As we rise to the news of the PM reviewing mandate, vaccine passes and the traffic light system, it's important to remember what we are actually dealing with, something that can't be wished away or put aside for the next political issue.
The US has chosen to prioritize the economy despite strong, countless studies that COVID harms many people, even those without #LongCovid or hospitalization. COVID predominantly affects the *vascular* system (the blood vessels), causing harm to the blood cells & blood flow;
this has a downstream impact on nerves, immune system, & multiple organs, including the brain. Vaccination prevents against death, but not against long term damage.
Your first COVID infection can leave you with pre-existing conditions that will make you more vulnerable to subsequent infections. #LongCovid
If COVID circulates forever, you will be more vulnerable with every year that goes by.
There is no permanent protection from this, neither from vaccination not infection. Having some immunity does not prevent damage on subsequent infections. COVID infections can impact fertility in all genders, making conceiving harder and causing more miscarriages.
Even having *non-hospitalized* COVID increases the risk of 18 severe vascular conditions, including strokes, heart failure, clots, embolisms.
Pretty weird to see the PM referring solely to an upcoming IPCC report for the Parliamentary occupation.
It's Ardern's modus operandi to shut down or constrain reviews of anything that occurs on her watch: the Christchurch Massacre commission was remarkably narrow. Whereas things that are 'in the past' like abuse in care gets an incoherent and endless Royal Commission leading nowhere.
I wold have thought that something that was so offensive that the PM wouldn't even meet and actively shamed to make sure no other elected member would either, when they came by their hundreds to see her right at her place of work, was worth a bit more investigation. Wellington Council has a strong interest, as does the Speaker and Parliamentary Services, as does the DPMC security evaluation team, as does the SIS, as does the people of Wellington, as do we all.
We've gone from 'rivers of filth' and 'deep anti-semitism' to a tidy little report on prior Police planning decisions.
Don't expect to see any mention of a bunch of fools ( one of whom died in Peka Peka of Covid afterwards) in any Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports.
I would rather concentrate on following up the funding means behind this enormous protest, if this ability to derive income to fund an illegal occupation was able to be investigated and therefore stopped …..we will be forearmed. We need to have a family tree of links between the orgs present and the people present and the funding flows.
Rather than force proportionate stuff, I think those of us who watched saw huge numbers of missiles thrown at the Police who just moved steadily in. The investigation of the links between this violent resistance and the steady Counterspin propaganda would be interesting. Also to see if riot police should be on hand at future large protests, were the police best equipped?
What part was played by having a headless entity, who do people talk to……it seemed to be a tactic that paralysed the usual means of dealing with protest groups.
Actually having written all this, I think the choice to have the low key investigation is the better idea. This was a relatively small group of malcontents whose voice was larger than its real influence. We need to ask about how they were policed and if this could be improved.
Out of this low key investigation we may get ideas for looking at other needs
role and influence of malicious and malignant social media,
can we do anything about mis- & dis-information
what role has education have in being able to help our citizens work out when they are being scammed of their money/commonsense?
I must say I'm so heartened to note how every one has now found how much they hate war.
So perhaps now we can pay attention to the victims of the Yemen war, and the deliberate starvation of Afghan children, the ongoing genocide in western Papua and the continued bombing of pensioners and children in eastern Ukraine?
What are people currently doing with their time if they are not growing sprouts on the kitchen bench ? People CHOOSE to spend their time in different ways. Of course you can try and ENCOURAGE them to take up hobby gardening but given the pressures of modern life they are still likely to prefer buying a finished product at a local shop that might not be more expensive. Cities have encouraged specialisation in activity for a reason. It generally is more efficient to focus on behaviour that you are good at than a range of activities that you might not be so great at.
[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.]
When I put water and seeds in a jar, and then the next day as I await some water boiling for a cup of tea, I change the sprout water… I often wish that I had a degree in sprout making. And many more hours for the water change.
Links you've not read, opinions that make no sense, on subjects you know nothing about. Supreme effort.
Remarkable things – sprouts in a jar. One tablespoon of seeds gives several cups of tasty, crunchy, nutritious sprouts in just a few days. Cheap and easy – what's not to like?
Cities have encouraged specialisation in activity for a reason. It generally is more efficient
I'm not sure the anthropologists would agree with you entirely. Although it's true that specialist tailors, shoemakers, flint-knappers appeared very early (actually before cities as we understand them), this isn't the only thing they did. And sometimes it was a seasonal activity, after which they switched to something else.
Speculating here, but it seems to me that very narrow and permanent specialisation is probably the result of coercion of some sort. Most likely arising from the ability of some people to dominate others and command how their labour should be directed – like the contemporary employer-employee relationship.
To describe it as 'efficient' is therefore to take the perspective of the person who is in command and seeks to extract surpluses. For the person doing the work it may be unfulfilling and alienating, therefore inefficient in that sense.
I think if you can get people to engage in hobby farming more power to you. However it is unlikely to solve any climate problems as it is never going to have a significant impact on food production as it goes against some basic economic principles as I have pointed out. You would have more of an impact if you looked at how you could make mass produced food production more climate friendly than trying to massively increase local home grown produce.
[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.]
As an ex bankrupt that cost taxpayers/ird circa $450,000 (and DB about the same),what makes him think he has what it takes to be mayor of NZ's…. biggest city?
And a person who was frequently an asshole to his staff. He was certainly not a stranger to the Employment Tribunal when I worked there many years ago.
I deleted your quote because it didn't have a link. If you can copy and paste a paragraph you can copy and past a URL.
Further, given we're talking potentially defamatory comments that put the site owners at risk, it's even more important that you post a link so we can see who is saying what and in what context.
At some point I will start banning people for this shit, especially repeat offenders. It's been said ad nauseum: if you copy and past you have to link, every time.
