Are any of the apologists for our Government willing to come out and give an answer to this bit of his statement?
"“Why do people need to wait until early January before starting to book a booster after four months? The Book My Vaccine website should be updated immediately to allow people to book after four months.".
I realise that Chippie and probably the rest of the Cabinet have had their booster shots but why does everyone else have to wait? Is it really necessary for the Health Department to be like the Cabinet Ministers and take off for the next month or so?
Meanwhile of course we can be fairly sure that the Omicron variant will be out in the environment and there are going to be a lot of people who will get it who probably wouldn't if they had been able to get their booster shots.
Come on you plonkers in the Beehive. Pull finger and get on with the booster shots. Don't behave the way you did last year where we were among the last of the developed countries to actually get a serious vaccination program under way.
This is how the vaccination program went. Do we want the booster program to be just as bad?
In terms of meeting the criteria for the Investor visas, residential property investment has to be new developments, not just buying existing property and renting it out, nor can it include renting or selling to friends and family.
"…residential property investment has to be new developments, not just buying existing property and renting it out, nor can it include renting or selling to friends and family."
You mean the same criteria that allows purchase of existing homes as long as the house is removed and the site developed?
Any overseas investment by people looking for a profit means NZers looking for a residence pay more. Loopholes so wide they can stampede through – and they do.
Yes it is , absolutely obscene. The answer Kiwis, is do not sell to a non New Zealander nor to a "New Zealander" not born in New Zealand. Hold our land because it seems to me now that we have a nicely developed country the rich of the world are saying thanks we will take it off you peasants now.
Janet, you comment is absolutely offensive. I have been living in NZ for most of my life. I am not able to just up my tent and move to Europe if that is what you imply. That's the approach Australia takes with the NZ born/citizen ship holding law breakers, isn't it?
I have worked in NZ for now 35 years, not drawn any benefit and clocked up to 70 hours a week to get a roof over my head. I know many people who are like me do the same. Work hard, get educated, have their kids well raised. I also know of NZlaenders who think that everybody around them owes them a living and are on a benefit for all their life.
Perhaps you also need to know that the land your house stands on does not belong to any occupant, ultimately the Crown is he owner of all property in NZ.
1 At the present day no person or group of persons in New Zealand, Maori or Pakeha, can fully own the land on which they have their home or farm or factory, or on which their church or marae stands. All land ultimately belongs to the State as personified by the Crown. To find the reason for this, one must go back to the feudal England of 900 years ago.
We're not talking about people who have lived and worked here all their lives. We're talking about the parasitic rich listers who are being admitted to NZ as part of the scams they are doing in their own countries. And we're letting them in so they can buy land and property here and screw Kiwis. It is obscene.
You do realise that if your rule had been in place the Labour Prime Ministers Michael Joseph Savage, Peter Fraser and Walter Nash would never have been allowed to buy a house here?
“Don’t! Don’t! Don’t! Don’t! Don’t!” Trump told the crowd, waving off their reaction with his hand.
Only five consecutive don'ts was probably insufficient. Advertising theory has been based on triple-repetition for a century due to the thickness of consumers, but Trump crowds are likely to be at least twice as thick as the average consumer.
However, hand-waving was probably worth two or three repetitions. The Queen does it routinely so we can assume it is an effective tactic with crowds.
It seems we will need to start thinking of the Trump movement as a genuine peoples movement. It seems to have an independent agenda from its leader now.
Listening to Trump talking on the mic it's the usual typical Trump "word salad" sophistry.
He doesn’t need to worry about any supporters who boo what he says. They’ll still go home and recall something in whatever he says (probably totally contradictory) that justifies their continued belief in him as the saviour of America.
All they need to know is hes not the establishment (no matter that he is worse)….the establishment have screwed them so anyone (and I mean anyone) who rails against them is going to get their support.
One would think Rittenhouse would go home and keep a low profile,
You would think so, but the damage had already been done. No attempt at 'living a quiet life' was going to work, he was going to be hounded the rest of his life regardless.
So in the spirit of 'the best defense is a good offense' he's probably been advised to go as big as possible.
Just amps up the temperature encouraging more would-be vigilantes to get their AR15s and shoot at their fellow citizens. Which in turn will probably result in their political opponents arming up as well.
Gun nuts have been given too much encouragement under Trump.
How about, and this is just a suggestion, that you don't threaten to kill someone thats carrying a rifle, that you don't physically assault someone carrying a rifle, that you don't chase someone carrying a rifle, that you don't try to grab someones rifle, that you don't chase someone carrying a rifle, that you don't point a pistol at someone carrying a rifle and that when someone points a rifle at you trying to make you stop chasing them that you…stop chasing them
Again Kyle Rittenhouse broke no laws however the people he shot defending himself certainly did.
…Kyle Rittenhouse broke no laws however the people he shot defending himself certainly did.
The problem with Kyle Rittenhouse is the problem with America. He’s a gun nut. He came from out of state to act as a vigilante.
He was lucky the judge dismissed the charge that as he was as a minor he was not permitted to carry that AR15; the law had an exemption that was apparently intended to permit 17 year olds to carry long barrelled weapons for hunting, but it was not specifically so worded, so the judge dismissed that charge.
The dude didn’t need to be there. As I’ve said, if he now goes around acting like a celebrity (orvlets himself get used by people like the NRA) it’s likely to encourage others to do the same thing when protests or riots happen. There’s plenty of evidence Democrat voters are arming up as well these days.
One day there’ll likely be a confrontation of armed vigilantes from both sides that gets out of hand. There’s just too many guns in the community in the US. Kids doing school shootings have no trouble getting their later-bloodied hands on them.
It’s too late to stop it. US citizens just have to learn to live with mass shootings, schhol shootings, & neighbourhood arguments between ordinary citizens ending up with people shot.
You think you do but your opinions on this have been shaped by the media.
'The problem with Kyle Rittenhouse is the problem with America.'
– He was defending himself. If you do not or don't want to understand this then all it shows is you didn't follow the trial (I did)
'He’s a gun nut.'
– Based on what? What makes him a gun nut? That he legally owns a firearm? Wheres the proof hes a gun nut?
'He came from out of state to act as a vigilante.'
– Fuck off with this bullshit. Tell me what is so bad about coming 'out of state', no seriously explain to me why this is something that needs to be mentioned
Are americans not allowed to travel? Is he not allowed to travel to the city where he works because its out of state?
So come on tell me why this is something that needs to mentioned.
He went there to help clean up and defend the area, there are pictures of him literally cleaning graffiti off the walls
He was running away from and only shot when someone was close enough to grab his rifle, to hit him with a skateboard, when someone kicked him in the head and when someone pointed an, illegal, pistol at him
So fuck off with that vigilante shit
'He was lucky the judge dismissed the charge that as he was as a minor he was not permitted to carry that AR15; the law had an exemption that was apparently intended to permit 17 year olds to carry long barrelled weapons for hunting, but it was not specifically so worded, so the judge dismissed that charge.'
– Its not fucking luck when its the law. The law was changed because youths were going around with sawn off shotguns.
'The dude didn’t need to be there.'
– You know who else didn't need to be there, the rioters destroying property and assaulting people however whether or not he he shouldn't have been there he was allowed to be there.
'As I’ve said, if he now goes around acting like a celebrity (orvlets himself get used by people like the NRA) it’s likely to encourage others to do the same thing when protests or riots happen.'
– Hes going to need a lot of money because the twitter mob will do everything they can to make sure his life as difficult as possible
'There’s plenty of evidence Democrat voters are arming up as well these days.'
– Then how about the rioters don't riot, how about they protest legally and peacefully.
Or is ok to riot if you're on the left
'One day there’ll likely be a confrontation of armed vigilantes from both sides that gets out of hand.'
– Kyle isn't a vigilante but then maybe the democratic could fund the police instead of defunding them, sort out the bail laws instead of releasing the crims
'There’s just too many guns in the community in the US. Kids doing school shootings have no trouble getting their later-bloodied hands on them.'
– Maybe there is maybe there isn't but that doesn't mean Kyle should be found guilty of something he didn't do
'It’s too late to stop it. US citizens just have to learn to live with mass shootings, schhol shootings, & neighbourhood arguments between ordinary citizens ending up with people shot.'
