In terms of holding him accountable for his misdeeds, it means nothing. Because the chances of the senate voting to convict him, or imposing some other sanction short of conviction such as censure, are quite a lot less than your chances of winning Powerball.
In terms of his behaviour, unlike you or I that would find it quite a chastening experience, he will no doubt find it invigorating. You think it's been a shitshow so far? Hold on to your buttocks, you ain't seen nuthin yet.
Is there anyone left in the Republican Party who isn't either self-serving, corrupt or cowardly? Or an exciting blend of all three? Because they seem utterly vile almost to a man. Justin Amash at least had the moral fortitude to leave the GOP and stand as an independent. He must be feeling very lonely these days. Mitch McConnell and friends seem to have quite brazenly indicated they don't give a toss about the Constitution or the wishes of the American people. Their Orange Messiah has manufactured his own reality with its own rules, and those are the rules by which they're determined to play.
There are no absolutes anymore. Reality is the perpetually morphing domain of those who can lie most frequently and most shamelessly.
The dayglo swampzilla has spent the last five years thrashing around like a bull in a china shop with a taser lodged up its ass, and now Pelosi makes a mild attempt to rein him in. But you're suggesting the coming eruptions are Pelosi's fault?
I recently read "And the War came: The North and the Secession Crisis, 1860-61" by Kenneth R. Stamp (formerly Professor of History at Berkeley) about events leading up to the US Civil War and evolution of northern public opinion. Trump could have walked out of its pages.
I'm still interested in your answer to the question below. I've asked you at least four times before, you evaded it the first time and ghosted the rest.
Do you think it's OK for the president to withhold Congress approved and taxpayer funded aid to try to extort a foreign country into smearing a political opponent of the president?
If I can push in here..I think there are people who would say its not an egregious enough accusation to warrant the risk of leaving Trump even more electable.
I would also question why, if the accusations are true, not to mention 'Russiagate' Pelosi etc are so willing to tick off Trumps latest military spending requests.
Let alone his laws around increased surveillance.
I guess Trump and Pelosi etc have some common ground..
<blockquote>
If Republicans are supposed to worry about the United States bankrupting itself with social-welfare spending, aren’t Democrats supposed to worry about the United States bankrupting itself with military spending? Not anymore. In the run-up to the deal, Nancy Pelosi’s office fired off an email to House Democrats proclaiming that, “In our negotiations, Congressional Democrats have been fighting for increases in funding for defense.” Chuck Schumer’s office announced that, “We fully support President Trump’s Defense Department’s request.” Not all congressional Democrats voted for the budget agreement: <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/115-2018/h69" rel="nofollow ugc">Thirty-eight percent of Democrats</a> backed it in the House and <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/115-2018/s31" rel="nofollow ugc">76 percent</a> did in the Senate. But even those who voted no mostly did so because they were upset about its lack of protection for immigrant “dreamers”—not because they oppose a higher defense budget. Last year, in fact, when Democrats were offered a standalone vote on big increases in military spending—in the form of <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/14/house-passes-defense-policy-bill-240561" rel="nofollow ugc">House</a> and <a href="https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2017/09/18/us-senate-passes-budget-busting-700-billion-ndaa/" rel="nofollow ugc">Senate</a> defense authorization bills—large majorities in both bodies voted yes.
</blockquote>
Russian interference came from Russia. Members of the dolt45 campaign tried to collude in that, but failed because they were incompetent. And it all happened before he was president, and nobody other than the Russians were using state resources or authority.
While the Ukraine thing is a clear case of an elected official using their public powers in order to obtain private political favours from a foreign power. No grey area, no complexity about servers or analytics: dolt45 withheld state aid to the Ukraine and requested a sham investigation against his political opponent before he released the funds. By his own admission, and the admission of multiple administration officials with direct or documentary knowledge of the conversation.
The Mueller report couldn't establish a conspiracy between Trump-Russia. There are no ifs or buts about it.
The Ukraine thing is even more tenuous as one of the star witnesses himself agreed with the Trump transcript and the other one admitted it was his own assumption there was a quid pro quo without evidence of one.
Do you think it's OK for the president to withhold Congress approved and taxpayer funded aid to try to extort a foreign country into smearing a political opponent of the president?
The Mueller report couldn't establish a conspiracy between Trump-Russia. There are no ifs or buts about it.
How does that contradict what I wrote?
The Ukraine thing is even more tenuous as one of the star witnesses himself agreed with the Trump transcript and the other one admitted it was his own assumption there was a quid pro quo without evidence of one.
Have you read the transcript of the July call? The one where Zelensky asks about getting Javelins for defense, and the orange piece of shit says "I would like you to do us a favor though" and starts requesting the Ukrainians open an investigation ranging across a number of issues, including that Guiliani will be his representative to the Ukrainians and "There's a lot of talk about Biden's son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great."
And that's the whitehouse's own transcript. But you still regurgitate no evidence of quid pro quo.
It sounds like you're saying there was attempted collusion, and I'm just letting you know the investigation into it couldn't find any.
The bulk of the Ukraine transcript is centred on the goings on and the investigating of Ukraine. The javelins are mentioned once and I think the Bidens are too. To make a case that it is actually about doing a deal on either of those things when they are mentioned in passing is quite frankly stupid.
It's the tRump White House version of a phone call they rushed to bury in highly classified storage usually reserved for information about covert operations and other sensitive intelligence actions, not a transcript.
re: attempted collusion: yeah, nah. These guys said it better at the time. There were multiple attempts by the orange oaf's campaign to get electoral assistance from the Russians.
And if I say "do what I say or I kill your dog", even once, that's still a crime. The dude was literally asked about the congress-assigned military aid and answered with a request for a personal "favour". Even if he only did it once (lol) it's still a crime.
The A to Z framing is cheesy and limiting it to 26 means a lot has been left out. But it's still a useful reminder of how much the Mango Mugabe has gotten away with and almost certainly won't be held accountable for.
Are you coming to or travelling through Motueka these holidays? Us locals have a couple of unwritten rules…..
Don't turn right into High Street – You'll be waiting for ages.
If you see someone struggling to cross the road or exit a drive way, please stop for them and let them pass. You'll be rewarded with friendly waves and smiles and you'll still arrive at your destination on time. Thanks 🙂
Someone intoning about safety on the roads on radio this morning (in a foreign accent – Canadian I think one less job for a born NZer). Realistic xenophobia!
The message is that proposals and actions to bring the 'road toll' down must take a holistic approach, not just acting on one aspect. Cinny brings up the courtesy approach, the realisation that there are other people out there trying to do things too. Taking a community of the road approach would be very helpful in reducing stress when getting around. Pedestrians understand that they need to do what we used to teach toddlers to do, look right, left, then right again, and perhaps give a wave to drivers who stop. Drivers could slow more often when they observe others near the road, could toot to alert people who aren't paying attention. They could slow when approaching a narrow piece of road, to ensure safe transit in each lane, and give a wave as acknowledgment to other thoughtful and careful drivers.
We all tend to feel like 'King of the Road' and busy with our own duties, ignoring other drivers. So we could act graciously like the Kings and Queens we’ve observed, smiling and waving when appropriate. And find it appropriate on a regular basis.
We are having to slow to 80 km with the roads are jammed with traffic, which is also the same speed that the behemoth trucks can travel at so driving may involve staring at the rear of a truck for the whole journey. Or at another passenger vehicle with windows at a higher level, so they too will block out most of the view ahead. So we had better keep safe distances behind because you lose your opportunity to 'read' conditions ahead and so be forced to brake hard and fast in reaction to the moving wall ahead of you.
No worries though deaths and injuries will go down as soon we will have so many people on the roads we'll be in an eternal queue lucky to move forward at 20 kmh.
"Someone intoning about safety on the roads on radio this morning (in a foreign accent – Canadian I think one less job for a born NZer). Realistic xenophobia!"
Really, Grey? You think we should sack our Associate Minister of Transport, Julie Anne Genter, because she is American-born and replace her with someone NZ born?
Really? Who do you think should replace her? Yourself?
I am 99% sure you are referring to JAG's interview with Kathryn Ryan on RNZ Nine to Noon at 0908 this morning on the Government's new multi-billion dollar road safety plan aimed at cutting road deaths by 40 per cent by 2030. Genter announced the plan, called Road to Zero, yesterday. Earlier in the week she announced roadside drug testing would be rolled out from 2021.
Regardless of where she was born, I would rate Genter's past experience and qualifications light miles ahead of yours – or most other people's including other MPs of whatever hue, birthplace, or political party – for the job of Minister or Associate Minister for transportation generally, and in particular economically sustainable and environmental friendly roading and road safety.
Genter would be our most qualified Transport minister in decades. They train em well in that US of A. Glad to have one of their citizens contributing here rather than just buying up land.
Funny thing is on the Kapiti main road they sometimes closed down the passing lanes when traffic was heavy. Surprisingly the traffic flowed more evenly and accidents were fewer. I accept that motorways built for heavier traffic can flow at say 120kph safely. The 3 lane highway from Dubai to El Ain has a fast lane without interruption where locals travel at speeds greater than 150kph. (Limit supposed to be 120kph.)