This is where the Government needs to be putting education resourcing – not on tweaking the curriculum to include NZ history and digital literacy.
Nearly one in five 15-year-olds are not meeting the lowest benchmark for reading, and a further 20 per cent are only achieving at the most basic level.
The Education Ministry (from whom the Government are taking advice) simply will not admit there is a problem with the whole 'balanced literacy' approach – which is still being taught in Teacher training as the default method. Despite decades of evidence that it simply does not work for a significant minority of children.
If you cannot read – or are functionally illiterate (that is, you can read your name, and a few words, but can't decode and comprehend a basic sentence) then you are set up to fail in the schooling system, and in most jobs.
None of the data in the report was new, she said.
"But so far it hasn't triggered that national response to say 'Hang on, things are in a really terrible state here. We need to do something'."
The reality was probably worse because all this data is pre-Covid and many students had now had two years of disrupted learning, she said.
This is a problem (kids not learning to read through the 'balanced learning' approach) which affects all socio-economic groups in NZ. However, the rich can contract out of under-performing public schools – either by using private schools, or supplementing with tutors. Poor families don't have those alternatives.
Couple this with deafness. Then you have the perfect chicken/egg situation. Then add non diagnosis/remedying of such easy to fix health problems as glue ear and the insertion of grommets…….
If you cannot read – or are functionally illiterate (that is, you can read your name, and a few words, but can't decode and comprehend a basic sentence) then you are set up to fail in the schooling system, and in most jobs.
to which I would add
and life in general'
And to add the point I have been banging on about vis a vis the protesters and some of the anti vaxxers, it won't enable you to be aware of when people are trying to scam you of money or your commonsense.
People in parts of the city now under Russian control were "being illegally deported to enemy territory", Mariupol's City Hall said Sunday.
Pavlo Kyrylenko, a local offical, said: "The occupiers are sending the residents of Mariupol to filtration camps, checking their phones and seizing their Ukrainian documents."
Russian state television showed interviews with residents blaming the destruction on Ukrainian nationalists and thanking Russian forces for liberating them.
"They set major supermarkets on fire … They are real maniacs," one woman alleged of Ukrainian far-Right groups. Vladimir Putin has insisted the invasion is an attempt to "de-Nazify" Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, in his nightly address to the nation on Saturday, described the Russian onslaught on the city as a "terror that will be remembered for centuries to come".
Zelensky announces ban on 11 Ukrainian political parties… “Any activity of politicians aimed at splitting or collaborating will not succeed,” Zelensky said.
The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine decided to ban the activity of Opposition Party — For Life, Shariy Party, Nashi, Opposition Bloc, Left Opposition, Union of Left Forces, State, Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine, Socialist Party of Ukraine, Socialists Party and Volodymyr Saldo Bloc, Zelensky said.
Most of the parties affected were small, but one of them, the Opposition Platform for Life, has 44 seats in the 450-seat Ukrainian parliament.
The political move comes as Zelenskiy aims to further assert his influence over the country’s media sphere. On Sunday, the Ukrainian leader signed a decree that aims to unite all national TV channels into one platform, citing the importance of a “unified information policy” under martial law.
Yeah, been wondering when that was going to happen. It is a pretty routine part of the martial law provisions in any country (including NZ). It will be interesting to see what the position of their equivalent of a wartime Ministry of Information will be. Stupid and single message as the Russians (I believe that the only journo they have at the front is Chinese). Or something different.
The initial shock has been handled. Now the Ukrainians are settling into a long painful conflict posture. The front-line cities have already been bled and blasted. The enemy has been mostly halted and bled out of an ability to advance. A quarter of the Ukrainian population has been displaced.
The room for negotiation is now going to narrow from the Ukrainian side.
Two whole hours since I posted it & still nobody drawing an analogy to Hitler 1934. But yeah, a temporary situation due to martial law. He could try a bit of overt reassurance to help the paranoid do a bit of reframing, perhaps:
"Look, I know these 11 parties are a bunch of real cool dudes (& dudesses) but we need strength in unity at present. Think of it as a temporary suspension of democracy until peace breaks out, okay?"
It looks like a week of rained out, or rain impacted games, to conclude the One Day cricket World Cup.
South Africa (4 wins) only need only one rained out or drawn (not completed game) of their last 3 games to qualify. So look certainties.
That leaves Windies (3 and possible 5 wins), India and England (each 2 and possible 4 wins) to contemplate which has the best venue and weather forecast combination.
At least the long range forecast for the semi-finals and final looks good.
With odd comments and people just out right ignoring reality, it's tiresome.
We have a problem and whilst most of us want to make it better we can not.
No I'm not saying it's hopeless. BUT!
The military, the US military are doing more damage in a day, than what any of us could cause in a life time. Yemen, Ukraine, Iraq, and almost half of Africa are in conflict.
Until we stop the war machine, we are not stopping this, and anything we do, is all but pointless.
If you were saying "I don't know what to do", I'd have left your comment under the post. But you're not, you're actually saying nothing can be done. I said I won't have denialism under those posts. Not because you are wrong (although I think you are), but because what you bring to the conversation inhibits change. And we simply cannot afford this now.
If you cannot see how Just Transition increases our chances of ending war, I think you truly have some blinders on. I'm sorry for that, I see it very differently.
If you were saying "I don't know what to do", I'd have left your comment under the post. But you're not, you're actually saying nothing can be done
I'm calling bullshit on that. No I am not saying nothing can be done. I'm saying what needs to be done.
The US military has had all sorts of exclusion from international debates on this topic. The last Glasgow forum was a classic example – not one measure against the worlds biggest carbon burner. Not bloody one! And the US won't even come to the table if the military is talked about.
And you say I'm the one with blinkers on.
The quickest and most effective change we can instigate, is to stop the burning of carbon from a out of control military.
