Doubt it. As one of your resident Putlerbots, I’m calling it for a final act of desperation on the part of one of Gulen’s dwindling supply of useful idiots.
Especially relevant locally, as well as globally. How animal based diets and agriculture are particularly harmful. Causing harm while extracting subsidies to do that harm.
I’ll guess not until the heat stress death toll in southern asia/middle east/africa goes over a billion total. Or a few thousand annually in southern US and Europe. So at least a couple of decades away. By which time it will be so much harder and more expensive to turn things around.
Well, yeah. We have the know-how to turn things around now, plus a lot of interesting developments in the pipeline. Putting in a serious effort to turn things around would be a massive economic boost, which should make most people happy all across the political spectrum. We just haven’t found the right argument to bring the electorate on board.
The biggest real obstacle remaining is the power and money of existing fossil-fuel interests that will literally do anything they think they can get away with to try to keep their power and revenue. A solid effort over a couple decades might break that down.
Andre do you seriously believe mankind can/will get its act together and save the planet? Take a look around the world and wonder how. Have you got a formula to overcome our rapacious greed, corruption and outright stupidity? What about Capitalism? What about impending climate wars, let alone the silly wars we have now? Can you see something I can’t in mans make up that will make us realize how deeply we are in the shit already? So far what have we done? A totally inadequate Paris Accord will not cut it, in fact most Countries are making a mockery of its already puny measures.
Like Pat says, I’m an optimist. Of sorts. “Saving” the planet isn’t going to happen. We’ve already irreversibly changed the planet, for the worse in my opinion. Even if humans stopped actively changing the planet right now it would still take decades to reach a quasi-steady state from all the changes we’ve started.
But societies usually get around to making some good choices, mostly after making a whole lot of bad choices. China has gotten serious about clean energy, after seriously fouling their own nest. They also got serious, in a viciously brutal way, about controlling population growth several decades ago. In general, the natural environment in the US is getting better. The list goes on….
Eventually we will make the choices necessary to stop emitting more carbon and trashing what’s left of the natural environment. If only because there’s more money in it that way.
The question is whether we do it soon enough that most of the current temperate zone remains habitable, or whether our descendants get forced to retreat to high latitudes and domed habitats while they desperately try to terraform the rest of the earth back to a habitable state. After a massive die-off.
Putting in a serious effort to turn things around would be a massive economic boost, which should make most people happy all across the political spectrum.
Yep, it would but it would kill the profits of the capitalists and revive their power and so it’s not done.
Hey the increase in deaths caused by the 2004 heatwave in Europe was over 20,000.
Europe gets it – that the planet is warming, and is trying to do something about it. On the other side of the ditch however …. The Chump is doing his damnedest to ramp it up – and Aussie idiots want to join him.
By the way – there are more deaths to heat waves in Aus than there are those caused by bush fires, or any other natural extreme event.
Yep. The US military also recognises climate change as a root cause of a lot of the threats they are likely to face, and have been funding a lot of R&D into ways to get off of fossil fuels. Over the objections of congressional Republicans, to their huge annoyance.
I don’t think the Ruskys have got a show of beating that!
Probably not but if and when the carbon bubble bursts Russia the petrostate, the world’s largest exporter of hydrocarbons (oil and gas combined), is fucked.
With the news that hundreds of males from East Aleppo between the ages of 30 and 50 who have placed themselves in government hands have gone missing, the UN is seeking to monitor the evacuation of Aleppo.
UN human rights spokesman Rupert Colville told a news briefing the office had heard “worrying allegations that hundreds of men have gone missing after crossing into government-controlled areas” of Aleppo.
“Given the terrible record of arbitrary detention, torture and disappearances, we are of course deeply concerned,” he said.
Colville said family members had reported losing contact with the men, who are between the ages of 30 and 50, after they fled opposition-held areas of Aleppo about a week ago.
His comments came as Syrian government artillery bombarded the fast-shrinking rebel enclave in the heart of Aleppo on Friday.
The army has recaptured 85 percent of the eastern part of the city which the rebels had held since summer 2012.
The assault has prompted a mass exodus from east Aleppo where at least 80,000 people have fled their homes, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
To refresh my memory, I looked back at yesterdays Open Mike and stopped counting when I reached nine posts by you containing links to pro-regime propaganda. Jenny posted one link, to a Herald report about an anti-regime demonstration in Auckland. So, yes, I have noticed who is posting the daily tedious propaganda.
Ah, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (or as I like to call it, the Salafist Observatory for Jihadist Rights) and their phoney numbers. I believe they were behind the original truthiness of “250,000 civilians” in East Aleppo. Now the UN has stopped quoting them, having been caught out by reality when using their ‘estimates’. Now the Salafist Observatory’s 250,000 has become 80,000. I wonder what number their Salafist masters in Riyadh and Qatar will dream up for them when that number gets mugged by reality.
There are plenty:
A ceasefire would have no benefit to people in Syria.
Aleppo is being “liberated” by regime forces.
American forces targeted Syrian Army positions (not so much a lie as an unsubstantiated assertion).
US and western leaders have funded terrorists in Syria.
She knows the “will of the people of Aleppo” having been there four times (lie of omission, she’s only been to regime-held areas and only spoken to people the Assad regime let her speak to).
The people of Syria support their government (the fact there’s been an armed uprising against that government for years is a bit of a giveaway).
The people of west Aleppo are suffering terribly under a siege and bombardment by “terrorist factions” (true in itself, but effectively a lie of omission because she doesn’t mention that the people in east Aleppo are suffering a siege and bombardment orders of magnitude worse, courtesy of the regime she’s shilling for).
I got bored at that point, but overall she’s peddling bullshit for a despotic hereditary dictator – if anything, Bush is the lesser of the two, on the basis that he could at least claim to be not very bright.
I agree with some of that, but on the whole seems better than the coverage I’ve seen from British and American media.
I would have to say in particular that ceasefire agreements have been pointless there – militants have consistently thwarted any attempts for people to leave. As with Mosul, many civilians were clearly being held for the human shield factor. They really just used the time to re-up – and then continue fighting.
And the largest and most significant groups were Al Nusra and Al Zinki, who are terrorists in any sane person’s book. In that sense, calling their removal liberation isn’t as truthy as some of the stuff I’ve read from BBC, AP, Reuters, Washington Post, Torygraph, etc.
I think it’s also important to notice that a significant number of foreign fighters are in the rebellion.
Assad has foreign support too, but your argument was that the rebellion is the clue that he doesn’t have popular support. I would question that the rebellion signifies this given how much of it is manned by foreigners. Note that fighting age male Sunni make up the majority of refugees heading into Turkey and Europe. Had they remained, they wouldn’t have been conscripted by the army – they’d have been conscripted by foreign fighters whose strategic aim is to turn the Syrian Republic into a Caliphate – a Salafist Caliphate whose orientation is of course towards the people who sent them weapons and helped them enter the country in the first place – Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
But if they hated Assad that much, they’d surely join their foreign co-religionists and fight? Well, the reason they wouldn’t is that they don’t share their extremist aims. Syrian Sunni arriving in Germany have complained that the Saudi-run and financed mosques which predominate in Germany preach a version of Islam that they find extreme. In that sense, the majority of the rebels really are the angry nerds club of the Sunni world.
Capturing a city so you can bring it back under the control of your despotic hereditary dictatorship doesn’t fit any definition of “liberating” in which words still mean something.
Re conscription, read some of the accounts by refugees – I’ve seen plenty that refer to fleeing conscription into the army, none that mention fear of conscription by the rebels.
Also, the rebellion was five years ago. Sure, now it’s a war fought largely by clients of the regional powers involved (Iran vs the Gulf states), but that’s only because the Assad regime did such an excellent job of capturing, torturing and murdering the people back in 2011 who fancied a future featuring something a little closer to good governance.
The current disaster is mostly due to Assad’s response to the initial demonstrations against his rule, which he only got away with thanks to his Iranian and Russian patrons. If you don’t like seeing Aleppo full of Islamofascists, sheet the blame home where it belongs – the people currently claiming to be “liberating” Aleppo back into servitude.
“Capturing a city so you can bring it back under the control of your despotic hereditary dictatorship doesn’t fit any definition of “liberating” in which words still mean something”
Unless the alternative is that it becomes part of a Salafist caliphate, in which case almost anything else is liberation. We’re talking about the sort of sad cunts who even ban music and kite flying. There’s a massive gulf between Baathism and Salafism.
“Also, the rebellion was five years ago. Sure, now it’s a war fought largely by clients of the regional powers involved (Iran vs the Gulf states), but that’s only because the Assad regime did such an excellent job of capturing, torturing and murdering the people back in 2011 who fancied a future featuring something a little closer to good governance.”
Oh, I agree – but that’s the problem; we’re too late now. It’s Baathism or Salafism. There simply aren’t enough secularists (or actual Syrians) in the rebel forces for it to end any other way.
“Re conscription, read some of the accounts by refugees – I’ve seen plenty that refer to fleeing conscription into the army, none that mention fear of conscription by the rebels.”
Yeah I have to be fair seen some saying this, but I do remember there being others cited by Voltairenet, the Saker and others who were saying this. And, likewise, my other point – that the Syrian Sunni who are arriving in Germany etc. find the Saudi run mosques too extreme for them – because they preach the sort of Salafism which the rebels are inspired by. If you find what they can get away with preaching in Germany too extreme, imagine what they’ll be up to in areas of Syria where they now have free hand.
“The current disaster is mostly due to Assad’s response to the initial demonstrations against his rule, which he only got away with thanks to his Iranian and Russian patrons. If you don’t like seeing Aleppo full of Islamofascists, sheet the blame home where it belongs – the people currently claiming to be “liberating” Aleppo back into servitude.”
I partially agree. Russia of course wants a tin pot ally which will let them host its naval forces at Tartus, but this is systemic. NATO and Russian strategy which treats the region like a chessboard plays out how it will. For me, it’s unfortunately just a realist question. Russia’s ally, Syria, is a tin pot dictatorship but it’s secular. NATO is playing with Wahhabi fire – and it will always burn its handler, and anyone else who gets in its way. Syria hasn’t invaded anyone since those ridiculous Arab wars of conquest against Israel in the 60s and 70s. Wahhabists on the other hand will always seek to conquer. That’s why smart geopolitics involves not hiring or arming those kind of lunatics. For some reason the American intelligence services are always either picking the most feckless, or the most unhinged.
Final analysis from me, you can coexist with Putin or Assad if you negotiate with them honestly and like a grown up. You can’t negotiate with Salafists. For that reason, they have to lose.