Looks like the Spanish are flying under the radar, having become the world's leading practitioners of postmodern politics without getting the credit for it. I read what No Right Turn reported on the EU contradicting Spain's govt, did a hunt through likely websites to discover what that govt actually is, and found that the actual existence of that govt seems to depend on which source of info you read. Another Schrodinger's Cat situation.
Anyway, the baddies are the social democrats (or, socialist workers) who have been preventing an elected Catalan from taking his seat in the European parliament. Why would anyone expect a bunch of leftists to respect the will of the people? Postmodern thinking rules, and state compulsion is very addictive.
Re. "Why would anyone expect a bunch of leftists to respect the will of the people ?"
Having hitched around Spain the year before Franco died and seen the Gardia Civil in full riot gear marching away from an overwhelming crowd of Basque men and women in San Sebastian I am confident that "a bunch of leftists" would probably respect the will of the people. Catalonia has its own troubled past with forensic archaeologists now re-examining old sites.
A new generation should be left to resolve their own problems in peace rather than succumb to a patronizing antipodean analysis.
The formation of a government in Spain is almost complete.
PSOE and Podemos have already agreed a deal and a government with a majority in parliament is likely to be agreed before xmas, though it is possible this might be delayed until January.
Power tends to corrupt etc. I noticed that Ms Dalziel was revealed as being prepared to get more than a 'little help from my friends'. John Minto keeps an eye out for this sort of thing. He stood for Mayor himself didn’t he?
Her husband was in question about some matter a few months back. Being a lawyer, or being close to one of the right sort, seems to be important to modern politics. The age of people fired with dreams of a better country and better living conditions and opportunities for the people saw action men and women step up and look to the country. Now pollies sit in a circle and play Pass the Parcel and watch each other for cheating, and sneaking goodies, on the sly, out of the Parcel while passing.
I met a lawyer I know and asked him how he was, told him not to work too hard (he takes on difficult criminal cases), and said don't be like Greg King. He admitted he had a bad spell after one case. That's not the sort of lawyer I referred to above. Rumpole of the Bailey dealing with the hoi polloi isn't generally where the money and power is.
"Now pollies sit in a circle and play Pass the Parcel and watch each other for cheating, and sneaking goodies, on the sly, out of the Parcel while passing."
Up to 100 litres of wastewater and raw sewage a second is pouring into the Wellington harbour after a wastewater pipe collapsed in the CBD.
Listening to Australia's sudden jump into Climate Change horror, it would pay us to taihoa somewhat and perhaps sack our politicians, and set up an emergency government of scientists and leaders with lists of needs which then would be prioritised and costed, and amortised over ten years, and reviewed and done. Treasury could be asked for how our position in the world financial system could be held stable and our currency gradually deflated by a constant stream of carefully picked negative news. Economic advice would come from BERL and another. We might also set up a visa system for entry to this country, and ensure that all tourists should at least be a positive return to the country if not a profit. Dairy farmers would be taxed on each animal, that money to go towards remediation of waterways. Obviously the heavily stocked would have to pay more. Etc. We might get somewhere on our plan for survival under 'best practice' instead of having this political theatre of the absurd we have paraded every day.
Seems sensible and wise by the NZ authority. But wait, there’s more. Too much wisdom isn’t allowed any more, in our society with an unregulated zeitgeist.
After much declaration of the reliability and safety of the practice established in NZ of babies lying flat this is the final sentence:
‘The Unsafe Goods Notice will remain in force for the next 18 months.’
"With this slavish commitment to the automobile, the country’s political class has demonstrated its near-total moral incapacity. New Zealand’s claim to be taking Climate Change seriously stands exposed as utter bullshit."
"The thing is, we were expecting her commitment to amount to something more than the well-meaning but toothless Zero Carbon Act. Something like announcing a completely new, wider-gauge, electrified, national rail network. An infrastructure programme that would allow New Zealand to replicate the ultra-fast trains that move people around Europe, China and Japan. Something to put the greenhouse-gas pumping road transport industry out to pasture. Something more than a plan to build roads, roads and more roads.
Something to make young and old alike exclaim, at least one more time: “Let’s do this!”
We don't need to convert the current Cape gauge/ 3ft 6" to a wider gauge aka Standard gauge.
What needs to happen to NZ Railways is to fix up the loading gauge (and something else which I've forgotten atm), which will increase the speed and weight of fully loaded trains and for example the old Standard Railcars which operated throughout the Nth Island of which there are about 2-3 left for mainline operations now days can only be used on about 20% to 30% of Nth Island rail network compere to the 1930's until there replacements later on.
Most of the rail network alignment is still built when Steam Loco's were King of the Rails and again fixing up the alignment to for the more modern Loco's would allow for faster and heavily trains on the network.
We only need to look at Qld which is the same gauge as NZ's network at what could be done to NZ's network IRT to freight and High Speed Passenger Tilt Trains for both Regional/ Inter City and Urban networks.
There is so much potential in KiwiRail, even though a lot of land was sold off by Government prior to privatisation and under privatisation which restricted growth in some areas of the network which has hampered further investment.
A lot of people have forgotten there was a petrol ration during WW2 which lasted until the early to mid 50's and just imaging a 15% cut or greater to POL products if a major conflict broke out in the Middle East or in the South China Sea? The only reason that NZ kept producing goods was the Railways and the MN aka Coastal Shipping with the Trucking Firms restricted to the Ports or the various Rail depots to places that weren't serviced by ships or by the railways.
I wasnt overly concerned with the specifics of CTs piece (i.e. wider gauge or high speed) but rather the thrust of the fact we have rhetoric around CC and having just announced a relaxation of BR we are wasting (imo) that infrastructure spend on locking in high carbon infrastructure for the long term,,,as CT bemoans there is a huge gap between the rhetoric and the capability and its only being filled by the PMs personal appeal.
A review of practical coalition politics in respect of aspirations & achievements. No revelations but reassuring inasmuch as they seem sure of themselves and confident looking ahead…
An important moment: Christianity Today, the key evangelical magazine founded by Billy Graham, calls for Trump's impeachment, describing him as "a near perfect example of a human being who is morally lost and confused."https://t.co/qdnzUu9Wc1
The great social anthropologist Noah Way, at the end of a long and tireless search has found in the USA the remnants of a sect of the ancient Christian religion which has continued to exist in as near to the fount of its beliefs as was possible.
This has emerged from its recent announcement about the depravity of the secular head of the country who, with his cohorts, often espouses religious beliefs in an attempt to hide his false worship of The Golden Calf and Mammon.
Mammon /ˈmæmən/ in the New Testament of the Bible is commonly thought to mean money, material wealth, or any entity that promises wealth, and is associated with the greedy pursuit of gain. … Mammon in Hebrew (ממון) means "money". https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Mammon
The Golden Calf – The story of the golden calf is widely regarded as one of the most disgraceful moments in Jewish history. In Exodus, chapters 31-32, the Torah tells how three months after leaving Egypt, and a mere 40 days after receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai, the Jewish people created an idol and worshipped it.
Sorry the Image is too large – but it is Democrat Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard who is currently a candidate for President. She cravenly was the only Representative to vote "Present" on one of the votes for Impeachment in the House.
Scomo apologises and returns to Oz while confessing his fundamental uselessness by saying "I don't hold a hose". Expect plenty of bluff and hearty but sentimental outpourings from him in coming days. Nothing will be done. That benighted country will have to cook for another decade or two – or at least until there are mass deaths, before the grip of the Scomotypes is loosened.
(A ‘Scomotype’ is the opposite of a prototype – instead of being something you hope will work, it’s something you already know will fail)
What did his hose comment indicate? I thought he would be making jocular statements about all the male politicians rushing out to do their bit on the fires, and sending up women as useless as usual in fire emergencies!
We were discussing this the other day…the past is a foreign country.
We had 2 weeks annual leave, often taken over xmas new year because the business shut down for xmas…we had home ownership savings accounts you needed to be contributing to for years before you could even apply for a mortgage,,credit was difficult and expensive to obtain…mortgages at 20%… old/second hand was typical and expected when young…
Having said that the maximum term of a mortgage was 20 years (except HNZ which did 24 years) and I cringe when I see the size of the mortgages my children are signing up to (for 30 years)..and theres a good chance the house they bought is a going to fall down around their ears or be worthless because its leaky…and the environment wasnt collapsing (well it was but we didnt know)
the past was indeed a different country, where a house was only 3 times the median income and prices were stable. before property investment/ speculation/ hoarding/ rent-seeking became a national religion
yep…not disputing any of that…but am acknowledging I think I can view it from both perspectives…the fact is there are pluses and minuses to both regimes…and its easy to see what makes the whole neo-liberal project so seductive
You must remember I grew up in a world where half the people in my neighbourhood were where white collar and half were blue…the difference was negligible…not so now
That gives time to write into the Honourable Broadcasting Minister Kris Faafoi and give him some bullet points about your opinions. Enlarge on them below, but then he might not have time to read lots after the hols. [email protected] govt.nz
For groaning under the weight of being force-fed taxpayer subsidy, only the arts and sport get as good a subsidy as broadcasting does here. In terms of nutritious content though it's up there with Frosties.