Chill, dude, change the settings on your device or your browser (no, it’s not those bushy bits above your eyes). Did you count them all – you must scroll really fast?
Didn’t like the message, did you, because it doesn’t fit neatly into your narrative?
Ok, I took the "all but pointless' but to mean nothing can be done. But if you mean that there's not point in working on other aspects of the long emergency until we address the Russian war on Ukraine, you still didn't say what can be done right not.
I'm saying what needs to be done.
Yep, everyone has their reckons. I'm much more interested in what can be done, right now.
Solutions in the long emergency by necessity come in multiple, interlocking dynamics. So yes, that war is a driver of both climate change and climate precarity is important, and there are lots of things there that need to be addressed.
But if we put other things aside, in NZ, and don't work on climate change apart from addressing war, another five years go by and we're still all driving round in cars and happy with our imported food and lifestyles supported by highly polluting industries.
The quickest and most effective change we can instigate, is to stop the burning of carbon from a out of control military.
Sorry, but this is exactly the thinking that causes climate catastrophe in the first place. We have to address all the things, the interlocking things, not pick out the biggest and say oh let's do that and ignore the others. That's like saying NZ shouldn't bother about our emissions and we should focus on the US or China instead, as if all the small countries combined don't have serious GHG emissions problems.
It's not that you think stopping war is important, it's that you came into a post about action, slagged everyone off as if you know best, and then proceeded to tell us what we should be doing. You can think and act that way, you just can't do it under a post that is trying to create alternatives to that approach.
But if you mean that there's not point in working on other aspects of the long emergency until we address the Russian war on Ukrain
You what now? I was talking about the worlds largest carbon burner, the US military.
I'm much more interested in what can be done, right now.
So the US military is not in any international agreements to limit it consumption, is that not a problem right now? Are you happy to let them role on being the massive problem they are, and not even talk about it? So if we fix all you say, and the US military keeps doing what it's doing, we are screwed.
I agree we need to be doing a lot of things, but not holding the US military to account is a very serious mistake. Abby Martin and others have put out a lot of information out on this – see my original link. Have you even looked at the data?
For me stopping war is secondary, stopping the exploding militarism, and expansion of US military – with it's Africa adventure at the forefront of most peoples minds, is what I want stopped right now. That is where the problem lies, not so directly in war, but in the war machine.
I'm not upset by being moved off your post, your post, your way. I forgot you don't like the hyperbolized rhetoric I'm prone to – on your posts, and for that I apologise. I'll stick to open mic.
The Ukrainian Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) reported the number of insubordinate Russian personnel who are refusing combat orders is “sharply increasing” in the Kherson and Mykolayiv oblasts on March 20. The Ukrainian General Staff reported the Russian military commandant office in Belgorod City is investigating 10 Russian servicemen of 138th Motor Rifle Brigade who refused to continue fighting in Kharkiv and agitated for other Russian servicemen to abandon their posts.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense reported on March 19 that “some [Russian] naval infantry units” (unspecified which, but likely referring to Eastern Military District units deployed to the fighting around Kyiv) have lost up to 90% of their personnel and cannot generate replacements.
The Ukrainian Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) additionally reported on March 20 that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu signed an order to prepare to admit Unarmiya (Russian Youth Army, a Kremlin-run military youth organization) personnel aged 17-18 to fight in Ukraine on March 15. The GUR further reported Colonel General Gennady Zhidko, head of the Russian Military-Political Directorate, is in charge of executing the order.
The Ukrainian General Staff reported on March 19 that Russian officials “severely reprimanded” the head of the 652nd unit of Information and Psychological Operations for his “weak efforts” and inability to create a “Kherson People's Republic."
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In short in our political economy this morning:Fletcher Building is closing its pre-fabricated house-building factory in Auckland due to a lack of demand, particularly from the Government.Health NZ is sending a crisis management team to Nelson Hospital after a 1News investigation exposed doctors’ fears that nearly 500 patients are overdue ...
Exactly 10 years ago, the then minister for defence, Kevin Andrews, released the First Principles Review: Creating One Defence (FPR). With increasing talk about the rising possibility of major power-conflict, calls for Defence funding to ...
In events eerily similar to what happened in the USA last week, Greater Auckland was recently accidentally added to a group chat between government ministers on the topic of transport.We have no idea how it happened, but luckily we managed to transcribe most of what transpired. We share it ...
Hi,When I look back at my history with Dylan Reeve, it’s pretty unusual. We first met in the pool at Kim Dotcom’s mansion, as helicopters buzzed overhead and secret service agents flung themselves off the side of his house, abseiling to the ground with guns drawn.Kim Dotcom was a German ...
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Has Winston Peters got a ferries deal for you! (Buyer caution advised.) Unfortunately, the vision that Peters has been busily peddling for the past 24 hours – of several shipyards bidding down the price of us getting smaller, narrower, rail-enabled ferries – looks more like a science fiction fantasy. One ...
Completed reads for March: The Heart of the Antarctic [1907-1909], by Ernest Shackleton South [1914-1917], by Ernest Shackleton Aurora Australis (collection), edited by Ernest Shackleton The Book of Urizen (poem), by William Blake The Book of Ahania (poem), by William Blake The Book of Los (poem), by William Blake ...
First - A ReminderBenjamin Doyle Doesn’t Deserve ThisI’ve been following posts regarding Green MP Benjamin Doyle over the last few days, but didn’t want to amplify the abject nonsense.This morning, Winston Peters, New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister, answered the alt-right’s prayers - guaranteeing amplification of the topic, by going on ...
US President Donald Trump has shown a callous disregard for the checks and balances that have long protected American democracy. As the self-described ‘king’ makes a momentous power grab, much of the world watches anxiously, ...
They can be the very same words. And yet their meaning can vary very much.You can say I'll kill him about your colleague who accidentally deleted your presentation the day before a big meeting.You can say I'll kill him to — or, for that matter, about — Tony Soprano.They’re the ...