“On 10 December 2016, Eva Bartlett — an activist and blogger who openly says she is biased in favor of the Syrian regime — was featured in a circulating YouTube video that says she is “schooling” a “mainstream media” reporter by making a series of outlandish-sounding claims, including that international media are conspiring to fabricate stories of hospital bombings and that anti-government activists are “recycling” victims to cast the Syrian military in a negative light. (She also refers to all factions fighting President Bashar al Assad’s forces as terrorists.)… ”
“… Bartlett’s claim that the child victim Aya, is “recycled” is the same type of charge levied by conspiracy theorists at parents of children who were killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school massacre. It is a claim also promoted by David Icke, who is best known for believing the world is controlled by Martian lizard people.”
Good to see the mainstream character assassination begin. When that happens to someone, it usually means they’re hitting a few points bang on.
No link to the vid where she claims to be making shit up (the one ‘doing the rounds on youtube)?
ffs – she’s unconscionable (according to scopes) because she refers to’ terrorists’ where ‘our’ side is meant to refer to ‘rebels’!!!
There are a number of questionable claims, exaggerations and subtle dishonesties made in that article (eg – the elections were not just held in government areas, but across the whole of Syria and in Syrian embassies in foreign countries – That’s widely documented and accepted. She has said the hospital was never destroyed not that it was never hit…and so on)
I thought snopes was about ensuring accuracy, not doing hatchet jobs.
“Snopes.com /ˈsnoʊps/, also known as the Urban Legends Reference Pages, is a website covering urban legends, Internet rumors, e-mail forwards, and other stories of unknown or questionable origin.[3] It is a well-known resource for validating and debunking such stories in American popular culture,[4] receiving 300,000 visits a day.[5]
Snopes.com was created by Barbara and David Mikkelson, a California couple who met in the alt.folklore.urban newsgroup.[6] The site is organized by topic and includes a message board where stories and pictures of questionable veracity may be posted…”
” …In 2012, FactCheck.org reviewed a sample of Snopes’ responses to political rumors regarding George W. Bush, Sarah Palin, and Barack Obama, and found them to be free from bias in all cases. FactCheck noted that Barbara Mikkelson was a Canadian citizen (and thus unable to vote in US elections) and David Mikkelson was an independent who was once registered as a Republican. “You’d be hard-pressed to find two more apolitical people,””
Until now, I’ve had no opinion one way or the other about ‘snopes’. So I get that you’re assuming ‘I don’t like’ them on the basis that I’ve called that piece into question.
I’ve watched and listened to fair bit of Bartlett and the Bartlett I’ve been listening to and watching and reading simply hasn’t taken the positions or made the claims that snopes alleges.
Now sure, maybe my own bias has utterly deafened me to some outrageous aspect of Bartlett’s reporting. I doubt it though.
Meanwhile, I know that snopes has a reputation for debunking shit and that a fair number of people check it out (I guess that aligns with the “well-known resource for validating and debunking such stories in American popular culture,[4] receiving 300,000 visits a day” bit.) – my emphasis because…
Popular culture and mainstream…synonymous might be too tight a binding. But y’know….
personally I think the ‘mainstream media’ is a crock of shit – it seems just oh so convenient and more than a little suspicious to have scapegoats whenever the news we think should be seen isn’t, or we see stuff we think we shouldn’t have to.
fact checking is monotonous work in the land of post-truth – good luck to snopes or anyone that does it – and yes I am sure it is IMPOSSIBLE to find a truly independent, unaffected voice or fact-checker – as with the quantum – when you look at it, you alter it.
The fog of civil war is a real pea-souper. Maybe you can see through it. I know I can’t, other than to be certain that the choice is between atrocity and conversation and I know which I’d like to see.
Geopolitical groups and individual countries have been supporting terrorists, freedom fighters and other (insert tag du jour) since forever to support their ideologies, wants and needs and expansionist policies.
To suggest that a nebulous tag of ‘the west’ are the only ones who do this would be blinkered in the extreme.
That point is totally irrelevant to the question asked. What we have to determine is whether verified reports of war crimes are being dismissed or ignored and what part they play in Paul’s open support for a dictator who has slaughtered innocents and why he pushes his agenda here, on a left leaning web site.
Paul has a duty to respond sincerely to save any semblance of credibility.
This fellow “Peter Swift” is deliberately repeating lies that have been discredited thoroughly.
Are there any standards of veracity here, or are people like him going to be allowed to say anything at all, no matter how obscene and demonstrably untrue it may be?
Is it Paul’s apparent support for Assad’s Syria?
That barrel bombs and chlorine gas attacks aren’t war crimes?
That barrel bombs and chlorine gas attacks haven’t been inflicted upon the civilian population?
That barrel bombs and chlorine gas attacks have been verified?
That Paul has to respond to save his cred?
Or this is a left leaning web site?
I’m happy for the moderators (except Jock) to pit my record against yours and for them to boot the sh1ttiest one of us out for good. 😉
Let’s face it, if they’d rather keep a no talent hack, mental stalker of radio shows over a half decent, left of center labour/green supporter, then it’s not really a place I’d want to remain part of anyway.
Barrel bombs are no more a war crime than any conventional weapon used in a city. Use of chemical weapons are of course. I do wonder why the UN has suddenly said that such use was by the Syrian forces when a) they never had proof before and b) all Syrian chemical weapon stockpiles were surrendered years ago.
You do realize that most of the people in Syria are Christians and the whole war has a strong religious undertone. Russia is to 75% Orthodox Christian and the odd one out is Turkey, being Muslim in the mix. Everybody KNOWS that they play a double game appeasing the Americans and shooting the Kurd’s on both side of the border. Of cause this is about money, lots of it.
There are no honorable people involved anywhere. The biggest fear is that when the refugees have been evacuated all hell will break loose, whatever is left of Syria will be bombed to bits. Meanwhile, to the south Yemen is starting to burn. BTW, Yemen’s are Shafi’i Muslims or Sunni in majority.
Do you really belief that this discriminate bombing and suffering of mostly the very young or old and women will end soon? Really?
A few facts – I don’t I openly support Assad’s regime.
I merely ( as you know) have pointed people to the work of independent journalists in Syria.
It seems much clearer that you have active support for the al Qaeda ‘rebels’ of East Aleppo?
Do you support their practices of throat cutting, heart eating, beheading?
Friendship is very needed in this world – even positive moves towards previous enemies if that will produce some good.
Seventh day of Christmas with Friendship quote:
You do not know how much they mean to me, my friends,
and how, how rare and strange it is, to find in a life composed so much of odds and ends…to find a friend who has these qualities,
who has, and gives those qualities upon which friendship lives.
How much it means that, I say this to you – without these friendships – life, what cauchemar! (nightmare)
T.S. Eliot
“It increasingly feels like we’re being stretched. It’s harder for, if you’re on a low income, to move out of being on a low income. Yet, there are people at the top who are doing exceptionally well.
“And that’s the result of policies and laws. Policies create the economy, and here we are,” he said.
Lawyer, Olympian, socially-conscious, and high-achieving Ben Sanford stands for Labour in Rotorua against the corrupt McLay who lied about suppressing law-changes to international trusts after a lobby meeting with John Key’s lawyer.
The British have always valued their independence – and, translated into modern terms, that means the value attached to self-government and democracy. That is the element that, in their keenness to emphasise their “Europeanness”, is overlooked and misunderstood by the Brexit critics.
Much of the impetus behind the decision to leave the EU came, in other words, from that long-standing British commitment to running their own affairs, without interference from Continental powers. They wanted to regain “control” – perhaps an abstract concept but one that mattered to many Brexit voters.
Those who condemn those voters for their ignorance and bigotry might ask themselves whether it is not the critics who reveal their ignorance. Even at 12,000 miles distance, I fancy that I understand what those voters were seeking to achieve. The drive to achieve and retain the right to self-government is not to be derided; it has served both Britain and Europe very well in the long history they share.
And this is the same reason why I think we need to withdraw from FTAs, the World Bank, the IMF and the WTO. Through these we’re giving away too much of our independence.
Mullett
I understand that you have a vaccination grievance. It is obvious that you never recovered from yours and are bent on saving the world from dying of preventable illnesses.
“Beginning to wish there was a separate Middle East post like those US election ones…”
yep – never in the course of human history have so many, talked so much, about something they know almost nothing about – it’s all a bit ‘my link is bigger than your link’ – definitely is not spreading knowledge, understanding or even any illumination. waste. of. time.
pdm is an old chum of Keeping Stock who was featured in Nicky Hagar’s “Dirty Politics”. Rightwing blogger Keeping Stock, much admired and supported on his blog by pdm was exposed as a player in National’s dirty political games. Why is pdm here on The Standard? How can he say and believe such daft things, endlessly and with the witless confidence usually attributed to fools ?
Why is pdm here on The Standard? How can he say and believe such daft things, endlessly and with the witless confidence usually attributed to fools ?
Trying out an attack line.
Looks like last weeks jelly eggs have hatched, by crikey. If you are coming to Tasman to holiday this week or next just beware, they are only a problem if you make it one.
Tips…
Wear something on your feet and inspect the high tide mark, and just have a look through the shells and sticks to see if there are any blue bottles/man o war around. Will give you an idea if there are any in the sea.
Still want to swim in the sea but arent sure, i’d suggest a wetsuit
If you get stung, make sure you are ready for it, YOU HAVE TO REMOVE THE TENTACLES THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT otherwise it will sting like hell and the more you move around the more poison is released into the body. So get some tweezers, a stick, razor blade, credit card etc and make sure you have removed all the stingers. Only after all the stingers have been removed bathe the area in warm water. You may want to take some paracetamol or ibuprofen. If it’s still hurting about 30 mins later you may have not removed all the stingers, so check again and if really concerned seek medical attention.
Whatever you do don’t put vinegar on it or piss on it especially if the stingers are still in there it will only make it worse.
If you have symptoms such as severe muscle pain (abdomen, chest, limbs, etc.), headache, weakness that may result in collapse, having a runny nose and watery eyes, difficulty in swallowing, sweating and rashes, head to A&E or get some professional medical help asap.
Still want to swim, go to the rivers, there are plenty and great fun, baby rapids for the kids to enjoy with a tyre tube, pools for snorkeling and rocks and bridges to jump off of, take your insect repellent and you will have a great time.
Hey, hey… ALL THE BEST TO BEN SANDFORD, the newly selected Labour Party Candidate for Rotorua.
“Labour candidate Ben Sandford says the social problems he grew up with have not been solved – and he’s running against Todd McClay in 2017 so he can fix them.”
“A qualified lawyer, Sandford represented New Zealand in skeleton racing from 2002 to 2014. He finished 11th at the 2010 Winter Olympics.”
Look forward to hearing more about you in due course, and CONGRATULATIONS 😀
As the media cottons on to the fact he doesn’t think too quickly, Bling will increasingly get caught out making old-white-male comments like this. He reminds me of Prince Charles or Prince Philip in this respect.