– Again Kyle is innocent, sending him to prison wouldn't change anything but maybe the media and the Democratic party stopping stoking the flames might help
So stop putting this on the shoulders of an 18 year old that defended himself from violent, rapists and domestic abusers
There’s a lot in what you wrote above that I accept is perfectly true.
The rioters were out of control, but solo armed citizens coming to that sort of situation runs the risk of matters getting even more out of hand than they already were. And that’s exactly what happened.
I know the kid was attacked, was scared, & was legitimately defending himself from the point where he was threatened & then attacked.
I’m never going to defend rioters. The ratbags were looting, burning, & trashing their own bloody neighbourhood. The fact the police didn’t want to act to control it was no doubt institutional paralysis brought on by their Mayor’s & Commander’s fear of provoking even worse violence.
The Defund The Police campaign was utterly stupid – woke nonsense. You can’t just take police off the streets & imagine all will be somehow be peaceful & peachy.
A vigilante is a member of a self-appointed group of citizens who undertake law enforcement in their community without legal authority, typically because the legal agencies are thought to be inadequate. You can argue his joining a group of armed citizens “protecting businesses” is not vigilantism, but to my mind it is.
I don’t think he should have been convicted at his trial (even the firearms charge that was dismissed was only a misdemeanor). It was clearly self defence & even Biden said the verdict should be respected.
My main criticism is that he should not become a poster boy for more young people of either the left or right to do the same thing.
As to his life now going to be wretched & he being subject to attacks on Twitter, threats etc. If he wanted to avoid that, he shouldn’t have gone there. His actions have had these consequences. Neither you nor I can change that.
We all know that you want the USA to go back to the days where blacks were lynched and beaten by racist cops who were in turn protected by their mates on the bench.
You clearly see that people with criminal convictions and civil rights protesters are outside the law and deserve to be gun down by racist, homophobic right wing thugs like KR.
KR is a really nasty piece of work, racist, homophobic, misogynistic and will probably grow up to be a wife beating skinhead.
His mother, she is probably a total Karen who has nothing but hatred for those 'fags' and 'niggers'.
The USA is so close to having civil rights rolled back, it's just not funny.
All of the civil rights protestors that KR gunned down in cold blood had served their time. Not everyone things that people should pay for their crimes for the rest of their lives.
Kyles mother is fair game. She is the one who spent 17 years filling his head full of racist, homophobic poison, going on and on about how those 'niggers' have 'too much rights' and they need to be taught a lesson, just like her 'peepaw' did back on the plantation in 1855.
Why dont you just admit, Puck, that you want the USA to return to the days of the KKK and lynching, and segregation and where cops could just kill people and get away with it.
You are on record, as saying that Chauvin did nothing wrong and that George Floyd was a dirty ‘nigger’ who deserveed to die.
Dame Anne Salmond targets "neo-liberal ideology, the Fourth Labour Government" and the judiciary:
the Court of Appeal effectively rewrote Te Tiriti. Setting aside the original text, the judges ruled that Te Tiriti established a ‘partnership between two races’ based on ‘fiduciary’ principles, not unlike a business partnership.
The logic of Three Waters governance seems to arise from this neo-liberal rewriting of Te Tiriti, rather than the original agreement itself. In Te Tiriti, there is no mention of ‘races,’ or ‘partnership,’ or ‘fiduciary principles.’ It speaks of taonga, not ‘assets.’
The text of Te Tiriti describes a network of relationships among Queen Victoria, the Governor, the rangatira, the hapū and ordinary people based on chiefly gift exchange, and a promise of absolute equality between settlers and maori (which meant ‘ordinary,’ at that time) and their tikanga.
Her Cerberus is indeed a worthy target. It has produced abundant woolly thinking in recent decades. Her example:
one would think that ancestral relationships with particular springs, aquifers, wetlands, streams, rivers and lakes would be at the heart of the matter. Instead, the reforms focus on ‘three waters’ infrastructure – reservoirs, bores, sewage ponds, pipe networks and the like.
Neoliberalism is 19th century thinking, as is neo-colonialism, so no surprise Mahuta's advisors framed the initiative accordingly. How much longer do they believe the 19th century strangle-hold can be perpetuated? How long is a piece of string? Blind faith can make it seem to stretch forever…
I'm not quite sure what YOUR point is, Dennis, but Dame Anne absolutely nails the issue here, imo:
Tino rangatiratanga, then, is about listening to people, and weaving them together. In its restructuring of New Zealand society, the Fourth Labour Government failed to follow these principles.
Instead of delivering greater freedom and prosperity for ordinary people, as promised, their ‘free market’ reforms led to the entrenchment of elites, and radical inequalities in employment, housing, health, justice and education with which we are still struggling.
Nor did the neo-liberal rewriting of Te Tiriti by the courts deliver equality or prosperity for ordinary Māori – far from it. They suffered most of all from the ‘reforms.’
The 1980s rewriting of Te Tiriti is overdue for critical examination; and this time it should involve all parties to the original agreement, including ordinary citizens, both Māori and non-Māori.
Open debate is the key to good governance, on the marae as in a healthy democracy.
1. The dame proved that, despite seeming a typical liberal mainstreamer, she's capable of discerning how to progress beyond that, then did so.
2. The three-headed dog is a worthy target due to the judiciary institutionalising the ideological drivel of the 1980s, thereby confusing policy-makers.
3. 19th century thinking that got revived to infect mainstreamers still prevails in the public service via blind faith (despite an ever-escalating infusion of Green thought & values).
Dame Anne Salmond was great when writing on early-contact Maori.
Apart from that she is a sickeningly wet Originalist that would get on well with Scalia and Barrett.
Her head is stuck in a country that existed prior to 1840 full of untrammelled rills, Hobbiton-esque endless forest, absent of cities and intensive water management, an imagined fairyspell in which water management consisted of joyously gazing at nothing but bubbling rock-perfect founts.
The Treaty doesn't mention wealth distribution, state entities, or local government management of water entities like dams or irrigation.
The Treaty doesn't mention elites British or Maori, or elitism, or even class.
It’s simply never going to do the job of a UN HR declaration or single written constitution.
Dame Anne doesn't have the faintest idea from the evidence of that post about how Maori engage with the Crown over water governance.
In not one single sentence of her post can we recognise the country we are in or ever could be.
Thank God they don't let such fools anywhere near an actual decision.
Dame Mary Anne Salmond ONZ DBE FRSNZ is a New Zealand anthropologist, environmentalist and writer. She was New Zealander of the Year in 2013. In 2020, she was appointed to the Order of New Zealand, the highest honour in New Zealand's royal honours system.
In 2001, Salmond became Distinguished Professor of Māori Studies and Anthropology at the University of Auckland. From 2002 to 2007, Salmond served on the boards of the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, the Museum of New Zealand, and she was chair of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. She was Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Equal Opportunity) at the University of Auckland from 1997 to 2006.
One sorta gets the impression, somehow, that she ain't just a mere academic. There's plenty more in the honours & awards section that serves as suitable evidence of eminence & mana but who needs more?
Great on the Treaty and early-contact history, and no experience in corporate governance, water allocation, RMA, or anything of use other than sickly nostalgia.
Au contraire – she like most New Zealanders has had intimate and extensive experience of the unremitting failure of neoliberalism to deliver any public goods whatsoever. It's a fine mechanism for covering civil servants' vulnerable extremities while crooks rifle a country's public assets – but as a plausible attempt at governance it is risible.
Congratulations to the Kelloggs workers for their achievement, and our daily reminder that strikes work!
Workers at Kellogg Co's U.S. breakfast cereal plants voted in favor of a new contract that offers better terms for transitional employees and across-the-board wage increases, ending a weeks-long strike, the company said on Tuesday.
Europe adopts traffic light system for climate-change policy:
An EU official said gas and nuclear were likely to have “amber” status, meaning they would not be in the “green” category with wind and solar power, but would feature in the taxonomy. A senior EU diplomat said they expected to see nuclear in the text because “Von der Leyen seems to have promised it to Macron and the other nuclear states”.
Greens will be thrilled at the prospect of another battle in the never-ending war between purists & pragmatists.