Today, the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill has passed its third and final reading, but there is one more stage before it becomes law. The Governor-General must give their ‘Royal assent’ for any bill to become legally enforceable. This means that, even if a bill gets voted ...
Abortion care at Whakatāne Hospital has been quietly shelved, with patients told they will likely have to travel more than an hour to Tauranga to get the treatment they need. ...
Thousands of New Zealanders’ submissions are missing from the official parliamentary record because the National-dominated Justice Select Committee has rushed work on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...
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The National Government’s choices have contributed to a slow-down in the building sector, as thousands of people have lost their jobs in construction. ...
Willie Apiata’s decision to hand over his Victoria Cross to the Minister for Veterans is a powerful and selfless act, made on behalf of all those who have served our country. ...
The Privileges Committee has denied fundamental rights to Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Rawiri Waititi and Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, breaching their own standing orders, breaching principles of natural justice, and highlighting systemic prejudice and discrimination within our parliamentary processes. The three MPs were summoned to the privileges committee following their performance of a haka ...
April 1 used to be a day when workers could count on a pay rise with stronger support for those doing it tough, but that’s not the case under this Government. ...
Winston Peters is shopping for smaller ferries after Nicola Willis torpedoed the original deal, which would have delivered new rail enabled ferries next year. ...
The Government should work with other countries to press the Myanmar military regime to stop its bombing campaign especially while the country recovers from the devastating earthquake. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to scrap proposed changes to Early Childhood Care, after attending a petition calling for the Government to ‘Put tamariki at the heart of decisions about ECE’. ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill today that will remove the power of MPs conscience votes and ensure mandatory national referendums are held before any conscience issues are passed into law. “We are giving democracy and power back to the people”, says New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters. ...
Welcome to members of the diplomatic corp, fellow members of parliament, the fourth estate, foreign affairs experts, trade tragics, ladies and gentlemen. ...
In recent weeks, disturbing instances of state-sanctioned violence against Māori have shed light on the systemic racism permeating our institutions. An 11-year-old autistic Māori child was forcibly medicated at the Henry Bennett Centre, a 15-year-old had his jaw broken by police in Napier, kaumātua Dean Wickliffe went on a hunger ...
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The Greens are calling on the Government to follow through on their vague promises of environmental protection in their Resource Management Act (RMA) reform. ...
“Make New Zealand First Again” Ladies and gentlemen, First of all, thank you for being here today. We know your lives are busy and you are working harder and longer than you ever have, and there are many calls on your time, so thank you for the chance to speak ...
Hundreds more Palestinians have died in recent days as Israel’s assault on Gaza continues and humanitarian aid, including food and medicine, is blocked. ...
National is looking to cut hundreds of jobs at New Zealand’s Defence Force, while at the same time it talks up plans to increase focus and spending in Defence. ...
It’s been revealed that the Government is secretly trying to bring back a ‘one-size fits all’ standardised test – a decision that has shocked school principals. ...
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The Green Party stands in support of volunteer firefighters petitioning the Government to step up and change legislation to provide volunteers the same ACC coverage and benefits as their paid counterparts. ...
At 2.30am local time, Israel launched a treacherous attack on Gaza killing more than 300 defenceless civilians while they slept. Many of them were children. This followed a more than 2 week-long blockade by Israel on the entry of all goods and aid into Gaza. Israel deliberately targeted densely populated ...
Living Strong, Aging Well There is much discussion around the health of our older New Zealanders and how we can age well. In reality, the delivery of health services accounts for only a relatively small percentage of health outcomes as we age. Significantly, dry warm housing, nutrition, exercise, social connection, ...
The Government’s new planning legislation to replace the Resource Management Act will make it easier to get things done while protecting the environment, say Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop and Under-Secretary Simon Court. “The RMA is broken and everyone knows it. It makes it too hard to build ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay has today launched a public consultation on New Zealand and India’s negotiations of a formal comprehensive Free Trade Agreement. “Negotiations are getting underway, and the Public’s views will better inform us in the early parts of this important negotiation,” Mr McClay says. We are ...
More than 900 thousand superannuitants and almost five thousand veterans are among the New Zealanders set to receive a significant financial boost from next week, an uplift Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says will help support them through cost-of-living challenges. “I am pleased to confirm that from 1 ...
Progressing a holistic strategy to unlock the potential of New Zealand’s geothermal resources, possibly in applications beyond energy generation, is at the centre of discussions with mana whenua at a hui in Rotorua today, Resources and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is in the early stages ...
New annual data has exposed the staggering cost of delays previously hidden in the building consent system, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “I directed Building Consent Authorities to begin providing quarterly data last year to improve transparency, following repeated complaints from tradespeople waiting far longer than the statutory ...
Increases in water charges for Auckland consumers this year will be halved under the Watercare Charter which has now been passed into law, Local Government Minister Simon Watts and Auckland Minister Simeon Brown say. The charter is part of the financial arrangement for Watercare developed last year by Auckland Council ...
There is wide public support for the Government’s work to strengthen New Zealand’s biosecurity protections, says Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard. “The Ministry for Primary Industries recently completed public consultation on proposed amendments to the Biosecurity Act and the submissions show that people understand the importance of having a strong biosecurity ...
A new independent review function will enable individuals and organisations to seek an expert independent review of specified civil aviation regulatory decisions made by, or on behalf of, the Director of Civil Aviation, Acting Transport Minister James Meager has announced today. “Today we are making it easier and more affordable ...
The Government will invest in an enhanced overnight urgent care service for the Napier community as part of our focus on ensuring access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown has today confirmed. “I am delighted that a solution has been found to ensure Napier residents will continue to ...