Here he both denies and trivialises more than a century of struggle for women’s rights.
That is absolutely appalling. The next thing we know he will be coming out with the ultimate heresy.
He will admit that he doesn’t actually see any need for him to apologise for being a man. How low can he go?
After that we will discover he has all sorts of strange beliefs. I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually believes in faithfulness in marriage and other strange practices that will be anathema to the 20% of New Zealanders who are on the hard-core left of politics. He may even think that it is right for him to support his family.
I have the sense that your grip on the meaning of ‘feminism’ is as shaky as the prime minister’s. I take it you’re quite happy to see women as inferior beings?
“women as inferior beings”.
Of course not. How could I possibly think such a thing when I consider myself compared to my wife? She is a far superior being.
Actually a friend of mine claims he is smarter than his wife and that his wife agrees with the proof.
He says that he married her, which was a very smart move on his part.
He then points out the she married him which was a very foolish thing to do.
They are still married though.
“Bill English: I don’t know what ‘feminist’ means.”
Lots of analysis floating round on twitter (he’s too smart to not know what it means and it’s a dog whistle). I also think it’s highly likely that he is still strongly anti-abortion and that that factors in there somewhere.
Yeah, one of those weird ideas that lefties have, a woman’s right to choose, is not held by the NZ PM.
I wouldn’t take it so seriously. He was asked whether he regarded himself a feminist and while answering that question he bumbled around in his usual way and what came out was a bunch of garbled non-sense.
What was more interesting is how he came across as stuttering and awkward – reminiscent of his 2002 days. And when you’re the leader you can’t afford to appear like that. With English, though, he can’t change. That’s how he is. That’s why with Key gone the nats are toast next year, even if they do only go down a few points because that’s all they need to lose.
In Absurd Theatre of Israel, Netanyahu Submits to Settler Outlaws
by YOSSI VERTER, Haaretz, Dec. 19, 2016
To avoid the violent scenes that ensued during the last evacuation of the illegal West Bank outpost of Amona, Netanyahu was willing to spend millions and bend every rule of proper governance. …..
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
[The woman is indeed an idiot and is spouting some nonsense that’s easily debunked – eg “double tapping” that was first reported on in relation to US forces, not Russian. And of course, she omits to mention that the lack of basic medical supplies is because of illegal sanctions imosed by the US and others….but it didn’t belong in that thread Morrissey] – Bill
Thanks Bill. However, I posted it on the “Question…” thread because Samantha Power is chuntering on about Syria. I thought it was the appropriate place for it, but I accept your judgement.
What we have been seeing worldwide, from India to the UK to the US, is the rebellion against the inner circle of no-skin-in-the-game policymaking “clerks” and journalists-insiders, that class of paternalistic semi-intellectual experts with some Ivy league, Oxford-Cambridge, or similar label-driven education who are telling the rest of us 1) what to do, 2) what to eat, 3) how to speak, 4) how to think… and 5) who to vote for.
But the problem is the one-eyed following the blind: these self-described members of the “intelligentsia” can’t find a coconut in Coconut Island, meaning they aren’t intelligent enough to define intelligence hence fall into circularities — but their main skill is capacity to pass exams written by people like them. With psychology papers replicating less than 40%, dietary advice reversing after 30 years of fatphobia, macroeconomic analysis working worse than astrology, the appointment of Bernanke who was less than clueless of the risks, and pharmaceutical trials replicating at best only 1/3 of the time, people are perfectly entitled to rely on their own ancestral instinct and listen to their grandmothers (or Montaigne and such filtered classical knowledge) with a better track record than these policymaking goons.
Yes. Left up to the luminaries who inhabit Yawns and Kiwibog the Pike River families would have been sealed up in the mine along with the 29 and Winston Peters.
Utmost and deeply abiding respect for these people.
Along with Helen Kelly, they will be at the top of the Real New Zealanders of the Year list.
Liberal feminists are about achieving equality within the current structure and accepting individualism etc.
Socialist feminists want a different structure and values. Bennett sure as hell isn’t a socialist feminist, or even a social democratic feminist – evidence is in the way she has made life tougher for solo mothers – they are the ones who have suffered most as a result of Bennett’s punitive social welfare policies.
Thanks carolyn thats a very clear distinction, So those feminists promoting identity politics would be liberal feminists then. A social feminist would be working to remove inequality for all.
I wouldn’t classify Bennett as a liberal feminist either. She’s neoliberal, so she’ll use whatever politics suit her at the time, hence her part-time feminist comment.
If you think that that article was about promoting liberal feminism, you missed the point, and it yet again demonstrates both your poor understanding of feminism and your unwillingness to allow women to have their own politics.
I have come to dislike the term “identity politics” – it tends to be used by opponents to feminism as a stick to beat them/us with. But from the anti-identity politics crowd, I do get the sense that that have a view of feminism that is more like liberal feminism.
A liberal feminist is more likely to want to leave capitalism in tact. Today, Judith Collins cited Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem as her feminist influences from way back..
Liberal feminism is an individualistic form of feminist theory, which focuses on women’s ability to maintain their equality through their own actions and choices. Liberal feminists argue that society holds the false belief that women are, by nature, less intellectually and physically capable than men; thus it tends to discriminate against women in the academy, the forum, and the marketplace. Liberal feminists believe that “female subordination is rooted in a set of customary and legal constraints that blocks women’s entrance to and success in the so-called public world”. They strive for sexual equality via political and legal reform.[1]
I certainly think that is what Trotter is talking about in his recent piece on left wing conservatism. He talks about a focus on “individual rights”.
Sue Bradford used to call herself an Eco-feminist and socialist on her twitter profile, as I recall.
I understand you being desperate for a Minister of Women who is an avowed feminist….be it a liberal, socialist or fascist…so I get that you can, in your overwhelming and unbounded joy, make a small, but important mistake.
What Paula Beenitt ackshully said to that nice lady who speaks funny on the wireless this morning was that she was a feminist “most days.”
…..”said she was one, most days.
“You know there’s some days when I don’t even think about it and I’m getting on being busy, but I still get a bit worked up about some of the unfairness that I’ve seen, mainly for other women and not for myself these days.”
And come on…she has the backing of Our New Leader, Bull….
:…English said he thought Bennett’s example was the most important thing.
“She has such an inspiring story herself that everyday of the week she is achieving things and doing things which will be inspiring to a lot of, particularly younger, women who can see that we are in a country where there are no boundaries if they are able to do it, want to do it, they can get to do it.”
What a distorted and inequitable strange world we live in
Christine Lagarde Head of the IMF was found guilty of fraud. Another Neo fucking crook not paid one cent in tax but was let off by the courts with no sentence, If it had been a small deprived French kid stealing from a French equivalent of Pak & Slave he would have had the book thrown at him.
Also at the moment visiting NZ the world’s biggest drug cheating cycling dickhead Lance Armstrong, Going by tonight’s news, he is worshipped and idolised by many of the cycling wankers in NZ.
If it was a Russian Athlete who may not have been involved in the so-called Russian drug cheating, they would have been banned and no doubt booed by the media.
Can anyone identify a photo of Trevor Mallard in the crowds around Armstrong?
I’m willing to bet he was there but he may have been hiding at the back of the crowd.
Agree with that Alwyn, incidentally I have enjoyed a lot of your opinions this year, have not agreed with them and at times you have gone off on a tangent. But at least you, like a lot of people who visit here have given me food for thought at times. Compliments of the season to you and your family mate.
The crowds around Armstrong are the people who idolise celebrity.
Cycle racing fans I know suspected Armstrong of cheating for years before he was finally exposed and think he is an arsehole.
It’s the fame those Aucklanders are following.
“The Syrian and Russian regimes have committed and are continuing to commit genocide on innocent civillinas including thousands of women and children.
Syrians and Russian governments have lost their moral compass and their legitimacy as responsible members of the international community. They must now answer to the international community’s calls for their criminal actions to be scrutinised by the International Criminal Court.
The Federation most strongly condemns the criminal actions of Syrian and Russian governments. We call upon the New Zealand, United Nations and all world leaders to rally strongly against the Syrian and Russian governments and their allied foreign forces for their atrocities and massacres in Aleppo and to bring them to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.”
Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand inc.
Does the FIANZ also condemn the indiscriminate killing of civilians by the Jahadi ‘rebels’ in Aleppo?
Seems like Syrian people a lot closer than Auckland are relieved al Nusra, al Qaeda and ISIS have been defeated.
Still, keep churning out the propaganda Jenny.
Why would so many people flee to the Government controlled area of west Aleppo if they were at risk of genocide? Why would 75% of Aleppo’s population be in west Aleppo if it was under the control of Government tyrants?
BERLIN — The leader of the Austrian far-right Freedom Party has signed what he called a cooperation agreement with Russia’s ruling party and recently met with Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, the designated national security adviser to President-elect Donald J. Trump of the United States.
[…]
The Freedom Party, founded in the 1950s by ex-Nazis, surged this year to nearly capture the largely ceremonial presidency of Austria in May, but was defeated in a final runoff on Dec. 4. Still, its ascendance, alongside the rise of rightist parties in many European countries and with Mr. Trump’s victory, has raised new questions about political realignment across the continent.
“The Assad regime has won the support of fascists and far-right nationalist parties and organizations across Europe. These include the National Front (France), Forza Nuova and CasaPound (Italy), Golden Dawn and Black Lilly (Greece), the British National Party (UK) and the National Rebirth of Poland, Falanga and All Polish Youth (Poland).”
“The Assadist “Left” are clearly conservative anti-imperialists, taking the “campist” position that the main leaders of opposition to neoliberal globalisation are the leaderships of various states, who range from authoritarian to totalitarian in their internal regimes – thus excluding any role for mass action in changing the world, and indeed smearing the Arab Spring uprisings as CIA-sponsored attempted coups.”
Daphne Lawless
“…conservative-left reactions to the Trump debacle have ranged from welcoming it as a blow to neoliberal globalisation (ludicrous, given the identity of the various plutocrats whom Trump is naming to his cabinet), to the less wild-eyed interpretation that a “revolt of the white working class” defeated Hillary Clinton. This latter interpretation conveniently lends itself to calls for a more “traditional” left politics targeting “ordinary” (read: white, male) workers, and throwing not only the feminist movement but oppressed queer, ethnic and religious minority workers under the bus.”
Chris Trotter, and by association some of own authors are conservative left.
I’d call them the do-nothing left. They wait and they wait for apologies for injustices to white males under previous Labour governments. They obstruct the current Labour party still demanding apologies more than 30 years later.
Tomorrow afternoon, if things go really really badly, I may find myself down to one eye. People who used to sneer at me on Twitter will no doubt say So what's changed? Nothing, that's what, you one-eyed lefty.I don’t mean to be dramatic, it’s just a routine bit of cataract ...