The EU taxonomy became law in July 2020, but legislators left important details to be resolved through so-called delegated acts – secondary legislation meant for technical issues that is not subject to the same degree of ministerial and parliamentary oversight.
Since then, the project has been overshadowed by a fierce political row that culminated when EU leaders meeting in Brussels last week were forced to abandon plans for a joint statement on energy policy. France wants a stamp of approval for nuclear, while Poland and eastern European states insist gas is labelled a “sustainable” investment.
Germany’s new Social Democrat chancellor is under pressure from his Green coalition partners not to give in to pressure to include nuclear or gas in the system. Scholz downplayed the taxonomy last week as “a tiny issue on a much broader topic”.
Thanks for picking this up Dennis. I was aware of the 'taxonomy' debate and how the Greens were doing their best to lump 'gas and nuclear' together as if they were somehow equivalent from a CO2 perspective.
The reality is that transitioning from coal to natural gas has still been the single most effective reduction in CO2 emissions achieved so far, but no-one pretends it's the ultimate solution. Useful in the short-term for many countries with few other options on the table right now.
The decades long irrational Green obduracy on nuclear however is in my view the single largest reason why we have a climate crisis at all. Their refusal to contemplate the one technology we do have that could reliably solve the problem, speaks to an underlying motive that has nothing to do with 'caring about the climate' whatsoever.
As you say – the purists vs pragmatist battle is a strategy intended to ensure nothing gets done.
Regarding the (in your opinion) "decades long irrational Green obduracy on nuclear", you must be pleased that the 'Green movement' isn't calling the shots in China's nuclear energy programme.
Ah, the conundrum that is democracy – I'm all for it (democracy that is). But we must face facts – the nuclear energy industry hasn't done a good enough job of promoting its products, much like a few other businesses that have fallen out of favour over the years. When it comes to 'free market' capitalism, you have to take the 'bad' trends (however lamentable) with the good, and the market has spoken.
This constant setting up of 'renewables vs nuclear' as a false dichotomy is mostly a one way street. The nuclear renaissance underway at the present rarely has anything much to say about solar/wind/battery renewables at all. If anything we regard them a bit like gas – a useful transitional technology and we're generally happy to see them take it as far as they can go.
On the other had hit pieces on nuclear like the one you referenced above from the purist renewable crowd are a legion. They're everywhere and ultimately they're funded by vested interests, who also never want you to know about the fundamental limits of renewables and the deep social implications that arise from this.
Because in the long-term a 'purist renewables only' human economy is a world permanently underpowered, poor, prone to resource conflict and essentially stagnant. Vernor Vinge's The Peace War anticipated something like this:
In an effort to retain their monopoly on the Bobbler, the Peace Authority makes technological progress illegal and returns the planet to a level similar to the 19th century.
Substitute 'climate change' for 'bobbler' and you have pretty much the same story necessarily playing out, a global tyranny stifling human progress – forever.
On the other had hit pieces on nuclear like the one you referenced above from the purist renewable crowd are a legion. They're everywhere and ultimately they're funded by vested interests, who also never want you to know about the fundamental limits of renewables and the deep social implications that arise from this.
The words you've overlooked are: if current market, technology and resource trends continue.
My obvious response is – these current trends should not continue. (And probably will not.)
Incidentally it looks like the US has finally gotten it's act together – both the NRC and the DOE now have senior leaders who both understand and support the molten-salt technology and are big supporters. That's a belated but massive turnaround.
The words you've overlooked are: if current market, technology and resource trends continue.
Nope, didn't overlook those words, and presumably neither did the author of that Scientific American "hit piece".
Whereas you seem to have conveniently overlooked my question – what "hit piece"? Maybe your initial ‘evaluation’ was a simple reflex? Which would be fine – reflexes are natural and often a sign of good health.
On the other had hit pieces on nuclear like the one you referenced above from the purist renewable crowd are a legion.
I've read literally dozens of these pieces – of varying sophistication. Most are getting smart enough to avoid obvious factual errors that can be easily debunked – so increasingly the lines taken are a mix of economic and availability doubts like this article attempted.
Unusually this one managed to note that the Gen 4 SMR's promise to be a lot cheaper to build, but then smudged over this by arguing that renewables would dominate before any new reactor designs would come online, therefore they won't be necessary – at any price.
My answer is that this overlooks the limitations of SWB renewables and there is no reason why we should not have both – as they technically complement each other very well.
I've read literally dozens of these pieces – of varying sophistication.
So, just to be clear, in your opinion Hsu's Scientific American article is a "hit piece on nuclear"? In which case it seems unlikely that any 'piece' will ever reach the level of sophistication needed to 'fool' you.
Imho, Hsu's article isn't a 'hit piece' – this is a 'hit piece'!
Why Nuclear Power Is Bad for Your Wallet and the Climate
[17 December 2021]
So the next time you hear some official, eager to appease every constituency, say we support “all of the above—we’re not picking and backing winners,” remember the retort by the dean of U.S. utility regulators, Peter Bradford: “No, we’re not picking and backing winners. They don’t need it. We’re picking and backing losers.”
You say, "The decades long irrational Green obduracy on nuclear however is in my view the single largest reason why we have a climate crisis at all." why you label "obduracy on nuclear" Green (with an upper-case "G")?
Why not call it "citizen" obduracy, or "annoying to me" obduracy?
Yes there has been a very successful misinformation campaign that means most people are unaware that nuclear power is one of the safest, cleanest and most reliable energy sources we have. (Indeed some polls have shown that an astounding fraction of people still imagine nuclear has a massive CO2 footprint, despite it being one of the lowest.)
However the effective political opposition is absolutely located in Green Parties all across the developed world – much to the dismay of even some of their most staunch supporters. At least that's what I understand at present – if there has been a shift in Green policies recent years I'm unaware of – I'm happy to be updated.
Ashutosh Jogalekar is a chemist interested in the history, philosophy and sociology of science:
Many of my friends are science-loving liberals. Many of them are also environmentalists. But most of them are against nuclear energy… So here's a purely personal, short list of reasons which in my opinion drive a lot of liberal objections to nuclear power.
1. Ignorance: This simple reason remains remarkably pervasive. I am not trying to sound preachy or elitist here but reading two or three books would greatly benefit people who have a gut reaction against nuclear energy.
There's several objective books that presents a balanced view of the topic. As a starting point I would recommend Richard Rhodes's article in Foreign Affairs and his book Nuclear Renewal which talks about the extensive and safe deployment of nuclear energy by countries like France. Samuel Glasstone's timeless classic Sourcebook on Atomic Energy is still excellent on basics, so is Bernard Cohen's book. Gwyneth Cravens's very informative Power to Save the World is particularly noteworthy since Cravens was vociferously against nuclear power before she educated herself and found herself in favor of it; it's a remarkable example of how someone can change their mind in the face of evidence.
Another informal, breezy and excellent treatment is Scott Heaberlin's A Case for Nuclear-Generated Electricity: (Or Why I Think Nuclear Power Is Cool and Why It Is Important That You Think So Too).
Problem is, folks never read a book unless they want to. I learnt that after giving up on telling friends & family about brilliant books to no avail!
2. Bad psychological connections: There are two bad connections in the minds of many liberals, both of which are rather unjustified and contribute to their dislike of nuclear power. One is the connection between nuclear power and nuclear weapons.
Knowing the basics about how different weapons are from reactors can contribute to mitigating this misunderstanding; for instance it's been known for years that contrary to popular belief, reactors can't blow up like a bomb.
Another flawed connection is between environmentalism and the boycott of nuclear power. Unfortunately die-hard environmentalists are mainly responsible for reinforcing this connection. Their decades-long opposition to nuclear energy started with some reasonable premises, but then mainly descended into irrational, uninformed and exaggerated polemic.
Well, #2 conflates fear with distrust of scientists, so his framing is poor. His #3 is nuclear waste, which he fronts with a combination of evasion, minimisation & wishful thinking. 4. Damn them Republicans is guilt by association; then 5. Fear of the unknown. It's as if he's complaining about human nature. A reasonable effort at diagnosis but not good enough.
His #3 is nuclear waste, which he fronts with a combination of evasion, minimisation & wishful thinking.