Health Minister Simeon Brown and Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey attended a sod turning today to officially mark the start of construction on a new mental health facility at Hillmorton Campus. “This represents a significant step in modernising mental health services in Canterbury,” Mr Brown says. “Improving health infrastructure is ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has welcomed confirmation the economy has turned the corner. Stats NZ reported today that gross domestic product grew 0.7 per cent in the three months to December following falls in the June and September quarters. “We know many families and businesses are still suffering the after-effects ...
The sealing of a 12-kilometre stretch of State Highway 43 (SH43) through the Tangarakau Gorge – one of the last remaining sections of unsealed state highway in the country – has been completed this week as part of a wider programme of work aimed at improving the safety and resilience ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters says relations between New Zealand and the United States are on a strong footing, as he concludes a week-long visit to New York and Washington DC today. “We came to the United States to ask the new Administration what it wants from ...
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee has welcomed changes to international anti-money laundering standards which closely align with the Government’s reforms. “The Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) last month adopted revised standards for tackling money laundering and the financing of terrorism to allow for simplified regulatory measures for businesses, organisations and sectors ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour says he welcomes Medsafe’s decision to approve an electronic controlled drug register for use in New Zealand pharmacies, allowing pharmacies to replace their physical paper-based register. “The register, developed by Kiwi brand Toniq Limited, is the first of its kind to be approved in New ...
The Coalition Government’s drive for regional economic growth through the $1.2 billion Regional Infrastructure Fund is on track with more than $550 million in funding so far committed to key infrastructure projects, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. “To date, the Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF) has received more than 250 ...
[Comments following the bilateral meeting with United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio; United States State Department, Washington D.C.] * We’re very pleased with our meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio this afternoon. * We came here to listen to the new Administration and to be clear about what ...
The intersection of State Highway 2 (SH2) and Wainui Road in the Eastern Bay of Plenty will be made safer and more efficient for vehicles and freight with the construction of a new and long-awaited roundabout, says Transport Minister Chris Bishop. “The current intersection of SH2 and Wainui Road is ...
The Ocean Race will return to the City of Sails in 2027 following the Government’s decision to invest up to $4 million from the Major Events Fund into the international event, Auckland Minister Simeon Brown says. “New Zealand is a proud sailing nation, and Auckland is well-known internationally as the ...
Improving access to mental health and addiction support took a significant step forward today with Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey announcing that the University of Canterbury have been the first to be selected to develop the Government’s new associate psychologist training programme. “I am thrilled that the University of Canterbury ...
Health Minister Simeon Brown has today officially opened the new East Building expansion at Manukau Health Park. “This is a significant milestone and the first stage of the Grow Manukau programme, which will double the footprint of the Manukau Health Park to around 30,000m2 once complete,” Mr Brown says. “Home ...
The Government will boost anti-crime measures across central Auckland with $1.3 million of funding as a result of the Proceeds of Crime Fund, Auckland Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee say. “In recent years there has been increased antisocial and criminal behaviour in our CBD. The Government ...
The Government is moving to strengthen rules for feeding food waste to pigs to protect New Zealand from exotic animal diseases like foot and mouth disease (FMD), says Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard. ‘Feeding untreated meat waste, often known as "swill", to pigs could introduce serious animal diseases like FMD and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held productive talks in New Delhi today. Fresh off announcing that New Zealand and India would commence negotiations towards a Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, the two Prime Ministers released a joint statement detailing plans for further cooperation between the two countries across ...
Agriculture and Trade Minister Todd McClay signed a new Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) today during the Prime Minister’s Indian Trade Mission, reinforcing New Zealand’s commitment to enhancing collaboration with India in the forestry sector. “Our relationship with India is a key priority for New Zealand, and this agreement reflects our ...
Agriculture and Trade Minister Todd McClay signed a new Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) today during the Prime Minister’s Indian Trade Mission, reinforcing New Zealand’s commitment to enhancing collaboration with India in the horticulture sector. “Our relationship with India is a key priority for New Zealand, and this agreement reflects our ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of two new Family Court Judges. The new Judges will take up their roles in April and May and fill Family Court vacancies at the Auckland and Manukau courts. Annette Gray Ms Gray completed her law degree at Victoria University before joining Phillips ...
Health Minister Simeon Brown has today officially opened Wellington Regional Hospital’s first High Dependency Unit (HDU). “This unit will boost critical care services in the lower North Island, providing extra capacity and relieving pressure on the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and emergency department. “Wellington Regional Hospital has previously relied ...
Namaskar, Sat Sri Akal, kia ora and good afternoon everyone. What an honour it is to stand on this stage - to inaugurate this august Dialogue - with none other than the Honourable Narendra Modi. My good friend, thank you for so generously welcoming me to India and for our ...
While public opinion of Israel plummets, each day the genocide continues without significant repercussions only reinforces that they can ignore this opinion, writes Alex Foley.SPECIAL REPORT:By Alex Foley Israel announced that Hossam Shabat was a “terrorist” alongside six other Palestinian journalists. Hossam predicted they would assassinate him. He ...
Ngāi Tahu’s senior lawyer was in full flight on the final day of an eight-week High Court hearing when the judge brought him to a screeching halt.Barrister Chris Finlayson KC led the case for Ngāi Tahu, the South Island iwi that said a wai māori (freshwater) crisis prompted it to ...
Madeleine Chapman reflects on a week of bleak reading. Nothing in life is free. Everyone knows that. But for a blissful eight months, my commute was. After closing Mount Eden station nearly a decade ago to redevelop it, Auckland Transport eventually opened a new, frequent bus route (64) to connect ...
Out of the little playground kiosk at Petone beach, Mariana’s Kitchen is serving up perfect, authentic empanadas. It was a perfect Wellington day: the sun was shining and the wind was blowing. In its gust the word “OPEN” flashed on a red and yellow banner on the Petone foreshore. From ...