A few weeks ago an invitation dropped into my email inbox to attend a joint Treasury/Motu seminar on recent, rather major, changes that had apparently been made to the discount rates used by The Treasury to evaluate proposals from government agencies. It was all news to me, but when ...
All your life is Time magazineI read it tooWhat does it mean?PressureI'm sure you'll have some cosmic rationaleBut here you are with your faithAnd your Peter Pan adviceYou have no scars on your faceAnd you cannot handle pressureSongwriter: Billy Joel.Christopher Luxon is under pressure from all sides. The reviews are ...
After seeing yet-more-months of political debate and policy decisions to ‘go for growth’ by pulling the same old cheap migration and cheap tourism levers without nearly-enough infrastructure, or any attempt to address the same old lack of globally conventional tax incentives for investment, I thought it would be worth issuing ...
The plans for the buildings that will replace the downtown carpark have been publicly notified giving us the first detailed glance at what is proposed for one of the biggest and best development sites in the city centre. The council agreed to sell the site to Precinct Properties for $122 ...
With the Reserve Bank expected today to return the Official Cash Rate to where it was in mid-2022 comes a measure of how much of a psychological impact the rate has. Federated Farmers has published its latest six-monthly farm confidence survey, which shows that profit expectations have fallen and risen ...
Kiwis Disallowed From Waiting Lists Based on Arbitrary MeasuresWellington hospital are now rejecting patients from specialist waiting lists due to BMI (body mass index).This article from Rachel Thomas for The Post says it all (emphasis mine):A group of Porirua GPs are sounding alarm bells after patients with body mass indexes ...
The Prime Minister says he's really comfortable with us not knowing the reoffending rate for his boot camp programme.They asked him for it at yesterday’s press conference, and he said, nah, not telling, have to respect people's privacy.Okay I'll bite. Let's say they release this information to us:The rate of ...
Warning 1: There is a Nazi theme at the end of this article related to the disabled community. Warning 2: This article could be boring!One day, last year, I excitedly opened up a Substack post that was about how to fight back, and the answer at the end was disappointing ...
This may be rhetorical but here goes: did any of you invest in the $Libra memecoin endorsed and backed by Argentine president and darling of the global Right Javier Milei (who admitted to being paid a fee for his promotion of the token)? You know, the one that soared above ...
Last week various of the great and good of New Zealand economics and public policy trooped off to Hamilton (of all places) for the annual Waikato Economics Forum, one of the successful marketing drives of university’s Vice-Chancellor. My interest was in the speeches delivered by the Minister of Finance and ...
The Prime Minister says the Government would be open to sending peacekeepers to Ukraine if a ceasefire was reached. The government has announced a $30 million spend on tourism infrastructure and biodiversity projects, including $11m spent to improve popular visitor sites and further $19m towards biodiversity efforts. A New Zealand-born ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler “But what about when the sun doesn't shine?!” Ah yes, the energy debate’s equivalent of “The Earth is flat!” Every time someone mentions solar or wind power, some self-proclaimed energy expert emerges from the woodwork to drop this supposedly devastating truth bomb: ...
This post by Nicolas Reid was originally published on Linked in. It is republished here with permission.In this article I look into data on how well the rail network serve New Zealanders, and how many people might be able to travel by train… if we ran more than a ...
Hi,Before we get into Hayden Donnell’s new column about how yes, Donald Trump is definitely the Antichrist, I wanted to touch on something feral that happened in New Zealand last week.Members of Destiny Church pushed and punched their way into an Auckland library, apparently angry it was part of Pride ...
Despite delays, logjams and overcrowding in our emergency departments, funding constraints are limiting the numbers of nurses and doctors being trained. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, February 18 are:A NZ Herald investigation ...
Now that the US has ripped up the Atlantic alliance, Europe is more vulnerable now than at any time since the mid-1930s. Apparently, Europe and Ukraine itself will not have a seat at the table in the talks between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin that will ...
Olivia and Noah and Hana are going to the library!It is fun to go to the library. It has books and songs and mat time and people who smile at you and say, Hello Olivia, what have you been doing this morning?The library is more fun than the mall. At ...
New World Orders: The challenge facing Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins is how to keep their small and vulnerable nation safe and stable in a world whose economic and political climate the forty-seventh American president is changing so profoundly.IT IS, SURELY, the ultimate Millennial revenge fantasy. Calling senior Baby-Boomer and Gen-X ...
“This might surprise you, Laurie, but I reckon Trump’s putting on a bloody impressive performance.”“GOODNESS ME, HANNAH, just look at all those Valentine’s Day cards!”“Occupational hazard, Laurie, the more beer I serve, the more my customers declare their undying love!”“Crikey! I had no idea business was so good.” Laurie squinted ...
In 2005, Labour repealed the long-standing principle of birthright citizenship in Aotearoa. Why? As with everything else Labour does, it all came down to austerity: "foreign mothers" were supposedly "coming to this country to give birth", and this was "put[ting] pressure on hospitals". Then-Immigration Minister George Hawkins explicitly gave this ...
And I just hope that you can forgive usBut everything must goAnd if you need an explanation, nationThen everything must goSongwriters: James Dean Bradfield / Sean Anthony Moore / Nicholas Allen Jones.Today, I’d like to talk about a couple of things that happened over the weekend:Brian Tamaki’s Library Invasion and ...
New reporting highlights how Brooke van Velden refuses to meet with the CTU but is happy to meet with fringe Australian-based unions. Van Velden is pursuing reckless changes to undermine the personal grievance system against the advice of her own officials. Engineering New Zealand are saying that hundreds of engineers ...
The NZCTU strongly supports the Employment Relations (Employee Remuneration Disclosure) Amendment Bill. This Bill represents a positive step towards addressing serious issues around unlawful disparities in pay by protecting workers’ rights to discuss their pay and conditions. This Bill also provides welcome support for helping tackle the prevalent gender and ...
Years of hard work finally paid off last week as the country’s biggest and most important transport project, the City Rail Link reached a major milestone with the first test train making its way slowly though the tunnels for the first time. This is a fantastic achievement and it is ...
Engineers are pleading for the Government to free up funds to restart stalled projects. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, February 17 are:Engineering New Zealand CEO Richard Templer said yesterday hundreds of ...
It’s one of New Zealand’s great sustaining myths: the spirit of ANZAC, our mates across the ditch, the spirit of Earl’s Court, Antipodeans united against the world. It is also a myth; it is not reality. That much was clear from a series of speakers, including a former Australian Prime ...
Many people have been unsatisfied for years that things have not improved for them, some as individuals, many more however because their families are clearly putting in more work, for less money – and certainly far less purchase on society. This general discontent has grown exponentially since the GFC. ...
A listing of 34 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 9, 2025 thru Sat, February 15, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report shows worsening food poverty and housing shortages mean more than 400,000 people now need welfare support, the highest level since the 1990s. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and ...
You're just too too obscure for meOh you don't really get through to meAnd there's no need for you to talk that wayIs there any less pessimistic things to say?Songwriters: Graeme DownesToday, I thought we’d take a look at some of the most cringe-inducing moments from last week, but don’t ...
Please note: I’ve delayed my “What can we do?” article for this video.The video above shows Destiny Church members assaulting staff and librarians as they pushed through to a room of terrified parents and young children.It was posted to social media last night.But if you read Sinead Boucher’s Stuff, you ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is sea level rise exaggerated? Sea levels are rising at an accelerating rate, not stagnating or decreasing. Warming global temperatures cause land ice ...
Here is a scenario, but first a historical parallel. Hitler and the Nazis could well have accomplished everything that they wanted to do within German borders, including exterminating Jews, so long as they confined their ambitious to Germany itself. After all, the world pretty much sat and watched as the ...
I’ve spent the last couple of days in Hamilton covering Waikato University’s annual NZ Economics Forum, where (arguably) three of the most influential people in our political economy right now laid out their thinking in major speeches about the size and role of Government, their views on for spending, tax ...
Simeon Brown’s Ideology BentSimeon Brown once told Kiwis he tries to represent his deep sense of faith by interacting “with integrity”.“It’s important that there’s Christians in Parliament…and from my perspective, it’s great to be a Christian in Parliament and to bring that perspective to [laws, conversations and policies].”And with ...
Severe geological and financial earthquakes are inevitable. We just don’t know how soon and how they will play out. Are we putting the right effort into preparing for them?Every decade or so the international economy has a major financial crisis. We cannot predict exactly when or exactly how it will ...
Questions1. How did Old Mate Grabaseat describe his soon-to-be-Deputy-PM’s letter to police advocating for Philip Polkinghorne?a.Ill-advisedb.A perfect letterc.A letter that will live in infamyd.He had me at hello2. What did Seymour say in response?a.What’s ill-advised is commenting when you don’t know all the facts and ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff has called on OJI Fibre Solutions to work with the government, unions, and the community before closing the Kinleith Paper Mill. “OJI has today announced 230 job losses in what will be a devastating blow for the community. OJI needs to work with ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is sounding the alarm about the latest attack on workers from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden, who is ignoring her own officials to pursue reckless changes that would completely undermine the personal grievance system. “Brooke van Velden’s changes will ...
Hi,When I started writing Webworm in 2020, I wrote a lot about the conspiracy theories that were suddenly invading our Twitter timelines and Facebook feeds. Four years ago a reader, John, left this feedback under one of my essays:It’s a never ending labyrinth of lunacy which, as you have pointed ...
And if you said this life ain't good enoughI would give my world to lift you upI could change my life to better suit your moodBecause you're so smoothAnd it's just like the ocean under the moonOh, it's the same as the emotion that I get from youYou got the ...
Aotearoa remains the minority’s birthright, New Zealand the majority’s possession. WAITANGI DAY commentary see-saws manically between the warmly positive and the coldly negative. Many New Zealanders consider this a good thing. They point to the unexamined patriotism of July Fourth and Bastille Day celebrations, and applaud the fact that the ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: and on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump’s administration over Gaza and Ukraine; on the ...
Up until now, the prevailing coalition view of public servants was that there were simply too many of them. But yesterday the new Public Service Commissioner, handpicked by the Luxon Government, said it was not so much numbers but what they did and the value they produced that mattered. Sir ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guests and ...
In a moment we explore the question: What is Andrew Bayly wanting to tell ACC, and will it involve enjoying a small wine tasting and then telling someone to fuck off? But first, for context, a broader one: What do we look for in a government?Imagine for a moment, you ...
As expected, Donald Trump just threw Ukraine under the bus, demanding that it accept Russia's illegal theft of land, while ruling out any future membership of NATO. Its a colossal betrayal, which effectively legitimises Russia's invasion, while laying the groundwork for the next one. But Trump is apparently fine with ...