Not quite sure what you mean by this. The reality is that the 'waste' from the existing fleet of PWR reactors is actually an exceptionally valuable fuel. A number of Gen 4 designs explicitly target this fuel source:
If we reprocessed the waste from nuclear reactors on a large scale, much of it would become much more benign and could be handled much more safely in low volumes.
This is precisely what is planned and is absolutely achievable. The main barrier to progressing this using conventional reprocessing was always the reasonable fear of isolating weapons grade materials and the resulting proliferation. If however the fuel is re-used in the correct type of reactor, this simply does not happen, the plutonium is 'burned up' and transformed into fission products that have no weapons use whatsoever – and have relatively shorter half-lives that make storage a lot more feasible.
In reality the 'waste' problem from nuclear is both contained and at very low volumes compared to every other energy generation method we know of. Even solar and wind have their own serious 'end of life' waste problems that are rarely discussed.
A famous historical foreign policy response. Didn't work for the Spartan rulers tho. Philip II of Macedon (Alexander the Great's dad) called their bluff & conquered them.
The tech you mentioned has been eagerly awaited by me for most of my adult life! Are they really close to achieving the goal? I'm sceptical. Have always like the theory, said so when we last discussed it, but still no evidence they have broken the tech barrier. Same for fusion tech.
but still no evidence they have broken the tech barrier.
Depends on what you mean by 'barrier'. For all the Gen 4 designs we know the nuclear physics works. This includes the entire gamut of types, not just the MSR's I've taken a keen interest in. This is not in question.
The next level of challenge is optimising the design to achieve the desired sweet spot between cost, operability, maintainability, passive safety and life cycle. And all the designers active in this field at the moment have a different target in mind. Included in this work is a whole range of tasks necessary to fully qualify the materials and nucleonics in exquisite detail. I follow this work closely and exciting progress is being made all the time. For instance – don't watch this – only a total geek could love it.
The next major hurdle has been regulatory; all the major regulators have until quite recently written everything around the safety profile of the existing PWR fleet, which is not fit for purpose with these new generation designs. Until there was the prospect of any new design ever being approved, private equity funding was always going to be limited. Fortunately this aspect is rapidly changing, with fresh new people taking a much more proactive position toward Gen 4. The Canadian regulator is well ahead of the pack, and the Indonesians are forging ahead to build their capacity as well.
The final category of challenge is establishing the necessary equipment and materials supply chains that will enable these new designs to go from pilot plants to the mass scale manufacturing necessary to make a real world difference. In technical principle this is the easiest, but in practice it's also the most frustratingly slow aspect to resolve.
But in summary – there is no fundamental technical 'barrier' that's preventing progress.
Yeah but that's just the physics & engineering view. I went & scanned the Gen 4 wiki & developers are all over the place.
To me, the tech barrier most relevant to public/political acceptability features two design criteria: fail-safe & waste consumption. Couldn't see evidence that the industry has figured this out yet!
Plus there's the bit about fast reactors not coming on-stream until 2040. I get that you're keen on progress being made but I can't see any basis for sharing the enthusiasm. Seems to me that allowing geeks to make all the running isn't all that smart. Geeks don't do marketing, nor do they do govt liaison. Any market viability will depend on regulatory satisfaction in both design & working model.
To me, the tech barrier most relevant to public/political acceptability features two design criteria: fail-safe & waste consumption. Couldn't see evidence that the industry has figured this out yet!
Passive 'walk away' safety is baked into many of the Gen 4 designs, especially the MSR's. I'm not sure how to answer this question because I don't understand the criteria you are using, but the idea that they 'haven't figured it out' simply doesn't align with anything I'm seeing.
Plus there's the bit about fast reactors not coming on-stream until 2040.
The thinking at present is that these fast waste burners are not a high priority, there is no need to rush them into operation. It's more logical to get simpler designs running now to deal with the CO2 issue now, and deal with the waste streams later.
the Gen 4 wiki & developers are all over the place.
Yes there are a variety of Gen 4 approaches being taken, and this is because each group has a particular niche or market they are aiming for. In the long run it's expected there will evolve a range of designs all complementing each other in specific roles.
And this story really hit's it out of the park as far as I'm concerned:
In late 2019, Lights was interviewed by the BBC’s Andrew Neil, renowned for his relentless and forensic interview technique which disallows avoidance, spin and diversion.
After confronting Lights with the lack of scientific evidence for the ER movement’s apocalyptic claims of climate change killing billions in 20 years, Neil asked what would be required to achieve its demand for zero net emissions by 2025. Did she agree it would require confiscation of petrol cars, state rationing of meat and limiting families to one flight every five years?
Lights responded she wasn’t there to give solutions. Does aviation need to come to an end? A visibly uncomfortable Lights said, “Possibly”. All gas heating and cooking to go in six years? After an awkward pause, Lights simply said if that humans could put a man on the moon, we could tackle this.
That may have been the end of it. But it turns out Lights isn’t like other activists. She’s wasn’t out to draw attention to herself by gluing herself to a bus. She actually wants real change. And when confronted with the logical consequences of her movement’s demands, she realised it wouldn’t achieve any change at all because it had no workable solutions.
This is intellectual honesty – it's the best we can hope for from anyone. We are all different, and I'm not here to make everyone think just like me. But we can all ruthlessly challenge our assumptions.
"And when confronted with the logical consequences of her movement’s demands, she realised it wouldn’t achieve any change at all because it had no workable solutions."
She knew of no workable solutions.
"But it turns out Lights isn’t like other activists."
So, not an activist then?
"She’s wasn’t out to draw attention to herself by gluing herself to a bus. She actually wants real change."
Activists don't want real change?
Sweeping, poorly thought-through statements in this article, RedLogix.
"Workable" in my book means something that can be achieved in the world we live in, with the people we live with, in the timeframe we have available.
As much as I admire the work you do Robert, it's not a whole solution. As with my argument on COVID, we need all the tools in the kit to get out of this mess.
Europe is in an energy crisis of their own making.Prices and energy reserves hitting record highs and lows respectively due to poor planning and limited baseline generation.
So that army of Eurocrats created in Brussels spent most of their time trying to control the Brits – instead of planning for power supply?
Goodness me, as my grandmother used to say. Did nobody realise there could be a supply problem? Or did they get dollar signs in their eyes, copying each other in a frantic effort to mine bitcoins, thereby pulling excessive power out of the system?
Forbes points to an "unfortunate confluence of factors":
Resurgent energy demand post-Covid, extreme weather events (unprecedented heatwaves and prolonged winters), supply chain disruptions, and poor regional and global stockpiling have all contributed to Europe’s current crisis.
Russia’s supremo Vladimir Putin may have a reason to pop a champagne bottle in view of the EU’s sanctions on the Kremlin. He says that Europe had created a self-inflicted wound. He may be right.
The Qatari Energy Minister, Saad Al-Kaabi stated, “we have huge demand from all our customers and unfortunately, we can’t cater for everyone.” Qatar prefers East Asian customers who pay a premium. The EU is no longer the top market.
China has doubled their LNG imports over the last year (another reason Europe finds itself with lower than normal supplies). More than 20 provinces have enacted rationing to deal with the worsening situation. “Get energy supplies at any price”, ordered the ruling Politburo, highlighting the giant economy’s dependence on imported coal and gas.
A while ago, CEO of Gazprom Alexei Miller, stated in my presence that his company is “half a business, and half a state policy arm.” Since then the shift is probably to 40-60 in favor of the state. European leaders were quick to claim that Russia is now weaponizing the gas markets to gain approval of the Nord Stream 2. Currently, Gazprom sends piped natural gas through Ukraine. A new pipeline would circumvent the embattled country.
The energy crisis unfolding in Europe has many drivers, but EU green policy hubris, and Russian hard-nosed energy poker are the key. The main lesson is: one cannot will energy transformation into reality without building ample, reliable and economically viable baseline generation capacity.
Anker – I cannot find anything on RNZ or Stuff or the Dom Post that they were meant to be self-isolating when they were out and about. Were they said to be a close contact in an earlier story?
The Hutt Valley resident was self-isolating and people working at the locations of interest said they were told contact with the case was casual, and the risk of further infection was low.