As Daylight Saving comes to an end, let us remember the local naturalist who came up with the idea so he could spend more time searching for insects in the Karori Bush.Here in the south, the signs are everywhere. Beanies are creeping onto heads and people are starting to ...
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith chats to Marlon Williams about the six-year journey to releasing Te Whare Tīwekaweka, his first album entirely in te reo Māori.Singer-songwriter Marlon Williams (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāi Tai) remembers a childhood where speaking “household Māori” was as everyday as the waves which crash into the harbour of Ōhinehou. ...
The journalist and author takes us through her life in television, including her biggest live TV regret and the Succession moment she witnessed first hand. This week, journalist and broadcaster Ali Mau released No Words For This, a “gripping, generous, revelatory and layered” memoir that reveals shocking family secrets, explores ...
It has all the qualities of an aircraft but with its rocket engine, the Dawn Mk-II Aurora can fly faster and higher than any jet.“We have a real path to this being the first vehicle that flies to 100km altitude – the border of space – twice in a day,” ...
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After ten rings Tracey hung up. She started the car; an orange petrol light appeared. It appeared yesterday on the way home, but Tracey decided to deal with it today. She opened her phone and first looked for specials on the BP app and then on Caltex, but there was ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Anthony Albanese has announced that the government will ensure the Port of Darwin, currently leased by the Chinese company Landbridge, is returned to Australian hands. “Australia needs to own the Port of Darwin,” the prime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Anthony Albanese has announced that the government will ensure the Port of Darwin, currently leased by the Chinese company Landbridge, is returned to Australian hands. “Australia needs to own the Port of Darwin,” the prime ...
Now that Phil Goff has ended his term as New Zealand’s High Commissioner to the UK, he is officially free to speak his mind on the damage he believes the Trump Administration is doing to the world. He has started with these comments he made on the betrayal of Ukraine ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Draper, Professor, and Executive Director: Institute for International Trade, and Jean Monnet Chair of Trade and Environment, University of Adelaide On April 2, United States President Donald Trump unveiled a sweeping new “reciprocal tariff” regime he says will level the playing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Toby Murray, Professor of Cybersecurity, School of Computing and Information Systems, The University of Melbourne Several of Australia’s biggest superannuation funds have suffered a suspected coordinated cyberattack, with scammers stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars of members’ retirement savings. Superannuation funds ...
Democracy Now! Jewish students at Columbia University chained themselves to a campus gate across from the graduate School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) this week, braving rain and cold to demand the school release information related to the targeting and ICE arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a former SIPA student. ...
We stand in solidarity with all communities impacted by Islamophobia, racism, and discrimination. We call for genuine accountability, not empty apologies. It is imperative that the government takes decisive action to restore integrity to the Human Rights ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The federal election will be held in four weeks. A national YouGov poll, conducted March 28 to April 3 from a sample ...
https://twitter.com/TRyanGregory/status/1504433347631755268?cxt=HHwWiMC9nZWK6eApAAAA
As we rise to the news of the PM reviewing mandate, vaccine passes and the traffic light system, it's important to remember what we are actually dealing with, something that can't be wished away or put aside for the next political issue.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1502034441010569221.html
Pretty weird to see the PM referring solely to an upcoming IPCC report for the Parliamentary occupation.
It's Ardern's modus operandi to shut down or constrain reviews of anything that occurs on her watch: the Christchurch Massacre commission was remarkably narrow. Whereas things that are 'in the past' like abuse in care gets an incoherent and endless Royal Commission leading nowhere.
I wold have thought that something that was so offensive that the PM wouldn't even meet and actively shamed to make sure no other elected member would either, when they came by their hundreds to see her right at her place of work, was worth a bit more investigation. Wellington Council has a strong interest, as does the Speaker and Parliamentary Services, as does the DPMC security evaluation team, as does the SIS, as does the people of Wellington, as do we all.
We've gone from 'rivers of filth' and 'deep anti-semitism' to a tidy little report on prior Police planning decisions.
Clean, Labour, real clean.
Don't expect to see any mention of a bunch of fools ( one of whom died in Peka Peka of Covid afterwards) in any Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports.
You don't want a "tidy little report" but you want an investigation, a review?
What of? The whole shebang? Why? We saw what happened, we know what happened? Do you want it to go to the TMO to tell us all over again?
It should cover, at a minimum:
– Whole intelligence community warnings of what was being planned, and how the security apparatus reacted. Examination of how they were funded.
– What if anything could have been done better to decrease threat
– Parliamentary security arrangements, and Parliamentary recovery
– Some interviews with the protesters about force proportionality
– Wellington Council service impact
– How to react better next time: not hard to imagine protesters getting a few clues on how to be more effective.
I would rather concentrate on following up the funding means behind this enormous protest, if this ability to derive income to fund an illegal occupation was able to be investigated and therefore stopped …..we will be forearmed. We need to have a family tree of links between the orgs present and the people present and the funding flows.
Rather than force proportionate stuff, I think those of us who watched saw huge numbers of missiles thrown at the Police who just moved steadily in. The investigation of the links between this violent resistance and the steady Counterspin propaganda would be interesting. Also to see if riot police should be on hand at future large protests, were the police best equipped?
What part was played by having a headless entity, who do people talk to……it seemed to be a tactic that paralysed the usual means of dealing with protest groups.
Actually having written all this, I think the choice to have the low key investigation is the better idea. This was a relatively small group of malcontents whose voice was larger than its real influence. We need to ask about how they were policed and if this could be improved.
Out of this low key investigation we may get ideas for looking at other needs
I must say I'm so heartened to note how every one has now found how much they hate war.
So perhaps now we can pay attention to the victims of the Yemen war, and the deliberate starvation of Afghan children, the ongoing genocide in western Papua and the continued bombing of pensioners and children in eastern Ukraine?