A ballot for a single member's bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Employment Relations (Collective Agreements in Triangular Relationships) Amendment Bill (Adrian Rurawhe) The bill would extend union rights to employees in triangular relationships, where they are (nominally) employed by one party, but ...
This is a guest post by George Weeks, reviewing a book called ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin AshtonBook review: ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin Ashton (2015) – and what it means for Auckland. The title of this article might unnerve any Greater Auckland ...
This story was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Within just a week, the sheer devastation of the Los Angeles wildfires has pushed to the fore fundamental questions about the impact of the climate crisis that have been ...
In this world, it's just usYou know it's not the same as it wasSongwriters: Harry Edward Styles / Thomas Edward Percy Hull / Tyler Sam JohnsonYesterday, I received a lovely message from Caty, a reader of Nick’s Kōrero, that got me thinking. So I thought I’d share it with you, ...
In past times a person was considered “unserious” or “not a serious” person if they failed to grasp, behave and speak according to the solemnity of the context in which they were located. For example a serious person does not audibly pass gas at Church, or yell “gun” at a ...
Long stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, February 13 are:The coalition Government’s early 2024 ‘fiscal emergency’ freeze on funding, planning and building houses, schools, local roads and hospitals helped extend and deepen the economic and jobs recession through calendar ...
For obvious reasons, people feel uneasy when the right to be a citizen is sold off to wealthy foreigners. Even selling the right to residency seems a bit dubious, when so many migrants who are not millionaires get turned away or are made to jump through innumerable hoops – simply ...
A new season of White Lotus is nearly upon us: more murder mystery, more sumptuous surroundings, more rich people behaving badly.Once more we get to identify with the experience of the pampered tourist or perhaps the poorly paid help; there's something in White Lotus for all New Zealanders.And unlike the ...
In 2016, Aotearoa shockingly plunged to fourth place in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Nine years later, and we're back there again: New Zealand has seen a further slip in its global ranking in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). [...] In the latest CPI New Zealand's score ...
1. You’ve started ranking your politicians on how much they respect the rule of law2. You’ve stopped paying attention to those news publications3. You’ve developed a sudden interest in a particular period of history4. More and more people are sounding like your racist, conspiracist uncle.5. Someone just pulled a Nazi ...
Transforming New Zealand: Brian EastonBrian Easton will discuss the above topic at 2/57 Willis Street, Wellington at 5:30pm on Tuesday 26 February at 2/57 Willis Street, WellingtonThe sub-title to the above is "Why is the Left failing?" Brian Easton's analysis is based on his view that while the ...
Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2025 report highlights falling living standards, the highest unemployment rates since the 1990s and half of all Pacific children going without food. There are reports of hundreds if not thousands of people are applying for the same jobs in the wake of last year’s ...
Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Correction: On the article The Condundrum of David Seymour, Luke Malpass conducted joint reviews with Bryce Wilkinson, the architect of the Regulatory Standards Bill - not Bryce Edwards. The article ...
Tomorrow the council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee meet and agenda has a few interesting papers. Council’s Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport Every year the council provide a Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport which is part of the process for informing AT of the council’s priorities and ...
All around in my home townThey're trying to track me down, yeahThey say they want to bring me in guiltyFor the killing of a deputyFor the life of a deputySongwriter: Robert Nesta Marley.Support Nick’s Kōrero today with a 20% discount on a paid subscription to receive all my newsletters directly ...
Hi,I think all of us have probably experienced the power of music — that strange, transformative thing that gets under our skin and helps us experience this whole life thing with some kind of sanity.Listening and experiencing music has always been such a huge part of my life, and has ...
Business frustration over the stalled economy is growing, and only 34% of voters are confidentNicola Willis can deliver. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 12 are:Business frustration is growing about a ...
I have now lived long enough to see a cabinet minister go both barrels on their Prime Minister and not get sacked.It used to be that the PM would have a drawer full of resignations signed by ministers on the day of their appointment, ready for such an occasion. But ...
“The ACT Party can’t be bothered putting an MP on one of the Justice subcommittees hearing submissions on their own Treaty Principles Bill,” Labour Justice Spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
The Government’s newly announced funding for biodiversity and tourism of $30-million over three years is a small fraction of what is required for conservation in this country. ...
The Government's sudden cancellation of the tertiary education funding increase is a reckless move that risks widespread job losses and service reductions across New Zealand's universities. ...
National’s cuts to disability support funding and freezing of new residential placements has resulted in significant mental health decline for intellectually disabled people. ...
The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community - something that could have easily been avoided. ...
Today Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from state care back to te iwi Māori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga ...
The Whangarei District Council being forced to fluoridate their local water supply is facing a despotic Soviet-era disgrace. This is not a matter of being pro-fluoride or anti-fluoride. It is a matter of what New Zealanders see and value as democracy in our country. Individual democratically elected Councillors are not ...
Nicola Willis’ latest supermarket announcement is painfully weak with no new ideas, no real plan, and no relief for Kiwis struggling with rising grocery costs. ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Isaac Gross, Lecturer in Economics, Monash University Gumbariya/Shutterstock The Reserve Bank’s decision to cut interest rates for the first time in four years has triggered a round of celebration. Mortgage holders are cheering the fact their monthly repayments are now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Housing supply in Australia will be a key battleground in the election campaign. With home ownership more and more out of reach for young and not so young Australians, red tape and low productivity are ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Korolev, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, UNSW Sydney The United States and Russia agreed to work on a plan to end the war in Ukraine at high-level talks in Saudi Arabia this week. Ukrainian and European representatives were pointedly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karleen Gribble, Adjunct Professor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University BaLL LunLa/Shutterstock Sleep is the holy grail for new parents. So no wonder many tired parents are looking for something to help their babies sleep. A TikTok trend claims ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ranjana Gupta, Senior Lecturer, Accounting Department, Auckland University of Technology Jirsak/Shutterstock The profit made on every breakfast bowl of weet-bix is tax exempt, giving Sanitarium Health Food Company, owned by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, an advantage over other breakfast food companies. ...
A closer look at some of the homegrown talent currently commanding television screens around the globe. The new season of The White Lotus hit our screens this week, and with it a familiar face in New Zealand actor Morgana O’Reilly. To secure a role in one of the world’s most ...
"This is a crisis of the Government’s own making and the unit is another sign of desperation," said PSA acting national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Francesca Perugia, Senior Lecturer, School of Design and the Built Environment, Curtin University Australia’s housing crisis has created a push for fast-tracked construction. Federal, state and territory governments have set a target of 1.2 million new homes over five years. Increasing housing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ash Watson, Scientia Fellow and Senior Lecturer, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock When we’re uncomfortable we say the “vibe is off”. When we’re having a good time we’re “vibing”. To assess the mood we do a “vibe check”. And when the atmosphere in ...
What’s up with the man from Epsom? The leader of the Act Party has been in plenty of headlines in the last two weeks, ranging from a controversial letter to police on behalf of constituent Philip Polkinghorne (written before David Seymour was a minister) to an attempt to drive ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Stephenson, Deputy Director, Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, Australian National University Newly published research has found clear evidence that openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, and queer+ (LGBTIQ+) Australian politicians were disproportionately targeted with personal abuse on social media at the ...
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the seven horsemen ?….
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/19/seven-deadly-things-trash-planet-human-life#comment-89778104
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/middle-east/87751593/russian-ambassador-gunned-down-in-ankara-seriously-wounded
ooh fuck
This is very concerning and alarming. OOhhh fuck is right, history springs to mind.
The RT troll farm has got it all sorted…apparently is was a false flag organised by the CIA on the orders of Mossad.
Doubt it. As one of your resident Putlerbots, I’m calling it for a final act of desperation on the part of one of Gulen’s dwindling supply of useful idiots.
Especially relevant locally, as well as globally. How animal based diets and agriculture are particularly harmful. Causing harm while extracting subsidies to do that harm.
https://cleantechnica.com/2016/12/19/animal-agriculture-subsidies-threaten-planet/
how much longer do you think our collective heads will remain in the sand?
I’ll guess not until the heat stress death toll in southern asia/middle east/africa goes over a billion total. Or a few thousand annually in southern US and Europe. So at least a couple of decades away. By which time it will be so much harder and more expensive to turn things around.
you’re an optimist i see.
Well, yeah. We have the know-how to turn things around now, plus a lot of interesting developments in the pipeline. Putting in a serious effort to turn things around would be a massive economic boost, which should make most people happy all across the political spectrum. We just haven’t found the right argument to bring the electorate on board.
The biggest real obstacle remaining is the power and money of existing fossil-fuel interests that will literally do anything they think they can get away with to try to keep their power and revenue. A solid effort over a couple decades might break that down.
Andre do you seriously believe mankind can/will get its act together and save the planet? Take a look around the world and wonder how. Have you got a formula to overcome our rapacious greed, corruption and outright stupidity? What about Capitalism? What about impending climate wars, let alone the silly wars we have now? Can you see something I can’t in mans make up that will make us realize how deeply we are in the shit already? So far what have we done? A totally inadequate Paris Accord will not cut it, in fact most Countries are making a mockery of its already puny measures.
Like Pat says, I’m an optimist. Of sorts. “Saving” the planet isn’t going to happen. We’ve already irreversibly changed the planet, for the worse in my opinion. Even if humans stopped actively changing the planet right now it would still take decades to reach a quasi-steady state from all the changes we’ve started.
But societies usually get around to making some good choices, mostly after making a whole lot of bad choices. China has gotten serious about clean energy, after seriously fouling their own nest. They also got serious, in a viciously brutal way, about controlling population growth several decades ago. In general, the natural environment in the US is getting better. The list goes on….
Eventually we will make the choices necessary to stop emitting more carbon and trashing what’s left of the natural environment. If only because there’s more money in it that way.
The question is whether we do it soon enough that most of the current temperate zone remains habitable, or whether our descendants get forced to retreat to high latitudes and domed habitats while they desperately try to terraform the rest of the earth back to a habitable state. After a massive die-off.
hope those self contained domes have already been built and stocked then…..and are suitably defendable
Haven’t you got yours sorted yet?
Dome wasn’t built in a day
Elegant repartee, Pat.
Yep, it would but it would kill the profits of the capitalists and revive their power and so it’s not done.
Hey the increase in deaths caused by the 2004 heatwave in Europe was over 20,000.
Europe gets it – that the planet is warming, and is trying to do something about it.
On the other side of the ditch however …. The Chump is doing his damnedest to ramp it up – and Aussie idiots want to join him.
By the way – there are more deaths to heat waves in Aus than there are those caused by bush fires, or any other natural extreme event.
Then there’s Russia – a big fossil-fuel interest that probably thinks it would benefit from the world being a few degrees warmer than it is now.
Yep. You’re right there – at least we are one step above Russia 🙁
The biggest single user of fossil fuels on this planet is the American military. I don’t think the Ruskys have got a show of beating that!