Just read Cam Slater’s autobiographical piece on his dirty little blog. Starts off interesting then descends into irrational hatred and demonisation of the PM. Methinks the primary architect of Dirty Politics needs to take a look in the mirror. What a scumbag
He’s lining up with Damien De Ment and the other hateful rabble inspired by Steve Bannon who believe all sorts of gross things about Democrats. This is dangerous delusional thinking and I hope the security services are aware of it.
I am no great fan of Democrats, but neither do I feel the need to engage in Q-Anon conpiracy bullshit and claim that they are baby eating paedophile lizards in league with Satan. That kind of batshit insanity is what drove the Jan 6 coup attempt in the USA, and it is a stain upon the church and a festering virus that breeds in dark corners of social media. These people dog whistle, and sometimes outright endorse, despicable acts of violence; with serves their (not very secret) aims of anarchy and fascism.
Slater has always been like that. When that lady died after she got her power cut off, he took an alarming level of pleasure in it. Almost sexual in nature.
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
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In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
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Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
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Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
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Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
I was initially resistant to the idea often suggested to me that the Government should deliver an arts strategy. The whole point of the arts and creativity is that people should do whatever the hell they want, unbound by the dictates of politicians in Wellington. Peter Jackson, Kiri Te Kanawa, Eleanor ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
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 Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
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You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
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ACT's Rural Communities and Veterans spokesman Mark Cameron responds to cancellations and protests of ANZAC Day commemorations in Wellington. He says, "These pitiful attempts to detract from ANZAC Day are not at all indicative of the feelings of mainstream ...
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Never mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff.First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...
I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: ...
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Well this is going to stuff up a few people's plans on hoping to return home to NZ.
Covid 19 Omicron: At least 27,000 flyers in limbo after Omicron border delay – NZ Herald
A move supported by the opposition, with National's Chris Bishop putting out a statement saying it was necessary.
Truly???
That's a massive change of tone from the nats!!!
Bishop said it quietly, and National are very lucky that the press gallery and political news is on holiday already, or he'd be squirming.
Henry Cooke at Stuff noticed, at least:
https://twitter.com/henrycooke/status/1473120874622423040
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2112/S00171/national-welcomes-booster-changes.htm
Maybe we could give credit to the new leadership.
He has spoken of being more constructive and this is an example…
Are any of the apologists for our Government willing to come out and give an answer to this bit of his statement?
"“Why do people need to wait until early January before starting to book a booster after four months? The Book My Vaccine website should be updated immediately to allow people to book after four months.".
I realise that Chippie and probably the rest of the Cabinet have had their booster shots but why does everyone else have to wait? Is it really necessary for the Health Department to be like the Cabinet Ministers and take off for the next month or so?
Meanwhile of course we can be fairly sure that the Omicron variant will be out in the environment and there are going to be a lot of people who will get it who probably wouldn't if they had been able to get their booster shots.
Come on you plonkers in the Beehive. Pull finger and get on with the booster shots. Don't behave the way you did last year where we were among the last of the developed countries to actually get a serious vaccination program under way.
This is how the vaccination program went. Do we want the booster program to be just as bad?
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-people-fully-vaccinated-covid?country=AUS~BRA~MYS~NPL~NLD~NZL~CHN~CUB~DNK~NOR~RUS~FRA~DEU~SGP~SWE~TWN~IRL~GBR~USA
Foreign investors lining up to' invest' in NZ….property?
New Zealand re-opens door to wealthy foreign investors promising to drop millions | Stuff.co.nz
The ponzi must continue ….at any and all cost.
How to disadyantage New Zealanders.
In terms of meeting the criteria for the Investor visas, residential property investment has to be new developments, not just buying existing property and renting it out, nor can it include renting or selling to friends and family.
"…residential property investment has to be new developments, not just buying existing property and renting it out, nor can it include renting or selling to friends and family."
You mean the same criteria that allows purchase of existing homes as long as the house is removed and the site developed?
Any overseas investment by people looking for a profit means NZers looking for a residence pay more. Loopholes so wide they can stampede through – and they do.
Isn't that still new housing? How is that loophole?
It doesn't remove overseas investors from the market at all for existing houses on sites, leaving them in competition with NZers looking for a home.
Once again, any overseas investment by people looking for a profit means NZers looking for a residence pay more.
This is absolutely obscene.
Yes it is , absolutely obscene. The answer Kiwis, is do not sell to a non New Zealander nor to a "New Zealander" not born in New Zealand. Hold our land because it seems to me now that we have a nicely developed country the rich of the world are saying thanks we will take it off you peasants now.
Janet, you comment is absolutely offensive. I have been living in NZ for most of my life. I am not able to just up my tent and move to Europe if that is what you imply. That's the approach Australia takes with the NZ born/citizen ship holding law breakers, isn't it?
I have worked in NZ for now 35 years, not drawn any benefit and clocked up to 70 hours a week to get a roof over my head. I know many people who are like me do the same. Work hard, get educated, have their kids well raised. I also know of NZlaenders who think that everybody around them owes them a living and are on a benefit for all their life.
Perhaps you also need to know that the land your house stands on does not belong to any occupant, ultimately the Crown is he owner of all property in NZ.
1 At the present day no person or group of persons in New Zealand, Maori or Pakeha, can fully own the land on which they have their home or farm or factory, or on which their church or marae stands. All land ultimately belongs to the State as personified by the Crown. To find the reason for this, one must go back to the feudal England of 900 years ago.
https://www.lawcom.govt.nz/sites/default/files/projectAvailableFormats/NZLC%20PP20.pdf
We're not talking about people who have lived and worked here all their lives. We're talking about the parasitic rich listers who are being admitted to NZ as part of the scams they are doing in their own countries. And we're letting them in so they can buy land and property here and screw Kiwis. It is obscene.
Well, I am not born in NZ so Janet's comment does mean the likes of me.
You do realise that if your rule had been in place the Labour Prime Ministers Michael Joseph Savage, Peter Fraser and Walter Nash would never have been allowed to buy a house here?
No chance Janet.
Money talks.
Trump crowd boos Trump for getting boosted: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/20/trump-covid-19-booster-shot-crowd-boos
Only five consecutive don'ts was probably insufficient. Advertising theory has been based on triple-repetition for a century due to the thickness of consumers, but Trump crowds are likely to be at least twice as thick as the average consumer.
However, hand-waving was probably worth two or three repetitions. The Queen does it routinely so we can assume it is an effective tactic with crowds.
It seems we will need to start thinking of the Trump movement as a genuine peoples movement. It seems to have an independent agenda from its leader now.
https://i.imgur.com/qU8oVM5.gif
Listening to Trump talking on the mic it's the usual typical Trump "word salad" sophistry.
He doesn’t need to worry about any supporters who boo what he says. They’ll still go home and recall something in whatever he says (probably totally contradictory) that justifies their continued belief in him as the saviour of America.
All they need to know is hes not the establishment (no matter that he is worse)….the establishment have screwed them so anyone (and I mean anyone) who rails against them is going to get their support.
Are they wrong?
Trump's support base is the grassroots proletarian revolutionary movement that the left can only dream of mobilizing.
The best people.
https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1473039073535213570
https://twitter.com/az_rww/status/1473084860004593666
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1473084860004593666.html
One would think Rittenhouse would go home and keep a low profile, thanking his lucky stars that he's free and not doing time in the Big House.
But, not in America. Notoriety is as good for getting you adulation there as being a genuine hero.
One would think Rittenhouse would go home and keep a low profile,
You would think so, but the damage had already been done. No attempt at 'living a quiet life' was going to work, he was going to be hounded the rest of his life regardless.
So in the spirit of 'the best defense is a good offense' he's probably been advised to go as big as possible.
Just amps up the temperature encouraging more would-be vigilantes to get their AR15s and shoot at their fellow citizens. Which in turn will probably result in their political opponents arming up as well.
Gun nuts have been given too much encouragement under Trump.
How about, and this is just a suggestion, that you don't threaten to kill someone thats carrying a rifle, that you don't physically assault someone carrying a rifle, that you don't chase someone carrying a rifle, that you don't try to grab someones rifle, that you don't chase someone carrying a rifle, that you don't point a pistol at someone carrying a rifle and that when someone points a rifle at you trying to make you stop chasing them that you…stop chasing them
Again Kyle Rittenhouse broke no laws however the people he shot defending himself certainly did.