If they're so intent on handing out public subsidies for non-MSM media, they should start with The Standard and Scoop. The public would then get a better shot at public policy debate than TVNZ and TV3 and MTV put together.
talking to a onetime MP today. They said they never rated the journos. After the nonsensical dead heat between Jacinda Ardern and Bridjizz it seems the right time to do so. How a liteweight like katy bradfod can get away with that defies the imagination. time to get to work on these pin heads who think their own shit doesn't stink.
Workers Now is a new slate of candidates contesting this year’s general election. James Robb and Don Franks are the people behind this initiative and they are hoping to put the spotlight on working people’s interests. Both are seasoned activists who have campaigned for workers’ rights over many decades. Here is ...
Buzz from the Beehive Politicians keen to curry favour with Māori tribal leaders have headed north for Waitangi weekend. More than a few million dollars of public funding are headed north, too. Not all of this money is being trumpeted on the Beehive website, the Government’s official website. ...
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Our Cranky Uncle Game can already be played in eight languages: English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish. About 15 more languages are in the works at various stages of completion or have been offered to be done. To kick off the new year, we checked with how ...
The (new) Prime Minister said nobody understands what co-governance means, later modified to that there were so many varying interpretations that there was no common understanding.Co-governance cannot be derived from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It does not use the word. It refers to ‘government’ on ...
It’s that time of the week again when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kaka. Jump on this link for our chat about the week’s news with special guests Auckland Central MP Chloe Swarbrick and Auckland City Councillor Julie Fairey, including:Auckland’s catastrophic floods, which ...
In March last year, in a panic over rising petrol prices caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the government made a poor decision, "temporarily" cutting fuel excise tax by 25 cents a litre. Of course, it turned out not to be temporary at all, having been extended in May, July, ...
This month’s open thread for climate related topics. Please be constructive, polite, and succinct. The post Unforced variations: Feb 2023 first appeared on RealClimate. ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two fresh press releases had been posted when we checked the Beehive website at noon, both of them posted yesterday. In one statement, in the runup to Waitangi Day, Maori Crown Relations Minister Kelvin Davis drew attention to happenings on a Northland battle site in 1845. ...
It’s that time of the week again when I’m on the site for an hour for a chat in an Ask Me Anything with paying subscribers to The Kaka. Jump in for a chat on anything, including:Auckland’s catastrophic floods, which are set to cost insurers and the Government well over ...
Australia’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers (left) has published a 6,000 word manifesto called ‘Capitalism after the Crises’ arguing for ‘values-based capitalism’. Yet here in NZ we hear the same stale old rhetoric unchanged from the 1990s and early 2000s. Photo: Getty ImagesTLDR: The rest of the world is talking about inflation ...
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Kia ora. What a week! We hope you’ve all come through last weekend’s extreme weather event relatively dry and safe. Header image: stormwater ponds at Hobsonville Point. Image via Twitter. The week in Greater Auckland There’s been a storm of information and debate since the worst of the flooding ...
Hi,At 4.43pm yesterday it arrived — a cease and desist letter from the guy I mentioned in my last newsletter. I’d written an article about “WEWE”, a global multi-level marketing scam making in-roads into New Zealand. MLMs are terrible for many of the same reasons megachurches are terrible, and I ...
Time To Call A Halt: Chris Hipkins knows that iwi leaders possess the means to make life very difficult for his government. Notwithstanding their objections, however, the Prime Minister’s direction of travel – already clearly signalled by his very public demotion of Nanaia Mahuta – must be confirmed by an emphatic ...
Open access notables Via PNAS, Ceylan, Anderson & Wood present a paper squarely in the center of the Skeptical Science wheelhouse: Sharing of misinformation is habitual, not just lazy or biased. The signficance statement is obvious catnip: Misinformation is a worldwide concern carrying socioeconomic and political consequences. What drives ...
Mark White from the Left free speech organisation Plebity looks at the disturbing trend of ‘book burning’ on US campuses In the abstract, people mostly agree that book banning is a bad thing. The Nazis did us the favor of being very clear about it and literally burning books, but ...
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Buzz from the Beehive Cost-of-living pressures loomed large in Beehive announcements over the past 24 hours. The PM was obviously keen to announce further measures to keep those costs in check and demonstrate he means business when he talks of focusing his government on bread-and-butter issues. His statement was headed ...
Poor Mike Hosking. He has revealed himself in his most recent diatribe to be one of those public figures who is defined, not by who he is, but by who he isn’t, or at least not by what he is for, but by what he is against. Jacinda’s departure has ...
New Zealand is the second least corrupt country on earth according to the latest Corruption Perception Index published yesterday by Transparency International. But how much does this reflect reality? The problem with being continually feted for world-leading political integrity – which the Beehive and government departments love to boast about ...
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In other countries, the target-rich cohorts of swinging voters are given labels such as ‘Mondeo Man’, ‘White Van Man,’ ‘Soccer Moms’ and ‘Little Aussie Battlers.’ Here, the easiest shorthand is ‘Ford Ranger Man’ – as seen here parked outside a Herne Bay restaurant, inbetween two SUVs. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / ...
Transport Minister and now also Minister for Auckland, Michael Wood has confirmed that the light rail project is part of the government’s policy refocus. Wood said the light rail project was under review as part of a ministerial refocus on key Government projects. “We are undertaking a stocktake about how ...
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* Dr Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Chris Hipkins continues to be the new broom in Government, re-setting his Government away from its problem areas in his Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, and trying to convince voters that Labour is focused on “bread and butter” issues. The ministers responsible for unpopular ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins continues to be the new broom in Government, re-setting his Government away from its problem areas in his Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, and trying to convince voters that Labour is focused on “bread and butter” issues. The ministers responsible for unpopular reforms in water and DHB centralisation ...
Hi,It’s weird to me that in 2023 we still have people falling for multi-level marketing schemes (MLMs for short). There are Netflix documentaries about them, countless articles, and last year we did an Armchaired and Dangerous episode on them.Then you check a ticketing website like EventBrite and see this shit ...
Nanaia Mahuta fell the furthest in the Cabinet reshuffle. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: PM Chris Hipkins unveiled a Cabinet this afternoon he hopes will show wavering voters that a refreshed Labour Government is focused on ‘bread and butter cost of living’ issues, rather than the unpopular, unwieldy and massively centralising ...
Nanaia Mahuta fell the furthest in the Cabinet reshuffle. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: PM Chris Hipkins unveiled a Cabinet this afternoon he hopes will show wavering voters that a refreshed Labour Government is focused on ‘bread and butter cost of living’ issues, rather than the unpopular, unwieldy and massively centralising ...
Shortly, the absolute state of Wayne Brown. But before that, something I wrote four years ago for the council’s own media machine. It was a day-in-the-life profile of their many and varied and quite possibly unnoticed vital services. We went all over Auckland in 48 hours for the story, the ...
Completed reads for January Lilith, by George MacDonald The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (poem), by Samuel Taylor Coleridge Christabel (poem), by Samuel Taylor Coleridge The Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok, by Anonymous The Lay of Kraka (poem), by Anonymous 1066 and All That, by W.C. Sellar and R.J. ...
Pity the poor Brits. They just can’t catch a break. After years of reporting of lying Boris Johnson, a change to a less colourful PM in Rishi Sunak has resulted in a smooth media pivot to an end-of-empire narrative. The New York Times, no less, amplifies suggestions that Blighty ...
On that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth.Genesis 6:11-12THE TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS that dumped a record-breaking amount of rain on Auckland this anniversary weekend will reoccur with ever-increasing frequency. The planet’s atmosphere is ...
Buzz from the Beehive There has been plenty to keep the relevant Ministers busy in flood-stricken Auckland over the past day or two. But New Zealand, last time we looked, extends north of Auckland into Northland and south of the Bombay Hills all the way to the bottom of the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters When early settlers came to the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers before the California Gold Rush, Indigenous people warned them that the Sacramento Valley could become an inland sea when great winter rains came. The storytellers described water filling the ...
Wayne Brown managed a smile when meeting with Remuera residents, but he was grumpy about having to deal with “media drongos”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: In my pick of the news links found in my rounds since 4am for paying subscribers below the paywall:Wayne Brown moans about the media and ...
Wayne Brown managed a smile when meeting with Remuera residents, but he was grumpy about having to deal with “media drongos”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: In my pick of the news links found in my rounds since 4am for paying subscribers below the paywall:Wayne Brown moans about the media and ...
Dr Bryce Edwards writes – Last night’s opinion polls answered the big question of whether a switch of prime minister would really be a gamechanger for election year. The 1News and Newshub polls released at 6pm gave the same response: the shift from Jacinda Ardern to Chris Hipkins ...
Hipkins’ aim this year will be to present a ‘low target’ for those seeking to attack Labour’s policies and spending. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: Anyone dealing with Government departments and councils who wants some sort of big or long-term decision out of officials or politicians this year should brace for ...
Hipkins’ aim this year will be to present a ‘low target’ for those seeking to attack Labour’s policies and spending. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: Anyone dealing with Government departments and councils who wants some sort of big or long-term decision out of officials or politicians this year should brace for ...
Last night’s opinion polls answered the big question of whether a switch of prime minister would really be a gamechanger for election year. The 1News and Newshub polls released at 6pm gave the same response: the shift from Jacinda Ardern to Chris Hipkins has changed everything, and Labour is back ...