Seeing as how we hate war and all.
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL2203/S00039/omg-war-is-kind-of-horrible.htm
What are people currently doing with their time if they are not growing sprouts on the kitchen bench ? People CHOOSE to spend their time in different ways. Of course you can try and ENCOURAGE them to take up hobby gardening but given the pressures of modern life they are still likely to prefer buying a finished product at a local shop that might not be more expensive. Cities have encouraged specialisation in activity for a reason. It generally is more efficient to focus on behaviour that you are good at than a range of activities that you might not be so great at.
[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.]
When I put water and seeds in a jar, and then the next day as I await some water boiling for a cup of tea, I change the sprout water… I often wish that I had a degree in sprout making. And many more hours for the water change.
Links you've not read, opinions that make no sense, on subjects you know nothing about. Supreme effort.
Remarkable things – sprouts in a jar. One tablespoon of seeds gives several cups of tasty, crunchy, nutritious sprouts in just a few days. Cheap and easy – what's not to like?
I'm not sure the anthropologists would agree with you entirely. Although it's true that specialist tailors, shoemakers, flint-knappers appeared very early (actually before cities as we understand them), this isn't the only thing they did. And sometimes it was a seasonal activity, after which they switched to something else.
Speculating here, but it seems to me that very narrow and permanent specialisation is probably the result of coercion of some sort. Most likely arising from the ability of some people to dominate others and command how their labour should be directed – like the contemporary employer-employee relationship.
To describe it as 'efficient' is therefore to take the perspective of the person who is in command and seeks to extract surpluses. For the person doing the work it may be unfulfilling and alienating, therefore inefficient in that sense.
I think if you can get people to engage in hobby farming more power to you. However it is unlikely to solve any climate problems as it is never going to have a significant impact on food production as it goes against some basic economic principles as I have pointed out. You would have more of an impact if you looked at how you could make mass produced food production more climate friendly than trying to massively increase local home grown produce.
[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.]
I AM suggesting solutions to tackling climate change. Focus on the big not the small. I am pointing out why it is better than focusing on the small.
[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.]
Leo Molloy's idea to get rid of undesirables in the city is to spray them with water.
He must share ideas with Trevor Mallard as that worked well in Wellington on the protestors.
Auckland Mayoral candidate Leo Molloy's 'inhumane' plan for 'undesirables' in Auckland CBD – NZ Herald
As an ex bankrupt that cost taxpayers/ird circa $450,000 (and DB about the same),what makes him think he has what it takes to be mayor of NZ's…. biggest city?
And a person who was frequently an asshole to his staff. He was certainly not a stranger to the Employment Tribunal when I worked there many years ago.
also this…and lots more…
[unlinked quote deleted]
I deleted your quote because it didn't have a link. If you can copy and paste a paragraph you can copy and past a URL.
Further, given we're talking potentially defamatory comments that put the site owners at risk, it's even more important that you post a link so we can see who is saying what and in what context.
At some point I will start banning people for this shit, especially repeat offenders. It's been said ad nauseum: if you copy and past you have to link, every time.
Who gets to define "undesirables"? Might someone take a firehose into the Northern Club and sluice it clean of years of accreted privilege?
This is where the Government needs to be putting education resourcing – not on tweaking the curriculum to include NZ history and digital literacy.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/the-education-hub-report-exposes-crisis-in-literacy-in-aotearoa/5I3FPLAP64J22J3U4C6CD6NTX4/?c_id=1&objectid=12512233&ref=rss
The Education Ministry (from whom the Government are taking advice) simply will not admit there is a problem with the whole 'balanced literacy' approach – which is still being taught in Teacher training as the default method. Despite decades of evidence that it simply does not work for a significant minority of children.
If you cannot read – or are functionally illiterate (that is, you can read your name, and a few words, but can't decode and comprehend a basic sentence) then you are set up to fail in the schooling system, and in most jobs.
This is a problem (kids not learning to read through the 'balanced learning' approach) which affects all socio-economic groups in NZ. However, the rich can contract out of under-performing public schools – either by using private schools, or supplementing with tutors. Poor families don't have those alternatives.
Certainly isn't new
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/84820782/twothirds-of-prisoners-cant-do-everyday-literacy-tasks
Couple this with deafness. Then you have the perfect chicken/egg situation. Then add non diagnosis/remedying of such easy to fix health problems as glue ear and the insertion of grommets…….
https://www.audiology.org.nz/news/could-a-hearing-check-help-prisoners-reintegrate-into-society/
Agreed
to which I would add
and life in general'
And to add the point I have been banging on about vis a vis the protesters and some of the anti vaxxers, it won't enable you to be aware of when people are trying to scam you of money or your commonsense.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/russia-ukraine-war-mariupol-residents-forcibly-taken-across-border-to-russia/7W7NGNLXOWXDDXUT7BD55WHMIA/
The taking of documents prevents any of them getting out of Russia and also intimidates them from speaking out.
Misidentification of Victims under International Criminal Law: An Attempted Offence?
https://academic.oup.com/jicj/article/15/2/291/3611533
Russia is identifying itself as an international criminal.
Russia firing of thermobaric rockets
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/russia-ukraine-war-mariupol-residents-forcibly-taken-across-border-to-russia/7W7NGNLXOWXDDXUT7BD55WHMIA/
Splitters eliminated:
Most of the parties affected were small, but one of them, the Opposition Platform for Life, has 44 seats in the 450-seat Ukrainian parliament.
The political move comes as Zelenskiy aims to further assert his influence over the country’s media sphere. On Sunday, the Ukrainian leader signed a decree that aims to unite all national TV channels into one platform, citing the importance of a “unified information policy” under martial law.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/20/ukraine-suspends-11-political-parties-with-links-to-russia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opposition_Platform_%E2%80%94_For_Life
Yeah, been wondering when that was going to happen. It is a pretty routine part of the martial law provisions in any country (including NZ). It will be interesting to see what the position of their equivalent of a wartime Ministry of Information will be. Stupid and single message as the Russians (I believe that the only journo they have at the front is Chinese). Or something different.