Maybe he could run for…Congress.
Might be the best way to protect himself
…Kyle Rittenhouse broke no laws however the people he shot defending himself certainly did.
The problem with Kyle Rittenhouse is the problem with America. He’s a gun nut. He came from out of state to act as a vigilante.
He was lucky the judge dismissed the charge that as he was as a minor he was not permitted to carry that AR15; the law had an exemption that was apparently intended to permit 17 year olds to carry long barrelled weapons for hunting, but it was not specifically so worded, so the judge dismissed that charge.
The dude didn’t need to be there. As I’ve said, if he now goes around acting like a celebrity (orvlets himself get used by people like the NRA) it’s likely to encourage others to do the same thing when protests or riots happen. There’s plenty of evidence Democrat voters are arming up as well these days.
One day there’ll likely be a confrontation of armed vigilantes from both sides that gets out of hand. There’s just too many guns in the community in the US. Kids doing school shootings have no trouble getting their later-bloodied hands on them.
It’s too late to stop it. US citizens just have to learn to live with mass shootings, schhol shootings, & neighbourhood arguments between ordinary citizens ending up with people shot.
Gezza you don't know what you're talking about.
You think you do but your opinions on this have been shaped by the media.
'The problem with Kyle Rittenhouse is the problem with America.'
– He was defending himself. If you do not or don't want to understand this then all it shows is you didn't follow the trial (I did)
'He’s a gun nut.'
– Based on what? What makes him a gun nut? That he legally owns a firearm? Wheres the proof hes a gun nut?
'He came from out of state to act as a vigilante.'
– Fuck off with this bullshit. Tell me what is so bad about coming 'out of state', no seriously explain to me why this is something that needs to be mentioned
Are americans not allowed to travel? Is he not allowed to travel to the city where he works because its out of state?
So come on tell me why this is something that needs to mentioned.
He went there to help clean up and defend the area, there are pictures of him literally cleaning graffiti off the walls
He was running away from and only shot when someone was close enough to grab his rifle, to hit him with a skateboard, when someone kicked him in the head and when someone pointed an, illegal, pistol at him
So fuck off with that vigilante shit
'He was lucky the judge dismissed the charge that as he was as a minor he was not permitted to carry that AR15; the law had an exemption that was apparently intended to permit 17 year olds to carry long barrelled weapons for hunting, but it was not specifically so worded, so the judge dismissed that charge.'
– Its not fucking luck when its the law. The law was changed because youths were going around with sawn off shotguns.
'The dude didn’t need to be there.'
– You know who else didn't need to be there, the rioters destroying property and assaulting people however whether or not he he shouldn't have been there he was allowed to be there.
'As I’ve said, if he now goes around acting like a celebrity (orvlets himself get used by people like the NRA) it’s likely to encourage others to do the same thing when protests or riots happen.'
– Hes going to need a lot of money because the twitter mob will do everything they can to make sure his life as difficult as possible
'There’s plenty of evidence Democrat voters are arming up as well these days.'
– Then how about the rioters don't riot, how about they protest legally and peacefully.
Or is ok to riot if you're on the left
'One day there’ll likely be a confrontation of armed vigilantes from both sides that gets out of hand.'
– Kyle isn't a vigilante but then maybe the democratic could fund the police instead of defunding them, sort out the bail laws instead of releasing the crims
'There’s just too many guns in the community in the US. Kids doing school shootings have no trouble getting their later-bloodied hands on them.'
– Maybe there is maybe there isn't but that doesn't mean Kyle should be found guilty of something he didn't do
'It’s too late to stop it. US citizens just have to learn to live with mass shootings, schhol shootings, & neighbourhood arguments between ordinary citizens ending up with people shot.'
– Again Kyle is innocent, sending him to prison wouldn't change anything but maybe the media and the Democratic party stopping stoking the flames might help
So stop putting this on the shoulders of an 18 year old that defended himself from violent, rapists and domestic abusers
There’s a lot in what you wrote above that I accept is perfectly true.
The rioters were out of control, but solo armed citizens coming to that sort of situation runs the risk of matters getting even more out of hand than they already were. And that’s exactly what happened.
I know the kid was attacked, was scared, & was legitimately defending himself from the point where he was threatened & then attacked.
I’m never going to defend rioters. The ratbags were looting, burning, & trashing their own bloody neighbourhood. The fact the police didn’t want to act to control it was no doubt institutional paralysis brought on by their Mayor’s & Commander’s fear of provoking even worse violence.
The Defund The Police campaign was utterly stupid – woke nonsense. You can’t just take police off the streets & imagine all will be somehow be peaceful & peachy.
A vigilante is a member of a self-appointed group of citizens who undertake law enforcement in their community without legal authority, typically because the legal agencies are thought to be inadequate. You can argue his joining a group of armed citizens “protecting businesses” is not vigilantism, but to my mind it is.
I don’t think he should have been convicted at his trial (even the firearms charge that was dismissed was only a misdemeanor). It was clearly self defence & even Biden said the verdict should be respected.
My main criticism is that he should not become a poster boy for more young people of either the left or right to do the same thing.
As to his life now going to be wretched & he being subject to attacks on Twitter, threats etc. If he wanted to avoid that, he shouldn’t have gone there. His actions have had these consequences. Neither you nor I can change that.
We all know that you want the USA to go back to the days where blacks were lynched and beaten by racist cops who were in turn protected by their mates on the bench.
You clearly see that people with criminal convictions and civil rights protesters are outside the law and deserve to be gun down by racist, homophobic right wing thugs like KR.
KR is a really nasty piece of work, racist, homophobic, misogynistic and will probably grow up to be a wife beating skinhead.
His mother, she is probably a total Karen who has nothing but hatred for those 'fags' and 'niggers'.
The USA is so close to having civil rights rolled back, it's just not funny.
'KR is a really nasty piece of work, racist, homophobic, misogynistic and will probably grow up to be a wife beating skinhead.'
– Link or evidence please Millsy
'His mother, she is probably a total Karen who has nothing but hatred for those 'fags' and 'niggers'.'
– Thats a definite link or evidence Millsy. You just crossed the line going after his mother.
Isn't it also interesting that one of the guys he shot defending himself is actually on camera yelling out the n word
Isn't it also interesting that two of the guys shot were actual domestic abusers
All of the civil rights protestors that KR gunned down in cold blood had served their time. Not everyone things that people should pay for their crimes for the rest of their lives.
Kyles mother is fair game. She is the one who spent 17 years filling his head full of racist, homophobic poison, going on and on about how those 'niggers' have 'too much rights' and they need to be taught a lesson, just like her 'peepaw' did back on the plantation in 1855.
Why dont you just admit, Puck, that you want the USA to return to the days of the KKK and lynching, and segregation and where cops could just kill people and get away with it.
You are on record, as saying that Chauvin did nothing wrong and that George Floyd was a dirty ‘nigger’ who deserveed to die.
Link, proof or evidence Millsy
All in your history.
Link to my history, copy and paste my history or provide evidence Millsy or be prepared to have a nice, little time out to think things over.
Clean up on aisle 3 !
Do I point out here that according to:
Drone footage Kyle was innocent
Independent camera footage Kyle was innocent
The prosecutions own witnesses Kyle was innocent
The trial where he was declared not guilty
What part of this do you disagree with?
'One would think Rittenhouse would go home and keep a low profile'
And do what exactly, he has a target on his back and the twitter mob will not stop trying to ruin his life:
https://www.newsweek.com/kyle-rittenhouse-ban-arizona-state-university-1654323
You think thats the only thing he'll have to face?
He goes for a job and the twitter mob will call for that business to fire him or be blacklisted
You think he'll get a government job with this current administration
I'll remind you that Kyle Rittenhouse broke no laws, was threatened, was assaulted, had an illegal firearm pointed at him and was found not guilty
Lay low, sure if only it was that easy for him
Not just adulation but normally a fairly solid income stream
Dame Anne Salmond targets "neo-liberal ideology, the Fourth Labour Government" and the judiciary:
Her Cerberus is indeed a worthy target. It has produced abundant woolly thinking in recent decades. Her example:
Neoliberalism is 19th century thinking, as is neo-colonialism, so no surprise Mahuta's advisors framed the initiative accordingly. How much longer do they believe the 19th century strangle-hold can be perpetuated? How long is a piece of string? Blind faith can make it seem to stretch forever…
I'm not quite sure what YOUR point is, Dennis, but Dame Anne absolutely nails the issue here, imo:
I'm not quite sure what YOUR point is
There were several:
1. The dame proved that, despite seeming a typical liberal mainstreamer, she's capable of discerning how to progress beyond that, then did so.
