expect we should do a deal like Israel recently did with Pfizer. They need to come clean on what they would do.
Finally, what is their exact plan to promote NZ to the front of the queue. Making glib statements in the media isn't a plan. They should outline what they would do. In absence of such you have to conclude that they have no idea whatsoever.
and I did think to myself that we have not heard from Shane Reti on the issue? Just Collins that I can remember. Being a health matter he seems the logical person. Reti would probably have a much greater understanding of the present vaccine situation than Collins.
I did muse whether this might be the ongoing case of National MP's letting Collins make dumb comments and dig her own grave, Reti keeping his powder dry for a tilt at the leadership. Just idle speculation.