Over the last few years, it’s seemed like city after city around the world has become subject to extreme flooding events that have been made worse by impacts from climate change. We’ve highlighted many of them in our Weekly Roundup series. Sadly, over the last few days it’s been Auckland’s ...
And so the first month of the year draws to a close. It rained in Auckland on 21 out of the 31 days in January. Feels like summer never really happened this year. It’s actually hard to believe there were 10 days that it didn’t rain. Was it any better where ...
A ‘small target’ strategy is not going to cut it anymore if National want to win the upcoming election. The game has changed and the game plan needs to change as well. Jacinda Ardern’s abrupt departure from the 9th floor has the potential to derail what looked to be an ...
When Grant Robertson talks about how the economy might change post-covid, one of the things he talks about is what he calls an unsung but interesting white paper on science. “It’s really important,” he says. The Minister in charge of the White Paper — Te Ara Paerangi, Future Pathways ...
The clean up has begun but more rain is on the way. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: Auckland’s floods over the last three days are turning into a macroeconomic event, with losses from Aotearoa’s biggest-ever climate event estimated at around $500 million and Auckland’s schools all closed for a week until ...
The clean up has begun but more rain is on the way. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: Auckland’s floods over the last three days are turning into a macroeconomic event, with losses from Aotearoa’s biggest-ever climate event estimated at around $500 million and Auckland’s schools all closed for a week until ...
The news media were at one ceremony by the looks of things. The Governor-General, the Prime Minister and his deputy were at another. The news media were at a swearing-in ceremony. The country’s leaders were at an appointment ceremony. The New Zealand Gazette record of what transpired says: Appointment of ...
I n some alternative universe, Auckland mayor Efeso Collins readily grasped the scale of Friday’s deluge, and quickly made the emergency declaration that enabled central government to immediately throw its resources behind the rescue and remediation effort. As Friday evening became night, Mayor Collins seemed to be everywhere: talking with ...
They called it an “atmospheric river”, the weather bombardment which hit NZ’s northern region at the weekend. It exacted a terrible toll on metropolitan Auckland and the rest of the region. Few living there may have noted a statement from electricity generator Mercury Energy labelled “WET, WET, WET!” This was ...
I know, that is a pretty corny title but given the circumstances here in the Auckland region, I just had to say it. The more oblique reference embedded in the title is to the leadership failures exhibited by Mayor Wayne Brown and his so-called leadership team when confronted by the ...
How much confidence should the public have in authorities managing natural disasters? Not much, judging by the farcical way in which the civil defence emergence in Auckland has played out. The way authorities dealt with Auckland’s extreme weather on Friday illustrated how hit-and-miss our civil defence emergency system is. In ...
TLDR: Here’s the key news links and useful longer reads I’ve spotted since 4 am this morning, including:calls for a more ‘spongey’ urban infrastructure after Auckland’s floods;demands for an inquiry into Auckland Council’s communications failure;the latest on Chris Hipkins’ plans for Three Waters; inside the PR trainwreck that is Wayne ...
TLDR: Here’s the key news links and useful longer reads I’ve spotted since 4 am this morning, including:calls for a more ‘spongey’ urban infrastructure after Auckland’s floods;demands for an inquiry into Auckland Council’s communications failure;the latest on Chris Hipkins’ plans for Three Waters; inside the PR trainwreck that is Wayne ...
Mayor Wayne Brown, under fire for his communication failures, quietly visited the scene of the fatal Remuera slip on Sunday, with his staff taking photos for social media updates. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: The cleanup and the post-mortem have begun, even though the rain just keeps falling in Auckland after ...
We’ve just announced a massive infrastructure investment to kick-start new housing developments across New Zealand. Through our Infrastructure Acceleration Fund, we’re making sure that critical infrastructure - like pipes, roads and wastewater connections - is in place, so thousands more homes can be built. ...
The Green Party is joining more than 20 community organisations to call for an immediate rent freeze in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, after reports of landlords intending to hike rents after flooding. ...
When Chris Hipkins took on the job of Prime Minister, he said bread and butter issues like the cost of living would be the Government’s top priority – and this week, we’ve set out extra support for families and businesses. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to provide direct support to low-income households and to stop subsidising fossil fuels during a climate crisis. ...
The tools exist to help families with surging costs – and as costs continue to rise it is more urgent than ever that we use them, the Green Party says. ...
Over $10 million infrastructure funding to unlock housing in Whangārei The purchase of a 3.279 hectare site in Kerikeri to enable 56 new homes Northland becomes eligible for $100 million scheme for affordable rentals Multiple Northland communities will benefit from multiple Government housing investments, delivering thousands of new homes for ...
A memorial event at a key battle site in the New Zealand land wars is an important event to mark the progress in relations between Māori and the Crown as we head towards Waitangi Day, Minister for Te Arawhiti Kelvin Davis said. The Battle of Ohaeawai in June 1845 saw ...
More Police officers are being deployed to the frontline with the graduation of 54 new constables from the Royal New Zealand Police College today. The graduation ceremony for Recruit Wing 362 at Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua was the first official event for Stuart Nash since his reappointment as Police ...
The Government is unlocking an additional $700,000 in support for regions that have been badly hit by the recent flooding and storm damage in the upper North Island. “We’re supporting the response and recovery of Auckland, Waikato, Coromandel, Northland, and Bay of Plenty regions, through activating Enhanced Taskforce Green to ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has welcomed the announcement that Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, will visit New Zealand this month. “Princess Anne is travelling to Aotearoa at the request of the NZ Army’s Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals, of which she is Colonel in Chief, to ...
A new Government and industry strategy launched today has its sights on growing the value of New Zealand’s horticultural production to $12 billion by 2035, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said. “Our food and fibre exports are vital to New Zealand’s economic security. We’re focussed on long-term strategies that build on ...
25 cents per litre petrol excise duty cut extended to 30 June 2023 – reducing an average 60 litre tank of petrol by $17.25 Road User Charge discount will be re-introduced and continue through until 30 June Half price public transport fares extended to the end of June 2023 saving ...
The strong economy has attracted more people into the workforce, with a record number of New Zealanders in paid work and wages rising to help with cost of living pressures. “The Government’s economic plan is delivering on more better-paid jobs, growing wages and creating more opportunities for more New Zealanders,” ...
The Government is providing a further $1 million to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced today. “Cabinet today agreed that, given the severity of the event, a further $1 million contribution be made. Cabinet wishes to be proactive ...
The new Cabinet will be focused on core bread and butter issues like the cost of living, education, health, housing and keeping communities and businesses safe, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has announced. “We need a greater focus on what’s in front of New Zealanders right now. The new Cabinet line ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins will travel to Canberra next week for an in person meeting with Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. “The trans-Tasman relationship is New Zealand’s closest and most important, and it was crucial to me that my first overseas trip as Prime Minister was to Australia,” Chris Hipkins ...
The Government is providing establishment funding of $100,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. “We moved quickly to make available this funding to support Aucklanders while the full extent of the damage is being assessed,” Kieran McAnulty ...
As the Mayor of Auckland has announced a state of emergency, the Government, through NEMA, is able to step up support for those affected by flooding in Auckland. “I’d urge people to follow the advice of authorities and check Auckland Emergency Management for the latest information. As always, the Government ...
Ka papā te whatitiri, Hikohiko ana te uira, wāhi rua mai ana rā runga mai o Huruiki maunga Kua hinga te māreikura o te Nota, a Titewhai Harawira Nā reira, e te kahurangi, takoto, e moe Ka mōwai koa a Whakapara, kua uhia te Tai Tokerau e te kapua pōuri ...
Carmel Sepuloni, Minister for Social Development and Employment, has activated Enhanced Taskforce Green (ETFG) in response to flooding and damaged caused by Cyclone Hale in the Tairāwhiti region. Up to $500,000 will be made available to employ job seekers to support the clean-up. We are still investigating whether other parts ...
The 2023 General Election will be held on Saturday 14 October 2023, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “Announcing the election date early in the year provides New Zealanders with certainty and has become the practice of this Government and the previous one, and I believe is best practice,” Jacinda ...
Jacinda Ardern has announced she will step down as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party. Her resignation will take effect on the appointment of a new Prime Minister. A caucus vote to elect a new Party Leader will occur in 3 days’ time on Sunday the 22nd of ...
The Government is maintaining its strong trade focus in 2023 with Trade and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor visiting Europe this week to discuss the role of agricultural trade in climate change and food security, WTO reform and New Zealand agricultural innovation. Damien O’Connor will travel tomorrow to Switzerland to attend the ...
The Government has extended its medium-scale classification of Cyclone Hale to the Wairarapa after assessing storm damage to the eastern coastline of the region. “We’re making up to $80,000 available to the East Coast Rural Support Trust to help farmers and growers recover from the significant damage in the region,” ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Enshrining a constitutional Voice to parliament will bring better practical outcomes and give the best chance for Closing the Gap, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will say in a major address on the referendum on Sunday. ...
By Jamie Tahana, RNZ News Te Ao Māori journalist at Waitangi, and Russell Palmer, digital political journalist Iwi leaders in Aotearoa New Zealand have accused opposition parties National and ACT of “fanning the flames of racism”, urging the prime minister to be brave and not walk away from partnership on Three ...
