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…
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. k.faafoi@ministers. 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.
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
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TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
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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![yes yes](https://cdn.ckeditor.com/4.11.3/full-all/plugins/smiley/images/thumbs_up.png)
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
https://twitter.com/billmckibben/status/1207788960560406528
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
https://twitter.com/_chloeswarbrick/status/1207084558140637190
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
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. k.faafoi@ministers. 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.