2. The three-headed dog is a worthy target due to the judiciary institutionalising the ideological drivel of the 1980s, thereby confusing policy-makers.
3. 19th century thinking that got revived to infect mainstreamers still prevails in the public service via blind faith (despite an ever-escalating infusion of Green thought & values).
Dame Anne Salmond was great when writing on early-contact Maori.
Apart from that she is a sickeningly wet Originalist that would get on well with Scalia and Barrett.
Her head is stuck in a country that existed prior to 1840 full of untrammelled rills, Hobbiton-esque endless forest, absent of cities and intensive water management, an imagined fairyspell in which water management consisted of joyously gazing at nothing but bubbling rock-perfect founts.
The Treaty doesn't mention wealth distribution, state entities, or local government management of water entities like dams or irrigation.
The Treaty doesn't mention elites British or Maori, or elitism, or even class.
It’s simply never going to do the job of a UN HR declaration or single written constitution.
Dame Anne doesn't have the faintest idea from the evidence of that post about how Maori engage with the Crown over water governance.
In not one single sentence of her post can we recognise the country we are in or ever could be.
Thank God they don't let such fools anywhere near an actual decision.
Hobbiton had no forests.
Heh. 🙄 Guess I oughta quote her wiki, eh?
One sorta gets the impression, somehow, that she ain't just a mere academic. There's plenty more in the honours & awards section that serves as suitable evidence of eminence & mana but who needs more?
She should stay in her lane.
Great on the Treaty and early-contact history, and no experience in corporate governance, water allocation, RMA, or anything of use other than sickly nostalgia.
Au contraire – she like most New Zealanders has had intimate and extensive experience of the unremitting failure of neoliberalism to deliver any public goods whatsoever. It's a fine mechanism for covering civil servants' vulnerable extremities while crooks rifle a country's public assets – but as a plausible attempt at governance it is risible.
Corporate governance? Feh.
https://i.imgur.com/3Z7Jcj1.gif
I love her big blue eyes…
Congratulations to the Kelloggs workers for their achievement, and our daily reminder that strikes work!
https://www.reuters.com/business/kellogg-strike-end-workers-vote-favor-new-contract-2021-12-21/
Yep. Well done them. A good result.
Europe adopts traffic light system for climate-change policy:
Greens will be thrilled at the prospect of another battle in the never-ending war between purists & pragmatists.
Oh yeah? Pull the other leg, it's got bells on.
Thanks for picking this up Dennis. I was aware of the 'taxonomy' debate and how the Greens were doing their best to lump 'gas and nuclear' together as if they were somehow equivalent from a CO2 perspective.
The reality is that transitioning from coal to natural gas has still been the single most effective reduction in CO2 emissions achieved so far, but no-one pretends it's the ultimate solution. Useful in the short-term for many countries with few other options on the table right now.
The decades long irrational Green obduracy on nuclear however is in my view the single largest reason why we have a climate crisis at all. Their refusal to contemplate the one technology we do have that could reliably solve the problem, speaks to an underlying motive that has nothing to do with 'caring about the climate' whatsoever.
As you say – the purists vs pragmatist battle is a strategy intended to ensure nothing gets done.
Regarding the (in your opinion) "decades long irrational Green obduracy on nuclear", you must be pleased that the 'Green movement' isn't calling the shots in China's nuclear energy programme.
Ah, the conundrum that is democracy – I'm all for it (democracy that is). But we must face facts – the nuclear energy industry hasn't done a good enough job of promoting its products, much like a few other businesses that have fallen out of favour over the years. When it comes to 'free market' capitalism, you have to take the 'bad' trends (however lamentable) with the good, and the market has spoken.
This constant setting up of 'renewables vs nuclear' as a false dichotomy is mostly a one way street. The nuclear renaissance underway at the present rarely has anything much to say about solar/wind/battery renewables at all. If anything we regard them a bit like gas – a useful transitional technology and we're generally happy to see them take it as far as they can go.
On the other had hit pieces on nuclear like the one you referenced above from the purist renewable crowd are a legion. They're everywhere and ultimately they're funded by vested interests, who also never want you to know about the fundamental limits of renewables and the deep social implications that arise from this.
Because in the long-term a 'purist renewables only' human economy is a world permanently underpowered, poor, prone to resource conflict and essentially stagnant. Vernor Vinge's The Peace War anticipated something like this:
Substitute 'climate change' for 'bobbler' and you have pretty much the same story necessarily playing out, a global tyranny stifling human progress – forever.
RL, is it the (linked) Scientific American article by Jeremy Hsu, or is it the (embedded link to the) IEAA's Energy, Electricity and Nuclear Power Estimates for the Period up to 2050 (Reference Data Series No. 1, 2020 Edition), that's the "hit piece" “funded by vested interests” – or perhaps both? Breathtaking.
The words you've overlooked are: if current market, technology and resource trends continue.
My obvious response is – these current trends should not continue. (And probably will not.)
Incidentally it looks like the US has finally gotten it's act together – both the NRC and the DOE now have senior leaders who both understand and support the molten-salt technology and are big supporters. That's a belated but massive turnaround.
Nope, didn't overlook those words, and presumably neither did the author of that Scientific American "hit piece".
Whereas you seem to have conveniently overlooked my question – what "hit piece"? Maybe your initial ‘evaluation’ was a simple reflex? Which would be fine – reflexes are natural and often a sign of good health.
I've read literally dozens of these pieces – of varying sophistication. Most are getting smart enough to avoid obvious factual errors that can be easily debunked – so increasingly the lines taken are a mix of economic and availability doubts like this article attempted.
Unusually this one managed to note that the Gen 4 SMR's promise to be a lot cheaper to build, but then smudged over this by arguing that renewables would dominate before any new reactor designs would come online, therefore they won't be necessary – at any price.
My answer is that this overlooks the limitations of SWB renewables and there is no reason why we should not have both – as they technically complement each other very well.
So, just to be clear, in your opinion Hsu's Scientific American article is a "hit piece on nuclear"? In which case it seems unlikely that any 'piece' will ever reach the level of sophistication needed to 'fool' you.
Imho, Hsu's article isn't a 'hit piece' – this is a 'hit piece'!
You say, "The decades long irrational Green obduracy on nuclear however is in my view the single largest reason why we have a climate crisis at all." why you label "obduracy on nuclear" Green (with an upper-case "G")?
Why not call it "citizen" obduracy, or "annoying to me" obduracy?
Yes there has been a very successful misinformation campaign that means most people are unaware that nuclear power is one of the safest, cleanest and most reliable energy sources we have. (Indeed some polls have shown that an astounding fraction of people still imagine nuclear has a massive CO2 footprint, despite it being one of the lowest.)
However the effective political opposition is absolutely located in Green Parties all across the developed world – much to the dismay of even some of their most staunch supporters. At least that's what I understand at present – if there has been a shift in Green policies recent years I'm unaware of – I'm happy to be updated.
Psychological framing goes deeper.
Problem is, folks never read a book unless they want to. I learnt that after giving up on telling friends & family about brilliant books to no avail!
Well, #2 conflates fear with distrust of scientists, so his framing is poor. His #3 is nuclear waste, which he fronts with a combination of evasion, minimisation & wishful thinking. 4. Damn them Republicans is guilt by association; then 5. Fear of the unknown. It's as if he's complaining about human nature. A reasonable effort at diagnosis but not good enough.
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/the-curious-wavefunction/top-5-reasons-why-intelligent-liberals-dont-like-nuclear-energy/#
His #3 is nuclear waste, which he fronts with a combination of evasion, minimisation & wishful thinking.