Yep. The US military also recognises climate change as a root cause of a lot of the threats they are likely to face, and have been funding a lot of R&D into ways to get off of fossil fuels. Over the objections of congressional Republicans, to their huge annoyance.
Some more detail on the US military views of climate change and fuels, and how General Mattis may be the lone voice for keeping efforts going.
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/james-mattis-climate-change-trump-defense-232833
Probably not but if and when the carbon bubble bursts Russia the petrostate, the world’s largest exporter of hydrocarbons (oil and gas combined), is fucked.
http://www.opec.org/library/Annual%20Statistical%20Bulletin/interactive/current/FileZ/Main-Dateien/SubSection3.html
As long as the capitalists can keep them there so as to support their continued profits.
hmmmm…so it would seem…though one gets the feeling the dam may be beginning to crack.
With the news that hundreds of males from East Aleppo between the ages of 30 and 50 who have placed themselves in government hands have gone missing, the UN is seeking to monitor the evacuation of Aleppo.
“Hundreds of men from east Aleppo go ‘missing'”
According to the Japan Times Russia has announced that they will veto any UN resolution to allow UN observers to monitor the evacuation.
“Bus torchings cloud Aleppo evacuation effort as Russia threatens to veto U.N. resolution for access”
The world needs to ask the Assadist regime and their Russian and Iranian allies what are you trying to hide?
http://europe.newsweek.com/photos-syria-allegedly-show-torture-systematic-killing-278894?rm=eu
Don’t support fascism
(It really shouldn’t have to be said)
PM – have you noticed who is posting the daily tedious propaganda?
‘..have you noticed who is posting the daily tedious propaganda?’
Yes
Is it Paul? The supporter and head cheer leader of a barrel bombing, chlorine gassing, hospital targeting killer of women and children?
To refresh my memory, I looked back at yesterdays Open Mike and stopped counting when I reached nine posts by you containing links to pro-regime propaganda. Jenny posted one link, to a Herald report about an anti-regime demonstration in Auckland. So, yes, I have noticed who is posting the daily tedious propaganda.
So why do you put out the propaganda of al Nusra, al Qaeda and ISIS – all ultra-authoritarian ‘fascist’ organisations?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamofascism
http://isj.org.uk/fascism-and-isis/
From Jenny’s link in post two – Japan Times
Who’d have ever thought the Japan Times would be under the control of and a propaganda mouthpiece for middle eastern terrorists. lol
Ah, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (or as I like to call it, the Salafist Observatory for Jihadist Rights) and their phoney numbers. I believe they were behind the original truthiness of “250,000 civilians” in East Aleppo. Now the UN has stopped quoting them, having been caught out by reality when using their ‘estimates’. Now the Salafist Observatory’s 250,000 has become 80,000. I wonder what number their Salafist masters in Riyadh and Qatar will dream up for them when that number gets mugged by reality.
Sooner or later, the West is going to have to think about military intervention in Syria, and I don’t mean dropping smart bombs on supply depots.
Why?
What would be different this time?
We have a few armchair warriors on the Standard, who believe the msm’s propaganda.
They believed this
And now they believe all the stories we’re told about Syria.
Lies have been used to start wars before.
Especially after assassinations.
Yes, that’s two videos featuring bare-faced liars with an unsavoury agenda. There really are a lot of suckers out there.
What was Eva Bartlett lying about?
There are plenty:
A ceasefire would have no benefit to people in Syria.
Aleppo is being “liberated” by regime forces.
American forces targeted Syrian Army positions (not so much a lie as an unsubstantiated assertion).
US and western leaders have funded terrorists in Syria.
She knows the “will of the people of Aleppo” having been there four times (lie of omission, she’s only been to regime-held areas and only spoken to people the Assad regime let her speak to).
The people of Syria support their government (the fact there’s been an armed uprising against that government for years is a bit of a giveaway).
The people of west Aleppo are suffering terribly under a siege and bombardment by “terrorist factions” (true in itself, but effectively a lie of omission because she doesn’t mention that the people in east Aleppo are suffering a siege and bombardment orders of magnitude worse, courtesy of the regime she’s shilling for).
I got bored at that point, but overall she’s peddling bullshit for a despotic hereditary dictator – if anything, Bush is the lesser of the two, on the basis that he could at least claim to be not very bright.
I agree with some of that, but on the whole seems better than the coverage I’ve seen from British and American media.
I would have to say in particular that ceasefire agreements have been pointless there – militants have consistently thwarted any attempts for people to leave. As with Mosul, many civilians were clearly being held for the human shield factor. They really just used the time to re-up – and then continue fighting.
And the largest and most significant groups were Al Nusra and Al Zinki, who are terrorists in any sane person’s book. In that sense, calling their removal liberation isn’t as truthy as some of the stuff I’ve read from BBC, AP, Reuters, Washington Post, Torygraph, etc.
I think it’s also important to notice that a significant number of foreign fighters are in the rebellion.
Assad has foreign support too, but your argument was that the rebellion is the clue that he doesn’t have popular support. I would question that the rebellion signifies this given how much of it is manned by foreigners. Note that fighting age male Sunni make up the majority of refugees heading into Turkey and Europe. Had they remained, they wouldn’t have been conscripted by the army – they’d have been conscripted by foreign fighters whose strategic aim is to turn the Syrian Republic into a Caliphate – a Salafist Caliphate whose orientation is of course towards the people who sent them weapons and helped them enter the country in the first place – Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
But if they hated Assad that much, they’d surely join their foreign co-religionists and fight? Well, the reason they wouldn’t is that they don’t share their extremist aims. Syrian Sunni arriving in Germany have complained that the Saudi-run and financed mosques which predominate in Germany preach a version of Islam that they find extreme. In that sense, the majority of the rebels really are the angry nerds club of the Sunni world.
Capturing a city so you can bring it back under the control of your despotic hereditary dictatorship doesn’t fit any definition of “liberating” in which words still mean something.
Re conscription, read some of the accounts by refugees – I’ve seen plenty that refer to fleeing conscription into the army, none that mention fear of conscription by the rebels.
Also, the rebellion was five years ago. Sure, now it’s a war fought largely by clients of the regional powers involved (Iran vs the Gulf states), but that’s only because the Assad regime did such an excellent job of capturing, torturing and murdering the people back in 2011 who fancied a future featuring something a little closer to good governance.
The current disaster is mostly due to Assad’s response to the initial demonstrations against his rule, which he only got away with thanks to his Iranian and Russian patrons. If you don’t like seeing Aleppo full of Islamofascists, sheet the blame home where it belongs – the people currently claiming to be “liberating” Aleppo back into servitude.
“Capturing a city so you can bring it back under the control of your despotic hereditary dictatorship doesn’t fit any definition of “liberating” in which words still mean something”
Unless the alternative is that it becomes part of a Salafist caliphate, in which case almost anything else is liberation. We’re talking about the sort of sad cunts who even ban music and kite flying. There’s a massive gulf between Baathism and Salafism.
“Also, the rebellion was five years ago. Sure, now it’s a war fought largely by clients of the regional powers involved (Iran vs the Gulf states), but that’s only because the Assad regime did such an excellent job of capturing, torturing and murdering the people back in 2011 who fancied a future featuring something a little closer to good governance.”
Oh, I agree – but that’s the problem; we’re too late now. It’s Baathism or Salafism. There simply aren’t enough secularists (or actual Syrians) in the rebel forces for it to end any other way.
“Re conscription, read some of the accounts by refugees – I’ve seen plenty that refer to fleeing conscription into the army, none that mention fear of conscription by the rebels.”
Yeah I have to be fair seen some saying this, but I do remember there being others cited by Voltairenet, the Saker and others who were saying this. And, likewise, my other point – that the Syrian Sunni who are arriving in Germany etc. find the Saudi run mosques too extreme for them – because they preach the sort of Salafism which the rebels are inspired by. If you find what they can get away with preaching in Germany too extreme, imagine what they’ll be up to in areas of Syria where they now have free hand.
“The current disaster is mostly due to Assad’s response to the initial demonstrations against his rule, which he only got away with thanks to his Iranian and Russian patrons. If you don’t like seeing Aleppo full of Islamofascists, sheet the blame home where it belongs – the people currently claiming to be “liberating” Aleppo back into servitude.”
I partially agree. Russia of course wants a tin pot ally which will let them host its naval forces at Tartus, but this is systemic. NATO and Russian strategy which treats the region like a chessboard plays out how it will. For me, it’s unfortunately just a realist question. Russia’s ally, Syria, is a tin pot dictatorship but it’s secular. NATO is playing with Wahhabi fire – and it will always burn its handler, and anyone else who gets in its way. Syria hasn’t invaded anyone since those ridiculous Arab wars of conquest against Israel in the 60s and 70s. Wahhabists on the other hand will always seek to conquer. That’s why smart geopolitics involves not hiring or arming those kind of lunatics. For some reason the American intelligence services are always either picking the most feckless, or the most unhinged.
Final analysis from me, you can coexist with Putin or Assad if you negotiate with them honestly and like a grown up. You can’t negotiate with Salafists. For that reason, they have to lose.
“On 10 December 2016, Eva Bartlett — an activist and blogger who openly says she is biased in favor of the Syrian regime — was featured in a circulating YouTube video that says she is “schooling” a “mainstream media” reporter by making a series of outlandish-sounding claims, including that international media are conspiring to fabricate stories of hospital bombings and that anti-government activists are “recycling” victims to cast the Syrian military in a negative light. (She also refers to all factions fighting President Bashar al Assad’s forces as terrorists.)… ”
“… Bartlett’s claim that the child victim Aya, is “recycled” is the same type of charge levied by conspiracy theorists at parents of children who were killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school massacre. It is a claim also promoted by David Icke, who is best known for believing the world is controlled by Martian lizard people.”
http://www.snopes.com/syrian-war-victims-are-being-recycled-and-al-quds-hospital-was-never-bombed/
Good to see the mainstream character assassination begin. When that happens to someone, it usually means they’re hitting a few points bang on.
No link to the vid where she claims to be making shit up (the one ‘doing the rounds on youtube)?
ffs – she’s unconscionable (according to scopes) because she refers to’ terrorists’ where ‘our’ side is meant to refer to ‘rebels’!!!