By Phoebe Gwangilo in Port Moresby Higher Education Minister Don Polye has condemned a decision by the administration of the University of Papua New Guinea to treat a PNG-born and bred grade 12 school leaver as an “international” student. Roselyn Alog, 19, whose parents are Filipinos, was born and raised ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s former Elections Supervisor Mohammed Saneem is under investigation by the country’s anti-corruption agency for alleged abuse of office and has been stopped from fleeing the country. The Fijian Elections Office (FEO) said Saneem was alleged to have “on numerous occasions . . . unlawfully authorised payments of ...
Labour's position has alternated over the past few days: first Prime Minister Chris Hipkins would speak, then he wouldn't, and then he would again. ...
Te Pāti Māori Co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer are announcing a transformative defence and foreign affairs policy which asserts the Mana Māori Motuhake and Tino Rangatiratanga of tangata whenua in Aotearoa at their Party’s ...
The Prime Minister will no longer speak at Waitangi commemorations after the organising trust moved the political leaders to a panel away from the main event The Waitangi National Trust wrote to political parties last month saying they didn’t want political leaders to speak at the pōwhiri held on the eve ...
The Prime Minister once again has a speaking slot at the pōwhiri in Waitangi after earlier on Saturday saying he would respect the wishes of the trust organisers by not doing so The Waitangi National Trust has given the green light for Chris Hipkins and other political leaders to speak ...
It’s been exactly a decade since Seven Sharp first appeared on our screens. Remember the first episode? We’ve unearthed the tapes. On this day in 2013, a bombshell was thrown into the New Zealand television landscape. “Time for us to make way, because you’re here to see what everyone’s talking ...
MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris has fronted endless media requests and live crosses this week. Is he getting it right? Lewis Ferris is trying to find his weather map. “This week’s been so insane” he mutters as he closes multiple tabs on the three screens across his Wellington desk. He’s ...
After four years, executive director Max Tweedie has stepped down from Auckland Pride. He tells Sam Brooks about shepherding the festival through a tumultuous few years, and where he’s going from here.This year’s Auckland Pride Festival is set to be the biggest one yet. Over the course of more ...
A flailing mayor was only the public face of a multifaceted flooding communications failure. Duncan Greive examines the mess, and asks what can be done to improve it.It’s a chilling timeline. Stuff’s Kelly Dennett catalogued, beat-by-beat, the 12 hours in which Auckland was pummelled by a catastrophic deluge, interspersing ...
The Dunedin branch of the Green Party has selected Francisco Hernandez as its candidate for the Dunedin electorate in this year’s general election. Francisco Hernandez was the Otago University Students Association President in 2013. He has held a number ...
Waitangi organisers are trying to push political leaders to the side at Sunday's pōwhiri, but Labour's deputy leader says it's not for them to decide who speaks. Te Tai Tokerau MP and Labour’s deputy leader, Kelvin Davis, says the Prime Minister will speak at Sunday’s pōwhiri at Waitangi, in defiance of local ...
Every weekday, The Detail makes sense of the big news stories. This week, we spoke to an aid worker who had made the trip to the war zone in Ukraine, looked at why Carmel Sepuloni was picked to be the new deputy prime minister, visited the flood-torn streets of Titirangi in West ...
Schools play an integral but often unrecognised and unacknowledged role in helping communities respond to and recover from disastersOpinion: Schools in Auckland and other flood-affected areas are about to re-open after a delayed start to the new school year. Students will return to school having experienced wide-ranging impacts. While some ...
A very short story for Waitangi weekend The pā is a lonely place nowadays. Gorse has marched on it like the British troops of old, consuming the hills and leaving the marae looking a bald patch on the head of the earth mother herself. Even the roads have worn thin, ...
This is The Detail's Long Read - one in-depth story read by us every weekend. This week, it's The School Away From School written by Bill Morris and published in NZ Geographic's January/February 2023 issue. You can find the entire article, with photos from Lottie Hedley, on the NZ Geographic website. One hundred years since its ...
COMMENTARY:By Kayt Davies in Perth I wasn’t good at French in my final year of high school. My classmates had five years of language studies behind them. I had three. As a result of my woeful grip on the language, I wrote a terribly bad essay in my final ...
RNZ Pacific Journalist Victor Mambor, who is the chief editor of the West Papuan newspaper and websiteJubi, has received the Oktovianus Pogau Award from the Indonesian-based Pantau Foundation for courage in journalism. The foundation’s Andreas Harsono said Mambor’s decision to return to his father’s homeland and defend the rights ...
RNZ News Green Party MP Chlöe Swarbrick is brushing off concerns a temporary rent freeze in flood-hit Auckland would just see landlords hike rents even more when the controls were lifted — arguing they should stay permanently. More than 20 organisations have signed a letter urging Minister for Auckland Michael ...
Iwi leaders have accused National and ACT of "fanning the flames of racism", urging the prime minister to be brave and not walk away from partnership on three waters. ...
About this time last week it had become apparent that Auckland was in for a bit more than just a wet Friday. While the state of emergency remains in place for another seven days, it appears the worst should now be behind us. Last night, Niwa shared a fascinating thread ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra ShutterstockIndigenous Australians are respectfully advised that the following includes the names and images of some people who are now deceased. The Reserve Bank of Australia ...
The government has confirmed the money will be spent in Northland, including unlocking greenfields land and transport upgrades like a new bridge in Kamo. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gabrielle Appleby, Professor, UNSW Law School, UNSW Sydney Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed that sometime between August and November this year, the Australian people will go to a referendum for the first time since 1999. We’ll be asked whether we support ...
Viewers across the United States were today shown a slice of New Zealand, with a reporter for Good Morning America broadcasting live from Rotorua. Robin Roberts, a co-anchor for the popular morning TV show, has been touring the country this week. During her visit to Rotorua’s Te Puia centre, she ...
They can be environmentally unsound and are a symbol used to shame millennials, but everyone still loves an avo. I love avocados, always have, always will. The buttery golden-green flesh from a perfectly ripe avocado is a culinary blessing. Today I’d love to simply wax poetic about twisting open a ...
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.AUCKLAND1The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin (Penguin Press, $50) The beautiful ...
A new poem by Robin Peace. To the kahikatea I see from my bed Thinking inside the square, the ellipse, the round of what life is, I only see the trees. Not only as if that were the only thing I see, but only as if the tree matters more. ...
A week ago, Elton John’s first Auckland show was called off at the last minute. What was it like getting there, being there, and trying to return home afterwards?Elton John has long been a blessing for our ears, but in recent years his Auckland shows have been cursed. His ...
For Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, sorry seems to be the hardest word to say The mayoral chains must have been heavy this week for Auckland’s Wayne Brown, as his response to last week’s flood garnered its own veritable torrent of scandals and media scrutiny. Almost exactly one week on from ...
For Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, sorry seems to be the hardest word to say The mayoral chains must have been heavy this week for Auckland’s Wayne Brown, as his response to last week’s flood garnered its own veritable torrent of scandals and media scrutiny. Almost exactly one week on from ...
Ours Not Mines is cautiously excited about reporting that the Government is drafting legislation to ban new mines on conservation land. The anti-mining group's spokesperson, Morgan Donoghue says: "The Government has been promising us some action for ...
People who enjoy the outdoors for recreation, fishing and hunting will lose rights under the Natural and Built Environments Bill. Fish & Game New Zealand chief executive Corina Jordan says the proposed replacement for the Resource Management ...
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has conceded he “dropped the ball” during last Friday’s major flooding event. The state of emergency in the super city has today been extended for a further seven days, though Brown said he expects it will be lifted early. After a week of defensiveness over his ...
As the reality TV juggernaut returns for a new season, Tara Ward steps into the minds of the show’s relationship experts to assess the compatibility of this year’s brides and grooms. Married at First Sight: Australia returns on Monday night, and by season ten, you’d think the show’s relationship experts ...
Auckland’s state of emergency is expected to be extended for another seven days, according to the Herald. It was due to expire overnight after being declared a week ago, the day of the worst flooding in the super city. While weather conditions have improved, the city is continuing to experience ...
Proposed pay equity claim settlements for school librarians and science technicians have been reached between the Ministry of Education and NZEI Te Riu Roa, Secretary for Education, Iona Holsted and NZEI Te Riu Roa president, Mark Potter, announced ...
Members of NZEI Te Riu Roa negotiating on behalf of school librarians, library assistants and science technicians are excited to announce that proposed pay equity settlements are ready to be voted on by their colleagues. They include pay increases of up to ...
The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) is calling for Michael Wood, the Minister of Transport, and now Auckland, to cancel the light rail project immediately. Auckland Light Rail was never going to happen, as our group has repeatedly said dozens of ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has been asked to intervene following confirmation today that the Government plans to implement a ban on all extractive sector activities on the conservation estate. Wayne Scott, CEO of the Aggregate and Quarry Association, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato Getty Images The heated (and often confused) debate about “co-governance” in Aotearoa New Zealand inevitably leads back to its source, Te Tiriti o Waitangi. But, as its long-contested meanings demonstrate, very little ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Hunter, Lecturer in Art and Performance, Deakin University Jodie Hutchinson/Red StitchReview: Wittenoom, directed by Susie Dee, Red Stitch Deep in the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia, the town of Wittenoom lies empty, desolate … and contaminated. Wittenoom ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Oliver Bown, Postdoctoral fellow, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock The past few years have seen an explosion in applications of artificial intelligence to creative fields. A new generation of image and text generators is delivering impressiveresults. Now AI has also found ...