The initial shock has been handled. Now the Ukrainians are settling into a long painful conflict posture. The front-line cities have already been bled and blasted. The enemy has been mostly halted and bled out of an ability to advance. A quarter of the Ukrainian population has been displaced.
The room for negotiation is now going to narrow from the Ukrainian side.
Two whole hours since I posted it & still nobody drawing an analogy to Hitler 1934. But yeah, a temporary situation due to martial law. He could try a bit of overt reassurance to help the paranoid do a bit of reframing, perhaps:
"Look, I know these 11 parties are a bunch of real cool dudes (& dudesses) but we need strength in unity at present. Think of it as a temporary suspension of democracy until peace breaks out, okay?"
I d refer you to Oswald Mosley in 1940 rather than Hitler in 1934 after all they are in a hot war.
It looks like a week of rained out, or rain impacted games, to conclude the One Day cricket World Cup.
South Africa (4 wins) only need only one rained out or drawn (not completed game) of their last 3 games to qualify. So look certainties.
That leaves Windies (3 and possible 5 wins), India and England (each 2 and possible 4 wins) to contemplate which has the best venue and weather forecast combination.
At least the long range forecast for the semi-finals and final looks good.
I'm tired of this weka.
With odd comments and people just out right ignoring reality, it's tiresome.
We have a problem and whilst most of us want to make it better we can not.
No I'm not saying it's hopeless. BUT!
The military, the US military are doing more damage in a day, than what any of us could cause in a life time. Yemen, Ukraine, Iraq, and almost half of Africa are in conflict.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-currently-at-war
Until we stop the war machine, we are not stopping this, and anything we do, is all but pointless.
https://www.mintpressnews.com/us-military-planet-earths-greatest-enemy-abby-martin/279768/
[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.]
Ok, so stop the war machine is your suggestion. How? (Not a challenge, a genuine appeal for ideas.)
If you were saying "I don't know what to do", I'd have left your comment under the post. But you're not, you're actually saying nothing can be done. I said I won't have denialism under those posts. Not because you are wrong (although I think you are), but because what you bring to the conversation inhibits change. And we simply cannot afford this now.
If you cannot see how Just Transition increases our chances of ending war, I think you truly have some blinders on. I'm sorry for that, I see it very differently.
I'm calling bullshit on that. No I am not saying nothing can be done. I'm saying what needs to be done.
The US military has had all sorts of exclusion from international debates on this topic. The last Glasgow forum was a classic example – not one measure against the worlds biggest carbon burner. Not bloody one! And the US won't even come to the table if the military is talked about.
And you say I'm the one with blinkers on.
The quickest and most effective change we can instigate, is to stop the burning of carbon from a out of control military.
Awesome thoughts!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2022/02/10/army-military-green-climate-strategy/
A puff piece supporting the war machine
Sheesh dude anything better?
And next time if you going to link something, can it be so I can read it full screen rather than having to scroll through a million adds?
Chill, dude, change the settings on your device or your browser (no, it’s not those bushy bits above your eyes). Did you count them all – you must scroll really fast?
Didn’t like the message, did you, because it doesn’t fit neatly into your narrative?
No wonder your comment got moved to OM.
No I did not like the message from the post, as I'm not a militarist, who jerks off on war.
Ok, I took the "all but pointless' but to mean nothing can be done. But if you mean that there's not point in working on other aspects of the long emergency until we address the Russian war on Ukraine, you still didn't say what can be done right not.
Yep, everyone has their reckons. I'm much more interested in what can be done, right now.
Solutions in the long emergency by necessity come in multiple, interlocking dynamics. So yes, that war is a driver of both climate change and climate precarity is important, and there are lots of things there that need to be addressed.
But if we put other things aside, in NZ, and don't work on climate change apart from addressing war, another five years go by and we're still all driving round in cars and happy with our imported food and lifestyles supported by highly polluting industries.
Sorry, but this is exactly the thinking that causes climate catastrophe in the first place. We have to address all the things, the interlocking things, not pick out the biggest and say oh let's do that and ignore the others. That's like saying NZ shouldn't bother about our emissions and we should focus on the US or China instead, as if all the small countries combined don't have serious GHG emissions problems.
It's not that you think stopping war is important, it's that you came into a post about action, slagged everyone off as if you know best, and then proceeded to tell us what we should be doing. You can think and act that way, you just can't do it under a post that is trying to create alternatives to that approach.
You what now? I was talking about the worlds largest carbon burner, the US military.
So the US military is not in any international agreements to limit it consumption, is that not a problem right now? Are you happy to let them role on being the massive problem they are, and not even talk about it? So if we fix all you say, and the US military keeps doing what it's doing, we are screwed.
I agree we need to be doing a lot of things, but not holding the US military to account is a very serious mistake. Abby Martin and others have put out a lot of information out on this – see my original link. Have you even looked at the data?
For me stopping war is secondary, stopping the exploding militarism, and expansion of US military – with it's Africa adventure at the forefront of most peoples minds, is what I want stopped right now. That is where the problem lies, not so directly in war, but in the war machine.
I'm not upset by being moved off your post, your post, your way. I forgot you don't like the hyperbolized rhetoric I'm prone to – on your posts, and for that I apologise. I'll stick to open mic.
The truth will out but they got what they wanted I suppose
Miranda Devine. I wondered where she got to. A great Aussie export.
A US military think-tank features in-depth strategic analysis here: https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-march-20
What sanctions did we place on the United States and its henchmen following the destruction of Iraq, Libya, and Yemen?
[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.]