There are a number of questionable claims, exaggerations and subtle dishonesties made in that article (eg – the elections were not just held in government areas, but across the whole of Syria and in Syrian embassies in foreign countries – That’s widely documented and accepted. She has said the hospital was never destroyed not that it was never hit…and so on)
I thought snopes was about ensuring accuracy, not doing hatchet jobs.
so you don’t like snopes
“Snopes.com /ˈsnoʊps/, also known as the Urban Legends Reference Pages, is a website covering urban legends, Internet rumors, e-mail forwards, and other stories of unknown or questionable origin.[3] It is a well-known resource for validating and debunking such stories in American popular culture,[4] receiving 300,000 visits a day.[5]
Snopes.com was created by Barbara and David Mikkelson, a California couple who met in the alt.folklore.urban newsgroup.[6] The site is organized by topic and includes a message board where stories and pictures of questionable veracity may be posted…”
” …In 2012, FactCheck.org reviewed a sample of Snopes’ responses to political rumors regarding George W. Bush, Sarah Palin, and Barack Obama, and found them to be free from bias in all cases. FactCheck noted that Barbara Mikkelson was a Canadian citizen (and thus unable to vote in US elections) and David Mikkelson was an independent who was once registered as a Republican. “You’d be hard-pressed to find two more apolitical people,””
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snopes.com
yeah they are real establishment hit-people…
Until now, I’ve had no opinion one way or the other about ‘snopes’. So I get that you’re assuming ‘I don’t like’ them on the basis that I’ve called that piece into question.
I’ve watched and listened to fair bit of Bartlett and the Bartlett I’ve been listening to and watching and reading simply hasn’t taken the positions or made the claims that snopes alleges.
Now sure, maybe my own bias has utterly deafened me to some outrageous aspect of Bartlett’s reporting. I doubt it though.
Meanwhile, I know that snopes has a reputation for debunking shit and that a fair number of people check it out (I guess that aligns with the “well-known resource for validating and debunking such stories in American popular culture,[4] receiving 300,000 visits a day” bit.) – my emphasis because…
Popular culture and mainstream…synonymous might be too tight a binding. But y’know….
personally I think the ‘mainstream media’ is a crock of shit – it seems just oh so convenient and more than a little suspicious to have scapegoats whenever the news we think should be seen isn’t, or we see stuff we think we shouldn’t have to.
fact checking is monotonous work in the land of post-truth – good luck to snopes or anyone that does it – and yes I am sure it is IMPOSSIBLE to find a truly independent, unaffected voice or fact-checker – as with the quantum – when you look at it, you alter it.
Now sure, maybe my own bias has utterly deafened me to some outrageous aspect of Bartlett’s reporting. I doubt it though.
I don’t.
The fog of civil war is a real pea-souper. Maybe you can see through it. I know I can’t, other than to be certain that the choice is between atrocity and conversation and I know which I’d like to see.
No we would have no fewer.
After all, you’re one of them.
Have you kept count of how many times you’ve posted this exact same video? You did it only yesterday, and it was already boringly familiar then.
Scroll past……….
Not much, the West would still be supporting an array of terrorist groups to overthrow a government they don’t like.
So just like the “East” then.
How is it just like the “East”?
Geopolitical groups and individual countries have been supporting terrorists, freedom fighters and other (insert tag du jour) since forever to support their ideologies, wants and needs and expansionist policies.
To suggest that a nebulous tag of ‘the west’ are the only ones who do this would be blinkered in the extreme.
The point is that the west are masters at it and then smother us with propaganda which too many people get sucked in by.
Like PM, Jenny, Peter Swift, Andre and others.
Wish they’d read the work of Patrick Cockburn.
A simple question for a simple mind.
Paul, do you deny the use of chlorine gas and barrel bombs against a civilian population by the Assad regime?
Before you get carried away just consider the weapons the US uses Peter.
That point is totally irrelevant to the question asked. What we have to determine is whether verified reports of war crimes are being dismissed or ignored and what part they play in Paul’s open support for a dictator who has slaughtered innocents and why he pushes his agenda here, on a left leaning web site.
Paul has a duty to respond sincerely to save any semblance of credibility.
MEMO to the Moderators of this site:
This fellow “Peter Swift” is deliberately repeating lies that have been discredited thoroughly.
Are there any standards of veracity here, or are people like him going to be allowed to say anything at all, no matter how obscene and demonstrably untrue it may be?
What’s ‘lies’ in question here?
Is it Paul’s apparent support for Assad’s Syria?
That barrel bombs and chlorine gas attacks aren’t war crimes?
That barrel bombs and chlorine gas attacks haven’t been inflicted upon the civilian population?
That barrel bombs and chlorine gas attacks have been verified?
That Paul has to respond to save his cred?
Or this is a left leaning web site?
I’m happy for the moderators (except Jock) to pit my record against yours and for them to boot the sh1ttiest one of us out for good. 😉
Let’s face it, if they’d rather keep a no talent hack, mental stalker of radio shows over a half decent, left of center labour/green supporter, then it’s not really a place I’d want to remain part of anyway.
Barrel bombs are no more a war crime than any conventional weapon used in a city. Use of chemical weapons are of course. I do wonder why the UN has suddenly said that such use was by the Syrian forces when a) they never had proof before and b) all Syrian chemical weapon stockpiles were surrendered years ago.
then we have the uk cluster bombs in yemen
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-38364694
You do realize that most of the people in Syria are Christians and the whole war has a strong religious undertone. Russia is to 75% Orthodox Christian and the odd one out is Turkey, being Muslim in the mix. Everybody KNOWS that they play a double game appeasing the Americans and shooting the Kurd’s on both side of the border. Of cause this is about money, lots of it.
There are no honorable people involved anywhere. The biggest fear is that when the refugees have been evacuated all hell will break loose, whatever is left of Syria will be bombed to bits. Meanwhile, to the south Yemen is starting to burn. BTW, Yemen’s are Shafi’i Muslims or Sunni in majority.
Do you really belief that this discriminate bombing and suffering of mostly the very young or old and women will end soon? Really?
A few facts – I don’t I openly support Assad’s regime.
I merely ( as you know) have pointed people to the work of independent journalists in Syria.
It seems much clearer that you have active support for the al Qaeda ‘rebels’ of East Aleppo?
Do you support their practices of throat cutting, heart eating, beheading?
Are you aware of the phosphorous bombs and depleted uranium used by the US in Iraq?
Wish they’d read the work of Patrick Cockburn.
I’ve read various pieces by Cockburn about this conflict, so your wish is granted in my case. Was there some point to your wish?
You might note his comments about the one sided propaganda the western media puts out.
Friendship is very needed in this world – even positive moves towards previous enemies if that will produce some good.
Seventh day of Christmas with Friendship quote:
Lawyer, Olympian, socially-conscious, and high-achieving Ben Sanford stands for Labour in Rotorua against the corrupt McLay who lied about suppressing law-changes to international trusts after a lobby meeting with John Key’s lawyer.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/87592441/ben-sandford-named-labours-rotorua-candidate
Good luck in unseating this corrupt government.
What Lies Behind the Brexit Vote?
And this is the same reason why I think we need to withdraw from FTAs, the World Bank, the IMF and the WTO. Through these we’re giving away too much of our independence.
The Commonwealth….
I don’t believe that the Commonwealth actually determines what laws we can or can’t have but I could be wrong on that.
Beginning to wish there was a separate Middle East post like those US election ones…
Or at least a ban on posting the same videos over and over again.
+1.
I suggested a vaccination post to divert peoples attention………….what could possibly go wrong ?
Mullett
I understand that you have a vaccination grievance. It is obvious that you never recovered from yours and are bent on saving the world from dying of preventable illnesses.
Yay. Look over there, Aleppo-ites —> https://thestandard.org.nz/question-4/
“Beginning to wish there was a separate Middle East post like those US election ones…”
yep – never in the course of human history have so many, talked so much, about something they know almost nothing about – it’s all a bit ‘my link is bigger than your link’ – definitely is not spreading knowledge, understanding or even any illumination. waste. of. time.
So totally agree!
And yes –
more that one post of a video = Moderator warning
Posting a video 3 or more times = ban.
Such behaviour is simply spam.
yep I’m a fan of a ban on spam for that man
electoral college votes for trump
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38374749
Was always going to happen – despite some crazies thinking it wouldnt.
Those Nato spooks you refer to – they would be Helen Clarks people wouldn’t they.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Learn the difference between NATO and the UN. Forget it, you’re incapable.
Stupidest comment for 2016 – I think we may just have a winner – in a very strong field!
pdm is an old chum of Keeping Stock who was featured in Nicky Hagar’s “Dirty Politics”. Rightwing blogger Keeping Stock, much admired and supported on his blog by pdm was exposed as a player in National’s dirty political games. Why is pdm here on The Standard? How can he say and believe such daft things, endlessly and with the witless confidence usually attributed to fools ?
Dunning-Kruger effect.
Why is pdm here on The Standard? How can he say and believe such daft things, endlessly and with the witless confidence usually attributed to fools ?
Trying out an attack line.
Nah. Too daft even.
Looks like last weeks jelly eggs have hatched, by crikey. If you are coming to Tasman to holiday this week or next just beware, they are only a problem if you make it one.
Tips…
Wear something on your feet and inspect the high tide mark, and just have a look through the shells and sticks to see if there are any blue bottles/man o war around. Will give you an idea if there are any in the sea.
Still want to swim in the sea but arent sure, i’d suggest a wetsuit
If you get stung, make sure you are ready for it, YOU HAVE TO REMOVE THE TENTACLES THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT otherwise it will sting like hell and the more you move around the more poison is released into the body. So get some tweezers, a stick, razor blade, credit card etc and make sure you have removed all the stingers. Only after all the stingers have been removed bathe the area in warm water. You may want to take some paracetamol or ibuprofen. If it’s still hurting about 30 mins later you may have not removed all the stingers, so check again and if really concerned seek medical attention.
Whatever you do don’t put vinegar on it or piss on it especially if the stingers are still in there it will only make it worse.
If you have symptoms such as severe muscle pain (abdomen, chest, limbs, etc.), headache, weakness that may result in collapse, having a runny nose and watery eyes, difficulty in swallowing, sweating and rashes, head to A&E or get some professional medical help asap.
Still want to swim, go to the rivers, there are plenty and great fun, baby rapids for the kids to enjoy with a tyre tube, pools for snorkeling and rocks and bridges to jump off of, take your insect repellent and you will have a great time.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/87727398/Swarms-of-Portugese-man-o-war-jellyfish-lurk-off-coast-of-Nelson
that’s intense.
Hey, hey… ALL THE BEST TO BEN SANDFORD, the newly selected Labour Party Candidate for Rotorua.
“Labour candidate Ben Sandford says the social problems he grew up with have not been solved – and he’s running against Todd McClay in 2017 so he can fix them.”
“A qualified lawyer, Sandford represented New Zealand in skeleton racing from 2002 to 2014. He finished 11th at the 2010 Winter Olympics.”
Look forward to hearing more about you in due course, and CONGRATULATIONS 😀
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/87592441/ben-sandford-named-labours-rotorua-candidate
As the media cottons on to the fact he doesn’t think too quickly, Bling will increasingly get caught out making old-white-male comments like this. He reminds me of Prince Charles or Prince Philip in this respect.