Not quite sure what you mean by this. The reality is that the 'waste' from the existing fleet of PWR reactors is actually an exceptionally valuable fuel. A number of Gen 4 designs explicitly target this fuel source:
This is precisely what is planned and is absolutely achievable. The main barrier to progressing this using conventional reprocessing was always the reasonable fear of isolating weapons grade materials and the resulting proliferation. If however the fuel is re-used in the correct type of reactor, this simply does not happen, the plutonium is 'burned up' and transformed into fission products that have no weapons use whatsoever – and have relatively shorter half-lives that make storage a lot more feasible.
In reality the 'waste' problem from nuclear is both contained and at very low volumes compared to every other energy generation method we know of. Even solar and wind have their own serious 'end of life' waste problems that are rarely discussed.
An interesting link all the same – thanks.
If
A famous historical foreign policy response. Didn't work for the Spartan rulers tho. Philip II of Macedon (Alexander the Great's dad) called their bluff & conquered them.
The tech you mentioned has been eagerly awaited by me for most of my adult life! Are they really close to achieving the goal? I'm sceptical. Have always like the theory, said so when we last discussed it, but still no evidence they have broken the tech barrier. Same for fusion tech.
but still no evidence they have broken the tech barrier.
Depends on what you mean by 'barrier'. For all the Gen 4 designs we know the nuclear physics works. This includes the entire gamut of types, not just the MSR's I've taken a keen interest in. This is not in question.
The next level of challenge is optimising the design to achieve the desired sweet spot between cost, operability, maintainability, passive safety and life cycle. And all the designers active in this field at the moment have a different target in mind. Included in this work is a whole range of tasks necessary to fully qualify the materials and nucleonics in exquisite detail. I follow this work closely and exciting progress is being made all the time. For instance – don't watch this – only a total geek could love it.
The next major hurdle has been regulatory; all the major regulators have until quite recently written everything around the safety profile of the existing PWR fleet, which is not fit for purpose with these new generation designs. Until there was the prospect of any new design ever being approved, private equity funding was always going to be limited. Fortunately this aspect is rapidly changing, with fresh new people taking a much more proactive position toward Gen 4. The Canadian regulator is well ahead of the pack, and the Indonesians are forging ahead to build their capacity as well.
The final category of challenge is establishing the necessary equipment and materials supply chains that will enable these new designs to go from pilot plants to the mass scale manufacturing necessary to make a real world difference. In technical principle this is the easiest, but in practice it's also the most frustratingly slow aspect to resolve.
But in summary – there is no fundamental technical 'barrier' that's preventing progress.
Yeah but that's just the physics & engineering view. I went & scanned the Gen 4 wiki & developers are all over the place.
To me, the tech barrier most relevant to public/political acceptability features two design criteria: fail-safe & waste consumption. Couldn't see evidence that the industry has figured this out yet!
Plus there's the bit about fast reactors not coming on-stream until 2040. I get that you're keen on progress being made but I can't see any basis for sharing the enthusiasm. Seems to me that allowing geeks to make all the running isn't all that smart. Geeks don't do marketing, nor do they do govt liaison. Any market viability will depend on regulatory satisfaction in both design & working model.
To me, the tech barrier most relevant to public/political acceptability features two design criteria: fail-safe & waste consumption. Couldn't see evidence that the industry has figured this out yet!
Passive 'walk away' safety is baked into many of the Gen 4 designs, especially the MSR's. I'm not sure how to answer this question because I don't understand the criteria you are using, but the idea that they 'haven't figured it out' simply doesn't align with anything I'm seeing.
Plus there's the bit about fast reactors not coming on-stream until 2040.
The thinking at present is that these fast waste burners are not a high priority, there is no need to rush them into operation. It's more logical to get simpler designs running now to deal with the CO2 issue now, and deal with the waste streams later.
the Gen 4 wiki & developers are all over the place.
Yes there are a variety of Gen 4 approaches being taken, and this is because each group has a particular niche or market they are aiming for. In the long run it's expected there will evolve a range of designs all complementing each other in specific roles.
And this story really hit's it out of the park as far as I'm concerned:
This is intellectual honesty – it's the best we can hope for from anyone. We are all different, and I'm not here to make everyone think just like me. But we can all ruthlessly challenge our assumptions.
"And when confronted with the logical consequences of her movement’s demands, she realised it wouldn’t achieve any change at all because it had no workable solutions."
She knew of no workable solutions.
"But it turns out Lights isn’t like other activists."
So, not an activist then?
"She’s wasn’t out to draw attention to herself by gluing herself to a bus. She actually wants real change."
Activists don't want real change?
Sweeping, poorly thought-through statements in this article, RedLogix.
"Workable" in my book means something that can be achieved in the world we live in, with the people we live with, in the timeframe we have available.
As much as I admire the work you do Robert, it's not a whole solution. As with my argument on COVID, we need all the tools in the kit to get out of this mess.
Some tools should be locked forever, in the kit, RedLogix.
Just because we can, doesn't mean we should.
Intellectual honesty?……was life unbearable in 1965?
Energy consumption per capita has almost doubled since then (not to mention the total population has also doubled)
Europe is in an energy crisis of their own making.Prices and energy reserves hitting record highs and lows respectively due to poor planning and limited baseline generation.
https://twitter.com/JavierBlas/status/1473317529229697029?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1473317529229697029%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2FJavierBlas2Fstatus2F1473317529229697029widget%3DTweet
poor planning
So that army of Eurocrats created in Brussels spent most of their time trying to control the Brits – instead of planning for power supply?
Goodness me, as my grandmother used to say. Did nobody realise there could be a supply problem? Or did they get dollar signs in their eyes, copying each other in a frantic effort to mine bitcoins, thereby pulling excessive power out of the system?
Forbes points to an "unfortunate confluence of factors":
Anker – I cannot find anything on RNZ or Stuff or the Dom Post that they were meant to be self-isolating when they were out and about. Were they said to be a close contact in an earlier story?
Here.
The Hutt Valley resident was self-isolating and people working at the locations of interest said they were told contact with the case was casual, and the risk of further infection was low.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/127357981/covid19-positive-case-confirmed-in-the-hutt-valley-five-locations-of-interest
Thanks joe90. It doesn't look like they necessarily did anything wrong from that story.
Arsehole disregarded the isolating bit of self-isolating to go galavanting around the town.
Simon power as the new tvnz CEO. So we go from a travel agent to a lawyer banker….were there no painters and Dockers available ?
With RNZ on the horizon they needed an M&A specialist.
Just read Cam Slater’s autobiographical piece on his dirty little blog. Starts off interesting then descends into irrational hatred and demonisation of the PM. Methinks the primary architect of Dirty Politics needs to take a look in the mirror. What a scumbag
He’s lining up with Damien De Ment and the other hateful rabble inspired by Steve Bannon who believe all sorts of gross things about Democrats. This is dangerous delusional thinking and I hope the security services are aware of it.
Yuck, I feel gross now
Republicans an Democrats are just two halves of the same backside arnt they Roblogic ?
Whats to like about Democrats ??
You've missed the point by a mile, there.
I am no great fan of Democrats, but neither do I feel the need to engage in Q-Anon conpiracy bullshit and claim that they are baby eating paedophile lizards in league with Satan. That kind of batshit insanity is what drove the Jan 6 coup attempt in the USA, and it is a stain upon the church and a festering virus that breeds in dark corners of social media. These people dog whistle, and sometimes outright endorse, despicable acts of violence; with serves their (not very secret) aims of anarchy and fascism.
It is pure hatred. Not policy, not debate, not "holding to account". Just a sad man spewing poison.
I'm certainly not going to link to Slater's obnoxious blog but here's a tweet (not supporting him) that gives a flavour of his toxic tirade …
https://twitter.com/egorub/status/1471692677703880711
He is quite irrelevant these days.
He has managed to become everything he supposedly despises…
'ratbag ..who doesn't pay his debts'
'should hand in his mancard'=pathetic,girls blouse attempt at FFL.
Always begging for money=bludger.
Good link, ta. Agree it's bitter and dark stuff. Every sane person who has met Jacinda says she is great.
Cool hashtag trending today: #ChurArdern
Slater has always been like that. When that lady died after she got her power cut off, he took an alarming level of pleasure in it. Almost sexual in nature.