New Zealand’s egg shortage is hitting cruise ships too – forcing the crew of one vessel to hatch a poaching plan. This story was first published on Stuff. On the hunt for eggs, a crew from a luxury cruise ship got cracking and hatched a cunning plan. Earlier this week, Stuff ...
Now demolished, the First Church of Christ Scientist was a masterclass of architectural imagination. Kate Linzey visits the site on which it once stood, to learn more. The object is delicate and small. Small enough to sit in the palm of my hand and weighing less than 300 grams. It ...
When your food parcel arrives before the emergency alert, you know something’s not working properly.This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. I’ve spent the last week desperately and at times fruitlessly attempting to drain and then sweep my whānau home of knee-deep water, pull up ...
Drongo-gate continues for another day with the Herald reporting that Auckland’s mayor has been caught out using the slang term for a second time. It comes this time from a former minor mayoral candidate, Mike Kampkes, who said he received a message from Brown in response to a media release ...
How does Aotearoa stop relying so heavily on agriculture to prop up our economy? Online tax and accounting service Hnry just raised $35m to grow its software on-demand service across the globe. Bernard Hickey talks with AirTree partner Jackie Vullinghs about how venture capitalists are funding Aotearoa’s fastest growing, least-polluting ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Guastella, Professor and Clinical Psychologist, Michael Crouch Chair in Child and Youth Mental Health, University of Sydney Shutterstock With childcare and schools starting the new year, parents might be anxiously wondering how their child will adapt in a new ...
I am delighted to announce the appointment of John Price ONZM as the new Director Civil Defence Emergency Management and Deputy Chief Executive Emergency Management for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). John has been a member of the ...
Coromandel Watchdog of Hauraki are calling on the new Prime Minister and new Minister of Conservation Willow Jean Prime to immediately implement the 2017 promise to ban new mining activity on conservation lands. “ The mining industry group Straterra ...
How does Aotearoa stop relying so heavily on agriculture to prop up our economy? Online tax and accounting service Hnry just raised $35m to grow its software on-demand service across the globe. In the latest episode of When the Facts Change, Bernard Hickey talks with AirTree partner Jackie Vullinghs about how ...
There’s a fear that highlighting menopause will undermine women, especially at work. But what have centuries of secrecy achieved for us? Are you sick of hearing about menopause? Kim Hill is. The living legend of Aotearoa broadcasting told actor Robyn Malcolm (also a legend) on her Saturday Morning show on RNZ ...
Dunedin city council has reached an agreement to save Foulden Maar from commercial mining. The maar is the site of a crater lake from 23 million years ago with the diatomite of the lake preserving fossils and a climate record covering 100,000 years from that period. It is fantastic news for Otago University ...
Some are speculating whether the Auckland Mayor's leadership is circling the drain. James Elliott hopes they're right. There’s never been a week quite like it. It was the week when the rains came. All of them. Even the rain from Spain that was supposed to fall mainly on the plain, came. ...
The Bus and Coach Association supports the Government’s decision to continue half-price fares on public transport services. The fare reduction was set to expire on 31 March 2023, but will now continue to 30 June 2023. “Half-price fares have cost ten-times ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup: Hipkins’ bread and butter reshufflePolitical scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins continues to be the new broom in Government, re-setting his Government away from its problem areas in his Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, and trying to convince voters that Labour is focused ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup: Chris Hipkins hires a lobbyist to run the BeehiveNew Zealand Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, speaking when Minister of Education, at NZEI Te Riu Roa strike rally on the steps of the New Zealand Parliament, 15th August 2018. Image; Wiki Commons. New Zealand is ...
New Zealand Politics Daily is a collation of the most prominent issues being discussed in New Zealand. It is edited by Dr Bryce Edwards of The Democracy Project. Items of interest and importance todayCO-GOVERNANCE, WAITANGI, THREE WATERS Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Blowing Off The Froth: Why Chris Hipkins Must Ditch ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brian Tweed, Senior lecturer, Massey University Shutterstock/Renata Apanaviciene As we approach another Waitangi Day, we should be thinking again about what Te Tiriti o Waitangi means. As the late Moana Jackson commented, the meaning of Te Tiriti will be ...
Even prime ministers get caught in bad weather. It’s a week on from the devastating flooding that hit Auckland and Northland and Chris Hipkins has been forced to drive north for the start of Waitangi weekend commemorations after his plan was turned away from Kerikeri airport (twice). Today will see ...
Less than a year ago, co-governance had a future, at least as potentially accepted terminology. Now some iwi leaders want the label removed and replaced, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
“The decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia to not replace the late Queen with Charles on the Aussie $5 note should indicate to our Reserve Bank that it’s time to change the NZ $20 note” said Lewis Holden, campaign chair of New ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Wolf, Associate Professor, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Australian National University Somchat Parkaythong/Shutterstock Black holes are bizarre things, even by the standards of astronomers. Their mass is so great, it bends space around them so tightly that nothing can escape, even ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Revell, Associate Professor in Environmental Physics, University of Canterbury Getty Images The ozone layer is on track to heal within four decades, according to a recent UN report, but this progress could be undone by an upsurge in rocket ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Clune, Honorary Associate, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney At the New South Wales election on March 25 a 12-year-old Coalition government will be seeking re-election. Hoping to return as premier is Liberal leader Dominic Perrottet – a political conservative ...
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Happy New Year, and please drive safely during the silly season.
What are the implications of Trumps impeachment ?
Seasons greetings for the coming solstice ☀️
☀️
Good article with everything you need to know
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/trump-impeachment-191217154733957.html
Electorally it's yet to be seen.
In terms of holding him accountable for his misdeeds, it means nothing. Because the chances of the senate voting to convict him, or imposing some other sanction short of conviction such as censure, are quite a lot less than your chances of winning Powerball.
In terms of his behaviour, unlike you or I that would find it quite a chastening experience, he will no doubt find it invigorating. You think it's been a shitshow so far? Hold on to your buttocks, you ain't seen nuthin yet.
Is there anyone left in the Republican Party who isn't either self-serving, corrupt or cowardly? Or an exciting blend of all three? Because they seem utterly vile almost to a man. Justin Amash at least had the moral fortitude to leave the GOP and stand as an independent. He must be feeling very lonely these days. Mitch McConnell and friends seem to have quite brazenly indicated they don't give a toss about the Constitution or the wishes of the American people. Their Orange Messiah has manufactured his own reality with its own rules, and those are the rules by which they're determined to play.
There are no absolutes anymore. Reality is the perpetually morphing domain of those who can lie most frequently and most shamelessly.
"What are the implications of Trumps impeachment ?"
Historians will pinpoint this as the event that led to the Second US Civil War. Pelosi has no idea of the forces she has unleashed.
The dayglo swampzilla has spent the last five years thrashing around like a bull in a china shop with a taser lodged up its ass, and now Pelosi makes a mild attempt to rein him in. But you're suggesting the coming eruptions are Pelosi's fault?
Blaming the woman administering a mild enema for the pent-up shitshow. Jackson Pollock all over the oval office. Cheeseburger art.
I recently read "And the War came: The North and the Secession Crisis, 1860-61" by Kenneth R. Stamp (formerly Professor of History at Berkeley) about events leading up to the US Civil War and evolution of northern public opinion. Trump could have walked out of its pages.
Is that you Brett O'Keefe?
Regrettably no ..
Nothing, it's a partisan Democrat wankfest if you've been following the commentary on this blog.
If anything it's made Trump much more re-electable.
I'm still interested in your answer to the question below. I've asked you at least four times before, you evaded it the first time and ghosted the rest.
Do you think it's OK for the president to withhold Congress approved and taxpayer funded aid to try to extort a foreign country into smearing a political opponent of the president?
If I can push in here..I think there are people who would say its not an egregious enough accusation to warrant the risk of leaving Trump even more electable.
I would also question why, if the accusations are true, not to mention 'Russiagate' Pelosi etc are so willing to tick off Trumps latest military spending requests.
Let alone his laws around increased surveillance.
I guess Trump and Pelosi etc have some common ground..
<blockquote>
If Republicans are supposed to worry about the United States bankrupting itself with social-welfare spending, aren’t Democrats supposed to worry about the United States bankrupting itself with military spending? Not anymore. In the run-up to the deal, Nancy Pelosi’s office fired off an email to House Democrats proclaiming that, “In our negotiations, Congressional Democrats have been fighting for increases in funding for defense.” Chuck Schumer’s office announced that, “We fully support President Trump’s Defense Department’s request.” Not all congressional Democrats voted for the budget agreement: <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/115-2018/h69" rel="nofollow ugc">Thirty-eight percent of Democrats</a> backed it in the House and <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/115-2018/s31" rel="nofollow ugc">76 percent</a> did in the Senate. But even those who voted no mostly did so because they were upset about its lack of protection for immigrant “dreamers”—not because they oppose a higher defense budget. Last year, in fact, when Democrats were offered a standalone vote on big increases in military spending—in the form of <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/14/house-passes-defense-policy-bill-240561" rel="nofollow ugc">House</a> and <a href="https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2017/09/18/us-senate-passes-budget-busting-700-billion-ndaa/" rel="nofollow ugc">Senate</a> defense authorization bills—large majorities in both bodies voted yes.