Here he both denies and trivialises more than a century of struggle for women’s rights.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11770336
That is absolutely appalling. The next thing we know he will be coming out with the ultimate heresy.
He will admit that he doesn’t actually see any need for him to apologise for being a man. How low can he go?
After that we will discover he has all sorts of strange beliefs. I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually believes in faithfulness in marriage and other strange practices that will be anathema to the 20% of New Zealanders who are on the hard-core left of politics. He may even think that it is right for him to support his family.
I have the sense that your grip on the meaning of ‘feminism’ is as shaky as the prime minister’s. I take it you’re quite happy to see women as inferior beings?
“women as inferior beings”.
Of course not. How could I possibly think such a thing when I consider myself compared to my wife? She is a far superior being.
Actually a friend of mine claims he is smarter than his wife and that his wife agrees with the proof.
He says that he married her, which was a very smart move on his part.
He then points out the she married him which was a very foolish thing to do.
They are still married though.
“Bill English: I don’t know what ‘feminist’ means.”
Lots of analysis floating round on twitter (he’s too smart to not know what it means and it’s a dog whistle). I also think it’s highly likely that he is still strongly anti-abortion and that that factors in there somewhere.
Yeah, one of those weird ideas that lefties have, a woman’s right to choose, is not held by the NZ PM.
I wouldn’t take it so seriously. He was asked whether he regarded himself a feminist and while answering that question he bumbled around in his usual way and what came out was a bunch of garbled non-sense.
What was more interesting is how he came across as stuttering and awkward – reminiscent of his 2002 days. And when you’re the leader you can’t afford to appear like that. With English, though, he can’t change. That’s how he is. That’s why with Key gone the nats are toast next year, even if they do only go down a few points because that’s all they need to lose.
In Absurd Theatre of Israel, Netanyahu Submits to Settler Outlaws
by YOSSI VERTER, Haaretz, Dec. 19, 2016
To avoid the violent scenes that ensued during the last evacuation of the illegal West Bank outpost of Amona, Netanyahu was willing to spend millions and bend every rule of proper governance. …..
Read more: http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.759892
Obama—about as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike
http://normanfinkelstein.com/2016/12/18/cant-this-guy-shut-up-already/
If there’s a special Hell for the nastiest hypocrites,
this woman is going there direct.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seKYakhu6dc
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
[The woman is indeed an idiot and is spouting some nonsense that’s easily debunked – eg “double tapping” that was first reported on in relation to US forces, not Russian. And of course, she omits to mention that the lack of basic medical supplies is because of illegal sanctions imosed by the US and others….but it didn’t belong in that thread Morrissey] – Bill
Thanks Bill. However, I posted it on the “Question…” thread because Samantha Power is chuntering on about Syria. I thought it was the appropriate place for it, but I accept your judgement.
Toby Morris nails it again…
http://thewireless.co.nz/articles/the-pencilsword-she-ll-have-the-fish
Well, he’s advocating for piscene violence should politicians tell us what we want…
+1
Well, it’s a violent metaphor – but non-fish (Nat policies) eaters are being asked to speak up.
Good piece of graphic story-telling
its a variation on the IYI as described by taleb.
What we have been seeing worldwide, from India to the UK to the US, is the rebellion against the inner circle of no-skin-in-the-game policymaking “clerks” and journalists-insiders, that class of paternalistic semi-intellectual experts with some Ivy league, Oxford-Cambridge, or similar label-driven education who are telling the rest of us 1) what to do, 2) what to eat, 3) how to speak, 4) how to think… and 5) who to vote for.
But the problem is the one-eyed following the blind: these self-described members of the “intelligentsia” can’t find a coconut in Coconut Island, meaning they aren’t intelligent enough to define intelligence hence fall into circularities — but their main skill is capacity to pass exams written by people like them. With psychology papers replicating less than 40%, dietary advice reversing after 30 years of fatphobia, macroeconomic analysis working worse than astrology, the appointment of Bernanke who was less than clueless of the risks, and pharmaceutical trials replicating at best only 1/3 of the time, people are perfectly entitled to rely on their own ancestral instinct and listen to their grandmothers (or Montaigne and such filtered classical knowledge) with a better track record than these policymaking goons.
Government buckling under the pressure from the Pike River families.
Good to see, although if they’d taken the advice of Pete George and other authority worshipping quitters, they’d have given up by now.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11770396
Yes. Left up to the luminaries who inhabit Yawns and Kiwibog the Pike River families would have been sealed up in the mine along with the 29 and Winston Peters.
Utmost and deeply abiding respect for these people.
Along with Helen Kelly, they will be at the top of the Real New Zealanders of the Year list.
Yay paula bennett is a feminist.. we won , might as well pack up and go have a holiday the fight is over
Liberal feminists are about achieving equality within the current structure and accepting individualism etc.
Socialist feminists want a different structure and values. Bennett sure as hell isn’t a socialist feminist, or even a social democratic feminist – evidence is in the way she has made life tougher for solo mothers – they are the ones who have suffered most as a result of Bennett’s punitive social welfare policies.
Thanks carolyn thats a very clear distinction, So those feminists promoting identity politics would be liberal feminists then. A social feminist would be working to remove inequality for all.
“So those feminists promoting identity politics would be liberal feminists then.”
No. https://overland.org.au/2016/12/this-is-what-solidarity-looks-like/
I wouldn’t classify Bennett as a liberal feminist either. She’s neoliberal, so she’ll use whatever politics suit her at the time, hence her part-time feminist comment.
Ahh your link promotes liberal feminism
ah your comment is anti-women.
If you think that that article was about promoting liberal feminism, you missed the point, and it yet again demonstrates both your poor understanding of feminism and your unwillingness to allow women to have their own politics.
I have come to dislike the term “identity politics” – it tends to be used by opponents to feminism as a stick to beat them/us with. But from the anti-identity politics crowd, I do get the sense that that have a view of feminism that is more like liberal feminism.
A liberal feminist is more likely to want to leave capitalism in tact. Today, Judith Collins cited Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem as her feminist influences from way back..
I’d say Steinem is a liberal feminist, though she sees herself as a radical feminist
A radical feminist focuses more on the patriarchal structure and values – many also are critical of capitalism, while some aren’t.
Friedan is also seen as a liberal feminist. Cited here:
Wikip on Liberal Feminism
I certainly think that is what Trotter is talking about in his recent piece on left wing conservatism. He talks about a focus on “individual rights”.
Sue Bradford used to call herself an Eco-feminist and socialist on her twitter profile, as I recall.
Sigh.
I understand you being desperate for a Minister of Women who is an avowed feminist….be it a liberal, socialist or fascist…so I get that you can, in your overwhelming and unbounded joy, make a small, but important mistake.
What Paula Beenitt ackshully said to that nice lady who speaks funny on the wireless this morning was that she was a feminist “most days.”
…..”said she was one, most days.
“You know there’s some days when I don’t even think about it and I’m getting on being busy, but I still get a bit worked up about some of the unfairness that I’ve seen, mainly for other women and not for myself these days.”
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/320897/pm-wouldn't-describe-himself-as-a-feminist
And come on…she has the backing of Our New Leader, Bull….
:…English said he thought Bennett’s example was the most important thing.
“She has such an inspiring story herself that everyday of the week she is achieving things and doing things which will be inspiring to a lot of, particularly younger, women who can see that we are in a country where there are no boundaries if they are able to do it, want to do it, they can get to do it.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11770336
So there.
What a distorted and inequitable strange world we live in
Christine Lagarde Head of the IMF was found guilty of fraud. Another Neo fucking crook not paid one cent in tax but was let off by the courts with no sentence, If it had been a small deprived French kid stealing from a French equivalent of Pak & Slave he would have had the book thrown at him.
Also at the moment visiting NZ the world’s biggest drug cheating cycling dickhead Lance Armstrong, Going by tonight’s news, he is worshipped and idolised by many of the cycling wankers in NZ.
If it was a Russian Athlete who may not have been involved in the so-called Russian drug cheating, they would have been banned and no doubt booed by the media.
Can anyone identify a photo of Trevor Mallard in the crowds around Armstrong?
I’m willing to bet he was there but he may have been hiding at the back of the crowd.
Agree with that Alwyn, incidentally I have enjoyed a lot of your opinions this year, have not agreed with them and at times you have gone off on a tangent. But at least you, like a lot of people who visit here have given me food for thought at times. Compliments of the season to you and your family mate.
The crowds around Armstrong are the people who idolise celebrity.
Cycle racing fans I know suspected Armstrong of cheating for years before he was finally exposed and think he is an arsehole.
It’s the fame those Aucklanders are following.
You are so right , compliments of the season to you also.
Big Gerry’s majority is going to balloon with a Cathedral rebuild.
I guess the uniform will be the traditional brown shirt.
/
http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/davidbadash/report_trump_to_maintain_his_own_robust_private_security_force?
FIANZ Press release:
http://www.fianz.co.nz/node/629
Does the FIANZ also condemn the indiscriminate killing of civilians by the Jahadi ‘rebels’ in Aleppo?
Seems like Syrian people a lot closer than Auckland are relieved al Nusra, al Qaeda and ISIS have been defeated.
Still, keep churning out the propaganda Jenny.
13 December 2016 – About 37,000 people have fled eastern Aleppo for western areas of the city or the countryside, according to the United Nations.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/13/world/middleeast/syria-aleppo-civilians.html?_r=0
Why would so many people flee to the Government controlled area of west Aleppo if they were at risk of genocide? Why would 75% of Aleppo’s population be in west Aleppo if it was under the control of Government tyrants?
The fascist internationale comes together.
/
BERLIN — The leader of the Austrian far-right Freedom Party has signed what he called a cooperation agreement with Russia’s ruling party and recently met with Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, the designated national security adviser to President-elect Donald J. Trump of the United States.
[…]
The Freedom Party, founded in the 1950s by ex-Nazis, surged this year to nearly capture the largely ceremonial presidency of Austria in May, but was defeated in a final runoff on Dec. 4. Still, its ascendance, alongside the rise of rightist parties in many European countries and with Mr. Trump’s victory, has raised new questions about political realignment across the continent.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/19/world/europe/austrias-far-right-signs-a-cooperation-pact-with-putins-party.html?smid=tw-share
Who are Assad’s fascist supporters?
https://tahriricn.wordpress.com/2013/12/11/syria-who-are-assads-fascist-supporters/
“The Conservative Left”
Who are they?
What do they believe in?
https://fightback.org.nz/2016/12/20/trump-brexit-syria-and-conservative-leftism/
Chris Trotter, and by association some of own authors are conservative left.
I’d call them the do-nothing left. They wait and they wait for apologies for injustices to white males under previous Labour governments. They obstruct the current Labour party still demanding apologies more than 30 years later.