</blockquote>
<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/02/democrats-defense-spending/553670/" rel="nofollow ugc">https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/02/democrats-defense-spending/553670/</a>
what the heck just ignore all that gobbledygook..
Russian interference came from Russia. Members of the dolt45 campaign tried to collude in that, but failed because they were incompetent. And it all happened before he was president, and nobody other than the Russians were using state resources or authority.
While the Ukraine thing is a clear case of an elected official using their public powers in order to obtain private political favours from a foreign power. No grey area, no complexity about servers or analytics: dolt45 withheld state aid to the Ukraine and requested a sham investigation against his political opponent before he released the funds. By his own admission, and the admission of multiple administration officials with direct or documentary knowledge of the conversation.
The Mueller report couldn't establish a conspiracy between Trump-Russia. There are no ifs or buts about it.
The Ukraine thing is even more tenuous as one of the star witnesses himself agreed with the Trump transcript and the other one admitted it was his own assumption there was a quid pro quo without evidence of one.
Do you think it's OK for the president to withhold Congress approved and taxpayer funded aid to try to extort a foreign country into smearing a political opponent of the president?
How does that contradict what I wrote?
Have you read the transcript of the July call? The one where Zelensky asks about getting Javelins for defense, and the orange piece of shit says "I would like you to do us a favor though" and starts requesting the Ukrainians open an investigation ranging across a number of issues, including that Guiliani will be his representative to the Ukrainians and "There's a lot of talk about Biden's son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great."
And that's the whitehouse's own transcript. But you still regurgitate no evidence of quid pro quo.
edit: also, what andre asked.
It sounds like you're saying there was attempted collusion, and I'm just letting you know the investigation into it couldn't find any.
The bulk of the Ukraine transcript is centred on the goings on and the investigating of Ukraine. The javelins are mentioned once and I think the Bidens are too. To make a case that it is actually about doing a deal on either of those things when they are mentioned in passing is quite frankly stupid.
It's the tRump White House version of a phone call they rushed to bury in highly classified storage usually reserved for information about covert operations and other sensitive intelligence actions, not a transcript.
http://archive.li/0KTnn
re: attempted collusion: yeah, nah. These guys said it better at the time. There were multiple attempts by the orange oaf's campaign to get electoral assistance from the Russians.
And if I say "do what I say or I kill your dog", even once, that's still a crime. The dude was literally asked about the congress-assigned military aid and answered with a request for a personal "favour". Even if he only did it once (lol) it's still a crime.
The A to Z framing is cheesy and limiting it to 26 means a lot has been left out. But it's still a useful reminder of how much the Mango Mugabe has gotten away with and almost certainly won't be held accountable for.
https://theintercept.com/2019/12/19/a-z-trump-impeachment/
Are you coming to or travelling through Motueka these holidays? Us locals have a couple of unwritten rules…..
Someone intoning about safety on the roads on radio this morning (in a foreign accent – Canadian I think one less job for a born NZer). Realistic xenophobia!
The message is that proposals and actions to bring the 'road toll' down must take a holistic approach, not just acting on one aspect. Cinny brings up the courtesy approach, the realisation that there are other people out there trying to do things too. Taking a community of the road approach would be very helpful in reducing stress when getting around. Pedestrians understand that they need to do what we used to teach toddlers to do, look right, left, then right again, and perhaps give a wave to drivers who stop. Drivers could slow more often when they observe others near the road, could toot to alert people who aren't paying attention. They could slow when approaching a narrow piece of road, to ensure safe transit in each lane, and give a wave as acknowledgment to other thoughtful and careful drivers.
We all tend to feel like 'King of the Road' and busy with our own duties, ignoring other drivers. So we could act graciously like the Kings and Queens we’ve observed, smiling and waving when appropriate. And find it appropriate on a regular basis.
We are having to slow to 80 km with the roads are jammed with traffic, which is also the same speed that the behemoth trucks can travel at so driving may involve staring at the rear of a truck for the whole journey. Or at another passenger vehicle with windows at a higher level, so they too will block out most of the view ahead. So we had better keep safe distances behind because you lose your opportunity to 'read' conditions ahead and so be forced to brake hard and fast in reaction to the moving wall ahead of you.
No worries though deaths and injuries will go down as soon we will have so many people on the roads we'll be in an eternal queue lucky to move forward at 20 kmh.
"Someone intoning about safety on the roads on radio this morning (in a foreign accent – Canadian I think one less job for a born NZer). Realistic xenophobia!"
Really, Grey? You think we should sack our Associate Minister of Transport, Julie Anne Genter, because she is American-born and replace her with someone NZ born?
Really? Who do you think should replace her? Yourself?
I am 99% sure you are referring to JAG's interview with Kathryn Ryan on RNZ Nine to Noon at 0908 this morning on the Government's new multi-billion dollar road safety plan aimed at cutting road deaths by 40 per cent by 2030. Genter announced the plan, called Road to Zero, yesterday. Earlier in the week she announced roadside drug testing would be rolled out from 2021.
Regardless of where she was born, I would rate Genter's past experience and qualifications light miles ahead of yours – or most other people's including other MPs of whatever hue, birthplace, or political party – for the job of Minister or Associate Minister for transportation generally, and in particular economically sustainable and environmental friendly roading and road safety.
ttps://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018727818/new-road-safety-plan-aims-to-cut-road-deaths-by-40-per-cent
Genter would be our most qualified Transport minister in decades. They train em well in that US of A. Glad to have one of their citizens contributing here rather than just buying up land.
The truck speed limit is 90kph I think.
Funny thing is on the Kapiti main road they sometimes closed down the passing lanes when traffic was heavy. Surprisingly the traffic flowed more evenly and accidents were fewer. I accept that motorways built for heavier traffic can flow at say 120kph safely. The 3 lane highway from Dubai to El Ain has a fast lane without interruption where locals travel at speeds greater than 150kph. (Limit supposed to be 120kph.)
As long time residents from the UK, we joke to each other 'must be from UK' whenever a driver shows common courtesy on the road
it's a city thing. Normal to be courteous in the country (can pick the city drivers in the country).
There *are* no rules in Auckland…
https://twitter.com/tina_plunkett/status/1207436620439289856
Looks like the Spanish are flying under the radar, having become the world's leading practitioners of postmodern politics without getting the credit for it. I read what No Right Turn reported on the EU contradicting Spain's govt, did a hunt through likely websites to discover what that govt actually is, and found that the actual existence of that govt seems to depend on which source of info you read. Another Schrodinger's Cat situation.
According to this one, despite two elections this year Spain still doesn't have a govt: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/spain-suffers-235th-day-with-no-government-/1678451
They could do tourism promotion on that basis eh? People would flock to experience the anarchist's nirvana.
Wikipedia says "The current prime minister is Pedro Sánchez, who took office on 2 June 2018. He is the leader of the Socialist Workers' Party." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Spain
The Guardian says he is merely acting: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/12/spain-ruling-socialists-strike-coalition-deal-with-podemos-sanchez
Leftist populists are currently beating rightist populists: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_2019_Spanish_general_election
Anyway, the baddies are the social democrats (or, socialist workers) who have been preventing an elected Catalan from taking his seat in the European parliament. Why would anyone expect a bunch of leftists to respect the will of the people? Postmodern thinking rules, and state compulsion is very addictive.
Re. "Why would anyone expect a bunch of leftists to respect the will of the people ?"
Having hitched around Spain the year before Franco died and seen the Gardia Civil in full riot gear marching away from an overwhelming crowd of Basque men and women in San Sebastian I am confident that "a bunch of leftists" would probably respect the will of the people. Catalonia has its own troubled past with forensic archaeologists now re-examining old sites.
A new generation should be left to resolve their own problems in peace rather than succumb to a patronizing antipodean analysis.
The formation of a government in Spain is almost complete.
PSOE and Podemos have already agreed a deal and a government with a majority in parliament is likely to be agreed before xmas, though it is possible this might be delayed until January.
This is why Boris, Trump et al can lie with impunity
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/405888/john-minto-calls-for-investigation-over-christchurch-mayor-lianne-dalziel-political-donations
Power tends to corrupt etc. I noticed that Ms Dalziel was revealed as being prepared to get more than a 'little help from my friends'. John Minto keeps an eye out for this sort of thing. He stood for Mayor himself didn’t he?
Her husband was in question about some matter a few months back. Being a lawyer, or being close to one of the right sort, seems to be important to modern politics. The age of people fired with dreams of a better country and better living conditions and opportunities for the people saw action men and women step up and look to the country. Now pollies sit in a circle and play Pass the Parcel and watch each other for cheating, and sneaking goodies, on the sly, out of the Parcel while passing.
I met a lawyer I know and asked him how he was, told him not to work too hard (he takes on difficult criminal cases), and said don't be like Greg King. He admitted he had a bad spell after one case. That's not the sort of lawyer I referred to above. Rumpole of the Bailey dealing with the hoi polloi isn't generally where the money and power is.
"Now pollies sit in a circle and play Pass the Parcel and watch each other for cheating, and sneaking goodies, on the sly, out of the Parcel while passing."
Sadly that is a very apt description
Edit
There has been a suggestion that reducing cruise ship visits would be helpful for NZ to reduce its pollution and environmental footprint.
Our facilities are already under stress. This from Wellington is shocking.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/405909/sewage-going-into-wellingon-harbour-after-pipe-collapse
Up to 100 litres of wastewater and raw sewage a second is pouring into the Wellington harbour after a wastewater pipe collapsed in the CBD.
Listening to Australia's sudden jump into Climate Change horror, it would pay us to taihoa somewhat and perhaps sack our politicians, and set up an emergency government of scientists and leaders with lists of needs which then would be prioritised and costed, and amortised over ten years, and reviewed and done. Treasury could be asked for how our position in the world financial system could be held stable and our currency gradually deflated by a constant stream of carefully picked negative news. Economic advice would come from BERL and another. We might also set up a visa system for entry to this country, and ensure that all tourists should at least be a positive return to the country if not a profit. Dairy farmers would be taxed on each animal, that money to go towards remediation of waterways. Obviously the heavily stocked would have to pay more. Etc. We might get somewhere on our plan for survival under 'best practice' instead of having this political theatre of the absurd we have paraded every day.
Further to the above – there has been a proactive move to ban inclined sleepers for babies because they are likely to be bad for them, unsafe, and they have caused deaths which were preventable, in the USA.
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1912/S00057/ban-on-inclined-infant-sleep-products.htm
Seems sensible and wise by the NZ authority. But wait, there’s more. Too much wisdom isn’t allowed any more, in our society with an unregulated zeitgeist.
After much declaration of the reliability and safety of the practice established in NZ of babies lying flat this is the final sentence:
‘The Unsafe Goods Notice will remain in force for the next 18 months.’
"With this slavish commitment to the automobile, the country’s political class has demonstrated its near-total moral incapacity. New Zealand’s claim to be taking Climate Change seriously stands exposed as utter bullshit."
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/12/20/reconnecting-jacinda-with-her-inner-swashbuckler/
"The thing is, we were expecting her commitment to amount to something more than the well-meaning but toothless Zero Carbon Act. Something like announcing a completely new, wider-gauge, electrified, national rail network. An infrastructure programme that would allow New Zealand to replicate the ultra-fast trains that move people around Europe, China and Japan. Something to put the greenhouse-gas pumping road transport industry out to pasture. Something more than a plan to build roads, roads and more roads.
Something to make young and old alike exclaim, at least one more time: “Let’s do this!”
We don't need to convert the current Cape gauge/ 3ft 6" to a wider gauge aka Standard gauge.
What needs to happen to NZ Railways is to fix up the loading gauge (and something else which I've forgotten atm), which will increase the speed and weight of fully loaded trains and for example the old Standard Railcars which operated throughout the Nth Island of which there are about 2-3 left for mainline operations now days can only be used on about 20% to 30% of Nth Island rail network compere to the 1930's until there replacements later on.
Most of the rail network alignment is still built when Steam Loco's were King of the Rails and again fixing up the alignment to for the more modern Loco's would allow for faster and heavily trains on the network.
We only need to look at Qld which is the same gauge as NZ's network at what could be done to NZ's network IRT to freight and High Speed Passenger Tilt Trains for both Regional/ Inter City and Urban networks.
There is so much potential in KiwiRail, even though a lot of land was sold off by Government prior to privatisation and under privatisation which restricted growth in some areas of the network which has hampered further investment.
A lot of people have forgotten there was a petrol ration during WW2 which lasted until the early to mid 50's and just imaging a 15% cut or greater to POL products if a major conflict broke out in the Middle East or in the South China Sea? The only reason that NZ kept producing goods was the Railways and the MN aka Coastal Shipping with the Trucking Firms restricted to the Ports or the various Rail depots to places that weren't serviced by ships or by the railways.
I wasnt overly concerned with the specifics of CTs piece (i.e. wider gauge or high speed) but rather the thrust of the fact we have rhetoric around CC and having just announced a relaxation of BR we are wasting (imo) that infrastructure spend on locking in high carbon infrastructure for the long term,,,as CT bemoans there is a huge gap between the rhetoric and the capability and its only being filled by the PMs personal appeal.
in addition
http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2019/12/climate-change-planning-for-failure.html
Greens co-leaders sit down for an interview with Herald political reporter Jason Walls: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/video.cfm?c_id=280&gal_cid=280&gallery_id=215281
A review of practical coalition politics in respect of aspirations & achievements. No revelations but reassuring inasmuch as they seem sure of themselves and confident looking ahead…
oh
The great social anthropologist Noah Way, at the end of a long and tireless search has found in the USA the remnants of a sect of the ancient Christian religion which has continued to exist in as near to the fount of its beliefs as was possible.
This has emerged from its recent announcement about the depravity of the secular head of the country who, with his cohorts, often espouses religious beliefs in an attempt to hide his false worship of The Golden Calf and Mammon.
Mammon /ˈmæmən/ in the New Testament of the Bible is commonly thought to mean money, material wealth, or any entity that promises wealth, and is associated with the greedy pursuit of gain. … Mammon in Hebrew (ממון) means "money". https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Mammon
The Golden Calf – The story of the golden calf is widely regarded as one of the most disgraceful moments in Jewish history. In Exodus, chapters 31-32, the Torah tells how three months after leaving Egypt, and a mere 40 days after receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai, the Jewish people created an idol and worshipped it.
Having miscalculated the date of Moses’ promised return from the mountain, the Jewish people thought their leader had died. They decided to replace him, and with the help of Aaron, formed a golden calf and worshipped it. https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3613047/jewish/What-Was-the-Golden-Calf.htm
There is animated discussion amongst the cognoscenti though as to whether Donald Trump worships the Golden Calf or thinks he embodies it.
/sarc
A beautiful woman. Who is she, I can't keep up?
Sorry the Image is too large – but it is Democrat Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard who is currently a candidate for President. She cravenly was the only Representative to vote "Present" on one of the votes for Impeachment in the House.
The Image reads:
Scomo apologises and returns to Oz while confessing his fundamental uselessness by saying "I don't hold a hose". Expect plenty of bluff and hearty but sentimental outpourings from him in coming days. Nothing will be done. That benighted country will have to cook for another decade or two – or at least until there are mass deaths, before the grip of the Scomotypes is loosened.
(A ‘Scomotype’ is the opposite of a prototype – instead of being something you hope will work, it’s something you already know will fail)
What did his hose comment indicate? I thought he would be making jocular statements about all the male politicians rushing out to do their bit on the fires, and sending up women as useless as usual in fire emergencies!
he is a fucking hose.
Fantastic letter to Chloe Swarbrick the other day
We were discussing this the other day…the past is a foreign country.
We had 2 weeks annual leave, often taken over xmas new year because the business shut down for xmas…we had home ownership savings accounts you needed to be contributing to for years before you could even apply for a mortgage,,credit was difficult and expensive to obtain…mortgages at 20%… old/second hand was typical and expected when young…
Having said that the maximum term of a mortgage was 20 years (except HNZ which did 24 years) and I cringe when I see the size of the mortgages my children are signing up to (for 30 years)..and theres a good chance the house they bought is a going to fall down around their ears or be worthless because its leaky…and the environment wasnt collapsing (well it was but we didnt know)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue7wM0QC5LE
the past was indeed a different country, where a house was only 3 times the median income and prices were stable. before property investment/ speculation/ hoarding/ rent-seeking became a national religion
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EMCDdlZUEAMVKxI.jpg
yep…not disputing any of that…but am acknowledging I think I can view it from both perspectives…the fact is there are pluses and minuses to both regimes…and its easy to see what makes the whole neo-liberal project so seductive
You must remember I grew up in a world where half the people in my neighbourhood were where white collar and half were blue…the difference was negligible…not so now
Broadcasting – decisions touted for new year. Take your time is my hope. I can't believe that National has issued a statement I agree with.
National has already expressed its opposition, saying one super entity would be too dominant a force in the market, including editorially.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12294855 National lays into Govt's broadcasting decision delays
That gives time to write into the Honourable Broadcasting Minister Kris Faafoi and give him some bullet points about your opinions. Enlarge on them below, but then he might not have time to read lots after the hols. [email protected] govt.nz
For groaning under the weight of being force-fed taxpayer subsidy, only the arts and sport get as good a subsidy as broadcasting does here. In terms of nutritious content though it's up there with Frosties.
If they're so intent on handing out public subsidies for non-MSM media, they should start with The Standard and Scoop. The public would then get a better shot at public policy debate than TVNZ and TV3 and MTV put together.
This from the " peoples government "
Boris Johnson to ‘stop tens of thousands voting’ by making photo ID mandatory at polling stations
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-queens-speech-voter-id-polling-station-a9253386.html
talking to a onetime MP today. They said they never rated the journos. After the nonsensical dead heat between Jacinda Ardern and Bridjizz it seems the right time to do so. How a liteweight like katy bradfod can get away with that defies the imagination. time to get to work on these pin heads who think their own shit doesn't stink.
My initial reaction is that you sound like one yourself.